Volume 06 - Chapter 01
High School with Seul Mi - Just Friends Arc
Introducing two new characters:
Han (Kim) Jae Joong as Seul Mi's older brother who has a sister-complex and is currently living in America due to business
And Jung Il Woo is Jae Joong's best friend who's parents owns a supermarket and treats Seul Mi as his little sister although he finds her cleverness annoying
She went to pay at the counter. The owner of the store sat behind the counter and smiled as she looked down at the little girl. ‘So, did you manage to count it correct today?’ the lady asked.
The girl bobbed her head. ‘Neh, Jung-sshi. Today it’s 3,697.04 won.’
The lady didn’t say anything. She finished scanning all the items and came with a total of 3,697.04. ‘Oh, Seul Mi-ya, you still amaze me,’ she exclaimed giddily. She took out a lollypop and handed it over to Seul Mi. ‘Another lollypop for a clever girl.’
Seul Mi gave the Mrs. Jung a toothy grin. ‘I learnt the algebra book today.’
‘I still can’t believe you easily memorise a book just reading it once,’ the lady sighed. She helped the little girl put all her items in bags. ‘Chamkanman, my not-so-clever son will help you carry them home for you.’ Mrs. Jung told the little girl struggling to carry the four heavy bags. ‘Il Woo!’
A tall teenage boy stuck his head out from one of the aisles. ‘Neh, omma?’
‘Help Seul Mi-ya take her shopping home,’ she ordered.
‘Neh, neh, omma,’ Il Woo said. He walked out of the aisle towards her taking off his apron. He picked up all four bags effortlessly. ‘Let’s go, shorty.’
Seul Mi pouted. ‘I’m not short! Let me carry one bag.’
‘I’ll be right back, omma,’ Il Woo told his mother before walking ahead leaving Seul Mi sulking. He stopped once he reached the double glassed doors as it automatically slid open for him. He turned to raise an eyebrow mocking her. ‘Aren’t you coming, short-ty?’
Seul Mi bowed at the owner. ‘Itta bwa.’ She then stomped her way out following Il Woo unhappily.
‘If you keep pulling that face, it will stay like that forever,’ he teased.
Her face softened. ‘No, it won’t.’
‘Ah, I forgot I was talking to the girl my mother wished was me,’ he said. She giggled. ‘So, how’s your oppa doing? I haven’t hung around him for a while. For a teenager like myself he shouldn’t be working his off…’ his voice trailed off as he realised who he was talking to. ‘Mianhae, Seul Mi-ya.’
She shook her head. ‘It’s true. He shouldn’t be working his… “” off. That is why I want to help him as much as I can. All I can do is the house chores and cooking.’
He pressed his lips together. ‘I think that’s more than enough to help him,’ he responded softly. ‘I don’t think he wants you to worry about that.’
She didn’t say anything. They walked slowly to the small two bedroom apartment that was just two streets away from the store. Once they reached her apartment door, she opened it letting them both in. ‘I’m home!’ she called out to the empty room.
Il Woo smiled. Even though she was alone she would always make it as if someone was there greeting her welcome back. He took off his sneakers and slipped on the guest slippers. He trotted into the kitchen as the bags were starting to strain his shoulders.
Seul Mi followed. With his help she managed to put everything away in its place. ‘Would you like to stay for dinner?’ she offered.
He shook his head. ‘Not today, shorty,’ he looked down at his watch. ‘I’m helping mama in the shop. She has to go to the doctors.’
‘Is there anything wrong?’
‘No, just the usual check up for her,’ he eased her worry away. ‘When does Jae Joong get off work?’
‘6 o’clock.’
‘Do you want to hang around at the shop until he comes home?’
‘Ani,’ she declined. ‘I’ve got to do some cleaning up then cook him dinner before he returns. Also I have homework today.’
He chuckled. ‘Okay, okay. Just hearing the chores is making me tired. Good luck with it. I have to go back or mama will be late for her appointment.’ Seul Mi followed him to the hallway where he changed back to his sneakers. He opened the door. ‘Itta bwa.’
‘Itta bwa, Il Woo-oppa.’
He stopped and turned to face her just outside the door. ‘Oh, tell Jae Joong if he wants to borrow any of my magazines.’
‘What magazines?’
‘A little girl like you won’t know it.’
She creased her forehead disapprovingly. ‘Oppa doesn’t read those kinds of magazines,’ she defended her brother.
He opened his mouth to speak then closed it. She knew what he was talking about. He laughed. ‘Is there anything you don’t know?’
She stuck out her tongue. ‘No.’ Then she closed the door before he could .
Seul Mi waited for her brother to come home. It was already pass six. He should be heading home soon. She had done all her daily chores along with her homework and cooked the food. Her stomach rumbled. She hadn’t eaten yet. She didn’t want to eat alone. She made it a habit to have her dinner when her brother comes.
The apartment seemed quiet and dark. She felt a little cold. Without her brother in it felt rather unwelcoming and dull. It was at this time she would feel lonely. It would seem as if everything around her was dark. She didn’t like the feeling of being lonely. It scared her.
‘I’m home!’
She jumped to her feet and ran to the hallway glad that her loneliness was gone. ‘Oppa, welcome home!’
He slipped on the slippers and was ready just in time for her to jump in his arm for a hug. ‘How was your day?’ He set her back down on her feet and while holding her hand guided her to the kitchen where the she had set the table.
She beamed happily, eager to tell him her day at school. She chatted away while he re-heated the food and placed it on the table. He inhaled the scent of her cooking.
‘Mmm, this smells nice,’ he said.
She grinned. ‘I thought I’ll try something different,’ she said. Actually, she would always try something different every week. Her first time cooking is always perfect, as she is able to easily follow the step to step instruction written.
‘Aww, that’s my clever girl!’ he praised her and patted her head.
‘I’ve done the shopping,’ she said. ‘Il Woo-oppa helped me carry the bags.’
‘That’s nice of him.’
‘He said that if you want to borrow any of his magazines, you should ask,’ she innocently informed. Her brother only nodded as he tasted the curry she had made. ‘But I told him that you don’t read those dirty magazines.’
Jae Joong nearly choked on the small amount of curry. He turned to his sister. ‘You know what he was talking about?’
‘Of course! I’ve seen it in his room when I was sleeping over.’ Whenever her brother did a night shift he would be worried about her staying alone so she would go and stay at the Jung's. Mrs. Jung was always happy to welcome her in her house, kicking her son out of his own room to allow her to stay there. Jae Joong was glad that he could rely on someone when he couldn’t take care of her.
Her brother burst out laughing. ‘Did you tell him you’ve seen it?’ She shook her head. ‘Good don’t and don’t look at those again.’
‘I’m glad I don’t have to worry about you.’
He shook his head in disbelief. He can’t keep anything from his little sister. She was too clever for her own good. But he loved her all the same.
Early in the morning when she had changed into her school uniform, she went to make herself and her brother breakfast as well as make get the bento ready. She had made it her morning duty. Her brother came shortly after fussing over things he couldn’t find.
‘Where’s my socks?’ he cried out. It had become a habit for him to dash around the house in the morning looking for his belongings. Her brother tended to throw his things around once he comes back from work late at night. But Seul Mi would already tidy up after him before she makes breakfast.
‘Inside your shoes,’ she merely answered putting down the last dish on the table. ‘Breakfast is done.”
Her brother slid on his socks while hopping to the table. ‘Komawo, Seul Mi.’ Then before he began stuffing his mouth he clasped his hands together and said, ‘Jal mokkaes-semnida.’
She began working on the bento. ‘I’ve made your favourite lunch today,’ she told him.
His hands froze. He felt guilty all of a sudden. Gulping down the food in his mouth he looked straight at Seul Mi. ‘Mianhae, Seul Mi.’
She raised an eyebrow. ‘For what?’
‘I should be the one cooking breakfast and making you lunch.’
She shook her head and smiled. She knew what he was implying. ‘But I want to help out as well. You work hard to bring money in. By the time you get home you’re tired out. I want to be helpful as well.’ She packed the bento in a blue cloth and placed it on the table while she covered hers in a pink cloth. ‘Done.’
‘Come here,’ he motioned her. She walked into his arms. ‘Choesong-iyo,’ he apologised again. ‘This isn’t the life style I wanted us to live. I keep leaving you alone. You must feel lonely when I’m not around. Mianhae.’
She hugged him tightly. ‘Ani, I love this life style as long as I have you with me. You’re my only family and I’m your only family. Few hours of loneliness are worth it as long as I get to be with you. I don’t want them to take me away to strangers.’
He held onto her. ‘I love you, Seul Mi.’
‘Love you too, Oppa.’
Seul Mi woke up in the middle of the night with a start. She didn’t know why her mind had wondered off to when she was a child. She never really thought of her childhood life with her brother much. It made her miss him more than anything. She calculated the time difference between Seoul and Los Angeles. It should be around lunch time.
She sat up and switched on the lamp light. She picked up her cordless phone from the bedside table and dialled a bunch of numbers. She waited while it rang.
“Hello,” his voice came out breathlessly.
She frowned. What was wrong with him? “Oppa, it’s me Seul Mi.”
“Seul Mi? Hold on a sec, honey,” he spoke in fluent American English. She heard a lot of ruffling, grunts and soft curses from her brother. “You still there Seul Mi?”
“If you’re busy I can call you another time,” she quickly replied back in English. Her English was perfect since she did read a lot of American novels. They made it a custom speaking like that ever since he moved last year.
“It’s okay,” he assured her. “I was just finishing up unpacking some new artefacts.”
“Really? Where did it come from this time?”
“Egypt. Just some tablets with inscription of the ancient time,” she heard him yawning.
“Sounds interesting but why do you sound tired?”
“I haven’t had much sleep,” he responded with another yawn. “Speaking of sleeping, shouldn’t it be…” she could just imagine him looking at his watch to calculate the sixteen hours time difference, “4 o’clock in the morning over there?”
“Hmm, I woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep, then I thought of you and started missing you.”
“If you miss me that much I’ll fly over right now to see you,” he stated. A picture of him grinning popped into her thought. “Of course I can’t come in a flash. It would take me at least 12 to 13 hours flight.”
“Just because I miss you, don’t mean I want you to fly over here, superman,” she laughed.
He grunted. “Oh, I wish I was a superman right now because I still got a lot of crates to carry and these tablets are really heavy.”
They chatted away about random things they were up to. Seul Mi had mentioned once or twice about her new friends she had made but kept it to a minimum not wanting to worry him about the trouble she had gone through before befriending them. She didn’t go back to sleep when she had finally hung up. Instead she started to get ready for school, also getting her bento ready.
Neh: “Yes”
Omma: Mom/Mother
Chamkanman: "Hold it!"
Itta bwa: “Catch you later”
Mianhae: “Sorry”/“I'm sorry”
Ani: “No”
Oppa: “Big brother”
Komawo: “Thank you”
Jal mokkaes-semnida: Commonly said before eating.
Choesong-iyo: “Sorry”
Comments