“This is ridiculous!” Sang Hee almost slammed her mobile phone down on the counter. “You really need to learn how to judge the character of your workers!” Kyu Jong who had been drying dishes since they’d finished dinner put down the bowl he’d wiped the water off. “What did they say?”

“They aren’t speaking, they’re such kids; how could they be fighting over such a matter?”

“So they aren’t going to come?” Kyu Jong sighed, “but didn’t they fight over it a week ago?”

“Yes but now it’s been bought up again,” Sang Hee wasn’t coping as well as Kyu Jong. “So we can’t do anything until the leader of the team decides how to deal with the matter.”

“Aish that ,” Kyu Jong slumped down on the couch. He got out his phone to surf the net. He read the news but it made him do a double take.
“Sang-Hee there’s a storm coming!”

“A storm is coming?” Sang Hee stood behind him, bent over to read the article on the screen. “We didn’t get any notice.”

“It says it’s fast moving,” Kyu Jong high-lighted that part in the article so she would see it. “We have to stay inside; it will be here in three hours.” Sang Hee walked to the kitchen, she opened all the doors in the cupboards and the fridge. Kyu Jong hurriedly closed the fridge ones. “We have no food,” she declared. Kyu Jong reached for an object in one of the cupboards.

“Yes we do,” he showed her the instant ramen. She snatched it out of his hands. “I take that back. We have no real food.” Kyu Jong didn’t know how to respond while Sang Hee disappeared for a moment. She had her bag on her shoulder and a pair of shoes in her hand. “No,” he had to stop her, “you aren’t going anywhere right now.”

“We need food there’s a grocery around the corner.”

“No,” Kyu Jong pointed out the flaw. “It’s a fifteen minute walk from here.” Sang Hee ducked under his arm, moving faster than he’d seen her go since this trip.

“I’ll grab just some stuff for the next few days and that’s it.” Kyu Jong sprinted down to the entrance but she’d already closed the door.

*

Kyu Jong played the music on his phone, listening to mainly old SS501 music as well as songs. It bought back memories that were pleasant but heart-wrenching to the soul. The group had struggled to find the chance to reunite and with Hyung Jun still in the army it looked like it wouldn’t be for another year.

Outside the skies had darkened dramatically. Kyu Jong had to keep himself occupied. Sang Hee hadn’t returned home yet and he was worried, the storm would be soon.

He tidied the house making sure windows were closed and that they had torches and candles in case worse came to worse. The builders had left behind a torch since they last came but there was no knowing how long the batteries would charge the weak, yellow beam.

A thunder cloud boomed, a door opened and the sound of rain came down like a large shower. Sang Hee walked into the kitchen with her bags.
“Did it just start raining?” Kyu Jong jumped, not hearing her come in. He hurried to see her, his heart racing until he saw that she appeared to be ok. Now he had to pretend that he didn’t feel like wrapping his arms around her.

“You should have called me.” He positioned himself beside her, shoulder to shoulder. She grouped the food into category by nutritional content, dairy, meat, vegetables and fruit and then further into the sub categories so the dairy with the longer life and the green vegetables from the other kinds. It was her meticulous way of sorting their food.

Sang Hee turned her head in his direction. She scooped up the dairy products in her arms to take it to the fridge. “You wouldn’t have answered.” Kyu Jong’s sigh came out. “How do you know that? Wait a moment; why did you buy things that need to be kept in the fridge, what if the power goes out?”

“We need all these nutrients to survive.” Kyu Jong saw a paper parcel with the word ‘leg ham’. He pulled a face. “No we don’t.”

“That’s mine thank you,” she took it from under his nose. “Besides, how do you know the storms going to be that-?” She squealed as a bolt of lightning struck down in an area near by. Kyu Jong glanced around, his brain scattered for thoughts. The thunder boomed again, the rain shooting down like bullets.

Sang Hee was on the floor with her knees up to her chest. Kyu Jong had no idea how to move her. “Let’s go upstairs,” the sudden realisation she’d left her food out made her spring to her feet.

“Deal with that later!” For her soon to be ex husband Kyu Jong was baffled at how she could still consider the food to be her top priority. “The food will survive not being put away.”

“Its summer so of course it won’t!” Sang Hee could get very violent when it came to her opinion or getting her way. Kyu Jong ducked while her arms flailed like a windmill to stop him from stepping any closer. For now he stepped back to the edge of the room while she hurriedly put everything away.

*

Kyu Jong read his book, trying not to focus on the chaos or the noise outside. He hadn’t heard anything from Sang Hee for the past hour so it was safe to assume that she was fine, until.

“KYU JONG!!” His book fell; pages open down on the bed as Sang Hee came into his room.
“What, what happened?” He saw the top of her head had a gentle shine compared to the rest. Sang Hee grabbed the towel draped on his chair, dabbing her head furiously with it.

“There’s a damn leak in my ceiling,” She wiped her face with it before ing the towel at him. Kyu Jong caught it in the air. He saw her expression.
“What? You want me to check.”

“Go quickly,” his opinion wasn’t considered. He hid his annoyance at having to do it as he went downstairs to have a look. Sang Hee glanced at the book cover. “Didn’t I give him that?”

“Yes you have a leak,” Kyu Jong barely took any time. “Looks like you’ll have to stay up here with me until it gets fixed.”

“Eh, no you can go downstairs. You’re the man so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“I was in this room before you.”

“So then you can go down!” Kyu Jong thumped the pillow nearest to him the hardest. “It’s a queen size, we will fit!” Sang Hee took in his point, examining the size of the bed with her hands. “Fine,” she could see he was right. “I’ll get my things.” However her ‘things’ may as well have been ‘everything,’ she dragged her whole suitcase into the room. The space remaining dramatically decreased with her large luggage.

“Aish really now,” Kyu Jong shouldn’t have been surprised after all he’d known her for nearly five years.

~*~

I haven’t felt so good this week. Got a cough which was really bad and is now finally dying down but I had something similar to tonsillitis in one side of my neck, throat causing my neck to feel stiff and my voice deeper than usual. So that’s my rather poor excuse to why this chapter probably feels like it was written in a tacky manner. I should feel better soon enough if I eat healthy and don’t over-do it.