30
My Strange Oppa
When the bell rang, Jinyoung sprinted out of class and waited by the doors for you. Since you and Jinyoung have grown close, you guys would head to the Elderly Residence together.
Jinyoung spotted your familiar long hair. He waved to you excitedly.
You looked up and smiled stiffly. Your shoulders were deflated and sunken quite low.
Jinyoung’s eyebrows furrowed in concern.
“You okay?” He scrutinized your face.
You nodded, “I’ll be okay.” *I shouldn’t be so down on the dumps. I should be happy that I’m no longer a Queenka.*
Right then, the Queenka’s passed by.
Kyungmi studied you and Jinyoung. With a scoff, she passed by with her arms crossed. The other two rolled their eyes at you two.
You sighed, “Come on, let’s go.”
Jinyoung trailed behind you. “You have some friends…”
You held onto the straps of your bag tightly. Forcing a happier smile, you looked at Jinyoung with twinkling eyes. “They’re not my friends.”
“Mwoh?!” Jinyoung froze. In the midst of this, Jinyoung noticed a little bruise forming on your cheek. *What is that?*
You raised your hands in the air, as you stretched each fingers out, “Guess what? I’m not a Queenka anymore! I feel so free now!” You squealed with joy. *Even though I won’t have any friends anymore…*
You look back to see Jinyoung unmoving. “Hurry up or we’ll be late!”
*I guess I’ll ask her what happened later.* Jinyoung shook his head, smiled and ran after you.
---
Three shadows stepped out from behind the trees.
Kyungmi flipped her red hair back as she crossed her arms. She tapped her fingers gently, strumming her elbows slightly.
“What are we looking at?” Hwayoung asked, oblivious to the plot that Kyungmi was formulating in her head.
Hyunjung put her sunglasses on and spat out her bubble gum that she chewed on for 3 hours. She placed a new one in and began popping it. “Kyungmi, let’s go.”
Kyungmi eyed you and Jinyoung. “He’s our year, right?”
Hyunjung nodded.
“Sweet,” Kyungmi beamed as she left.
---
“HALMONIIIII~” You sang as you ran to her room.
“HALPOJIIII!!!” Jinyoung yelled in excitement after you.
The elderly couple hugged you tightly as they welcomed you into their home.
You began to ask them about what you’ve both missed out for the last 2 weeks since you have seen them.
Fortunately for them, unlike your holiday, they had a great one. Their children from Canada came to visit them. They only stayed for Christmas and had to leave a few days after.
The couple asked about your holiday. You turned pink and looked at Jinyoung. Both of you chuckled a bit, and you told them about all the good parts.
“I finished a lot of my homework, and I had a lot of free time—” You paused and then looked at them apologetic. “Mianhamnida! I must be so boring….”
Halmoni patted your head soothingly. “It’s okay, I love listening to you talk ~~~~~ah! How’s your father? I haven’t heard you speaking of him in awhile.”
A huge lump formed in your throat.
Jinyoung frowned. He noticed your discomfort and changed the topic. “Halmoni, I worked so hard this holiday! Look at these fingers.” Jinyoung spread out his callous hands for her to look.
“Aigo! Look at all those stubs on your palms!” Halmoni clucked her tongue in disapproval.
“That’s the hand of a hardworking man,” Halpoji chided with a low chuckle.
You and Jinyoung decided to spend dinner with them.
Jinyoung was smiling admiringly at you as you talked to the couple about all the events you created in your spare time.
*She is so perfect despite that she can be quite stubborn sometimes.* He sighed in content.
“Such a hard working girl!” complimented Halpoji.
Halmoni nodded in agreement. “And you still find time to see us! We’re such a burden….”
Your eyes rounded and you waved your hands at them. “No no no! Burden? Never! I love spending time with you.”
“Halmoni, don’t ever say something like that again!” Jinyoung scowled. “You’re like family to us.”
“More like we’re burden’s to you,” you pouted. “As if we’re interfering your personal lives.”
The couple gave you a look. Then they looked at each other and laughed.
“We already consider you like our grand children,” Halmoni reassured.
You and Jinyoung looked at each other. A warm smile played on both your faces.
The warm moment was broken when halpoji began to cough severely.
Halmoni’s eyes widened in fear. “Yeobo!!”
Not knowing what to do, you grabbed onto Jinyoung’s hand and squeezed it in fear. “Jinyoung…” You shook his hand.
Jinyoung looked up and called for the caretakers. An elderly midwife was kind enough to go search for them.
Halmoni tried patting halpoji’s back but it didn’t work.
His face was slowly turning purpleish from the lack of oxygen. Out of bad habit whenever you were scared or nervous, your legs began to shake involuntarily.
The caretakers quickly came and took him away without further explanation.
Halmoni waved bye to you sympathetically as she followed them away.
You began to cry, “will he be okay?”
“~~~~~, uljima. Halpoji is a strong man, he will be fine.” Jinyoung said calmly but he was feeling doubtful.
You wanted to believe his words.
Though he was just as worried as you were, Jinyoung grabbed a napkin and dabbed away your tears. “Don’t cry.”
Realizing that your hand was still in his, he gave your hands an affectionate squeeze. You looked up to see him looking at you with his phoenix like eyes.
Something about his stare made your heart palpitate in your chest. Unsure of what it was, you squeezed his hands back tighter.
Comforted by his actions, you nodded and held back your tears.
It was quiet when you and Jinyoung got off the bus.
“I’ll walk you home,” Jinyoung offered.
You shook your head.
“My house is on the way,” Jinyoung smiled, “come on.“
*Why does today feel like such a bad day?* You thought miserably. *Am I bad luck?*
You looked up at Jinyoung who had a blank expression.
“Say something,” you whispered.
Jinyoung stopped and looked at you.
“Say anything, please,” you bit your lip.
Jinyoung sighed and walked closer next to you. “Halpoji will be fine.”
You looked up at him and sighed. *I really hope so.*
Jinyoung put an arm your shoulder and pulled you closely to him. “Don’t worry, everything will be fine. We have a month left with them, let’s make the most memories with them, okay?”
He beamed at you.
There was uneven beating in your chest. *There it is again!* Your eyes rounded. You looked at him incredulously.
“So…” Jinyoung began to interrogate. “What happened to your cheek?”
You blinked at him, confused. “My cheek?”
Jinyoung made you face him as he gently graze over the bruised skin. Though his touch was gentle, you could feel the bruise.
You didn’t realize it was growing!
You slap his hands away and touch your cheek. “I probably hit myself in my sleep. That’s all.”
Jinyoung didn’t believe that. Then the flashback of the Queenka’s scowling at you as they passed by, and your confession that you were no longer there friends came to Jinyoung’s mind.
He gasped.
“Did they do this to you?!” Jinyoung put his hands on your shoulder. The air was cold and you noticed his lips turning redder by the second.
You gulped.
“Kyungmi, was it Kyungmi who did this to you?!” Jinyoung’s eyebrows knitted together in worry.
You shrugged. “It’s nothing.”
“IT’S NOT NOTHING!” Jinyoung screamed.
You put a finger to his lips. “Not too loud!”
Jinyoung froze with the sudden contact. *Get a grip Jinyoung! This is serious! NO HORMONES RAGING AT THIS TIME!!*
Forcing himself to snap away from his boyish thoughts, Jinyoung frowned, “why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t think it was that important…” You confessed. You pushed Jinyoung’s hands off you and began walking.
Jinyoung’s lips pressed in a firm line. “It is very important!”
You crossed your arms and huffed, “why is it so important? Why is anything I do so important to you, Jung Jinyoung?”
“BECAUSE YOU’RE IMPORTANT TO ME!” Jinyoung blurted. Your eyes rounded. *Is that a confession?*
Jinyoung gulped when he saw your reaction. “As my friend, you’re my friend. That is why you're important to me. Friends are important to me.” His face flushed bright crimson red.
You giggled with joy on the inside. “We’re friends?”
Jinyoung nodded fervently.
You were at your house.
“Thank you Jinyoung.” You hesitated for a moment after saying that, a devious idea forming inside your head.
You did something that gave him the biggest heart attack.
You leaned in and gave Jinyoung a quick peck on the cheek. “Thank you, friend.”
You waved and hopped inside your house.
Jinyoung stood there, completely stunned. The air was cold, but his chest filled with warmth. He touched his cheek and smiled warmly. His heart felt like it could explode out of his chest any minute now. *That still doesn’t get her off the hook! She is the angel, and I’ll be the devil. No one messes with ~~~~~! Queenka or not! I will get them for her.*
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