Chicken Short Story.

            People on diet usually don’t really eat chicken, am I right? Well, correct me if I am wrong. Girls nowadays come to this shop and keep asking whether these fried chicken that we sell is low in calories or not. Grow up can they? Our traditional spicy fried chicken may be high in calories, since this is made for those who like spicy food. And, if those girls want to eat something that low in calories, please do not stop by at this shop. You do know the answer all by yourself, right?

            I am Zhang Yixing. I am 3rd year students who work part-timer as fried chicken delivery boy. You might be curious about the reason why I choose to work on this crucial senior year of high school, right? Well, I don’t have any specific answer for that. My family is not that poor and not that rich. But we’re quite well to live in a nice house and I even get my monthly allowance from my parents. I just thought that if I start working now, I could have some experience in encounter the big world ahead. What’s the point of studying my off when one’s lack in terms of social skills? I’ve got an average grade and constant marks in every exam. At least, it’s enough for me to apply for any normal university I want.

            Love. I don’t really have much time to think about it. I am just too busy to think about my study and work. Being a student in South Korea is not an easy task. I need to struggle myself in order to achieve a good result in the college scholastic ability test. Stop imagining about those lovely Korean dramas which show the student being in love and having a good life. Trust me, it’s all just dramas.

“Lay, don’t you think it’ll be too much for you to work and study in a same time?” here we go, the blunt Jongdae asking me some pop out questions in the middle of this hellish math class.

“Nope, I think it’s great for me to improve my social skills. And to enhance my knowledge about Korean culture too, Jongdae.” Well, it’s true. Did I tell you that I am actually a Chinese who live in Korea? I’d too much of hard memory being bully because of my nationality and my background. That’s why I need to know more about Korea.

            After the school end, I usually will stop by at the pancake stall near our school. It’s a good place to hang out before start my duty as the fried chicken delivery boy. You may think that I am lying, but most of the time, that stupid Kim Jongdae will called our shop and ask me to deliver the chicken to his house. Guess what? I always end up spending almost an hour accompany him to eat all the chickens that he bought.

As my shift het started, the manager hyung called my name and show me an address to send all the friend chickens. 12 boxes of chickens? This family sure does eat a lot eh? So, let’s get the ball rolling and speed up the bike everybody!

Ding Dong, Ding Dong.

I pressed the bell switch for few times but the owner seems don’t even realize about my existence. Isn’t a prank call? Well, some of the customers might do so. They will called and order many kinds of food but end up giving a wrong address to us. I hate that kind of attitude. Just please don’t tell me all this things is fake.

Suddenly…

“Yes, can I help you?” I don’t know whether this is a dream come true or I’ve been hallucination about pretty girl all the time. But this girl who literally standing in front of me now sure can kill my nerve of masculinity. Is an angel is actually exist and standing in front of me now? Someone need to wake me up!

“I..am tthhee cchhhiicckkenn.” And gosh, what am I saying? I am the chicken! Hell no Zhang Yixing, you’re not a chicken even you might look like one.

“What? You’re a chicken?” I nod my head and shake it back.

“Nope. Iamthefriedchickendeliveryboywhosupposedtosendthis12boxesofchickenstoyourhouse.” Believe me; I said it in a matter of second. No comma, just a full stop involved.

And the girl just laughed at me. She then walked back into her house and come back with money in her hand.

“Do I get it for free or you want me to wait for another 3 hours standing here with you to get the chickens?” She said while handing me the money and smiling. Oh no, I forgot about the chicken.  Clumsily, I run a bit to my bike and took all the boxes. 3 huge plastic bags in hand is not an easy deal to do my friend. And a girl wants to bring all of it. This is the time for me to show off my masculinity side of myself and take all the plastic in just a trip. For few steps, my legs start shaking and BANG! I felt onto the ground and whew, all the chickens are safely landed on my body. It was so embarrass at that moment. It even produces a loud sound because I bump myself to a pole nearer and hit the ground so loud. Because of it, I just give her all the chickens and go to my bike, start the engine and went back home without took even a glance at the nice girl.

And guess what, I stop working after the incident happen.

It was to embarrass to remember.

And I won’t do the same thing again.

But I want to meet the girl again.

Stop dreaming Yixing, an angel like that won’t ever fall in love with a stupid guy like you.

But she’s an angel.

An angel supposed to forgive and forget everything, right?

 

“WAKE UP LAY! YOU’VE BEEN OUTTA YOUR MIND FOR THE WHOLE HISTORY CLASS BEFORE!” I know this voice and it does belong to my perfect dumber soul mate, Kim Jongdae.

“What do you want? I don’t have any mood to talk to you now.” Indeed.

“Please focus in class, that’s the least thing I want you to do, Lay. S.A.T is just around the corner. Snap yourself out from the incident, can you? I don’t ever think that the girl remember you nor your stupid way of joking that night. Just, focus.” What Jongdae said is actually true. I’m worrying myself too much until I can’t even concentrate in class.

And starting from that day, I forget about the incident and start working hard for my college entrance examination.

Well, I’m not trying to show off about my ability here. But I did get a flying colors result and get accepted into Hongik University. So, before I enter a whole new world in front of me. I went to my former workplace; The Son Fried Chicken Shop. As I walked into the shop, the owner welcomes me and asking about my life. But then, he told me, that there’s a girl who come here each and every day to meet me. I explained that I never did something bad when I worked here before. The owner just laughed.

“The girl never complains about you. She came to apologies if I am not mistaken. She used to come here every day, but I don’t see her around these days. Maybe she gives up already.” A girl was looking for me?

“Did you tell her that I quit work here?” The owner nods his head.

“I already told her that for few times. But she’s still coming back and forth looking for you.”

“You know that I don’t have any girl friends since I was studied in a boy school, don’t you? So, it doesn’t make any sense at all if a girl was looking for me. Are you trying to pull my legs here, boss?” The owner keeps laughing and telling about the mysterious girl who comes here to meet me.

“Tell her that I am off to Hongik. I’ll wait for her even I don’t know her.”

­---

Final year of university and it’s wrecking my nerve.

With a box of chicken on my left hand, I rode my bike while feeling the breeze of the summer air dancing on my face. My hard work paid off. After spending a week of sending my resumes to some big companies around, I’ve been called for an interview and I passed. So after I graduate, I’ll have a nice work in of the biggest company here in South Korea. I looked at my watch and it’s already 10 o’clock in the morning. Oh shoot, I’m going to be late and Jongdae will kill me for that.

“You’re here already? Sorry for keep you waiting. I want to buy this chicken first before I meet you that’s why I came a bit late.”

“It’s okay though. I just arrived few minutes ago. Chicken again?” I nod my head and sit on the bench.

“Chicken again. You love me because of the chicken, that’s the reason I’ll keep buying chicken for you Chae Ri-ah.”

She laughed. The same laugh that I saw 4 years ago when I felt flatly in front of her on our first bad meeting.

That’s my girl. She keep her promise to find me and even come by her own to Hongik and asking random people around about me. Luckily, the person that she met was Jongdae, which happen to be my dumbest best friend alive. He told her about me and we get to know each other afterward.

And now here we are. In a chills summer breeze air, sitting next to each other while holding hand, enjoy the view of Han River.

“Yah Zhang Yixing! Stop dating and come to the faculty now! I am waiting for you yah! And don’t hang up this conversation or I’ll kill Chae Ri alive!”

And that’s my story of love, ending with a stupid conversation of me and my dumber friend alive, Kim Jongdae.

Moon Chae Ri, Chicken here love you. And always love you.

---

#throwback

“Do you know a guy name Zhang Yixing who majoring in IT here?” Most of the answer will always turns her spirit down. She really wants to meet that person again. At least to apologies and to tell him what she feels.

It took her almost 4 years to meet that person again. After he left China with his family and decides to start a new life in South Korea. And Moon Chae Ri is desperate to find her first love and move to Seoul with her auntie. She knows, it may sound ridiculous. To find a person in the middle of metropolitan city called Seoul. But she never gave her dream up. She knows, one day she’ll meet the guy name Zhang Yixing again.

            She still remembers when the guy always acts stupid and dance crazily in the P.E class. And she knew that Zhang Yixing don’t even know about her existence. Moon Chae Ri grew up in China after her family decides to settle down everything that they’d back in China. And living in China is not a bad decision at all. She gets a chance to meet her true love and watched him from a distant.

“How long are you going to stay here like a stalker and keep paparazzi him, Chae Ri-ah?” Ask Park Hye Won, the only best friend of mine. She’s an exchange student from Korea who happens to be one of my classmates back in elementary school before.

“I don’t know. Maybe for the rest of my life. Well, I am not that pretty as other Chinese girls and that will be the biggest reason why that boy never realized about my existence.” Looking down to the ground, I knew everything seems impossible for me here.

“Hey, don’t ever give up okay? I’ll be back to Korea next week and I want you at least to step up in front of him. It’s okay if you don’t want to confess yet, but at least make him realized about your existence dummy!” I hugged her and we both laughing.

            The moment when I all set to tell my feeling to Zhang Yixing is the moment where I faced the greatest heart-broken event in my life.

“Where’s Yixing?” Bluntly, I asked one of my classmates who sit next to him here.

“Aye Chae Ri, you didn’t know that he already move to Korea last week? His father gets a job there, so his family already moves to Seoul I think. Wait, you seriously didn’t know about it? And why do you asking about him? Got something important to do or what?” My heart almost breaks into pieces after I heard those words. I am late and I lost my chance already.

---

“Hye Won, I just arrived here and how about you treat me the traditional spicy fried chicken that we saw before?” Hye Won nod her head and start dialing to order 12 boxes of chickens.

“Is it okay for you to eat that much right? I know it’s high in calories, but who cares. I like spicy food and plus, I am not on a stupid diet progressing. And, I already called the shop; they said they will deliver it in few more minutes, around 15 minutes. Are you okay with that?”

“Sure. I will take it once it arrived okay. And you better set up the table first landlady!”

Ding Dong, Ding Dong.

“Hye Won, I go first. Set up the table, can you!”

I walked down from the stairs and opened the gate slowly. And here it is, the chickens are all arrived safely. I saw a guy who resembles Zhang Yixing a bit. Though he wears some kind of stupid yellow helmet on his head, but I can clearly see his angel face. Oh My God! It’s Zhang Yixing. My first love and now he’s literally standing in front of me.

“Yes, can I help you?” I ask him with voice control from any cracking moment beforehand. I need to stay cool. I don’t know what’s had gotten into him, but he was there looking at me like I am some kind of aliens who just landed on earth. Am I that ugly to be looked like that?

“I..am tthhee cchhhiicckkenn.”  He stuttered a bit when telling me about the order. Guess he don’t even know that I am used to be his classmate back in China before, right?

“What? You’re a chicken?” I ask him jokingly since he looked like someone who already lost their soul to God.

“Nope. Iamthefriedchickendeliveryboywhosupposedtosendthis12boxesofchickenstoyourhouse.” Is he an announcer? He spoke very fast.

 “Do I get it for free or you want me to wait for another 3 hours standing here with you to get the chickens?” I said that to him and him rushing pulls out the chicken from the box. He then took all the chickens in a trip before he felt onto the ground. I try to help him. But he move so fast and just left me alone on that empty street of cold night. Guess he didn’t like to meet me right? Well, I am not pretty. That’s why he doesn’t wants to see my face though.

So, I made up my mind and I want to find him back. To apologies for not helping and to say what I’ve been keeping by myself for the past 4 years.