CHAPTER 12. Curiouser and curioser

“Hyung!” Eun Jo called from their backs.

The two instantly sat apart. Fortunately, the plants obscured Eun Jo’s view and he did not see what his hyung and noona ALMOST did.

Aish! Seung Jo thought, annoyed.

Eun Jo went to the two and looked back and forth from Seung Jo and Ha Ni. Ha Ni stared hard at her foot, while Seung Jo pretended kicking invisible stones from where he sat.

The young boy turned to Ha Ni and commented, “Noona, your face is soooooo red! Hyung, look!”

Ha Ni touched her face. “Huh?” She asked with feigned wonder, but then she blushed even more.

Seung Jo did not even turn to look.

“Your cheeks are like tomatoes now,” Eun Jo teased and laughed at her.

Ha Ni tried laughing with him. “I might be catching a flu…”

Eun Jo looked curiously at his hyung then to Ha Ni. He noticed Ha Ni’s get-up and commented, “Noona, it’s a chilly night for your swim. No wonder you’re getting colds.”

“Yes, that must be it. Achoo!” Ha Ni faked the second sneeze.

Seung Jo changed the topic and inquired about the trip. “Where’s omma? How come you’re here earlier?”

Eun Jo sat in between the two. “Ah… omma just dropped me off and went to the office to do something for appa. She said we should just eat dinner and not wait for her. I put some take-out food on the table.”

Seung Jo then stood up. “Eun Jo, help Ha Ni go to her room. She hurt her foot…” Then he glanced at Ha Ni and muttered, “Careless girl.”

He left even before Eun Jo could ask why it had to be him to help Ha Ni when Seung Jo was just sitting down with her earlier.

Hyung sometimes has bad manners.

 “Come on, clumsy noona…”

Eung Jo helped Ha Ni walk into the house. Despite slight limping, Ha Ni was able to reach her room without further problems.

“What happened, anyway?” Eun Jo asked as he supported her in sitting down inside her room.

Ha Ni smiled. “I slipped and your brother just helped me. Thank you for bringing me up here.” Ha Ni messed his hair and asked him to leave her first so that she could at least change into comfortable clothing.

Before Eun Jo left, he gave one last look at Ha Ni and thought suspiciously, ‘Is it just flu? But your cheeks were really red…Tsk tsk.”

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Ha Ni stayed in her bed, resting her foot. Thankfully, the pain was gradually subsiding. However, she did not join the two for dinner. She used her hurt foot as an alibi for not going down. In reality, she was just not yet ready to face Seung Jo.  Her head felt more messed up than her foot. Remembering the scene by the pool side, her cheeks flushed again. She touched her cheeks and felt them warm.

What is happening to me?

She did not know what to make of what happened earlier. All she remembered was the foot massage, Seung Jo sitting down next to her and all of a sudden his hand touching her cheek. Aside from that everything was a blur. She remembered being tense and hearing her own drumming chest.

Could he have kissed me if I did not sneeze?

Ha Ni did not know if she should feel grateful for sneezing or not.

‘Did I really want him to kiss me back there? I felt butterflies in my stomach and I heard every beat of my heart. Did he hear them, too? I hope not. I’d die if he did.’ Ha Ni buried her face in the pillow at the thought.

But why did he have to do that? He’s rude to me most of the time and he clearly does not want anything to do with me. After all, we are not each other’s type. It must have been the mood in the garden. Ha Ni continued her analysis.

Finally, she gave up trying to find answers to her questions. At least Eun Jo did not see anything.

As if on cue, Eun Jo knocked on her door and entered, carrying a tray of food.

“Noona, I brought you something to eat. You need to have the soup first while it’s still hot.” He put the tray on the table near Ha Ni’s bed.

“Thanks, Eun Jo.” Ha Ni beamed at him, quite touched at being taken care of. “Eat again, too.”

Eun Jo shook his head. “I’m full already. You eat… I’ll just watch.”

Ha Ni pouted. “What’s the use of watching me eating? Hmmm…”

‘Because someone said you need to eat all of that.’ Eun Jo thought but said nothing. He just settled himself on the edge of Ha Ni’s bed and played some games on his Android phone while waiting for Ha Ni to finish. He stood up as soon as she scooped the last bits from her plate and carried her tray out.

“Thanks again, Eun Jo!” Ha Ni called, quite confused that Eun Jo did not even ask if he could stay longer.

Actually Eun Jo went straight to his room after cleaning up Ha Ni’s tray. He sat on his bed and thought deeply, making his own analysis about things happening around him recently. For such a young boy, he certainly had a keen sense.

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It was already late that night but Ha Ni was still unable to sleep. She kept fidgeting in her bed, the blankets all over her. Unwillingly, the scenes from earlier that night kept making re-runs in her head.

Why does my brain have to play it over and over?? Why did he have to start it in the first place? And why did I stare back? Aishhh! I’m going crazy soon.

She was busy tossing and turning from under the blankets when she heard a single knock on her door.

“Eun Jo yah! Why are you still awake?” She asked aloud, too lazy to remove the part of the blanket covering her face.

Ha Ni did not hear Eun Jo speak.  She just heard the slow approach from the door to somewhere near her bed. Aigoo, this little boy. Thinking Eun Jo might be playing a prank on her, Ha Ni then pulled the cover from her head to face him.

Voila!

It was not Eun Jo standing in her room but his brother.

Rather stupidly, Ha Ni immediately pulled the blanket over her head again because of shock. Aish! She thought she heard a stifled chuckle from Seung Jo. Finally, her sense came back and she resurfaced from underneath her cover. She was unable to look at him, though.

What should I do? Should I just talk normally? No, that’s weird. So should I ask him about it? Aishhhh..embarrassing!!

“Seung Jo yah…” She tried getting a glimpse of his face but she felt her face flushing again so she just decided to just stare at the door behind Seung Jo.

“About what happened earlier…” They started saying and stopped at the same time. Ha Ni felt her blush coming full blast, no way to hide it. Goodnesss!!!!

Ha Ni just lowered her gaze to her lap while Seung Jo focused his eyes on the foot of her bed. It was another awkward moment when two people did not know how to continue.

Finally, Seung Jo cleared his throat. “About that incident by the pool---“

“WAIT!” Ha Ni interrupted him suddenly.

Ha Ni did not know why she stopped him. “Let’s just forget about it.” Afterall, it was most probably because we got carried away… no need to explain the obvious.

Seung Jo looked at her strangely but he decided not to press on. For the first time, he did not argue with her. “Okay, if you say so…” He turned to leave.

Ha Ni felt relieved.

Seung Jo paused at the door and to Ha Ni’s surprise, he said “Get well from your colds. Good night.”

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The following morning, Ha Ni’s foot was back to normal. The massage and the rest must have worked. She went down and joined the family for breakfast. Ommoni was busy preparing the table by the garden. She smiled and greeted Ha Ni as soon as she saw her.

“Ha Ni yah…” She pulled Ha Ni and touched her forehead. “How are you feeling? Eun Jo said you contracted a flu… But you don’t seem to have a fever.”

Ha Ni shook her head. “No, I feel good, Ommoni.” Then she looked at Eun Jo. “Eun Jo prepared a delicious hot soup for me last night. That must have done the trick.”

Ommoni looked at Eun Jo, amazed and proud at the same time. “Eun Jo yah… I did not know you can cook. You never wanted to help omma in the kitchen before. Ha Ni’s presence is really good, then.”

“Err…” Eun Jo did not directly answer his mother but made a quick glance at his hyung who was at that time preoccupied reading a magazine in a corner. He had his Ipod earphones stuck in his ears and he seemed not to mind the entire conversation.

After the breakfast table was cleared, ommoni excused herself and went inside the house. Ha Ni then got curious about Eun Jo’s new craze, playing games in his new phone. Seung Jo gave it to him one day after Ha Ni received hers.

Ha Ni chose the easiest game available, Fruit Ninja. It was a game that required quick finger reflexes. Eun Jo kept teasing her because she continuously got low scores after more than a dozen tries.

“Noona, you should hit 4 or more with one sweep to get a combo score… and don’t hit the bombs! Aigooo! Not that one!!!” Eun Jo almost grabbed the phone from Ha Ni to play the game himself.

“Tsk.. for a smart university girl, you are so poor in such small things.” Eun Jo whispered.

Ha Ni tried not to be distracted and fixed her small eyes on the screen. “Shhh… don’t rattle me.”

Seung Jo chuckled in the corner and started taunting her. “You can’t even do well in a child’s game? How could you pass your exam with that brain?”

He was talking about the examination Ha Ni took after school registration to see if she can take higher classes. Ha Ni wanted to finish her degree in fewer years.

Ha Ni’s gaze left the phone screen and looked at Seung Jo with a twisted mouth. “My brain is different from my reflexes.”

Seung Jo went to sit next to her and took Eun Jo’s phone from her hand. “Here, let me show you how it’s done.” He then started playing the game with so much ease and immediately got a top score. Ha Ni was very attentive all the time he was showing her the tricks and cheats.

Ha Ni nodded to herself. “Okay…so I was doing it wrong.”

Seung Jo passed the phone back to her. “Here, try again. Let’s see if you remembered the things I showed you.” He then guided her eagerly, but he made sure to make fun of her every time she encountered a game over.

“Not there! There! Get the yellow ones!” Seung Jo continued his instructions quickly and this only made Ha Ni more jumpy. “Stay focused!”

The two soon became engrossed in playing the game, much to Eun Jo’s surprise. For once, the two did not bicker over a trivial thing and just stayed in their own little game world.

What’s with these two today? The previous days hyung was always saying impolite things and noona always looked mad at him. Last night they weren’t talking to each much. But hyung was kinda weird last night, too. There's something different today. Hmmm…

True enough, despite Seun Jo's loud complaints about Ha Ni's poor games, the interaction between the two was so much different from the past days. They became more polite and their quarrel sounded just playful, too.

Seung Jo caught his brother looking oddly at him but ignored it and instantly inched away from Ha Ni.

In the same moment, Ha Ni’s phone beeped, signalling a new e-mail that reached her inbox. She got up and took her phone from the other side of the table where she initially left it. She immediately opened the message and read.

Ha Ni shrieked and jumped, making Eun Jo almost fall down from his seat.

Eun Jo peeked at Ha Ni’s phone. “What is it? Did you win a lottery or something?”

“Nope…” Ha Ni flashed a wide grin as she showed Eun Jo the e-mail.

“Dear Miss Oh Ha Ni:

We are pleased to inform you that you have passed the advance entrance examination you took last ____. This qualifies you to attend higher coursed and get advance credits. Please report to the office of the ….”

Eun Jo finished reading the letter aloud.

“Hyung! She passed! Look!” He passed the phone for his brother to read.

Ha Ni then went near Seung Jo and got her phone as soon as he finished reading. “What were you saying something about my brain earlier, Baek Sung Jo?” Ha Ni said then stuck her tongue out at him and joyfully went inside the house.

Unknown to her, Seung Jo smiled secretly as soon as she turned her back.

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When CEO Baek arrived the following day, he learned of the news about Ha Ni’s success in the exam. He called her to his study room. Ha Ni suddenly felt anxious about the reason why the chairman wanted to talk to her. It had been a long time since she last talked with him in private.

“Please sit down.” CEO pulled a chair for her and smiled widely. “Good job, Ha Ni yah. I knew you’d do well in that exam. Your parents must be so happy.”

Ha Ni smiled back, still nervous though. “Yes. I called them yesterday to give the good news.”

“I did not make a mistake in choosing you…”

Ha Ni gulped at his remark.

“That way, you can finish your degree earlier and get to work in your company.”

Ha Ni nodded. “Yes, that’s my plan, ajhussi.”

CEO Baek just nodded too and thought for a while. Then he continued, “Because of this, I decided to reward you a bit.” Gleam showed in his kind eyes.

“Huh? What kind of reward?”

“I will let you work in the company sooner than we had planned. You can start as an intern, any time you want.”

Ha Ni stared at him for a long time, still trying to digest his words. “What do you mean any time, ajhussi?”

The chairman laughed. “Any time. You can even start tomorrow if you want to. You can go after your classes.”

Ha Ni became so excited at the prospect of working in her family’s former company. It made her closer to achieving what she came to Seoul for. “Thank you so much, ajhussi. I will work hard. I will definitely start tomorrow.”

“Are you sure you can balance your studies and internship?”

Ha Ni nodded eagerly. “Yes! I will do my best. Thank you so much!”

“One more thing, dear…” CEO Baek paused.

“Yes?” Ha Ni asked curiously.

A mischievous glint showed in the old man’s eyes. “You will be working with Seung Jo. He will be your boss.”

“EH?!”

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A/N: A new update. :D

Question, if you were the author, what do you think should have happened when Seung Jo came to her room to talk about the 'almost kiss'? How should they have settled it? Not with another kiss, okay? :D

PS: The title of this chapter "Curiouser and curiouser"... sounds familiar if you read "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Caroll.