Junho sat quietly inside So Eun’s room. He was alone, didn’t know what to do. He then made a thorough observation on his surroundings. The room was in medium size and it was painted with light pink color. The wall has Korean style wall-stickers pasted on it, with a beautiful meaningful quote:

“No one has ever injured his eyesight by looking on the bright side of things”

The wardrobe in the room was not only huge, but at the same time it was so...cute. Yes, cute! It’s not about the shape or the color but about how the owner labeled each doors of the wardrobe with some particular specification such as “SPRING”, “SUMMER”, “WINTER”, “AUTUMN”, “FORMAL”, “CASUAL”, “SCHOOL”, “HOME” and of course the one that Junho (and any other boys) curious the most, “UNDERGARMENTS”. How thoughtful and funny at the same time. Next to the wardrobe was a dressing table. Bottles of perfume, lotion and other skin care products were lining up, together with other make-up and accessories such comb, compact powder, hair clips etc. It’s a typical girl dressing table, in Junho’s opinion.

Then, Junho’s sight stopped at a queen-sized bed which was located at the corner of the room. It was covered with a purple bedsheet with two pillows and a thick floral-pattern comforter being placed on top of it. Junho couldn’t help but smile when he looked at all the teddy bears, dolls and plushies sitting on So Eun’s bed. Hello Kitty, Pororo, Garfield, Winnie the Pooh, Mashimaro…there’s also plushies of Pig Rabbit from You’re Beautiful drama, Sylvester the Cat (you know the one who keeps chasing Twitty…don’t tell me you don’t know Twitty), a Duck from unknown animation series but it’s definitely not Donald Duck…along with some other random animal plushies such as koala, panda, turtle, dog, fish, mouse, tiger, grasshopper, impala (no, not gonna include giraffe) etc etc etc.

Junho chuckled. “She must have really hated sleeping alone,”

He continued laughing.

“…but it’s cute,” he added. A sincere smile could be seen on his face. The room he was sitting in at that time was indeed a PURE CUTENESS. It gave Junho general ideas about the personality and natural trait of the owner.

Junho then changed his attention to the study table. Everything on it, from books to stationeries, was arranged nicely. The table was so neat, unlike the corkboard on the wall. The corkboard was filled with post-it notes, to-do-lists, calendar and polaroid pictures. Junho stood up and walked to the corkboard. He was interested to take a closer look at those pictures.

The first picture he saw was a picture of So Eun with her friends at school, followed by pictures of some other people Junho didn’t know. Then there was a picture of her family members, including his crush, Minjung. By looking at their attires in the picture, Junho could tell that the picture was taken during Korean traditional festive day, Cheuseok. Even though that was the first time ever Junho saw Minjung wearing Korean traditional cloth, hanbok he didn’t know why his attention was more on So Eun than Minjung. Don’t get him wrong, Minjung looked beautiful in the picture. She looked beautiful as always. But So Eun was…bewitching!

Her red rosy lips curved in a captivating smile, her eyes shone brighter than the northern Polaris star and her face glow like a full moon during an eclipse. She has her own unique enchanting charm.

“Andwae. Andwae.” Junho said to himself while shaking his head.

“Get back to your senses, Lee Junho. She’s still a kid. And she’s Minjung’s sister. Yes, your CRUSH little sister! Andwae.” Junho erased his thought and return back to his seat. He reminded himself on why he was there and his true goal.

Suddenly Junho heard a knock at the door. So Eun pushed the door slightly and took a quick look, making sure it was okay to enter. A maid followed So Eun from behind. She brought some cookies and drinks with her. Junho stood up as soon as they entered the room and the three of them exchanged bow. So Eun has changed into casual attire and she looked different compared to when Junho met her at school earlier. She looked fresh and her smile was bright. Her expression was calm, as if nothing had happened to her at the school before. From Junho observation, she didn’t seem to be affected by the incident at all. He wanted to ask about it. He wanted to know whether she’s okay. He wanted to know what had actually happened but he’s afraid his curiosity gonna ruin the current good mood.

The maid excused herself after putting down the cookies and drinks. Without further delay, Junho and So Eun started their first session. It was formal. Both of them didn’t talk much. Junho looked at So Eun’s past exam papers and gave her some test to detect her weakness. He also asked So Eun about subjects that she found boring, difficult and hard to understand. After two hours, their session ended. Junho made sure he has taken all details he needed so that he could make a batter plan about their tutorial such as what teaching technique he should use, what study material he should buy etc.

He quickly packed his stuff into his bag as he realized it’s almost 5.30 p.m. He has promised his friends to meet at gym this evening. He didn’t want to be late since late comers would usually be punished to treat the others some food during dinner later. While packing his stuff, Junho could see from the corner of his eyes that So Eun was staring hard at him. Junho stopped packing and looked at her.

“Is there anything wrong?” he asked.

So Eun bit her lips.

“Emm, actually I’m wondering…”

“Yes?”

“I’m wondering…how should I address you? I mean what should I call you?”

“Oh, about that…” Junho thought a little bit.

“Oppa would be okay. I’m your sister’s friend anyway. No need to be so formal. Let’s talk comfortably from today onwards, okay, So Eun-ah?” Junho replied in banmal, with his charming eyes smile.

“Okay, arasso,” answered So Eun too, in banmal.

*****

Junho made his way down the stairs. He looked at his watch. He’s definitely gonna be late if he didn’t speed up. As he was reaching the door, suddenly someone called his name.

“Junho-ssi,”

“Ne,” answered Junho automatically as he turned around. It was So Eun mother.

“Would you mind having some tea with me?” asked the middle-aged woman, while giving a soft smile to Junho.

‘Tea? Ah, ottoke?’ Junho asked himself while biting his lips. He has promised his friend to meet at the gym. Should he decline the invitation? Junho quickly changed his expression before answering, “Of course,”

Hearing the reply, the smile on So Eun’s mother’s face widened.

“Come, let’s go to the yard,” she continued before heading out.

Junho followed her from behind. He let out a sigh. He really wanted to spend his time with his friends. Besides, his stomach has already full with cookies that he ate during tutorial session earlier so he wasn’t sure if there’s any more space for high-tea. But as a gentleman, he knew it would be rude to refuse elder’s invitation.

*****

“Firstly I wanna thank you for accepting this job, Junho-ssi. I heard from Minjung that you’re actually busy with research team activities. But knowing that you’re willing to spare some time to tutor So Eun, you have no idea how grateful I am,” said So Eun’s mother.

She then asked Junho about his background, his family and his achievement in academics. She wanted to know him not only because she wanted be closer with him, but she also wanted to make sure that Junho is a good person who would not bring bad influence to her daughter(s). When she heard about Junho’s achievement in academics, she couldn’t hide how amazed she was. Minjung has recommended the right person, definitely. Plus, with his politeness and good manner towards elders, she found herself liking Junho even more.

Meanwhile, as for Junho, at first he was feeling quite awkward being asked about his background, family, achievements etc. He felt like he was being investigated. But he understood that as a parent, she was only being cautious and protective to her daugthter(s). He would do the same to too if he has a daughter. So he answered all those questions as honest and as polite as he could. As the time passed by, Junho could tell that So Eun’s mother is actually a kind and caring person. She’s also very sporting, funny and talkative. She shared stories about her family and her daughters. It was very hilarious and interesting, especially when it came to Minjung. Since she knew that Minjung and Junho are good friends, she kept telling funny stories about Minjung that Junho could not help cracking into laughter. He’s definitely gonna use those stories to tease Minjung later.

“Our maknae, So Eun-ie…”

She finally spoke about So Eun. The atmosphere suddenly changed. So Eun’s mother didn’t finish the sentence. Instead, she sipped her drink and threw her sight far to the yard. Looking at her expression, Junho couldn’t help but curious.

“Why? What’s with So Eun?” he asked.

So Eun’s mother put down her cup before answering, “So Eun is so different. Unlike Minjung who’s active and carefree, So Eun is more quiet, shy and naïve. When Minjung was in middle school, she would tell everything about what happened in school as soon as she came home. She would talk about her friends, her teachers and even her ex-boyfriend back then. But So Eun, she isn’t like that. She seldom tells me what’s on her mind. She doesn’t have many friends. I also have never heard she talk about any guy. She’s too shy to the extent that she finds it’s hard to even talk with boys in this neighborhood and also her cousins. She’s not young anymore. Soon she’s gonna leave for university and later need to find job on her own. Her introvert personality makes me feel so worried. Will she be able to do well?”

Junho immediately remembered of what happened at So Eun’s school earlier. How she was pushed, how she was yelled at…everything he witnessed started to replay in his mind like a DVD. To be honest, So Eun’s mother got her point to be worried. However Junho felt responsible to comfort her.

“Don’t worry. She’s gonna do well. We must believe in her,”

“I know. I believe in her, always believe in her. But this time I don’t know why I feel so worried. Actually I’m not a type of mother who’s so strict about my daughters’ academic performance but this time So Eun grades fall so bad. When I asked her, she said everything is fine. I asked Minjung about her because she usually shares her secret with Minjung but this time Minjung doesn’t have any clue either. There must be something happening. I’m pretty sure about it. There must be something she doesn’t want me to know, something she wants to hide,” she said.

Junho bit his lips, feeling uncertain of whether or not to tell about what he knew. As a parent, So Eun’s mother has every right to know about the incident but Junho believed So Eun must have her own reasons why she didn’t want to tell anyone about it.

 “Is she…seeing someone right now?” So Eun’s mother suddenly made a random guess.

“Hahahahaha. No way. Impossible for my shy naïve So Eun-ie… Hahahaha,” she denied her own assumptions with heavy laughter.

“Why not? Who knows maybe it’s really because she’s in love. What else would disturb a teenage’s mind other than love? That’s also maybe the reason why she didn’t tell anything. She doesn’t know how to and to whom she should talk about it,” convinced Junho.

What Junho said made So Eun’s mother laughed harder. She laughed until tears formed in her eyes.

“Hahahahaha. You really don’t know her, Junho-ssi. You have no idea how innocent and naïve our So Eun is. She’s so blur whenever Minjung talks about boys, dating, love and relationship. It’s impossible because…she’s just too shy with boys. Seriously. She’ll blush even if 5-year-old kindergarten boys wave at her. Hahahahahaha. Aigoo our cute So Eun-ie, aigoo… I’m gonna kneel down to whoever made her fall in love. I really am. Hahahahaha.”

Her explanation left Junho in deep thought. Was So Eun really that shy, naïve, innocent blah blah blah…?  He somehow felt like it was an exaggeration. There’s no way a person could be that shy. There’s no way a girl, who’ll blush even if 5-year-old boys wave at her, would easily hug a stranger whom she has never met before. Yes, Junho was referring to the moment when he was being hugged tightly by So Eun at the school earlier. Besides that, even though he and So Eun didn’t talk much throughout the tutorial, Junho found that So Eun looked comfortable and natural around him. She looked okay and even asked several questions. She didn’t blush or having trouble to ask question to him that would make her look like a shy person. So far, most of the things about So Eun which were being told to him contradicted with her real actions.

But her mother must’ve known her the best in this world since she’s the one who gave birth to her.  Junho has only met her once. So, he decided to think positive and not assume things. Maybe he’s the one who overlooked everything. Whatever. The only thing he cared was, he has found a new puzzle and he was so into it at the moment.

Author's note:

I have finished writing the whole story but I'm still in the middle of editing every chapter. Hope can publish Chapter 3 by tomorrow or the day after. Thanks for all the comments and subscriptions! Enjoy reading.