*** This is my SECOND update today! IF you have not read Chapter 19 yet, I suggest you do so before continuing on this chapter! ^_^ ***

Chapter 20

"You can't just walk on custard!" I said.

"Yes, you actually can. You have to go really fast, but it's possible!" DongHo argued.

"Oh yeah? Prove it!" I crossed my arms defiantly.

"Fine! I will!"

Five minutes later, Hoon, DongHo, and I were all standing around a huge metal tub filled to the brim with thick yellow custard. DongHo had taken off his socks and shoes and was standing over the tub.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Ready to prove you wrong, if that's what you mean," replied DongHo.

"Yeah, have fun with that," I scoffed.

"Okay, you two, let's just do this and get back inside, okay?" Hoon said. He counted down from three, and DongHo stepped onto the custard in the tub and raced across it, landing successfully on the other side. My eyes grew wide in fascination.

"Well, I guess you actually can walk on custard!"

"See? I told ya!" DongHo cried triumphantly. He wiped his feet off on a towel and put his shoes back on. We all went back into the coffee shop together, DongHo and Hoon linking fingers. I was surprised to see Kiseop at the counter when we walked in.

"Hey, Kev!" he grinned. "What are you doing here?"

"I work part-time here," I shrugged. "What can I get for you?"

"A latte. I thought you worked at the office! Did AJ fire you?"

"I was only supposed to be there for a month," I said, getting to work on his drink.

"Wow, has it really been a month already?"

"It has," I chuckled. "Believe me, I was shocked, too."

"So I guess we'll actually have to start setting up meetings again, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah, I guess so. I work late-morning to early-afternoon, so any time after that is fine. Well, except for tomorrow, because I have to be there while my new stove is installed," I added.

"New stove?"

"I had a bit of an incident with my old one, so I had to buy a new one," I shrugged.

"Okay then..." Kiseop trailed off. I handed him his latte and he grinned. "So, how's the editing going?" he asked, just to make small talk.

"I haven't had much time, actually. I was out all day yesterday, rescuing ducks, buying stoves. You know, the usual," I chuckled.

"Sounds eventful. Take your time with it," he grinned.

"Oh, believe me, I am!" He nodded and waved goodbye, leaving the shop.

"Well, look at that. Flirting when the boyfriend is out, eh?" DongHo joked.

"No, that was a miniature business meeting!" I protested.

"Uh huh, sure it was," Hoon commented from the piano.

"It was!"

"Then why were you flirting?" DongHo cocked an eyebrow.

"I was not flirting!"

"Ten bucks says neither of you could break a wine glass with your voice," Hoon said randomly.

"What?" DongHo and I said simultaneously.

"Just trying to lighten the mood," shrugged Hoon. "I bet ten dollars that neither of you can break a wine glass with your voice."

"I'll challenge that!" DongHo cried, running to retrieve a wine glass.

"I'd rather not make that bet," I shrugged, contenting myself to washing dirty dishes.

"Your loss," DongHo chortled, returning with a wine glass. He set it on the piano and immediately began shrieking like a banshee. I shook my head at his ridiculousness, unable to comprehend the logic behind his accepting Hoon's challenge, when suddenly I heard the sound of shattering glass and DongHo's cry of, "PAY UP, YOU PIANO PLAYING LOSER!" Turning to face the piano, I witnessed Hoon pulling a ten dollar bill out of his wallet and handing it to DongHo in disbelief.

"How'd you do that?" I asked the boy. He motioned for me to move closer and put his mouth near my ear as if to whisper. To my chagrin, he instead proceeded to mimic his previous shrieking noise, rendering me momentarily deaf in one ear.

"See?" he said when he was done screaming. "It's really easy."

I rubbed my ear and stepped back from him, unwilling to have a repeat of what had just occurred. Hoon was doubled over in front of the piano, loudly guffawing. "You !" I told DongHo, surprised when my own voice sounded muted to my ears.

"Not my problem," shrugged DongHo, getting a broom to clean the broken pieces of glass.

"How do you put up with him?" I asked Hoon.

"That is a very good question that I will probably never have an answer to," Hoon chuckled.

"He's one crazy kid," I sighed.

"That's what makes it fun."

The day ended quickly and I went straight home, drowning myself in my editing. The characters complied well enough with my changes, and after a few solid hours, I was ready for a break. I stood up, stretched, and walked into the living room. It was eerily quiet.

"Ted?" I called, wondering where the old man had disappeared to. When there was no response, I called his name again. Still, he failed to reply. I walked through every room in the house in search of him, but he was nowhere to be found. At that point, I was borderline frantic, so I called AJ's office number.

"Hello?" he said tiredly.

"It's Kev," I replied. "Do you know where Ted might have gone? He's not home."

"I was actually just going to call you about that," laughed AJ.

"Really?" I said, relieved.

"Yeah, he showed up here five minutes ago going on and on about some buckeye chicken or something. I still have no idea what he's talking about."

"Okay, I'll come get him," I laughed. "See you in a few!"

"See ya!"

I hung up the phone, glad to know Ted was safe, and, grabbing my jacket and bag, stepped out the door. I was met with utter chaos.

Running up and down the street was a whole flock of what, I assumed, were, as Ted had said, Buckeye chickens. A chicken truck nearby lay on its side, and a man who I assumed was the driver was herding them about, trying to get them back into the cages they had fallen out of. There was a crowd of people surrounding the scene, cameras flashing. Traffic on the road had halted, and sirens could be heard in the distance. I dropped my things on the porch and ran up to the man.

"Are these your chickens, mister?" I asked quickly.

"Yeah, but they jumped outta that there truck jest ter make me late to the henhouse," he sighed.

"Anything I can do to help?"

The man smiled up at me. "Now, what would a young lad like yerself know 'bout herdin' chickens?" he asked, hands on his hips.

"My granddad used to own chickens, sir," I told him. It wasn't exactly true, but I had still spent my fair share of time on farms during summer vacations with extended family members.

"Well then, darlin', I s'pose I'll let ya help. Do you got a broom in yer house?"

"Yes sir, I do!" I ran back inside and grabbed a broom, dashing back outside. The siren sounds were closer.

"I'm gon' use this here broom ter get them chickens to walk to you, and you got to get em in the cage and get the cage shut 'fore they turn tail 'n' run!"

"Sounds like a good plan to me!" The man began using the broom to widen his wingspan, forcing a small group of chickens toward one of the various cages. I ran over to where he was pointing them and opened the hatch. Once the group of animals was inside, I shut the hatch as quickly as I could. The man smiled triumphantly at me before going back and herding more chickens.

Quickly, the two of us developed a routine, and in several minutes, two police cars came speeding up. The man and I both stood and waited for them to get out of their cars, when a third pulled up beside them. We heard a strangled cry and realized that it could only have been a chicken. Viciously, the man marched over to the car and yanked the man from the front seat.

"Now lookit! Yer stupid shiny car just done killed one o' my good Buckeyes!" He pointed at the back of the car where the chicken lay dead.

"I apologize, sir, but I was told there was an emergency," the police officer said formally.

"Ya durn right there's a 'mergency! You just done did killed one my chickens! And a Buckeye no less!"

"Is there a problem here?" another approaching police officer asked. Before the man could say anything, I jumped in.

"You see, this man was driving some really rare and expensive Buckeye chickens to a henhouse and when his car crashed and all the chickens escaped. We've been trying to herd them back into their cages, and we were doing just fine, but then this officer accidentally ran one over. They're really expensive, sir, and this man needs every last penny he can get for them."

"Well, first let's get these chickens on that truck, and then we'll figure out what to do," the officer nodded. The others agreed with him and began helping the man herd chickens into their cages.

Within minutes, the chickens were caged and the job was done. I thanked the police officers for helping and returned to my front porch to pick up my things.

"Thanks for helpin', darlin'," the man smiled.

"No problem, Mr..."

"Norton," he supplied. "Geoffrey Norton."

"Well, it was my pleasure, Mr. Norton. I hope everything gets sorted out well!" I waved goodbye to the man and walked to the Mister Kim building.

The secretary at the front completely ignored me, so I had to clear my throat a few times. "Yes?"

"I'm here to see President Kim," I informed her.

"Do you have an appointment?"

"I do," I said. "It's called, he told me to come here so I did. Is there a problem?"

"You have to have an official appointment in order to meet with him. It looks like you'll have to come back another time," she said scathingly.

"Oh, don't be like that," I laughed. "You see, I happen to have his phone number, and if I call him and tell him that you won't let me go up, today may just be your last day." It felt wonderful to tell her off in such a way, after all the grief she had given me over the past month. With a sigh, she handed me a pass. I nodded, did not thank her, and headed up to AJ's office.

When I reached the top floor, it was as if everyone had become mute. Everything was silent, every eye trained on me. In order to freak them out, I grinned, waved hello, and then entered AJ's office.

"That took awhile," AJ commented nonchalantly, walking over to kiss me on the cheek.

"You'd be surprised," I laughed.

"What's that smell?" AJ said, crinkling up his nose.

"Buckeye chickens. Fifteen cages of buckeye chickens."

"What exactly happened?" chuckled AJ.

"I figured out what Ted was talking about," I shrugged. "This farmer had been driving a truck full of buckeye chickens to a henhouse and it toppled over. There were chickens everywhere. So, I helped him get them cleaned up on my way over here."

"That sounds like loads of fun," AJ commented.

"Oh, it was, trust me," I laughed.

"Well, I suppose Ted can rest easy now. He went to get some food at the cafe. Shall we go find him?" AJ stood and held out his hand.

"Can I go was the smell of chickens off my hands first?"

"Yeah, that's probably a better idea," he laughed. I walked off to the bathroom and scrubbed my hands till they were raw, and combed my fingers through my hair a few times for good measure. When I was satisfied, I rejoined AJ and we began our search for Ted.

It didn't take long, actually. He was sitting at a table all alone, gnawing on a corn dog in a very unappetizing manner. He looked up at us, corn dog still in his mouth, and said, "Are the chickens gone?"

"I helped him clean them up," I laughed. "Why'd you leave?"

"My mom used to own buckeyes," he shivered. "Those things are little devils. Always pecked at my ears and clawed my arms."

"Oh, Ted, I'm sorry! Next time just tell me, okay?" I put one arm around the old man in a half-hug.

"Oh, okay, I suppose I'll have too," sighed the old man. He quickly polished off his corn dog and allowed himself to be convinced into following me back home.

As we were walking down the street near where the chickens had escaped, Ted froze.

"Do you hear that?" he asked.

"Hear what?" I replied, listening as carefully as I could. Silence met my ears.

"It's a wailing sound," he whispered. "Did one of the Buckeyes die?!"

"Yeah, a police car hit it," I shrugged.

"Oh, no!" he cried, making a beeline for the house.

"Ted!" I called, chasing after him. "Ted, what's going on?" He wrestled with the doorknob. I quickly pulled out my keys and unlocked it for him. When we were safely inside, I asked him again, "Ted, why are you freaking out?"

"That wailing I heard must have been the dead Buckeye!" he shivered. "What else could it have been?"

"Okay, Ted," I said softly, "don't worry. I'm sure that it was just looking for its family. Once it finds directions to the henhouse, it'll be gone, okay?"

"A-are you sure?"

"Positive," I smiled. "Now, why don't we get you in bed? You look really tired tonight."

"O-okay," he said, allowing me to lead him to the guest bedroom. I tucked him in, shut the light off, and closed the door. Then, I called AJ, worried about his grandfather. When I explained the situation to him, AJ sighed.

"It's the anniversary of her death," he said quietly. "I didn't realize it until you left."

"Who's death?" I asked in confusion.

"My grandmother's."

"Oh..." I felt slightly stupid for not realizing it.

"He always gets a little crazy on the anniversary of her death. He doesn't exactly know how to handle it," explained AJ.

"That makes sense," I breathed. "Don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on him. I know it's ridiculously early, but I went ahead and put him to bed."

"Thanks." I could hear the sad smile in AJ's voice.

"Hey, now," I whispered. "Don't you go getting all depressed on me too, okay?"

"I won't," he laughed.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Love you," I said softly.

"Love you more," he replied. We hung up and I sighed, still shocked by the sadness of the situation, still pitying the poor man who lay asleep in my guest room, missing his wife.


A/N:  POOR TED!! I FEEL SO BAD FOR THE MAN SOMETIMES. Also, if you were wondering about the ridiculousness of the custard, wine glass, and Buckeye chickens, they were all prompts from word sprints. BUT on the bright side, I am less than 2,000 away from my goal! This chapter is 2,494 words, and there's probably a third chapter coming your way, too. No promises, but PROBABLY. So let me know what you think about this chapter and, just out of curiosity, who here has actually participated in the herding of chickens before???