Ten
Ironic BindHyun Ae’s heart jumped at the mentioned name. Her hands froze in the air. Her body stiffened.
‘Aeri?’ Her mind echoed the name.
It was the name in Ricky’s notes. A name that was repeated in them, as if it was a chant.
The name that had caused a ruckus in Hyun Ae’s life in the past week. It was the name that was etched on Hyun Ae’s mind.
As she slowly recovered her focus, she barely registered that Park Aeri was looking at her with furrowed eyebrows, possibly puzzled at how she could freeze up at the mention of another person’s name. Trying to regain composure, Hyun Ae managed a smile, even though she could feel that it was bitter.
“Which university?” Hyun Ae referred to the institution the other girl was enrolled.
“J High Institute.”
Hyun Ae efficiently searched for both the name and the institution mentioned. Though her mind couldn’t stop thinking, ‘Could she be ‘her’? ‘The’ Aeri?’
The girl’s name turned out to be on the very last page.
As the other lady put her signature down in the column provided, Hyun Ae tried to subtly inspect the other’s facial features.
A pair of huge eyes; a small, button-like nose; a pair of round lips; a small face; and fair skin. ‘She’s beautiful,’ Hyun Ae mentally commented. The lady in front of her definitely fit the beauty standard in South Korea. Looking at the way she was dressed, Hyun Ae could tell that she came from a well-paid family. Hyun Ae could also catch sweet scents from Park Aeri’s hands, it could be that the girl habitually applied hand lotion. It might be also the major reason why her hands were pretty, and it was consistent with Hyun Ae’s compliments earlier before she came to know the other person’s name.
Subconsciously, Hyun Ae tried to compare her hands with Park Aeri’s; it made her immediately retreat her hands from the table. Just comparing her hands with the girl’s, it was obvious that the latter took care of her appearance much better than Hyun Ae. Hyun Ae also applied hand lotion, but there were times that she forgot. In terms of appearance alone, the other girl was a lot better.
All of the sudden, she felt inferior to Park Aeri.
As Park Aeri finished initialling her name, she put the pen down and turned around. Somehow, Hyun Ae felt like she should interact some more with the other person. She felt like she should get herself memorable to this ‘Aeri’ lady.
In such a split second, though, she could not come up with any remarks other than saying, “Thank you!” in a high voice.
Park Aeri flinched at the sudden ‘shout’. It was obvious that she was surprised and felt that the shout was unnecessary. Nevertheless, she curtly nodded at Hyun Ae and quickly joined her friends.
Hyun Ae was not spared any second to delve into her encounter with an ‘Aeri’ when she could see Soojung signalling the attendance committee to start wrapping up. It was nearing the end of registration time, after all. Hyun Ae started to tally up the number of attendants from her registration folder. She barely noticed it when she overheard an urgent whisper from Park Aeri’s friend.
“Ri, aren’t they... Ricky Oppa’s friends?”
Hyun Ae immediately halted her counts at the mention of the name and looked at the group of five who were still standing near her table.
Park Aeri was seen looking in the direction pointed by her friend, before her eyes widened in shock. She quickly grabbed her friend’s wrist, urging the others to follow suit, and in the next second, all of them hastily fled the spot.
Hyun Ae was still stunned. ‘Ricky Oppa…? You mean, my Ricky Oppa?’
In the midst of her contemplation, whether she was mishearing things or not, she did not notice two male figures approaching her table. It was not until a sound of clearing throat that snapped Hyun Ae out of her trance.
Her eyes were met by the sight of two young men, presumably older than her by a year or two. One of them had a pair of full lips, and short, dark brown hair; while the other had a relatively small face, jet-black hair, and a pair of doe-like eyes.
“Err, we know that we’re late,” the one with full lips spoke while scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, “but can we still be considered for the registration?”
“Yes, of course.” Hyun Ae flipped the attendance folder back to its first page. “Your name, please?”
“Ahn Daniel,” the man replied, before pointing to his slightly shorter companion. “And Lee Chanhee. We’re from NS University.”
In a record time, Hyun Ae was able to find their names and handed a pen to the man named Ahn Daniel.
After he put down his signature and offered his friend the pen that he used, he spoke, though quite hesitantly, “Uhm, Hyun Ae... Hyun Ae-shi, right?”
At the mention of her name, Hyun Ae looked up, startled. She did not wear any specific tag for people to identify her, so she was surprised at how the man knew her name.
She answered him, nonetheless, “Yes, Hyun Ae. I’m Hyun Ae.”
The male brunet could tell that there were hints of puzzlement flickering across Hyun Ae’s face, so he flashed a smile before clarifying, “Changhyun’s girlfriend, right? We’re Changhyun’s friends, don’t you know us?”
“Oh,” came a short reply from Hyun Ae. She bowed her head to greet her boyfriends’ friends—whom she never met before. “Annyeonghaseyo.”
“Haha. Hi too,” Daniel chirped. “Nice to meet you here, Hyun Ae-shi! How’s Changhyun doing, by the way? We barely meet each other nowadays,” he pouted.
“He’s...” Hyun Ae paused, realizing that she had been avoiding her boyfriend to fully know his current state. She even purposely missed her daily text that morning, taking the volunteer work as an excuse.
She settled with a safe answer to Daniel’s question while offering a smile, “He’s fine.”
Daniel was about to speak again when the guy named Chanhee finished signing his name. The latter put the pen down and grabbed the taller man’s wrist. “Let’s go.”
“See you around, Hyun Ae-shi!” Daniel waved shortly at Hyun Ae. He quickened his pace so that he would not trip over his own feet, since his shorter companion was walking away with long strides and still holding his wrist. Hyun Ae could barely make out the brunet’s mild protest towards his companion, “Geez, Hyung. What’s the rush for?”
Hyun Ae did not have the time to think further about the duo, as the head of the attendance-taking committee already signalled her to hand in the participants’ list in her folder.
*****
A yelp was heard followed by splashes of mud. A female participant had tripped and unfortunately landed face-first on the surface of damp soil, dirtying both her face and the front of her shirt.
A committee member who was nearby the scene immediately rushed to help the participant. Luckily, there were extra sponsored shirts for the event’s participants, so the poor girl could change her top.
A few suppressed giggles were heard at the female’s misfortune, making Hyun Ae’s head snap to a certain group of girls which was the nearest to the scene. It was Park Aeri and Jaegar Yeojin’s group.
‘You shouldn’t be laughing at others' misery like that.’ Hyun Ae frowned at them, clearly disturbed at how they didn’t have a glimpse of sympathetic look towards the poor girl.
“Sad, huh?” Soojung, who was standing beside Hyun Ae, made a fleeting remark towards the group. “We still have those who volunteer but only for the sake of having certificates.” She implied that even though some people are joining charitable works, in the end, they only want the physical benefits from the deeds. She also pointed out that they barely worked during the campaign and were only free-riding on others' hard work.
Hyun Ae nodded, silently agreeing to Soojung’s comments. She and Min had experiences working with such groups, and it was not entirely pleasant.
Trying to brush off her negative thoughts towards the group of five, Hyun Ae scanned the campaign that was going on. Fortunately, the weather was on the organizer’s side. According to Soojung, the event was going smoothly as planned despite having a huge number of participants. The committee members also carried out their tasks accordingly.
At Hyun Ae’s position, she could spot two young men, who had claimed to be her boyfriend’s friends. She still remembered their names: Ahn Daniel and Lee Chanhee.
Upon landing her eyes on the duo, something came across Hyun Ae’s mind. ‘Come to think of it, I’ve never met his friends.’
At times, Ricky mentioned about ‘friends’, but he rarely went into details about them. Hyun Ae recounted that she had wanted to ask Ricky about his friends, but she never got her way around to it.
She watched how Ahn Daniel, the taller of the duo, was holding a trash bag with one hand, while the other utilizing a trash picker. Lee Chanhee also held a trash picker, and seemingly led Daniel to areas where they could carry out the tasks that were given during the whole campaigning session. If Hyun Ae recalled it correctly, Daniel addressed the other as ‘Hyung’, so it meant that Daniel is younger than the other.
At one point, Daniel could be seen asking for help from his older companion. Chanhee promptly pulled out a water bottle from his messenger bag that was slung across his body. He handed the bottle to Daniel, but the latter did not receive it. Chanhee furrowed his eyebrows, sending a muted question, ‘why aren’t you taking it?’ The younger of the two slightly raised his hands, showing that both his hands were occupied, which meant that he could not take the water bottle. Then, he signalled his older companion to help him drink the water…without Daniel having to hold the bottle.
Chanhee sent a side-eye glare to the younger but agreed to do it anyway. He uncapped the bottle lid and brought it close to Daniel’s mouth. He did it carefully so that Daniel could quench his thirst. After a few seconds, however, a meaningful smirk appeared on Chanhee’s lips.
Daniel sent a signal that he was done with drinking the water and he wanted Chanhee to stop ‘feeding’ him. However, Chanhee purposely ignored the signal and continue angling the water bottle towards the younger’s mouth. Anyone could tell that it was the beginning of a prank. It prompted Daniel to close his mouth but by doing so, some water splashed onto his face and also his shirt.
Daniel landed his eyes on his older companion. It could be seen that he had an “I’m-so-done-with-you” face on, and stared at his companion wordlessly.
Laughing at his prank’s success, Chanhee playfully offered to wipe the younger’s face using the towel that was hung around Daniel’s neck. Daniel—sensing another incoming prank if he accepted the offer—declined it. He chose to put down his trash picker, and wipe his face with his free hand. While wiping his face, he kept muttering “Ey, Hyung, come on now.” Chanhee erupted into a burst of hearty laughter, turning his doe-like eyes into admirable eye smiles. He also seemed to have the habit of leaving his mouth open when he laughed.
Hyun Ae smiled at the scene. She was amused at the interactions. Anyone could tell that they were close companions.
In the midst of laughing, Chanhee’s eye smiles shifted to Hyun Ae, who was observing the pair at the same time. Taking the opportunity to leave a good impression on her boyfriend’s friend, Hyun Ae immediately offered a smile and a small bow.
The male, however, upon realizing that he met Hyun Ae’s sight, ceased his laughter almost immediately. His opened mouth when he laughed thinned into a line. The smile lines on his cheeks disappeared. His eye smiles also faded away. Hyun Ae did not miss how the male tried to look past her, as if pretending that he did not meet eyes with Hyun Ae.
Hyun Ae bit her lip at the other’s reaction. She noticed that Lee Chanhee seemed indifferent towards her. In fact, she had noticed his nonchalance since the registration earlier; it was evident from how the doe-eyed man crossed his arms when both Daniel and he reached her table, but he never looked directly at Hyun Ae. While Daniel cheerfully greeted Hyun Ae during the registration, Chanhee stayed cold. He was the total opposite of his carefree brunet company.
Hyun Ae tried to stay positive. ‘Maybe he’s not the type that warms up to strangers easily.’
*****
It was 1 in the afternoon, and it was already the end of the cleaning campaign. The venue slowly became less crowded as volunteers left after having refreshments and acquiring the certificates of participation. Some stayed at the event venue, waiting to be picked up. Hyun Ae stood at the entrance-exit and greeted each volunteer as they left the venue, saying ‘thank you’ for participating in the event.
At one point, she noticed a lone feminine figure that was standing far from everybody else. It was Park Aeri.
As much as she did not want to let the thoughts of an 'Aeri' continue disturbing her peace and mind, Hyun Ae could not help but keep the other person close on her radar.
Park Aeri could be seen fiddling around with her handphone in her hand, trying to make herself look relaxed. But from the impatient foot taps that she was producing, anyone could tell that she was uncomfortable being seen standing alone in a corner.
Actually, Hyun Ae took note that Jaegar Yeojin had left the venue with her friends, but Park Aeri was not with them. Hyun Ae simply assumed that Park Aeri was going to be picked up at the venue. ‘By whom?’ Hyun Ae could not help but wonder. ‘Her boyfriend?’
Seeing how the other person grew agitated at being left alone without the company of her friends, Hyun Ae decided to approach her. She then greeted her in a small voice, “Hi.”
Park Aeri only looked warily at her, before returning the greeting with a small nod.
“Are you waiting to be picked up?” Hyun Ae asked.
The other chose to stay silent at Hyun Ae’s question, but it did not make Hyun Ae give up.
“You can stand under a shade over there.” Hyun Ae pointed to a vacant tent that was used to house refreshments for the volunteers during the event. “It’s hot over here, don’t you think?”
Park Aeri merely glanced at the direction that Hyun Ae pointed, but made no move. Instead, she was back to fiddling with her handphone and tapping her right foot impatiently.
‘Okay…' Hyun Ae thinned her lips into a line, feeling awkward at the lack of responses. It seemed that only the buzzes of cicadas around them were replying to her. ‘It’s either this girl isn’t comfortable with talking with strangers, or she’s not in the mood to talk.’
Hyun Ae was about to speak again—obviously trying to live up the conversation since she was the one who approached the other after all—when a shrill voice interrupted her.
“Aeri-yah!”
The voice was so loud that it captured the attention of a few people who were still at the event venue. Their heads snapped to a female who was standing a few metres away from the entrance-exit. Hyun Ae recognized her; Jaegar Yeojin.
Ignoring Hyun Ae, Park Aeri quickly stomped to her friend. Upon reaching Yeojin’s side, she hit the latter’s forearm. It was evident that she was embarrassed by the attention that her friend had garnered. The friend immediately rubbed her abused forearm, while muttering out an apology followed by something along the lines of “you don’t need to do that though.”
Yeojin’s eyes landed on Hyun Ae afterwards, taking note that there was someone who accompanied her friend when the latter was left alone. She politely nodded at Hyun Ae when their eyes met, to which Hyun Ae returned.
“Do you know her, Ri?” she asked her petite friend in a hushed voice, but Hyun Ae was able to catch the question.
The addressed lady briefly shook her head as a response, before dragging her friend away from the place. Hyun Ae barely made out the girl’s hissed words of what took Yeojin so long to pick her up. Her friend retorted that she had been waiting for the petite girl at the other side of the building, and it was a good thing that she decided to go back and check. “Thank me, Ri. You should be grateful.”
Hyun Ae watched as the two friends walked away, while they tried to keep their bickering voices to a minimum.
‘Aeri.’ Hyun Ae whispered. ‘Park Aeri.’
Unbeknownst to her, a pair of eyes watched the whole scene between her and the said petite lady.
It was as if they knew what went on Hyun Ae’s mind.
[A / N]:
What can you tell from this chapter? And did you notice who appeared? Hehe.
Also, I would like to announce that this fic has already reached two-third of its length. Yes, we're nearing the ending, in around 5 chapters or so...? Thank you for being with me thus far <3
Kindly look forward to the next chapters. Comments are more than welcome!
30 January 2022, 01:00 GMT+8
[29.10.2021]
I just finished looking at the previous chapters and made a few additions and changes. I'm having a brief hiatus soon, but I'll try my best to post at least a chapter before November ends.
I just finished looking at the previous chapters and made a few additions and changes. I'm having a brief hiatus soon, but I'll try my best to post at least a chapter before November ends.
Comments