WooHyun

Is she the girl from before? He thought. “Son, this is Jin Ah. It’s your first time meeting her right?” his dad asked.

“Yes,” Jin Ah’s soft reply mixed with WooHyun’s innocent “No,” There was a momentary pause before Mrs. Nam burst into laughter.

“So is this your first time meeting?” the lady asked. Before Jin Ah could answer WooHyun says a firm “No,” again. “We met a few hours ago in the corn plot,” he stared at Jin Ah,” right?” The girl’s face blushed a light-pink tone,” yeah,” her gaze was on the japchae.

WooHyun goes to an all boy school so associating with girls is not in his daily routine. This is maybe his second time meeting girls from the city. He didn’t think much about them, just the fact they have a lot of clothes fascinate him. His friends told him to be careful around city girls. Apparently they lie and cheat and worse of all, they’re greedy. Money, love, pleasure; WooHyun doesn’t know what the last one meant. It’s okay, they’re only here for dinner, he thought. It’ll be over soon.  

“Let’s eat,” Mrs. Nam sat at the longer end, opposite to Mr. Nam. Jin Ah picked the middle of the three empty chairs facing WooHyun and Jae. The girl silently ate her meal.

“WooHyun oppa,” Jae asked in a sweet voice.

“Hm?” he hummed as he chews the noodles.

“I’m really good at cooking, I’ll make you a meal someday okay?” the little girl faced him and smile brightly. Jae was on WooHyun’s good list already. The girl worked for more than an hour on the corn field and she seems kind. She already has WooHyun’s trust. On the other hand, he saw Jin Ah and her friend left early. Were they slackers? He knew it was a trait of a city girl. He had his guards up.

It began to rain outside as they began dinner. The rain grew louder and thunders shook the house frequently. “It’s too dangerous outside to be driving far at night. How about you girls spend the night?” Mrs. Nam suggested.

“Ahh—,” Jin Ah began to say something.

“Of course! It’s dangerous unni (older sister); let’s stay here,” Jae told Jin Ah, “I’m sorry we’ll be bothering you for the night,” Jae turned to the family.

Dinner ended. WooHyun saw Jin Ah by the sink, rinsing the dishes and began to soup them. Dishwashing was his job; his feet took him to the sink. “I’ll do it,” his tone came out nicer than he wanted.

“Oh no, I should clean up after myself. Let me do it, you can go do your thing,” the whole time she spoke her head was down. He cupped her face and turned it his direction.

“Are you okay?” he asked after locking eyes with her. Why is she so red? And her eyes; they were flustered.

“Uh…can you let go of my face?” Oh no, did he do something rude, he thought. Quickly he let go of her face and she returned to soaping.

“Sorry. I don’t know why I did that,” he scratched the back of his head. What was he thinking? A guy can’t just touch a girl, especially not strangers. “I’ll help then,” he stepped closer to the other part of the sink to rinse. Their arms occasionally bumped one another and that freaked him out. He was afraid she would be mad again. Why did he felt that? Why did he felt like he shouldn’t let her be mad?

They began to dry the dishes with towels. He opened the taller cabinets for her and told her where things were. She dried a long white plate before lifting it over her head as she reached for the top shelf. WooHyun walked up to her from behind and grabbed the plate with one hand. She quickly turned around (she was probably surprised), bumped into WooHyun and the two of them lost balance…so did the plate. A loud crash echoed throughout the kitchen as the plate shatter into pieces. WooHyun quickly pulled Jin Ah into a hug to avoid the flying pieces.

Jin Ah

A split second of fright entered her system and she naturally grabbed onto WooHyun’s shirt. After the sound had stopped she realized she was in WooHyun’s arm. “Ah s-sorry,” she said quickly and stepped a few steps back, landing her right heel onto the broken pieces. “Oooow!” she fell forward after WooHyun took a hold of her, again.

“Are you okay? Wait here, let me get the First Aid kit,” his eyes were full of worries. He finally expressed a different side of him and she found this worried side of him cute. What was she thinking; she just caused a mess there’s no time to think about what’s cute and what’s not.

“Let’s clean this up first,” she grabbed the boy’s arm,” where’s the broom?” She was standing on one leg now. Her injured one lifted slightly and she bit her lower lip in pain. WooHyun suddenly left without a word. Within seconds he came back with a broom and a trashcan. He quickly cleaned up the mess, making her speechless,” A-Ah I should’ve done it,” She felt bad. All she did today was being useless and causing messes. 

He took her by the waist and lifted her up onto the island. Her eyes widen due to his surprised action. After exiting the kitchen, he came back with a First Aid kit and a stool. He placed the kit by her on the island and sat down in front of her. “Antiseptic and cotton,” he said with his outreached arm.

“Oh,” she quickly glanced inside the kit and found the white bottle.

“This may sting,” he said before gently cleaning her wound.

“Ahhh,” she began to feel the sting, “Ahha. Ha. Ha…” she awkwardly covered up her pain.

“What are you guys doing?” an annoying voice asked from behind.

Jin Ah turned her head.  WooHyun stood up. “I’m almost done treating her,” he said.

“Oppa, can you accompany me for a while? Your mom is showering,” Jae said.

WooHyun looked at Jin Ah’s un-bandaged foot,” let me finish?”

“I’ll help you,” Jae eagerly ran up to them. Jae’s fakeness made Jin Ah want to puke her dinner up.

-----

The moon shone brightly in the sky. Jin Ah tiptoed out of the room, trying not to wake Jae up. She had to go pee and maybe grab a quick drink. She felt her way to the restroom just down the hall, and then headed downstairs. She froze at the slightly creak she made, then continue to the kitchen. Just outside the kitchen she saw a faint light. A strange gulping sound came from the farther end of the kitchen; then the light was gone. The room was pitch black again. Since there were no street lights, the only light that lit the room was from the full moon. She slowly walked into the kitchen, feeling her way around: wall, countertop, and island. Almost there (to the fridge), she thought. Her left hand was on the island’s top; her right is in front of her. She came into an abrupt stop when her right hand felt a wall-like structure. It was…squishy but firm at the same time, definitely not a wall. “How is this?” she whispered.

“Jin Ah?” the calm voice answered her. She immediately removed her right hand from his body. “Why are you up?” he asked in the darkness.

“Can I get a cup of water?” The light revealed itself again after WooHyun opens the door to the refrigerator. His back was turned to as he reached in to grab a water bottle. “Oh this looks like it’s someone’s water bottle. Is that okay?” she asked when he handed her the bottle.

“Yeah it’s fine,” he said as he closes the door. Pitch black again. Jin Ah twisted the cap off. She heard movement and a pair of wandering hands.

“Ahh…”

“I’m trying to open the curtains to let some light in so we can see,” He did just as he said he would. Jin Ah took a couple of gulps before placing it back in the fridge.

“Whose was that anyways,” she asked out of curiosity.

“Mine,” he said as if it was not a big deal. “Indirect kiss,” was the first thing that came to her mind. For a second she was thankful it was dark. She felt her cheeks blushing. “Well, goodnight,” WooHyun said, about to make his way out but stopped when he hear someone from upstairs coming down. He quickly grabbed Jin Ah’s arm and hid in the pantry closet.