2.1

A month and a half passed and Chansung was still without a job.  Hungry nights, chilly mornings, and stiff clothes was enough to make Chansung beyond desperate. Each day passed the day his rent was due his landlord came in every morning and removed something. Two days ago it was Chansung’s rice cooker. Yesterday it was Chansung’s small two eye portable stove. Today, Chansung watched from his bed as his old lady landlord looked around the already bare apartment as to what she would take next. She moved to his radio on his dresser, and then paused. The old lady’s tongue darted out between her missing front teeth to play with a piece of chapped skin on her lips. She ran her hands though her matted white hair, letting them tangle as she combed through her thoughts.

“No MP3?” The old woman mumbled.

Chansung sighed, “ I’m poor. Poor people don’t have—“

“—Eh…There is nothing of worth.” She cut him off, not wanting to hear his sob story. She looked around the place more, moving to the bathroom and peeping in the closet to make sure he wasn’t hiding anything useful.  Her eyes fell upon him. This young vibrant man was probably the only thing of value left in the apartment.

“How old are you?” She asked out of the blue.

Chansung blinked for a second. The old lady was about to repeat herself but Chansung finally found his wits. “I was born in 1990.”

She stepped closer to him and reached out her hands to touch his cheekbones. So high and so sharp, the structure of his face made her remember her hay day. Guys like him would chase her around. Guys like him had wanted her. That was before she got old though. But desperate situations like this caused even a handsome man to settle for a grandma like her.

“I’ll take you.” She said before she even had chance to rethink what she was doing.

Chansung wasn’t sure he heard what she was saying. Did she want him to be intimate with her in exchange for a rent free month? Was she serious? Chansung looked up to meet her eyes and saw as a blush spread across her cheeks and down her neck into her high collared floral night gown.

This old woman was serious.

Chansung stood up from where he sat on his bed letting the sheets fall from around his shoulders and drop to the ground to reveal his bare toned chest. He covered the distance between he and his landlord till his full 6-foot-something height toward over her. A breath was the only thing that could fit between them. He didn’t bend over to look at her; instead he looked down his bird like nose to gaze deep in her worn eyes. His eyes were dark and unreadable as he backed her up against his dresser. The landlord exhaled a shaky breath that whistled between her missing teeth as Chansung moved his lips to the shell of her ear.

“I’m not that desperate.” He said. He grabbed the radio that was on his dresser and handed it to her before backing away and finding a shirt. 

The old lady regained her composure. Humiliation replaced lust and she threw the radio to the ground cracking it and denting the floor.

“Since you have nothing to offer, and you aren’t that desperate, then I need you out of the apartment or cough up the rent by tomorrow morning.”

The old lady slammed the door on the way out, but Chansung didn’t flinch. He was too worried about where he was going to sleep tomorrow night because he was for sure it wouldn’t be in the old ladies bed.

2.2.

Later that night Chansung sat on the steps to Sohee’s apartment while on his cell phone. The cool breeze wasn’t nearly as cold as the way his mother spoke to him on the phone.

“Well you can’t come here.” She was forward and it hurt.

“Mom…”

“Don’t mom me Chansung. You left this house. You said you wanted to grow up. So guess what? Grow up.”

Chansung didn’t have a chance to respond before the phone went dead.  He put the phone down and sipped on his water. It was either drink water of have salty tears slide down his eyes. How he got to this place in his life, he’d never know. He just wanted to experience life his own way. That didn’t mean he didn’t love his parents. Clearly that’s how his mom took his leaving though, and now that he was in need she was withholding her love.

“I’m guessing it didn’t go well.” Sohee said as she sat behind him on the steps. 

Chansung leaned back till his head rested on her thigh. Sohee tensed for a moment, than Chansung could tell she counted to ten and then unclenched. After the rejection from his mom he wasn’t sure he could take the rejection from Sohee either. Though she tried not to make it obvious, the forced acceptance of his touch didn’t go buy unnoticed . Chansung stood up and slipped his water in the pocket of his hoodie.

“Where are you going?” Sohee asked panicked.

“My mom doesn’t want me. My girl doesn’t want me. I’m going to go home and pack some bags.”

“I do want you.” Sohee said her voice hitting a high octave.  “I just. I can’t.”

“Sohee I’m not asking you to have with me. I simply wanted some comfort.”

Sohee stood up and wrapped her arms around him. Chansung didn’t return the hug so Sohee placed his arms around her.

“I’m not use to this. You know. I’m not use to …”

“We’ve been together so long. I’m not asking for . How much longer is it going to take you to get use to me?”

Sohee held him tighter. She wasn’t sure of the answer, but  she was sure her silence to the question said more than what she could ever say.

Chansung kissed the top of her head and whispered, “Let me go.”

Sohee reached up and kissed him. It was a desperate needy kiss. She sat back down on the steps, the movement putting him on his knees between her legs. She ran her hands through his hair and deepened the kiss. Chansung pulled her close to him drinking up this change of heart she’s had. She was soft and slender in his arms. Nothing like his fantasy, but still equally as exciting. He was so hungry for everything. For food, for money, for her. Finally he could satiate something.  He pushed closer completely wrapping himself around her. He didn’t care about how uncomfortable the concrete was. He didn’t care how uncomfortable his pants were at that moment. He just wanted to hold her.

Sohee cared about how uncomfortable his pants where though. She made a move to put her hands around him and accidently brushed her hand across his manhood. As soon as she realized how much need he carried she pushed him off and bolted to her door.

“Sohee!” He said upset with himself for scaring her off.

“I uh…”She mumbled. She turned the door knob and opened the door. “Good night Chansung. Call me in the morning.” Then she rushed in building and upstairs to her apartment.

2.3                                                                                                                                          

Chansung walked the streets tired and . It was a natural reaction he kept telling himself. He didn’t want to sleep with her. Well, at least not till she was ready.  He reached in his pocket to pull out his cell phone; he needed to call a friend or something in order to get home. It would take him hours to get home at this rate.  Then tomorrow he’d call Sohee and apologize for making her uncomfortable after she finally reached out to him.

His hands came out of his pocket empty. He sighed. He must have dropped it at Sohee’s house. Nice place for it to be in his time of need. He looked around. Each shop was dark and abandoned for the night. The only place that was open was a clean looking place with no name placed anywhere outside of the building. The neighborhood wasn’t sketchy, but that building looked like trouble. The windows were tinted, and the door was made of steel. Clearly it wasn’t a place meant for walk in patrons. 

The hum of an expensive car going top speed could be heard a block away. Moments later Chansung saw the candy red sports car slip into a parking space in front of the no name shop. Out of the driver seat came a tall well-muscled man. Chansung watched as the man flexed his muscle a bit as he zipped up the fly of his pants. Out of the passenger side came…his old boss’s wife.

 Instantly images of his job going up in flames came to the forefront of his memory. Here he was struggling to find work, and she was spending her night with some over muscled play boy. The cause of his misfortune pulled out a wad of cash and handed it to the playboy while sharing a kiss. Accepted the kiss then started counting out the bills.

“I’ll get you your change.” Chansung hear the playboy say.

“No, no. Keep it as a gift.” The woman said.

“You know I can’t accept gifts, baby.” The playboy turned, knocked on the steel door twice, and when it opened went inside.

The woman rubbed her shoulders and sighed out water vapor into the cold night. She looked around a bit and her eyes landed on Chansung. Surprise and then worry spread across her face.

Chansung could only look at her in disgust and anger. How could she continue to do what lost him his job in the first place? He had more than a few words to say to this hussy. None of them were polite.  He stalked his way over to her are and stood so close his height intimated her.  He grabbed her shoulders. Not tight enough to hurt her, but enough to scare her.

“ Don’t you have shame?” Chansung asked his voice low.

She struggled to get out of his grip.

“I lost my job. I lost my home. I have no food. And here you are with some .”

“Please let me go.” She sighed out as she finally got out of his grip. Chansung grabbed her again, holding her to his chest.

“When I let you go, you’d better head straight home to your husband.”

The woman started to beat Chansung’s chest, her hysterics reaching epic proportions. She started screaming as Chansung tried to stop her from hurting him.

Just then 9 men poured from the building in various states of undress and carrying some sort of blunt object. The nine of them circled Chansung and the waling woman his arms. A tenth man walked out the door slowly. His hands were obviously soft and he didn’t carry a weapon. Though his face was etched with time he was still handsome.  Swag and cool carried the tenth man to where Chansung stood.

“Let her go.” The tenth man said, “Or get that handsome face ed up.”