CHAPTER 14: The Pikachu Addict to the Rescue

“What? You don’t give high five to strangers too?” he said still smirking.

SaJi looked at him straight in the eyes, “Actually, yes.”

His smile faded and he slowly put down his hand, “Annyonghasaeyo,” he bowed and to SaJi’s surprise, he formally introduced himself, “I’m Yong Junhyung."

SaJi’s POV

“I saw this first!”

“Well, I loved her first!”

“Aniyo! This is mine! This is mine!”

I turned to where the shouting came from and I saw two kids quarreling over a stuff toy; it’s amusing to see both boys wearing clothes that one would immediately think that only little girls would like. One kid was sporting a Hello Kitty beanie and bling-bling around his neck, and the other one was…  I think I know that kid wearing the Hello Kitty hoodie. I moved closer to take a good look at the kid’s face. It was…

“Sanghyun-ah…” the two kids looked up to me. Sanghyun beamed, “Oh, noona!” he then faced me, not letting go of the stuff toy in his hand “Noona, I want this Soonja. Pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase?”

Aigoo.. ottoke? He’s so cute, why do kids always do this puppy-eyes thingy..? Tsk. how can I say no to that face?

“But you already have a Soonja right there!” the kid said pointing at Sanghyun’s other hand.

“Anio, anio! This is my Soonja bank, I saved my money here so I can buy that Soonja stuff toy!” he answered back pulling the stuff toy closer to him.

“Anio! Shiro, shirooooooo!!!” the kid shouted, pulling it closer to his direction, “This is mine! Mine mine mineeeeeee!!!”

Then, it all happened so fast… in a blink of an eye, all hell broke loose! I was kneeling and struggling to break them apart from each other to stop the chaos. The Soonja stuff toy was ignored and it flew somewhere while the Soonja bank was dropped and it rolled unnoticed, too. The two kids were throwing punches at each other while shouting angrily,

“Shiroooooo! Soonja is mine! Mine!”

“Aniooo! Liar! Liaaaaaaaaaaaar!”

“Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!! You two I said stop it already!!!”

Finally, I got a hold of Sanghyun and was about to pull him away when I felt two small grips on my right arm, I turned and saw the kid—

“Yah, you ki—“

“Jiho-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

3rd Person’s POV

Phew, it was a good thing we didn’t have any schedule today. I finally have time to go here at the toy store with Jiho… and at last! I found these limited edition Pikachu eye glasses!! Man, this will look good with my Pikachu hoodie..for suree..!

Junhyung smirked as he looked at the mirror and checked how the glasses looked on him. Damn, I look goo—

“Shiroooooo! Soonja is mine! Mine!”

“Aniooo! Liar! Liaaaaaaaaaaaar!”

“Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!! You two I said stop it already!!!”

I looked at the reflection and saw Jiho wrestling with some other kid. .

Junhyung ran quickly to get Jiho. His eyes widened seeing that his nephew was already gripping the girl’s arm and he knew what would happen next. His left arm grabbed Jiho by the waist as he used his right arm to shield the stranger’s arm from his nephew’s bite.

“Jiho-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! Let go, Jiho! You rascal, THAT HURTS!” the kid abruptly let go of his arm. He then faced Junhyung, “Junhyung oesamchon(uncle)…”

On the other hand, SaJi quickly faced Sanghyun and checked if he was hurt anywhere, “Gwenchana? Does anything hurt, Sanghyun-ah?”

“Ani.. I think I’m fine, noona.”

She breathed a sigh of relief then held the kids shoulders, “Sanghyun-ah, don’t ever do that again. Fighting and wanting to hurt other people is never a good thing. You should apologize to that kid—“

“But noona! he—“

“No, buts, arasso? When you hurt people or even make them feel bad, you must say sorry.. because that’s the right thing to do. You will do the right thing, right, Sanghyun-ah?”

He nodded and softly said, “Ne, I will, noona.”

Junhyung glanced at the girl who was clearly scolding the other kid. He then turned his attention to his nephew and made sure that he was fine. He grabbed him by the arms, “Yah, Woo Jiho, how many times have I told you that biting people is a bad habit?”  Although he was speaking calmly, Jiho knew that his uncle was a bit mad, “… and you even fought with another kid. I wouldn’t buy you any gift anymore if you’re like that.”

“But… he’s trying to take my Soonja!”

“That’s not enough reason to fight and try to hurt somebody, Jiho.”

“But you promised that you’ll buy me Soonja for my birthday.” He said in a voice that was close to tears. His lips started to quiver.

Oh no… Junhyung thought, “Jiho-ah, don’t—”

He was cut by a loud wailing coming from Jiho, “Wuaaaaaa… M-mian…hic…haeyo…hic… Un-cle. I wo.. hic ..won’t do it…hic a-again, Uncle. P-please don’t be…hic… mad a-at me. Wuaaaaaa…”

Junhyung couldn’t resist his nephew, so he hugged Jiho, “Shhh… stop crying anymore, Uncle is not mad at you. I’m mad at what you did. It was wrong so don’t do it again, okay?”

SaJi overheard everything and thought, hmmm.. this guy’s pretty good talking with a kid, too bad he’s now making him cry.. She genuinely felt a bit bad for the uncle. She turned to looked at them, surprised that she saw that the kid’s uncle was just about her age, What the..? Changsun would definitely throw a fit about this guy stealing his Pikachu if he saw him right now.. Seriously? Pikachu hoodie, and glasses at your age.? err.. but then, who would have thought such words of wisdom would come from a Pikachu addict eh? She had an amused smile on her face while watching the two.

Jiho eagerly nodded, “Ne, oesamchon.”

He held out his pinky to Jiho, “Pikachu Promise?”  and so did Jiho, “Ne, Soonja Promise.” And they intertwined it to seal their promise.

Pinky promise? Haha cute. SaJi thought, her smile broadened.

Junhyung stood up, took Jiho’s hand and led him to say sorry, “Jiho-ah, apologize to them.” The kid nodded and he bowed to  Saji and Sanghyun, “Mianhaeyo, I promise I won’t do it again.” Junhyung ruffled his hair and smiled at Jiho. He then faced them too and bowed, “Mianhaeyo for the trouble— ”

“Uncle, remove your glasses first.” Jiho said pointing to his Pikachu eye glasses.

“Ah, kurae…” he removed his glasses and faced upfront.

His eyes widened as he saw sizzling hot Snow Queen from Mr. Ahn’s grill shop.

SaJi’s & 3rd Person’s POV

“It’s you!” he said pointing at me.

And what a shock… the kid’s uncle is Hyunseung’s, Gikwang’s, and Yoseob’s friend, their flirty friend to be exact. Aish. I swear I’m going to punch him if he hits on me here.

I bowed, “Mianhaeyo for what Sanghyun-ah did to your nephew.” I sincerely said then turned to Sanghyun, “Sanghyun-ah, you say sorry too.” He quickly obeyed and said his apologies, too.

 The Flirt bowed and politely.. Wait, what? Didn’t know he could be like this.. like a normal decent person. He said, “Mianhaeyo, I’m really sorry for causing you trouble. I should have watched Jiho more carefully.”

“It’s all righ—“

“Excuse me, Mam, Sir, is this Soonja bank yours? How about this Soonja stuff toy?”

“Soonja!” the kids chorused as the sales lady walked closer to them. Junhyung and SaJi looked at each other.

“Is that why they fought?” Junhyung quietly asked SaJi. She nodded then turned to the saleslady who was obviously star-struck with Junhyung’s presence, “The Soonja bank belongs to this kid,” SaJi said as she patted Sanghyun’s head. The saleslady then gave it to the kid.

“How about this Soonja stuff toy, Sir?” she said and smiled too sweetly at Junhyung.

SaJi cleared to get the salesgirl’s attention, “Ahm… Do you have another one of that kind? Because both kids want that.”

“I… don’t know, Mam.” She answered, her eyes still locked on Junhyung.

I sighed impatiently, “Will you please check on it first?”

The girl turned to look at SaJi and sternly said, “Mam, I really THINK this is the la—”

“Ahmn, do you mind checking it again? Because the kids like that Soonja stuff toy.” Junhyung butted in.

The saleslady nodded eagerly, “Ne, ne! I’ll quickly come back with two of these for you.”

As soon as she left, the kids cheered.  Junhyung smirked and high fived Jiho and Sanghyun, “That’s how you do it, boys.”

He then turned to SaJi and held up his hand for a high five, she only looked at him and thought, Yabang talaga nito (This guy is really full of himself.) and ignored his hand.

Aigoo she’s really cute, even if she does this all the time. “What? You don’t give high five to strangers too?” he said still smirking.

SaJi looked at him straight in the eyes, “Actually, yes.”

His smile faded and he slowly put down his hand, “Annyonghasaeyo,” he bowed and to SaJi’s surprise, he formally introduced himself, “I’m Yong Junhyung. I’m this kid’s uncle,” he pointed Jiho.

“I know your name is SaJi and you work in Mr. Ahn’s grill restaurant. I would like us to be friends and not be strangers anymore… I hope it’s okay with you..” ..because I really want to know you more, SaJi-ssi. Please, please accept me even just as a friend, for now.  Then he held his hand out and smiled earnestly at her.

“I—”

“Shillye hamnida(excuse me), sorry to keep you waiting, Sir. These are the stuff toys you asked for.” The saleslady butted in, holding out the toys to Junhyung.

“Ah, kamsahamnida.” Junhyung smiled and tried to get the toys but clearly the saleslady was holding on to it too tight. Junhyung looked a bit uneasy with the situation. He had to pull it out from her grip to get it.

“Let’s go pay for this at the counter.” He immediately went on his way to the counter, leaving SaJi and the two kids behind. SaJi couldn’t help but sniggered a little at his alarmed face. She shook her head and turned to the kids, “Gaja?”

When they reached the counter she heard the cashier questioning Junhyung, “Sir, would you like other colors of the limited Pikachu glasses?”

“I… ahmnn… I think I like—”

“Are these for you?” She asked him as she picked up the glasses and looked at it.

He quickly turned to her, “A-anio! It’s for… It’s for Jiho,” he then turned to Jiho, “Right Jiho?”

“Aniooo, I like Soonja better and those are too big for me, Uncle” Jiho answered, shaking his head.

“Pfft… Hahahaha! You don’t have to lie. Here you go,” Junhyung was stunned for a moment,  Did she just laugh? Like seriously? An honest and not a sarcastic laugh? Wow. She even looks prettier when she laugh! His eyes blinked when she handed him the glasses and looked at him from head to toe and back up, “It suits you anyway.”

His eyes widened as he took the glasses from me, “Jinja?!” he wore it and checked himself out in the mirror in the counter while he talked, “I knew it. I looked good in yellow. Since Saji-ssi told me that this suits me, I’ll just get this one then!” He then paid for all of it.

“Here you go, kids” he handed the stuff toys to the kids.

“Yay!!! Kamsahamnida, Uncle!”

Sanghyun held out his Soonja Bank, “Here’s the payment for my Soonja stuff toy.”

He smiled and patted Sanghyun’s head, “What? You don’t have to pay me. Consider it as an advance or late birthday gift.” The kid slowly put down his hands and bowed, “Kamsahamnida, hyungnim.” He then picked up the Soonja stuff toy with his other hand.

“Sanghyuna-ah,” SaJi said as she stooped down.

“Ne, noona?”

“Did you go here alone?”

“Anio, my Dara noona dropped me off here.” He then pulled up his left sleeve and showed her his arm, “We can just call her at this number and tell her that you’ll take me home later.”

“Oh really? Then, would you like to go with me to the grocery?”

He brightened, “Jinja?? Of course, noona! I’d like that! You will be my bride anyway, right? It would be like a date!”

She ruffled his hair, “”Hahaha! Aigoo… Sanghyun-ah.”

“Uncle! I want a girlfriend too!” Jiho said to his uncle.

Junhyung chuckled, “Aish… Jiho-ah, isn’t Soonja you’re girlfriend?”

Jiho suddenly looked so lost in his thoughts. He even looked intently at his Soonja stuff toy’s face.

They both watched Jiho and laughed at his silliness. Junhyung  smiled widely at her and said, “So, since I already introduced myself to you.. how about you do the same thing?”

“You already know my name.”

“Does that make us friends?”

“Anio. We are still strangers.” SaJi said with a soft smile on her lips.

“Woah! Wait, you just smiled at me!” that immediately erased the smile on her lips.

“I did not.”

“Yes, you did! Lying is a bad thing you know?” Junhyung said, teasing her. “Come on. It doesn’t hurt to smile sometimes… you look great with it.”

“Stop hitting on me.”

“I’m—“

Jiho suddenly shouted, “Oh, ne! Then Soonja and I will have a date at the grocery too!”

SaJi and Junhyung glanced at each other and laughed, while Sanghyun was busy introducing his Soonja bank and stuff toy to each other.

 “Guess that we won’t be strangers anymore.” He said with a smirk. SaJi just raised an eyebrow and shook her head.

But then when he talked again, the smirk was gone, “SaJi-ssi, I’m not hitting on you, I’m really just telling the truth, a smile really goes well with you. And I really want to be your friend and know you more.. so, can we stop being strangers to each other?” he held out his again.

SaJi looked at Junyung’s hand, then at him, “Arasso, arasso.” She said smiling at him as she shook his hand.

“Did you just smile at me?” he said as he pointed to himself.

“Did I?” SaJi said to him and turned to the kids, “Kids, gaja!”

3rd Person’s POV

“Yobosaeyo?... Ne noona… We’ll just have dinner and we’ll go home… oh you wanna talk to Jiho? Okay…” Junhyung handed the phone to Jiho.

Sanghyun tugged at SaJi’s hoodie, “Noona, can we go buy some ice cream? Please?” SaJi turned to Junhyung to ask if they want to go buy ice cream too.

“It’s okay, you guys go first, we’ll just finish this phone call.”

SaJi and Sanghyun went to the ice cream stall and bought four ice cream cups. Sanghyun immediately started munching his strawberry ice cream.

She was paying when Sanghyun called her name out loud, “SaJi noona!!!! Aaah….” He held out a spoonful of ice cream to her. She took it and smiled, “You too.” She gave him a spoonful too.

Is that…? Is that SaJi?

 “Let’s go back to them, SaJi noona!” Sanghyun said as he started to walk.

“Oh wait Sanghyun-ah… You have ice cream on your…” she pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the ice cream off of the kid’s lips.

Wait! That hanky… It’s a personalized gift I gave to him on his solo debut… how… How did that end up with her?

“There you go. Gaja, let’s go back to them now,” SaJi said as she held Sanghyun’s hand and walked back. SaJi gave the ice creams to Junhyung and Jiho, “Here are your ice creams. I didn’t know what flavor you guys like so I just bought chocolate and vanilla.”

“Kamsahamnida, noona!” Jiho said.

“It’s okay. Anything you buy must be good.” He said then he winked at SaJi. SaJi rolled her eyes and they both walked away laughing.

Junhyung hyung?  With SaJi-ssi!? But how…? Waeyo?

“Dongwoonie! Gaja! I saw this new Ramen shop last week around here, let’s go have dinner there.”

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