Chapter 9:  Touch

AN// I don't usually do this but....you might enjoy listening to Miss A's "Touch." I love Miss A and thank them for giving me the name of this chapter!

“Are you okay?” a familiar voice asks. You can barely hear him as your ears are filled with the sound of your heart beating furiously. The voice is very relaxed and you do your best to feed off of that energy. “Sure,” you say uneasily. You quickly take a step forward and spin to face him. The light is very dim but you are able to see the t-shirt Nick is wearing. It has a picture of a comic book character that you cannot identify. It takes him a few seconds to register that you are only in a towel. You cannot see his face but you can tell he is uncomfortable. “I need to go-”” “Right.” He quickly returns to his bed while you make a dash to the bathroom. You slam the door shut. The sound makes you jump. You slowly turn to look at yourself in the mirror. Your face is extremely hot and not because of the steam permeating the air. You try to smooth your hair before finding your clothes and changing. ‘Darn you Vanilla,’ you curse as you slip your night dress over your head and gather your things.

You tiptoe out of the bathroom and find your pallet. You did not get much sleep last night. Maybe two hours. You were not sure. Even though you barely got any sleep, you managed to have a dream. It seemed as if it were a nightmare. You were in an odd room. Alone. You sat at a very old desk and seemed to be working on the exam. Every time you completed a page and turned it another page appears. The questions became harder as time went on. Sweat formed like bullets on your forehead and your neck. Suddenly, your concentration is broken by a brush of cold air against the back of your neck. Your body tenses. You turn around and the desk collapses.You feel a set of hands reach from underneath you and lift you up. You know his touch already. You turn around but before you even see his face you awaken. You huffing and puffing. You hear Nick breathing lightly from up in his bed. ‘Thank goodness he is still asleep,’ you think.

You look around for the time. 3:42. You needed to get at least eight hours of sleep to function for tomorrow’s exam. You tried counting sheep. Did not work. You tried counting numerous Vanillas jumping over the same picket fence. This also did not work. Frustrated, you finally decided to try to relax yourself by taking deep breaths in and out. You usually did this when you practiced Qi Gong. Your eyes slowly became heavy and after what seemed like forever you were able to go back to sleep. You were actually surprised when you woke up to sunlight bleeding into the apartment. You checked the time. It was 8:57AM. Your exam was in a few hours. As you slowly began to regain your senses you discovered what had actually woken you up. The sound of drilling and pounding coming from your apartment. You did not recall giving them a key. You shot up. ‘How did they get in there?’ You quickly yet quietly get dressed and head out of the apartment over to your’s.

Your landlady is standing near the door while the men are finishing up whatever work they were doing to the sink. “Well good morning Da Eun!” The cheery voice belonged to your landlady. “Morning,” you mumble. “I hope you don’t mind,” your landlady begins. “I happened to catch the guys standing by your apartment. I figured they needed to work some more on your apartment so I just let them in. I think they are almost finished. Right, oppa?” You raise an eyebrow. ‘Oppa?’ The leader of the group turns around. He had been working on the sink. One man was sweeping and the other filling out some paperwork. He wiped his hands off with a towel as he came over to you two. “We’re just finishing some paperwork.” The guy sweeping sweeps up the debris and throws it away. “It is going to be 326,976.31 . We were able to fix the floor nicely. We also reinforced the pipes.” “Do you take cards?” you ask shyly. The man nods and calls the man who was working on paperwork over. He hands the leader a tablet with what looks like a card swiping device. You swipe your card and watch as the transaction is finalized.

“Gotta love technology. It used to take forever without it,” the leader replied. You nodded and waited for the other man to write out your receipt. “Thank you,” he said quietly. “Thank you,” you reply back. “Oh!” All eyes turn to your landlady. “This is so bittersweet. It is great that Da Eun can move back into her apartment but it looks like I will not be able to see you gentlemen again.” Her voice was dramatic and lacked genuinity. “I’m sure we will meet again,” the leader of the group says looking up from his spectacles. “Let us know if you have any problems.” You nod as you watch the men clean up. Your landlady continues to try and steal the attention of the men yet she does not distract them for long. They all leave in ten minutes. You take a deep breath in and slowly let it out. “Home sweet home,” you say with a smile as you spin around inside your apartment. You go to the sink and look at the men’s handy work. No leaks. You glance over at the time and notice that you have a two hours before your exam.

You head back to Nick’s apartment. Fortunately, you left the door cracked. You slip in and begin to pack  the few things you brought with you. You write a quick note for Nick thanking him for letting you stay at his place. Your hands are full as you teeter to the door. A furry tail brushes around and in-between your legs. ‘Vanilla,’ you coo. You hoped to leave without Nick knowing. The incident last night must have been awkward for not only you but also him. You lightly pushed Vanilla aside and made your way back to your apartment. It took you half an hour to arrange your things and unpack. It was quiet in your apartment. You did not want to be quiet. You made yourself breakfast and watched some television. You could not help but think of your classmates and how they were all probably doing some last minute cramming. You always found that not studying the day of the exam worked out better for you than cramming.

An hour before the exam you gather your things and leave your apartment. You lock your door and head to the stairs but stop when you hear the sound of scratching. You walk back over to Nick’s apartment door and squat down to where you assume the noise is coming from. “Vanilla?” you ask. Her voice is about the same volume as a whisper. “Did you want to wish me luck on my exam?” You whisper back. She purrs. You thank her and promise to come and visit as often as you can before you leave. You go by a coffee shop near campus and pick up a cup of iced chai. You were beginning to feel chipper as you almost skipped the rest of the way to the auditorium. ‘You can do it!’ You pulled yourself into a fighting stance outside of the auditorium where the exam was being held. ‘Hwaiting!’ You took a deep breath in and walking inside.

You take a deep inhale as you shut the small booklet that is your exam. You were sure you got at least eighty percent of the questions right. You slide through your aisle and make your way to the long table at the front of the auditorium. Your eyes lock with the teacher assistant. He smiles and you wince as you put the test down and walk to the exit. You did not understand why the university created this exam in the first place. You already had to take an exam to get your license to practice. Your grades were above average as well. You are about to turn the corner when you hear a voice call behind you. You turn around and there is the teacher assistant. You stop and wait for him to catch up with you. “Did I forget to put my name on my exam?” you ask confused. He shakes his head and tries to regain his breath. You wait. “I guess...you don’t remember me,” he says disappointed.

        You try to look hard at his face. “It’s okay,” he says. “Wait!” He looks at you confused. “You are...Mr. Choi’s nephew?” His eyes light up. “Yeah!” You give him a satisfied smirk and nod. “I knew my memory wasn’t that bad.” He laughs. His laugh is not like Nick’s. Nick’s face lights up in a way that makes your heart skip a beat. This guy’s smile was cute though. You blush and feel embarrassed for thinking that. ‘I’m sure he does that to everyone. Men, women, children, and animals. Now that you think about it, when Vanilla first saw Nick you knew she had a similar experience. Lucky cat.’ You suddenly jolt back to reality when you realize he had been talking all the while and seemed to ask you a question. You bit your lip trying to think of a response. “You don’t-” “Yes!” you say a little too enthusiastically. “Great!” He says still smiling. “Tomorrow afternoon. The place is called Dumplings. We should exchange numbers.”

Your eyes widen as he places his phone on yours. He touches his phone a few times and before you know it the deed is done. “I’ll text you when I get there.” You nod. “Oh crap! I forgot.” He jumps runs back to the room. He stops outside the door and waves back at you. You manage a wave back. ‘I think I just agreed to a date.’ You walk in a daze as you try to figure out what had happened in the past ten minutes. You manage to make it to your apartment. You pull out your key, secure it in the hole, and turn the knob. “Did not see you this morning?” You turn around and find Nick standing at the top of the steps. He has a few bags in his hands. He is wearing large glasses and a hat. You start to wonder if he is wearing these ‘disguises’ because he is in the witness protection program. If so, it is not a good one.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I had my exam earlier.” “Really?” he asked walking over to his door. “How was it?” You let out a long exhale and poke your lip out. “Tiring. I don’t think I failed,” you reply trailing off. “That’s always a good thing. You know, I found Vanilla laying by the door this morning. Looks like she’s grown attached to you.” “She probably misses having another female around. It’s okay though. I promised I would visit often.” Nick laughs and you smile. You are grateful that he has not brought up last night. “I hope that is a promise you can keep.” You blush. You turn your head away quickly to hide your face. “So what do you plan on doing now?” “Sleep. I think I’ll just go inside and die. I did not get any sleep last night.” Your eyes widen a little. You should not have said that. ‘Why did you have to bring it up?’

Both of you are quiet for a couple of minutes. ‘Maybe he did not hear you?’ “You know what?” Nick begins. You look nervously back at him. “Hmm?” “I have been craving some Thai food. I’m not much of a cook though. How about we order some Thai food and watch some old movies?” You think about the proposal. Was this a date or just hanging out? Nick must have been reading your thoughts because the next thing out of his mouth helped ease your mind a little. “It will help you unwind. I’ve been a little wound up too.” You smile and nod. “That’s a ‘yes’ then?” “Sure.” “I’ll tell Ma Ri you said ‘yes’ then. She’ll be glad to hear you are joining us.” Before you can question Nick your phone goes off. “Who is that?” Nick asks. You open your mouth to reply then look down at your phone.

There is a great movie coming out Wednesday. I have to work late Friday so how about Thursday afternoon? Let’s meet at Amnam Park around 1:30PM.

-Kyung Soo

[CHAPTER 10 TEASER]

You knocked politely on Nick’s door. You could hear laughter coming from inside. Most of which belonged to Ma Ri. There was a brief silence. The door clicked and Ma Ri stood before you. Her smile faltered a bit yet returned quickly. You could read her thoughts. ‘Why did she have to show up?’ You heard Vanilla. Your eyes zoned in on the furry cat as she skipped over to you. You picked her up and walked inside. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.” “It has not even been less than twenty four hours.” Nick is standing behind the island, pulling out water bottles and cups and pouring soju into the cups. “In all fairness it feels like ten times that to Vanilla. Right?” you ask. She purrs in agreement. “That is so cute!” Ma Ri interjects. She was probably feeling left out. You two rarely hung out but you knew she was the kind of girl who wanted the spotlight on her all of the time.

“How was your rest?” “Heavenly,” you said a little too passionately. It was the truth though. “Did you have your exam today then unni?” Ma Ri asked. You nod as you snuggle up close to Vanilla in the recliner in the corner. “That is horrible. I hate exams. That is why I had to quit college.” “You quit college?” Nick asks. “Yeah. I ended up getting a great career at a cosmetics company here in Busan. And I thought you had to go to college to be successful.” You could not tell if what Ma Ri said was supposed to be gibberish or an insult to you. Nonetheless, Nick laughs. His laugh is more forced than it usual. He brings the food over to the table sitting in the dining room. We all sit, legs crossed, eating. Ma Ri and Nick finish their water bottles quick and move on to the soju. You began to get a bad feeling in the pit of your stomach.

After an hour, the two begin rambling. Well, mostly Ma Ri. Nick is simply smiling and nodding. You sipped on your cup of soju. You had never been completely drunk and you were afraid of what you would do. Ma Ri is bragging about her nightly adventures and Nick just nods. He does not say much but looks very relaxed. Vanilla is laying by your leg. “Restroom?” Ma Ri asks as she swings her finger in different directions. Nick points her to it and hiccups. We all laugh. You take your plate and go back up to the island to check for leftovers. You frown as your eyes scan the empty take-out containers. “Sorry.” You turn around and there Nick is smiling wildly at you. “It’s funny. When I went into the restaurant. They asked why you were not with me. The old man seemed mad at me for it. He kept trying to tell me to beg for you to take me back and-” He hiccups again. “And how I should not have let you go.” You roll your eyes at his comment. He must lie when he is drunk. Yet, in the back of your mind, you wonder why Nick says this.

“Really?” “Yeah!” he says as he stands up and stretches. “Ouch!” You turn back around and watch him rub his shoulder blades. “Are you okay?” you ask as you make your way back. “It hurts,” he says in the voice of a toddler. “Ma Ri offered to give me a backrub when I told her my shoulders hurt. I guess I shouldn’t have refused.” He grinned foolishly at you. Nick is adorable when he is absolutely wasted. “You shouldn't have. She is probably a pro at it,” you reply. “It sounds like someone is jealous,” Nick teases. You blush. “See,” he says pointing directly at you.

AN//// AARRRHHGG! I am exhausted! But I love the teaser!! Once again, I apologize for the wait. I’ve been getting busier and busier. I’m going on vacation (finally) tomorrow (well actually in a ten or eleven hours). I wanted to get this and the Zelo story up and running before then. I will have NO computer, internet access, etc. for the next few days.
On a serious note, I ask that all of you put Nichkhun and his family in your prayers. He is going through a serious issue. I am happy that he has issued an apology but I hate that the motorcyclist involved is trying to destroy him. I just want to give him BIG hug! Hopefully the worst of this is over. Nichkhun seems like sweet individual and I hate that he made the mistake of driving after drinking but we all make mistakes. If Korea can forgive GD for the whole drug thing (I never doubted he didn’t do drugs, still love him!), then they can forgive Nichkhun. It would be a great platform for him, 2pm, and JYPE altogether if they took this opportunity to bring attention to the issue of drunk driving. It would be great to see them adopt this cause.
Anyway, I will update when I can. Check out my Zelo story in the meantime. I have no name for it yet so suggestions are welcomed. As always, if I made a few errors feel free to let me know. It is 3:00AM and I am ready to roll into bed! If you like this and the Zelo story, please comment, subscribe, and share my stories with your friends!