When I arrived home, it was only 2 o’clock in the afternoon. I had never skipped class before. It felt odd, and a bit thrilling at the same time. I had never been home this early, and didn’t quite know what to do with myself. Unlocking the front door, I peeked in nervously, half expecting to see my mom standing there. But thankfully she wasn’t.

  Dropping my backpack on the couch, the first thing I did was make myself a hot steaming bowl of delicious ramen. Stirring with my favorite pair of chopsticks, I slurped up some of the spicy noodles, letting out a happy noise of contentment as I turned to retreat to my bedroom.

  I froze halfway up the stairs. Strange noises were coming from my bedroom. It sounded like heavy stomping. A bit scared that a burglar had broken in, I quietly laid my ramen bowl down on the top step and snuck to the bathroom where the only thing I could find to use as a weapon was a toilet plunger of all things. I guess if anything, the burglar will get E.coli.

  Sneaking to my bedroom door, my hands were a bit sweaty as I tried to turn the doorknob as silently as possible. The noise stopped immediately. The door swung open to reveal...nothing. My bedroom was empty. I looked around confused, still holding up the plunger. My arm lowered slowly. I feel like I’m going insane.

  Replacing the plunger, I washed my hands and went to go retrieve my lunch off the staircase. I sat in the very middle of my bed and turned my stereo on to the sound of Shake It Up by BEATWIN. Remembering how Seongho had mentioned in an interview that when they are stressed, they like to dance around like crazy pabos to get rid of stress.

  Hm... Well there’s always a first. I stood up and started dancing crazily, although my fidgeting and jumping around the room slightly resembled a person spastically swatting at a bee. Even though I looked like an idiot, it made me feel better. I did feel less stressed. Oh, stomach cramp! Remind me never to do that right after eating.

  Mom said she would be home late, whenever that may be, so I decided to spend the rest of the afternoon watching Kdramas. It would help take my mind off my troubles. Too bad life isn’t like a drama, wrapped up nice and neat with a bow and a happy ending.

  Laying stomach down at the foot of my bed I chuckled at the cringy aegyo of the male lead and hid my eyes as the lead girl stepped out into oncoming traffic. Please don’t get run over! I closed my eyes tight, waiting for the inevitable. I have a phobia now. Like who says you have to stand in the street and wait for that truck to run you over? Is there an unwritten rule somewhere? Move girl! Bballi!

  At some point, I must have fallen asleep. I had a strange dream that I heard people in my room talking Korean. Then I realized it must be the TV I left on. But then it felt as though someone was poking my cheek.

  “Hajima! You’ll wake her!” Someone whispered.

  “But she’s so cute when she’s sleeping.”

  “Jungkook, leave her wigs alone!”

  Jungkook? As in BTS? This is a strange dream… I shouldn’t eat so much ramen before sleeping.

  I let out a disgruntled groan in my sleep at being disturbed, rolling over on my side in a fetal position. The noises in my room ceased for a moment.

  “That was a close one.”

  “When are we gonna tell her?”

  “When the time is right.”

  “I wonder why she came home early today.”

  “Do you think there was another issue at school? She seemed really depressed.”

  “Maybe. I don’t know.”

  “Jungkook! What did I say? ...Jackson don’t encourage him.”

  This is a really odd dream.

  When I awoke, it was going on 8 PM. The sun had already gone down below the skyline. My stomach was hungry once again. I looked up at the TV remembering I had been watching dramas when I fell asleep. It was now turned off. Confused and a bit disoriented, I stared at the screen, then the remote in my hand, then back to the screen again.

  “I’m losing it.” I mumbled.

  Retreating downstairs, I went rummaging in search of food. There was a message flashing on the answering machine. It was Mom.

  “I’ll be home later than I expected. The court date is tomorrow so I may have to spend an all nighter. Dinner is in the fridge. Leftover lasagna. Remember to lock the doors. Love you.” Her message said.

  “Arasso.” I muttered as I double-checked the locks on the front door, before warming up the lasagna. Pulling out my earbuds, I stuck them in my ears and pushed play, waiting for my food to warm up. Bapsae by BTS came on. I was literally bouncing around the kitchen having a one girl party.

UNKNOWN POV:

  “She’s so cute when she speaks Korean.” Someone giggled.

  “Shhhh! She might hear us!”

  Someone else hissed. “Seongho! Taehyung! Get down! She’ll see you!”

  “She won’t see us. She’s too dense.”

  We watched her from our hiding spot around the corner from the kitchen. She was wandering around checking door locks and talking to herself, before opening the fridge and pulling out a plate of...is that lasagna? Our eyes lit up as she popped it into the microwave and the delicious aroma wafted in our direction.

  “Hyung, I’m hungry now.”

  “Well, I told you to finish your dinner, but did you listen to me? Aniyo.”

  Someone giggled. “She’s dancing to Bapsae! Aigooo!”

  “So cute!”

  “Quick! Hide! She’s coming back this way!” We all scrambled like a herd of elephants back up the stairs as quietly as we could, which is quite a task for a group of 19 guys. Thank God she’s wearing headphones.

  “Where’d she go?”

  “False alarm. She sat on the couch in the living room.” The room was filled with a chorus of annoyed groans.

  We poked our heads out her bedroom door and looked down the stairs. She was sprawled out on the sofa trying to eat her lasagna with chopsticks. It was a hilarious sight.

  “HAHAHA She’s so dedicated.”

  Someone spoke up from inside her closet. “Yah, how do I look?” He posed in one of her glittery anime wigs.

  “Hajima! She already noticed the last time you messed up her stuff! I don’t want to get in trouble!”

  “Looks like she gave up on the chopsticks.” A chuckle.

  “Ahh! She’s coming back! Hide!”

MY POV:

  I got fed up with trying to stab my dinner with chopsticks, and retrieved a fork from the kitchen drawer. As I headed back upstairs I thought I heard that strange noise again, like heavy stomping. I pulled an earphone out and listened intently. Nothing. Hm, maybe it was the song. As I entered my room, I found another one of my anime wigs laying in a pile on the floor in front of my closet.

  “Jinjja?!?! Alright who keeps messing up my room?!?!” Silence greeted me.

  Picking it up, I smoothed out the messy layers and placed it back on the shelf.

  I stayed up late. Kpop music softly filtered through my headphones as I bent over my desk trying to draw doodles. It never looked as good on paper as it did in my head. Huffing in aggravation, I crumpled up the paper and tossed it at the trashcan. It missed by an inch, landing on the floor.

  The front door opened and I quickly rushed to turn off the lamp. Mom’s back. I better go to bed. I crawled into bed, glancing up at the posters on my wall in the dim moonlight filtering in through my bedroom window. “Jal ja.”

  As my eyes slid closed in sleep, I swear I heard someone say jal ja back.