Chapter 8 – Heart to Heart

 

 

Somehow a month had almost gone by. What started out as a month of hell for Yonghwa attending the school he abhorred the most, turned out to not be so bad. September was right around the corner, with fall coming with it. The lively green trees were slowly succumbing to the chilly weather that autumn brought, their leaves transforming into an array of colors. The annoyance known as Seohyun slowly became a presence that was always lingering to Yonghwa. He didn’t tell her off every minute of his life, well it was implied he thought. Seohyun came to terms with his attitude, but she still wished he would treat her better. Somehow, she knew he was becoming tolerant of her but she knew he wouldn’t admit it. Maybe things weren’t going to be so bad for them after all.

“You’re following me again?” Yonghwa sighed. He wasn’t even going to waste his energy in getting angry anymore. He knew he couldn’t be mean to Seohyun or else she would flip out and nag him to death. He had enough with her outburst before that first day of tutoring and he didn’t want to deal any more with that stuff. “Don’t you have a house or something to go to? I would think daddy’s little girl would have some kind of house to her name.”

“Keumanhae! I don’t like you calling me that!” Seohyun exclaimed.

“Eh? Are you on your period or something? You’ve been rather annoying these past few days. Go cool off somewhere or you can forget about following me home. It’s bad enough I actually let you in my house…” he trailed off. Yonghwa knew to stay away from an angry girl, especially Seohyun. She was a shy little mouse most of the time, but when she got angry she was worse than a rampaging rhino.

“I’m not on my period! I told you to stop because I hate you calling me daddy’s little girl or princess or any other name like that,” she explained to him.

“Fine, Your Highness, I’ll stop that,” he joked. Even if he risked getting yelled at, he decided it was much more fun to poke fun at her rather than actually obey her. If he started to obey her now, there’s no telling how cocky and arrogant she would be towards him in the future.

“Ugh, I’m not even going to argue with you. I’m not following you home first of all, I’m going because we have to get this project done,” she began. Yonghwa knew there was more to come and he wasn’t having any of it. Seohyun had been exceptionally irritable since that day they had lunch with Uee and Seung Ri’s group. If anything, he had the reason to be angry with her for being so damn annoying.

“Yah, chill the heck out alright. Look, I don’t know what kind of problems you have at home or with your friends or whatever, but please keep them to yourself. I’m tired of being the target of your anger even though I haven’t done anything to deserve it,” Yonghwa scolded.

“Psh, as if you didn’t…” the angry woman mumbled.

“Unless you tell me why you’re so angry with me, I can’t do anything about it. Every time anyone asks you about it you throw a hissy fit and stomp away. Wanna tell me why you’re mad or are you just going to storm off again?” Yonghwa asked sincerely. If Seohyun didn’t know better, it sounded like there was somewhat of a caring tone in his question, but she swatted that thought away quickly.

“It’s because of you and U… aniya it’s nothing. I’m fine, sorry I’ve been angry. I didn’t realize I was being so angry lately.” Yonghwa just continued his daily walk back to his small apartment and paid no attention to her. He hadn’t date nor cared about dating, but he was smart enough to know girls were the absolutely biggest mystery on the planet. No science in the world could explain their behavior so it was best to just let it go.

“Anyways, why do you want to win this science fair so badly? We aren’t getting a grade for it. The only thing we had to do for a grade was that presentation a few days back. There’s no point of working so hard for this project which is meaningless.” Seohyun paid no attention to his rant on the project. Her mind was wandering in hopes to find a reason why she had been angry at Yonghwa for the past few days. It didn’t occur to her that she was being so irritable lately and she couldn’t find any reason why. She just felt like she needed to be mad at him.

“Eh? Oh, the science fair? Um, I want to win the prize at the end,” Seohyun replied.

“What’s the prize? I haven’t bothered to care really,” Yonghwa confessed. Yonghwa usually was very meticulous and hard-working with his school work but only when it mattered. He was very uncaring when it came to things that did not have any benefit for him.

“It’s enough money to go on the senior class trip,” Seohyun answered hesitantly. Money was a touchy subject for Yonghwa and she didn’t want to get him angry. She was sure he was going to flip out at any second so she mentally prepared herself for the verbal abuse she usually received.

“School trip? To where?” he asked in an almost curious voice.

“The school goes on a trip every year to a different place in Asia. Last year they went to China and the year before that to Thailand. I haven’t been on a trip in a long time, so I really want to go on it this year,” Seohyun explained in a giddy voice. She almost skipped in girlish anticipation for the trip that her and her classmates would go on soon. “They haven’t announced it yet, but it’ll probably happen soon. I think we go the second or third week of September.”

“Okay… but why do you need the money for that? I’m sure your daddy would pay for anything that makes his sweet little princess happy. I don’t think he could allow his honey muffin to stay at home while everyone else was having fun,” Yonghwa teased sarcastically.

“Yah! Ugh, never mind, I’m not even going to go there. It’s not for me, it’s um… it’s for… you…” Seohyun stammered. As before, she got ready for the assault he was sure to make with words.

“Why are you working on this then? Wouldn’t it be smarter to just let me finish it on my own? You’re doing all this work and you’re not even planning on cashing in the prize? You must be on drugs or something…” he reasoned. In his mind, people only did things for their own benefit. Yonghwa had seen it with his own eyes far too many times while growing up. To him, people were selfish and evil. Even the people that claimed to do things out of the goodness of their heart had something to gain in his eyes. “Why should you help me with that?”

“Well… I mean… I want to…” Seohyun continued to stutter. Yonghwa even stopped walking and turned his head over his shoulder to look at her. Seohyun stood a few steps behind him in an awkward stance while fiddling with the edge of her skirt. To anyone else, it would be cute. To Yonghwa, it was annoying. “I think it would be a good idea for you to come with us…”

“That’s your reason? Psh, I don’t buy it,” Yonghwa scoffed. “You want something to hold against me don’t you?”

“Ani…” Seohyun replied in a gentle voice. “I’m not looking for anything. I’ve learned to not even expect the word thanks out of you. I gain so little out of this even if I were trying to do this for selfish reasons. I just really want to go on a trip with you…” Seohyun spaced out a little as she said her words in the gentle tone. As usual, she spoke what was on her mind at the moment without thinking of the consequences.

“Haha, what?” Yonghwa laughed. In his mind he was laughing his head off on how stupid she sounded to him. He thought she wasn’t listening to herself speak as usual, making a fool of herself.

“I mean! No that’s not what I mean! What I wanted to say… I was just… Aish! I didn’t mean just us, I meant with everyone else. Hara and Yoona and Taecyeon all would love to have you with us.” Lately, Seohyun had to beat herself up inwardly due to all her stupid mistakes. She didn’t even notice Yonghwa began walking away quietly since she was currently slapping herself mentally.

“If I did win, I wouldn’t accept the money from you. Even if I were to come across that much money, there are so many better things to save it for. Why spend so much money on a few days that everyone will forget after a month or two?” Yonghwa asked cynically. In his world, friends and memories were empty words. Why be wasteful and spend all that money? In his practical world, that money could go to his savings for his future.

“You won’t forget it,” Seohyun stated simply. “I’ll make sure of that.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Yonghwa asked back, stopping his walk once again.

“I promise you that if you go on that trip, you’ll never forget it. It’ll stay with you for the rest of your life. If we go, I’ll make sure of it,” Seohyun boldly stated. Yonghwa stared at her and noticed the fire in her eyes. She was definitely serious about it or else she would never have the courage to glare at Yonghwa with such an intense gaze.

“And if you don’t keep that promise? What do I get out of it?”

“I’ll repay you that money and double it. It won’t happen though. After that trip, you’re going to wish you had more money to spend on it. I swear it.” Yonghwa almost wanted to laugh, but her serious expression made him restrain himself from doing so.

“Those are some big words you got there. Are you sure you won’t regret saying them? If I make you eat those words, don’t cry when I say that I told you so,” he challenged.

“I won’t regret saying them. If we win this science fair prize, you have to go on the trip with us. If you’re so sure I’ll eat my own words, then you should take the offer. You’ve got nothing to lose right? If I lose you’ll get a free one week paid trip to a nice place and you’ll get double your money back. You would be stupid not to take my proposal,” Seohyun boldly explained.

“Oh is that so… we’ll then, I guess I’ll have to take your offer. Like you said, I would be stupid to refuse. How about we shake hands on it and make it official. I’ll enjoy the trip and the money I’ll get afterwards.” Yonghwa cockily stretched out his right hand in order to seal the deal. Seohyun calmly reached out and met his hand in response. With a firm grasp and shake, the deal was sealed. Yonghwa wasn’t usually that cocky and even he found it strange, but it was impossible for someone to change his mind in something like that. He was sure he would win.

“Oh, I didn’t notice we were already outside of your house,” Seohyun pointed out. “Comon, let’s go inside.” The now happy girl skipped towards the entrance to the building as if she hadn’t been glaring at Yonghwa just a few seconds ago. He found it amazing how fast girls could change their emotions. Luckily he didn’t have to deal with mood swings since he never even showed any.

“So, what else do we have left? The plants are already growing in Kim seonsaeng’s room and the presentation is complete except for the results and conclusion. Remind me again why you’re here…” Yonghwa growled. “I have work in a few minutes so I don’t even know why you came.”

“Why don’t you just tell me to leave already?” Seohyun pouted. Her arms folded in response, adding even more of her aegyo to the pout. “Why did you let me in if you’re just gonna ask me to leave?”

“Cut the aegyo out, it doesn’t work on me. I didn’t let you in, you let yourself in. You basically live at my house now. I can’t kick out a guest though. I might not enjoy company, but I have manners unlike you.” Yonghwa walked across the living room after slipping on his slippers and dug around the refrigerator for something to eat. “Do you want anything? I’m going to eat before I head to work.”

“Can I come with you to work? I already did all my homework for the week and I’m bored.” Seohyun sat at the kitchen table and propped her head up with her small hands. An expression of pure boredom decided to settle on her face to further indicate the lack of something to do. “I promise I’ll be really quiet.”

“What a drag… If you want to go you can, I’m not stopping you. I’ll be working, so I’m not even going to pay attention to you. Do as you wish.” Yonghwa ignored her futile attempts to get pity out of him and continued to munch on a bit of rice he dug out from a bowl. “When is the science fair again?”

“It’s a week from tomorrow. Be ready to meet up at the school’s gym Friday afternoon at 4:30.”

“Aish, I’m going to have to miss work. This better be worth my time… If we don’t win, you owe me a day’s worth of pay,” Yonghwa grumbled. He didn’t even know why he was letting someone like Seohyun boss him around. Then again, it was either this or her whining and complaining which was twenty times worse.

“We will win. I snooped around to see what else we had in store. Nothing comes close to the complexity and genius of our project. Everyone is testing random crap, but we are actually testing something that we can put to good use,” Seohyun bragged. “Our project can be used to clean up some of the worst pollution out there. Nobody else is doing anything that’s practical.”

“Whatever, just make sure I get my money if we win.” Seohyun’s cute pout turned into a frown. Jung Yonghwa was arguably the most insensitive person on the planet in her eyes. How someone could be so rude, insensitive, and cold was beyond her. Here she was working her off for something that she didn’t even get anything out of, yet he was insulting her. Her brain kept screaming at her to ditch the fool, but her body wouldn’t listen. That had been happening a lot to her lately. Even when reason told her to stay away from Yonghwa, something held her back. That little something kept telling her ‘Don’t leave’ but she couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

“Can I ask you a question?” Seohyun asked.

“You just did and nothing stopped you,” Yonghwa answered, looking up briefly from his plate of food.

“What do you think of me?” Seohyun questioned bluntly. Her hands made a loud slapping noise after they closed rapidly. In her head her question didn’t sound like that. She hated herself for always putting her questions and statements in really awkward ways.

“Before I answer that, I have a question for you. Why do you and your friends want me around all the time?” If anyone else was hearing Yonghwa talk they would think he sounded rather conceited. However, that was far from the truth. People that knew Yonghwa would know that he hated the attention that he received.

“Why we want you around?” Seohyun asked herself out loud. Even she didn’t really know the answer to that question. “Molla… I’ve never really thought about it.” Yonghwa tore his eyes from the white, sticky rice on his plate and placed them on the girl in front of him. He seemed genuinely curious about the reason why all those people found him so interesting.

“You guys are always hanging around me even when I tell you to screw off. I’ve never done a single nice thing for Hara and Yoona yet they always greet me as if I was their friend for years. Don’t even get me started on Taecyeon…” Seohyun giggled a bit at the mention of Taecyeon. That fool always made everyone’s day with his antics. She supposed Yonghwa was referring to the way Taecyeon would greet him with a small pat on the some days. “What I’m most curious about is the reason why you hang around me. I’m not nice to you, I always call you names, I even told you off pretty harshly a few times… why do you put up with that? Is it because you guys want to recruit me in your childish games against Uee?”

“Pabo… You don’t realize Uee is using you for that exact reason,” Seohyun mentally sneered. Uee wasn’t any sort of threat to her, nor had she ever been. Uee was all talk and no walk. In the end Seohyun was better than her, even if Uee came close to beating her a few times. Lately the mention of Uee made Seohyun want to take a puppy and throw it out a ten story window.

“Yah! Answer me, I don’t have all day you know.”

“Oh, mainhe…” Seohyun responded, breaking out of her mental rant against Uee. “Taecyeon likes you because he’s got no guy friends really; probably because he scares away all the girls with his greasy smile, failed gangster talk, and overly cheesy pick-up lines.” Seohyun could just imagine Taecyeon getting his ears pulled by Yoona when he tries his lines on her. “Hara and Yoona,I guess they’re just nice people.”

“And you?” Yonghwa inquired in a serious voice.

“Me… I wonder why I put up with you.” Seohyun wondered, staring straight into his eyes with a gaze as intense as his was. “I just want to I guess. I don’t have any particular reason for it. I just feel like I should be around you. It sounds strange, but that’s all I can really say. Maybe it’s because I know you’re a really nice person, but you hide it behind that mask.” Seohyun’s gaze softened a little, turning into a gentle look into his still penetrating eyes. “Maybe I want to be there when I finally see what’s under that mask. Perhaps I want to be the one to take it off myself. There is a world of possibilities out there, but I can’t choose one. The best answer I can give you is: I want to be around you, no I like to be around you, just because. There’s no specific reason.”

Yonghwa really had no words to give her. Even though her argument had no base whatsoever, there was nothing he could say to counter it. The look in her eyes and the resolve in her voice added so much force to her words that no counterargument could ever be strong enough to go against her. Even though their conversation was over, they still held their eyes in the same spot. Yonghwa’s powerful stare against Seohyun’s soft and calm look. A few minutes went by with the staring contest still in full tow. To an outsider, it would seem as if they were a pair of frustrated lovers that wanted to confess their love but didn’t know how. And that is exactly how it looked to the newcomer in the situation.

“Omo! Jung Yonghwa! You never told me you had a girlfriend!” a female voice squealed from across the apartment. “Aigoo, jashik~ my son is grown man now. Mind introducing me to this lovely lady?” Immediately, Seohyun broke the stare and fought back the blush that came with it. Her eyes looked down onto the ground almost in shame in order to avoid anyone noticing her flustered state.

“Umma… what are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be with haelmeoni for another few weeks? Are you sure you’re okay? Did the doctor say you could walk around?” Yonghwa’s barrage of questions surprised Seohyun. He was really quiet when they were alone and usually only spoke up to insult her. Then again, she supposed he would act that way around his mom if she was all he had.

“Aish, you worry too much. Agasshi are you Yonghwa’s girlfriend?” Yonghwa’s mother asked the uneasy girl sitting at the table with Yonghwa. “Aigoo~ I can’t believe you’d take this pabo of a son of mine…”

“Oh, annyeonghaseyo I’m Seo Joohyun, please treat me well,” Seohyun politely greeted. She stood up abruptly and gave Yonghwa’s mom a bow so low her hair almost touched the ground. “And, I’m not Yonghwa’s girlfriend I’m-”

“She’s a partner for a school project, but she was just leaving right?” Seohyun glared at Yonghwa for interrupting her. Of course she would get interrupted by him when she was going to call him a friend. He probably didn’t want to be acknowledged as such, so she just silently stared in response. She couldn’t reprimand him in her usual manner with an adult around. Then again, his mom would probably do it for her.

“Yah! Didn’t I raise you to be a respectful and gracious host? Did you even offer her food or something to drink? How come you’re yelling at a guest and telling her to leave? Especially a cute girl like this one…”

“Umma…” Yonghwa groaned. The situation was basically music to Seohyun’s ears. Yonghwa was getting repeatedly scolded by his mother in front of her. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and she was planning on milking it to the fullest.

“Ne, eomeonim Yonghwa oppa is always really mean to me,” Seohyun admitted in an aegyo filled voice. “He’s always telling me to leave and to stop bothering him when I’m trying to help him out. Sometimes I can’t even take it anymore.” Seohyun managed to make her eyes watery, leaving Yonghwa at a loss for words. If he could speak out at that moment, Seohyun was sure there would have been a string of curses coupled with a few ‘Get the hell out of my house.’

“Yonghwa… get your to work. I’ll take care of this girl here. What did you say your name was again, honey?” Yonghwa rolled his eyes and walked to his room to get ready for work. Just what he needed, his mother and Seohyun both in the same house torturing him. Surely hell was a more fun place than his house at the moment.

“You can call me Seohyun eomeonim,” Seohyun replied politely.

“Aish, don’t call me that, I’ll sound really old. I’m only 35,” the woman scolded with a laugh.

“Ne?! 35? I mean… I’m sorry…”

“It’s no big deal, everyone asks the same thing. Anyways, you can call me umma. Drop the formalities too, I’m not too big on them. Do you want anything to drink Seohyun ah?”

“Ne,” Seohyun happily chirped. The familiar way that Yonghwa’s mom was treating her made her feel at home. At her house, it was ‘Joohyun do this’ or ‘Joohyun don’t do that.’ She was never given a choice in the matter. Her parents’ word was law and there was no reasoning good enough to counter it. Yonghwa’s mother on the other hand paid attention to her feelings just a few minutes after meeting each other.

“Umma! I’m leaving,” Yonghwa called out. “I’ll be back at around 12 so don’t wait up for me.”

“Yah! As if I’d wait for a punk like you. Get your lazy bum to work or I’ll tell Jin Man to fire you.” If the two women in the house could see Yonghwa’s mouth making movements as if he were cursing, they would surely scold him for hours on end. A small smile made its way onto his face at the thought. With a few movements of his hands, his shoes were tied and the slam of the door sounded through the house.

“Um…umm…umma,” Seohyun began awkwardly. It was a little strange calling this woman she had just met umma, but the atmosphere she gave off made it seem right. “Yonghwa seems to be really happy that you’re around. I’ve never seen him talk so much on his own before. He must have really missed you.”

“I’m more surprised he let you in the house. In all the years that I’ve been around that kid, he has never once brought anyone over. He would just sit in his room and read books all day. It worried me that there was something wrong with him. How did you manage to do it?” Seohyun’s new ‘mom’ asked.

“I don’t really know myself,” Seohyun responded with a nervous voice. She took a sip from the red liquid that Yonghwa’s mom had just passed her. It was probably fruit punch, but she couldn’t really tell. “At first he couldn’t even stand me. He was really mean the first day of school, but somehow I ended up coming here pretty much every day of the week. It kind of just happened.”

“Gomawo Seohyun ah, jinjja jinjja gomawo.” Seohyun looked up from her drink to give the woman a confused look. “I’m glad someone like you is around Yonghwa. It’s all my fault that he’s like that, so thank you so much for helping me reach out to him.” Tears began to form in the older woman’s eyes, eliciting the same reaction in Seohyun.

“What’s wrong? Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just really sorry that Yonghwa had to be like that. He doesn’t trust the world anymore. He’s been through so much and he’s not even an adult yet. It’s all my fault for making stupid decisions in my life. Getting pregnant at 17, believing that that bastard of a father he has would help me…” Seohyun had no idea what to respond to the situation. Although they had only been together for a maximum of fifteen minutes, the woman was telling her whole life’s story to her. “It means a lot that someone took the time to reach out to him.”

“Um… are you going to be okay? Do you need some tissues?” Seohyun concernedly asked.

“Ne, ne, I’m fine. I’m sorry for being like this and we just met. You must think I’m crazy,” the mother joked with a fake laugh at the end.

“Aniyo, I don’t think you’re crazy. Although I do think Yonghwa is,” Seohyun joke in hopes to lighten up the atmosphere.

“I just wish there could be something I can do for him. He works so hard and he gets no returns. He’s working hard to help pay my bills, his living expenses, his future tuition… He doesn’t even get to spend anything for himself. I don’t even think he knows what it feels like to want something,” the woman pointed out.

“Aniyo, he does know what it feels like, I’m sure of it. From what I see, he wants nothing more in this world than to help you out. I can see it in his eyes and the way he speaks. He doesn’t have to say it, but I know he’s working hard for you umma. Don’t be too hard on Yonghwa, he’s just trying his best to help you out. Maybe that’s why I want to be around him so much…” Seohyun wondered.

“Eh? What do you mean?”

“He has a dream, an ambition, something to live for. I have nothing like that. I was raised by two rich parents that gave me everything I ever wanted. I never had to work for anything, so I never had any dreams,” Seohyun sadly admitted. She felt awful for complaining about living a rich life, but it was truly how she felt. “My parents would tell me that dreams and things like that were useless, but I didn’t think so. They told me all I should ever want is to be smart enough to continue the family business and to marry a man as wealthy as me.”

“Seohyun ah…”

“Maybe that’s why I’m so attracted to Yonghwa. Maybe I’m hoping that some of his resolve will rub off on me,” Seohyun suggested. Yonghwa’s mom began to smile and cry again, this time tears of joy. It was evident in the way Seohyun’s eyes sparkled when she mentioned Yonghwa’s qualities, that she felt something for him. Unfortunately for her, she couldn’t figure that out herself.

“Seohyun, what do you feel for Yonghwa? What is he to you?” Seohyun almost spit the drink she supposed was fruit punch across the table at the question. It was the second time today she had been asked that question, and once again she didn’t really know what to answer.

“I don’t know to be honest. I can’t say he’s my friend because he doesn’t acknowledge it. For now I guess you could say he’s someone that I can look up to for strength. He’s someone I can depend on no matter what. Even when he’s calling me names or saying how much of a drag I am, I know that he will be there if I need him…” Seohyun trailed off.

“You know, my grandmother told me something once before she passed away. ‘Smile now while you can because as you grow older, the world will give you fewer reasons to smile.’ Yonghwa has been given no reasons to smile even as a child, but I’ll change that. I’ll make sure that I’m a reason for him to smile,” Seohyun affirmed strongly. It was now evident to Yonghwa’s mother what exactly Seohyun felt for her son, but she would let Seohyun figure it out for herself. It wouldn’t be any fun for her to spoil it she supposed.

“Seohyun ah, even though I’ve only known you for less than an hour, I feel as if you were a daughter of mine. You’re welcome in this house any time you want. Don’t let Yonghwa stop you from coming in. From now on, you’re my kid too,” her new mother told her with a wink. Seohyun tried her hardest to not cry in such a happy situation. She wanted to cry at the way she was being treated. Never had her mother once called her ‘Seohyun ah’ or consoled her or had any kind of talk like this.

“Kamsahamnida! Jeongmal kamsahamnida!” Seohyun explained from sheer happiness.

“Comon now, let’s get cooking so we can get that pabo some food in his stomach when he comes back.” The two women stood up and headed over to the small stove in the cozy kitchen. Seohyun had learned to cook through some classes her parents made her take to be ‘the ideal wife’ and she was eager to put them to good use for Yonghwa. She was also excited to be spending time with the person that at her side. If there was ever a such thing as a perfect mother, Seohyun supposed it would be someone like Yonghwa’s.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Aish, stupid customers drive me crazy. Why would you leave your table all dirty with ketchup smeared over it…” Yonghwa rambled on his way back from work. He honestly hated his job at the café since he had to deal with so many people, but it was an easy job and Jin Man paid well for the work he did. As usual, he was headed from the café, to the elementary school just a few blocks away. He had been banned from the swing by the Princess of Annoyingness while he was sick and he felt strange not having visited for so long.

His usual routine of hopping on to the creaky, rusted swing and swinging himself lightly didn’t seem like it was going to happen. From a distance he saw someone already in his spot, gently swaying back and forth. As he got closer and closer, he started to make out the figure on the swing. Needless to say, he was definitely not pleased with the sight in front of him.

“You again…” Yonghwa growled. “Do I need a freaking restraining order against you?” Seohyun turned around to stare at a tired looking boy glaring at her. “Do you even live at your own house anymore?”

“Umma let me stay and help her with dinner. She didn’t want to eat anything until you came so she made me stay. You’re sleeping on the couch again today by the way,” Seohyun teased. An immature gesture from her tongue was also added in for a stronger effect.

“You’re such a kid,” Yonghwa grumbled. “Well, I’m out for today. Come now or else I’ll leave you locked out of the house.”

“Wait, don’t you want to swing here? Hop on, I’ll push,” Seohyun offered.

“No thanks, I don’t come here because I want to swing. I come here to-” Seohyun stared attentively at him in hopes that he would finish his sentence. “You know what, let’s just go. I haven’t worked in a while so I’m a little tired. Comon princess or else you’ll be left in the dark.”

“I told you to stop calling me princess!” Seohyun pouted in her usual manner. Yonghwa continued his walk, completely ignoring her futile attempts to grab his attention. It was almost laughable how he was used to the situation already. It almost seemed weird to not have fought with Seohyun over something stupid as the name princess in a few hours. He turned slightly to see her still ranting and gave her a slight scoff. Clearly, there was no fixing that girl once she got going.

 

Author’s Note: Finally done with stupid exams. Well not really, I have one left on Tuesday but I’m not worried. Failed chemistry hard, but killed the history one. I’m just glad it’s over with. Updating will now happen at a regular schedule, yay! A rather interesting chapter if I do say so myself. This one wasn’t in my plans at all but I’m rather happy at how a last minute addition worked out pretty well. If anyone has noticed, I put in a bit more Korean than I have from the beginning. I totally forgot to add it in so I’ll start putting in bits of Korean here and there. It just feels more natural sometimes. I’ll be defining the words down here, so if you see something you don’t know just check it out. I’ll stop rambling now. Peace out.

 

Korean words:

Keumanhae – stop it

Molla – I don’t know

Mianhe – informal way of saying sorry

Jashik – it means “rascal” or “punk”, our wonderful Yonghwa loves this word.

Agasshi – young lady

Ne – yes

Eomeonim – formal way of saying mother

Gomawo – informal way of thanking someone

Jinjja and Jeongmal – really or a lot

Aniyo – no