Chapter 6: Between a Man and Woman?

It was late. I knew that much. As far as I could tell, I was the only one up, and every one else was asleep. The room had an orange-like glow about it, due to the fact I was only using the lamp that sat on my desk as my source of light.

I remember I was trying to keep the amount of light I was using and the creaking of the floorboards to a minimum, trying to stop myself from getting noticed. Sooyoung made sure that everyone went to bed at a reasonable time. For the younger kids it was around about 9 pm and for the older ones, like me, it was at the latest 10:30pm. Once everyone had closed their doors and switched off their lights, Sooyoung would come around and make sure everyone was in bed.

Once she had made sure that I was sleeping peacefully, and closed my door to go to her own room, I silently snuck out of bed and began to get to work.

I ran my fingers through my hair, and let out a quiet groan of frustration when I realized just how much homework I had to get through. I opened up my notebook, finding a clean page and then shifting my stare onto the math textbook before me. I gave it a hard glare, wishing that all the work could be magically done for me. I plopped down on my swivel chair at my desk.

“This is all Jessica’s fault.” I remember mumbling to myself as I leaned my head on my palm and began to write the first equation.

Really, I should have done this homework earlier, since I had already been given three warnings from my teacher who had scolded me for letting my grades and behavior slip quite considerably. But when I went to do it yesterday, Jessica had come knocking on my door and forced me to spend the day with her.

I was always so weak around her - always obeying to her every whim and demand. I would try and say no, but she always had this way of convincing me. And I found that in the end I never regretted going along with her, even if my grades were falling below average. She was the type of person that you couldn’t say no to - she had a way with words.

 I liked her. I had never met anyone quite the same.

I could feel my head throbbing, my eyes getting heavier as it began to get increasingly hard to keep my flow of concentration. I gripped my pencil in my hand tightly, trying to refocus my vision. I could hear my own head pounding in my ears due to the lack of sleep I had had.

I reread the information on the page, trying to absorb the knowledge, but I just couldn’t seem to register it. I huffed in frustration throwing my pencil on the desk, leaning back in my chair and silently cursing Jessica for persuading me to go to out with her today.

“Psst…Taeyeon! Open up!” I heard a hushed whisper outside my door, followed by a few quiet and quick knocks. Whoever this person was, clearly didn’t want to be heard, too bad they were doing an extremely bad job at it.

Since the door muffled their voice, it made it hard to tell who it was.

“Taeyeon!” They harshly whispered from behind the door, banging their fist against the wood, making a loud thud.

I quickly jumped up, scared that Sooyoung would wake up and scold me for being up at this late hour.

I rushed over to the door, opening it slowly in an attempt to lessen the creak of the hinges. When I looked up, I was surprised to see Jessica smiling back at me. She was wearing a red baseball jacket that was a few sizes too big for her, a black undershirt, and blue skinny jeans, topped off with a pair of converse.

Even though we were both only fifteen at that time, Jessica had found her style quite well, and knew how to dress. But me, I just stuck to plain jeans and t-shirts with sneakers. It was just easier that way.

I pulled her into my room, quietly closing the door behind her.

“Are you crazy? You could’ve woken up Sooyoung, and gotten us both into trouble.” I whispered accusingly as I watched her stare back at me blankly, like she didn’t care. She never cared. She was Jessica. She did as she pleased, regardless of what anybody said. I had always admired that about her.

“Calm down, Taengoo.” She said rolling her eyes, waving me off carelessly. “So what if Sooyoung caught us? What’s she gonna do about it anyway?” She questioned, raising her perfectly trimmed eyebrows at me. “Send me back to my room? Tell you to get back to bed? Ooh scary...” She said sarcastically.

I shook my head slightly. She never really understood the fact that rules were meant to be followed, not broken. But I guess her saying was the opposite from mine.

“Whatever.” I sighed, sitting back at my desk. “What do you want at this time of night, anyway? Going somewhere?” I said, nodding towards her attire that clearly wasn’t her nightwear.

She smiled at me. “Well, I’m not just going somewhere. We’re going somewhere.” She stated, giving me the kind of look that said: ‘you’re coming whether you like it or not’.

“What makes you think I’m going with you?” I asked, folding my arms, waiting for her answer.

“Because…” She started, thinking. “…You’re my best friend, and that’s what best friends do for each other.” She said giving a confident nod.

“What, sneaking out late at night, to just get caught anyway?” I scoffed.

She huffed. “Please Taengoo? I really want to go out with you.” She pouted, giving me those puppy-dog eyes that I found hard to resist. “I promise, we won’t even get caught. Plus we’ll have a great time.”

“But Sica, I have a lot of homework to do and Mrs. P-“

“Please Taengoo? You can finish later.” She whined stubbornly. “I’ll even stay up with you and help you finish it.”

I sighed. “Fine. I’ll go. But where are you taking me?”

A triumphant smile spread across her pretty face. “It’s a surprise.”

“A surprise?” I questioned.

She nodded like a kid. “Now, c’mon lets go, before Sooyoung really does catch us.”

There. She did it again. Got me to follow her, to go along with whatever she had planned. Why was I so weak back then? I should have just said no, finished my homework and went back to bed. But no, there I was, sneaking out of the orphanage with Jessica as my guide, going to some unknown and dangerous place, possibly risking my life. I mean, anything could have happened, we were only fifteen at the time. But even with all those thoughts and queries racing around my head, I still went. I followed her, like I always did.

It was dark. The dim streets were lit by the artificial glow of the streetlights. It was a summer night, so it wasn’t freezing cold, but just a little chilly. It seemed like we were the only two about.

I zipped my hoodie up further, digging my hands into my pockets and sinking my head into the material of my jumper, trying to warm up slightly.

“Jessica, where are we going?” I asked, slightly frustrated since we had been walking for about ten minutes now and I still didn’t know where we were going. I stared at the back of her head as she walked slightly ahead.

She turned back, stopping in her tracks, facing me. She smiled, extending her hand. “C’mon Taengoo, we’re almost there.”

She linked her arm through mine, so we were now walking side by side. I let out a sigh, wondering if I should be regretting this, but I quickly shut the thought out. All that I wanted to think about right now was Jessica. Being in her presence and creating memories with her. That’s what was most important.

I let out one last