The night wind blew lightly. Ji Hyo finished her work much later than usual. She wore her coat and walked out from the accounting firm office. That time, like usual, her boyfriend Jong Kook waited for her beside his motorcycle at the parking lot. He smiled seeing her coming. Ji Hyo walked faster and hugged him, she felt his arms’ warmness defeated the coldness of the night.

“You must be tired, Honey.”

“Ani, Oppa. You must have been waiting for really long now.”

“Well, a little bit,” said Jong Kook while releasing his embrace for a while, “but I’m fine.”

“Mianhaeyo. I was asked to correct a newcomer’s mistake in the report.”

“Hmm. I was lucky I don’t have to do that. I don’t want to have spectacles like you.”

“Yah, Oppa!” she hit his chest lightly while laughing, “Your job makes you do the same too. Wait…” Ji Hyo looked up to his face, “Where are yours? Are you wearing contact lenses now?”

“Of course no! Mine’s in my pocket.”

Jong Kook then took one helmet for her and wears his own helmet. Then he started off the engine and asked Ji Hyo to get on.

“Hold on tight, okay?”

“Okay, Boss!”

“Yah, get closer!”

As Ji Hyo hugged Jong Kook through his waist, he started riding, making them traveling through the lights in the night sky and road.

“Don’t fall asleep, okay? When we arrive, I’ll treat you today.”

“Treat? What do you mean?”

“Later. May I enter your room?”

Ji Hyo didn’t answer for a while. Jong Kook giggled knowing what she might thought in her mind as she never brings any man inside her room, as well as himself who do the same with women.

“Yahh, Ji Hyo yah, it’s not like what you think.”

“Oppa, since when have you changed? All I know is you’re usually too shy, even to think about entering ladies’ room or house.”

“Since having you.”

“Yahh, am I your bag and food?”

“Of course no, Ji Hyo yah. If you’re just that, why I keep picking you up even if you finish late?”

Ji Hyo laughs knowing her boyfriend well.

When they reached their apartment, Ji Hyo unlocks the door and lets Jong Kook enter. She prepares some tea while he sits on the pantry and stretches his arms.

“How many orders came today? How many phones you’ve repaired today, Oppa?”

“Hmm. Not many, about 5. 2 among them need an hour each. What about you? Outside your junior’s big mistake?”

Ji Hyo told him a near deadline big mess in the firm office that day making Jong Kook laughing a lot.

“Ji Hyo yah, turn around.”

                Ji Hyo did as he asked and she could feel his arms on her shoulders and started squeezing them for a while. His fingers and palms pressed on her skin and travelled a little around. Ji Hyo was a little bit flustered with that, but she felt somehow relaxed and warmed.

“Your shoulders are much stiffer today. Feel better?”

“Ne, Oppa,” Ji Hyo answered in smile and relief, “this feels so good.”

“This is what I mean with treat just now.” Jong Kook added and pouted his lips making Ji Hyo laugh.

“I never know you can do this, Oppa. With those strong muscles like phytons…”

“You thought I will be too hard and strong while doing this right?”

“Oppa, you caught me hehehe.”

“I know you’ve been overly used to watching me in wrestling and Tae Kwon Do matches in our college years. That’s why you think so.” Jong Kook answered while still massaging Ji Hyo, now on her back, “Ahh, my dear cheer captain.”

“Aniyaaaa.”

“Yes, but without that costume of course,” said Jong Kook then his head approached Ji Hyo’s right ear, “For me you are the real captain, you know, captain of my heart.”

Ji Hyo turned her head a little to him and smiled.

“You’re never just the cell phone man or beast. You’re always more than that.”

Their lips pressed on each other. But Ji Hyo quickly break her kiss in smile to pretend her boyfriend from staying in that position that might harm his back. Then he continued his massage.

“Thank you very much, Dear. After this let me do the same for you,” said Ji Hyo then, “you must be more exhausted than me. You’re always exposed to cold night wind.”

“No, don’t worry about me, Babe,” Jong Kook quickly responded, “I’m fine. Look what time it is now, it’d be too late already when I finished. Let me continue, Okay?”

“Okay, Dear. Then, why I never know what you do every day that made you hard to contact every noon and hard to go with every Sundays? My friends always ask me about this, making me curious as well. At first I don’t care, but I had been intrigued too.”

Jong Kook stopped for a while while his hands were still on Ji Hyo’s shoulders. He blushed a bit in the back. Ji Hyo could feel his breath became a little bit hot this time, as a sign of himself being reddish.

“Hahahaha, Oppa, why are you heating now? Nothing’s bad right?”

Jong Kook stayed silent.

“We never date but you give me the best date every night. Waiting for me in the parking lot, travelling against the city lights and wind, nothing’s better than that. Now I rarely see that in my friends. Even, moreover, with your treat tonight. Oppa, if my question hurts you, I’m deeply sorry. I should be thankful and not asking for much. I just never thought to receive lots like this. You remember, I have loved you since the day you were still in your dark jacket and grey sweater, with your curly hair and black beanie and sometimes with your big glasses.”

Jong Kook smiled in relief knowing his girl’s understanding, deepens his affection to her but also his embarrassment. He clearly remembers how the other girls but her had treated him when he wore that kind of clothes and accessories while working in the outlet.

“Nothing. Don’t worry, I’m not angry. But for that question, let it be surprise. But don’t worry, I earn enough, even more than enough from it. Now let me go on, so we can sleep faster. OK? Your shoulders and neck have been too cramped.”

“Arasseo, Oppa.”

***

“Unni, you’ve asked him?”

“Unni, he still doesn’t tell you?”

“Unni…”

Han Ji Min and Kim Min Jung’s questions stormed when they were having lunch together in a café near their office.

“He never tell me, Ji Min ah, Min Jung ah. How many times I have asked. But what for I asked him more? He had always picked me up every time I finish my work. Travelling through the city in open air, even in night, is already the best date he can give me. Even at the night after I had to correct our junior’s mistakes until late, he massaged my shoulders and back.”

“WHAT?” asked Ji Min and Min Jung in surprise.

“Aigoooo. You’re so lucky, Unni. We’ve often seen him picking you up,” said Min Jung, “and my man never does that.”

“I can see that his simplicity is what really draws you into him,” said Ji Min, “seems like there’s a pretty huge secret then.”

“Yah, Ji Min ah, I have known that.”

Min Jung took her cell phone from her pocket to see a red-crossed battery sign in her phone’s black screen. She sighed heavily.

“Min Jung ah, what’s wrong?”

“Brat battery!!!”Min Jung grunted, “I’ve just bought and used it just for three months.”

“Well, let’s go to the mall, the cell phone section, where you bought it after this. Our boss had permitted us to work just for half day today right?”

-Meanwhile, at the mall, in the center of second floor, surrounded by cell phone shops and service centres-

“Dong Hoon ah, how’s Dream?”

HaHa, the big-spectacled short man between the three bespectacled men on the escalator, who was asked, just smiled in sigh. Dream, his son, was just born the previous year and he became pretty troublesome.

“Relax, Bro. In the early years it’s like that. I’ve gone through that with my Hyun Woo…” said Ji Suk Jin, the older and a bit taller bespectacled man.

“Look at that banner on that wall between this place and that escalator,” said Jae Suk, the tallest between the three, “We’ll have our relaxation there, like in that photo. Just when we arrive at the top of this.”

HaHa stared at the banner Jae Suk told about, which was written like this :

IKIMONOGAKARI – Massage Therapy (For Men Only)

We don’t just give you time, we give you pleasure and satisfaction

Open 8 a.m – 8 p.m

We give you treatment for:

• Fatigue
• Cramp
• Injury
• Backache
• Whiplash
• …

The banner was completed with a photo of screenshot of a line of men, with back facing the camera, together massaging their customers.

When they reached at the top, HaHa dropped his jaw seeing the bunch of men in the picture sitting with their back facing the face of their partners behind. They were massaging each other’s shoulders. In the background, a kind of rock music was played.

“Yah, Kwang Soo yah! Gary yah! Joong Ki yah!!!”

“Oh, Jae Suk Hyung!” Kwang Soo turned his head and bowed, followed by the others behind.

“We’re having a break, Hyung! Fifteen minutes more before second shift!” said Gary.

Suk Jin’s smiled faded a little seeing three of them. Then a big man patted Jae Suk and HaHa’s shoulders from behind. They turned their heads back and…

“HO DONG HYUNG!!!”

“Kang Ho Dong?”

-Twenty minutes later-

Ji Hyo, Ji Min, and Min Jung reached “HAPPY CELL PHONE CORNER”, the place where they usually had their phones repaired and they bought phone accessories and equipments. It was a branch of “HAPPY CELLULAR”, where Jong Kook used to work.

“Sunbaenim, Hoobaenim, it has been just three months,” complained Min Jung to 2 young technicians. One of them had just approached her after repairing another customer’s smart phone, “can you check and find it why?”

Min Jung handed the cell phone with the crossed battery sign to him. The technician saw the sign.

“Agassi, this case usually happens when you re-charge it after letting the battery empty for an overly long time. Or have you downloaded overly many games or applications here?”

Ji Min looked at Min Jung and smirked

“How many games have you inserted there but you haven’t played, Jung ah?”

“How many IM apps you’ve installed there Huh?” Ji Hyo added.

Min Jung sighed while her other buddies laughed.

“About 30, Sunbaenim.”

“Well, let me check first.”

The technician brought Min Jung’s phone to his desk and started examining it with computer and many equipments. Ji Hyo and Min Jung looked at the cell phone being fixed by him while Ji Min’s eyes had started travelling to other places. She had been intrigued by the rock music playing in the area. Then Ji Min laughed, heard by her two other friends.

“Yah, Ji Min ah, what’s wrong?” Ji Hyo asked, “the other vendors are looking at you!”

“Unni, look at that!”

Ji Hyo and Min Jung diverted their attention to the line of 4 men sitting and massaging 4 other men (HaHa, Jae Suk, Suk Jin, and Ho Dong almost together and with hand position like ninjas at some times in an open massage parlor, where Ji Min laughed while looking at.

“Look, how come that cutie doing that thing?” Ji Min pointed at the most front man from their perspective (Joong Ki).

Ji Hyo’s jaw dropped while Min Jung cracked up. Ji Hyo’s eyes then centered at a man at the corner, the back of the line from their perspective, who was massaging the biggest and wrestler-like man.

“Wait a minute, Guys!”

Ji Hyo walked from their position approaching the parlor. She carefully and silently walked behind the three men (Kwang Soo, Gary, and Joong Ki) and saw the muscular man with brown hair wearing rainbow stripped white singlet. She reached his side to see his face from aside clearer. Then she waited and watched over him until he finished massaging. When he did, he patted the big man’s backwhile unknown by him, Ji Hyo took and released a deep breath.

“Jong Kook Oppa?”
 

***

Jong Kook turned his head to the source of voice and was startled to see that it was Ji Hyo smiling at him. He realized that finally time had let his cat out of the bag. They were silent for a while. He waited for whatever came out from Ji Hyo’s mouth. Kwang Soo, Gary, Joong Ki, HaHa, Jae Suk, Suk Jin, and Ho Dong turned to look at them.

The cell phone technicians nearby also looked at Ji Hyo then at Jong Kook. Then big laughs cracked by all of them when Jong Kook look back at them. His face had been really reddish like ripen tomato and well-cooked crab meat. The laugh echoed at the whole area making the technicians joined the laugh.

“Yah, Oppa!!!” Ji Hyo burst out laughing too, “Why must you be that embarrassed if I see this is your job?”

Jong Kook knew what their laugh said, now it’s useless to hide anymore.

“So, this is Song Ji Hyo that you often talk about?” Jae Suk said as he stopped laughing for a while.

“The reason you always try to go home on time, Hyung?” Kwang Soo added.

“What a beautiful lady you have, Hyung!” said Joong Ki.

Ji Min, Min Jung, and the technician also looked at them. Then Min Jung came back to her sense

“Hoobaenim, how’s my cellphone?”

“Emm, give us an hour. There’s an application that had eaten up the battery as it hadn’t been fully developed. We’ll handle that. Okay?”

“So, can we leave somewhere now?”

***

“Oppa, it’s okay… Don’t feel that guilty. I’m glad I finally know that.”

Jong Kook just smile while concentrating himself on the road, with Ji Hyo holding on him from behind. They were going home after Gary and friends asked him to leave after the little incident at the mall to settle everything down. During the time they were walking out the mall, they were silent.

“How did you find me there?"

"Min Jung had a problem with her cell phone's battery, hence we went to HAPPY CORNER to have it fixed. Then Ji Min saw you four massaging other four. She laughed and that's how I found you after that."

"Ahhhh... I was really flustered to see you that, luckily I've just finished my work."

"Mianhae, Oppa. For embarassing you in the mall."

"Don't worry. They all have known me, even they know I always go home on time to pick you up. They know about us and had agreed to keep my massaging job a secret. You know, Ji Hyo yah, some people often misunderstood about massage parlors. Those places have often been misused. That made me afraid to tell you that.”

“You don’t work as technician anymore now?”

“No, sometimes… I still deal with cell phones every morning from the time I arrive there till lunch and break time, there in HAPPY CORNER. Those three hoobaes in the line are the ones who taught me doing my side job now. Everyone in the area knows each other. Don’t worry, we know our limits. That’s why we serve only men. You know many men are tired after working for hours in front of computers right? You see the parlor banner right?”

“Yeah. But that work must be more tiring, Oppa. How come you can always say you’re fine?”

“Every break times, we massage each other. Me and those three hoobaes.”

“Hmmm. Daebak.... My boyfriend is a cell phone expert. He’s a great masseur too. So, I can get free relaxation everyday hahahaha.”

“Of course no!!! As you’ve known everything, then for the service I gave you last time, pay me 10000 won per hour.”

“YAHH!!! OPPAAAAAA!”

And Jong Kook’s laughter soared in the air. He truly enjoyed his kidding to his girl. Fortunately, they still managed to arrive home safely.

-FIN-