Eun ji

Zico arrived earlier than I thought he would. He arrived around 6am.

“Unni, That strange car is back” my little sister, Jae Rim said. My little 6 year old sister had a really good memory.  She was sitting on the window sit with Tae woo, both peering out the window with the curtains pulled back.

“What car?” Tae woo asked. Tae woo was my “Over-protective” little 8 year old brother.

“That car over there” Jae Rim responded, pointing.

I got out of the bathroom to look at what they were looking at. It was Zico’s car.

“Unni, is that your boss?” Jae Rim asked looking up at me.

“Yeah” I said, going back to our bedroom to grab my bag.

“Noona, I want to meet him” Tae woo said, following me. I took my Cyon lollipop phone off the night stand and slipped it in my bag.

“Yeah, me too” Jae Rim said, joining Tae woo. Wow two against one. I lost and admit to defeat.

“Ok, I’ll introduce you” I said. I got out with both of them following me. We all put on our shoes and got out. As we were approaching the car, Zico got out and stood next to it.

“I’m so sorry to bother you, but my siblings want to meet you” I said, looking down.

“It’s ok” He said, laughing.

“Ok, well this is Jae Rim, the youngest in our family. She’s six years old” I said, pointing at Jae Rim.

She stepped up and extended her hand out, “Hello, I’m Jae Rim and I’m six years old. Nice to meet you, Mr. Zico” She said, bowing.

“Wow, pleasure to meet you too, Jae Rim. Please call me Zico” He said, lowering himself to her height. He gave her a handshake. When he did that, I noticed my sister blushing. Her face lit up brightly, revealing the 2 gaps in between her two front teeth.

“Ok, This is Tae woo, the middle child. He’s eight years old” I said.

He moved onto Tae woo and bowed.

“You don’t have to bow” He said. That smart mouth of his will get him in trouble one day.

“Pleasure to meet you, Tae woo” Zico said, shaking Tae woo’s hand

“Me too. Do you like hip pop?” Tae woo asked. This boy and his love for hip pop. Tae woo is like the addict and hip pop is his drug. He lives and breathes Hip Pop.

“Yeah, I like hip pop a lot” Zico said.

“Finally, someone who understands me. Noona gets mad when I listen to hip pop. She says that it’s not healthy for the brain” He said, throwing his arms everywhere. Why was he embarrassing me? I just stood there and smiled

“Sorry if he’s bothering you” I said, bowing

“No it’s ok. It’s actually nice to meet someone who is also very fond of hip pop” He said, looking at me.

“Oh ok” I said, now feeling embarrassed.

“You know what, Tae woo….” Zico said

“What?” He asked

“I can let you meet some of the best Korean rappers like Outsider and DOK2 if you want…” Zico said.

“Really?” Tae woo asked, jumping up and down.

“Yeah really, if your noona will allow me to” He said, pouting at me.

“Noona please let us go see them” Tae woo asked, grabbing my hands

“No” I said. I didn’t trust what he was saying. I mean he just met them.

“Noona, pleaaasssseee” Tae woo and Jae Rim asked, jumping up and down.

“No” I said. Zico soon joined in, jumping with them.

“Ok, you guys can go and drool over them” I said, giving in.

“Thank you noona” Zico said, bowing.

“Stop being silly. Eun ji isn’t your noona” Jae Rim said, laughing.

“I know” He said. He pulled out his cell phone and looked at the time.

“We better get going” he said

“Ok” I said.

“It was nice meeting you, Zico” Jae Rim and Tae Woo said in unison.

“No no, it was nice meeting YOU” He said.

“I’ll be right back” I said. I pulled Jae Rim and Tae woo along towards the apartment. We went inside, on the first floor to APT #14. It was Miss Lee’s apartment.  Miss Lee was my trusty apartment neighbor who helped out a lot when our father passed away 2 years ago. I knocked on the door and waited. The door slowly opened, revealing Miss Lee. She was a very small woman. She was standing there, wearing a long black skirt and an oversized white t-shirt.

 “Jae Rim, you guys have my phone number. Call me in case of an emergency” I said, leaning down and kissing each of their foreheads.

“Ewwwww Noona, you don’t kiss a guy on the forehead” Tae woo said, wiping his fore head.

“Then is this much better?” I asked, kissing him on both cheeks.

“Much better” He said, giving me a thumb up.

“Hey, come in” Miss Lee said, pulling Tae woo and Jae Rim inside.

“Bye Noona” They said, waving at me. I waved at the both of them. I beckoned Miss Lee to step out so that I could hand her the money to feed them. I took out ₩50,000 ($44 dollars) and handed it to her.

“I hope this is enough” I said.

“It’s enough” She said.

“What time are you coming to pick them up?” She asked.

“I will come around 9pm” I said.

“Ok, see you then” She said, walking back into her apartment. I the bottom of my purse.  I felt so empty inside. I just gave her all the money I had for the week. I might as well skip lunch and dinner for tonight. I put on a smile and walked out. I got inside the car and buckled my seatbelt.

“Your siblings are very cute” Zico said, looking out the window. He had a smile on his face.

“Yeah they are” I said. I looked out the window, trying hard not to cry. I was wondering about what we were going to eat for the week. I was maybe the worst sister in the whole world. I should maybe quit school and work full time.

“Hey, can you work over time today?” He asked.

“Yeah I can” I replied. We kept silent until we reached work. We both got out the car and Zico opened up the café.

“Can I ask you a question?” He asked, while I was putting on my apron in the kitchen.

“Yeah what?” I asked, looking up.

“Can I steal your brother and sister on Saturday?” He asked

“Yeah sure. Why?” I asked, already knowing

“I want to keep my promise and introduce them to a couple of people” He said, coming over.

“Let me tie that” He said. I lifted my hair up so it won’t block his way.

“Ok you can” I said. He finished tying it, and went to the fridge.

“I’ll treat you to lunch and dinner if it’s ok with you” He said

“It’s ok” I said. He pulled out his cell phone and looked at the screen. I think that he was checking the time.

“I’ll be right back. I have something that I’ve got to take care of” He said, leaving the kitchen.

“You get everything ready and open up the café” He said, getting out the door.

“Ok” I whispered. Zico wasn’t that bad now that I got to know him.