Night Escapades
A Cup of Sugar
You nod and follow Nichkhun out the door. The corners of your mouth turn downward as you both leave the warmth of the restaurant and head into the cold night air. The jacket you are wearing keeps you from freezing but your legs shake due to the temperature drop. You did not know how Ma Ri could go out every night wearing the skimpy outfits she wore on nights like this. “So,” you begin using one hand to pull your nightdress down some. “You’re Thai?” He nods and stops so that you can catch up with him. “Why did you come to Korea?” “Business, I guess. Someone gave me the opportunity of a lifetime and in order to take it I had to come here.” The euphonic smells coming from the takeout soothed you. You were not very hungry when you came out but you definitely were now. The cars continue to whiz by. The cars seem to keep coming. Music is blaring from some of them to the point where their bases hummed.
“Do you think you can run?” “Run?” you ask. “After that car goes by,” he points at a older van, “we can run across the street. If we don’t cross soon we might be here all night.” You put your right foot on the ground slowly. “I think I can,” you say as you lightly stomp your foot on the sidewalk. Nichkhun looks at the van, which is now about to enter the intersection. “Alright. On the count of three...” Nichkhun says. “One..” You feel a sharp pain as you take hold of the crutch with both hands. “Two..” You shake your leg. Nichkhun happens to glance at you for a second. “Are you-” “Three! “You yell shoving the crutch into Nichkhun’s arms and taking off. You move quickly yet you are careful enough to put most of your weight onto your other foot. You can hear Nichkhun behind you. When you get to the other sidewalk you force your arms out and your hands straight forward as you run to the building. Your hands meet the rocky brick surface and you begin to hop on your left foot. Your right foot is stinging a bit but nothing serious.
“Are you okay?” Nichkhun asks from behind you. “Yeah,” your heart is pounding and your breathing is heavy. “I guess I got a little carried away,” you add. He hands you the crutch back. You both make your way to the apartment complex. You stop by the landlady’s apartment. After knocking twice the door opens a few centimeters. “What?” a creaky voice asks. “It’s me. Da-eun-ah. Park Da-eun.” The door swings open. “What’s wrong?” you ask horrified. Mascara is running down her face. Her fake eyelashes are drooping and her nose is red from blowing her nose (and probably from drinking soju). “It did not work out,” she says as fresh tears begin to roll down her plump cheeks. “Why not?” you ask as you reach out to pat her shoulder. “He said I was fat!” The tears begin to roll down even faster. “I am never going on a blind date again!” Ms. Choi was a sweet lady. She was a bit shorter than you and claimed to be in her late thirties (you knew though that she was actually 41).
“Ms. Choi, that guy was a jerk. There are a lot of them out there,” you reason. “You have to kiss a few frogs before you can find your Hyun Bin.” Ms. Choi gave a small smile. “You are right,” she said as she tried to fix herself. You heard footsteps coming. You turn and look at Nichkhun who is making his way over. “Who is that?” Ms. Choi asked. “The new tenant.” “Nichkhun?!” Ms. Choi almost shouts, her eyes growing wide. She shuts the door on you and you hear a commotion coming from inside. “Ms. Choi,” you call. The door is still shut. “Ms. Choi, did you get my note? I locked myself out of my-” The door swings open and the old Ms. Choi who had streaks of mascara all over her face was replaced with a new, decent Ms. Choi. “What the-” you begin before Ms. Choi cuts you off. “What can I do for you, Da-eun?” You give her a critical look but she does not notice. Her eyes are fixed on Nichkhun who is now standing right beside you.
Nichkhun looks up from his phone and meets the ravenous eyes of Ms. Choi. “Hi Ms. Choi.” “Hello, Nichkhun. It is always a pleasure to see you. You cannot help but roll your eyes. Ms. Choi is really sugarcoating it. You open your mouth to say something but Ms. Choi interrupts again. “Were you able to move in comfortable?” “Yes, thanks,” Nichkhun answers. He changes his weight from his left foot to his right hinting that he is feeling uncomfortable with the situation. “Ms. Choi,” you say sternly. “She tears her eyes away from Nichkhun and meets your gaze. “Could I have the spare key to my one-room?” “Sure,” she says as she rushes back into her apartment. She returns in a little less than a minute with your key. You thank her and take the key. You both are about to take your leave when Ms. Choi puts her elbow up against the side of her door and leans in closer to Nichkhun, who freezes. “You know-” “Goodnight, Ms. Choi!” you say assertively as you nudge Nichkhun away from Ms. Choi. “Goodnight Nichkhun. Come see me anytime.”
You both make your way to the elevator and hit the button labeled ‘5.’ Nichkhun starts to play with his phone again. “She seems a bit-” “Drunk,” you say finishing his sentence. “She’s a horrible drunk.” Nichkhun smiles and nods before going back to his phone. You both get off after the elevator doors split apart. You are exhausted. You make your way to your front door and pull your key from the pocket of Nichkhun’s jacket. “Are you still coming over?” Nichkhun asks as he unlocks his door. “Yeah, I just need to get a couple of things.” You go inside your apartment. You switch the lights on and bite the bottom of your lip. The floor surroundings your sink and the cabinets underneath it are soaked. Water is dripping from the counter. You maneuver yourself over to your purse where you pull out your wallet. You find a t-shirt and a pair of pajama pants and quickly slip them on before grabbing your wallet and the jacket, slipping on your house shoes, and heading out the door.
A wave of delicious smells hit you when you walking into his apartment. He was behind his island, moving part of the food in the takeout container into a small bowl. “Do you want me to help?” you ask as you make your way over to the kitchen. “No. I’ve got everything covered. Drinks are right there,” he says pointing to their location on the end of the table. “Thanks,” you take one of the bottles of water. “How much did you pay?” “5000 won.” You go into your wallet and pull out 5000 won and leave it on the table. He walks over and hands you the bowl while he grabs the second bottle of water. “I’m sorry for bothering you. This is the second time I inconvenienced you,” “It’s alright. Because of you, tonight turned out to be an interesting night.” “I have yet to properly introduce myself,” you stick out your hand. “My name is Park Da-Eun.” He smiles and takes your hand. “Nichkhun Buck Horvejkul. You can just call me Nick.”
“So you are Thai.” “Yeah,” he replies as he walks over to the small dining room table and sits on hardwood floor. “So what were you and the old man talking about? You were both speaking Thai right?” “Yeah. We did talk about much. He was surprised that you knew who Tony Jaa was.” “Yeah,” you say slowly as you look away. “I tried quoting the movie, Ong Bak, but I’m afraid I only said something that was cross between Korean and Thai.” Nick looked up from his food with a look of intrigue “You watch Thai movies?” “Yeah. My dad was stationed there for a year when he was drafted into the military. He is a Thai enthusiast.” You start eating. An explosion of flavors invades your tongue. “That’s pretty cool.” “No, It’s weird,” you correct him. He laughs.
In between eating and drinking you guys talked about everything, the food, the restaurant, Thai movies, Ong Bak, and beyond. You ended up giving Nick most of your food because you were not very hungry. He wolfs down his meal. You end up staying at Nick’s apartment for three hours. You both had forgotten how late it was until his phone goes off. His ringtone is one of the preset ringtones. He walks over to his phone, which is sitting on the island in his kitchen and picks it up. “Hey.” You look around the room and sip on the last of your water. Your eyes find a digital clock hanging above the couch. It was 1:19am. Your first class tomorrow was at two but you thought it would be best if you did not overstay your welcome. Besides, you wanted to get back to your warm, cozy room and hibernate for the next eight hours or so. You get up and put your bowl in the sink. You fold the jacket neatly and place it on the top of the chair closest to the door. “Thanks,” you whisper as you wave goodbye. He nods and waves before you leave.
The next morning you wake up to the sound of someone pounding at your door. You grown. When you roll over to check the time. The numbers 9:48 flashes in multi-colored neon lights on your alarm. The pounding continues. You crawl out of bed and down the stairs. You make sure to avoid the giant puddle of water in your kitchen area as you make your way to the door. The small of your back itches. You scratch your back and turn the doorknob. Nick is standing at your door. “Hey Nick-” “Stay at my place.”
AN// Hey guys. Uh, sorry this update took so long. The forces (no cable, weather, sheer writer’s block, a physical, the fourth of July holiday..) were all working against me. Anyway, I am going to be gone all of next week. I committed to volunteering at a camp for kids/adults with special needs so it will just be me and nature (no computer). So, as a huge apology for posting this late and for not being able to post anything for the next few days I will post a teaser. It will be more than a few paragraphs but not a full chapter. It will be posted before Sunday afternoon, when I leave for camp. I tried to make this chapter somewhat juicy but I feel as if I am lacking the inspiration lately. I may start a new story. I will continue with this story though. I apologize for grammar errors and misspellings. I have had a busy week and I barely skimmed this chapter which is unlike me. I did run it through Office spell check so -fingers crossed- there aren’t many and this chapter is not only interesting to read but also containing few grammar and spelling errors. Thanks for reading and feel free to leave comments. :)
Comments