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▌Chapter Two

                “Did you find it, Tara?” the girl asked as the other returned. She just sighed and sat down. The girls were identical in every way, the only real difference was a slight tonal one when they talked, everything else the girls created on their own to help their peers distinguish between them.

                “I didn’t Kala,” Tara said, sighing again. She cursed this place, mainly because of her lacking knowledge of the Korean language. The girls were in the city, specifically in the country, to study Korean and improve their skills, which had happened – just a little. Tara looked up at her sister; the younger one looked back with curiosity glittering in her black eyes and if it weren’t for some stylistic differences, Tara would think she was looking at her reflection. Kala’s dark brown hair, dyed to create some difference, was pulled back into a ponytail, stylized with two braids trailing the side of her head; Tara’s hair was black and loose.

                Kala just smiled at her sister and grabbed her purse. “Then we should pay,” she said matter-of-factly and Tara followed suite, “then we can look together.” The girls paid for the meal they ate in the hotel’s restaurant and proceeded to look for what Tara was looking for previously: a bathroom. Together, they found it easily and Tara was more than just a little frustrated.

                “You know,” Tara began, turning on the water to wash her hands. Her sister was at the sink beside her, checking her make-up. “Looking for this place, I saw a very cute guy.”

                “Doesn’t surprise me,” Kala replied, squealing when Tara flicked water at her.

                “He was very… interesting,” Tara continued as if Kala hadn’t said anything at all. “He had long bluish hair, cut kind of like Nick Carter’s. Just longer; framed his face well.” Kala nodded and grinned, holding her hands up in defense when Tara scolded her for the look. “I didn’t get a good look at him, though, because the elevator doors closed.”

                Kala hummed, “maybe you’ll run into him again?” Tara shrugged and pushed Kala towards the door. The girls left the hotel, returning to their own just down the street a little further. It was less glamorous but still just as nice, the girls walked past all the loitering tourists in the lobby to the elevator. Their room had a nice view of the street leading to the ocean – if you looked hard enough, Tara believed you could see the water. Kala wasn’t so sure.

                They had two beds, nicely made every day by the friendly workers in the hotel. They had a desk and a table, a TV that got a couple channels clearly, others were a little fuzzy, and a kitchenette, complete with a sink, a microwave and a mini-fridge. The room was a little larger than they were expecting, but still a little small.

                Tara threw herself over her bed and sighed. “I don’t want to go out today,” she said, “I just want to stay here and be lazy.”

                Kala shrugged. “Ok,” she hummed, walking to the desk where she flipped open a notebook. “we don’t have to do anything.” Tara nodded and rolled over. “But we’ll go to the beach tomorrow?”

                “Yeah…” Tara hummed, “tomorrow. I can’t wait.”

.

                It was by some spectacular twist of fate that all five boys wanted to do the same thing at the same time. On every normal occasion, they would drive their manager crazy; none of them ever wanted to do the same thing, especially with more than one other member. However, in coming to Jeju Island, they all had one thing on their minds: the beach.

                Dressed in their beach best, the five boys high-tailed it to the waterline. They were grateful that no one really recognized them; it wasn’t fun having to wear disguises to the beach, like their manager wanted, and all five ditched the ball-caps and glasses the minute they got away.

                “Heejun!” Woohyuk called, sly grin in place, “I bet I can beat you to the other pier!” in the far distance was the light outline of another pier, all white sand and tourists in between. It had to have been about a mile away, but Heejun still grinned and accepted the challenge. Jaewon drew the starting line and declared that the loser had to buy them all ice cream, to which Heejun smacked him over the head, saying the loser only had to buy the winner ice cream because the others weren’t racing. On Tony’s “3!” the boys dashed off, going as fast as their legs could carry them. Tony and Jaewon watched with interest to see who’d win, the dancer or the leader, while Kangta just sighed in mock boredom and plopped down on the sand, ignoring how hot it was.

                “I’m going to check out the boardwalk,” Tony stated plainly, watching as his partner-in-crime ran off in the distance. He didn’t wait for the others to respond before trekking up to the long stretch of the boardwalk, lined with shops. He looked into shop after shop, finding something unappealing about each one and moved on.

                “…how… much is this?” a girl asked, catching Tony’s attention. He stopped in his tracks and looked for the owner of the voice, and when he found her, he was in awe. She was beautiful; she had long, and surprisingly thick, black hair, the outermost layer was crimped, big black eyes hidden under thick eyelashes. Her skin was bronzed, contrasting the lightly colored sundress wonderfully; Tony wasn’t sure if it was naturally that way or if she tanned, but he didn’t really care. She was beautiful – and struggling to talk to the cashier.

                In her hands she held a little fan, paper with a simple design on it. Tony decided to swoop in and help, not just because she was pretty and he was nice, but her accent sounded familiar. Touching her shoulder lightly – he couldn’t help but notice how soft her skin was – he asked, “What’s the problem?” in near-perfect English.

                The girl’s eyes widened in pleasant surprise and started to ramble; she explained the whole problem to Tony who listened closely, but mostly to the sound of her voice, not her problem. But he did get the gist of it and turned to the cashier, “she just wants to know the price of the fan.”

                The man blinked and spit out a number and the girl puckered her lips. Moments later, she fished through her bag and pulled out her wallet. She paid for the fan and thanked the man, thanked Tony and left. Tony blinked, struck dumb. “Hey!” he called, chasing after the girl. She was already a couple stores ahead but Tony caught up to her easily. Standing before her, he was dumbstruck again – all he could think of to ask was, “what’s your name?”

                She laughed, only then did Tony realize he asked in a jumbled mess of Korean and English. “I’m Kala. You?”

                “Tony.” The conversation fell silent after that and the two stood in an awkward silence. “So… do you have any plans?”

                Kala shrugged. “Nope. Have dinner plans later, but right now I’m free. Why?”

                Tony grinned. “Then, do you want to hang out with me?” he asked, and noticing the slight look of worry fall over Kala’s face, he added, “I’m not weird or crazy or anything; I promise.” After a moment’s hesitation, Kala shrugged and agreed, saying she had nothing else to do. Tony grinned and offered her his arm and they continued their stroll down the boardwalk.

                It was only when the sun was beginning to set when the couple noticed the time. Kala quickly dismissed herself, saying she was going to be late for her dinner plans but she had a fabulous time with him. “If you want, this is where I’m staying,” Kala said, handing Tony a piece of paper with her hotel’s name on it and her room number.

Tony grinned. “Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow then?” he asked, holding the taxi door open for Kala.

Kala returned the smile, “Maybe you will.”

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♥
▌ending

listeningto; About 여자 (About Women) - H.O.T
03072011