Mr. Right

Next Stop, You

Out of breath and panting Namjoo raced along the wide campus of Seoul National University with a large case containing three hot pizzas inside. The aged tennis shoes on her feet were thankfully sturdy and as stubborn as her.

“Excuse me,” Namjoo grabbed a random student breathing hard, “do you know where the economic building is?”

“Over there,” the lean man pointed in the direction she just came from. “Beside the brick building.”

“Oh great…” she murmured underneath her breath then quickly thanked him and turned back around, quickly pacing away.

It was a Thursday afternoon and the students of the economic club had made a call to Mr. Pizza, her current workplace. Due to the fact that she was headed in the same direction of the university she’d been chosen to make the quick delivery. Within half an hour she was running through the bus filled roads crazy with bustling traffic and volumes of irritable pedestrians. Now here she was, lost on campus.

“Crap…I ran back and forth five times in front of this ty place,” she murmured to herself while rushing up the two flights of stairs before reaching the large dome-like doors. They were heavy, zapping the rest of the strength in her arms when she pulled her way in and browsed around.

In front of her were winding gray hallways that smelled of dust, shoes, and people. Looking around interested she slowly walked down the corridor and stopped to look at the student board with club invites, activities, and notifications tacked to it. The papers were of different vibrant colors. Namjoo gave them all a once over curious before slowly walking by and pausing in front of the classrooms down the hall, peeking in through the glass window in the door to see class in session.

“It’s four and they’re still studying,” she muttered underneath her breath before turning upon hearing a voice.

“Over here,” a girl called, waving her hand for her to come over.

Hurrying over Namjoo asked, “Ec…economic club?”

“Yes, we were waiting for you.”

“Ahh…sorry,” Namjoo laughed, “I got lost. That’d be forty dollars.”

After making the exchange Namjoo found herself walking out of the building exhausted from the long run.

“I should be working at the gym instead,” she sarcastically spoke aloud to herself and let out a shout when a student rushed past her shoving her as he made his way down the stairs. “Hey!” she screamed after him, noting how he had his phone pressed to his ear like no tomorrow. “Freaking jerk…” she muttered and made her way toward the benches not too far away.

Sitting down she pulled her phone out to text Son Naeun, the long haired flower girl that lived in the room across from her. When Namjoo first moved into the hostel she ran into the flower girl, who coincidentally, moved in the same day. As the only two fresh s on the twelfth floor they had bonded and sometimes, even had meals together late in the night.

Son Naeun was a current sophomore studying business management at Seoul National University on a scholarship, hoping to get into one of the very few large companies. She dreamt big of hitting the jackpot someday and jackpot in this case meant a man of high status. Namjoo thought it was funny and sounded like a downright manga plot, even proclaimed for fun that she’ll become the second lead.

A second later Naeun texted back that class just ended and would come out to see her. Setting the mobile device down Namjoo stared up into the sky and took a deep breath. For several minutes she watched students all busy alike hustle by; some quickly, others taking all the time in the world.

After marrying her brother off he’d told her to live well and do something for herself. He had expected her to return to school after achieving her GED through a short course since she had missed half of high school, but she chose work over all matters. In this world she learned, education was nothing if money was everything. She wanted money. She wanted to shop without looking at prices and shop till she dropped. She wanted to buy jewelry and live like a woman. She wanted to be rich because being rich meant she could live luxuriously. Yet, none of that could be achieved without some form of work in order to first survive.

Right now, she was surviving.

“Namjoo!” she turned to see the familiar female waving at her with hair bouncing across her shoulders as she ran over. “I didn’t know you were coming. You should have told me earlier. They were giving out free subs.”

Namjoo gasped, “Free?!”

Laughing prettily the friend nodded and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, “But it’s alright. I got some allowance this morning from my parents, so lets go have lunch. My treat.”

~~~~~

Dashing into the street Jongin urgently spoke into the phone, “How is he? What happened?!” Pulling the back door of the cab open Jongin slid into the back seat, urging the cab driver to drive off before speaking to the woman over the phone, “Did the doctor come yet?”

“Yes, I called...the maid is getting the door. Where are you?” his mother’s soothing voice spoke over the phone, calm and soft just how she always sounded.

“I’m coming home.”

“You shouldn’t,” the woman prompted, “you still have class. Your father will be very upset.”

“I’m almost home,” Jongin stated then directed to the driver, “turn right and take a left at the next red lights.”

“Jongin,” his mother called.

“I’m hanging up,” he told before doing so and turned to stare out the front window, his eyes dashing back and forth between the cars.

Within a few minutes they were on the quiet street of the private neighborhood with high brick walls bordering the side of the streets. Paying the driver he stepped out of the home and rushed up the steps to the black steel door and darted across the beautiful lawn of marigolds and poppies lively with bunnies in the spring and summer.

Finally reaching the two-floor modern home he pulled the door open. While slipping out of his shoes he heard soft tiny footsteps running his way and saw a few seconds later, his four-year-old nephew choppily lunging at him.

“Hey little man!” Jongin greeted, bending down to hug Im Jaegeun.

“What you doing home?” the tiny boy questioned as Jongin carried him across the refined living room. “You come to see grandpa?”

“Yes,” he rubbed the little boy’s hair and set him down. “Go off and play.”

After watching Jaegeun run off, he started toward his father’s bedroom where the old man now lay daily with a drip attached to his arm. His heart had become weak after a . Any day now, the doctor had told them in privacy, he would go. During the last few weeks the home had been visited by the family’s lawyer to finalize his father’s will.

The company, Jongin knew, would go to him as well as assets worth millions. It would be his duty as head of the family now, to look after his parent-less nephew and mother. Jongin didn’t think he was mentally prepared to take on the responsibility yet. It was honestly a burden to him.

Pushing the vivid tan door open Jongin stepped in to find the old doctor hovering by his father, Kim Kwanhoon’s side. His mother, Go Hunmi, was sitting on a chair, her face currently plastered with sincere concern. She was first to notice him and immediately rose to her feet.

Twelve years ago when he was eleven his father remarried and Go Hunmi became his mother. It had been an awkward start but the woman had been kind and patient with him. With time Jongin had given in to her sincerity and started calling her mom. Till now she was still good to him, but that sad glint in her eyes always left him wondering about her life before marriage, which he knew nothing about.

She was of short stature, having grown pale and fragile over time. After a period of what was most likely depression the woman’s cheekbones were now more apparent than ever and her hair had grayed excessively compared to his aunt of the same age.

“You’re here?” she gently greeted walking toward him.

Nodding as he slid his back pack off he asked, “How is he?”

“Your father was short of breath a few minutes ago, but seems everything has stabilized. You should have stayed at school,” the woman said.

“It’s fine. I’ll be going back in a while anyway,” he said then peered over at the old man once more before grabbing his backpack and walked out of the room.

~~~~~

Namjoo hungrily chewed at the cheeseburger in her hand simultaneously the melted cheese off her fingers as chatter droned in the background. At the student lounge, she discovered, she could get up and look for more food just like a buffet. Today she was hungrier than ever and would eat until she had to run to the bathroom.

“Slow down,” Naeun called from the other side of their bench table. “We have all evening.”

Namjoo laughed joyously and stuffed with fries before taking a sip of her cola. “Anyway, how was class?”

“Boring,” she said blatantly. “By the way, when will you quit that place? You haven’t gotten a raise in over a year.”

“I don’t know,” Namjoo mumbled. “Till whenever.”

“If I find a job after graduation, want to work with me? Maybe I can recommend you,” Naeun suggested.

“If that works out,” Namjoo said.

“Come on,” Naeun urged. “I need to upgrade my living status. It’ll be lonely if I move out and leave you behind at the hostel.”

“I don’t mind living there.”

“You aren’t,” Naeun began after a brief pause, “still waiting for your mother?”  

Suddenly looking up, Namjoo dropped her burger and wiped her fingers against the napkin beside her. “What scum are you talking about? Me? Because I’m my own mother, I’m my brother’s mother. I don’t have a mother besides myself.”

“Alright, I’m sorry for bringing it up,” Naeun apologetically said. “Lets not think about that. Tonight, the economic club is holding an event. Want to go with me?”

“What kind of event?” Namjoo wondered.

“I don’t know, something about a fundraiser but there’ll be a concert tonight. Lets go,” Naeun excitedly urged.

“On a Thursday?” Namjoo frowned absurdly.

The friend shrugged, “College students don’t have a bedtime. Lets go.”

~~~~~

At seven that evening the large lawn across the university was quickly filled with a wild crowd. Music was booming and all sorts of students seemed to be squished together within the sparse space but segregated among themselves. The miscellaneous noises made Namjoo’s ears pound and to her disappointment no refreshments were provided.

Squeezing through the thick crowd together Namjoo and Naeun both found an empty spot by the curb where they sat on the grass far away from the impending noise, but still with the stage in perfect view.

“Is this what an event is like? Boring,” Namjoo mumbled.

“What?” Naeun squinted her eyes. Then shaking her head, “I can’t hear you.”

Literally screaming over all the noise Namjoo said, “I said this is boring!”

“Yea?” a voice shouted back and the girls looked around before a tall man scooted over with his big eyes. “Then what do you think we can do to make it better?”

Namjoo stared back at him embarrassed and shocked that someone had overheard them. Then darting her eyes back and forth said, “I didn’t mean it in a bad way.”

He smiled kindly, “I know. Are you a student? I haven’t seen you before.”

Waving her hand out in front of her furiously Namjoo shook her head. The man smiled at them once more before scooting back to his group of friends. With a burst of awkwardness Namjoo moved nearer to her pretty friend saying, “I think we should go.”

“I think so too,” Naeun agreed and standing up together they started toward the road. “Now that I think about it again, I’m hungry.”

“Me too.” Namjoo said and they laughed before turning around the block to head for a nearby restaurant.

After ordering their food and sitting down at a table by the wall Namjoo began to dig in deliciously. It felt calm without that tasteless noise outside but it lasted only until the door opened again and she heard male voices.

“We should’ve set up some food too,” someone commented. “I’m so hungry and I still have to study for an exam tomorrow.”

Turning in the direction of the noise Namjoo spotted a group of men and felt her eyes widen upon seeing that the guy who’d earlier spoken to her was with them. Quickly spinning around in her seat she leaned over her food.

Noticing her behavior Naeun wondered, “What’s wrong?” to which she shook her head. Then looking up over her Namjoo caught her eyes widening. “Oh my god…”

“What?” Namjoo asked curiously.

“That guy…” Naeun breathed.

Suddenly perked with wonder Namjoo turned around again to see the college guys sitting down at a table far from them in the middle of the room. Her eyes ran over each one of them puzzled.

“What?” Namjoo turned back to Naeun.

“It’s Kim Jongin,” Naeun whispered to her. “He’s studying business management in my class.”

“Oh?”

“His father owns a large company and he’s the only son. All the students are always trying to get into his favor so they can get hired into the company. Right now everybody’s saying that his father is dying, but he hasn’t said anything about it at school,” Naeun went on. “Someone even started saying that since he’s the only son, he’ll most likely inherit the company along with the millions of dollars his father has made.”

Namjoo raised her brows and turned to look behind her. Back to Naeun she asked, “Which one is he?”

Naeun slightly lifted her finger, “In the green shirt. He has his back to you.”

Turning around again Namjoo narrowed her eyes on the muscular back and up toward the brown head.   


***Here we go!


 

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sammyssi_rm #1
Chapter 45: <span class='smalltext text--lighter'>Comment on <a href='/story/view/1018482/45'>Jongin's Scheme</a></span>
I just realized that Naeun suddenly disappeared.....
Nutellachanyeollah_
#2
Chapter 32: I think i am the only one here who symphasises namjoo, i an truly understand her as well as jongin's character here. Namjoo.... wanted money but at some point, even before marriage, she fell in love w him but she kept pushing him back. We should try to understand her feelings too. A girl who has begged her mother, the person she loved the most, has abandoned her at the age of ten w nothing but a younger brother to look after, it is pretty understandable how badly she was left scarred. it was namjoo, a little girl against the world. however, her being the way she is had made ber incapable of the feelings jongin had felt. which is, in fact, sadder to know.
exo0506
#3
Chapter 61: So much drama and angst. It has been a very long and tough road for them but I’m so glad it ended well for them.

MORE BABIES!!!!!!
exo0506
#4
Chapter 44: This fanfic has so many problems which drives me nore how things will come about. I’m just so frustrated over Namjoo hiding her true feelings. All the more makung it conplicated...
katykaty_ #5
Chapter 37: I don't get it..this story looks like jongin is all at fault. Everyone hated him to the bones but he is the one who's badly hurt and been lied to all along. So I don't get why it turns out that he is the bad guy here and the one that needs to apologize.. But anyway, this is a good story, I'm enjoying reading it
Misshopes #6
Chapter 61: A niiice story
I really liked it
Brekhna
#7
Chapter 61: This story was so beautiful. ..It was one story full of a lot of emotions.
Written beautifully. ....
Definitely I am going to read again and again! !!!
Thank you so much AUTHOR ♥_♥
Brekhna
#8
Chapter 60: I never knew reading can make cry...
Lolypop123 #9
Chapter 61: TT^TT beautiful fic ☺