*~*Chapter 6*~*

 

I trailed behind Jung Kook as he led the way into the restaurant. As soon as I stepped foot inside, I knew I was out of place. It was luxurious, complete with dim lights, a stunning aerial view of the Han River, and a live pianist turning out soft, classical music in the background. The waiters were all dressed sharply in their perfectly ironed uniforms without a single hair out of place.

Only a few people were dining inside, but they were all dressed in their finest clothes, which made me feel even more self-conscious in my jeans and t-shirt. If I had known Jung Kook was going to bring me to such an upscale place, I would’ve dressed better.

Jung Kook, on the other hand, didn’t seem to mind that he was in jeans. But then again, he was wearing a blazer with a button-down shirt, so he still looked pretty decent.

“Hello, Mr. Jun,” the host greeted us graciously.

I looked at Jung Kook in surprise. He knows him by name?

Jung Kook smiled at him. “How are you today, Rafael?”

I looked back at the host. They know each other?

“I’m doing very well, sir,” replied Rafael. “Will it just be you and one guest today, sir?”

“Yup! Just the two of us!”

“Very well. Right this way then,” he said and led us to the back of the restaurant.

As I followed behind them, I looked between Jung Kook and Rafael. If they know each other, then does that mean Jung Kook comes here often? And if so, does he bring other girls here too? 

I in my stomach, suddenly fully aware that my belly roll was showing in this shirt. Yeah, he probably comes here often with drop-dead gorgeous girls with perfect bodies. And Rafael is probably wondering what he is doing with a girl like me today. My ears grew hot. Great, Kyungi, you couldn’t wear a looser fitting shirt today, could you? 

Rafael pulled out a chair for me when we reached our table. I thanked him as I sat down.

“Would you like red or white wine today?” he asked.

“Red, please,” Jung Kook answered.

“And you, Miss?”

“I’ll have the same,” I replied dumbly.

“Yes, right away.”

Once the host was gone, I looked at Jung Kook in amazement. “You know each other?” I asked, curiosity getting the best of me.

He smiled. “This is my dad’s restaurant,” he replied as he placed a napkin on his lap. “He’s the head chef.”

I almost choked on my own saliva. “Wh—what??”

A waiter approached our table with a bottle of red wine. I watched in silence as he poured the crimson drink into our wine glasses.

Jung Kook thanked him as the waiter bowed and returned to his post. A waitress then appeared and handed us our menus. 

I gaped at the prices. Course menus started at $120. The most expensive one was $300!

I glanced at Jung Kook. He was busy reading the menu, his lips moving as he mouthed each word. I gulped and lowered my eyes back to the menu.

“Which set course would you like, Kyungi?” he asked.

“Uh…do we have to get a set course?”

He laughed, his eyes crinkling up in the corners. “There’s an ala carte menu on the back if you’d like.”

I flipped to the back of the menu. My eyes almost popped out of my head. $60 for an entrée?! “Umm…”

Jung Kook reached over and lowered the menu from my face. Our eyes met. He smiled warmly at me. “I recommend Course B if you like steak,” he said. 

My eyes flashed to the price. $200. “I…” My throat grew dry as I looked at the prices. With these prices, I could buy enough groceries to last me for at least two months!

“Let’s try Course B today then,” he said when I didn’t answer.

“For both?” the waitress asked.

“Yes, please.”

I kept my eyes on the table as I handed back my menu. The waitress bowed before leaving.

Jung Kook smiled at me as he reached for his glass of wine. “I’m going to guess you never ate at a fancy restaurant before?” he asked as he took a sip.

I shook my head. “If you had told me earlier, I would’ve dressed up.”

He laughed. “But I like you like this,” he said, cocking his head to one side as he studied me.

I looked up at him in surprise. 

“Natural; that’s how I like my girls,” he said with a big grin.

My ears burned hot, and I grabbed my wine glass and took a big gulp. Okay, Kyungi, don’t flatter yourself. A guy like him probably has a way with words to make girls fall head over heels in love with him. I mean, just look at him!

I peeked at him. When he saw me looking, his grin widened, which sent my heart spiraling out of control.

“What is it?” he asked.

I set down my wine glass with a clink! “I just…I just can’t understand why you’re doing all of this,” I stammered.

“Well, it’s because you’re helping out my friend,” he replied without hesitation. “This is just a small thank you for helping me with RM. Seriously, I honestly don’t know what I would’ve done if I hadn’t found you.”

“But I mean…why me? There are so many girls: prettier ones, skinnier ones, ones who know exactly what they want…out of all of them, why me?”

“You want to know why?” he asked, leaning forward. I automatically leaned in. “It’s because the pretty ones only rely on their beauty, the skinny one don’t eat, and the ones who know what they want don’t care about other people. But you; you’re perfect and you don’t even know it.”

I couldn’t help but laugh in his face. “You’re just messing with me now,” I said as I sat back in my seat.

He laughed in response. “Seriously though, I didn’t think you’ll take the job, you know?”

“Why’s that?”

He ran his finger around the rim of his wine glass as he spoke. “Come on; some strange guy comes into your restaurant and offers you a hospice job at another guy’s house. Who in their right mind would take that job?” he said with a chuckle.

I couldn’t help but laugh along with him. “Well…I really do need the money. And I’m not saying I would do anything for money; I mean, I do have standards; but my family really does need the money.”

He raised an eyebrow and leaned forward again. “If you don’t mind me asking, how much do you need, actually?”

“Mmm…” I thought as I calculated Jae Hyuk’s tuition and mine. “With me starting university this year, it amounts to about $35,000, I think,” I said as I took another sip of wine.

“What if I paid it all off for you?”

I choked, sputtering the wine back into the glass. I looked at him in surprise. “What?”

Jung Kook smiled and handed me a napkin. My face burned with embarrassment as I accepted it. I wiped the wine off my chin and table.

“So what do you say?” he asked again.

“Why would you do that?”

“Think of it as an advance payment,” he said as he took another sip of his wine. “I’ll pay the $35,000 tuition fees in exchange for you to work for RM for six months.” 

“What?”

He set down the wine glass and looked at me with his soothing, brown eyes. “All I need you to do is go live with RM and take care of him and his house.”

The stringy-haired RM who reeked of body odor filled my mind. My stomach heaved at the thought. I suddenly lost my appetite.

I’ll have to live with that?! That…that thing that possesses a human body but lost all sense of humanity after a broken heart?!

“I—” I started to argue but was interrupted when our food arrived. I looked at Jung Kook in hopes that he’d change his mind, but his eyes were glued on the appetizers.

As the waitress set our food down in front of us, she started explaining the proper way to eat it.

I kept trying to make eye contact with Jung Kook, but he refused to look at me and kept his attention on the food and the waitress as she spoke.

With a sigh, I turned my attention to the waitress. I guess Jung Kook wins this round.

 

My heart sunk with each passing moment as RM’s house came into view. I really didn’t want to be here again so soon.

Jung Kook parked his car in the driveway as usual, and the two of us made our way to the house. As we walked to the porch, I couldn’t help but admire how different the house looked today compared to yesterday. The lawn was freshly mowed, the hedges were trimmed neatly, and the mulch was replenished. I hadn’t even realized there was a small patch for a garden!

“Wow, it looks amazing,” I muttered.

Jung Kook grinned. “It’s only the beginning,” he said.

As we let ourselves in the front door, we were greeted with a lemony fresh scent. It still smelled clean from yesterday. The old fridge was now gone, and in its place stood a brand new, stainless steel fridge.

Jung Kook turned his attention to me. “You only need to clean the upstairs now, right?”

I nodded even though I didn’t want to be upstairs. Upstairs was where HE dwelled.

“I’ll go tell him the news then.”

“Wait!” I grabbed his arm. “Please don’t tell him yet; I don’t want him to know that I’ll be living here yet. I—I mean…” My words drifted off as I let go of his arm. I looked away. “We’re not even sure if I can stay here…”

“But I thought we agreed,” Jung Kook said.

I looked at him in surprise.

“I’ll pay your brother’s tuition and yours in exchange for you to come live here to take care of RM. Right?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but when no words came out, I looked away.

“Isn’t that what you wanted?” he asked.

I looked back at him. That’s what you wanted, I thought, but I kept my lips sealed. I weighed the good and the bad. It’ll be good because my brother’s and my tuitions will be paid off. But then I won’t see my family. But if I stay here, my family won’t have to worry about our tuition bills anymore. But then I’ll be stuck here with that…that thing up there.

I looked past Jung Kook to RM’s closed bedroom door.

Suddenly, slow, melancholy piano notes drifted down to us.

Jung Kook whirled around. “RM…” I could hear the panic in his voice. He dashed up the stairs. “RM!”

What’s going on?, I thought as I chased after him. As I reached the top of the stairs, I saw Jung Kook enter a room at the end of the hall. 

The music jumped up in volume. The slow notes soon turned into a jumbled mess as RM banged the keys. They abruptly stopped mid-note, as if his anger was suddenly cut off. Silence fell over us.

I dashed down the hallway to see what was going on. My footsteps echoed loudly through the short hallway. Jung Kook remained frozen in the doorway. I skidded to a stop behind him and peeked over his shoulder.

Inside, RM sat at a grand piano covered in dust. Sunlight poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the backyard. The sunlight glared off the tattered white walls. Debris covered the floor. Flecks of dust swirled in the air.

Then slowly, RM’s fingers started hitting the keys again. Soft, sweet notes vibrated from the piano and echoed off the walls.

I stared at RM’s silhouette in the bright sunlight. The calm, gentle music drifted towards me. I closed my eyes, and the world faded away.

I found myself in the same room, but was I really? Everything looked so different. The harsh sunlight was now a soft, evening glow pouring in through the large windows. It illuminated the sky blue walls in an angelic glow. Large, beautiful landscape paintings filled all four walls.

A guy sat at the shiny, black grand piano. Not a single speck of dust touched its surface. The guy had dark brown hair—just like RM—but it was short and neatly styled into place. He had no facial hair—no beard, no mustache—and looked quite young and handsome. There was an air of boyish charm around him, and he was dressed in a black button-down shirt and white slacks that hugged his frame in all the right places.

Is this…RM? No, no, it can’t be. RM doesn’t look like this! But how would I even know how RM really looks like anyways? All I see is a filthy man with dirty, stringy hair and tangled facial hair, dressed in tattered clothing. 

But can this really be RM? Is this how he looks like clean-shaven?

Then the guy started playing the same, gentle melody RM played.

This IS RM, isn’t it?

A female figure suddenly appeared at the end of the piano. Most of her face was hidden in shadows, but every now and then, I make out a part of her facial features. She leaned against the hood of the piano, smiling gently at him. He looked up at her and started to sing, but I couldn’t hear a single word. All I heard was the gentle, flowing music.

I watched as he serenaded her. There was so much love and adoration in his eyes that it filled the whole room with a warm, glowing feeling. I looked at the girl. She continued smiling at him, and I too, saw the same love and adoration in her eyes as they gazed at one another.

Suddenly, the scene changed. The gentle, sweet notes changed into a frenzy of short, angry ones. The girl faded away.

RM’s mouth opened in a scream, but still, I heard only the jumble of notes drifting from the piano. He ripped the paintings off the walls and slammed them to the ground. The glass shattered, and the frames splintered. He then turned to the sky blue wallpaper and started ripping them down. His mouth opened in another scream. Tears poured down his face, and I watched as he fell to his knees. Then I saw it: a single diamond engagement ring on the top of the black grand piano.

“Stop it, RM! Stop it!” Jung Kook’s angry voice suddenly broke into my thoughts.

I came crashing back to earth. I was back in the same room. The sunlight glared off the plain white walls. The shiny, black grand piano I saw in my daydreams was now covered in a thick layer of gray dust. The light blue wallpaper lay crumbled on the floor, the edges turning yellow with age. Glass was shattered everywhere, mingling with splinters of broken wooden frames. The beautiful landscape paintings lay in shreds. Dust covered everything.

I looked for the ring on the grand piano. It wasn’t there.

The music abruptly stopped again. RM was back to his grungy self. I could smell his body odor filling the small room.

Jung Kook advanced towards him. Glass and splinters of wood crunched underneath his shoes. “Why are you in here?” he demanded.

“I miss her,” RM replied. His voice was low and soft. “It’s the only way I can see her.”

I stood rooted by the doorway. Was that how I saw into his memories? Was it even possible?

“Get up,” Jung Kook directed. “Kyungi’s here. She’s going to finish cleaning your house today. Starting tomorrow, she’ll be living with you.”

RM’s eyes flashed to me. “I don’t want her here,” he replied bluntly.

“She’s just going to take care of you for the time being.”

“I don’t need anyone to take care of me!” RM hollered.

I jumped at the sound of his angry voice.

“RM, you can’t keep living this way!” Jung Kook cried, grabbing his arm. “They’ll put you in the nut house if you keep acting like this!”

RM yanked his arm away. “Let them try!” he roared. He jumped out of his seat and shoved past Jung Kook. He headed my way. I quickly backed out of the room until I was pressed up against the opposite wall. As he passed me, his putrid stench filled my nose. My eyes burned and started watering.

I coughed as I watched him stomp towards his room.

“RM!” Jung Kook started after him.

“Leave me alone!”

“I can’t leave you alone! I’m your friend! What am I supposed to do: just let you sit there and rot, thinking about your love life?!”

RM whirled around. “I have no friends!”

Bang! He slammed into his room, leaving Jung Kook out in the hallway.

“Fine! But don’t you forget who had stayed with you after she left you! If that’s not friendship, then I don’t know what is!”

With that, Jung Kook stormed down the steps.

Bang! The front door slammed shut behind him. And just like that, I was alone.