chapter twoCoincidences…or not

SLACK-JAWED, Soohyun looked at the man’s body crumpled on the ground. His eyes darted back and forth, wide with fear and admiration for the girl standing in front of him. Who was she? His mind could barely process what had just happened. Only moments ago, had she seemed to possess an immeasurable strength when she clocked the man over the back of his head with a chipped rock. Soohyun looked at her in wonder, trying to identify her. Had they ever met before?

He peered at the girl more closely. She was dressed in faded jeans with a flannel shirt loosely tied over a black tank top. A pendant hung low on her neck –a gleaming ruby– and her unruly hair was mostly tucked underneath a plain cap. Her feet sported black combat boots, laced right up and in good need of polishing.

“You’re welcome.”

Her voice made him jump.

“Wh-” he stopped himself, clearing his throat awkwardly. “Sorry, what?”

A corner of the girl’s mouth turned upwards. “I said... you’re welcome.” She drawled arrogantly, turning towards him for the first time. “And, unless you have an appetite for flies, I suggest you close your mouth, pretty boy.”

Soohyun flushed, reaching up to scratch his neck distractedly. It was an annoyingly obvious habit of his –particularly when he was embarrassed or nervous.

“Ok then… what are we supposed to do about this?” he asked, gesturing to the body that lay near his feet. The girl laughed, but without humour. Then, seeing his troubled expression she raised an eyebrow at him.

“Aigoo.” She said incredulously. “You make it sound like I’ve murdered someone.”

Now Soohyun was frustrated.

“How am I supposed to think any different? I don’t know what type of person you are and I can hardly see what you even look like.” He countered, voice firm. “Why are you disguised, unless you’ve got something to hide…?” he added, posing the question with a meaningful glance.

“There’s nothing you need to know about me. Sorry.” The girl said flatly, not sounding sorry at all. “Just don’t tell anyone about this. No one can know –not your parents and especially not the police. Once the media gets involved, the situation will blow up in our faces. This man…” –she indicated the body with a nod– “clearly wants something from you and probably has some major connections. If you screw this up, we’ll both be blacklisted.”

With one final glance, she turned to leave.

“Wait… at least tell me your name.” and when the girl seemed to protest, Soohyun added, “Just so when I remember what you did today, I know who I’m thankful for.”

The girl hesitated, almost considering it.

Her eyes flickered towards him. “You’ll know soon enough.” She muttered, noticing his uniform for the first time. A conflicted expression flickered across her face as she made a decision. “Eunjung… The name’s Eunjung. I would say it’s a pleasure to meet you, but it really isn’t.” She paused, “Oh, and if you tell anyone about this, you’re dead.”

And, to add to the effect, she made a cutting sound. Soohyun nearly smiled.

“Eunjung…” he said carefully, testing it out. “I won’t forget it.”

“You probably should.” She stated bluntly. “By the way, you might want to see if your brother is alright. He looks a little pale.”

Soohyun started in shock, a little guilty about forgetting his brother’s presence for the second time that day.

“Gunwoo, are you ok?” He asked with concern.

“Hyung…”

“Let’s go home now.” Soohyun said softly, taking his hand. He was going to have to find a way of explaining this later. Gunwoo nodded. When Soohyun turned back, perhaps to thank Eunjung again, she was gone.

Thirty minutes later, Eunjung stepped tiredly into her apartment, cringing at the stench of alcohol. Her aunt, Na-sin, must have been drinking again. She sighed. From her experience, it was probably better not to ask. Slipping into a pair of comfortable shoes, she padded to the kitchen in search of chocolate milk –she needed some energy to clean up the mess that Na-sin had so kindly left on the lounge.

“Eunjung… is that you?” came the slurred voice of Na-sin. Appearing in the hallway, Na-sin glared accusingly at Eunjung, though in her drowsy state it had no effect. Her hair was strewn everywhere, terribly messy and her cheeks were streaked with dried tears. Her make-up was smudged, obscuring the usual softness of her eyes and rendering her face to that of a raccoon’s. In other situations, one might have found her state to be comical but to Eunjung it was anything but. She seethed, feeling disgusted at her aunt.

“Yes. It’s me Ajumma.” Eunjung said with sarcasm underlying her curt tone. After taking a swig from her milk carton, she turned to pick up the emptied wine bottles scattered everywhere.

“You! You- Don’t speak in that tone with me.” Na-sin said, feebly attempting to scold her. “Not after all the trouble you’ve caused me. As your Aunt, I- I should have more respect from you. Why are you so late again?”

Eunjung laughed bitterly, facing her Aunt.

“Do you even have a right to say that?” Her expression turned dark. “If you want my respect, then earn it. Don’t come home just to drink until you can’t even remember your own name. Don’t try to drown your sorrows away because they won’t disappear. Stop blaming others for your own mistakes and take responsibility for yourself. If you want to stay pitiable, that’s fine. Then at least, stay out of my life so I don’t have to–” care. “–associate with someone so shameful.”

Na-sin slapped her, and hard. Eunjung should have seen it coming, she knew that, but nonetheless it stung. There would be a bruise later, for sure.

“Don’t you dare- Don’t be so hurtful… you horrible girl.” Na-sin said, voice shaking. Her eyes were starting to well up as she began to realise the full meaning of what Eunjung had said. “Do you think your parents would be proud?”

“What parents? Who are you to say that anyway?” Eunjung said, scoffing. Then her voice grew cold, “I can take anything but hypocritical judgments. That’s what I hate the most in this world.”

Without another word, she stalked off, ignoring the pangs of guilt she felt from hearing Na-sin’s loud sobbing in the background. The moment her bedroom door shut however, she leaned against it and closed her eyes. When did things turn out this way? Why? She willed herself not to cry –whether out of anger or hurt, she hated feeling the tears that were now slipping down her cheeks. Not bothering to wipe them, she numbly walked across her room. Without a second thought, she punched the wall, attempting to draw her mind to the physical pain. It worked.

Blood trickled down her arm, two knuckles had burst open like capsules and another was grazed. It hurt, but soon enough she was able to focus on her injury. Moving efficiently, she retrieved some bandages and a tube of antiseptic cream from the cupboard beside her bed. She headed to the bathroom to run her hands under water and winced as she applied the cream to her wound. After cleaning the mess, she paused, wondering if Na-sin was asleep.

Before even realising what she was doing, Eunjung found Na-sin sprawled on the floor in her own bedroom –either passed out or sleeping, she couldn’t tell. Not completely heartless, Eunjung felt a stab of sorrow as she regarded her Aunt. Her face was peaceful and her body relaxed. There was no sign of worry written on her expression as she slept. She was oblivious to the harsh reality of her life. It was saddening.

Eunjung kneeled before Na-sin’s sleeping form, careful not to wake her as she lifted her from the ground. Stumbling under the weight, she placed a supportive arm around Na-sin and half-carried, half-pushed her towards the bed. When she had managed to get Na-sin under the quilt, Eunjung removed her outer jacket and shoes. She tucked her in, stopping to give her a kiss on the forehead –surprising herself at the action– and left the room.

Back at home, Soohyun lay on his bed, unable to sleep. After arriving home almost an hour ago, he had been relieved to find out that his mother had simply caught up with an old friend after sending Gunwoo to find him at the electronics store. Then her phone battery had died and she hadn’t been able to contact them because she couldn’t remember his number. Fair enough.

Except for one thing.

When Soohyun thought about it, how many old friends did his mother have? None that she had mentioned before –particularly in Seoul. So what was going on? What could she possibly be hiding from him? And most of all… why?

These were the thoughts that had been bothering him for the past half hour. That, and his concern for Gunwoo about what had happened earlier. The man, Eunjung and the talk of his father –it made no sense. What had started out as an ordinary day, had proved to be otherwise. Soohyun rolled onto his side, frustrated. Was it right to tell Gunwoo to forget all of it?

Sleep did not come to him that night.

2 days later…

Slamming his locker door shut, Soohyun headed for the dance studio. He had a morning lesson as per usual, so after changing into appropriate clothes earlier, he was going to practise before everyone else arrived. He needed to think of a song to choreograph a group dance for the school performance night at the end of the Term. So far, it hadn’t been easy.

As he listened to some choices, praying for some inspiration, he entered the studio. At the sight before him, however, he stopped short. In the middle of the room, a girl was dancing on her own –to no music. She was average in height, her movements fluid and powerful but at times sloppy. She seemed to be entirely captured in her own world, unaware of her surroundings. Entranced, Soohyun took his headphones off soundlessly and stepped forward.

The girl had straight, dark hair that fell in a chin-grazing bob. She wore a red hoodie with faded track pants and dancing shoes. She also had on a pair of silver hooped earrings that looked almost as big as her ears –which made Soohyun wonder why girls did that. Sure they were pretty, but weren’t those earrings dangerous to wear? He had never understood fashion trends for girls.

“What are you doing here?” the girl’s voice rang out in the room, startling Soohyun. He noted that she sounded tense… and vaguely familiar. Now that he thought about it, he was sure he had seen her before. Was it– no. Surely it wasn’t her. He tilted his head to the side, examining her behaviour more closely. “I said,” the girl interrupted his thoughts, turning her head so he could only see half her face, “What are you doing here? The lesson hasn’t started yet and I don’t appreciate having an audience while I practice.”

The instant she faced him, Soohyun realised why she was so familiar. If her hair had been tucked up inside a cap, yes, he could see the resemblance. It was the girl from two days ago, the one who had knocked out a full grown man without a second thought, the one called-

“Eunjung.” He had barely said the name when her eyes widened, also in recognition.

“You again? Already?” Eunjung said in disbelief. “I can’t believe it.” She gave him an appraising glance, eyes trailing over him in an almost predatory manner. “You don’t look much like a dancer.”

Soohyun scoffed. “Oh really? Well, then do enlighten me.” He said folding his arms, leaning against the wall. Then something occurred to him, “Wait. What did you mean by already? You knew that we were going to meet again?” He thought back to their first encounter, finally understanding. “Ah, my uniform.”

“Yes. I’ve been going to this school for the last five years. And, before you ask, we didn’t meet earlier because I was suspended for the first two weeks of term.”

“For doing what… exactly?” Soohyun asked warily. Eunjung smirked at him, thoroughly amused by his uneasiness. Bending forward, she pretended to stage-whisper.

“If I told you, I’d probably have to kill you.” she said with a wink.

“Eunjung! Try not to scare off the new kid, neh?” came the familiar voice of Soohyun’s fellow classmate and newest friend, Jason. He was a senior student, just like Soohyun and had a lean build. His hair was a chestnut brown and his dark eyes seemed to make girls go crazy for him. Jason was a jovial person, one of the few people that had bothered to introduce himself and his friends to Soohyun. “Besides, we just got you back.” Jason added with a playful smile.

He slung an arm around Soohyun, directing him to the front of the room as students began piling in. The locker bell had rung. Looking over his shoulder, Soohyun caught Eunjung’s taunting gaze just as their teacher, Mr Aubrey, walked in.

Mr Aubrey was a short bald man who wore purple-rimmed designer glasses and always had a habit of leaving things behind. Soohyun didn’t know much else about him, except that he was a strict, professional dance teacher and had earned a lot of respect from many students.

 “Good morning class! We’re going to start our group dances today. You should be able to have a song chosen by now and if you haven’t, you’ll need to consult me. If you have already started, just make sure that I’ve approved so we can get a move on. Performance night will be coming up in no time, so... let’s get cracking.” He said with a clap to get everyone moving. Immediately students began chattering excitedly as they formed their respective groups.

“But sir, what about Eunjung?” someone called out from the back.

“Ah yes! Eunjung, thank you for gracing us with your presence today.” Mr Aubrey said cheerfully, noticing her for the first time. “I’m sure you can decide which group you want to be in. Oh, and before I forget… this is Kim Soohyun, he transferred here two weeks ago.” He gestured to Soohyun, who gave a small wave.

Eunjung nodded, “Kim Soohyun... So that’s your name.” she muttered, eyeing him with curiosity.

Standing in the far end of the dancing studio, by a mirrored wall, Soohyun was talking to Jason, presumably showing him some possible songs for their dance. Focusing on Soohyun properly Eunjung noted that he was rather well built, but not overly so, and had quite nice features. His hair was dark and tousled, curling slightly at the base of his neck –he needed a hair cut– and his eyes were a soft brown. She remembered how shocked those eyes were when she had appeared in front of him for the first time.

 “Sir, I’ve decided. I’ll be in Soohyun’s group.” She answered, effectively cutting off Mr Aubrey. She belatedly realised that he had been chattering away for the past few minutes, whilst she had been lost in thought. When Mr Aubrey nodded his assent, Eunjung turned her attention back to Soohyun.

There was something about him that interested her. She wasn’t sure as to what, though. Was it the way he held himself? The way he laughed? She couldn’t pinpoint it and until she knew what it was, she would have to spend more time with him. As she approached the group he was in, he seemed to sense her piercing stare. Instead of shying away, he sent her a challenging look; lips curved slightly upwards –an indication of his amusement. So he wanted to play her game huh? A game she didn’t even know the rules to? Fine.

Game on. She thought, with a small smile of her own.

PREVIEW OF CHATPER THREE:

Before anyone had a chance to ask what she was doing, Eunjung cupped his face in her hands, pulled Soohyun closer and kissed him.

STORY COMMENTS

@Hyoderella thankyou for the lovely comment! It's great to know that someone likes my story this much :P

@wishfulthinker I hope I lived up to your standards in this chapter :DD I know I said I would have it a bit longer, but this was how the chapter worked out. The next chapter will be even longer -I gotta get used to writing so much eh? heee :L