Chapter 7
Where Did You Come From?
For a split second, I let Jimin get the best of me. I let his words entice me, making my heart flutter and skip a beat but I was smarter than that.
“Jimin, cut the crap will you?” I scoffed and finished wrapping his hand, tightening the bandage to a point where his blood might potentially stop circulating.
“This is too tight for a bandage.” He uttered in pain, his hand slowly turning purple.
“Don’t worry, I don’t hate anyone enough to do this to.” I walked away. “Well except for you of course.” I leaned against the counter and crossed my arms across my chest.
“I already apologized to you, what else do you want?” He asked, his hand an even darker shade of purple than before. “And oh dear god, please take this off!” He cried.
I walked over and slowly started to take it off. I sat on a stool and, like before, tried to avoid his gaze. Things were awkwardly silent again. “Jimin?”
“What now?”
“I wasn’t lying before.” I knew he was talking about the calling me beautiful thing. “I really meant it.”
“That’s irrelevant now.” I finished taking off the bandage and put it away. Maybe I was being too harsh and not forgiving him was too mean but I had a hard time trusting after being disappointed once. At that moment, the bell rang and it was the end of the school day. “So at what time should I come tomorrow?”
“Right after the lunch period.”
“Alright, I’ll be going then.” I grabbed my backpack and stalked off, not once looking back.
I didn’t make a stop at my locker like I normally did once school was over, I had had a really crummy day and I just wanted to get out of there. I walked out of the building and along the sidewalk, minding my own business when it happened. I stood at a cross walk waiting for the light to change when a sleek black car pulled up in front of me, coming to a sudden screeching stop. The back door was aligned with where I was standing so I saw the face behind the window perfectly when it rolled down.
“Hello there, Han Jimin.” It was my best bud, Shiyeon.
“What do you want?” I asked, annoyed, while I crossed my arms across my chest.
“I just wanted to let you know that there are no hard feelings between us.” She said, smiling. It was weird that she was being so nice and I knew there was bound to be a catch behind it.
“Okay? Good to know.” I was about to walk around the car and leave when she stopped me.
“Wait! Wait!” She called out towards me. “I have something for you to show you that I’m serious. Come, get closer.” She smiled and motioned me to get closer. I, unwillingly, got closer and, within 10 seconds, regretted ever doing it. Shiyeon reached down below her seat and pulled out a something white and fluffy and smooshed it directly into my face. It was whipped cream pie. The whipped cream splattered all over my hair, face, and clothes. I could hear Shiyeon laughing and cackling at the sight of my ridicule. Blinded by the whipped cream, I tumbled backwards and fell to the ground, which made her burst into tears while she laughed even harder. I wiped all of the whipped cream off and noticed there was something else on my face. I looked at the cream in my hand and right in the center was a big fat strawberry. A mother freaking strawberry.
“.” Was all that I managed to say before it happened. It started with my cheeks, which began to swell and shrink my eyes. Next came my mouth, which was either getting smaller or my tongue was getting bigger. I felt an itch start to spread all over my skin and when I scratched, red bumps started popping up all over. I’m allergic to strawberries. Correction: I’m HIGHLY allergic to strawberries.
“What’s wrong with you!?” Shiyeon had stopped laughing by now and had a panicked expression on her face. I tried to speak but my tongue didn’t allow me too. Instead, I rushed to take my backpack off and fumbled with the buckles to take out my epi pen but, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t undo them. At this point, I felt my throat begin to close up and my breathing became difficult. I felt like I was dying. I wasn’t absolutely sure but I my guess was that Shiyeon had darted away in her car because I couldn’t hear her voice anymore.
I gave up on the buckles and just laid there, waiting for my death. While all of this was happening, a million thoughts were running through my mind. There were people walking by, how come none of them had stopped to help me? Why couldn’t they call an ambulance at least? No, I’d be dead by the time they arrived.
When I’d lost all hope, my savior came.
“Jimin! What’s the matter?!” My vision was blurred by I recognized the voice. It was my namesake. For obvious reason, I couldn’t answer his question but I was sure he could figure it out since he was a nurse. I was right. He recognized the symptoms immediately and went straight into my backpack to search for my medicine. “I’m going to inject the drug in now, okay?” I heard Jimin say calmly. I nodded and soon after I felt the needle pierce my skin. The medicine ran through my veins while I simply laid there in Jimin’s arms. That was all I could remember.
“How do you feel?” I opened my eyes and Jimin was standing over me along with a few other people. I stood up and noticed I was hooked up to an IV and there was a swarm of doctors all around the big room. There were other patients all laying in beds that were separated with curtains.
“I’m okay.” I said, rubbing my eyes. My hands were a normal size now, along with my cheeks and everything. I could feel relief in my skin now that my rash was gone. My tongue was a normal size again as well. For the most part, I seemed to be back to normal.
“Hello Miss Han, I’m Dr. Song.” A woman in a lab coat approached me when she noticed I was up. “I’ve run a few tests on you to make sure that your anaphylaxis has been controlled and you seem to be fine now. You’re free to go.” She explained while she took the IV off.
“Thank you.” I said graciously and stood up.
“You shouldn’t thank me, thank this young man who injected you with epinephrine before it was too late. He’s the one who saved your life.” She smiled and walked away. I looked over and Jimin just smiled. He grabbed my backpack along with the rest of my stuff and we left the clinic.
“I took the liberty of calling a taxi to take you home.” Jimin said while we waited outside for the taxi to arrive. “I considered taking you home myself but you still hate me so I didn’t think it’d be the best idea.” He chuckled and I simply half grinned. If only he knew that he’d save money by giving me a ride himself, what with being neighbors and all.
“So tell me, if you’re so allergic to strawberries, why did you stick your face into a pie full of them?” I didn’t say anything because it bothered me to talk about Shiyeon. Instead I stood silently and just stared at the hazy afternoon sunset. Soon, a taxi pulled up in front of us and Jimin opened the back door for me. I tossed in my belongings and got into the car. The door shut behind me and I watched Jimin pay the taxi drivers fee. The car slowly began to move away from Jimin. “Bye~” He waved.
“Ahjusshi, please stop.” I called out to the front seat. “I forgot something.” I got out of the car and walked back to where Jimin was standing.
“What’s the matter? Do you feel sick again?” He worried.
I ignored his questions and instead wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him in tightly for a hug. I felt my cheek brush against his and this made me blush but I didn’t want to make things awkward by saying something. When I hugged him, I could tell that he was shocked at my actions because he simply stood there for a few seconds, not knowing what to do. It wasn’t long before I felt his arms snake around my waist, pressing me closer into his larger frame. I could feel his strength through his strong arms, his muscles cut and sculpted. The smell that arose from the exposed skin of his neck was very much like him, sweet but manly. It matched his irritating dual personality. I began to pull away, my cheek brushing against his again. This time, when my lips were aligned to his cheek, I kissed him. It was a simple kiss but one with great meaning. It was a kiss of gratitude. He saved my life.
“Thank you.” I said, looking him in the eyes. I broke away from his arms and walked back to the taxi. Once I was inside, I gave directions to the taxi driver and went home.
At home, I sat at my desk, doing my homework, when my mother came knocking. My mother didn’t know anything about the incident with the strawberries and I didn’t plan on telling her. I felt much better now, as if nothing had happened so I didn’t see the point in freaking her out.
“Minnie?” She called out. “It’s time for dinner! Come down dear.”
“Coming.” I muttered. A few minutes passed and I didn’t budge.
“Minnie, sweetheart, your food is getting cold!” She knocked again.
“I said I’m coming!” I shouted angrily. In case no one noticed, I was in a bad mood. I stormed out of my room, passed her in the hall, and went downstairs to the dinner table. I sat in my usual seat and soon my mom joined us.
“What on earth is the matter with you? Why did you yell at me that way?” My mother asked, in her angry motherly way. I was in trouble. I chose to simply ignore her and played with my food. “I’m talking to you Jimin.” She said while sitting across from me. I still didn’t answer. “You’ve had this nasty little attitude since you got home from school.” I didn’t speak.
“Your mother is talking to you. What happened at school that upset you so much?” My father intervened and I still chose not to say anything.
“I’m tired of you right now Jimin, go upstairs, your punishment is to go to bed without dinner.” My mom snapped.
“I didn’t want this stupid food anyways.” I muttered under my breath and marched back upstairs. I slammed the door to my room and looked for something to break. “Ugh!” I screamed into a pillow that I picked up from off the floor.
I paced back and forth in my room for about a minute and decided I needed some fresh air. I grabbed a sweater, locked my door, and headed for the window. I opened it and stepped out onto the small barred terrace. Next to my window was a ladder welded onto the house’s wall that ended about three feet above the floor. I began to climb down and jumped off when I reached the bottom. As I walked across the backyard towards the brick wall, I could already feel myself calming down. I felt the negative energy leave my body and it was replaced with slight peace. When I reached it, I began to climb the wall and jumped over the top to the other side. I walked down the dirty black alleyway and onto the street. It was drizzling so I put on my sweater and covered my head with the hood while cursing the fact that I didn’t have an umbrella. After walking for about four blocks, I hit the main street and began to see more people, most going in and out of coffee shops, book stores, and restaurants. I checked my phone and it was 8:30 p.m. I kept walking until I reached my destination, the neighborhood batting cages. I opened the fence gate and went straight for the concession stand where I could exchange my money for tokens and borrow a bat. The owner sat with his feet kicked up on the counter and a toothpick in between his teeth while he read the newspaper. He was a fairly old man with almost no hair on his head but plenty on his face, the stubble on his beard mostly white and patchy. He was wearing a blue button up shirt with short sleeves and pineapples on it. The shirt looked like it was meant for a teenager and not a sixty year old man.
“Ahjusshi, give me ten dollars’ worth and a bat please.” I said while placing my money on the counter. The old guy rocked back in his chair and dropped his feet to the ground then reached over to collect my money, exchanging it for 10 gold coins. Lastly, he reached behind him and picked up a random bat from the pile and handed it to me. “Thanks.” I walked past the cages and groups of people and went to an area where hardly no one was. Except for the guy that was batting in the cage next to me, I was the only person around. I put a token in the box that hung on the door of the cage and then pressed the button to start the pitching machine. Once the light came on, I got into position and waited for the ball to be pitched. The first ball shot out and, when the timing was right, I swung hard and made direct contact with it. It felt good to hit something. It felt great actually.
“You should choke up a bit more, it’ll improve your swing.” The guy in the cage next to me said.
“Thanks for the tip.” I swung a few more times and decided to take a break. I stepped out of the cage and sat on a bench nearby. About two minutes later, the guy joined me. “That tip actually did help.”
“Good.” He smiled. “You seemed angry while you were batting.” He noted.
“I was.”
“Why?”
I told him everything that had happened earlier with the strawberry incident. About how Shiyeon had sent me to the hospital without meaning to and how I passed out and stuff but then how Jimin saved me. I didn’t mention the part about kissing Jimin because, well it was embarrassing.
“What a coincidence, I’m extremely allergic to strawberries too!” He said excitedly but then noticed my grim expression and quickly calmed down. “So then what happened?”
“Well, when I arrived home, I received a text from a friend of mine who told me to get on Facebook and see what Shiyeon had done. So I went online and instantly I started seeing tons of pictures of me on the floor of the sidewalk. I had whipped cream on my face and everything. Shiyeon posted it and captioned it this piggy was hungry.” I huffed. “My face was all swollen because of my allergic reaction and now everyone is making nasty comments about how I look like a pig.” It was nice to have someone to talk to about the things that were bothering me. My mom and dad had no idea why I was so mad but I sure as hell wasn’t going to tell them.
“Excuse my language but that girl sounds like a real .” The guy said.
“She is.” I agreed. “So let’s change the subject, yeah? I’m tired of talking about her.”
“Okay! Um, are you from around here?” He asked.
“Yeah, I live a few blocks away from here. You?”
“No, I just moved here.”
“Oh, well welcome. Where did you move from?” I half smiled.
“Thanks and I’ve lived most of my life in the U.S because I was adopted at a young age.” He explained.
“Oh, that’s interesting.” I nodded along while he talked. “Your adoptive family moved here?”
“No. My mother adopted me as a single woman and has spent her life raising me. Unfortunately…” He paused for a moment. “She’s been sick for a few months now.”
“That’s terrible, I’m so sorry to hear that.” I patted his back sympathetically. While he talked, I wondered how he could be so comfortable talking to a total stranger about something so personal. “Can I ask, why are you in Korea when your mother is sick in the United States?”
“I came to find my birth parents.” He explained. “My mother doesn’t have much time left and she worries that once she passes, I will be put in a foster home or an orphanage because I’m not a legal adult yet, I’m only 16. She sent me here to ask for help from my parents, hoping they will care for me just until I become 18.”
“I really hope things go well. I’m sure they will.” I patted his back again. “It must be scary moving to a new country but at least you have a friend now. My name is Han Jimin.” I smiled.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Jimin, I’m Jeon Jungkook.”
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