By: Anmire

 

 

“What? After making me wait for a year, now you’re dumping me?” In Guk loudly said over the phone with much frustration. “Fine! Goodbye, Eun Ji. Goodbye!

He hurriedly put down the phone and stayed seemingly unconscious, yet with widely open eyes.  He could not believe that all the dates, flowers, chocolates and everything else he spent for Eun Ji all went to waste. But what shocked him the most is the reality that he was just turned down by the woman he loves.

 

“This is so not okay. I have to keep myself busy,” In Guk told himself after sitting on the couch for almost an hour. He went to the kitchen and cooked his dinner. But his condition only allows him to cook egg and fried rice. Then he washed the dishes, or rather a plate and a pair of spoon and fork. He walked around his house not sure what to do next and when he got tired, he went back to his best friend at that moment, the couch. With nothing else on his mind and a remote control in front of him, he decided to turn on the television and just watch.

 

An African documentary, variety shows, dramas, nothing suits his mood that evening. His mind keeps telling him how pathetic and pitiful he is. He certainly thought that he is loneliest person in the world that very moment. With much despair, he got tired of switching channels and left it on the news channel.

 

“Breaking news, everyone. Celebrity Hyun Jae was just reportedly seen in the streets of Hongdae fighting with his supposed girlfriend,” an announcer reported while the television shows a scene of two people who seems to be shouting at each other in a bar. “It was learned that this girlfriend of him caught him making out with another celebrity at the club,” the announcer added.

 

As In Guk saw this news, he finally gave out a grin. “At least I am not the only one with a broken heart tonight,” he murmured.

 

“Kim Ae Chan, the scriptwriter of Hyun Jae’s first drama, Visiting a Sick Friend, is said to be his girlfriend. They started dating because of the drama. And the celebrity Hyun Jae now dating is his leading lady in the show Good Day. Seems like fans are saying that Hyun Jae falls for girls he meets in his projects,” the announcer continued his report while the television keeps flashing pictures of the woman of the hour, Kim Ae Chan.

 

“She’s pretty. She looks smart. This Hyun Jae must be crazy for cheating on him,” In Guk commented while watching.

 

“We were fortunate to get an interview from Miss Kim as she went out of the club. Here is the clip,” the announcer ended his news with a video of the earlier incident.

 

“I am breaking up with him. That’s all I have to say. Ask him for the rest of the story. Thank you,” Kim Ae Chan, the lady who was hurt that night together with In Guk said in that thirty-second interview.

 

“Well, there are jerks who cheat on their girlfriends; and there are brats who dumps men after courting them for a year,” In Guk commented and gave out a deep sigh.

 

He appears to be much more hurt from what he watched. This time, the pain came pouncing in his heart twice. He hurt for himself and Kim Ae Chan. And he wanted relieve himself of this stress.

 

With a mind to be distracted, he took his laptop and went online. With a purpose of letting out the pain he looked for a chat box and tried out his luck on finding someone to talk to. He found one online user and sent out a message.

 

“Hi, Broken89. Are you still available for a chat?” he typed and pressed enter.

 

“Hello there, Rider23! Just logged in and free for chat. What do you want to talk about?” the user replied.

 

“Well, my heart is in pain,” In Guk responded.

 

“What? Same here!”

 

“You too? Well, I just got dumped some hours ago, by a woman I waited on for a year.”

 

“So you’re a guy. Screw that brat!”

 

“How about you? What’s your story?”

 

“Me? Mine is as bad yours. I just caught my boyfriend cheating.”

 

“Really? This kind of scenarios seems to be spreading a lot, eh.”

 

“Yeah, seems so.”

 

“So, you’re a girl?”

 

“Yes. Why?”

 

For a moment, the thought of a chatting with a woman have placed In Guk in a state of a scientist who’s trying to figure out what to do with his future invention. In short, he suddenly had an idea in that great brain of his.

 

“Nothing. I was just curious. Do you hate your boyfriend?” he asked her.

 

“So much. If only I won’t get jailed for murder, I would have killed him,” she reacted and he can feel the anger in her.

 

“Then why don’t we take a revenge on the people who made our lives a living hell?” he suggested to her. “Let’s be a couple!”

 

But there was no response from the woman he was chatting with. Minutes passed and In Guk was left staring at the monitor of the laptop waiting for her reply. Until he got impatient and started sending out messages.

 

“Yo, is the idea bad?”

 

“Do you think I have to change it?”

 

“You don’t like it?”

 

“Or maybe you don’t want to do it?”

 

“Still there?”

 

All these messages he sent and still he got nothing from her.

 

“ANSWER ME!”

 

He finally messaged her with this, all in bold and capital letters.

 

He waited for her to message back but too much time passed that he got annoyed and turned off the laptop.

 

He went to bed that night with a broken heart and an unanswered message.

 

“Ah! My head hurts,” In Guk cried out as he woke up. Sleeping late was never his style. But the happenings the night before caused him to head to bed past midnight.

 

He went on that day with his daily routine but with a reluctant heart. Riding his motorbike, he then decided to go to the Tea House and get rid of the headache and the heartache.

 

While waiting for his order, he read the newspaper and was startled with the headlines, Lee Ji Eun, the celebrity who Hyun Jae cheated with over Ae Chan. Because of the sympathy he shares with Ae Chan after seeing the news the other night, he blurted out, “This Ji Eun is one hell of a brat!”

 

He threw the paper to the table and realizes that everyone was looking at him. He suddenly felt so small and wanted to disappear.

 

“It’s okay, I feel the same way,” a lady who tapped him in the shoulder said and gave out a wink.

 

“I was unaware of my actions and did that,” he told her.

 

“That was embarrassing but I envy you. I badly wanted to do that,” she responded together with a big smile.

 

“And why would you---- Hey! Aren’t you Kim Ae Chan? The---- Yes you are Hyun Jae’s girlfriend!” the astonished In Guk uttered.

 

“Correction, ex-girlfriend, with an emphasis on the ex.”

 

“Woah! What a coincidence. I am so sorry. I know I should not be----“ he started saying but unable to finish.

 

“Green Tea for Miss Broken! Green Tea for Customer Broken! Please proceed to the claiming area,” the waitress announced.

 

“It’s okay. At least Ji Eun and I were of the same age, she’s also born in ’89. Well, gotta go rider. Order’s here,” Ae Chan told him and waved goodbye.

 

In Guk could not believe what just happened. The woman whose pain he shares with, Ae Chan, was just talking to him.

 

“What a coincidence,” he whispered.

 

“Black Tea for Customer Rider! Please proceed to claiming area,” another announcement from the waitress.

 

“That’s mine!” In Guk told the waitress and raised his receipt.

 

As he went out of the place and rode his motorbike, he stopped in awe.

 

He realized something. Ae Chan calling him Rider is something impossible to happen for him. “Does she know me? Did she see my receipt? No she didn’t! Then why in the world does she---wait!”

 

He started his motorbike and hastily went back home.

 

As soon as he reached his house, he checked on his laptop.

“If I am Rider, and Ae Chan was born in 1989, then she is Broken89!” In Guk analyzed everything and figured out that the broken hearted girl he was chatting with last night is the same broken hearted Ae Chan he shares the pain with.

With this in mind, he looked for the chat box he was on last night and like a destiny granted gift, Broken89 is available for chat.

“Broken89, I was sorry for last night. I shouldn’t have asked you that. But I really want to know something,” he initiated a discussion as he have done the first time.

“Hi there, Rider23! You realized everything now?” she replied.

 

“So, am I right? Are you really Ae Chan?”

 

“Finally! How nice of you to recognize me that fast.”

 

“This is cool! But hey, how did you know I was Rider23?”

 

“Well, if you haven’t been looking, you have an avatar of your picture on your profile.”

 

“Oh! My bad. But you don’t have a picture, this is unfair.”

 

“I’m a celebrity, duh? Besides that, when I saw you on that motorbike I instantly realized it was you.”

 

“You instantly knew it?”

 

“Must be fate.”

 

“Must be. So sorry for asking you to answer me last night. I was rude.”

 

“It’s okay. I have an answer now.”

 

“Really? Okay, what’s your answer?” In Guk asked her.

 

Then there was no reply again.

 

“Do I have to put on some pressure for her again?” he thought to himself.

 

“ANSWER ME!” he messaged her in bold and capital letters again.

 

One, two, three seconds passed and a message from Ae Chan popped out.

 

“Let’s date. You’ll be my boyfriend. I’ll be your girlfriend. Let’s heal each other’s hearts and have our own love affair.”