It was Saturday and Ri Ah woke up feeling pain in her lower abdomen. She groaned and went to the bathroom. Just as she suspected, her period had started. Usually she didn't feel much pain when she was on her period, but today her cramps were unbearable and she felt slightly lightheaded. After showering, she trudged over to her bed and let out a sigh.

“I forgot it was about time. Now I have to wash the sheets.”

She pulled her sheets off and took them to the laundry room [Note: Pretend that I introduced a laundry room back in Chapter 2. It wasn’t in the house tour, but I may go back and edit it later, so for readers that started before this chapter, I’m going to cheat and add it. Otherwise, you can ignore this note :) ]

She scrubbed the stain and then put it through the wash. She came out to eat breakfast with Mr. and Mrs. Park.

“Ri Ah, you look pale. Are you feeling okay?” Mrs. Park asked when she saw Ri Ah sit down.

“Yes, I’m fine,” Ri Ah answered with a tired smile.

After breakfast, she checked on her sheets. They were done washing so she put them in a dryer.

“I guess I’ll take a nap while I wait, but I can’t sleep on my bed. Maybe I’ll sleep in the sunroom upstairs.”

Ri Ah brought a pillow and laid on the window seat, facing towards the window. Her cramps were preventing her from falling asleep, so she placed a hand on her lower abdomen and started rubbing it. Soon her fatigue took over and she fell asleep in a slightly crouched position, her hand resting on her exposed stomach.

Ri Ah had been napping for a couple of hours and it was early afternoon when Chan Yeol woke up and came out of his room. He spotted Ri Ah laying in the sun room, her back turned to him. He smiled as he walked over to her, but a blush quickly crept up his face as he noticed her bare stomach. He quickly shifted his eyes to her face. Her eyebrows were furrowed, leaving a crease in the middle and she looked upset in her sleep.

Without thinking, he crouched down and pushed the space between her eyebrows with his finger, causing her eyebrows to relax and the fold to go away. At his touch, Ri Ah slowly opened her eyes and woke up to Chan Yeol curiously looking at her, his finger still on her face.

Chan Yeol fell back, gulping like a child that got caught. Ri Ah slowly sat up and her shirt fell down over her stomach.

“What were you doing?” she asked him.

“I-I noticed you looked upset, so I was trying to make you relax.”

“Oh. Thanks,” she simply answered. Ri Ah got up and grabbed her pillow. “Are you just going to sit there?” she asked Chan Yeol who was still sitting on the ground, staring at her.

“Huh? Oh, no,” he said and pushed himself up with his palms. “Are you okay? You look tired.”

“I’ll be fine,” she answered with a meek smile before heading towards the stairs.

“Ri Ah!” he called to her. She turned around to face him. “Do you…want to go to the jjimjilbang [Korean sauna/bathhouse] today?”

Ri Ah and Chan Yeol arrived at the sauna and went to the lockers to change. They came back out and met up in the coed lounge. Chan Yeol was wearing a lamb hat and Ri Ah giggled at how ridiculous he looked.

“Why don’t we try out one of the sauna rooms?” Chan Yeol suggested.

“Okay. Which one?”

The two passed by various sauna rooms and finally found one that was empty.

“This one’s good,” Chan Yeol said as he opened the door.

“But this is the hottest one,” Ri Ah said, pointing to the temperature setting of the room.

“What’s wrong? Can’t handle it?” he asked with a smirk.

Ri Ah smirked back, “No, this is perfect for me. I hope you can handle it though, Chan Yeol-ssi.”

Chan Yeol laughed. “Okay, how about this. Let’s see who can stay in here the longest. The one who loses will buy the snacks and drinks.”

“Okay, challenge accepted,” Ri Ah said and walked into the room with Chan Yeol.

Chan Yeol sat down Indian style and started concentrating. Ri Ah sat down with her legs stretched out and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the heat. Five minutes had passed and beads of sweat were starting to form on Chan Yeol’s forehead. He looked over at Ri Ah. It looked like she had fallen asleep. How is she able to sleep in this heat?

The heat was getting to Chan Yeol and he took off his lamb hat to unravel the towel and wipe his forehead. Ri Ah was still in the same position, sleeping. She didn’t faint did she? Chan Yeol worriedly thought.

He crawled over to her and tapped her on her shoulder. “Ri Ah.”

Ri Ah’s eyes opened and she looked at him, “What is it?”

“How can you just peacefully sleep when I’m over here sweating like crazy?”

“Let’s just say today I’m especially enjoying warm places,” she answered him.

“Well I can’t take it anymore. I give up, so can we leave?” he pleaded.

Ri Ah smiled. “Okay.”

Ri Ah and Chan Yeol headed out the room and Chan Yeol went to buy some baked eggs and iced sikhye while Ri Ah found a spot for them. He soon joined her with a tray of eggs and drinks and sat down.

“Here’s your sikhye,” he said handing Ri Ah a drink.

“Thank you,” she answered and happily started drinking.

“Ahhh,” Chan Yeol said with a happy sigh, “I haven’t been to a jjimjilbang in a while.” He picked up a baked egg and cracked it against the ground before peeling it and taking a bite.

“Oh, do you want me to show you a trick?” Ri Ah asked him.

“A trick? What kind of trick?” Chan Yeol asked curiously.

Ri Ah grabbed a baked egg and started chipping some of the egg shell from the top and the bottom. Then she put it to and blew into one end. The egg popped out through the other hole and into her hand. [Like they do here starting from 1:35. If you guys don’t watch eatyourkimchi, I suggest you do. You’ll fall in love with how adorable Simon and Martina are!]

“Wooowww!” Chan Yeol exclaimed like a kid who just saw a magic trick. “Where’d you learn that?”

“From my dad,” Ri Ah answered wistfully, taking a bite of the egg.

“I want to try!” he exclaimed, grabbing another egg and trying to copy Ri Ah. He made two holes on each end, but when he blew, he ended up making weird noises, causing the people around to stare at him.

In embarrassment, Chan Yeol took the egg away from his mouth. “I don’t get it. You made it look easy,” he said dejectedly.

“Do you want me to show you what you do when that doesn’t work?” Ri Ah asked him.

“Okay,” he said as he handed his failed egg to her and watched her with eager eyes.

Ri Ah took the egg from him and blew on it. Chan Yeol bit his lip in anticipation, ready to see another cool trick. However he was shocked when she swiftly hit him on top of the head with the hard egg.

“Oww!” he yelled as his hand rubbed the spot she had hit. Ri Ah laughed.

“This is what my dad did to me when I couldn’t do the trick, too. I had to practice many times and eat so many eggs that I got sick of it before I was finally able to do it.”

Chan Yeol pouted and Ri Ah gave him the egg when she had finished peeling it. He took it with a smile and happily ate away.

“Your dad,” Chan Yeol started cautiously, “do you miss him?”

Ri Ah looked up at him and didn’t say anything for a while. She looked down as she answered, “I miss him when I’m reminded of him.” She looked back up with a soft smile as she continued, “But I’m okay talking about him.”

Chan Yeol looked at her sympathetically. “You’re really strong, Ri Ah. But if you ever need a shoulder to cry on, I’m always here for you. I’m actually a good hugger too,” he finished with a grin.

Ri Ah softly smiled, “Thank you. For being a good friend.”

Chan Yeol couldn’t help but feel disappointed to hear her call him a friend, but he shrugged it off. “Of course, I wouldn’t be a good pet if I didn’t know how to comfort my owner,” he said with big smile. Ri Ah let out a small laugh.

They spent a few more hours, eating and playing with some of the kids there until they finally went home.

Author's Note

So I don’t really know how Korean saunas work. I’ve heard that there are community baths where you bathe , but seeing as Ri Ah was on her period, I kind of pretended that she didn’t do that that and just cut to the scenes I see in dramas, the coed areas where everyone sits with their lamb hats and eat baked eggs XD

Anyways, how did you guys like this chapter? I wrote it especially for those who were upset with the Tae Sung attention last chapter. But I’m sorry to say Tae Sung will still be making appearances in the future. He does have to get his wish from Ri Ah still ;) – 6/25/12 8:35 PM