Chapter 2: Friendly Strangers

 

   “Please!” I pouted with my best puppy eyes. "Just this one time." “No. No matter how many times you ask, no matter how much you beg, my answer will still be no”, he said and turned to take an old couples order. I ran to the other side of the table. “Alex!” I pleaded. “No! You’ll just get lost! You’ve only been here for one week; you’re not ready to go out on your own yet”, he sternly said, then nicely asked for the haraboji’s order with a smile. “Alex! Please!” I tried again. “Y/N! Stop it! You’re not going!” he said sending me a look saying ‘Stop or you’re grounded’. I knew that glare all too well. It usually worked but not today. I was not going to give up just because he thought he knew, what was best for me.

   I stood still. “No. I’ve got a map, I’ve got money, and I’ve got my phone. I won’t learn anything about the city if I stay here all day! Okay, I might have a poor sense of direction, but I want to try. If I get lost, fine. I’ve learnt my lesson then, but what if I don’t? I at least want to try”, I said and looked him dead in the eye.

   He was just about to open , when the haraboji cut him off, “For God’s sake, let the young lady go. She wants to learn about the city and the culture”. “She sure won’t learn anything if she stays trapped in here”, his wife continued. They were on my side. I had won. No matter how stubborn Alex was, he would never dare to disagree with the elder. He respected them way too much.

   He sighed as a sign of surrender. “Fine. But don’t be home too late.” A wide smile appeared on my face. I hurried to the other side of the table and hugged him tightly as I thanked him a million times. “Go before I change my mind”, he warned.

   On my way out, the kind haraboji smiled and blinked at me. I thanked him with a quick bow and a wave, and then I was on my way out to explore Gangnam-gu.

 

   I hadn’t walked very far before my wallet got stolen. I tried to buy a bottle of water at a small shop, when some hooded guy grabbed it and ran away. Great start.

   I walked out of there with a sweet and sour feeling. At least the considerate shop owner let me take the water as a consolation. What to do now?

   I continued walking for a very long time. The weather was nice and lifted my mood a bit. Huge amounts of people filled the popular streets and even some of the smaller ones. I tried to take the less crowded roads just to avoid being stolen from again.

   As I randomly chose which way to go next, I ended up at the Han River. Being exhausted from the long walk I found a spot under a tree and sat down to enjoyed the atmosphere for a bit. It was one of those days where everyone just had to be out. Children of all ages were playing soccer, some teenage guys were skating back and forth showing off tricks they had learned, and a few runners passed me every now and then.

   I leaned back to lie down on my bag and closed my eyes for a bit. The sound of singing birds, laughing people and the trees rustling in the wind filled my ears. Without realizing how tired I was, I peacefully fell asleep.

 

   Something kept vibrating under my head. It went on for so long, it managed to wake me up. “What is this?” I mumbled drowsily. Alex had been calling me for the last 10 minutes. Time had passed quickly. It was already 5pm.

   “Hello?” I answered lazily. “What reason do you have to explain why you haven’t answered or returned any of my calls?” he asked angrily. Before I could even think of a good excuse, I automatically answered, “I fell asleep.” I regretted it the second I had opened my stupid mouth.

   “You did what?! Do you realize what could’ve happened without you noticing?” He sounded more pissed than ever. I had to come up with an excuse to back up my lousy explanation. And I had to think fast.

   “I’m in the restroom. The door’s locked. And it’s only been a few minutes. I was worn out from walking. My phone was in my bag on the door; that’s why I didn’t hear it”, I tried. He went quiet for some time. “Oh.” He sounded a tad embarrassed. I high fived myself. Nailed it.

   He cleared . “Well. Please be back soon. It looks like it’s going to rain”, he said all normal again. I promised to come back as soon as possible and hung up. As I did, I breathed a sigh of relief. That was too close. I almost lost my freedom for the next decade. I was in a hurry to get home if I wanted to stay on Alex’s good side.

   I rose to my feet and looked at the sky. He was right. Dark clouds were looming in the horizon. The previously crowded park was now empty. People must have gone home because of the falling temperature.

   I started walking the way I had come. I wasn’t entirely sure where to go, but I had both a map and my phone.

   After wandering around for somewhere between 30 and 40 minutes, I noticed the wind had gotten a lot colder. My bare arms weren’t too happy about it. Soon after, small raindrops started falling. I continued roaming around for a little while. First when the rain increased intensely, I decided to pull out the map mom had given me. Unfortunately, it rained so heavily now, I didn’t even get to figure out where I was, before it was soaked and ruined.

   “Crap”, I hissed. Since I didn’t have any money, I couldn’t grab a cab. I didn’t have any other options than to call Alex. But even if I called him, he wouldn’t be able to pick me up before he got off work in a couple of hours. Still, I had no choice. I wasn’t able to get home if I didn’t.

   I quickly found him in my contacts, but just as I was about to press his number, my phone ran out of power. “This is so not happening”, I muttered. I tried to turn it on but nothing happened. Why me? Why now? Hadn’t I suffered enough already?

   Just as I thought this day couldn’t get any worse, some guy drove through a puddle and splashed water all over me. Now I was completely drenched. Even though my day was ruined, I didn’t bother getting angry. I just wanted to get home, take a long shower, put on some sweats and a hoodie, snuggle up in bed and read a good book. I had always preferred books over movies. They were so much more interesting and gave you a lot more details and information.

   I started walking again. I tried asking people for directions, but they were all too busy getting away from the wet weather.

   Becoming more and more frustrated, I squatted down with my head in my hands. My wet clothes felt heavy and stuck to my body like glue. I sighed heavily. What to do now?

   Suddenly, I felt something being placed on my shoulders. I looked up to see a tall, blonde guy towering above me. He offered me his hand, which I took after a moment of hesitation. He had given me his big, brown coat. Now he was the one in only a t-shirt.

   Getting a closer look, I noticed how handsome he was. His big lips were kind of distracting, his dyed hair suited him well and his worried eyes were really cute. And then there was the rest of him. I tried stopping myself from staring before it got too obvious that I was checking him out. Meeting his gaze, his eyes told me I may had stared a bit too long anyway.

   “You shouldn’t be out in weather like this. At least not without a jacket”, he began. His voice was low and husky. It was pretty appealing like everything else about him. Though he looked tough, he acted like a really gentle guy.

   “And why don’t you have an umbrella?” he continued. I came back to my senses. “I- I didn’t know it would rain when I went out. And with me wearing your coat, you’ll freeze. Here; take it back. I’m already dripping wet and have probably caught a cold by now anyway. You shouldn’t get sick as well”, I insisted as I took off the coat and offered it back. He stared at me with wide eyes. I gave him a confused look in return. He hesitated for a moment before returning it to me. “It wouldn’t be very nice of me to let someone in your condition walk around like that, while I’m comfortable and warm”, he smile, revealing the cutest dimples the world had ever seen, while he once again laid the coat over my shoulders.

   “Thank you”, I shyly said while looking down. It was only then I realized he was holding an umbrella over my head as well as his own. “Ah! I’ve got the coat, you should at least keep the umbrella to yourself”, I insisted, worried about his health. I didn’t want such a sweet boy to get sick because of my stupidity.

   He lowered his head with that dazzling smile of his spread across his face. He then rose it just enough for our eyes to meet again. “That wouldn’t be very gentle of me either”, he stated. I couldn’t help but smile at his solicitude.

   “Well, I’ve got a suggestion”, he said. “Why don’t I follow you home, and then you can give me back my coat?” I immediately agreed, since he was my only chance of getting home anytime soon. I had no idea as to why I trusted him so blindly, he just had this calm and trustworthy attitude; it felt natural.

   “Which way are we going?” he asked awaiting my orders. “Well. That’s the problem”, I said as I scratched my neck. “You see, I just moved here. Like, from a different country, so I’m very new to the area. I was just strolling around and got lost. For all that I know, I might not even be in Gangnam anymore!” I exclaimed a bit too loudly.

   He chuckled and said, “Why don’t you just tell me where you live, and I'll lead the way.”

 

   We walked and talked for what felt like hours but in a good way. He was a rather fascinating guy. He was smart, he taught himself English because he thought it was interesting, apparently he was a bad dancer and very clumsy; two things I myself can brag about as well. He was very open and honest. He was also a huge music lover and was an aspiring rapper. He began writing lyrics and practicing at the age of 14, whereto he read a lot of books to increase his vocabulary. He had also been working as an underground rapper for a couple of years before auditioning for an entertainment company.

   “What about you?” he asked. “You must have a rather interesting life as well.” I didn’t really. Most of my life was about reading books and doing homework. Here it was about working at the restaurant.

   “I’m not that fascinating”, I explained shortly. It was true, that I didn’t have a very eventful life. With that being said, I also hated talking about myself. I was more of a listener than a talker.

   He nudged my arm with his and sent me a quick glance. “Come on. I bet there’s something.” I shook my head. “Not that I can think of”, I thought out loud. “I’ll ask questions I’m interested in knowing the answers to then”, he said. Oh Lord.

   “Why do you only live with your brother?” That wasn’t too bad. Easy to answer.

   “My parents didn’t want to leave. Both their families live there, so they couldn’t see the point in moving back”, I explained shortly. “Back? So they are from here?” God damn, he was observant.

   “Well, yeah”, I said. “But… You look more like a foreigner than a native.” He dug deeper.

   “Um. When I was little, I was left on my parents’ doorstep. They raised me and my brother, who had the same fate as me, like we were their own. By doing that, we both fell in love with the Korean culture”, I clarified. “Oh.” He sounded regretful for asking the question.

   “I’m glad, though. I couldn’t imagine a better or more caring family”, I happily stated. His shoulders loosened up again. I wanted to change the subject and looked for a topic.

   My eyes stopped at a huge puddle. I suddenly felt like a child again. An idea had popped into my head, and I was not going to drop it.

   I stopped in my track. He gave me a confused glance. “Could you hold this?” I asked and gave him the coat again. He looked even more confused now. “There’s something I want to do. I haven’t done this since I was a kid.”

   With my lips curled, as I made sure no one was near the puddle. When the coast was clear, I ran for it, jumped as high as I could and splashed water everywhere. “Oh. My”, he mumbled in shock or disbelief. I couldn’t tell.

   “Care to join?” I laughed. “Get out! You’ll be sick!” he came closer. “Don’t make me splash you”, I giggled. “Let me have my childish moment, old man”, I playfully said. “Godm you're immature. Why did I even stop to help you?” He rolled his eyes.

   I carefully made my way out of the puddle. As I reached him, I cheekily answered, “Because letting me be in this kind of weather wouldn’t be very gentle of you”, making him chuckle as well. We then continued our way home.

 

   After some time, it stopped raining, and we could walk around freely; not as close as we had been forced to before. We had just turned a corner, when someone called.

   “Hey! We’ve been looking all over for you! Where have you been? And who’s that?”

   Two guys, not much older than me, stood on the opposite side of the road. They were around the same height. One had black hair while the other had a more auburn-ish color. The guy who called us out, was smiling brightly, whereas the other wasn’t paying attention to anything but his phone. They were obviously smaller than him beside me.

   The tall guy nodded at them, telling them he’d be right there. “Go straight down there, turn left then the second street to the right and you should be able to see it”, he explained.

   I looked up at him. “Thank you. Honestly, I don’t know what I would’ve done, if you hadn’t been there”, I bowed deeply expressing my gratitude.

   He scratched his neck awkwardly. “No problem.” He looked back at the boys across the street. “See you around, I guess”, he smiled. “Sure”, I laughed uneasily as he turned and walked away.

   For some time after they had disappeared, I stood and stared out into the blue. It was so weird. He just turned up out of nowhere; it felt like a drama or something. He was very handsome, incredibly kind and funny as well. And he was interesting on so many levels. Even though he was alluring, it wasn’t in a way that made my heart beat faster. I wanted to get to know him, be close with him, but I also knew that as soon as he turned the corner, I was never going to see him again.

   A feeling of sadness came over me like rain on a sunny day. Except I like the rain. The point is, I was a bit bumped over the fact that I’d never get to know him like I wanted. Oh well, I thought to myself. I was going to forget him soon enough.

   I my heel and headed in the direction he showed.

   I noticed it wasn’t as cold as before. The sky wasn’t exactly clear of skies, but they weren’t grey and gloomy. Though it looked windy, with rustling trees and leaves playing around, I never felt the brush of a cool breeze.

   My pocket buzzed. A phone call from an unknown number.

   “Hello?” I answered unsurely. “Hello, this is Kang Yuji from downstairs. Would you please get your dog to keep quiet? I’m trying to study”, the unknown voice stated. I tried to answer, but she cut me off before I even started. “You know what? I think it’s really bad neighborliness. You shouldn’t even be allowed to have a dog.”

   “I’m sorry, but I don’t have a dog. And I’m on the first floor; I don’t think anyone’s living under my apartment”, I quietly explained. The line fell silent.

   “I’m very sorry for the inconvenience”, she hurriedly apologized. “It’s alright”, I chuckled. “No no, it’s not. I yelled at you for nothing, without even giving you an opportunity to explain. Let me at least buy you a cup of coffee”, she offered. Before I could decline, she told me to meet her at a coffee shop just down the street from the restaurant.

   “Why are all strangers so kind today?” I asked myself. Normally, I was given the cold shoulder, but today was so different. The haraboji at the restaurant, the shop owner, the guy who just ran off and now this lady. God must have been smiling down at me.

   It was then I noticed. My phone had run out of power long ago. And I never put it in the pocket of my coat. And it wasn’t my coat. It was the kind guy, whose name I never got. I facepalmed myself. How could I have forgotten? I had never felt more stupid in my life than at that moment. Looking on the bright side of the story, I was forced to meet him again.

    He was long gone by now, though. I didn’t have any other option, but to head to the coffee bar.

 

   I walked into the shop and looked around. How was I supposed to know who she was?

   I decided to send her a text. Fortunately, I didn’t have to enter a password. ‘Hello. It’s me from before. I just walked in.’ Soon after, a girl looked my way and waved. She was really pretty. Her long, black hair was put in a high ponytail making all of her stunning face visible. Deep brown eyes with long lashes, pink lips and a small nose. Her face was slim like the rest of her. She wore a tight, black long-sleeved, denim jeans and dark red shoes and pulled it off like no one else could. Even her posture was charming.

   “I’m so sorry for the inconvenience! I must’ve pressed the wrong number”, she apologized again. “Here; I bought you coffee. I got it a few minutes before you came, so it shouldn’t be cold. It’s a latte, I hope you like it”, she hurriedly said.

   “Thanks. It’s my favorite”, I smiled. “Ah, and you shouldn’t apologize. You may actually have gotten the right number, but the wrong person. You see, I’m not the owner of this coat.” I explained the whole situation to her, whereto we both laughed at my foolishness.

   We talked about a lot of random things for a long time. School, work, family, music, movies, clothes; everything. She was incredibly sweet and funny; generally, a nice person.

   In the end, I had to get back to Alex, and she had to study, so we exchanged numbers and went our separate ways. I had gotten a new friend.

 

   “I told you this would happen!” he exclaimed loudly, as he went towards the kitchen. “You always end up in these kind of situations.”

   I had told Alex about what had happened. I didn’t see the point in keeping it a secret, he would find out eventually. He had asked about my jacket almost as soon as I stepped in. If I had lied and said I bought it, he would wonder why I would give it to a stranger, when I, at some point, returned it to it’s rightful owner.

   “And you’re late”, he continued.

   “I said ‘as soon as possible’”, I reminded him. My sassy comment made him turn around, making me bump into him awkwardly.

   “Do you want to be grounded?” he snapped lowly.

   “I’m sorry, okay? But I made it home safely. Isn’t that what’s important?” I asked as he turned around again, already knowing he wasn’t going to let me off the hook anytime soon.

   “That’s not the point. You weren’t responsible. Your wallet got stolen almost as soon as you walked out that door; you lied to me about falling asleep in a restroom; your phone wasn’t fully charged; you blindly trusted a complete stranger – you could’ve been kidnapped or or even worse!” He smashed the menus he had been carrying down onto the kitchen counter in front of him.

   “But nothing happened to me”, I responded. “Something could have! Did you even hear what I just said? You could’ve been kidnapped and have had no opportunity to contact anyone for help. You could’ve been killed, for God’s sake! And what would mom and dad not say? What do you think they would do if something had happened to you? And how was I supposed to explain that I let my little sister, a 17-year old, wander off in this huge city on her own after only one week, and that ended up being the result? How irresponsible wouldn’t I seem?! You’re my responsibility now! You would’ve been taken away from me and sent straight back home”, he almost yelled.

   I lowered my head and apologized again quietly. He was right. It was irresponsible of me. I should’ve used my head. I knew better than to follow strangers. I was lucky he wasn’t some or something. I felt sorry for my brother. As he said, I had only been there a week, and I had already managed to cause him this much trouble. Maybe I should just go back. He didn’t deserve this. He had always been such an amazing brother, especially now when he let me live with him, and in return I did this? I wasn’t exactly the best sister I could be.

   Alex rubbed the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. “You have to work here full time from now on”, he said after he had calmed down a bit. I looked up in surprise. “If you’re going anywhere, I’m going with you. Dates also count. And don’t you even dare trying to sneak off.” A small smile snuck to my lips. I didn’t plan on going behind his back again anytime soon. Not unless I suddenly wanted to be grounded forever. This was a mild punishment; not anywhere near what I deserved.

   “If you’re going to hang out with your friends, it has to be either here, the apartment or else I have to be there as well”, he continued. “Can you live with that? Wait, why am I asking you. I get to decide this, not you.”

   “But I deserve so much worse?” I curiously stated. He lifted an eyebrow. “You want a harder punishment? I think we can arrange that.”

    I hugged him as tight as ever and hurriedly said, “No need. This is fine. You’re the best brother ever!” “It’s only because you’re my favorite sister”, he said, making me take a step back to look at him.

   “I’m your only sister!” He laughed. I couldn’t help but smile.

   “What are you doing? Get going!” he rushed with a playful tone and a wide smile. I immediately put on my apron, grabbed a pen and a pad and headed out to take orders.