O1 : Chance

 

 

100,000 won for all the stuff animal eyes she had sown on till 4am in the morning for two weeks.

 

50,000 won saved from walking instead of taking public transit.

 

300,000 won earned from working part time at the convenience store…

 

…Ah right and the 500,000 won home stay fees from Dino Song Ga Yeong.

 

Bora sighed and pushed her long locks of dark tresses back in distress as she went through all her bills and receipts. Even after adding up all the revenue for this month she was still 200,000 won short for paying the gas bills.

 

No matter how many times the young freelancer recalculates her revenue it still isn’t any good – still 200,000 won short.

 

“Aigoo~ I can’t go on like this! My life is going to be over!” Bora groaned as she buries her face into the pile of bills and receipts. She runs her fingers furiously through her hair in frustration.

 

A distant laugh makes its way behind her, as the person owning the playful voice opens the refrigerator located in the kitchen where she sat.

 

“Unnie, are you in debt again?” The voice asks carelessly.

 

Bora snaps around from her chair with an exasperated expression, “Yah Song Ga Yeong what do you mean by again?” 

 

The twinkle of playfulness sparked in Ga Yeong’s loveband underlined eyes.

 

“Yeah again unnie, remember? You were indebt last month too.”

 

The older young woman faltered her eyes and pouted her lips as she stared silently at her young renter. Why can’t she at least make her feel a little better? Sigh…Kids these days.

 

Without an argumentative retort Bora flung herself back onto her mound of debts and wailed pitifully, “I’m so dead! If this goes on, the bank is going to confiscate my apartment…! By then it is going to be all over!”

 

To Bora’s surprise Ga Yeong desperately flung herself onto her, “Yah unnie you can’t loose this apartment…!”

 

Bora bit her lips and thought, what a thoughtful girl Ga Yeong is to think of the meaningfulness of the apartment to her because her dead grandmother had given it to her in her will.

 

“…If you loose this apartment it means I can’t live here anymore! I don’t want my parents to have to find another place for me to stay at; I don’t want to stay at some nosey ahjumma’s place! Or…or worse I don’t want to go back to Vancouver!”

 

Yes, leave it to Song Ga Yeong to think of her own well being first.

 

Bora lifted herself up and sighed, “…Then Ms. Selfish Song Ga Yeong what am I supposed to do?”

 

Ga Yeong pouted, “Unnie, don’t be like that…this is a dog eat dog world, I have the rights to protect myself.”

 

Bora noted this girl isn’t at all stupid; she may sometimes be full of nonsense and surfing a little below average in university, but Song Ga Yeong definitely has her own agenda.

 

Bora’s dark opal like eyes observed Ga Yeong’s expression precisely as she prepared herself for what she is going to ask.

 

“Ga Yeong-ah…”

 

“Yes unnie, what is it?” Ga Yeong replies skeptically.

 

“…”

 

“Let me raise a little of your home stay fee okay?” Bora said cautiously and pulled on her best grin, “…like by about 200,000 won?”

 

Ga Yeong’s eyes widen to it’s fullest, “Unnie! Am I the sacrificial lamb now?!”

 

“Ga Yeong-ah! Please! I’m not sacrificing you! I just need your help! …Plus with the amount that you eat, 200,000 won is really little!”

 

Ga Yeong steps back and shake her head, “No unnie! If you ask my parents for a raise they’ll for sure make me move! …And-and when one problem comes up, my grades are for sure going to come up for interrogation! If they find out about my grades they’re going to hitch me up to the next plane back to Vancouver as quick as I can blink! So hell no!” 

 

Bora gets up from her stool and slowly walks towards Ga Yeong, her face paired with her usual exasperated look. Ga Yeong takes steps back frightfully while Bora takes steps closer towards her.

 

“And why are your grades so bad Ga Yeong-shii?”

 

Ga Yeong shivers…She doesn’t like the sound of this.

 

“…Is it not because I’ve been very open minded towards you Ga Yeong-shii? Hmmm?”

 

“…”

 

 

“…Is it not because I’ve been turning a blind eye on your ‘extracurricular’ activities outside of school?”

 

“U-unnie…” Ga Yeong whimpers as she backs her way closer and closer towards her room.

 

“Answer me, Song Ga Yeong-shii.”

 

Ga Yeong pouted and points an accusing finger at Bora, “Yah unnie don’t give yourself too much credit! You turn a blind eye because you’re too busy with your debts!”

 

The lioness stalks a few more steps…Her pray ready at her heels.

 

“What did you say?!”

 

…With a leap from her hind legs she pounces into the prays lair as the pray scurries for safety!

 

“Unnie please don’t call my parents!!! Please don’t turn into a nosey ahjumma! …Unnie I’m begging you!”

 

…And the lioness subdues her pray.

 

- - - -

 

“Kris Gege!” A tall dark haired boy skipped energetically into the practice room with a smile on his usual solemn features. His sudden presence in the room extracted the attention from the four EXO members from their dance practice.

 

“Tao, what’s the hurry?” Lu Han, the baby faced hyung of the group asked in Mandarin with a sudden jolted movement. Beads of sweat fell from his forehead as he fanned himself in hopes to cool down.

 

Se Hun who was just lounging around in the practice room handed Lu Han a towel and a bottle of water while his curiosity peaked his head around peculiarly. 

 

Kris and Lay slowed down their movements as they waited for Tao to continue.

 

Tao halted in front of his band mates and beamed uncontrollably, “Hey guys! Do you know that the company is hiring a personal chef for us?!”

 

A wave of confusion knocked through the members.

 

What does he mean by a personal chef? Sure they were mostly too busy to cook for themselves…but a cup of instant noodle usually does the trick.

 

“Why are we getting a chef?” Kris asked and furrowed his brows. He couldn’t understand why they were getting special treatment as a rookie group. He never heard of Super Junior or Shinee getting something like a personal chef.

 

“I’m not exactly sure, but manager hyung said something about talking about our eating habits with the trainers and higher ups, he said they became concerned with what we were eating and us missing meals or something…But aren’t you guys excited?! It means we get good food!” Tao explained and emphasized on his last statement.

 

Sehun blinked and rubbed his chin as a distant memory revitalized itself in his mind, “Now that I think about it, I remember Suho hyung mentioning something like that to us yesterday too! Suho hyung said the company wanted to make sure we were eating right and stay healthy so we can focus on work.”

 

“Yeah, I talked to Suho hyung about it too, but we came to a conclusion that it was only a rumor.” Lay concluded.

 

“But guys it’s not a rumor anymore! Manager hyung passed by me and Min Seok (Xiu Min) hyung today and told us.”

 

Lu Han chuckled, “Of course he’d be telling the both of you who thinks about food 99.9% of the day first…No surprise there.”

 

“Hyung!” Tao pouted.

 

Sehun widened his eyes in excitement and exclaimed, “This is great news, I should go tell the others…Lu Han hyung, Kris hyung, Lay hyung, Tao hyung... I’ll be back!” Sehun finished his sentence with 2PM’s song melody.

 

The remaining four EXO-M members stared at the disappearing figure of Sehun.

 

“Be back?” Lay scratched the back of his head, “Shouldn’t that kiddo be practicing with EXO-K? I was beginning to wonder why he was leisurely lounging around here…”

 

- - - -

 

A few days after Bora’s most detested day of the month; calculating bills day, the young freelancer is still wracking her brain to think of a solution to her monthly money problem. It wasn’t like she wasn’t hardworking. In contrary Shin Bora has been working her off to find any sort of job that can earn her whatever bit of money. However with only a high school diploma there isn’t many places that would willingly employ her.

 

The condo door clicked open and in came none other then Ga Yeong back from a day’s hard work at Yonsei University. …Or so Bora presumes.

 

Ga Yeong slipped off her oxford stilettos and put on a pair of light green dinosaur feet slippers. Bora had bought the slippers for her because apparently she sometimes walked like a T-Rex and screamed and laughed like one…but never mind that (besides how can one laugh and scream like a dinosaur?)

 

Although Ga Yeong had initially despised being called a dinosaur as much as she didn’t like the pair of slippers, now she just accepts it as Bora’s way of building a closer relationship so she doesn’t really mind it anymore. It wasn’t like she has to wear the slippers out on the streets.

 

“Anyoung Unnie!” Ga Yeong waved casually as she immediately made a turn for the kitchen and opened the fridge door. Hmmmmm there is Kimchi…a loaf of bread…orange juice…

 

“Yah Dino, is there not one day where you don’t open the fridge first, after getting home?”

 

Ga Yeong turned her head around with her hand still on the fridge handle and pouted. She whined, “Unnie~ baegopa!”

 

Bora sighed and got up from her seat to the kitchen area.

 

“How does Gimbap sound?” Bora asks while pulling out ingredients from the fridge.

 

Ga Yeong grins, “ Yes, yes! You are the best Bora unnie!” She peaks her head happily over Bora’s shoulders as she watched Bora prepare to make her Gimbap. Another reason why Ga Yeong doesn’t want to move anywhere else is because her favourite unnie has the hands of god when it comes to making food. Ga Yeong believes Bora may probably make better food then most restaurants.

 

“I’m only making you one roll okay?” Bora spoke as she flattened the freshly steamed rice onto a sheet of seaweed, “…We’re going to have dinner soon, I’m making Japchae and bulgolgi.”

 

“Ah daebak unnie! Today is my lucky day!” Ga Yeong shouts as she did a little celebratory dance.

 

Bora jokes as she lines cucumber over the rice, “Everyday can be your lucky day if you can think of a good idea to help your unnie make sure she doesn’t loose this apartment.”

 

Ga Yeong widens her eyes as a mental light bulb pops into her head, “AH!”

 

She scurries into her room and almost instantaneously she appeared again with her Macbook.

 

“Unnie look!”

 

Bora glances over at what Ga Yeong is trying to show her.

 

“I found this today at the internet café! Look here on SM Entertainment’s webpage bulletin, they are looking for someone with culinary experience. No college degree required.” Ga Yeong clicked on a link to continue showing an intently staring Bora, the details, “Isn’t this just perfect for unnie?! If you apply you’re definitely going to get accepted! Unnie’s cooking is the best! And with your experience at your grandmother’s restaurant what is there that you don’t know how to make?!”

 

Still paused with a kitchen knife in her hand ready to cut the Gimbap, Bora’s eyes didn’t leave Ga Yeong’s Macbook screen:

 

SME NOTICE

Looking for a chef

-Have applicable experiences

-Any age or gender

-Full time

-No college degree required

-Needs to be flexible

 

Bora felt as if her breath is caught in as she scanned over the words, over and over again. This really is her chance!

 

…

But wait…

 

Something didn’t seem right.

 

…Wait.

 

Bora’s eyes deliberately left the laptop screen and lift her gaze curiously to meet an enthusiastic Ga Yeong.

 

“…Say Song Ga Yeong, weren’t you at school today? What exactly were you doing at the Net Café?”

 

Ga Yeong’s cat like eyes widened as she instantaneously covered as a reflex.

 

“Uh…Unnie I can explain…”