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“Appa.”  A young lady sitting on a bench says into her phone.  “How are you?”

“Good.  Good.” The old man croaks from the other end.  “What about you?”

“Good.”  She nods, looking down at her lap. 

“Where are you right now?  Are you eating yet?  It’s almost lunch time.”  Her father says. 

“Yeah, I’m waiting for someone.  I usually eat with that person.”  The girl smiles and looks across the garden, where other people were loitering about. 

“That’s good.  Just remember, don’t get too attached, okay?  Not much longer now, you know?  Soon you’ll..”

“I know.”  The girl nods, her fingers fiddling absentmindedly with her laptop.  “Appa... how is he?  Is he.. is he doing well?”

“He is.  You’ll be with him soon.  Don’t worry, okay?”

The girl closes her eyes and a small smile graces her lips.  Finally.  Finally.

“Mmhmm.  Not much longer now.” She replies softly.

ISEUL’S POV

OH MY GOD.

OH MY GOD.

I.. I'M GOING TO DIE!!

I don’t know what to do!!  How do I... How do I hide him?!!  How do I hide a 1.1m tall kid?!

I look at Jongguk who’s sitting on the dining table, enjoying a bowl of cereal.  He doesn’t know yet.  All I’ve done was wake him up, and then I’m stuck.  I’m honestly out of ideas, and this doesn’t happen often.  Being a scatterbrained student who often forgets her things at home, I usually have a back-up plan for everything.  Or I’m used to getting warning slips and stuff.  I usually have a solution for everything (just like Math problems) but I got none for this.  Nada!  ZILCH!

I mean, have you—have you ever seen this happen to anyone before?  Have you ever seen anyone doing this— trying to smuggle a kid into her classes?  And her exam?!

Oh my God what am I going to do?!!  I’m tapping my foot frenzily as I watch Jongguk drink up the rest of his cereal milk from the bowl.  How do I break it to him?! 

How do I get him to listen and stay put even if we did get into my classes?!

I so want to strangle Kai.  ARGH!! I’M GOING TO FEED HIM WET SOCKS!!

“Jongguk, noona—“

I stop.

Suddenly, it’s like a lightbulb—no, a firework exploded in me and now I have a big, beautiful, chaotic idea.

AHA.

Oh God, thank the stars for Korean dramas. 

You see?  You see?  This is why you guys should all watch Korean dramas.

Remember that kid in To The Beautiful You who snuck inside his brother’s school by hiding inside this... what was it, a gym bag?  That someone brought inside?  I don’t know, it’s an old drama.. but!  It did go something like that.

So.

I... am going to put Jongguk in a bag.

I know.  That’s like really simple and I know you guys have thought of that already, but in my panicked state of mind I didn’t really come up with that until a few miliseconds ago. 

I’m going to put Jongguk in one of those... suitcase shopping bags.  The pullable shopping bags with wheels.  Something like.. this!
 

“Jongguk-ah, um, you know that today you have a holiday, but noona doesn’t right?”  I say smiling brightly.   Come on, keep smiling cheeks!  You have to look convincing for me!! 

“Mmm?” Jongguk blinks.

“Yeah, noona still has to go to, um, school.  But, because you have holiday today, I have to take care of you right?”

“Of course!” Jongguk grins.

“But noona can’t skip.. school today because noona has a test.  So.. Jongguk,”  and here is where I let out a quick, muddled prayer, “would you like to come with noona to my school?”

Jongguk looks so blank for a minute that I don’t have even the slightest idea of what’s going on inside his mind. 

Say yes, say yes cause I need to know..

“I don’t want to!”  Jongguk pouts, crossing his arms.  “I want to PLAY!”

WHY YOU GOTTA BE SO RU-U-UDE?!

I in my cheeks.  Then I force another wide, bright, fake smile.  “Jongguk, please.  Please do this for noona.  Noona has an exam today, and I just spent the ENTIRE DAY WITH A CERTAIN COCKY ENGLISH-SPEAKING ASSHO—“

.

“Um, friend yesterday, so I can’t miss this exam!!  Please please pleaaaase do this for noona.”  I beg, clasping my hands in front of his chest.  “You know what?  I’ll give you a... Ah!  I’ll give you three wishes!”  I hold up three fingers and wriggle them enthusiastically.

“3 wishes?  Like genie?” Jongguk tilts his head. 

I glance at the digital clock resting on top of the pantry.  8 sharp.  .  Okay, we have to start moving.

“Mmhmm!  So basically, I will grant you any 3 of your wishes.  Anything... anything at all.  Anything that’s not against the law or not... ruining my reputation.  Okei??  Please Jongguk, have mercy!!” I beg, shaking my fists in front of his fast like what kids do on Chinese New Year as they bag for red packets.

“Anything?  For 3 times?”  Jongguk looks at me suspiciously. 

“A-NY-THING.” I spell out for him.  “You know what?  We can even... we can even go for ice cream after I’m done! I’ll buy you a big fat sundae... but we’ll have it to-go okay because I need to study again for my other exam tomorrow.  Hehe.” I smile persuadingly at him.

“But I don’t want to!  Everybody at noona’s school is big and there’s no kids like me to play with!  I’ll be.. I’ll be weird!”

“Jongguk.”  I say slowly, telling myself to calm down.  “Noona will hide you in a bag.  You know that little shopping bag on wheels that you have near the washing machine?  Yeah, you can fit in there right?  Noona will put you there and—“

“I DON’T WANT TO BE PUT IN A BAAAAG!!!” He screams indignantly, in a loud, ear-piercing, window-shattering scream. 

I drop to the floor.  WHAT THE DO I DO NOW?!

“I’ll.. I’ll make sure it’s comfortable!  You can bring your mini iPad and play with it all day!!”  I spring up and run over to his room to take his mini iPad (crazy rich Asian). “I’ll also bring you food and water.. and.. a toy..  Please, Jongguk?  Please, if noona doesn’t do and pass this exam noona won’t graduate, and if noona doesn’t graduate then noona has to go to school for another year, and noona doesn’t have money for that!”  I pout. 

“But what if noona forgets about the bag and leaves me?”  Jongguka asks, looking at me with such plain, pure, childlike innocence. 

I shake my head vigorously.  “I won’t.  You have my word for it.  I won’t ever forget you.  Okay?”

He looks at me skeptically.

“It’s only for ta day!  I’ll give make the bag as comfortable as possible.”

Jongguk sighs and nods.  “Okay.”

“So... you’re willing to sit in the bag?” I ask, beginning to feel hopeful.

“3 wishes right?”  He asks.  “And an ice cream?”

“Yeah!!”  I nod.  “But you have to promise to behave and not randomly pop out whenever you’re bored, okay?  Thank you so much Jongguk!!!”

Long story short, Jongguk got ready, we put him inside the said bag and head off for my campus.  Now, I’m walking around my campus halls with a freaking living, breathing (and also very heavy) luggage.  You see?  Jongguk is not the only one who’s uncomfortable!!  I am too!  I mean, everyone is giving me that weird look.  They’re probably thinking I failed to pay my rent on time so now I’m kicked out of my apartment. 

Which is of course, not true. 

I glance at the bag trailing behind me.  Why is he so quiet?  I bet he’s playing on his iPad or something.  Okay, so far so good. 

I swear, everything is not good!   Everyone is looking at me and this hideous shopping bag on wheels that’s all flowery and pink and !  I am so going to ask Kai about this bag later on.  And on top of that, it’s probably bulging in some weird form—

“YO SEUL!” Someone hollers, and I don’t need to turn around to figure out who it is.

“Tuan.”  I greet back, nodding a bit.  I can’t be bothered to wave back or yell back, a tthe very least.  I have way too many things going on in my head like for example, what do I do with this humongous baby in my bag?!

“What’s wrong?” he asks as he approaches.  “Still worried bout the exam?”

“Uh, yeah.”  I nod.  “I guess.”

“It’s still 8.20.  I can help you with some last minute cramming, if you’d like.”  Mark offers. 

“I.. yeah, sure..” I mumble a little distractedly as I feel my ‘luggage’ (we’re going to refer to Jongguk with that from now on) shaking a little behind me. 

Mark peers at me and raises an eyebrow. 

“What?” I look at him as I discreetly tug on the little strap of the shopping bag.  I need Jongguk to stop moving!! 

“You sure you—“

“NOONA!  I WANT TO PEE!”

And suddenly, much to my horror, just like that, Kim Jongguk springs out of his hiding place like a jack in a box and climbs out of the bag.  To make things worse, he has his pants ed already and now they’re fully pulled down his legs!!  And now he’s here, standing in all his half- glory, tall and proud between Mark and I. 

I shell-shocked.  Oh God.  What do I do?!!

Mark is staring at me with the same expression:  sheer disbelief. 

“Nooonaaaaa!!  Peeeeeee!!”

My brain goes into fight or flight mode and my first istinct was to run away from all this and pretend like I don’t know this confident little stripper. 

“Am I seeing things right now or...”  Mark whispers. 

“Nooooooonaaaaaaaaa~” the little whiny voice wails again. 

“Jongguk!!  I thought I told you to stay in your bag!”

“OMG!  YOU SEE HIM TOO!!”  Mark gasps.  “I thought I was only—“

“Ahjusshi, of course she can see me!  She takes care of me every day!!”  Jongguk stomps his feet.  “Ahjusshi, can you take me to pee?  Noona is not answering!!”

Marks jaw falls open.  “Iseul, what the—“

“And why did you pull down your pants already?!”  I scream, mortified. 

“Because I need to pee now!!”  Jongguk starts jumping up and down.  “PEE!  PEE!  PEE!”

Dear Lord what have I ever done to deserve this?!

“Iseul,”  Mark looks at me in astonishment.  “Did you really—“

“Okay okay let’s go pee!!” Before Mark can start asking me questions, I hurriedly grab Jongguk’s hiding place and him, each with each hand, and quickly storm away to the toilet. 

Okay, so the next problem is.. how do I sneak this little er into the ladies’ toilet without making a scene?!

“Jongguk,” I say sternly, “I need you to get back in that bag.”

“No!  I don’t like it in there!!”

I feel a vein popping. 

“But Jongguk, we had an agreement right?  You can’t do this to noona!” I cry, trying my best not to lose my patience.

“But why?!  I don’t like in there.  The bag is—“

“Because you’re not allowed in here!  Little kids aren’t supposed to be wandering around Korea’s most reknowned university’s halls!”  I snap.  Why can’t he just get it?!   Okay, I know that being in a bag is really uncomfortable but can’t he see that I’m not exactly comfortable with this situation either?!  Plus, I put in a blanket and a small pillow and I didn’t zip the whole thing up to let oxygen in!  I even gave him his iPad and his cartoon figurines!   I have snacks in there as well—what more does he need?!

I swear, I am so not going to forgive Kai for this. 

“But—“

“Jongguk, we all have to make sacrifices.  I pretended to be your mother for 3 days and skipped 3 days’ worth of classes just to save you from public humiliation and etcetera.  Can you try to do the same for me?  Can you just please sit still in that bag and help me get through the day without being called to the Dean’s office or attracting too much attention?” I rattle out.  I don’t usually do this—bring up things I’ve done for others and stuff, but it’s 8.30 already.  My exam is in 15 minutes.  Oh well.  There goes my last chance of studying. 

Jongguk is silent. 

His chubby arms are crossed, his eyebrows are furrowed and his red lips are pulled into an ugly, unhappy pout.  Silently, he stomps back to his little home for the day and stumbles back inside.  I let out a heavy sigh of relief and gratitude.  “Thank you so much, Jongguk.”  I say, ruffling his hair which is still showing from the opening of the bag. 

I enter the ladies’ toilet.  Thankfully, there’s not many people there.  There’s only 2 girls doing their make up in front of the mirror.  I take in a deep breath and slowly walk in, hoping I’d go unnoticed. 

“Yah Iseul!”

Urgh.

One of the girls, Seohyun calls as she turns around.  “What the hell is that?”

“Some props.”  I lie smoothly.  Afterall, what else would need to be carried in such a big bag right? “I have this friend who’s in Theatre Arts and they have this drama thing going on... and she was in some sort of rush this morning and so she asked me to bring these props to campus first.  I don’t really know what it’s all about.”  I shrug. 

“Is it the Wicked musical they’re preparing for this summer?”  the other girl, Sooyoung asks as she spins around excitedly. 

“Um.. I guess?”  LOL.  I didn’t even know there was such a thing.  Thank goodness!

“So um, I guess I’ll—“ I point in to the cubicle and nod at them, excusing myself.  I drag my luggage in with me when—

“Yah, but why do you need to bring it in with you?  It’s not like we’re going to steal anything!”  Seohyun laughs. 

“Yeah, leave it out!  It’ll be so cramped in there!”  Sooyoung joins.

Okay, !  What do I say now?

“Hahaha.. ha.. ha...” I laugh awkwardly.  “I forget things a lot.  I’m afraid I’ll forget it if I leave it out there...” I say as I hurriedly slam the cubicle door close and locked it. 

“No way!  You’re only going to—aish, nevermind.  Whatever floats your weird boat honey.”  I hear Seohyun call from the outside, but I’m not really listening.  I’m helping Jongguk climb out of his little habitat while giving him wide, don’t-make-a-single-sound eyes.

He gives me a look that says ‘I hate you’, and I smile apologetically at him. 

“Anyway, bye Seul!  We’ll get going first.”  I hear Seohyun call again. 

“Bye!”  Sooyoung echoes. 

“Yeah, bye!”  I shout back, more than happy to hear that they’re leaving.  Thank the Loooord!  I feel like shaking my in happiness!!  The bathroom is empty and I have it all to myself and—

IT’S 8.35 HOLY ING CRAP!!!!

“PEE!!  GO!!” I slap Jongguk’s as he proceeds to hold his—err—ding dong ­out. 

“Aish!  Wait!!”  Jongguk grumbles.  Woah, he really is pissed.  He is usually so happy and cheerful and bubbly and now he’s.. well.. cranky.  And mad.  Not that I blame him—no, I sort of blame him.

Actually, I blame KAI!  I would like to take him to the court and report his actions as abuse of power and injustice!  I can’t believe he’s actually making me go through this!!

“Are you done yet?” I whisper. 

Jongguk doesn’t respond to me.  He just simple does his business and then pulls up his pants on his own, before grouchily climbing back into his bag.  I sigh. 

“Yah, I’m sorry, okay?” I apologize again half-heartedly. 

He doesn’t respond.  Tch, pms-ing little ahjumma!!

Giving up on him, I quickly exit the cubicle and wash my hands—out of habit, because technically I don’t need to—and push the door of the ladies’ toilet open—

Only to be greeted by Mark, who’s leaning on the wall across it.  As soon as he sees me, he immediately strides over. 

“Mar—“

“What was that?!” he asks. 

“Not now.” I sigh, massaging my temple.  Goddamit, it’s 8.40 now and I have an exam in 5 minutes!!  I’m gonna have to ing sprint over to the exam room, think of a place to put Jongguk (and convince him to stay in it) because I obviously can’t bring him in with me!

“Is that a.. child?” Mark continues, heading me no attention. 

“WELL WHAT THE DOES IT LOOK LIKE?!” I snap as I speed walk briskly. 

“Is it yours?”  He asks again, and I stop for a second to thwack the back of his head.

“OW!!” Mark yells.

“Giving your brain the kick start it needs.”

“No but seriously, Iseul, what is it doing he—“

“Can we please not talk about my luggage now?!  Mark, I’m freaking out here!!  I have a major exam in 3 minutes and I haven’t even done any mental preparation or last minute cramming and reviews! I’m going to fail!” I can’t help but cry in dispair. 

I finally reach the examination room.  8. 43.  I have to think of a place to hide Jongguk for a while.  But even if I do, oh God, he’s not going to stay in it!!  I feel like sobbing in despair.  What am I going to do?!  My mouth goes into autopilot and I continue ranting. “I still have to think of a place to hide Jongguk, I still have to convince him to stay in it, and I—“

“Hey.”  Mark places both of his hands on my shoulders.  I stop.  “Breathe.” 

“I can’t.” I mutter.

“You have to.”  He insists.  “You have to calm down.  Calm down and you’re going to be fine.  You’re Seo Iseul, remember?  You can do anything if you actually put your mind up to it.  Take yesterday as an example.  See how much your English improved already!  And look how you got in SNU’s Mathematics department.  That’s not an easy thing to do, but you did it!” 

“Along with around 200 other people.” I roll my eyes.

“Yah, I’m giving crappy examples because I still don’t know that much about you okay?” Mark says and I roll my eyes.  “But I intend to change that.”

I scoff.  Shut up, I wanted to say.

“As for your.. luggage, leave that to me.”  He winks.

I blink.  “To a person like you?”

“YAH.” He glares at me.  “I’m hurt!”

“Well, I’m serious here!  I can’t trust my boss’s son to you!”

“It’s 8.45.  Do you even have a choice?” Mark shows me his watch.

“.” I mutter.  Making a quick (and probably regrettable decision), I the handle of the wheeled shopping bag to Mark.  “He’s currently mad at me as well, so good luck!”

“No, you need the good luck.” He pumps his fists.  “Hwaiting!”

I smile at him.  With that, I step inside the exam room.

“Kim Youngmin.  Died of lung poisoning—inhaled toxic fumes as he was trapped inside a burning warehouse for too long.  June 12 2008.”  Kai read out.  “Cremated on Jun 13 2008 and his ashes have been thrown to the ocean on the very same day.  There, I got my father’s files already.  Happy now?” 

Baekhyun looks up at him momentarily.  “Hakuna your tatas, bro.”

Kai sighs impatiently.  “Seriously, I don’t get why you guys are making me do this!! He is unmistakenably dead so—“

“Then who’s calling you Jongin if not him?”  Chanyeol cuts in.

“Someone pretending to be him.  Someone unimportant.”  Kai mutters. 

“Motive?  We know your dad has a mot—“

“Attracting attention that won’t benefit him in any way.” 

“Yeah, but for what?” D.O. replies this time.  “Oh.  Does your dad have another child?”

“How am I supposed to know?!”  Kai snaps.  He can’t imagine having a half brother or half sister or whatever. 

“Then?  Who knows anything about Kim Youngmin?!  How are we supposed to—“

“It might not even be him—“

“But Kai, he called you Jongin.  He knows you are Kim Jongin.  And nobody in this world knows, except for us, the Joker, Jongguk’s mother—“ Here Kai shot him a deathly glare, but D.O. continues.  “—and your father.”

“He’s not my father!”  Kai insists, rubbing his face. 

“, accept the fact that this disgusting old here is your dad.”

“Was.”  Kai says grudgingly.  “Aish you know what?  This is pointless.  I’m going to talk to the Joker—“

“Bout what?” A deep voice says from the behind the opened door. 

Kai turns around and bows deeply, an action quickly copied by his 5 other friends.  “Boss.”

“Kai.” He nods.  “Come see me in my office.”

Oh God.  Oh GOD OH GOD OH GOD I am so DEAD!!  I swear, I was sweating like a hot potato all the while I was inside that examination room.  The professor who examined me was British for God’s sake, and he had this very sharp British accent that sounded nothing like Mark’s Asianized American accent yesterday!   But thank goodness I didn’t get the Australian prof.  I heard that Australians—whew.  For non native speakers (and very crappy ones like me) it might prove to be quite a challenge to understand them.

I step outside and look around, expecting to find Mark somewhere with my luggage.  Ah!  There he is!  I approach Mark who’s talking to someone on his cell, and as soon as he sees me, he quickly hangs up. 

“How was it?” he asks, shoving his phone into his pocket. 

“SCARY!” I cry.  “I’m screwed!!”

“On a scale of 1 to 10 how much did you up?” He asks again, snickering a little.

I began slowly ping my luggage.  I need some water... and yes I have some water with Jongguk in there.  “Like 5 and half?  Oh God—I can’t believe I—“ 

I stop.

No.

NO.

I am not seeing what I’m seeing right now.

I slowly sink to the floor.

Oh .

Oh my goodness, I’m ed. 

I am so... thoroughly ed! 

I’ve lost it.

The only thing I’m supposed to lose—KIM JONGGUK!!!

“MARK!” I scream, hitting his arm with all my might.  “WHERE IS JONGGUK?!!”

“The kid?  He’s right—“

Mark stops and he looks at me wide, surprised eyes.  “Right not there.....” he trails.

I hold on to the wall and take a few deep breaths to calm myself down.  “How could you—how could you even—“

“He was right there!  His little head was poking out!!”  Mark screams in defense.  “But then I got a call and—“

“Aish, you idiot!!” I scream before running off with the flowery shopping bag.  Oh my God, oh my God, he could be anywhere!!  This isn’t an elementary