In a short time, both Jiyong and Yuri hung out for a couple times as they grew comfortable of the other’s company. Sometimes wrapping up his work a little too early, Jiyong would go skate boarding with young Yuri at the nearest park. Having a large gap of nine years between their ages, both of them has no filter of what they are saying next. Being still a stranger, no words hurts them just yet as there were no strings attached.

It was easy for both of them. The Mr. and the Girl.

However, there will always be a downside of every friendship.

Jiyong’s work reputation is decreasing by the moment, having to skip his work early only to play with Yuri. As he comes home late after having light dinner with the latter, Jiyong often wakes up later than he usually does. His paper works lay undone on his cubicle. Facts typed on his documents are messed up, causing severe troubles for everyone. His superior is furious of his deteriorating reliability. Eventually, he got the first warning from the expected.

Jiyong is upset. This is only his first time playing around and getting first warning in his whole working experience. First time! He worked so hard only to get his solemnity thrown to his face. Psh.

Yuri is no fool when Jiyong shows up with a troubled expression. Knowing that his matters are not hers, she decides not to stick her nose on his business and chatters random stuffs to Jiyong like she always did. Not that Jiyong would care but at least he listens.

Not on that day though. He isn’t listening. He barely paid any heeds. It is a one- ear- in- and- out- the- other conversation. Yuri is frustrated. Subsequently, she spats out.

“Okay, don’t bother coming if you’re going to treat me like I’m a boring wall.” Jiyong is stunned. “There’s an interesting wall?” He bluntly jokes with a sinister question, only to be greeted by annoyed Yuri. “Okay okay, I’m sorry I have problems to worry about myself. I promise not to care of my own problems and start to only care about yours.” Jiyong raises his right palms to his shoulder’s height as he makes a playful oath. The girl shoots him with a death stare.

“I’m just saying. I mean, if you’re so caught up with some complications of yours, why bother come at all?” Yuri s her bag as she grabs a chocolate bar and tears open the wrapper. She takes the first bite when she waits for a respond from the latter.

“I shouldn’t come today, though.” Words subconsciously escape his mouth as he attempts to arrange his sentence. Yuri’s brows deepened in a furrow. “Ah, wait, wait, that sounds confusing in so many ways. Let me rephrase it.” Jiyong explains when he later murmurs some words under his breath. Not caring of his words, Yuri munches another bite of her chocolate. “Just say it already. When did we ever care of what the other say? Tch, you dimwit.” She carelessly states. Jiyong’s eyes widen. Dimwit? He should consider scrubbing the young girl’s filthy mouth sometime.

On second thought, she got a right point. When did they ever care of what comes out of their mouth? It’s either a laughter- filled conversation or another vulgar word. Nevertheless, they never take it to the heart.

Ah, what the hell, he reasons.

“I got a first warning from my boss at work for reckless reports and skipping working days.”

“I always thought you look like you are engaged to a mob gang. Wah, now you even behave like one.” Yuri bends forward as she takes a closer look at Jiyong, nodding as she agrees with her own say. Jiyong grits his teeth. “You brat, how dare you think of me like that?” Yuri brushes off his last remarks.

“Oh? You didn’t mention why you skipped work, do you? I wonder why.” He barely restrains himself into throwing the girl in a spiteful chain of words when Yuri drilled him the obvious. “Aish, you really are clueless, aren’t you? Wah, it doesn’t make sense that question popped out from you, hah?” As he points a finger at Yuri, she is baffled.

“I’m supposed to know why you’re at the brink of losing your job?” Yuri repeats her question. Frankly, she is perplexed when Jiyong assumed she was acting lost. Jiyong raffles the back of his head.

“I was hanging out too much with you, you dimwit.” Emphasizing the word ‘dimwit’, he returns the taunt word. Still, Yuri takes no notice and shrugs it off. “I never force you to hang out with me though. It’s your call to either come with me or not. It’s not like I have no other day to entertain myself. Nor would I feel offended.” For a moment, Jiyong is furious. Not because he can’t accept what Yuri uttered. But because he could see the truth beneath her harsh claims.

“True.” He shortly replies, not caring to rebut anymore. The conversation will go on forever if he chooses the latter and he would hate to argue with illogical Yuri. Yuri smirks with satisfaction. “Of course I’m right. I’m one of those high school drop outs who have an actual brain. Like Bill Gates. Like Walt Disney.” She brags as she points her index finger to her temples. Jiyong couldn’t help but think, “jackass”.

“Quit then.” Yuri abruptly spurts amidst her crazy boasting session. Jiyong gapes. What did she just said? “Quit what?” The girl straightens her back when she answers “Quit your job, of course, what else?” Jiyong breaks into loud guffaw. “Of all decent advises you can give me, you’re asking me to walk away from my only source of income? Insane.”

“What other decent advices I can offer, if you don’t mind giving me an example?”

He is almost going crazy. An example? An example? He bets he can give her a thousand as he struggles in choosing one. “Like work harder, Mr. or its okay if you want to concentrate on your career in the meantime. We can meet later. There! I gave you two already. Think of another yourself, you self proclaimed genius high school drop out.”

She shrugs. “I don’t think that’s being decent. That’s just being plain hypocritical.” She argues. Jiyong is bewildered. “Well, let’s listen to your honest, decent advice, then.” Yuri takes a deep breath.

“I’m saying it’s hypocritical because it’s something both of us do not wish for. I don’t wish for you to not hang out with me anymore and honestly speaking, do you even enjoy auditing papers? Who finds it thrilling to audit papers? Obviously not you. It’s a win- win situation. You got to escape your miserable work and we got to do crazy things together.” True, true, true, false, true, Jiyong ticks the girl’s statement in his head.

“But you don’t understand, girl. It’s the Won sign that matters. It’s my income, girl. Sure I don’t like my job but neither do I fathom my career.” No wonder, Yuri thinks.

“How many digits?” She shamelessly buzzes. Jiyong looks down, slightly fluttered by the sudden personal question before mumbling, “Five, now that I’m a senior auditor.” Yuri is taken aback. “And yet you walk around like you’re a three digit earner.” Jiyong avoids. “Yeah, I know, I know, I save most of my money while sending my mother half of what I make.”

Perplexed, Yuri continues. “Then why care of your income? You don’t have a family to feed nor do you have a girlfriend to spend on. So what’s the big deal?” Jiyong sighs as he grew tired of the girl’s question. “It’s for my future, girl. My future.”

“Want to bet that without you realizing, you already saved at least a million?” Jiyong shakes his head. “I acknowledged that already.”

“So? Are you going to ignore your money calling for a spree spending around the globe?” The girl wriggles her brows playfully as she leans forward. Jiyong laughs and fakes a confused look. “I don’t understand. What spree spending?”

“At least you’ll find joy you never experience in your job.”

Still faking, he plays. “What joy?” Balling up her fist, Yuri fakes a punch when Jiyong slightly flinches and reflexively puts both of his lower arms ahead his face. “Aish, you make me wants to punch your face real hard, Mr.”

“Rephrase it properly, girl. How am I supposed to understand what are you saying when you literally twisting your words around. Put it another way, girl.” Jiyong insists as he folds his arms to his chest while looking away jokingly. It felt fun torturing the girl into doing something the girl refused. Not that she resist it.

“Rephrase what? I was being honest with you just now. No hidden words.” It’s the girl’s turn to play dumb. “Ay, two can’t play the same game, girl. Don’t you know?” He sneers.

The girl finally gives in. True, two can’t play the same game. She takes a few moments before blurting. “Wah, unbelievable! This is like I’m proposing to you!” Jiyong rests his right ankle on his left knee, with a bragging position, gesturing ‘take your time’.

“You better enjoy yourself. This is going to be the only time I’m doing this.” The girl threats.

“Want to travel the four corners of the world with me, Mr.?”

A smile curls up on Jiyong’s lips before he viciously replies, “Nah.” Yuri throws her chocolate wrapper towards Jiyong’s direction when he bursts into a loud laughter. “That’s it! That’s the only time I’ll ask you! I'm never asking you that again!” She growls when she can barely makes out what Jiyong had said amidst his glee “I’m kidding, I’m kidding!”

The girl glares at him like a disgusting bug with her arms crossed.  “.”

Jiyong tries to put a halt to his laughing by covering his mouth. Later, he gradually did. When he did, he looks at Yuri who sits next to him with a straight face, “Do you think we can decide this thing in an overnight?” The girl blinks blankly. “What are..”

“You have to tell your parents that you want to travel the world, ask for their money, prepare a list of where you want to go and what you want to do. And even that, don’t you think your folks would be worried sick of their teenage girl roaming the streets of unknown? Now that you have quit school, easy for you to not worry to notify your school of your long careless absence. Nothing changes your surrounding when you’re gone. Whereas for me, a working man, it affects my working environment, thus also ruins my income; the money that supports my family." 

"Last but not least, are you kidding me? Going out with a stranger you barely knew for a trip around the world? You can’t just go around asking that to an outsider. You don’t know me and neither do I. What if I do anything harmful to you? You’re a girl. Take better care of yourself, please. “ He ends his lecture with a reminder. Gosh, this girl worries me a lot. And to think that he has a sister her age. Nightmare!

“Wow. You really made me sound like a selfish .” The girl claims. Jiyong tches. “Don’t curse, girl!”

“Allow me to refute one by one of what you had mentioned.” Yuri stands up, gesturing her hands to Jiyong like an attorney convincing the judges. Jiyong be all ears.

“You may have forgotten that I once said that my folks acknowledge my wishes and are willing to fund my trip. I don’t know if they are agitated by the idea of me being alone but seeing how they never ask yet, most probably they aren’t.” Jiyong cuts as he disagrees. “A wise man once quoted; the joys of parents are secrets and so are their griefs and fears.”

“I’ll be sure to ask them when I get home.” The girl hisses. “You saying about my school is true, though. Now, about you. You can take a year leave without pay. Not quitting, just a long leave so that once you got back from the trip, you can continue your job like the usual. You can give your mother the monthly expenses she needed like you always do, because again, this trip will be funded entirely by my parents. I won’t extort you into giving your money unless I have to. And.” The girl abruptly pauses when she takes a deep look at Jiyong.

“Would you hurt me?”