Round Sixty-Five

 

DING DONG! The doorbell sounded repeatedly.

 

Tiffany stirred and nudged Taeng sleepily. “Get the door, Taetae.”

 

After a moment, she lifted her head because he didn’t budge. His eyes were still shut and he was dead to the world. She sighed. He was such a sleepyhead. What had she been thinking, trying to get him to wake up? It was her home anyway. She’d get the door. So she heaved herself off the bed, stuck her feet into her fluffy pink bedroom slippers and slipped on a robe to cover her self before heading towards the door.

 

A little body of manic enthusiasm pounced on her the moment the door was opened, shocking her into speechlessness. She couldn’t even scream.

 

“FANY UNNIE!!!” the little body shrieked. “IMISSEDYOUSOMUCH!”

 

“Huh?” replied Tiffany, in a daze. She had a thousand and one questions to ask but before she could say anything else, the little body spoke again.

 

“Fany unnie, please don’t tell oppa that I’m here. He’s not supposed to know.”

 

“Why not?” queried Tiffany.

 

“Hayeon?” A groggy voice that belonged to neither her nor the little body came from behind suddenly.

 

“OPPA?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!”

 

“Hayeon, don’t be rude. But yes, I’m interested to know that too.” Yet another voice joined the equation and the foursome stood and stared in surprise, shock and amusement—each feeling a slightly different version of it.

 

~~~~~
 

“So are you going to marry oppa? Are you going to be my sister-in-law?” Hayeon asked excitedly.

 

“Not just yet, Hayeon.” Tiffany smiled at the girl who had grown taller since the last time she saw her.

 

“Does oppa sleep here often?”

 

Tiffany felt a blush coming on. It was somewhat awkward to talk to a young girl about these things, especially when it involved the girl’s brother.

 

“Hayeon, you still haven’t told me why I’m not supposed to know that you’re here,” interrupted Taeng. The sad pout on his face made Tiffany feel like laughing—he looked so comical—but she held it back.

 

“I’m curious too,” she added. “What’s it about? Jiwoong oppa, can you tell us?”

 

“Let me explain.” Jiwoong took a deep breath and started. “Hayeon received offers from a few good high schools and she’s here to check out one of them. But she wanted to give Taeng a surprise before that and that’s why she dragged me here to look for you.”

 

“A surprise?” Taeng blinked in surprise.

 

“Yeah!” Hayeon chirped.

 

Tiffany couldn’t help grinning at the siblings’ interactions. It was amusing to see a Taeng look-a-like, albeit, a smaller version, chatting so animatedly with Taeng himself. And for some reason, Taeng felt a little manlier just then. As an older brother, she knew that he would protect Hayeon just like he had protected her. That was Taeng. Caring for his loved ones. Knowing what truly mattered. And in that way, he was very much the mature adult, more so than many other people whom she had met before.

 

They concluded the conversation with the agreement that they would visit the high school two days later because Tiffany and Taeng had to be at the press conference that was going to be held later that day. Hayeon had insisted on going with them and so that was the plan. They bade Jiwoong goodbye and Tiffany smiled again when the two brothers embraced in a brotherly hug. Jiwoong was a good example for Taeng. He was very much the dependable elder brother. Taeng was lucky that way.

 

~~~~~
 

DING DONG! The doorbell sounded repeatedly.

 

Hyoyeon looked up from her steaming gogumas and walked out to find out who was at the door. Upon seeing Hyun through the peephole, she balked. Normally, welcoming Hyun into her home wouldn’t be a case for such hesitation. However, she wasn’t expecting him to arrive at her apartment until much later and so she was, at the moment, steaming the gogumas that Hyun thought were from a certain uncle who had the weirdest idiosyncrasies with regard to his goguma business.

 

She had thought about coming clean about the origins of Hyun’s favourite steamed gogumas before. What harm would it do? She ought to tell him. She tried to convince herself but there was just one thing holding her back—a weird kind of embarrassment. She knew that Hyun was under the impression that he was the one who had made the first move on her by making her treat him to gogumas and that she had only fallen for him later on. What he didn’t know was that she had had the hots for him from the very beginning. There was a certain kind of power that she felt in having that knowledge over him—having the man think that he wanted her more than she wanted him. And after playing along with it all this time, it would be rather mortifying for her if the truth were to be exposed.

 

Her mind worked quickly. Spinning up stories was something that she did well and excelled at. This particular skill had gotten her out of many scrapes and also helped her in many situations. Right now, it was going to get her out of this bit of potential embarrassment as well.

 

Putting on a wide smile as she opened the door, she greeted Hyun enthusiastically.

 

“Hyunnie! You’ve come at just the right time!”

 

Hyun looked a little taken aback by her burst of energy and she wondered for a second if she was being overzealous and therefore a little bit too suspicious. It was best to tone it down a little, she supposed.

 

“You’ll never guess what I have cooking in the kitchen right now.”

 

“Gogumas?” Hyun guessed, with inquisitive eyebrows.

 

“Boo, you’re no fun at all.”

 

“But it smells familiar. Like that uncle’s gogumas. That’s his special smell.”

 

“You’re right. It is exactly that.”

 

Hyun gasped. “That uncle’s gogumas?! Cooking in your kitchen??? How? Why?”

 

“Don’t ask. I won’t tell.”

 

Hyun pouted at once.

 

“Why not?”

 

“Because a lady never kisses and tells.”

 

“WHAT? Did you kiss him?” He sputtered.

 

His expression was so incredulous that it set her off laughing. It was much too funny to see stoic Hyun looking like he stepped out from the pages of a manga, what with that gaping mouth and wide open eyes.

 

“And what if I did?” challenged Hyoyeon, itching for a little naughty dispute.

 

“I will—I will…I WONT EAT THOSE GOGUMAS EVER AGAIN!” Hyun exploded, teary eyed.

 

Again, Hyoyeon was reduced to tears by insane bouts of laughter.

 

“Hyunnie, relax. I’m just joking.”

 

“So…you didn’t kiss the goguma uncle.”

 

Hyoyeon laughed some more, shook her head and replied, “There isn’t even a goguma uncle!”

 

The moment the words left her lips, she knew that she had let slip what she had been trying to keep secret for the longest time. It was a fatal mistake. She groaned inwardly but refrained from palming her face lest she made it too obvious.

 

Please don’t catch on to me. Please don’t pick up on what I said!

 

“There isn’t a goguma uncle?” Hyun asked, his eyes widening in surprise.

 

“I meant there was no kiss.”

 

“No, no. You said that there isn’t an uncle.”

 

“Well, I said it wrong.”

 

“Is that why you can never bring me to see him?” Hyun’s eyes narrowed into slits as he stepped closer to her. “I always did wonder why he has such irregular business hours.”

 

“No…he exists…” Hyoyeon was prepared to deny the fact that she had lied till the very end.

 

“But if there’s no uncle…who’s making those gogumas?”

 

“There’s an uncle I’m telling you! There’s an uncle!”

 

Hyun gasped. “It’s you! You made the gogumas all along! You!”

 

“It’s the uncle!”

 

“Then explain why you have a whole pot of the uncle’s gogumas cooking in your kitchen right now.”

 

Hyun was right in front of her, towering over her. She was trapped between the concrete wall and the wall of a boyfriend with nowhere to run. What was a girl to do when she was cornered? Maintain her silence, that’s what.

 

“Why aren’t you answering me?” Hyun’s voice had taken on an amused tone and there was no need to look to know that he was most certainly smiling at the moment. “There’s no uncle, right? You made the gogumas, right?”

 

Hyoyeon bit her lip and kept quiet.

 

“But why didn’t you just tell me from the beginning that you made it?”

 

There was no way she was going to tell him why. No way.

 

Hyun gasped again and she squeezed her eyes shut. No. She wasn’t going to face the music. No way.

 

“You. You liked me already. That’s why you didn’t tell me that you made them. You liked me already!”

 

Hyoyeon kept her eyes shut but they instinctively sprang open when she felt a sudden soft, sweet pressure pressing on her lips followed by warm hands on her hips. Upon realizing that Hyun was, in fact, kissing her, she closed her eyes again and melted into his kiss.

 

~~~~~
 

DING DONG! The doorbell sounded repeatedly.

 

Sunny yawned, stretched and grumbled incoherently about the jarring noise that was disturbing her sleep. Most reluctantly, she opened her eyes and sat up. The doorbell was going off the hook and she swore that she’d get even with the person at the door.

 

“Sunny bunny!” Yoong jumped into her apartment the moment she opened the door and tried to kiss her.

 

“Eek! No! I haven’t brushed my teeth yet!” Sunny tried to fend him off while retreating to her bathroom in a hurry. So much for getting even.

 

He didn’t give up, persevering in his efforts all the way to her bathroom until she finally slammed the door on him.

 

“Wait for me in the living room! And be good!” she yelled from behind the door where she was finally safe from her slightly manic boyfriend. There was silence and she was sure that he was up to something naughty as usual but she had to brush her teeth before stepping out into loony town again.

 

Sure enough, he wasn’t out in the living room, waiting for her like an ordinary boyfriend would. No, that wasn’t Yoong’s style. Instead, she stepped out of her bathroom to find him sprawled across her bed in a lazy fashion, sporting an impish grin that did nothing to calm her down.

 

“What are you up to now?” she rolled her eyes at her impish boyfriend, wondering why she had fallen for a guy like him.

 

He flashed the widest grin ever and got onto his knees on her bed.

 

“I present to you, the largest diamond ring in the world,” he whipped out a large, diamond shaped lollipop that looked exactly like a ring and looked at her earnestly, “so will you please be my woman? Forever and a day?”

 

What was a woman supposed to do with a boyfriend like that? Sunny melted under his lovey dovey eyes and corny act. She walked towards him, yanked the Ring Pop out of his hand and said, “Forever and a day? With a ring like that, you’d be lucky to get a day.”

 

“But it’s your favourite strawberry flavour!” he whined and pouted.

 

She pretended to ponder over his rebuttal for a moment before shaking her head solemnly.

 

“I’ll give you no more than a day.”

 

She burst into peals of laughter when he made a sad face and flopped about on the bed. Oh dear heavens, he always made her day when he was in the mood to play. A quick tug opened the plastic wrapping and she took the Ring Pop out. She then patted his and said, “Help me to put on the largest diamond ring in the world and perhaps I’ll consider giving you another day.”

 

He turned around at once, grinning like a cheeky monkey and slipped the Ring Pop onto her fourth finger. But instead of letting her go, he held on, his eyes clouding over with a sudden gust of emotion.

 

“When everything is right, I’ll put a real diamond ring on this finger and you’ll be mine forever.”

 

Sunny’s heart pounded wildly upon hearing what he said and it was all she could do to say, “I’m already yours. Forever and a day.”

 

~~~~~
 

DING DONG! The doorbell sounded repeatedly.

 

Yoong, Sunny, Hyun and Hyoyeon were crowded around Young’s door. They had agreed to head to the press conference together to give Young support. His reputation was at stake and because he was a Choi, his family would inevitably be affected too. Hence, they felt that he would need his friends to be there, to give him their encouragement to face the pressure coming from the press as well as his own sense of responsibility towards his family.

 

Young was already all dressed up when he opened the door, looking ready to take over the world in his smart navy blue suit.

 

“Hyung, you look good today man.” Yoong stepped forward to give Young a brotherly hug.

 

“We’re here for you, hyung.” Hyun stepped forward and hugged Young as well.

 

“Thanks guys, and girls.” Young grinned like a Cheshire cat but his friends knew that he must be feeling as though he were walking on thin ice.

 

“Is your dad going to be there?” asked Yoong.

 

“Yes.”

 

“That’s good, right?” added Hyun.

 

“I suppose. He’ll know what to say and what to do.”

 

“We’ll go for a drink after the press con. My treat.” Sunny gave Young a tight hug and patted his back comfortingly.

 

“Thanks Sunny. I’ll hold you to that.”

 

Young smiled at his friends and palmed his chest. “Thanks. You all mean the world to me.”

 

~~~~~
 

“This car is bulletproof?” Yoong asked Young as they headed towards the press conference in Young’s Hyundai Equus Limousine.

 

“Yes, we made an armored version of the Equus Limousine and of course, I had to have one.”

 

“This is too cool.

 

“I know, right?”

 

“But did you get the best interest rate when you bought it?” Hyun asked.

 

“Hyun, Young doesn’t even have to buy it. He can simply ask for it.”

 

“Oh, yeah, right. Sorry, I forgot.”

 

“It’s okay, Hyun.”

 

“So, back to this beautiful baby. What’s under the hood?”

 

“A 5.0-liter Tau V8 engine.”

 

“Wow, nice.”

 

“Young, have you seen Krystal ever since she was discharged from the hospital?” Sunny tried to change the subject. She had no desire to listen to Young and Yoong chat on about how fast the car could go and the works. They could go on for a long time and there’d be no end to it.

 

“No, I haven’t.”

 

“Hmm, how are things between the two of you?”

 

She saw Young shooting a dirty look at Yoong who immediately raised his hands in surrender.

 

“I’m innocent! She heard some of it from Tiffany who heard it from Jessica and bugged me to tell her what I know.”

 

Young sighed.

 

“I don’t know how things are.”

 

“But you do like her.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“The kind without an expiry date?”

 

“Without.”

 

Sunny smiled. “Then go for it, Young. You can’t let her go.”

 

“But I don’t really know how she feels. Her best friend hinted that she has feelings for me too but I need to be sure. I don’t want to jeopardize our friendship.”

 

“Mmm, based on what Tiffany heard from Jessica…I’d say there’s a good chance that you’re on a two-way road.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Really.”

 

Sunny smiled when she saw Young’s face alit with hope. She thought he deserved to find that special someone after roaming about aimlessly for so long, just like she did. And she sincerely hoped that his days of being a vagrant lover would be over.

 

~~~~~
 

She inhaled as deeply as she possibly could and held her breath for a while before exhaling in a rush. She did that several times, believing in what her teacher had told her…

 

“Breathe in…hold your breath…and breath out. That’ll get rid of your nerves,” a kind teacher once said to her moments before her presentation started. It was her final project and the presentation played a significant part in securing a good grade for the semester. And it was all thanks to that teacher that she managed to pull off the whole presentation without any hiccups. That was one teacher she’d never forget.

 

However, breathing in and out didn’t seem to help her this time. Her nerves were anything but gone. In fact, they were ever so present, increasing in quantity by the second. Butterflies, moths and every kind of fluttering insect were giving her stomach a hard time as well. She wasn’t feeling good at all. No siree, she was not.

 

So it was rather unbelievable when the butterflies and other flying insects in her stomach shifted drastically within. Her nerves too, jumped and turned into something much more pleasant. Her head was still pounding. Her heart was still thumping. But for an entirely different reason. And the cause of that paradigm shift inside her was none other than the tall, lanky man who strode into the waiting room that she was in.

 

When did his presence have such an effect on her? She had always been happy to see him but never in this way. Never in this soul shifting way. It was almost as though she were reborn. Refreshed. F5. Reloaded. F5. Renewed. F5. For the past few days, she’d been at her computer, pressing the F5 button on her keyboard repeatedly while she waited for him to appear online. When did sending a simple message become so awkward, so difficult? She never had a problem with it before. What had changed?

 

He walked towards her and she could feel her hands shaking. She held them together in a bid to stop the shaking but it wasn’t working. Never did she ever think that she could be this nervous to see him. Yes, she hadn’t seen him since she left the hospital and she missed him a lot but this was ridiculous. Wasn’t it? Shaking hands? How many days have they not seen each other for? Three days? Four? Was that enough to warrant shaking hands? What in the world was wrong with her?

 

He stopped right in front of her and she had to look up to see his face.

 

“Hi.”

 

Gosh, his voice. She wanted to hear more even though it made her feel more nervous than before.

 

“Hi.”

 

She could barely hear her own voice.

 

“It’s been a while. How have you been? Are you well?”

 

He sounded strange. Unfamiliar. Almost like a stranger. Why?

 

“I’m alright now. It wasn’t that serious to begin with.”

 

His mouth opened and shut.

 

What did he want to say? Why couldn’t he say it easily? Was he feeling as nervous as she was? He certainly did not look like his usual self. He was tensed. Very tensed.

 

“What did you want to say?”

 

“I…Krystal, can I ask you a question?”

 

“Sure, Young. Fire away.”

 

“Do you—”

 

The chattering of a few people disturbed the air around them and he jumped away from her instantly. She, too, sat up a little straighter and looked in the direction of the chattering. It was her sister and her future brother-in-law, Yul. They had such impeccable timing. What else could she do but sigh in her heart? She was itching to know what he was about to ask but it would have to wait. Young wasn’t even looking at her anymore.

 

“Young, it’s great to see you again. What have you been busy with? I haven’t heard from you ever since,” asked Yul who had let Jessica’s hand go to give Young a friendly pat on the back before holding her hand again.

 

“I’ve been busy with the company and my family. I, er…had some issues to iron out with my parents.”

 

“What kind of issues, if I may ask?”

 

Young cleared his throat awkwardly and she looked up at him, curious to know. His eyes were on anything but her. It disappointed her for some reason but what he said next boosted her spirits in quantum leaps.

 

“Er…well, basically, my engagement to Jade is cancelled. My father was not pleased to hear of my decision, to say the least but my alternative solution made him happy enough to accept it.”

 

“And what’s your alternative solution?”

 

“I…can’t say anything about it until I clarify a few things.”

 

“I see…I’m sorry if I probed too much, but I hope that you’ll find a good way to dissolve the problem. And if you need any help, I’m available.”

 

“Thanks Yul.”

 

His apparent secrecy about his alternative solution piqued her curiosity but before she could dwell on it any further, more people entered the waiting room, filling the small room to the brim with chatter.

 

She stood up to be introduced to each of them and shook hands with them politely. A cute little smiling woman called Sunny gave her a warm embrace that melted her a little and the warm smiles of the other people made her feel at home. She was glad that she was surrounded by people who cared. It truly made a difference.

 

~~~~~
 

The shrill, ear piercing shriek of feedback from an imbalanced sound system made everyone who was present at the press conference jump in their skins. It made goose bumps appear on some, and sent shivers down the spines of others. Nobody liked that kind of sound, just like nobody liked to be under the spotlight as she was. Or not?

 

Fiddling with her fingers didn’t seem like a nice thing to do so she made herself stop. Her father was addressing the press who had stood up and taken a ton of pictures as they made their way up the stage to their seats. She was seated right in the middle, being the subject of the press conference. Jessica was seated with poise on her left while Young looked absolutely dashing on her right. Her father and Young’s father flanked left and right respectively and together, they made for a picture that would look strangely, very much like a family.

 

At the back were Yul and her sister’s friends, Tiffany, Tiffany’s boyfriend, Taeng, and Taeng’s sister, Hayeon. She liked Hayeon and her snow white complexion, beautiful double lidded eyes and most of all, her bright spirit. The young girl had given her a big hug and wished her all the best with bright, sincere eyes that reminded her of a very loyal dog. Such a dear she was. Young’s friends, Yoong, Sunny, Hyun and Hyoyeon were also at the back, right next to her sister’s friends. Sunny was the one who gave her that lovely, warm hug. It was nice.

 

Her sister’s friends were here. Young’s friends were here. But where was her one and only friend? Where was Sulli? Why hadn’t she come? She didn’t even pick up her calls. Where was she?

 

~~~~~