The hot sun beat down on the tops of our dark heads. We tried to accommodate the heat by rolling up the sleeves of our uniforms and tying our hair up, but it was useless. Summer in Seoul had officially arrived, and it had brought its friend Humidity with it. I adjusted the strap on my slouchy, gray knit backpack and squinted my eyes, wishing I had brought sunglasses with me. We had two more blocks to go until we were home, and the sidewalk before had already started to look a lot like the Sahara Desert.

                “I’ve never liked her, you know,” Hyerin commented.

                “I never really minded her until today,” I said in reply.

                “I mean, she basically told you to your face you weren’t good enough for L.Joe.” Hyerin reached up to run her fingers through her bangs to prevent them from sticking to her forehead.

                I shrugged. “She doesn’t personally know him.”

                “You’re right,” Hyerin giggled. “If she really knew him, she probably wouldn’t like him. Deep down inside, he’s really just a geek.”

                “Hey!” I chuckled. “He’s not a geek!”

                “Kirin, he collects comic books.”

                I bit my lip to keep myself from smiling. “So?”

                “Coolest kid I know,” Min Neul suddenly spoke up.

                I glanced over at her. She was walking on my left, Hyerin on my right. From the second we met Min Neul outside her classroom, she had her iPhone situated in the palm of her hand and her eyes glued to the screen.   When her fingers weren’t frantically typing away, she was giggling to herself with a goofy smile plastered on her pretty, round face. “Who are you talking to?”

                “Changjo,” she replied without looking up.

                Hyerin rolled her eyes. “Maybe if you spent a little less time texting Changjo you could actually study for English class.”

                Min Neul shot her sister a death glare. “You’re one to talk. Were you by any chance talking to C.A.P on the phone last night until two in the morning?”

                Hyerin her cheeks in. “Did Mom hear?”

                “No,” Min Neul shrugged.

                “Then no, I wasn’t,” Hyerin answered coolly.

                I let out a quick laugh. I think we were all guilty of talking to those boys when we really shouldn’t be. Just yesterday I was finishing up some calculus homework while texting Byunghun. I couldn’t help it; he sent me a picture of his delicious-looking naengmyeon. I had to respond with a picture of my homework. He sent me back a picture of his chopsticks. I sent him a picture of calculator. He sent me a picture of him adorably slurping his noodles. I completely forgot how to do the rest of the math problems.

                “I haven’t seen him in a while, okay?” Min Neul whined. “Mom won’t let me go out on school nights.”

                “You could if you got your English grade up,” Hyerin teased.

                Min Neul stuck her tongue out. “I told you, it was one test. God.”

                I laughed. “I’m never allowed to go out on school nights either.”

                “Mom lets Hyerin go out,” Min Neul hissed.

                “Only if I get all my homework done. And I have to be back by eight!” Hyerin exclaimed. “I’m eighteen. You’re fifteen. Deal with it.”

                Min Neul pouted her lips in annoyance and continued to text Changjo. We rounded the final corner onto our street. I could see my house from here; my wonderfully air-conditioned house. I couldn’t wait to fling open the door and feel the cold rush of air on my face. Maybe the hottest boy in the world would be there waiting for me, if I was lucky.

                I tugged at the collar of my uniform, hoping I didn’t look too sweaty. Maybe Byunghun wasn’t at my house yet, and I’d have time to change out of my stuffy uniform and pull my hair back. Ever since I chopped my hair off, it made the cutest ponytail on the back of my head. I wanted to leave it down, though, just in case Byunghun wanted to run his fingers through it when we kissed this afternoon. He always liked touching my hair when we kissed.

                Soon but not soon enough, I parted ways with the Park sisters. I waved to them as I bolted to the front door, eager to see that orange-haired cutie.

                I flung open the door and felt the rush of air conditioning on my face; it felt amazing. “I’m home,” I called as I stared through the dining room and into the kitchen. No one was in either room, but I noticed a few of the dining room chairs were missing. Puzzled, I kicked off the ugly brown loafers I was forced to wear to school and strolled into the living room. Almost immediately, I let me bag slid off my limp shoulder and hit the floor.

                “Ta-da!” Byunghun exclaimed, his eyes just two black arches on the smooth canvas that was his face. He threw his arms out at his sides and wiggled his fingers. He looked very much like a child, sitting cross-legged in the middle of my living room floor. The four missing dining room chairs had been arranged in a square around him with a blanket draped over the top. A bowl of naengmyeon sat in front of him with two pairs of chopsticks on either side. Byunghun had made his own little naengmyeon-eating fort in the middle of my living room.

                “Byunghun!” I giggled, running over to him and sliding into the fort beside him.

                He smiled a bright smile. “Hungry?” He picked up one of the pairs of chopsticks and handed them to me. I snatched them from his hand and dove right into the bowl. Byunghun knew I loved naengmyeon. The cold noodles were the ideal snack when the weather was this hot.

                Byunghun picked up the other pair of chopsticks and dove right in too. “If you had come any later, I would have eaten this all myself.”

                Mouth full, I chuckled. “Well thank you for exerting some self control, then,” I joked after I swallowed.

                Byunghun’s dark eyes shifted from the bowl to my face. “You know I would have waited for you no matter how long it took for you to get here.” He leaned in close to me and I leaned in close to him. His lips tasted like naengmyeon. Delicious.

                Suddenly the house phone rang, interrupting our perfect moment. I groaned as I sprang up from my seat in our little fort and darted for the phone. I briefly looked at the miniature screen before answering it.

                “It’s a long-distance call,” I announced. It must be my relatives still in America calling. I answered the phone in English. “Hello?”

                “Yoonji?” the voice on the other line said. It was a female’s voice, but I wasn’t sure who it belonged to.

                “No I’m sorry, this is actually her daughter, Kirin,” I said politely.

                “Oh, I’m sorry, honey! You sound just like your mother! May I please speak with her?” the voice asked.

                “Of course,” I replied. I held the phone against my shoulder. “Mom! Phone’s for you!”

                Mom came down the stairs. “Who is it?” she asked as she entered the living room.

                I shrugged. “It’s a long-distance call.” I held out the phone, and my mom snatched it right out of my hand. She put the phone to her ear and almost immediately started to talk in her excited tone of voice, her eyes smiling. I heard her say something about a reunion of some sort as she bounced up the stairs.

                “Who was it?” Byunghun asked when I returned to our fort. A noodle hung out from the side of his mouth, which made me giggle.

                “I don’t know. It was some long-distance call. Probably one of my mom’s friends back in America.”

                Byunghun dropped his gaze. “America, huh?”

                 I nodded, eyeing the bowl of noodles. “Uh-huh.”

                Byunghun wiped the noodle from his mouth, still glancing down. “That’s where my mom is.”

                My eyes grew wide. Byunghun never talked about his family, especially not his parents. I knew he had an older brother, but I didn’t know anything about him. I knew his parents were divorced, but I didn’t even know their names. I used to think it was strange how Byunghun told me absolutely everything about his life, but never mentioned his family. I had asked at one point, but all he told me was he had an older brother and his parents were divorced. End of story. I didn’t ask any further questions, fearful that I had hit a rough spot.

                “Your mom?” I repeated, looking up at him.

                He nodded. “She’s still in America.”

                “Well, who takes care of you?” I asked frantically. I somehow conjured up a vision of orange-headed Byunghun standing on the street alone, pulling the flimsy collar of a beat up jacket past his ears as the wind whipped against his thin body…

                Alright, that was a complete impossibility. Byunghun’s an idol; if he was standing on a street alone, he’d get mobbed by spastic fans like yard dogs over a piece of meat, not shiver alone in the cold. Byunghun had a home, five close friends, and a loving girlfriend.

                 “My dad is still in Korea. And our managers live in our apartment too, you know. And you know I live with the rest of Teen Top. I’m taken care of, don’t worry,” he laughed.

                “Okay…” I trailed off, mildly feeling embarrassed for overreacting. “But seriously? Your mom is all the way in America?”

                He nodded.

                “Do you ever get to talk to her?”

                “Sometimes I talk to her on the phone. I love it, actually.” His face broke out into a smile. “Don’t laugh, okay? But sometimes I start crying the second I hear her voice.”

                My jaw dropped. “Byunghun!” I threw my arms around his neck. “Why would I laugh at that? That’s so sweet!”

                And horribly sad.

                “Okay, okay,” Byunghun chuckled, letting me hang on him for a minute. He cleared his throat. “But honestly, I just wish I could see her again. I feel like I’ve grown up without her and she doesn’t even know me and who I’ve become.”

                Mom came bounding down the stairs and into the living room at that moment. She had a huge smile on her face.

                “Well someone looks happy,” I giggled.

                “Oh, Kirin, that was one of my friends from high school! You remember Holly, right?”

                Holly Kerr. She was my mom’s pretty blonde friend back in California. They went to high school together and even remained friends during college. I think my mom was devastated to leave Holly when we moved to Korea a few years ago, but they two of them tried to keep in contact as much as possible.

                “Blonde hair, blue eyes? Has three sons? Lives in a red house?”

                “Yes, that’s her,” Mom said happily. “She had some wonderful news!”

                “Well what is it?” I asked, setting down my chopsticks.

                “My high school’s having its twenty-five year class reunion!” she declared happily.

                “No way!” I smiled.

                “You graduated twenty five years ago?” Byunghun asked. “Mrs. Lee, you look far too young for that to be true.”

                I rolled my eyes. Byunghun will never cease to charm my mother.

                Mom slapped a hand on her heart. “Byunghun, darling, you’re like the son I never had!” she cried.

                Byunghun shrugged his shoulders, beaming.

                “So are you going to it?” I asked.

                “Well, it’s all the way overseas in Los Angeles…oh, I don’t know if I could make it.”

                “What? Mom, you have to go!” I cried. “You’ll get to see Holly again!”

                “I know, I know…” Mom trailed off, but she smiled. “I’ll talk to your father. Maybe we could turn this into a little summer vacation.”

                My eyes lit up. “Summer vacation? In California?”

                “Lucky!” Byunghun pouted.

                His pout made my heart feel heavy. I briefly glanced from Byunghun’s pout to my mother’s smile and blurted “Mom, can Byunghun come with us?”

                Mom let out a laugh. “Kirin dear, I don’t even know if our family is going yet.”

                “Byunghun is family!” I protested, placing a protective hand on his knee.

                Mom laughed again. “I need to talk to your father before we decide if anyone’s going. Alright?”

                “Alright,” I replied, letting my shoulders droop. The second Mom disappeared back up the stairs, I turned my attention to Byunghun. “You’re coming with us.”

                “I doubt it,” he sighed.

                “No, I mean it!” I exclaimed, leaning closer to him. “I couldn’t go back to California without you. Especially not after you told me your mom is there.”

                Byunghun shrugged. “Teen Top’s busy, you know? We’re promoting ‘Don’t Spray Perfume,’ remember?”

                “End promotions early,” I declared.

                “You’re not the only fan I have to please, you know,” he chuckled.

                I pouted. “Oh, come on! I’ll find a way to bring you with me. I promise.”

                “You can’t promise something like that,” he said in reply, looking solemnly down at the cold noodles in the bowl before us.

                “Trust me, Byunghun. I have a plan.”

                Byunghun turned his orange head to look at me. A small, appreciative smile spread across his M-shaped lips. “You’re the best, you know that?”

                “I try.” I shrugged modestly.

                Byunghun picked up his hand and brought it up my face. He cupped my face with it and kissed me softly on the lips. Another kiss. And another. I gripped the back of his neck, right where his straight orange hair met the collar of his pink button-up. I slid my hand underneath the collar, enjoying the feeling his warm skin beneath my fingertips. All I could think about was taking Byunghun to California with me in the near future. But for now, I sat with my legs folded beneath me, enjoying the feeling of Byunghun’s naengmyeon-flavored lips against mine.

                Mom set the large serving plate in the center of the table. It was a summery, yellow porcelain plate, and it was piled high with bulgogi. My eyes nearly bugged out of my head; bulgogi had to be my all-time favorite dinner. I always chose it for my birthday dinner. It wasn’t exactly a bitter cold evening in January, but I’d eat bulgogli during any season. I scooped up a big heaping spoonful and plopped it onto the plate before me atop a bed of white rice.

                “How was work today, dear?” Mom asked. The standard questions were about to commence. How was work? How is Sunho doing? Did you see the boys today? How was school? What did you learn? How are your friends?

                “Fine,” Dad answered, scooping up some rice. “Wasn’t too busy today, unlike yesterday.”

                “Well that’s good to hear,” Mom answered sweetly. “How’s Sunho doing?”

                “Fine,” Dad answered again.

                Mom figured she’d get me to talk next. “How was school today, Kirin?”

                “Fine,” I answered.

                “Had any tests today?”

                “No.”

                “How are Hyerin and Min Neul? And Kyusoon and Minah?”
                I swallowed hard before speaking. “Fine.”

                Mom let out a groan. “I see everyone feels like talking tonight,” she chucked. “That’s fine. I know something that will get everyone talking.”

                Dad and I gave her our attention. Once she was satisfied, she began again. “I received a call from my friend Holly Kerr today.”

                My eyes light up. “Oh! Is this about Califor—”

                “Let your mother finish, Kirin,” Dad warned.

                “Sorry,” I muttered half-heartedly, excited to be discussing this already.

                Mom smiled appreciatively. “Holly informed me that our twenty-fifth class reunion is coming up.”

                Dad smiled broadly. “Yoonji dear, that’s wonderful! Where will it be held?”

                “Well, back in America of course.” Mom twisted the silver pendent on her necklace. “So I wanted to wait until we were all together to discuss this matter.”

                “Well, let’s discuss it then!” I exclaimed, pushing my plate of bulgogi. I suddenly wasn’t hungry anymore; serious business was about to commence.

                “When is this taking place?” Dad asked.

                “July thirtieth,” Mom answered. “At a hotel in Los Angeles.”

                I gasped sharply. “We’re going back to LA?”

                “Now, hang on a minute,” Dad replied, “Traveling back to California would be quite a haul.”

                “Well, that’s what I figured. I’d hate to make the long journey over there and then make the long journey back,” Mom explained.

                Dad propped his elbows up on the table. “Are you suggesting that we stay in Los Angeles for a while?”

                “I thought we could turn it into a little family vacation,” Mom smiled. “Kirin’s off from school, I could take some time off of work and I’m sure Sunho would give you time off as well.”

                Dad nodded slowly, letting all of the information process. “When do you propose we leave?”

                “Oh, I don’t know. In a week or two?” Mom suggested. “We could spend the remainder of July there. Maybe even August.”

                My eyes grew wide and I gasped excitedly. All I could think about were two long months in sunny California, lounging on the beach with Byunghun. Diving into the pool with Byunghun. Talking a long walk on the Hollywood Walk of Fame with Byunghun. Snapping a picture in front of the Hollywood sign with Byunghun. “Two whole months in California?!”

                “You’ll want to see Holly and all your friends back in California, won’t you?” Dad smiled, reading my mother’s mind.

                Mom shrugged modestly. “You know I only get to visit Holly maybe once every year. It’s been a while since we all visited America again, anyway.”

                “We could visit Disneyland!” I cried. “I haven’t been there since I was a kid!”

                “I could contact my old buddies and maybe get together for a round of golf,” Dad said wistfully.

                “And I could finally spend some time with Holly, and maybe Meredith and Susan,” Mom dreamed out loud.

                Perfect timing to put my plan into action. “So…when you’re out golfing and you’re out shopping, what am I going to do?” I asked innocently.

                Dad thought a moment. “You could tag along with your mother,” he suggested. “I’m sure Holly and the others wouldn’t mind.”

                That was not the answer I wanted to hear. I batted my eyelashes and sat up extra straight in my seat. “Too bad I couldn’t bring a friend with me, huh?”

                “Kyusoon? Minah? The Park girls?” Dad asked. Suddenly he paused. His eyes grew wide as he scanned my brightly smiling face. He knew exactly who I had in mind, and it wasn’t Kyusoon, Minah, Hyerin or Min Neul. “No. Absolutely not.”

                My face fell. “WHAT? Dad—”

                “You are not bringing Byunghun,” Dad stated.

                Screw the daddy’s-little-girl approach. I was going with argumentative-teenage-girl. “Why not?!”

                “This is going to be a family trip. No boyfriends allowed,” Dad announced.

                “Oh, Dad, please? Byunghun’s always wanted to go back! And he speaks perfect English, right? He’s totally fluent! Dad, he lived in California! And his mom still there! And he never gets to see her! Oh please, can he come too, please?!”

                “Kirin, you are not bringing your boyfriend and that’s final,” Dad stated firmly.

                I turned my puppy-dog eyes to Mom. “Mom!”

                Even Mom looked disappointed. Like she had said earlier, Byunghun was like the son she never had. “Kirin, if your father said no, then no. Re-connect with your old friends. I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you again.”

                I sulked in my chair. The only person I wanted to connect with was Byunghun, who I had promised I’d find a way to bring to America with me. “But that means I won’t see him for two whole months!”

                “You’ll both survive,” Dad assured me. He picked up his plate and started helping Mom clear the dinner table.

                As I watched them buzz happily around the kitchen, I felt myself heat up. I felt like storming through the living room, pounding up the stairs and slamming my bedroom door so fiercely the house shook. I wanted to turn on some loud music and scream into a pillow, kicking my legs wildly like a selfish toddler throwing a temper tantrum. But as much as I wanted to scream and yell at the injustice that was my father’s refusal to bring sweet little Byunghun to America with us, I resisted the urge. An idea had hit me.

                “I’ll take that dish,” I offered sweetly to my father.

                Dad looked down at the dish in his hand and then to me. “Okay,” he said, handing me the plate. I scooped three cups off the table while I was at it, and waltzed into the kitchen. I waltzed back out and continued to clean up the dining room.

                “Why thank you for helping clean up after dinner, Kirin dear,” Mom smiled appreciatively.

                “No problem, Mother.” I planted a kiss on her cheek.

                “You seem to be taking the rejection well,” my father chuckled.

                I spun around and planted a kiss on his cheek next. “I’m simply respecting my parent’s wishes,” I bowed a perfect ninety-degree bow. “Anyone up for dessert I’ll make sundaes,” I offered next, batting my eyelashes.

                Dad looked surprised. “Thank you, Kirin. That would be lovely.”

                I danced straight over to the refrigerator and pulled out some ice cream. As I began assembling some impressive-looking sundaes in two fancy glass bowls, Dad placed a hand on Mom’s shoulder.

                “We did good,” Dad chuckled proudly.

                Mom laughed in agreement. “I knew we raised a good one.”

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So what does everyone think of Teen Top's new album?~ I think it's amazing! Changjo sings so much! And L.Joe just has the ies voice ever, agreed? :D