Chp.08| REBEL with a CAUSE and a BAND-AID


Back-up would be nice.

Ten against one wasn’t exactly a fair fight.

Foolish PingPongBoy was really in for it this time.

We stood under a tree for the past five minutes simply staring at Park Jung Sang who stood there exchanging insults with the ten others in front of an old abandoned school. I recognize a few faces of the guys that went to the same school as we did. They were known as the troublemakers.

Na-Na tugged at my arm. “Just watch him, Ji Won. He’ll get them all down in no time,” she bragged excitedly.

“Are you sure it’s not the other way around?” I mumbled under my breath, hoping that it wouldn’t get out of hand.

I saw him take on the guys at the subway; I don’t think I doubted him again. However, if you look at it more clearly, ten against one is a big difference.

“Uh oh…” Na-Na said.

“Huh?”

“Ten more guys just showed up.”

Na-Na was right. Another flock of guys appeared, carrying weapons of sorts ranging from baseball bats to hockey sticks and Ping-Pong rackets? Okay. So now, PingPongBoy was definitely out of luck.

“Park Jung Sang. We know who you are. Today is the day you die!” one of the guys shouted.

“Uhm. This is starting to . Shouldn’t we just go and snatch him away?” I asked Na-Na.

“We could, but then Jung Sang hates it when he’s interrupted. I think we should just stand on the side-lines until he gives us a signal of some sort.”

I eyed Na-Na strangely, wondering why she appeared so confident in her uncle.

Park Jung Sang was yelling by now. “WHICH ONE OF YOU GUYS KILLED BUTTERFLY KENJI?!”

“Stupid. Only a retard like yourself would name their ping-pong racket!”

The crowd broke into a guffaw of laughter.

I found myself joining in with them.

“And only ignorant ers like yourself don’t know that Butterfly Kenji is a given name of a racket that the offensive player uses to give out powerful shots and heavy spins. Do some research on the internet you dumb s.”

They all stopped laughing, including myself.

Okay now, he made us all feel like idiots.

It was Na-Na’s turn to laugh.

He folded his arms calmly in front of him. “So I ask again, which one of you killed Butterfly Kenji?”

“We both did,” came the answer from the crowd.

The two guys that I recognized from the school stepped up to reveal themselves.

PingPongBoy eyed them in disgust and then said, “Are you that afraid of me that you had to force these dickless ers to come and join you?”

“It’s what we do best,” the taller of the two replied.

“That afraid?” Jung Sang mocked. “If you’re that afraid, you might as well go hang yourself. Sending these idiots to be your back up was the wrong choice. Ask them how many times I kicked their sorry asses. Ask them why I call them dickless ers.”

They all looked at one in another without saying a word.

The taller of the two responded. “Yah! How do we know you’re not lying?!”

“On the count of three, I’ll have these guys running.”

Jung Sang didn’t even have a chance to count to two and the guys were already taking off in a run, dropping their ridiculous weapons along the way.

The two idiots that admitted to destroying his racket were left standing dumbfounded and ashamed.

“Told you so.”

---

By the time Park Jung Sang was done with them, the two were left twitching on the ground like wingless ugly birds.

He came over to us and helped his niece onto his back. “Time to go home, Na-Na.”

Na-Na giggled happily. “That was nice, Jung Sang. You really showed them.”

I was speechless, appalled and very afraid. I couldn’t believe I had watched something like that take place. After seeing it, I’ve come to conclude that PingPingBoy was indeed a scary person with a psychotic personality.

I knew it wasn’t good to piss him off. And yet somehow I couldn't help myself from pissing him off. I have to admit. It was kind of fun arguing with him.

“Yah! What’s wrong with your face?”

His voice drew me back to reality. “Huh? What’s wrong with my face?”

What could possibly be wrong with my face?

Na-Na giggled again. “I think she didn’t enjoy it very much.”

Jung Sang didn’t look at me when he said, “She’s not like us, Na-Na. She knows nothing about violence. The only thing she’s good at is provoking it.”

I looked up to him, feeling defensive. Those eyes were mocking me, testing to see just how much I was willing to take from him. That’s when I noticed the small cut on his left cheekbone and the trickle of blood trailing from it.

“You’re not that invincible. Hahhaa you’re bleeding!” I pointed out.

Na-Na looked more disappointed than hurt when she said, “You got hurt, Jung Sang?”

Jung Sang touched his cheek and forced himself not to wince. “So what?”

“So. You think you’re so tough, that’s why,” I argued.

“I’m not made of steel.”

“No, you’re not.”

“I bleed like everyone else.”

“Not like everyone, but more like…like any other animal or beast there is.”

“Yah! Are you calling me an animal?”

Na-Na switched her gaze back and forth in exasperation.

“You act like one, why shouldn’t I call you an animal?”

“I wouldn’t be speaking. You’re the one that acts like a Barbie doll.”

My eyes widened in response. I wasn’t sure if I heard him correctly “What do you mean by acts like a Barbie doll?”

“You look like one and you act like one and you’re brainless like one. You think you’re better than anyone else. But the only difference is, you’re mouthy and annoying.”

I tugged at my ear, pretending I couldn’t hear him. “I’m sorry. Was that in animal language? I don’t think I understood you.”

“How can a Barbie possibly understand? A Barbie has no brain to understand.”

“BAND-AID!!” Na-Na shouted in frustration, sliding off her uncle’s back. “GET A DAMN BAND-AID!”

The hell has gotten into Na-Na?

Jung Sang quickly looked to his niece and lowered himself to her level. Nervousness was written all over his face. “Na-Na, what’s wrong? Are you bleeding?”

If I didn’t know any better, I would think that PingPongBoy was panicking.

I followed suit. “Na-Na what’s wrong?”

She burst into tears. “GET A BAND-AID!!” she yelled out loud with tears flowing from her eyes.

I jumped at the tone she was using. “Band-aid?” Nudging at Jung Sang, I leaned in to say, “Get her band-aid. Why do you think she needs a band-aid?”

“I don’t have one.” He quickly pulled me aside, rubbing at his face. “She’s getting angry. It gets bad when she gets upset and angry. And I don’t know why she needs a band-aid.”

My gosh. I’ve just realized I might be making the biggest mistake in my life by agreeing to baby-sit her. Na-Na was equally unpredictable as her uncle. She might have been putting up a front all along. The once calmed and reserved Na-Na has transformed into mini-hulk, except that she wasn’t green and that she was so much cuter.

“How bad?” I inquired.

We both turned to look at Na-Na who was wailing out of control, beating her fists against the ground, ripping the grass from the ground, growling like an angry beast.

"Is she possessed?"

Jung Sang only glared at me.

Beads of sweat had formed on my forehead, beginning to trickle down my face. “Band-aid it is!”

I reached into my bag and fished out a band-aid. Jung Sang snatched it from my hand, and offered it to his hysterical niece. “Na-Na. Here it is.”

She flickered her gaze from the band-aid onto me. “Put it on him. He’s still bleeding!” she commanded tartly.

Aigoo! The psychotic little brat was commanding her own baby-sitter? She was freaking out because her uncle happens to be shedding a tiny trickle of blood? “But---but---"

Jung Sang slapped the band-aid into my hand. “Put it on.”

Tearing the band-aid out, I tried to place it on him. He tilted his head back.

I leaned in closer to him.

He kept tilting his head back as if he was afraid I would hurt him.

Then finally I slapped it on him, missing my mark entirely, only to have it stick to his hair.

“Stay still, you stubborn fool!” I hissed as I plucked it out of his hair, causing him to curse and whimper in pain.

I made another attempt to place it on his face, but he waved me away. “The is wrong with you? There’s hair on that thing.”

“Why would an unappealing guy care how he looks like?” I said, managing to stick it onto his face.

He winced at my touch. “Yah! Why are you so rough?”

“I’m sorry that my Barbie hands aren’t gentle enough for you,” I muttered, adding pressure to the cut.

He quickly pulled away cupping a hand over his cheekbone. I saw a pout coming on before he turned his head fully away to face his niece. “There. It’s on.”

She wiped her eyes and her signature smile returned immediately. “Let’s go home.”

After watching it all unfold, I’ve also concluded that Ahn Na-Na was another scary person with a psychotic personality.

---

If things couldn’t get any worst, my cell phone rang the moment we arrived at Na-Na’s house.

I turned away from the both of them when I answered, “Hello?”

“Noona, you gotta help me. Something bad is happening to me.”

I recognized the whining voice belonging to my younger brother Jin Hyung. “And what do you expect me to do about it?”

“A bunch of older guys are taking me away with them because they want money.”

“Why would they rob you?”

“I told them that I know Park Jung Sang; the famous ping-pong player who happens to be the son of one of the richest man in South Korea who happens to be dating my noona who happens to be babysitting his niece.”

“Oh gosh, Jin Hyung. How can you be so stupid?”

“They also said that you’re very pretty and that they want to go out with you.”

“Really? Are they cute?”

“I might be dying and you’re asking me if they’re cute? You’re so dumb, noona.”

“Ugh. Tell them that you lied. Bye!” Click! I hung up on him as I turned back to the uncle and niece who were staring at me in curiosity.

Another ring.

They both looked at me.

I let it ring.

“Aren’t you gonna answer that?” Jung Sang asked.

“I don’t want to.”

“But you should,” interjected Na-Na.

I had no choice but to answer it. “Yah! Jin Hyung you little bastard if you---"

My mother’s voice flowed over the line, cutting me off. “Where is your brother, Ji Won? He’s not home yet. I’m worried about him.”

“He’s…uh…at his friend’s house,” I lied indignantly.

“Why didn’t he call to let me know?”

“Because he called me just a second ago to call you. He was afraid you’d be angry with him so he told me to speak on his behalf.”

“Give me his friend’s number, I need to speak to him myself.”

“Umma, quit worrying. He’s alright.” He might be dying, but he’s alright, I had to remind myself. “He’s not a baby anymore.”

With that, I hung up on her, beginning to worry about the little brat.

I turned back to Jung Sang and his niece. They both opened their mouths to speak at the same time. “Jin Hyung’s in trouble?”

“I think so.”

“Need some help?” Jung Sang questioned.

If only he knew that this mess that Jin Hyung had gotten himself into had everything to do with him. And he wouldn’t like it one bit if he found out. The phone rang again.

I answered it. “Nooonaaa!! Help me. They say they’re going to cut it all off!” Jin Hyung whined over the phone.

“Cut what all off?”

Jung Sang plucked the phone from my grasp and answered it. “Put the bastards on.”

I watched him closely as he said, “We’ll be there.”

Na-Na hurried over to him. “Can I go too? Please, please, please?”

He looked down at her. “You’re staying here. And your babysitter is staying here too. I’ll be back.”

Na-Na pouted. “Awww.”

“I have to go too. I’m his sister,” I protested.

“You’ll stay here or else you’ll lose your job,” he threatened me.

With that, I watched him saunter off as if he had the whole world within his grasp.