Eun Chae's Task
The Invasion Plan Of Planet B124AP224
"I thought you were just going to the mall?" Eun Chae asked uncertainly as she stared at Jong Up. I had shoved a checked shirt over his white shirt and made him change into a proper pair of jeans, plus cap. He'd also borrowed my Columbia sneakers.
"Yeah, too casual?" I asked, slinging my satchel over my shoulder as the three of us made our way down the walkway to her school. There was a spring in Jong Up's step, as he walked ahead, staring at the trees and buildings as he did. Some teenage girls stared at him as we passed, giggling and pointing. But so far, that was the worst of the attention we got. I was beginning to feel a little better about letting him out.
"He looks bundled, in my book. You should have let him stick with the shirt."
"Too revealing," I said and she rolled her eyes.
"Dinosaur."
"Yah, I'm five years older than you!"
"I like that colour." Jong Up said, as we turned into a square that cut through the avenue to Eun Chae's school. We stopped bickering and looked in the direction where he pointed.
"That's green, the colour of trees." Eun Chae explained.
"We don't have that colour on Planet Mato." he said in wonder.
Suddenly, an idea popped into my head.
"Say, what do you think about a field trip to the woods in Muju-gun (county)?"
"Eh?" Eun Chae looked surprised, "with who?"
"Just the guys, Chae." I told her and she pouted. Jong Up looked interested.
"Where's that?" he asked.
"It's the countryside, takes a five-hour-drive from Seoul to reach there. I know a couple of guys from college who can rent out a couple of chalets for cheap." Plus, those guys owed me a favour. Jong Up looked confused.
"But what's there?"
"Trees, rivers, anything got to do with the real Earth." Eun Chae explained. We were approaching her school gates. To my surprise, Eun Chae was suddenly surrounded by a mob of students acting friendly all the sudden.
Hypocrites.
Eun Chae didn't have many friends, just a couple of decent ones who didn't date at the age of twelve or wear makeup as thick as icing on a chocolate forest cake. She rarely mingled with boys her age or wear mini-skirts; she preferred reading in the library or writing in her notebook about random stories. In truth, I was proud of her the way she was.
She was different, when almost everyone else was the same.
She was the same, even when everyone else changed.
She was never a sports or math freak like me, but she was excellent in Biology. She danced fairly well in my book (though she said that she was the worst in her ballet class), she was funnily, sometimes adorably cute in being awful at sports and she had the sweetest nature of anyone I had ever had the fortune to meet.
But it wasn't always a good thing.
The only time I had noticed something different about her was the time when she started bringing home stacks of books, which looked suspiciously unfamiliar. I had tried inquiring her about them, but had been brushed off with defensive excuses and abrupt changes in her mood meter. Then, I realized.
They weren't her own homework.
I had told her to tell whoever it was making my sister finish their homework to sock it, and if she didn't, I would go tell him or her myself. But the argument had ended badly, with me being taken aback by her sudden cascade of tears and screams about how I never understood her and taken her as a stupid little girl.
I had never, ever thought her stupid.
Never.
But I never pushed the subject again.
"JunYu?" Jong Up called, and I returned to Earth with a thump on my back. The mob of girls were squealing and giggling as they stole frequent glances at me and Jong Up. Eun Chae had managed to escape into the gates and I saw a small hand wave at me from the sea of unifroms. I waved back with a bitter smile.
"Your sister's so nice." Jong Up told me, staring after her, ignoring the other girls who were staring at him blatantly. I smiled.
"Yeah," I said softly, "too nice..."
[Eun Chae's POV]
The classroom was already filled with students by the time I reached it, despite the fact that it was still early. Yoon Jook and Haena were at their seats, and waved at me when I appeared at the doorway. I waved back with the same enthusiasm I kept each day, but that was modified when suddenly, someone stepped in front of me, and blocked my view. Short as I was, I looked up slightly and saw Taerim, the school 'flower', in my way, with her glossy brown waves and enormous eyes. She flashed a smile at me.
"Anyeong, Eun Chae."
"Anyeong..." before I could finish, I was being ushered to the window by her seat.
"Say, Chae-ya," she said as she pointed out of the window onto the street three storeys below, "isn't that your brother?" I squinted and sure enough, I saw both my brother and Jong Up oppa walking down the lane on the curb, talking.
"Yes," I said quizzically.
"Who's that next to him?"
"Huh?" I hesitated, panicking, "that's... a distant relative."
"Aish, you're so lucky you have such a cutie as your relative, what's his name?"
"Jong Up oppa."
"Wah, even his name is cute. If only my previous boyfriends were all as cute," she said and flipped her hair to her back, part of it slapping me across the face.
Ew, too much hair conditioner.
"Y'know," she went on, and I fidgeted, "I saw JunYu Oppa yesterday down Yeouido," Haena perked up when she heard my brother's name. Almost everyone, except herself, knew that almost everyone knew she had a crush on my brother. Though she would rather jump into a pit than to admit it to anyone, even me or Yoon Jook.
"He was with another guy," Taerim smacked her lips, "I thought he looked really bad-."
"Uh-huh." I played on, making secret signs to Yoon Jook for help. She didn't seem to get it.
"I wanna date him." she finalized and I fell back onto Earth.
"Huh?" I said, almost too loudly.
"I wanna date him, tell him that."
Tell Yongguk Oppa that my classmate a little more than half his age would like to go out with him? I would rather jump into a pit full of water cobras.
"I really want to try out my charm with older men these days," she smacked her lips again, and it was starting to gross me out, "guys my age are a tad bit less mature than they should be these days."
Look who's talking, I could imagine my brother saying if he were here.
"Taerim!" Yoon Jook suddenly said loudly, "Homeroom teacher called for you."
Taerim rolled her eyes, then she winked them at me, "tell him that for me, okay? And give him my number... if you have it." Then, with another whack of her hair across my cheek, she flounced out of the classroom. I heaved a huge breath of air.
"Man, Chae." Yoon Jook said, sighing, "you're in some crap."
"You heard?"
"The whole class heard, she may as well had asked you to ask your brother to date Hana."
"HEY!" Haena shouted and tossed her textbook at her. She dodged neatly.
Then, Taerim's head popped back into the room.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot," she smiled at me sweetly, "my homework's in my locker. You know the combination."
I smiled back weakly.
"Yeah..."
Yoon Jook stared at me at the corner of her eyes, but was smart enough to say nothing. Haena pretended not to hear and went back to her paper, which had been upside-down the whole two minutes when Taerim was talking about my brother..
Bitter, that was what I felt, but I said nothing.
Whoa, the reason why I added the poll in Chapter 11 was because I thought a lot of people would like a bit of romance in the fic! But keep voting! The poll's still open! ^^v
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