The day before…

Joong Ki’s eyelids battered to the sound of the flight attendant’s voice making yet another announcement. A rather high pitched enthusiastic tone giving a heads up that the plane would be landing in Seoul in about 45 minutes.

His eyes slightly opened to the sight of his neighbor fast asleep. Up ahead, a few passengers sat quietly reading their newspapers or magazines while others chit chatted away. Out the window, nothing could be seen but the stars within the dark sky.

He stayed leaned back into his chair as he stared at the uninteresting pasty white ceiling of the plane. With his headphones still cuffed around his ears, he checked his ipod to see why the music had stopped playing, discovering that it was set on pause. He must have accidentally pressed it while he was knocked out.
Letting out a yawn, he stood up for a good stretch and walked his way down to the lavatory, finding it to be currently occupied. Standing an appropriate distance away, he shuffled through his ipod.

Before he even took notice of it, a woman walked out and collapsed right onto him. She was slouched over and out of strength. With their chests glued and her head slung over his shoulder, he felt her burning fever as her body was drenched in cold sweat.

Joong Ki slipped off his headphones and grabbed a hold of her arms, gradually parting her from him. He found himself staring into a pale face. She was unconscious and nearly dropped to the ground until he caught her in an embrace and laid her down to the floor.

“Is everything alright?” a woman’s voice hovered over him.

He looked up and saw Young Min, the petite flight attendant that had been serving their floor. They now had the attention of half the passengers that were awake.

“I’m not sure. She seems to be unconscious.”

“Do you know this woman?”

“No ma’am.”

“Does anyone know this woman?” she asked over the crowd, gaining more attention. When no one came forward, she looked back at Joong Ki, “Go ahead and take your seat. I will take care of her from here. Thank you.”

Joong Ki nodded. Before heading back, he took a last glance at the unconscious woman. More flight attendants showed up to the scene and they took her behind the curtains to the back.

Shortly after, they arrived to Seoul. Joong Ki reached up and grabbed his luggage from the overhead bin. He found himself scanning the active crowd in search of that woman but she was nowhere in sight. He was curious to see if she was okay.

While going through security he also looked for her but didn’t see her. She must have been ahead of him. With his backpack dangling off one shoulder, he pulled his luggage to the passenger pickup area outside the main terminal. Behind the railings, he spotted just the face he had wanted to see.

“Oppa! Joong Ki oppa!” shouted the cute petite girl who possessed a pair of puppy eyes. She was dressed cozily to avoid the early fall chill.

His lips curved to a smile as he walked toward her. She met him with a tight, slightly suffocating, hug.

“Annyeong (hi), Geun Young-ah.”

“Oh oppa, I miss you so much!” she expressed.

“Miss you too, little one.” he said as he patted her on the head.

She parted from him, “How was the flight?”

“Wasn’t as bad as I thought.”

“Ah that’s good.” She looked up at him. “Aigoo, I guess it’s true what auntie have been bragging about. You’re even more handsome now.” she snickered.

Joong Ki chuckled, “Is that so?”

“Just slightly.”

He laughed and put his arm around her, “Shall we get going?”

“Yes as soon as my friend arrives. She also flew in from New York. I think she was on the same flight as you.” She looked as more and more people were coming out but her friend was not among them.

“Oh she’s also from New York?”

“No, she went to visit her fiancé who’s currently studying abroad in New York. She’s been gone for an entire month and I miss her so much!” Geun Young pouted. “By the way, did I mention that I have a roommate?”

“Not that I can remember.”

“Well anyway, I do. She’s my roommate. Her name is Moon Chae Won. You should get along with her fine. Well as long as you stay on her good side.”

“What’s an example of getting on her bad side?” he asked playfully.

“Well there’s a lot. You’ll see. But don’t get me wrong, she’s a nice girl.”

“Good enough.”

“Where is this girl?” Geun Young glanced at her watch. “Hold on oppa. I’m going to try to call her another time. I think she forgot to turn her phone back on when she got off the plane.” Geun Young listened closely as her call was, once again, directed to voicemail. “Aish. She’s like this every time!”

“So I’m guessing this isn’t her first time flying out?”

“No, she went last year too, also to visit her fiancé.”

“Ah.”

“She does this every time! Never bother to turn her phone back on!” Geun Young continued to complain.

They waited as all the people who flew in from New York came through yet Geun Young’s friend was nowhere to be seen.

“Are you sure she was on my flight? I think that’s everyone.”

“Yes oppa, I’m sure. Where is this girl? She’s driving me nuts! Can’t she turn on her phone?” Geun Young expressed as she dialed for her friend again.

Joong Ki suddenly recalled the woman who fainted on the plane. He remembered not seeing her on his way out either or at security check.

“Geun Young-ah, how does your friend look like?” he asked curiously.

“She’s about this tall.” Geun Young held up her hand just a tad slightly above her head. “She has long hair. She’s extremely pretty and has skin as white as snow.”

That sounds about right. “Well earlier on the plane, there was a sick girl who fainted and they took her to the back. I don’t know whether she came out or not. Maybe it could be her.”

Geun Young furrowed her brows, worried. “Maybe. Is there any way we can go back to check?”

“I don’t know. Let’s go and see.”

+++

They were led back to the arrivals gate by a tall—giant looking—bulky security guard by the name of Ahn Hyun. He insisted they wait while he head into the plane to check for them.

It wasn’t long until he returned with a passport in hand. “The sick passenger is by the name of Moon Chae—”

“Yes that’s her!” Geun Young interrupted.

Joong Ki didn’t know why but he felt a little overjoyed in discovering the woman was Geun Young’s friend and his soon-to-be roommate.

“They have called for an ambulance to pick—”

“She doesn’t need to go to the hospital, she’s fine!”

He looked at Geun Young quite suspiciously.

“I mean, people get sick all the time.” Geun Young continued. “I’m sure she just has a minor headache—”

“She has a fever.” Joong Ki leaned in and whispered in her ear.

“Or a slight fever but nevertheless she’s fine.”

“Are you sure she will not need to go to the hospital?”

“I’m sure. I’ll just apply some home remedies on her. She’ll be better in no time.”

“Ok well I’ll have them call to cancel the ambulance then. How are we going to do this? Did you guys want to go back to get her?”

Geun Young looked at Joong Ki, “Oppa I’m sorry but can you help carry her?”

“Sure, not a problem.”

+++

Joong Ki had the woman’s arm pulled over his shoulder, carrying her as he hauled her through the throng of people, trailing behind Geun Young who was strolling along two luggage. He was about out of breath by the time they arrived to the front of the airport where the cab was waiting.
Geun Young peeked in quickly to apologize to the cab driver, a man who looked about in his early 40’s. Instead of opening the door for Joong Ki, she first went to put the luggage away in the back. Strangely, Joong Ki found himself staring into the woman’s face.

Geun Young cleared , “Do I have to repeat that she went to New York to visit her fiancé?” She made sure to emphasize the word ‘fiancé’.
Joong Ki quickly looked at Geun Young, “Ha ha, very funny. Now are you going to open the door or not? You know your friend isn’t as light as she looks.”

“Don’t lie. You’re acting as if it isn’t a pleasure to have her in your arms.” She opened the door.

“It isn’t.” he anwered in defense as he put her in and buckled her up.

“Good! I know she’s pretty but you can’t go there, oppa. One, she’s engaged. Two, it’ll be totally awkward for me and I’m sure for her.” she paused and envisioned the situation in her head, “Yeah, it’ll be so awkward.” she said totally disgusted by the idea.

“Since it’ll be awkward for you, maybe I’ll consider it.” He joked.

Geun Young clenched her jaw and held up her hand in gesture of hitting him.

Joong Ki laughed, “I’m kidding. Get inside. It’s late, I want to go rest.” He said as he closed the door and sprung around the cab to sit on the other side.

Arriving to the apartment building, Joong Ki carried the woman through the elevator as it took them up to the third floor. Out the elevator, on the right, down the hallway, they were finally home.

“Welcome home, oppa!” Geun Young said as she swung the door open.

“Thanks kiddo but first, where do I put her?”

“Right this way.” she tossed her purse and keys on the counter as she led Joong Ki down the hallway. “We’ll put her in my room since her room will now be your room. My room’s bigger so it’ll be more comfortable for us. As for you, you’ll be fine in a smaller room, right?”

“That’s fine.” he grunted. He was beginning to feel the ache in his arms.

Geun Young laughed, “Aigoo oppa, you’re handsome but not cool at all.”

“Mwo? (What?) Try carrying someone all throughout the airport and then up—”

“Fine fine, I’ll let you win.” she chuckled as she switched on the light to her room. “Go ahead and put her on the bed. I’m going to change her out of her clothes since they’re soaked.” she said, pretty grossed out. “Wait for me in the living room or something and I’ll be out to take you to your room. Feel free to grab something to eat or drink. Make yourself at home.”

“Alright.”

He was out of there as soon as he put her down. Walking back to the living room he checked out the apartment. It wasn’t bad. The size was suitable and he liked that there was a sliding door that led out to a balcony. He walked to the kitchen and opened up the refrigerator to grab some water. As he was chugging it down, he heard Geun Young’s voice call out to him.

“Yes?” he yelled back.

“Can you come here for a moment? I sort of need your help.”         

“Can’t you do anything without me?” he teased.

At the doorway, he noticed that Geun Young had pulled the blanket to cover her friend. “What do you need?”

“I know this isn’t a question you get asked daily but can you help me pull off Chae Won’s pants?”

“Wait, what?” Joong Ki laughed.

“No dirty thoughts, please? It’s just, she sweated throughout her entire body and her jeans are literally glued to her legs. I can’t seem to pull them off.”

Joong Ki pretended to think it through then he looked back at Geun Young and rubbed his hands together excitedly as he gestured his brows up and down, “It’ll be my pleasure.”

Geun Young clenched her teeth, “Let’s make this quick. You go over there” she pointed at the end of the bed, “and I’ll stay here. I already undid her zipper so you just need to take them off. I’ll hold her in place.”

Sounds harmless. “Okay.” Joong Ki slipped his hands beneath the blanket and carefully felt from the bed up, making sure he didn’t touch her in an inappropriate way.

“Alright, here goes.” he said when he reached her waistband.

Geun Young was right; her pants were literally glued to her legs. He had to really pry them off of her. It especially did not help that they were skin tight jeans either.

“Oppa!” Geun Young shrieked.

Joong Ki looked and noticed he not only pulled off her pants but also pulled the blanket right off of her. She was fully exposed in her intimate wear. She had on a matching red lace bra and . Her body was something else; perfectly shaped bosoms, small waist, nice curvaceous hips and toned lean legs that made Joong Ki look twice. He gulped and was suddenly frozen in place, unable to draw his attention away from her.   

“Omo, ottoeke?! (Oh my god, what do I do?) Chae Won is surely going to kill me!” Geun Young cried. “What are you doing? Turn around, oppa!” she shouted at Joong Ki.

It took him a moment but he was able to regain his composure and turned away. “What do you want me to do with her pants?”

“Just throw them on the ground!” Geun Young expressed in frustration. “Hand me the blanket!”

Keeping his back to her, Joong Ki bent down and picked up the blanket and threw it Geun Young’s way. She quickly fixed it over her friend again who was now murmuring incomprehensible sounds.

“Ok I’m dead, I’m dead!” Geun Young freaked out. “Chae Won-ah, are you up?”

She watched as her friend drifted back to sleep.

“Oh good, she went back to sleep.” she sighed in relief. “Heck, oppa never mind you’re helping me do this! What can I do now that you already saw everything?”

“What?!”

“I’m going to grab her sleepwear from her suitcase. You hold her up so I can put her top on her and I’ll figure a way to put on her bottoms.”

Could he manage? Sure he could. No sweat. “Uh okay, I guess.”

He climbed onto the bed beside her. No matter however many ways he thought of handling her, it just seemed inappropriate. He surely wasn’t going into this with a righteous mind either. Things that he shouldn’t be thinking about, he thought about. It wasn’t like he had never seen a woman. In fact he’s a grown man and pretty experienced in that area per se, but what was it about this stranger that was so intriguing to him?

“Oppa, what are you waiting for? Hurry up!” Geun Young was back already.

Joong Ki felt sweat building up his palms. He nervously slipped his arm beneath her neck and raised her to a sitting position, trying to resist her delicate skin up against him. He kept his attention straight, afraid if he looked down he’d be trying to peer down her bra.

Geun Young quickly slipped a white tank top over her head and pulled her hands through the thin straps. “Okay oppa. You can put her down and go do whatever you were doing. Sorry for troubling you.”

Joong Ki made sure to get out of there as quickly as possible. He drew a deep breath as he fanned his shirt. Walking back to the kitchen he downed another glass of cold water.

Moments later Geun Young followed behind, “Mianhe (Sorry) oppa. I put you through a lot today.” she said almost unable to keep a straight face.

Joong Ki held up his hand in gesture of hitting her as a way of mocking her.

“Woah, you haven’t changed at all! Still a bully to me like when we were children!”

“Of course I haven’t.” Joong Ki’s hand reached over and ruffled her hair. “I’m still the same oppa you love.”

Geun Young playfully pushed his hand away, “But oppa, you can’t let Chae Won know about what happened today. Trust me if she finds out, not only will I die but you will too.”  

“Hmm, I’m beginning to think your friend isn’t such a nice girl.”

“She is. If you stay on her good side, remember?”

“Ah that’s right.” Joong Ki acted dumbfounded.

“Anyway follow me. Let me show you to your room.” He walked behind her all the way to the end of the hallway. She opened the closed door and switched on the lights, “Oh my god.”

Joong Ki peeked in over her and saw piles of clothes and other things he couldn’t exactly identify, scattered all around the floor and on the bed. He wasn’t sure there would even be any room for him to walk.

“Well, she’s not the tidiest person, I tell you that. I would clean it for you but I have to go to work right now after I take care of Chae Won—”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll try to work around it.”

Geun Young squinted, “Thank you so much, oppa. Just endure it for now. I promise I’ll clean it tomorrow.”

“Kurae (Ok), go do what you have to do. I’ll be fine.”

When Geun Young left, Joong Ki gingerly made his way through the quagmire of crap, carrying his luggage over the mess. Half buried beneath some dirty clothes were picture frames. He picked up the one within his reach in curiosity and it was a picture of Chae Won with a man, both smiling happily to the camera. It probably was her fiancé.

“Oppa, I’m going to head out now.” Geun Young poke her head in. “I already wiped Chae Won down and forced medicine down so she should be all better by tomorrow. Hopefully she sleeps until morning and will not wake up to give you any trouble.”

Joong Ki smiled, “Ok, see you in the morning?”

“Yes. If you’re hungry, there’s food in the refrigerator. Oh and before I forget, the main bathroom is kind of broken. I haven’t had time to call maintenance yet. If you need to shower, there’s a bathroom in my room. Just be quiet and don’t wake Chae Won.”

“Got it!”

“Good night, oppa. You should have some rest. You must be tired.”

“I will.”

+++

Quite jetlagged, Joong Ki was only able to nap and found himself wide awake at around 3:30 in the morning. Figuring since he was up he might as well jump in the showers, he took light steps down the hallway. Before entering Geun Young’s room, he listened carefully to see if Chae Won was awake. When he heard no sound, he stepped in and headed to wash up.

Feeling a little hungry, he stepped into the kitchen after he finished showering. Before he was able to fix himself a meal, he heard a loud screeching scream behind him, only turning around to find Chae Won attempting to hit him with what seemed like an umbrella.

“Woah, what’s going on?” he asked as he dodged her hit.

Chae Won opened her eyes when she realized she had missed. Turning around, she lifted the umbrella and rushed toward him again. “Who the hell are you?! How did you get into my house?!” she shouted as she swung the umbrella.

He caught it right in time, “Calm down. Let me explain!  I live here!”

“What?!!” she exclaimed wide eyed.

“I’m Geun Young’s cousin. I’m sure she mentioned to you that I would be living here for the time being until I find a place.” he said as he slowly took the umbrella from her grasp.

Chae Won was frozen for a moment as she found herself gazing into gorgeous brown eyes. She was sure she had something to say but suddenly her mind went blank. This man’s face was God’s gift to mankind. It was like a perfect painting on a canvas. His skin was a flawless milky complexion, radiant and smooth.
And his voice, oh my god, his voice. He had a sultry hoarse voice with the perfect bass, it almost sounded hollow and echoing in a sense. It was the kind of voice where the more you hear it, the more intrigued you are by it, one that can possibly draw you into the state of hypnosis. She couldn’t believe she was feeling that way since she had never felt that towards anyone, not even Jin Hyuk. Though Jin Hyuk’s voice was deep, it was rather scabrous and harsh at times, or most of the time.

Realizing that she had lost herself, she cleared , “No, she didn’t tell me anything.”

He laughed, “Wow that girl, she really hasn’t changed one bit huh?” he said as he turned back toward the refrigerator and continued to towel dry his hair.

Still not clicking to what was going on; Chae Won searched her surroundings for another item of defense. With little time to process things through, she reached over for the remote control that sat on the counter and pointed it at him, “Really, who are you? What did you do to me?”

Joong Ki turned back to her and laughed silently to himself. It was impossible for him to look at her now without seeing red; red, as in, the color of her intimate wear.

“What? What’s so funny?” she asked.  

“Nothing. Maybe you should get back to bed. You’re probably not fully recovered yet. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

“How do I know you’re not some kind of burglar?”

Joong Ki laughed. It was an infectious laugh. It made her want to laugh with him but she was so not going to play his game.

“Say something! Why do you keep laughing?”

“How about we talk tomorrow?”

Chae Won glowered at him suspiciously. “I’m going to call Geun Young and ask her. You stay right here and don’t leave. If I find out you’re lying, I’m going to kill you.” she warned him before storming back down the hall. “What the hell is this?!” Chae Won yelled within a matter of seconds.

Joong Ki poked his head in the hallway and noticed she had not gone back to Geun Young’s room but to her room instead. “What is it?” he asked when he went to check what the uproar was all about.

“Did you do this?”

“What? Clean up your room?”

“Whatever you call it but did you touch my stuff?”

“Well I had to—”

“Why? I don’t like anyone touching my stuff!”

“Oh I’m sorry—”

“Oh my god! Just stop talking. Did Geun Young say you could sleep in here?”

“Well—”

“That girl is unbelievable! She really is.” she said as she gathered her picture frames that Joong Ki had stacked neatly on her desk. “Don’t touch anything else in here. I mean it!” She rolled her eyes at him and flew out.

All Joong Ki heard was a loud slamming door.

Example 1 of getting on her bad side: Touch her stuff.