MinKi

In class today, we end up finding out that we’ll be having partners for the project and the teacher gets to choose. I end up being stuck with JR. He tells us to choose a dynasty. We I end up choosing the Joseon Dynasty. A lot of the kids get mad because the Joseon Dynasty is when a lot of things happened which have made Korea what it is today. We don’t get to do anything so he promises us that we’ll get enough time tomorrow to discuss our research strategies.  I try to tell JR that I’ve got his shirt with me but he just ignores me and walks away. All through the day, I get no homework. Duck-won and I promise to meet after school; same time same area so that I can go with him to get his haircut. For once in my life, today is the only day that JR hasn’t picked on me. We play dodge ball again in gym. I go and stand near the gym after school, waiting for Duck-Won. He comes a few moments later.

“You ready?” I ask. He nods his head and we begin walking out of the school.

“So where do you want to get your haircut?” I ask him as we walk towards the bus station.

“I don’t really know Seoul so you choose” He says, as the bus stops in front of us. We get in and sit in the back.

“Let’s go to I’PARK Mall. The people there are really good and it’s cheap too” I say, pulling out my phone. I text my mother.

Text:

Umma,

I’m going with a friend to the mall. I’ll be home a little bit later.

~Ren ;)

End of Text

Something catches my eyes as I’m scrolling through my contact list. The only people who are on my contact are Mr.Yi, Linh, Duck-Won and my mom, but why is BaekHo’s number in my phone? Then it hits me.  I think when I left my phone in his room, he must have grabbed it and stored in his number. I decide to text him.

Text to BaekHo-

We don’t have homework today, so I’m not going to come over

End of Text

I put my phone back inside my pocket and turn to Duck-Won.

“So what type of haircut do you want?” I ask.

“I don’t know. Anything that looks good with my face” He says, looking out the window.

“Seoul is so nice” He says, looking at me.

“How’s Pohang like?”

“Pohang is a really beautiful city. The air is much fresher than Seoul but Seoul is pretty too” He says. We sit quietly for the next 25 minutes until the bus stops at Yongsan Station in Yongsan-gu Seoul, the other side of the Han River. We get out of the bus and observe.

“So this is I’PARK Mall. It’s so big” He says. I grab him by the wrist and start walking towards the entrance.

“Where are we going?” He asks, while walking behind me.

“We’re going to the 3^rd floor” I say, letting go of his hand while walking towards the elevator. He comes in a moment after and the elevator whisks us up to the 3^rd floor.

“MinKi, they have stairs and  escalators. We could have taken those” He says, as we get out of the elevator. I stop and turn around.

“Duck-Won, why walk up 6 flights of stairs when there’s a magical thing called the elevator?” I ask him.

“I don’t know. Let’s just go” He says, avoiding eye contact. By him just doing that means that I MinKi just won the battle -^^-

“Okay, follow me then Masta Wu” I say, adjusting my bag straps. I lead the way to GO! GO! Hair salon. We stand in front, looking at the sign.

“I got my hair dyed here. See the great job they did” I say, putting my hand through my hair.

“Yeah yeah I see it, can we go in now?” he says, pushing my arm. We walk right in and immediately a hair stylist comes our way.

“How may I help you today?” She says. This girl looks too hyper with the freakishly black and orange hair, bright pink lips and gothic clothing. She looks like a Visual Kei Artist.

 “I’m Tiffany and I’ll be your hairstylist today” She says, shaking our hands.

“Ahmmmm…… I want to get a haircut and dye” Duck-Won says, scratching the back of his head.

“Come right this way” She says, walking towards a salon chair. Duck-Won takes a seat while I stand behind him.

“So what do you want?”She asks, sticking a pen inside . Ewww, that’s icky.

“Give me a haircut that will make my face look good, but as for the hair dye you choose” He says, looking at himself in the mirror.

“Why don’t you get your hair dyed platinum blonde?” I ask, touching his locks.

“Yeah Platinum blonde will look very good on you” She says.

“Okay” He says, smiling. I go to the waiting room and look through the magazines as I wait. As I’m looking through VOGUE Korea, something catches my eyes. In there, they’re advertising BIGBANG earrings. I find 2 earrings which I think will look very good on Duck-Won. After 45 minutes of waiting, Duck-Won finally appears. I sit there with my mouth opened.

“Do I look that bad?” He says, walking towards me.

“No…..You look so good like that” I say, getting up. I put the magazine back and approach him. I put my hands through his hair, admiring the softness.

“Thank you” He says, blushing.

“Hey how much money do you have left?” I ask him, as we walk out of the salon.

“I have ₩23,000 ($20 dollars) left. Why?”He asks, as we walk towards the tattoo/piercing parlor.

“I think you’ll look great with pierced ears”I say as we walk through the tattoo/piercing parlor.

We immediately walk towards the display case of earrings, admiring them. After minutes of looking, we ask the guy behind the counter how much it’ll cost to get both ears. We find out that it costs ₩29,000 ($25 dollars) for both ears and an additional ₩4,000 ($4 dollars). I pull Duck-Won aside and pull out some cash.

“MinKi, I can’t afford to get both of my ears pierced”He says.

“Ah yeah you can. Use this. Don’t pay me back”I say, handing him ₩10,000 ($9 dollars). We walk back to the guy and say that we’re ready. Duck-Won chooses the black Yes No earrings. We walk to the back of the store. Duck-Won sits on the stool while the man prepares the things to pierce. Duck-Won squeezes my hands as his ears are getting pierced. When it’s finally done, he looks at himself in the hand held mirror given to him.

“Dude, you look good”the guy says. I nod in approval, bringing a smile to Duck-Won. I buy him black cross earrings as a gift. As we’re walking out of the store, my phone starts vibrating. I pull it out and look at the number. It’s BaekHo.

“Hey”I say, looking at Duck-Won. He mouths a ‘who is it?’I put the conversation on speaker so that Duck-Won will be able to listen on.

“Hi, Can you guys come over and hang out. I’m feeling really bored”BaekHo whines through the phone.

“BaekHo, we have a surprise for you”Duck-Won says as we walk towards the elevator.

“Ooohhhh, I like surprises!!!!”We hear Yuki say, in the background.

“Yeah you guys should hurry and come. I’m now excited”He says. We hang up after saying our goodbyes and board the elevator. We get out of the mall just in time to catch the 5pm bus. I pay for our bus fare. The bus arrives at the school station at 5:25pm. We get off and make our journey towards BaekHo’s house. We get there faster than I imagined.  SaeRyun answers the door when I knock.

“Woah!!! Duck-Won your hair’s looking nice”SaeRyun says, as he leaves the door

“Thank you, SaeRyun”Duck-Won says, bowing. We quickly take off our shoes and rush up the stairs. I knock before going in. We find Yuki sitting on BaekHo’s bed with BaekHo propped up on a pillow.

“Oppa!!!”Yuki yells as soon as she sees Duck-Won. She goes running towards Duck-Won.

“Oppa, you’ve changed. Me like”Yuki says, winking at Duck-Won.

“Duck-Won you now look like Daesung”BaekHo says, chuckling. Duck-Won goes over to BaekHo and hugs him while I play with Yuki.

“Duck-Won, I really like your new look. Now you and MinKi are twins!”BaekHo says, laughing out loud.

“Thanks”Duck-Won says. I carry Yuki and walk over to the foot of the bed.

“Are you getting better BaekHo?”I ask, still holding onto Yuki.

“Yeah, I’m a little less sore and I don’t feel any pain on my eye or cheek”He says.

“Unni, we need to leave for your piano lesson”Yuki says, tagging on my shoulder.

“Okay Yuki Seon-saeng-nim”I say, walking away. We practice playing a simple piano piece and I’m actually able to do it. Duck-Won and I end up staying over for dinner. We end up leaving the house around 8pm. While on the bus, Duck-Won and I arrange to meet in front of the school at 7:20am. When I get home, my mother isn’t all that mad about me hanging out at a friend’s house.

She’s actually happy that I’ve got people I can call friends.

 Definition:

Visual Kei(ヴィジュアル系)- A movement amongst Japanese Musicians

GO! GO! Hair Salon- A Korean hair salon near where I live

I’PARK Mall- A Mega Mall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea.

Masta Wu- A Rapper under YG Entertainment

Yongsan Station- A station in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea

₩- Korean money sign for the Won.

Seon-saeng-nim(선생님)- Teacher in Korean(Formal)

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Sorry for the late update. I've been very lazy lately......don't feel like writing