Chapter 22
Topposites Attract
"Hey, can I go home early today? I really need to stop by my mom at the hospital." I asked one of the producer guys that was working with me for Lee Hi's mini album.
The guy pushed up his glasses and nodded, allowing me to leaving the studio. I grabbed my stuff and began to head out.
It was already 11pm and mixing tracks all day sometimes really wore me out. There was no way I could just sit around in a chair for hours on end just to find the perfect sound or beat.
I actually didn't even want to go see my mom. As terrible as that sounds, I was beginning to get sick of it. This whole routine of me having to do everything.
Of course I would love to do things like going out with friends and drinking at clubs just like other people my age did. But all my life, I had been robbed of that. I had no friends then and I have none now...
"Where are you going so early?" I heard a voice behind me just as I reached the elevator to go downstairs.
A rich bass voice. One truly unique to a single person.
I turned around and clicked my tongue. "No where you need to know." I stepped into the elevator and pushed the button to go down.
Right before the doors closed, a hand went straight for the doors top stop them from closing all the way.
TOP darkly gave me a look and came into to the elevator, standing right next to me.
TOP's eyes were casted down by the shadow from his black cap, but I could still see the glimmer in his eyes. His jawline so prominent and traced with perfection, just as if he was carved from stone.
"Are you going home?" TOP asked, barely moving his lips.
I shook my head, "Not really feeling it. I'm gonna go out with some friends tonight." I lied.
There was a silence in the elevator, despite the bright led colors blinking on the sides.
Who am I kidding? He obviously knew that I had no friends.
Then without anymore words, the elevator doors opened to the main level. We both stepped out and began to walk to the exit.
"Then cancel your plans with your...friends." TOP said quietly without looking at me. "It's probably too late for them anyway. I'm getting a little hungry, let's go get something to eat."
I stopped walking and looked at TOP who was already walking out of the building.
Why was he doing this...? Is this some kind of sympathy that comes from his kind of species?
"Aren't you coming?" TOP asked with his eyebrows raised.
Without saying anything, I nodded and followed him out.
~~~~~~~~
We didn't really plan anything so we decided to just walk anywhere our feet could take us. The walk wasn't as awkward as I thought it would be. We talked about crap, making jokes and what not.
"Aren't you scared of getting noticed? Like you said about 'how cameras' are everywhere." I asked with my hands deeply inside my hoodie pockets.
TOP adjusted his hat and zipped up his Adidas jacket all the way up to his mouth.
"I think this will be okay." He said quietly.
"It's still a little obvious."
TOP turned his head and looked at me slightly worriedly. "Should we just go home?"
"We're already almost there anyway, just keep your head down."
"Where is 'there'?"
I grinned a little and looked up at the large intersection that was just ahead of us. It was a small market place that I used to come often for cheap groceries and good street food.
The yellow bright lights welcomed us and I could already hear the chatter of old people talking and bargaining with each other.
A conglomerate smell of fishes, fruits, hot food and people waved around us.
"Oh Moon Raena! How's your mom doing?" An old lady called out to me. She was one of the people that I used to talk to often in high school.
I ran up to her and respectfully gave my dues, telling her about my mom's condition and such.
"Say...who's that handsome looking fellow over there?" The lady asked, her head nudging towards TOP.
TOP was awkwardly standing around right in the middle of the large path where crowds of old people moved around. His usual sharp self seemed a bit out of place yet it was kinda funny to watch him hesitate.
"Oh him...? He's my...cousin. Just a cousin." I lamely said. I quickly bowed and said goodbye to the lady, hoping that she wouldn't ask another question.
"Who was that?" TOP asked when I got to him.
"My best friend. Sadly I had to go cancel my plans with her tonight. We were gonna get totally wasted on iced tea...from Long Island" I sarcastically said as I walked on. "And uh..I don't think you'll be needing that." I pointed at his zipped up jacket.
There really was no need to cover up his face in a place like this. The age range was 50-80 here. They wouldn't recognize his face even if he had a name plate on his chest.
TOP looked down for a moment and then slightly ped, revealing his thin curled lips.
We walked around buying hot rice cakes from the street vendors and looking around the random assortments of groceries and live fish.
It was actually kind of...fun. Walking around with someone.
"Doesn't that one kind of look like you?" TOP pointed at a red fish with its eyes almost bulging out. "The way it looked really disturbing."
I pointed at an ugly fish with a big jaw and wide eyes, "Doesn't that one look like you? The way it looks all jacked up?"
TOP cocked his head to look at it more closely. "Yeah it kinda actually does. We should get those."
I scoffed and tried to hide the fact that I was laughing on the inside. I called out for the about 40 year old lady in the back. "Ahjumma, can we get three of these?"
She quickly came out from the back and bagged three of the fishes that I pointed out. As she was handing over the black vinyl bag, she looked at TOP and pointed at his face. "You know you look a lot like this idol...." Her face struggled to pull a name from her memory.
"Uhhh...TOP! Bigbang's TOP!" She said excitedly with a huge smile on her face.
"Uh no actually! He's Japanese!" I rapidly said while shaking my head.
TOP looked at me funny with his dark eyebrows raised in question.
"Ah ano, gomen. Uhh fish desu" He said awkwardly in a forced higher tone.
So obvious that Japanese is not his forte.
We fled the fish stand as quickly as we can and ended up laughing our asses off.
"What the hell is 'fish desu'?! Couldn't you have said something that you say at your Japanese concerts?" I said trying to suppress my laughter.
TOP's jaw muscles jerked up in a irresistible smile and tried to cover his face with his hand. "Yah! I can't think of something right away...desu."
He suddenly did a silly dance right in the middle of the market place. His awkward long body dancing around in funny moves.
I could not stop laughing and so I pushed him off of his stance so that we could at least get out of the market first.
Was he always this silly? Or was he just showing it to me now?
"Last one to get to the house has to cook!" TOP yelled as he pushed me over and began running down the dim street.
The street lights seemed warm, over lighting against the cold harsh moon. It seemed to be a good day to be human, down on this welcoming earth.
...And I guess I didn't mind cooking today.
Comments