~CHANNIE’S  POV~

BZZZ BZZZ

 

Finally! Her message! I got to admit, I’ve been anticipating this moment from the moment I first saw _____.  Well, Channie? What are you waiting for? Open it!

 

I open the message with a smile on my face. My smile falters.

 

Reminder, Payment Due in three days. Please

pay by due date to avoid service interruption - 404

 

I look down sighing deeply and put my phone in my back pocket. I look up to see Sanduel with a sincere smile on his face as he holds the door open for me. I slowly walk through the doors and he follows behind.

 

Should I really be feeling so upset? I mean, she said she’d call. Did she forget?

Don’t overreact Channie! She’ll call, be patient. I think to myself with a smile on my face.

 

Sanduel and I take a seat at an empty table for two.

 

“Ahh, it smells delicious in here! I want to eat the air! Ahh~” exclaims Sanduel as he bites towards the air.

“Yah! Knock it off! Act your age, will ya?”

“What’s wrong with you Channie? You seem a little… off.” says Sanduel as he scans the menu in front of him.

 

Do I? Oh, _____-ah… I don’t even know you. Why are you doing this to me?

 

I sigh as I open my own menu.

 

“There’s this girl… I just met. Actually, I met her today. At the airport..”

“The airport? When? Did I see her?” interrupts Sanduel, still looking at the menu.

“I don’t know, maybe..” I say closing the menu and leaning all the way back on my chair.

“Anyway, I saw her again at the restaurant. Turns out she’s my neighbor's granddaughter. I was honestly very surprised. Can you believe that Sanduel? She’s my neighbor,”

“Mmmm, that looks good..” says Sanduel quietly as he his lips.

“Yah! Are you even listening to me?!” I asked annoyed.

“Huh?! Of course! She’s our neighbor. So? Did you talk to her? Ask her out? Get her number at least? Wait, does she know you're her neighbor, too?”

 

So many questions Sandeul… So many.

 

“Yes… we talked somewhat. No, I didn't ask her out. I didn't get her number and she knows i'm her neighbor. She gave me a ride home tonight…” I say as I lean on the table to rest my chin on my palm.

“Why… didn’t you get her number?” he says crossing his arms.

“I was going to! I was… after I gave her my number I asked her for her’s but… she said she’d call me instead.”

“Hmmm, interesting…” says Sanduel rubbing his chin between his forefinger and thumb.

“What do you mean?” I ask with wide eyes.

“Well, what I know from watching Japanese dramas… that means she’s not interested… or she has a gangster boyfriend… OR she’s a international playgirl.” explains Sanduel nodding his head in agreement with himself.

 

Could that be it?

 

If it is? Was I really being played?

 

Her smile was so sincere though…

 

It can’t be true..

 

“Whatever. You watch too much TV.” I say crossing my arms and leaning back on my chair.

 

Sanduel attempts to respond as he raises his finger as matter of factly but doesn’t and stares down at the table.

 

I chuckle at him and finish looking through the menu.

 

I can’t help but think he might be right.

 

_____-ah, please tell me it’s not so… I’ll wait for your call.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~YOUR POV~

Ahh… What a nice bath. The water pressure here is just, wow.

 

I walk out of the restroom drying my hair and head over to my bed. I notice my notification LED light going on and off.

 

“He texted back!” I exclaim as I jump on my bed.

 

Smiling, I unlock my phone and open the message.

 

“What?..” I say with my smile completely gone.

Unable to send message. It appears you

have gone out of your service area. - 806

I gasp loudly and quickly get out of bed.

“No no no no no…” I say as a pace back and forth.

 

This can’t be happening. I need to let him know somehow..

 

“A house phone!” I exclaim as head out of my room.

 

Out in the hall, all the lights are turned off. The only light that illuminates the hall is coming from inside my room. Oh gosh… this is a bit scary.

 

“Damn it… I don’t even know where the light switch is…”

 

I pull out my phone and turn on the flashlight setting as I close the door behind me. I make my way down the stairs and reach the living room. I light the walls to look for the light switch. I find a… box?

 

“Is that the lightswitch?” I whisper to myself.

 

There's a whole bunch of little buttons on it.

 

Maybe one of these turns on the light…

 

I push a button and…

 

The light’s turn on.

 

“Well, that worked.” I say to myself with a smile and turn around.

“What are you doing?”

“AHH!” I nearly peed my pants.. OH MY GOSH.

“Don’t scream! I didn’t mean to scare you.” says Baro as he waves down his hands.

“Oh Baro, you scared me… W-what are you doing?”

“I came out to grab a glass of milk…,” he says pointing back to the kitchen area. “Why are you still up?”

“Oh… I.. was also getting a glass of milk..” I say nervously putting my hands behind my back.

 

He squints his eyes and crosses his arms in front of his chest.

“Sure..” he says nodding slowly.

 

He doesn't believe me… Damn it… Will I be in trouble?

 

“C’mon, let’s get you a glass of milk then.” he nods his head towards the kitchen and walks off.

 

I follow behind slowly as I look around the living room for a phone… no luck ______.

 

I walk into the kitchen a bit disappointed from my unsuccessful search but quickly change my sad facial expression to one of awe.

 

This house can’t possibly be this beautiful…

 

I walk towards one of the counter stools with my jaw nearly touching the ground.

“It’s hard to get used to, trust me,” says Baro as he grabs two glasses and sets them in front of me. He heads towards the refrigerator and looks inside.

 

“We got soy, almond, and regular milk. Which do you prefer?” he asks looking back at me.

“Almond, please.” I say as I sit on the stool next to me.

Baro walks towards me with the carton of milk in hand. He takes the seat next to me and pours us our drinks.

“So, Ms._____-ah, where did you come from?” he asks passing me my glass of milk.

“I was born in New York. Lived there my whole life,” I answer taking a sip from my glass.

“Have you ever been to Korea before now?”

“No, never. It’s my first time here. First time meeting my grandparents in person, too. We only ever talked on the phone or video chatted,”

“Wow. Must be tough, huh? A new place, different language, distant relatives…”

“Yeah, kind of. I speak Korean but I was never taught how to write or read it well. And my grandparents are nice.” I say looking down at my glass with a smile.

“What about your parents? Where are they?” he asks taking a long drink of his milk.

“They… They passed away a while back…” I say uncomfortably.

 

There’s a short moment of silence. I can feel his gaze on me. I look up at him and smile weakly.

“I’m sorry, Ms._____-ah..” he says in a soft tone.

“Don’t apologize, It’s okay. Anyway, that’s why my grandparents asked me to live with them. I have no family left in America so, I came.”

 

I finish my milk and sigh deeply.

 

“What about you Baro? How long have you been working for my grandparents?” I ask with a curious tone.

“Well, I officially started working for them a year ago. Right after I graduated high school.”

“Officially?” I ask as I get off the stool to place the glasses in the sink.

“Yeah. I basically lived here all my life.” he says getting up to put the milk back in the fridge.

“Really? How so?”

“My mother was the head housekeeper here and I was born here. Been here since.”

“Oh, I see. Is your mom still working here?”

“No, She passed away two years ago in a traffic accident. She had me out of wedlock so, I had no father to begin with. Your grandparents always treated me as their own grandson and supported me with everything. Shelter, food, education… a family. They didn’t want me to leave after her death but I didn’t just want to stay. So, in return of being there for me, I told them I’d work for them. They made me your chauffeur.” he finishes with a smile.

 

How heart breaking, Baro…

 

“I’m sorry to hear that Baro..” I say placing my hands behind my back.

“It’s alright.” he says as he walks up to me.

 

He stands in front of me and smiles cutely.

 

“We’re in the same boat, Ms._____-ah.”

 

He places his hand on my head and ruffles up my hair.

 

...my cheeks...they're getting...warm…

 

“Come on, let’s go to sleep,” he says with a chuckle “It’s late and you have school tomorrow, missy”

 

I exit the kitchen behind him and walk up to my room.

 

What’s going on with me?

 

I turn off the lights and lay in bed. Zoomi jumps on next to my head and curls up in a little ball.

 

“Zoomi? What do I do? How do I get a hold of Chanshik?”

 

Please, don’t think bad of me Chanshik… Wait till tomorrow…

 

__________________________________________________________

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