A/N: *whistling* Hey chingus!

Update for today ;)

Many questions still unanswered, some will be discussed today. And some in the coming chapters. 

Thank you to all our subscribers and upvoters, I hope you all have a nice weekend!

Peace yow!~

 

 

CHAPTER 42

 

 

 

 

Where am I?

 

Wait… this is our old house..

 

Our old house that Dad sold when Mom died because it has the most painful memories of our lives. I carefully opened the front door and entered, the bright lights of the small prized chandelier of Mom giving the homey feeling inside.

 

The smell of home cooked meal bringing me back to the days when Mom will cook Yonghwa oppa’s favorite Galbitang, her home made Kimchi being served in heaps. Different kinds of Banchans are on top of our table when oppa comes for a visit from the Police University.

 

Stepping inside silently, my feet gliding on the shiny marbled floor of our living room. Wow… the carpet, Mom’s favorite Persian carpet that I accidentally spilled Grape juice on when I was 9. I still remember how scared I was and how painful it is being hit by that ty stick on the back of my legs. I did learn something from that experience…

 

A week after I spilled Blueberry juice… kekekekekeke….

 

Where are the people?

 

I looked around and was startled when the old clock struck 10:00 in the evening. Bed time!

 

My feet lead me to the small hallway after the living room and passed by the kitchen, Mom’s magnificent marble counter kitchen that she asked from Dad. I saw a little girl with a shoulder length hair in her baby blue pajamas taking a peek on a slightly opened door where murmurings are heard. Beside her is another little girl wearing a white shirt and small denim pants, feet clad in a cute white rubber shoes and hair short like a boy. Wait… is this a little girl or boy? Their butts sticking out while holding on the door, like little kittens watching on people. Who are these little cuties…?

 

How old are they? 5? 6?

 

I knelt beside them staring at their features. Omo… she’s a girl! How lovely those eyelashes are! Her eyes are beautiful too! She looks like someone I know… oh wow… I think this girl in pajama is…

 

“Soojung? What are you doing there?” I turned around to the voice I miss and saw Mom standing by the hallway looking at me with a smile. Mom…

 

Tears filled my eyes seeing her warm smile at me, the smile I miss all these years. Her smile that faded after oppa died that day.

 

“Mom, quiet!” I look like a cute piglet oh gosh! Look at my face! The little me hissed at Mom even bringing my index finger on my lips to shush her.

 

“I don’t want to watch anymore Chujung!” I snorted in laughter seeing the done face of the cute little girl beside me who even crossed her little arms in front of the little me. “Its boring!”

 

“Yah! Soo-jung not Chu-jung!”

 

“Chuuuuu-jung!”

 

“Sooooooo-jungggg!”

 

“Aiiittttcccchhhh! I want to call you Chujung!”

 

“But my name is SOOOOOJUNNNGGGGG!!!!”

 

“Soojung-ah… don’t shout at her. She’s your friend…”

 

“But Mom! We only met today!”

 

“So? It doesn’t change anything Soojung. Either you met today or tomorrow or the other day, the two of you are friends because you play together. Your Dad and her Grandpa are friends so you and her should be friends, right?” oh… I don’t remember having this memory of my childhood… is this just a dream? A product of my imagination?

 

“Okay…” awww… I didn’t know when I was a kid I am this stubborn… and y wow…that eyeroll my God!

 

“Now go with her in the living room and play there in your tent, come on… I’ll make you two some Hot Choco… do you like Hot Choco Jo--”

 

“Yesh Mam!”

 

“Okay! Chujung--”

 

“MOM!”

 

“I mean Soojung, bring her to the living room. Her Dad and your Dad are still talking… don’t disturb them, okay?”

 

Who is this kid?… she looks like… hmmm…. she’s really cute.

 

Little Soojung took her playmate’s hands and pulled her to the living room still pouting. Why am I pouting that time? I look cute by the way hehehe… this little girl with pretty lashes and beautiful eyes really looks familiar… where did I saw you anyway?…

 

I followed the two cuties on the living room where they crawled inside the small made up tent in the corner surrounded by lots of pillows and plushies. Why don’t I remember this part of my childhood? I sat outside the tent and watch the two cuties settle inside bouncing here and there.

 

 

Omo… I have a toy gun! Hahaha!!!

 

 

The little me gave the toy gun to my playmate who is looking curiously at me with her furrowed brows. Mini me then pulled something under the pillow that made the grown up me laughed in surprise, what do we have here!?

 

“Chujung, why do you have a chhord?” oh my God!~ why do I find that cute on this pretty little thing!? “I want a chhord and not this gun!”

 

“This is called a sword, not a chhord. Say it again, swooooord…”

 

“Chhoooooord…”

 

“Okay, stop. My God! Why are you like that! Does everyone living in the province speak like that?!”

 

“No. And Buchan ish a chity not a plovins…”

 

“What? I don’t understand…”

 

“I ched Buchan ish a chity not a plovins.”

 

Oh… I look red. And annoyed. I look like a samurai with my plastic sword… do I have a ninja costume before? Maybe this is the reason Dad enrolled me back then in a Kendo summer class… I have a good grip of the toy sword…

 

“Ummm!!”

 

OH MY GOD. NO WAY!

 

“WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!! DADAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!! WAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!”

 

Naughty girl! Oh gosh this is embarrassing! Mini me hit the little girl with a sword in her head! What the heck Soojung! Why did you do it!? I hope we don’t cross paths again now that we are adults… what if she still remembers it?! … she has a cut! Blood!

 

“MOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!”

 

“Soojung!? What happened!? Honey get the First Aid kit, faster!”

 

“DADAAAAA!!! WAAAAHHHH!! SHE HIT ME!!! WAAAHHHH!!!”

 

“Hush, baby… Dada’s here… let’s put this on your face come on…”

 

“Soojung! Why did you hit her?! She’s older than you!”

 

“Really?!” I’m not wondering now why I always get those stick hitting from Mom. Sigh.

 

“SOOJUNG!”

 

“I didn’t hit her, I’m trying to heal her!” What the..-- (-__-')

 

“Lieutenant, I better bring her to the hospital so her wound will be treated. I think the cut is deep and needs to be stitched. Thank you for inviting us and please send my regards to him… please give my letter to Father and tell him I am looking forward for his answer.” wait… he looks familiar too… why is it blurry?

 

“I’m really sorry, I really am. Soojung! Say sorry to Uncle and Jo--”

 

“But Daddy! I was trying to heal her because her tongue is twisted! She keeps on calling me Chujung and she called the sword, chhord! I just did what oppa does to Sooyeon unnie when they talk!” well, well, well…

 

“I said say Sorry!”

 

“Fine! I am sorry!”

 

“Not like that. Say sorry to your friend! They will be going home tomorrow at Busan and you don’t know when you will see her again. Say sorry like a good kid, come on.”

 

I look like I’m done with my life hahaha!!! Little Soojung stood up and made a bow making me laugh and bite on my fingernails. Good thing I don’t remember this because if I do, I’ll be ashamed with what I did.

 

“I am sorry for hitting your head with my sword. I hope we are still friends and we will play again when you visit us again. I am really sorry Josephine…” Josephine…

 

Josephine….

 

Where did I heard that name…?…

 

“Okay baby, what will you say to Soojung?”

 

“Okay Chujung. When I grow up I will come back here and marry you!”

 

“Ahh… hahaha… baby… she’s a girl and you are a girl. Girls only marries boys and not the opposite.”

 

“No Dada! Not true!”

 

“I won’t marry you! Your tongue is twisted!”

 

“Then I won’t marry you too because… because…”

 

“Where did these kids got that concept of marrying?!”

 

“TV perhaps… that’s it, you can’t watch TV Soojung.”

 

“Why me!!!!? Josephine was the one who said that!”

 

“WAAAAAHHHHH!!! DADAAAAA!!!”

 

 

 

 

The surroundings became blurry making me dizzy. I closed my eyes and held my head down trying to will my sleeping self to wake up from the dream.

 

“Soojung-ah…”

 

 

Dad…?

 

“Soojung, be a good police officer. Be someone that everyone will be proud of, a good example to the citizen of Korea and a humble leader that your team will look up to..”

 

Dad….

 

Why are you smiling at me like that?!

 

 

“Lt. Jung Kyungho knows about my business.”

 

 

Dad… is it true?? that you know something about the White Phoenix?

 

 

“We remained good friends until his timely death years ago…”

 

 

Dad! Answer me! Don’t just stand there and smile! Why are you holding out your hand?! Are you bringing me now to Heaven?! I’m not even dead!

 

 

“He is one of us until his death.”

 

You are one of them… you are one of them…

 

 

But why?… and How? You are their protector in our Station?! Are you also like Chief Park, Dad?

 

 

“Mommy is pregnant?!”

 

 

I really wish Yerimie… I really wish.

 

 

Soojung-ah…

 

 

Wake me up now Amber… please… wake me up…

 

 

Soojung-ah…

 

 

Chujung….

 

 

I said Amber not Josephine the cute little girl--

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Soojung!”

 

My eyes snapped open hearing Amber’s voice calling me. Her face was just a few inches away from mine and her eyes shows worry while patting my cheeks. “Soojung… are you okay? You were mumbling something… is it a bad dream?”

 

Bad dream… is it a bad dream?

 

I shook my head and reached for Amber’s face touching it. My fingers tracing every contour of her face while staring back at her. Her nose, her lips, her jaw, her eyebrows…

 

“Babe…”

 

“Hmmm…?”

 

“Since when did you have this scar under your right eye?” I mumbled groggily at her while checking that faint scar. Seems like it was stitched… WHY AM I SEEING THIS JUST NOW!? I’ve been tracing her face for a long time and this is the first time I am seeing this.

 

I know every corner of her body, every moles she has in her back, down to her legs and even under her chin, her skin and the art imprinted on it that I love. Every scar that she have from her braveness and a lot of times clumsiness. But why did I missed this?

 

“Ah… this?” she pointed at it and grinned at me “I do remember getting this when I was still young. There’s this crazy little girl who hit me with a sword but I don’t remember why. Dad brought me to the hospital and got this stitches. Why?”

 

Its just a dream… how can it be true?

 

 

“Really?…”

 

“Yeah… Dad brought me with him to Seoul because he is meeting his friend. It was an overnight trip and we stayed in a hotel, I went back to Busan with a stitch under my eye because of her. Good thing the scar turned out like that, unrecognizable until you stare on it. Why? I thought you already saw this?” I shook my head hearing the loud beating of my heart. “I never saw her again thank God! But her Dad went to Dad’s funeral before… I don’t remember his face anymore its been a long time. I wonder where that crazy girl is…? I’m gonna whack her head in response, slap her hard and flick her cute-- I mean, wide forehead.” The heck.

 

“Oh.” Whack her head, huh?! flick her wide forehead huh!? slap her hard!?

 

She guided me to sit, fixing my unruly hair “You passed out… are you really okay Soojung? Do you still feel dizzy or any headaches?”

 

I shook my head again and turned my head outside, seeing the moon shining above the sea. What time is it? The sound of the waves splashing on the shore was music to my ears that I suddenly wanted to go outside and feel the sand on my feet.