Korea Bound Ch.3

Summer woke up first and decided to get breakfast ready for her and Eun Sang. She always enjoyed cooking for other people, even though the maids and housekeepers thought it was odd. Upon walking into the kitchen, she saw her father who smiled at her behind his cup of coffee, "You're up early, did you have a good night with your friend? She seems very sweet."

Summer sleepily smiled back at him, "Ne, and she convinced me to move to Korea. So, you will definitely like her now." She walked over to her father to give him a hug as he looked very surprised. He put his arms around his daughter, "Well that was a quick decision, I thought it would take you much longer. But I am so glad to hear it" She hid her face in his sweater, "I will miss you Abeoji."

"My dear, I will miss you too. But I know this is for the best." He put down his cup of coffee, afraid of spilling it on her back, and put both his hands on her shoulders. "Would you want to stay at Kim Tan's or should I get you your own place. I know you don't like big empty houses, so I just want to make sure you are happy and comfortable." He was looking at her with utmost concern, already imagining his daughter being so far away from him. He was almost regretting his decision in that moment.

"I think having my own place would be better. Perhaps I can stay in a hotel or something, that way I know there are people around but I still have my own space," she nodded thoughtfully at this, "Also, I have a favor to ask." She looked up at her father, coming back from her thoughts.

"Could we get Eun Sang a flight back home? She's kind of stranded here and doesn't have the means to buy her own flight. She explained she has a friend back home who is trying to help her, but I think this way will be quicker for her." Summer started getting the ingredients ready for her breakfast while she waited for his reply.

"Of course, that wouldn't be a problem at all. I can book your flights together if you'd like," he helped her get the skillet hanging above the island. "Ani, I need at least a week to get my stuff together, and I think she wants to go back right away."

"Understood, I will get that to you. Let me know if there is anything else I can help with," he leaned down and kissed his daughter on top of her head. He then grabbed his coffee and left the kitchen just as Eun Sang was walking in.

"Annyeonghaseyo" Eun Sang bowed to him in the hallway, "Kamsahamnida, for letting me stay in your home." He smiled at her, "It's my pleasure, thank you for convincing my Summer to go to school in Korea. I know she will thrive there. I also hope she will continue to have a friend like you." He then pointed down the hallway, "she's in the kitchen preparing breakfast".

Eun Sang bowed again and walked to the kitchen, "Annyeong, your father is very kind." She smiled and walked over to Summer, "Can I help?" Summer pointed at the tortillas on the counter, "Can you hand me that please? I am making you a taco breakfast! And yes, he is. He is also going to take care of your flight, so you got nothing to worry about." Summer smiled at Eun Sang's shocked expression, "M-mwo? Ani! That is too much, Chan Young said he can help me!" She was shaking her head in protest.

"Did he get your ticket yet?" She pointed at the tortillas again. Eun Sang got the tortillas for her, "Well ani, but he said he will do it as soon as he can. And Taco…breakfast?" Summer laughed, "Well my father is getting the ticket today, so just say thank you and accept it, and yes! It is a Mexican dish, I think you will love it! Now go sit down." She could very demanding when she wanted to be.

Eun Sang sat down at the island, laughing a bit nervously at the feeling that she couldn't change Summer's mind. When breakfast was ready, they ate at the dining room table and Eun Sang loved her first taco breakfast. She even had seconds.

After breakfast they both took showers and got ready for the day. Summer let her know that she can drop her off at Kim Tan's as Eun Sang realized she still didn't have her passport. Summer's father also purchased Eun Sang a flight for the next day.

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Summer dropped Eun Sang off at Kim Tan's and luckily Rachel was nowhere to be seen. She was able to quickly chat with him, letting him know about her move and the school. She also scolded him for not letting her know he knew he was moving back.

Kim Tan how could you not let me know! Were you just going to leave or tell me the day before? She punched his arm as he tried to explain that he was going to tell her, but then got distracted by Eun Sang and completely forgot that it was happening in the first place.

She laughed at the memory in her mind, and continued to drive back to her house, oh man I have so much packing to do, and I am already hungry. Damn. She arrived at home and decided to eat before she started packing. One thing led to another, and before she knew it, she was binge-watching Stranger Things all over again and by the time she finished it was already 9 o clock.

Well better get to sleep since I am seeing Eun Sang off at 7am…

She decided that was the most logical thing to do and her 'worry' about not having packed yet left her mind. I wonder if I can make it in time to fly out with Kim Tan on Friday. I have two days. Yeah, that's the perfect amount of time.

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Seeing Eun Sang off at the airport turned out to be a bit awkward as Rachel showed up and coincidentally they had the same flight. She was very unhappy to find out Kim Tan was with Eun Sang instead of trying to see her off.

All Rachel could talk about was at least she didn't have to sit with Cha Eun Sang since she was as 'lower class as it can get' and 'Kim Tan better make it up to her when he gets to Korea, or there will be a price to pay'. Summer rolled her eyes at this, but she had to admit it, Rachel had a very threatening look. She has a lot of anger and hatred and self-loathing built up inside that can be used to cut someone. Summer shuddered at the thought.

"So, Kim Tan, how in the world are you going to marry that girl?" Summer shook her head as they walked back to their cars. "I didn't think that far ahead. I just said yes to the engagement so they would stop bothering me. Looks like I'll have to figure something out now..." he looked pensive.

Summer smiled at him, "Oh yes, because how else will you get to marry Eun Sang," she winked and got into her car. He smiled back sheepishly, "You always know too much for your own good," he stood next to her window. "Ne, I know. But it's not my fault it's so easy to read people," she shrugged her shoulders and started the car.

Kim Tan laughed at her and waved as he walked away to go to his car, "Go pack! I know you will be running late to our flight as usual." She shook her head laughing and put her hand through her hair, aish he is right. She drove off, determined to actually pack this time.

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Kim Tan was waiting in the airport for Summer, his luggage already checked. He looked at his watch and shook his head, that girl needs to get her together. Just as he thought that, she walked through the doors with more luggage than she could clearly handle. She saw him and smiled and gave her luggage to the two men helping her. Her father was with her as well.

He walked over to them and bowed to her father and then looked at Summer and laughed, "You are ridiculous, I never even knew you had this much stuff." She shrugged her shoulders, "I know it gets cold in Seoul, so I had to prepare, and honestly I couldn't decide what to bring so I just brought it all."

Her father smiled at Kim Tan, "It's good to see you," he put his hand on Kim Tan's shoulder,
"please take care of my girl and don't let her run off with any boys." His grip got a bit firmer. Or girls…is what Kim Tan thought. "Of course, I will watch out for her as if she was my little yeodongsaeng" he smiled at her father.

"Ya! I am older than you by four months!" Summer crossed her arms, "Plus, I can take care of myself." They both laughed, but Kim Tan knew she very well could. Her father put an arm around his daughter. "You better go check in, or you'll be late."

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Her flight was long and mostly boring, but she did manage to watch two movies and make Kim Tan laugh so loud that the lady behind them shushed them. This only made them laugh more. Though they were entering their junior year of high school, Summer felt she would always be a kid at heart. A kid that sometimes broke the rules, and sometimes (most of the time) fell asleep in class.

"Hey Summer, wake up," Kim Tan nudged her shoulder and pointed out the window, "We're about to land soon." Summer sleepily sat up and rubbed her eyes, then quickly leaned over Tan and pressed her face against the window, "Oh my god, I'm so excited! Wow, look at those lights. I always liked looking down at everything at night. I kind of imagine it to be what stars see."

"Okay weirdo," he laughed at her and pushed her back into her seat. "Ya! I'm tired, okay? I say weird when I'm tired." He gave her the one eyebrow look, "When you're tired?" She rolled her eyes at him and laughed, "Okay, pretty much all the time." They both laughed at this as the plane began its final descent.

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Summer stretched her arms over her head and yawned as her driver put her bags into the car. She was very tired indeed, and her eyelids only halfway opened when she turned to look at Kim Tan to give him a hug. "See you in a few days Tan," she gave him a quick hug, wanting to get to her suite as soon as she could.

"Ne, go to sleep, you seriously look like you need it. Fix your hair at least before entering the hotel. You may run into people from school and I have a feeling they will hold it over your head for quite some time." He laughed really loud at his own pun, and Summer gave him a death glare before her driver closed the door.

Summer tried to adjust her hair as her driver took off, "Whatever Kim Tan, I am sure I don't look THAT bad," she said out loud to herself. Sleep was seeping into her eyes again and her head fell back against the cushion of the seat as sleep took her.

Her driver made sure the hotel staff brought her suitcases up to her room, which was located on the top floor with the other fancy rooms as her father put it. He opened her door and awkwardly nudged her awake, "Miss Bak, we are here. Your suitcases have been brought up already, and I've checked you in. Here is your key, it is Suite number four," he bowed politely when she sleepily took the key and got out of the car.

She bowed to him as well and mumbled a thank you. The driver awkwardly smiled at her bow, knowing she did not have to do that. "Have a goodnight Miss Bak." She was already walking forward and did a two-finger salute from her head as a way of saying bye.

She walked into the hotel and quickly scanned the area for an elevator, her eyelids were still only halfway open and though the lobby was beautiful and vast, she did not notice. She found an elevator in the distance to the left and willed herself to walk to it. Almost there and I can pass out. Almost there.

She reached the elevator door and reached to push the button, but someone else beat her to it. Her reflexes were much slower considering she was half asleep. Consciously she did not even notice that another person walked into the elevator with her when the doors opened.

She completely forgot to push the button for her floor, and just leaned on the back wall. She heard the doors close.

"Uh, what floor are you going to?" a guy much taller than her, who looked exhausted himself, peered at her behind his long eyebrows. "Huh?" Summer opened her eyes in surprise; she didn't know someone else was with her. He was staring at her with a deadpan expression, looking very annoyed. "What did you say?" She asked him, really not comprehending much as all she wanted to do was sleep.

"What floor do you live on?" He said it much louder this time, with frustration in his voice. "Oh, suite number four or something like that." She nodded to herself and yawned again closing her eyes. His expression turned to one of curiosity as that was the suite across the hall from him. He pushed the top floor button.

"You're a…" she yawned in between her sentence, "a really grouchy elevator man, door man, whatever your position is called." She assumed he was a staff member who pushes the button for guests.

"Mwo?" He was taken back a bit and then laughed at her statement, but there was no joy in his laughter. He was just staring at her now, wondering who the hell she was and where she came from.

"You're clearly stupid, and by the way you look you don't really belong here." He smiled wickedly. He noticed how she really did stand out. She had a messy head of reddish brown hair above her shoulders, one side a bit longer than the other, she was tan, and it didn't look like a fake tan. She also didn't look fully Korean—her eyes were green, and her face was … different.

She was wearing a plain white t-shirt and a pair of light green linen pants? He has never seen such pants on a girl before. Lastly, he noticed how muscular she looked. Do girls even have muscles like that?

Her mind woke up from his comment, and now she saw him more clearly as her eyes opened fully. He was much taller than her, with a direct line of vision she would only see his chest. She noticed he had broad shoulders and was wearing a very expensive looking jacket. He was also holding a motorcycle helmet.

She looked from his chest to his face and noticed that he had very prominent facial features. He was smiling at her, but it was a scary sort of smile, a practiced act before the predator gets his prey.

Is this girl going to say anything back, or is she just going to stare at me? She was looking directly at him now and he found himself staring at her eyes. They did not hold fear like he expected. He couldn't tell what she was thinking, and it bothered him.

If she was honest with herself, this boy looked like a man, a very attractive man at that. He had a sharp jaw and piercing eyes. She could not stop looking at his face. She felt his expression held a whole trilogy of stories. Though his face looked sinister, and it sent a shiver down her spine, it made her more curious.

As the elevator doors opened onto their floor with a ding what he actually said finally sunk in—he insulted her. She smirked, truly too tired to battle with words. She had half expected people to be like this. Kim Tan had warned her.

He watched her lips turn at the sides into a smirk, and no words came out. He was surprised at this, expecting her to insult him back like his step-sister to be. He was left watching, as if waiting for something to happen; somehow, time felt slower than ever.

She just enjoyed looking at him, and clearly he did too she thought, because he was still staring at her. She wondered what was going through his mind because his features softened just enough for her to notice. Then he instantly looked cold as ice again.

She realized the doors had been open and they were still just standing there, so she pushed herself off the wall to head for the exit. She couldn't tell if he was mentally judging her still or plotting her murder.

As she passed him, his gaze followed her, but no other part of him moved. She felt his energy briefly in that moment and to her it was a mixture of darkness and something else she couldn't put her finger on. Her heart started to beat fast.

He felt the air was palpable between them when she walked by—like the air was charged with something. This was new to him and he could feel the blood pumping in his chest.

She looked to each side of the hallway and saw that there were only five doors on this floor. Her door was at the end to the right. Before her body moved in that direction, she looked back at him, "Goodnight," and with that she smiled and walked to her door, going inside.

He stepped out of the elevator doors before they closed again. Did she just say goodnight? He just stood in the hallway looking at the direction of their doors; his suite was number five. He put his hand through his hair, but forgot it was up in his usual style and felt the hardness of perfectly styled gel.

He decided this was interesting to him and he wanted more. He walked to his door, and before he opened it he subconsciously looked at her door for a brief second. Again, as if he was waiting for something.

He the air through his teeth, making a slight hissing sound, and to think today was going to be another ty day. He walked into his suite feeling very amused, "That girl really doesn't belong here," he said out loud to himself as he took off his jacket and made his way to his bedroom, jumping onto his bed. If I run into her again, I'll make sure she knows who I am.

Summer went straight to her bed and collapsed on top of it. She could not bother with changing clothes or brushing her teeth. Her mind felt weird from her encounter with her, neighbor? Her heart was just now starting to calm down and she blamed it all on jet leg. Such a strange way to end a night.

Before any other thought could enter her mind, sleep took over.

AUTHORS NOTE: She finally met Young Do! I was so happy to write this chapter and get the ball rolling. What do you guys think? Any feedback is greatly appreciated.