Chapter 6

Tabi’s POV

I finally finished unpacking all my stuff.  It took me this long coz every day, I had to go out early and come home late coz I couldn’t stay.  I just didn’t want to.  Today’s different though.  I’ll just stay in my room and go down if I had to.  I need to prepare for tomorrow.  Advance reading and all those kinds of things losers do.  I decided to take a shower after sweating from all the unpacking and arranging I did earlier.  After a warm bath, I didn’t put any clothes on.  It was more comfortable that way.  I attached my iPod to my speaker and turned the volume high enough to fill the room with music.  I my playlist for Yiruma.

I grabbed my class schedule and lied on my bed.  I was scanning for my schedule for tomorrow.  I’ll be having Introduction to Business Ad, Statistics and Political Science.

Political Science.

Like, is this even serious?  Why on earth do we have to study Political Science in a Business Administration course?  And I realized that I’m really back to college.  With all the useless subjects just to add up to the units.  And stress.  I picked up my Intro to BusAd book and started reading it.  I couldn’t stay in one position for a very long time so I started pacing around the room.  After almost 2 hours of reading and trying to understand the first 3 chapters, I remembered that there was a garden somewhere in this house.  I remember seeing it through the kitchen window when I first got here.  I could use some fresh air, so I put my boxers and my tracksuits on and went down.

I didn’t expect much, but the garden was beautiful.  It was maintained pretty well.  There was a coffee table with three chairs under the cherry blossom tree near the row of sunflowers.  I was marvelling at its beauty when I saw something move from the corner, where some roses were.  It was Dara.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

She jumped in surprise and turned to face me.  She obviously didn’t know that someone was there.

“Geez, you startled me!  Don’t you know how to knock?!”

“You’re not in a room.”

Again, awkward silence fell.

“Right.”

“What are you doing?” I asked again.

“What are you wearing?”

“What do you mean?”

She asked me what I was wearing.  I got confused.  Exactly what does she mean?  She looked at me from head to foot and burst out laughing.

“Tiger prints?  Man, that’s so centuries ago.  Leopard prints are IN.”

“Heol.  So, we’re talking about fashion here, huh.  What are you wearing then?  Loose wife beaters and loose sequinsed track pants.  And look at your hair.  What’s that supposed to be?  Bunny ears?  Tch.”

I scanned her from head to foot and smirked.

“What? You!  It’s called hip hop –“

“Ha!  Hip hop huh?  I’ve never seen someone hip hop wearing rubber flip flops.  No, wait.  I think you can actually hop, you look like a rabbit with your hair.  But you’re not hip.”

I scowled at her and she was speechless.  I was amused with her facial expression.

“By the way, you’ve got dirt on your cheek.  I guess you were digging a hole?  Sorry for disturbing you.”  I sarcastically.  I can see she was very annoyed.

“Just who do you think you are?!!”

“I’m a RAP.  PUHR.  I’m going out.”

I turned around to walk away, so as not to burst out laughing in front of her.

“NOT WITH THOSE TIGER PRINTS!!!”

“Say what?” I never looked back and just teased that one last time before I left.

--

Dara’s POV

“Ooohh, that annoying cat!”

Rabbit?  Me?  Who does he think he is?  What a weird fellow!

I was so agitated I couldn’t get over what just happened and before I realized it, I was already looking up at the sky, shouting.

“Ya Seunghyun-ssi!  Who do you think you are?!  You’re not a RAP. PUHR!  And tiger prints are so out!  Which planet are you from?! Aarrrgh!”

I stomped my feet to the ground a couple of times and paced around.  And looked up again and shouted.

“YA YANG SEUNGHYUN!  YOU!  ARE YOU AN ALIEN OR A CAT?!”

“Ya Ssandara!”

Someone called me from the back and it startled me.  When I turned around, it was Jiyong.  I felt shy.

What’s he doing here?  Has he been here long? Oh my gosh.

He smiled as he approached me.

“Noona, why are shouting? The neighbours might get angry.”

“Oh… hehe .. that ..”

“Hang on.”

He came closer and bended over a bit towards me.  His face was so near mina, I had to close my eyes.  I didn’t know what was going to happen then I felt him touch my face.  It felt like he was caressing it.

“There.”

“Huh?”

I opened my eyes and he was standing not so close to me anymore.

“There was dirt on your cheek so I had to rub it off.” He grinned.

“Th-thank you.  I must have had it when I was picking out the weeds from the shrubs.”

“Noona, I came by to visit you.  I felt really sorry about that night I couldn’t come sooner coz I had to finish some mixes for the club this weekend.”

“That’s alright, but how did you get in?”

“Your gate was open.  Noona, what are you doing this Saturday night?”

OMG is he going to ask me out?

“I have no plans yet.  Why?”

“Do you wanna come to the club I’m working in?  I’m not working this Saturday and all prices are discounted coz I’m an employee.”

“I-I Don’t know.  It’s been a long time since I went to a club.  And the last time I went there, it didn’t end pleasantly.”

“Well, it’s coz you said you were with an idiot.  Just come with me.  I wanna make up for that night you comforted me.”

“Okay.  But what about Youngbae?”

“Youngbae and Daesung have this church service on that day, you know, with the family.”

“Daesungie?”

Daesung is one of my childhood friends.  I introduced him to Youngbae one day when we were in church.  He was with the choir when Youngbae and I attended the service.  Daesung was younger than me but it never felt like it.  He would always take responsibility for me.  Everytime I got in to trouble, he’d block me from my father’s whips.  When he was 10, his family and he flew to America coz of his father’s job.  When he was 18 he came back, and that’s when we met again at the church.  He didn’t stay long though, he just took one semester off from school.  He said that he couldn’t take it anymore and that he was very home sick, so his parents agreed that he can come back to Seoul for the whole semester.  When he came back, he served the church where Bae and I were attending too.

After 6 short months, he went back to America.  We only exchanged emails then but it wasn’t frequent since he was always busy.  Now he’s back, I’m excited to see him again.

“Yeah, Daesung’s back.  The other day, I think.  Maybe he was busy unpacking and stuff that’s why he wasn’t able to call you.  I heard he’s staying for good now.”

I was so happy to hear the news.  Although I admit that it was nice having Jiyong that time, I could have been happier if I heard the news from Daesung himself.

--

Tabi’s POV

Tiger prints, leopard prints, there’s hardly a difference.  And did she really think I wear these when I go out?

I took my tracksuit off and changed to white shirt and jeans, and a baseball jacket.  I felt hungry so I went out to grab some lunch.  I tried calling Bom noona but she wouldn’t pick up.  I was thinking maybe she’s busy or she’s in meeting.  I realized that it’s been a while since I last talked to her.  I wonder what she’s up to.

I went to a chicken restaurant and I was in the middle of eating my lunch when my phone suddenly rang.

“Seunghyun-ah, where are you?”

It was Teddy hyung.

“Hyung, I’m at your friend Dongwook’s restaurant.  Why?”

“Are you having lunch?”

“Ne.”

“Wait for me there and order something for me.”

“Okay.”

The chicken restaurant I was at was owned by one of Teddy hyung’s Juniors, Choi Dong Wook.  We’re about the same age but I can see he’s doing way better than I am.  A few minutes after Teddy hyung’s food was served, he arrived.

“Hyung, how are you?” I was glad to see him again.  I haven’t seen him since I moved in to that new place.

“Eehh you kid.  I should be the one asking you that.  How are you doing so far?  Classes start tomorrow, right?”

“How did you know?”

“I enrolled you, remember?”

“Oh, right.  So what’s up?  Why did you wanna meet all of a sudden?”

“I just wanted to catch up before your classes start and before you start to get busy.  I’m going to have a busy life starting next week too.”

“Yeah? Why?”

“Your father.”

“Oh, right.  Nothing new.”

We chatted away as we ate our lunch.  I didn’t realize that we had missed out so much from each other.  Well, not really for me.  He had so much going on in his life and his work and he tells them in a very interesting way.  I, on the other hand, had then same boring life everyday.  Of course, I couldn’t tell him about Bom noona.  No one else knows, not even Bom herself.  I’m just going to surprise everyone one day.

After catching up with each other’s lives, Teddy hyung had to go, for my father has called for him.  My father had more interactions with him more than with me, his own son.  Not that I didn’t like it, I actually think it’s better this way.