TITLE: Cost Of Its Worth

AUTHOR: miclargeone

PAIRING: SHINHWA + SHCJ

GENRE: Friendship

SUMMARY: Kris, a workaholic business woman already had her plans ahead of her as a routine of being an upcoming CEO when all of a sudden; her grandmother abruptly pulled her out of the company’s operations to play a mind game that totally sounded almost absurd for anyone to understand.

She was given a mission to go to a certain town that she never heard of. The mission includes looking for a person to whom she owes a debt and pay it back as soon as she identifies what it is.

“It is something that money cannot compensate.” her grandmother said when she insisted to pass the payment via wire transfer. “Look for him among a bunch of people who are waiting for you. They are aware that you are coming and they already know your name before you can even introduce yourself to them.”

“All of them can distinguish at least three random facts about you but varying from each other. The person who you need to pay is the one who will exceed the things that they identify. I didn’t tell them anything about you. All of what they know was acquired through their experiences.” Nana, her grandmother said.

The time frame given to her is a month long, but if she asks them any question about how they found out those secrets, she will be spending another year in that unknown town as a consequence.

 

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This 17 chapter fan fiction novel is a gift to all the SHINHWA CHANGJOs all over the world who loved SHINHWA unconditionally with all their hearts.

SHINHWA’s 17th anniversary marks a start of a new beginning for all of us to continually look forward and be inspired with their everlasting friendship.

To our beloved oppadeul; Eric, Minwoo, Dongwan, Hyesung, Junjin and Andy thank you for all the hard work and memories that you unceasingly shared with us. Words cannot even describe how much we appreciate it.

To my Orange Sisters – psychedlove, luveiei ,bye shinhwa, ploydy, hearts-shinhwa, phi, moon river, tambling-tambling, malpabo, vitamin DW, mon (scarface) and miumiu – thank you for inspiring me to create something as much as this to spread the orange love.

Shinshinhye, collaborating with you made this more meaningful for me. Thank you for sharing your skills and time for the cover art of this mini project ~  ♥

 

 

 

 

No U-Turn

I irritably dodged the offensive noontime light when I tried to remove my dark glasses over the burning heat of the sun while I am still trying to make myself comprehend what happened to me yesterday. It is far from being closer to fiction but the harder I put effort to think about it, the more realistic the fact digs to my soul. I am under probation of my grand-mother, a kind of agreement that I didn’t even intend to accept only because, she meant a lot to me.

I took another deep breathe and gathered my thoughts as I sit uncomfortably on my ride going to a dreadful place that I never heard of, well perhaps yes – yesterday. I just took a bath before I went out but my sweat made me look that went all the way here without even drying my hair properly, I am soaking wet and fanning myself does not make any help at all.

I didn’t expect our driver to drop me off on a provincial station. It is my first time to be here and I look oddly different from all the people who’s about to go to the same destination as I am. My generous chauffeur bid be good bye with a matching “Fighting!” gesture before he left with our company’s car. Base from what he told me earlier, my grandmother asked him to reserve tickets for this absurd call of duty about a month ago which means that she planned it for a very long time already.

I didn’t have any appetite to eat breakfast when I woke up and to pack my stuff right away early in the morning. I think I just had coffee and now my stomach is screaming for a proper meal. It’s almost lunch time and the summer heat is not helping at all, my temper is about to reach its limit. Bus stations are normally filled with food stands but how come that this one doesn’t have anything? Oh my. I’m starving to death; I’m getting a little bit dizzy and irritable.

I took a look at my ticket and saw that the bus will be leaving the station at 12:30 pm and I just have 5 minutes left. The conductor started shouting at the bus door for boarding and I felt hopeless with an empty stomach. I tried to ignore my hunger once again and lined up with the people. The bus looked bigger, which gave me the idea that it is really for huge transports. The maroon chairs are can be inclined for sleeping purposes which gave me a better expectation of a comfortable travel time.

I gave my ticket to the bus operator and he looked at me twice. He must have known that I am a tourist going there because he greeted almost everyone with a familiar tone in his voice. I just smiled at him politely to ease the awkwardness and he just smiled back. It’s a good thing he did not bother to open a conversation with me. 

The bus has a bad air-conditioning system. All the outlets were busted at the top of my head and it is freezing cold. Almost all of the passengers except for me knew about this instant winter season inside even if it is a hot sweaty summer in the real world. Endure. All I can do is let out a sigh of bleakness, since I only wore a t-shirt partnered with denim jeans. I could have taken out my hoodie but it is at the bottom of my luggage.  Even if I managed to pull one of my long sleeves plaid the breeze simply passes through it and pierces to my skin making me feel almost numb as time goes by. I tried to shield myself with my light backpack which contained my mini necessities in life but it cannot cover my whole body in reality. Hopeless.

It took an hour before the bus can get through the traffic in the city and by the time is speed up on the empty highway to recover the wasted travel time, the atmosphere got colder. I took a slight peek on the road after the toll way pass and I could see a zigzag road waiting for us climbing on a stiff mountain path. What have I got myself into? There is no way of turning back at this rate.

As I rub my hands together to put up with the extreme temperature, an old man sitting opposite of my seat suddenly called out to me with his hand stretching to my direction, trying to give me something.

“My, my.. I guess you are not from Sylfaen, that’s why you are suffering like this young lady. Here, take this and wear it. It might spare you some degrees off this freezing point. It’ll get colder as we enter our town’s border.”

“Thank you.” was the only thing that I can say while trying to control my trembling teeth. All the wrinkles of his old age formed a very warm smile as he sank to his seat for another round of nap. He has been like that ever since we set off to that place. Sylfaen.

He lent me this rugged snap back. The logo on it is hardly recognizable but I can say that it was maybe one of his favourites. It looks ancient because of all the holes punched to it by time all of which were just randomly patched up neatly with the closest linen shade that could match the original. The sides were faded too as a sign that it has been overused.

I wore it without hesitation letting off the rest of my hair cover the back of my neck while the rest of it rested pass to my shoulders. We will be there in less than 4 hours now.

Obviously, I don’t have anyone to talk to. The bus’ television is showing a somewhat old fashioned film which nobody bothered to watch. These people seemed to be very busy with their own business and it’s also a good thing that I was left alone on the furthest space of the bus. I stuck myself on its corner and admired my overlooking view among all the passengers.

It is a good thing I brought my mp3 player with me and as soon as I put my earphones, I raised the volume high enough for me to somehow seclude myself from all the possibilities that can happen on my trip and calm down a little bit from all these anxious feelings building inside me, music is my therapy.

With my predicted 6 hour land travel, I decided to remove my contacts so that I will not be in trouble just in case I fall asleep. It’s cold and I am alone, I will be sleeping for sure.

I know I was dreaming as soon as I saw my grandmother’s face once again as she brushed my fringe off my forehead continually telling me that everything will be okay. I tried to ask her a question but now, words will not come out from my opened mouth. Her eyes were filled of excitement while I looked back at her with astonishment blended with a huge mark of disbelief. I can’t understand any of this. Everything!

While trying to scream out loud in my dream, I fell from my seat.

By the time I got up on my feet, I realized that the bus is already empty. I scratched my eyes again and it’s all blurry, I got my eye-contacts from my bag’s pocket and put it on in a hurry. I checked my wrist watch for the time and found out that I overslept. Oh NO.  I tried to glance from all my directions and I can’t find anyone. What kind of nonsense. The bus is not even on the terminal or anywhere which looks like a residential place. I am half way losing my mind when I heard siren shouting as a police car makes its way towards the bus. I hurried up and tripped on the slippery stair of the vehicle.

I somehow managed to land safely on the grass but I scratched my right elbow on a sharp rock right beneath the mossy surface of the roadside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sheriff

A tall man came out of the car. His silhouette immediately popped out as soon as the car halted roughly at the exact moment when I lost my balance. I can’t see him clearly since my contacts seemed to be a little bit jammed up when I fell. I tried my best to blink and simultaneously roll my eyeballs as I get them back to place.

The man continued walking towards my direction. I’m glad that the lights of the bus were still fully functional as I get to see my glint of hope. Wearing a distinct white long sleeve shirt beneath a leather jacket I can see his well-maintained body structure. From a distance I can already see his sense of composure and his aura which magnifies protection. His footsteps are inaudible even if I can see him hurriedly planting them on the ground as he ran as fast as he could to aid me with my clumsiness. His big strong hands grabbed me with care as soon as he reached the spot where I fell and with a hoarse voice he asked.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt somewhere? Oh! You cut your elbow. You’re bleeding! Let me take you to the hospital.”

I am still shocked with my fall but I am more surprised on how he spoke with such form of concern. I can tell by the tone of his voice. He sounded worried sick about it and I am totally puzzled until I am able to regain my sense of speech.

“Wait!” I exclaimed and tried to withdraw my arms from his grip as I gave him a very perplexed look.

He was flustered for a while. He looked blankly at me and suddenly flushed red. I frowned as I looked at him who’s now sheepishly smiling at me with absolute embarrassment.

“You see Kris, your bus stopped even before it can reach Sylfaen because something went wrong with the engine. It is a good thing that it was only meters away from our town. As soon as the driver reported about it, passengers transferred on the spare vehicle and you were left here because they didn’t notice you were still sleeping at the back. Uncle Haru looked for you because he said you had his snapback and he needs it back.” He said hurriedly.

I can’t be mistaken. I heard him say my name. NO, technically he addressed me by my nickname. I stared at him struck frozen and still can’t believe fact that this is really happening. He is one of them. I lost my ability to blink as I surveyed his perfect face. His puppy hair is a good compliment for his gorgeous physic. It concealed his masculinity a bit for him not to appear too overwhelming. If only he’s not wearing those mushy pyjama pants.

He crossed his long legs awkwardly as soon as he noticed me watching his fashion sense. It is no big deal at all. From my personal point of view, he can run all over the town just wearing a garbage bag and will still manage to look good even so. His face, though handsome has a comic impression that made me chuckle as soon I caught him looking at me with a puzzled face.

 “Kris, I think we should go now. I should remind you that you are bleeding and it is getting late.” He is firm with his words yet still warm like an older brother.

I nodded and he rushed inside the bus to take what’s left of me and escorted me readily to the police car. He even fastened my seatbelt for me since I cut my elbow pretty deep. Now I can feel that gush of pain. As I twitched to find a more comfortable position, he adjusted the warmer and leaned my chair too.

While I am looking at him oddly, he let go in an instant and faced to the opposite direction. With a shy voice he stuttered as he spoke

“I’m.. I am this town’s Sherif. Sorry for my late introduction. I got distracted when I saw you fell. I’m Junjin by the way. It’s been a long time. I guess it’s hard for you to remember.”

The engines of the car came to life as he stepped on the gasoline and we started moving forward swiftly.

“Nice to meet you Junjin.” I muttered. I still can’t believe I’ll meet one of them as soon as I get here. This is a very peculiar coincidence. Strange.

Silence filled the car as we moved on to our destination. It is too awkward for me to start a conversation. And all of a sudden..

“We will go to the hospital first. I’ll feel much better to see you treated before I take you to your Villa.” He said with a serious voice and his eyes full of worry.

“Nana will get worried too if she was here. I’ll take full responsibility until you get home.” And then he let out a deep sigh and bit his thumbnail reflexively showing a sign of tension in his eyes.

I am not sure how to react. It’s our first meeting but why does I feel so secure around him? Nana? He called my grandmother Nana? My mind shrieked with questions why and how he will call her the same way that I did. I would like to speculate more but it was written on my grandma’s condition that I cannot ask them about this sort of stuff. This is killing me. I am only given the right to gather information that they will voluntarily give. Annoying. I’m wondering how many more I’ll meet as I spend my whole month here trying to figure out what brought me here in the first place.

“Hey! Loosen up a bit. What’s with that expression? Does it hurt?” he asked. I didn’t notice I was frowning too much.

“Oh, I’m sorry to bother you. Don’t worry about me. No, it’s not my wound. The pain is bearable. I’m just.. I’m just lost right now and confused.” I said to him. This is almost the longest line that I said starting this morning until now.

He chuckled. I didn’t know why it sounded so relieving. I smiled too. The awkwardness was erased and he continued.

“If I was on your shoes, I think I will feel the same way. Rather than being confused I’ll be paranoid. Hahaha! I know Nana is full of wits on this kind of thing but I never imagined she will ask you to be in this mission. But it’s a good thing to see you again. If you just know how much we missed you.” Now his eyes are full of excitement. I can tell he is really happy; tears are already swimming on the edge of his eyes but won’t fall down because he is trying not to let them escape.

Nana already told me about the fact that they know me already. But I can’t understand how these people will miss me even if I can’t even remember a single moment with them. Since when did we know each other? I’m not sure but I will review Nana’s instructions later. This is too much for the day.

It was then when I noticed lights pinned to the darkness on a blurry distance. We are finally entering the town where I will be exiled for a vacation. As we enter the ark structure saying “WELCOME to SYLFAEN” I got sudden chills – everything’s going to start now. I am still not sure if can make it but I will do my best to find out what Nana’s so crazy about this whole deal of staying here.

“Beautiful isn’t it? It looks like stars from here. We only have a very small population in this town unlike in the city where you are from. Almost all of the people know each other. We live a very simple life here.” He said with such satisfaction in his voice.

Junjin made our conversation naturally adaptable. He also told me some good to know information about the town such as the changes that happened, the new establishments and even gave me a map personally drawn by him.

“I know for a fact that you have no sense of direction. I made this for you so you won’t have a hard time identifying which is right or left. Here take it.” he said as he tapped on the steering wheel with teasing eyes.

I looked back at him full of disbelief over what he just said and tried to control my expression. My heart thumps crazily but I can manage. I should. The thing that he just said – it is not something as obvious as a birthmark. Even my secretary in the office does not know about that because I hide it with so much care. It is one of my hidden weaknesses.

I darted my focus on the map to avoid making a fool out of myself. I jerked with laughter when I realized that it looked like more of a scribble than a map but he did his best on putting the important places where I can get my commodities. He knew I was coming. His handsome face is still unbelievably joyful like a kid. His husky voice try to explain one by one what are the do’s and don’ts in Sylfaen and he will stutter from time to time and will just recover with a very contagious laughter.

I had a good time. One of the longest 30 minutes of my life, thanks to him. I begin to feel that it wasn’t a bad idea at all to take the risk into Nana’s game. If everyone is as warm as this person, the cold weather will totally be overpowered. I didn’t even notice that we are already in front of the town’s mini hospital. Blue led lights drew its name making it visible at the top of a dark void saying: SYLFAEN Hospital.

“We’re here. Let’s go inside.” He reached out to me again to assist me in removing my seatbelt. In no time he was out of the sedan and appeared right in front of my car side opening the door for me.

He called out the nurse to assist me and told me that he will be out for a minute to check something. The nurse asked me to sit first on the waiting area with a gentle voice and called the doctor in a hurry. It’s not a very huge hospital at all. Like what Junjin said, it’s not a big town to begin with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Doctor

I tried to peek outside the window while am still dazed about what happened. The roads are a lot narrower than what I have thought. I can reach the other end with 20 steps; I think that’s why there are only few cars that I’ve seen. Parking lots are full of bicycles instead. I hate this.

“Kris! What happened to you?!” a man’s voice called behind my back with a higher pitch than Junjin. I’m sure it is not him.

I knew it as soon as I turned with an utter surprise only to see a good-looking man who is wearing a mint green doctor’s coat, steadily frowning at me like I did something very wrong.

“I’ve waited for you the whole day but I didn’t expect that you will be visiting me with a bleeding elbow. How did you get this?” he said as he held my elbow and examined it.

I am speechless. He knew my name even before he can see my face. He asked me to follow him to one of the rooms to suture my wound. Our silent footsteps echoed along the hospital’s sleeping hour. The white tiles were gleaming next to our shadows and each window showed how our reflection trailed with us along the way.

His scent of powdery rubbing alcohol left a trace while he walked to the nearby entrance. He asked me to sit near the operating table while he prepared his equipment. Looking at him from his back, he is a little bit shorter than Junjin but his built is not shabby at all. He has wide shoulders and a very slim waist line. It looks like he dedicates time to take care of his body too.

“Don’t worry; it will not hurt as much as you are thinking right now. I’ll give you an ointment for it not to scar too.” His calm and gentle voice felt like home. As he faced me with a mask on, I can see his smiling eyes with charismatic wrinkles on its side assuring me it will be okay. Indeed he is one of them.

While he was stitching my cut, I tried my best to endure and tolerate the pain. It is mind over matter. He did a fast job. In no time he was wrapping my right elbow with a bandage already.

“You’re still as strong as before huh. Ever since you were young you’re never a cry baby when it comes to this stuff. Our Kris, we missed you.” and again. I heard that “missing me” thought. I don’t even know his name. My eyebrow fused together without me knowing and he laughed at me. Yes, just the way Junjin did.

He knew that I don’t know him. No, I can’t remember him. He leaned closer and blurted all of a sudden,

“You don’t recognize this face? Or did I get too good looking as time passed? HAHAHA!” not knowing if it was a joke or not I didn’t laugh but I cannot object about him saying that he is good-looking. He is far more than that. His wrinkles are not a subject for any loss because it marked his unique facial expressions.

He noticed I didn’t get his phrase. He awkwardly smiled at me to bring back his momentum and introduced himself formally instead.

“Hello! My name is Dongwan” he paused trying to supress his laughter of embarrassment and continued “please call me Oppa (older brother in Korean) not Ahjussi (old man / uncle in Korean)” at this degree I laughed. He is aware that someone might address him that way but – I can’t. He does not look like an Ahjussi perhaps someone might immediately call him Oppa because up close, he is so totally good-looking, so delightful like your ideal college sunbae (senior). He can be mistaken for being a celebrity too. Well, even Junjin.

“You don’t remember this do you?” showing me a leather bag on his hand.

“No not the bag itself! This.” He pointed on an orange bag tag attached to it and it looks like there was a kid’s drawing inserted in it.

There were two stick people holding hands and it was a taller drawing of a boy with a stethoscope around its neck and a little girl. Both of them were smiling and their free hands were waving.

“You drew the two of us before you went away. Cute isn’t it? I took care of it the whole time, and brought it everywhere I go so I won’t forget my promise to you. Too bad you can’t remember it”

I felt like crying. My brain swells with more questions filling it since day one. Who exactly are these people that Nana wants me to meet again. And by saying again why can’t I even remember them? Even the place where we had those memories? Why do I feel like I’ve known them my whole life yet it is the first time that I meet them – just now.

Dongwan saw my reaction. He immediately pulled something out of his pocket. I’m sure it is a handkerchief and I am not going to accept it. My tears are still resting on my eye sockets.

“Here’s a lollipop for you! You’ve been a good girl Kris! Here’s your award!” he held it near my mouth like a microphone and blinked twice like telling me to say something. He’s good at this, messing up with emotional situations. He chased that awkward moment away with a simple flashing smile, his teeth are so white and perfect which made me thought of him as a perfect candidate for any dental care commercials.

“It’s apple flavour. Your favourite one.” That’s right. If there is any flavour that I liked the most of all candy flavours that is apple flavour. Unlike other kids, I loathed chocolate since I have sensitive teeth and it will hurt like hell for me. It is the only sweet candy that suited me, apple flavoured lollipops.

Dongwan just earned two points right now. I will surely have a long month but I think it’s worth it if it is all about rediscovering myself for a prize of completing this mission.

He opened it for me since I cannot use my right hand. He also did get the ointment that he talked about inside his black leather bag. It is a medium sized duffle bag full of medicine organizers inside all of which are carefully labelled and the capsules and the tablets are separated accordingly by colours. He handed it to me and gave me instructions on how to use it effectively.

While he was in the middle of prescribing pain killers, he was interrupted with a knock on the door and I can hear Junjin’s voice calling outside if he can come in.

“Yes you may come in Jinnie we are almost done here. I’m just prescribing her meds.” Dongwan said with an assuring voice.

When the door swung open, Junjin’s already with another guy with him. He looked relatively younger than both of them. With a shy smile he made an eye contact with me and just moved his eyebrows up and down and spoke with a light voice.

“I thought it’ll be nice to offer you dinner after all of these Kris. You haven’t eaten anything yet right?” he has a nice well-modulated speaking voice. His offer was full of sincerity and I can feel the gentleness in his every word.

His hair was neatly raised up showing his forehead and had this remarkable charming smile of a good person. His eyes may not be double-eyelid but it is the focal point of his glance, his handsome youthful look makes me think of flower boys back in my city. He is somehow different in a huge stretch because I can’t see any trace of beauty product on his smooth baby like skin.

“Hey you better introduce yourself first. She does not remember us anymore. Time snatched all our memories with her.” Dongwan formed a sad face while saying this to the man standing next to Junjin.

Junjin then looked at him and nodded with approval. He hesitated for a while with the look of unbelief yet later on he noticed me staring at him as well, waiting for him to say something.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Chef

He took a deep sigh and blow out tension out of his lips as he started speaking his introduction.

“Sorry for speaking to you right away like that. I guess I was too excited.” He paused briefly and bit his lower lip. He smiled not showing his teeth and spoke while bowing, “Hello! I’m Andy.”

Junjin’s face twitched as he suppressed his laughter and I saw Dongwan awkwardly covering his mouth with the same reason as Junjin. When Andy lifted his head, his face is already scarlet and kept looking on the floor. I didn’t know that someone with such good face will be as shy as he was.

“Stop being awkward Andy!” Junjin tapped his shoulder and to ease the gravity of my messed up memories, I voluntarily filled my lungs with confidence and talked to him.

“It is nice to meet you again Andy. I’m sorry I can’t respond right away. You’re right that I haven’t eaten anything yet. It’s so nice of you to offer dinner.” And I tried to smile back at him as naturally as possible.

He slowly shifted his head and now looked at me again with a more relaxed expression. I felt better.

Dongwan needed to stay in the hospital so he can’t join us for dinner. Junjin escorted me and Andy to a restaurant just one block away from the hospital.

Andy was silent as he observes how Junjin handles the atmosphere with such ease. He will smile from time to time when Junjin jokes around. I hope he can stay for dinner too but even before we can open the restaurant’s door, his phone rang loudly. He excused himself to answer it and when he hanged up, he said he needed to go and check on something in the police station. He said he’ll back right away.

Now, I’m left with Andy.

He opened the door before me and stood on the doorway beside me looking for a vacant seat. I just noticed him wearing lavender pull over with a white polo shirt inside, and his outfit was completed by partnering it with denim pants and a modern designed sneaker shoes. I became hungrier when I noticed that it’s him who I smell all along. Now that we are standing up close, it’s more distinct that he has that scent of melted butter combined with that familiar stir fried meal. I needed to control my saliva from gathering like a pool inside my mouth so I tried to look away from him to shift the flow of that aroma.

The restaurant was well furnished with a shabby-chic concept. The chairs were all with different sizes and designs, only the tables are alike; black round four-legged ones. There were Christmas lights on the ceiling which appeared like a night full of stars and lamps hanging on each table provided as a private light for each customer. The ambience is so nice, its semi bistro concept blended well with the design. I liked it. If this place existed where I live at, I’ll be always here at twice once a week. I can see myself, peacefully reading a book here, indulging myself with an alone time.

 A waiter approached him and asked “Chef! Over here! I reserved the table that requested.” The waiter said to him while smiling and pointing on a secluded area on the farthest left corner of the room beside a huge window.

Chef? Did I hear him right? This shy young man standing beside me is a chef? My eyes were wide open as I try to comprehend what he just said and Andy seemed to notice it too.

“Kris, don’t look at me like that. You’re freaking me out.” He said again with his virile modulated voice stepping away a little bit, pronouncing his remarks as a joke and now smiling without the awkwardness.

“You’re a chef?” I said again with disbelief but now he can hear me asking out loud.

“Yes, I am.” Still smiling at my reaction he gestured towards out reserved spot. I slowly walked and now I’m sitting with my eyes still fixed on him with a mental breakdown. How can someone, so young with a very good looking face become a chef in this situation? I’m not stereotyping chefs but he can be on stage as a performer at his level of appearance. It does not make sense.

“What would you like to eat? Should I order for us? Or you do have something specific in mind?” he asked politely.

“It’ll be fine if you order for me. I’m not a picky eater, especially now that I am starving. I can eat anything.” I answered with full honesty. I am really hungry.

“Hahaha! Stop telling me you can eat anything. You’re allergic to chicken and kiwi. Nana will get mad at me if I feed you with those. Okay I’ll pick something good for you.” He stood still smiling and went straight to the counter for specifics on our dish.

I looked at him while he explained it to the waiter. I heard him advising them to scramble the eggs on my dish and for the steak to be cooked medium-rare. He also asked them to remove the stir fried vegies on my meal since I don’t eat carrots, green peas and corn. He also advised them to remove ketchup or tomato sauce on my plate and just have gravy served. He then said his set to be the usual one.

He came back to our seat smiling at me like he did a good job.

Andy earned TWO POINTS without so much hassle. And I am still not allowed to ask how he knew all those facts about me. Nana is mean.

“I can’t be awkward. I want you to enjoy your dinner like how I planned for it and I am really happy to see you again too. Thank you for coming back. This dinner is my treat Kris.” Andy talked like a gentleman. No, not a gentleman – he is a real gentleman.

He has so much politeness in his bloodstream but his serious look surely has that scary side. I don’t know much about him but he is as warm as Junjin and Dongwan to me.

While waiting for our meal, he tried to call Junjin and asked where he is. He told him that he already lined up his meal too together with our order. I checked my watch and it’s just seven in the evening. It’s still early but why am I so tired already?

“It is summer but here, in Sylfaen, it is so unpredictable. There will be casual drizzles and sometimes the nights can be so cold. Did Nana advise you about it? You should have brought more jackets with you or scarves perhaps. You might catch a cold.” Andy said while he stare outside the window and breathe on its glass and drew a heart sign with his finger on the moisture. Cheesy – I thought to myself but looking at him did it himself, no one can complain.

Now that’s why it’s been so cold ever during the travel. It is the same reason why I had a sleeping beauty kind of sleep on the bus not even noticing the commotion going on and was left like that. I can’t remember how it felt like to sleep like that for a very long time. And my body knew that I needed it, NO that I am craving for it. I’m a workaholic and I almost forgot to live like a normal person.

“I am someone who’s not as good at you when it comes to this are – cooking.” I told him since I am not a good cook myself. I am dependent to fast-food chains near my studio and instant noodles.

“Nana taught me at age of 10. I can remember myself going to your Villa every morning to learn from her. It was my first love.” He said with so much nostalgia in his eyes while you can see his face sorting our bits of memories in his head.

“I hope I can cook something too besides of instant noodles or instant food. I’m tired eating those at home. Nana’s too old now. I cannot even ask her to teach me.” I told him my frustration like a very close friend.

“Oh, that’s why you were looking at me like that a while ago.” Andy said as he pointed at the door.

“Unfortunately, Yes. I feel bad about it. It is written on my bucket list. I want to learn how to cook good food before I have a family of my own. It’s hard to suffer later on.” I said to him with embarrassment.

“I’ll be happy to teach you some recipes while you stay here. How about that?” he said earnestly and stood up right away when the waiter called out that our order’s ready to be picked up. I watched him took it from the waiter’s hand and delivered the mouth-watering plate in front of me.

He put some condiments on it before handing me the knife and fork and said “Would you be able to eat that alone? I think, I should slice it for you.” And he withdraws giving me them to me. He volunteered to work things out easier in favour of me.

He placed the sliced pieces nicely on the plate’s side as he scooped a generous amount of rice on my spoon. He seemed to be happy having a spoon feeding session. He will open his mouth at the same time with me whenever he will give me a mouthful of it.

I tried to ask him to pause for a while so that he can also eat his dish but he insisted assisting me until I’m full. And with a few more slices of beef steak, it’s time for me to stop being an eating machine since my stomach’s already full.

“At last you’re recharged. You were so pale a while ago. I didn’t know you were that hungry. Hahaha.” He said while he handed me a white napkin to wipe off the gravy that spilled on my chin.

“Iced tea?” now he stood up from his seat before I can even say yes and let out a hiccup. He returned quickly with a glass b with it and let me drink without further questions.

He was about to start his own meal when Junjin came to our table and sat next to me.

“You look better now Kris! Andy, you did a good job! Aren’t you going to feed me too? My large intestine’s already digesting my small one. Please give me food as well.” He said with a childish voice and added a chuckle in the end.

Andy then stood up and went to the counter for Junjin’s food to get prepared. He returned with a blueberry cheesecake on his hands and placed it carefully in front of me.

His smile is as sweet as the dessert that he brought me. The two of them are of the same age as Junjin confirmed while he stared at my cake. Now I can tell where all this comfortable conversation is rooting from. They seemed to know each other like brothers too. Andy didn’t care to verify what Junjin preferred for dinner either. I wish I had friends like them too. Now that I look at it, I became too busy to think of investing in relationships as close as this.

The waiter called up and Junjin stood in a rush even before Andy could lift from his sit.

“I got this one.” He winked towards our direction.

“Don’t worry, I will do my best to finish up as fast as I can.” He said with such seriousness on his face and scooped a huge amount of rice and stuffed his mouth with a huge slice of meat. He almost choked but managed to recover immediately once Andy passed him the drink beside him.

Andy laughed at him like he already saw this coming.

“No pressure Junjin. You might have indigestion if you’ll hurry up like that! Besides, I still have a cheese cake too finish up too” I said to him so that he’ll take it easy.

“I thought we will be awkward together after a very long time. I’m glad you’re not that shy anymore. We are sure that you wanted to ask us a lot of things but Nana told you not to. HAHAHA! She’s still as mean as before.” Junjin told me and looked at Andy while laughing.

“Don’t rush as well. We will do things one by one with you. It will be an information overload if you take things in one blow. Patience, Kris.” Andy spoke like his giving me moral support.

I nodded to them both and swallowed a huge bite of my blueberry cheesecake. Andy earned his 3^rd point now as I chewed it with delight and confusion.

 

 

 

The Villa

Junjin stood up as soon as he took his last sip from his glass of soda and reached his big hands to me to help me stand up. My legs were numb and it felt like over cooked noodles the moment I tried to stretch them up. It’s a good thing he had fast reflexes. Junjin was able to balance me before I embarrass myself in front of them.

I’ve been sitting for so long and I am not used to this very cold temperature. It was pretty much of a normal evening for all of them but my body’s yet to adjust. Andy ran inside the kitchen and came back with a knitted navy blue scarf on his right hands. He wrapped it carefully on my neck and pat my head saying, “I won’t see you out. I still need to prepare tomorrow’s ingredients. Junjin will take you home. Have a safe trip!” and he stormed back to the kitchen before I can even say good bye.

“Yes, he is that type of guy. Tsk, tsk, tsk. He hates saying goodbye the most even if it’s just a brief moment or a close distance.” Junjin said and I cannot help but to take a parting glance towards the closed kitchen door.

“Let’s go?” Junjin said opening the door before me.

I was surprised not to see the police car parked. I look on both direction but I can’t seem to locate it.

“Oh, you’re looking for the car? Haha.. Sorry I forgot to tell you we will be using my motorbike from here. I already dropped off your luggage at the Villa on my way to the station. I came here faster with this.” He said while he took a smaller ginger coloured helmet tied on the other hand of the bicycle.

He put it on my head carefully and even tried to gather my hair on one direction so that it’ll be less messy. He is so excited, I can tell by the way how he hopped in like a kid on the open seat of the vehicle and gestured his hand pointing on its blank space at the back for me to follow him.

I tried my best not to trip off while I fought with my mortal enemy – gravity. Ugh, I am helplessly clumsy and I wouldn’t like to embarrass myself for the second time in front of him. I managed to land safely on the seat and held tight on his leather jacket for me to maintain my balance.

“Hey, it’s okay for you to hold onto me you don’t need to be shy.” He said as he removed my cold sweaty hands clenched tight on his jacket’s shoulder hem and transfers my awkward grip around his waist and folded my arms underneath his lower chest.

“You’ll be safer if you do it this way.” He said with a more authoritative voice now. “Your safety is my priority if you haven’t realized that yet. I can see that you’re still not used on riding bikes eh? You still don’t know how to ride one? Woah! I didn’t expect for you to be stuck on the same stage where we stopped?” He added his observation with a serious tone and stared at me with a poker face before his laughter broke his momentum.

“Err. Yeah.” I smiled at him and tightened my grip as a signal that I’m ready for this ride. I haven’t ride a motorbike ever in my whole boring life but he bringing up the fact that I am not capable of riding bikes is a whole different thing. He sounded so sure about what he’s talking about and I cannot even recall a single moment with this friendly person - no, nothing at all.

He started the engine like a professional biker and in no time we were running on full speed, lights danced in a blur as we pass the open stores and the houses nearby. There is a lesser number of people roaming around at night. Everyone’s probably resting this time.

As I leaned closer to his warm broad shoulders to avoid the forceful inertia inflicted by our speed, the obvious scent of nicotine blended well with the fading musk perfume that he is using which made it possible for me to bear with, or even get used to it. This manly smell, from someone as joyful as him does not connect at some point but I am glad that the irony itself makes him more interesting than an average person.

I bumped my head on his back as he pulled the brake and stopped the bicycle supporting it by his right foot stepping and slowing it down like he’s trying to check something.

I lifted my head and saw a mini-arc entrance a meter away from us. The sign was attached with rusty chains covered with vines and it read, “Villa MiNah” which tells me we are here. Minah happened to be my grand-mother’s first name but I never knew we had this kind of property located in this unknown town.

“We are here! Sorry I can’t stay any longer, I still need to fix something at home.” Junjin said with an apologetic expression on his face. “Have good night Kris. See you around.” And on a quick turn his bike run off only leaving a soft stream of smoke as it disappear quickly on thin air.

He hates good-byes too just like Andy. He didn’t even look back as I stood there looking how he went off just like that.

“Excuse me? Who’s there?” a woman who’s probably on her mid – 40’s dressed with a dark green night gown covered with maroon robe approached me. She the porch lights to give her a clearer view of me.  I immediately stepped closer and told her almost whispering “I’m Kirsten, Minah’s grand-daughter.” and cleared my throat again to repeat my inaudible introduction.

She squinted her tiny eyes as she take a closer look on a picture that she was holding and looked at me again. She walked a little closer and let out a friendly smile towards me. She wrapped her grey shawl around her as she slowly descended from the low stepped stair case to get closer to me. I shifted a few more steps and unwrapped a few folds of Andy’s scarf around my neck. I didn’t notice it was already covering half of my face.  

“So you’re Minah’s grand-daughter?” she said gently to me and I responded with an urgent nod.

“I am Laura, you may call me Aunt Laura if you’d like. I am 10 years younger than your grandmother and I’ve been taking care of this Villa ever since she transferred to the city. May I know what I shall call you?” she asked.

“My name is Kirsten but you may call me Kris” I tried to speak as polite as I can.

“Was it Junjin who brought you home? He came here earlier to drop your things.” She asked pointing inside the house.

“Oh, yes. He left in a hurry. He told me he has something to do at home.” I answered quickly.

“It’s a good thing Junjin brought you home it’s already late. Let’s go inside so you can rest.” She gave me a sweet beam and pointed towards the open door of the house in front of us. The path way is lighted by mini lamps made up of old jars transformed into creative orbs. I can see that the ground is covered with a lot of varying ornamental plants since I can see colourful flowers of different kinds bunched together. Nana might have planted them here long time ago. She loves this sort of stuff that I loathed the most.

As I stepped on the stairs going to before I entered the door I noticed that something was engraved on it but my eyes were too tired to figure out what was written on it. I lifted my head to avoid more curiosity and saw a cosy sofa waiting for me standing on a dark brown fur coated carpet. I know I can lay on it for a bit but I needed a bed right now.

“Did you have your dinner?” Laura turned around to ask me but I am still looking at the ceiling of the house which was designed with a lot of hanging crane origami of different colours alternately lighted by bright mini bulbs, it looked so beautiful seeing every paper with different colours and different patterns on it, seeing from below I think there’s almost more than hundred alternately displayed floating above my head. I almost forgot to answer Laura’s inquiry while admiring all of it.

“Yes, I’m already done. Thank you for asking. Hmm..  If I may ask, may I know where my room is? I would really want to discuss a lot of things about this whole vacation but I think I need to sleep first.” I said regretfully with my eyes already half open. I felt my exhaustion crawling all over me now.

She looked at me with a sympathetic expression and tapped my shoulder as she lifted her right hand gesturing to the room directed on a nearby hall way. I followed her idly as I drag my body closer to my sanctuary for tonight and for the following days. The scent, it was nostalgic.

“Oh my poor child, go in now. Your belongings are right beside your bed. Rest now and have a good sleep. Don’t hesitate to look for me if you will need anything”. Laura said after she opened the door of my resting place.

I can’t even talk a single word to somehow thank her for welcoming me. I just nodded helplessly and smiled hoping that will understand what I meant and I guess she did. The moment I entered the room, she didn’t say any additional thing but she gently closed the door and left quietly.

The bed is waiting for me. I can almost feel my feet melting as I walk towards it. I even pulled myself just to reach it. I lazily removed my contacts and took out its container from the pocket of my bag. I didn’t even know if I put them properly, I just didn’t care at all. With all my might, I made it – tonight, I will marry these extremely soft pillows and wrap myself voluntarily with this thick cottony soft comforter. I smiled as I closed my eyes.

It was cold. I can’t see anything. I wanted to open my eyes but I can’t. Now, a searing pain from my forehead started tormenting me like hell. I can hear crackling noise of fire. And then a gasping voice came somewhere. It was hardly audible but I tried to respond. I can’t even speak. There’s no voice coming out of my mouth. I tried again but – I am hopeless. I tried to call for help but I can’t move any single muscle of my body. I tried to gather all my strength to make an effort for survival and..

I woke up.

 

 

Nana’s Game

This was the first time I had a nightmare in my whole life. I usually can’t remember what I dreamed of but this one, I wanted to figure it out. It was so short but appeared to be one of the longest dreadful scenes I have ever came into. My 25 years of existence bottled up with questions.

I shifted my head slowly to find a better angle to think. I was in cold sweat. I was trembling a while ago. I am sure about this feeling. I was scared briefly but I managed to recover. I can’t help but to sit motionless.

Now that I realize it, I’m not even able to change my clothes. I was too tired. I even slept wearing the same thing after a long travel and random meet ups with the appointed chess pieces of my grandmother.

Clueless. I lied again having a fast memory rush rampage inside my brain, looking for that scene. No – I can’t find it.

I tried to brush it away. It is totally non-sense to come back to that nightmare over and over again when in the first place it will just mess me up. I decided to wash up first. Marrying this bed became my priority earlier, I wash up.

I can still feel the heaviness in my chest. Why did I feel so afraid? It made me sank into deep sadness that never existed in my heart. I wanted to cry but – why? I wanted to run to someone but I can’t think of anyone. Nana? No. I ped my luggage and tried to look for nice thick clothes.

Andy was right. It’s getting colder as the night progresses to its fullness. I got so disappointed to discover the obvious fact that I only have t-shirts and jeans packed. I am not into clothes. I always wore the same design that I am comfortable with. What make my closet full are those designs with varying colours or patterns. Shopping wastes my time when there is so much to do in the office.

But I have a lot of pull-overs at home and even thick wide hooded jackets. Why did I not bring them? Because it is summer and it’s supposed to be hot 24/7. This place is so weird. I dug deeper and caught my black hoodie waiting for it to be summoned. It was my favourite. Since nobody knows me in this place, I thought to myself that I can wear it freely. If I wear this in the office all my staff will go nuts seeing their workaholic CEO inside an oversized jacket with cat’s ears designed on its hood.

My room has its own comfort room. Oh thank God I wouldn’t need to disturb Laura for this matter. I got my toiletries bag out of the front part of my luggage and went to take a bath with my towel swinging on my left hand. The doctor did a good job. He sealed the bandage properly and I think I won’t have a hard time with it while washing up.

There was a warmer but every time water touches my skin, the combination of the wind-blown from the top mini window of the rest room gives me chills. I need to hurry up. I might catch cold if I stay here longer.

I went out in a hurry. My hair is still dripping but I don’t care. I got to dress up faster because my whole body’s starting to feel numb. What is wrong with this place? As soon as I’m able to get inside my pyjama, I wore my t-shirt and a topped it with my hoodie. My hair was wrapped with a mini towel that I found hanging in the comfort room. I wanted to thank Laura for being as thoughtful as that.

Washing-up made me feel awake. Now I think I won’t be able to go back to sleep since I am originally an owl to begin with.

I took out my mission notebook. Ugh. Nana – she’s the one to blame for this. I didn’t even sign up for all this stuff. If only I could say NO to her that’ll be great but I can’t and I think I will never would.

Nana’s the only person left to me. She brought me up by herself ever since my parents died in a tragic car accident when I was still young. I think it was too long ago I can’t even remember their faces. I only have pictures of them but there were no photos with me in it.

Nana told me that it’ll be a lot easier for me to move on if I will not see those. I grew up in a controlled environment. I was home-schooled. Since she owns a wide variety of businesses starting from food-chains, to auto-mobiles and technological gadgets, she even owns some agricultural firms and that includes farms and live-stocks production. I irrevocably became a master of what she is doing because I was trained during my early age only by the best people that she personally knows.

It became a piece of cake for me to be admitted to universities and get scholarships which in the opposite became a loop hole for other people to often misunderstand me. I became a confident introvert, a friendly sociopath. I am good in blending in but only choose those people whom I am comfortable with. I know how to start a friendly conversation with a stranger but as much as I am capable of doing that equates with the same degree of how I can make things awkward with some people with opposite wave lengths with mine.

No, I am not intelligent, I am closer of being just a smart person – someone knows a little bit of something in everything. Nana never underestimated me. She gave me full control of her business the moment that I earned my diploma.

I know her so much. She was a grand-mother who’s a mother to me and also a best-friend who never left my side but moulded me to be independent in all aspects. She will always tell me that when she’s gone she wouldn’t like other people trampling on me, inflicting me both mental and emotional pains by using the fact of being an orphan as my point of weakness.

I loved playing mind games with her. We both believe that everything can be handled with a ‘mind over matter’ sense of facing problems. We both enjoyed it so much during my teen-age days but I never expected that she will pull me out of the company abruptly just to play this one for a longer time frame than the former ones.

“Kirsten, I want you to play with me again. This one will be different because it is the most exciting game that I thought of for so long. I think you’re ready now for as big as this.” Nana said while her smile slightly adjusted her big round glasses upwards when her puffy cheeks rose because of pure enthusiasm.

Her hair was layered with silver strands now together with a few dark brown newly died highlights on her once black coloured hair. Her sense of fashion still rocks elegantly even at an old age. She tried to stand up slowly and played with the top button of her peach cardigan as she leaned on the window pane and watch the sunlight touch the palm of her hands.

She continued with a thrilled soft voice, “Summer, oh I miss this. This is indeed the best time for you to go to Sylfaen and meet my knights, my favourite chess pieces. You owe a debt from one of them and you should pay it back.”

I frowned at her while still holding my planner thickly tied with a lot of notes on it for all of my scheduled meetings, projects and deadlines in the company. I held it tightly and tried not to twist my head but it voluntarily shook from left to right because my body is fully aware about my routine.

“Wait what? A Debt? To whom? I can’t remember about anything like that Nana and you know I hate things like that. Can I just wire money to that person’s bank account? It will save me more time to catch up with some appointments.” I tried to escape from her momentum.

She turned to face me and her reaction is unfathomable. She smiled at me and simply laughed.

“Kris, I know you would say that. I will be taking full responsibility from here. The debt that I mentioned is unfortunately not convertible to cash. I will never be able to measure its worth until you are able to identify it. The moment you arrive to that town, they will be there waiting for you. You will recognize them right away because they will know your name even before you could introduce yourself to them.”

She planned all of this. I can tell. But I will try to dodge it one more time. “You’re saying ‘THEM’ how am I going to know who’s who?” I firmly held my posture as I ended my sentence.

“Silly, of course here’s a clue” she paused and cleared . “All of them knew at least three random facts about you. All of which are different from each other. The person whom you owe this debt knows exceptionally two more secrets that concern you. Isn’t it exciting?” she let go of the button of her cardigan and went to her table and pulled open one of her cabinet’s doors attached to its lower part.

While she is busy looking for something, it still sounded absurd for me. I felt cheated.

“Nana! How can you do this to me? What made you tell other people about me? No – about my secrets? All my random facts? Are you crazy?” letting disappointment slide off my tongue just like that.

She straightened up and looked at me bewildered.

“I never told them anything about you. They already knew that even before I could tell or learn it from you. And, speaking of that, I have a rule in this game. You can’t ask them how they knew it – they must voluntarily share how they acquired the information or else, your return will be voided and the verdict will be most likely unbearable for you.”

My eyes widened with shock. There is more in the package of this entire non-cliché chapter of my life.

“What do you mean?” I asked with an almost shouting tone of voice.

“I will send you to Sylfaen for a month vacation. You need this. Healing? Relaxation? Refresh? I feel so burdened seeing you living like a robot. It’s not healthy that your consistent life of being a workaholic does not even allow you to have friends any more by which I mean “true” friends. There is more to life than work so meet up with my favourite knights. Don’t dare to ask them anything which involves crossing the lines of our rules or you will be stuck there for the rest of the year. Do you understand?” she told me without blinking her eyes and shifted again looking for something. She closed the mini cabinet’s door and opened her drawer. She did found an old planner and walked towards me.

She snatched my planner away and rested a black linen covered notebook on my open hands. “Write down everything just like how you write meticulously on this notebook to keep track of your busy boring life. I would like to read about all your adventures with them.” She said pinching my lower chin.

I looked on it and it looked like my life will be in pitch black dreadfulness just like the colour of this journal. I closed my eyes with disgust as I gripped it firmly.

Nana’s not getting any younger. I don’t know if this can be the last game that I will play with her so I tried hard to convince myself to agree with her and now I am here. The black notebook is surely waiting for me.

I opened the secret compartment of my luggage located beneath the second layer of my piled up clothes and pulled it out. I opened the first page and got surprised to see Nana’s hand written reminder with very nice cursive lettering she wrote:

“Kirsten, rediscover yourself with my beloved people in Sylfaen.”

I just realized that I miss my best friend more than ever. This was the first time that I will stay far from her for the longest month of my life. I let out a sigh as I closed the journal and something fell on its side. I noticed it was a shiny silver fountain pen with my nickname engraved on it in an old English writing – KRIS.

 

The Designer

It was already 5 in the morning when I finished jotting everything down, it’s a lot harder than expected since I’m right handed and my right elbow is still killing me. I decided to be faithful to Nana. She never played games with me without reasonable bargains. I know I will benefit from this too I just need to be more tolerant than before.

The smell of freshly brewed coffee made my stomach cry for hunger. My body instantly rose from my bed and followed its calling aroma. I opened the door and moved with a rush of the lightest foot-steps that I can come up with.

I walked past the inviting sofa that welcomed me last night and went on the left wing of the house to savour my fondness to that desirable beverage which in my case – a quenching reliable source of extra energy. I found Laura stirring a cup of coffee on the kitchen’s counter as she turned around surprised with my presence invading her silent morning ritual.

“Good morning Kris! Did you have a good sleep? I hope I didn’t wake you up.” She said as she put down the teaspoon on a resting plate beside the cup.

“Oh No you did not. No worries. But to tell you honestly I did not sleep very well too. I had a very odd dream so I woke up sooner than I have expected. Can you probably give me a cup of coffee?” I asked her which sounded like I am so deprived from having it.

She laughed at the sight of my weird craving. It was always amusing to a lot of people. I looked like a kid wanting it for the first time in forever every time, every morning no – almost all the time. I needed caffeine in my circulation to be fully functional. Without it I think I will be a zombie.

I sat on the chair and pulled myself nearer to the table’s edge. I rested my back and looked at the ceiling of the kitchen’s neatly painted light yellow surface. It was so relaxing and the caffeine overdose is yet to come since Laura’s still preparing one for me. I folded my leg up and hugged my knees rocking back and forth while watching her put sugar in it and finally the creamer.

As I took a sip from my cup and watched the moisture occupy the surface of my eyeglasses since I decided to give up wearing my contacts by the time I broke up with them last night. I suddenly remembered something that I should ask Laura.

“Excuse me Aunt Laura; is there any place here where I can buy clothes? I did not expect that the nights were so cold here. I only brought one jacket with me.” I said hoping that she’ll say yes.

“Didn’t Minah tell you anything about Sylfaen?” she smirked at the fact that my grand-mother missed to inform me.

“Nights here at Sylfaen are colder than other places. I guess the city’s temperature during night time is incomparable here that is why you’re still adjusting.” she sat to the sit opposite to me to take a drink on her cup as well and continued – “There is only one store that I can think of which can fit with your taste. It’s located a few blocks away from the town’s hospital. You’ll find it quickly since its design is one of a kind compared to other stores. The store’s name is M Apparel. It’s owned by our town’s international designer. The clothes there will suit you or you may ask the designer to design personalized clothes for you.”

“You said international designer? But why is he still based here? I mean shouldn’t he be somewhere else?” I asked confused with the irony of the facts that she told me.

“Well, I am amused by his reason of staying. When I said international, all of his clients visit him personally and he provides his service only within the perimeters of this town. He said he cannot leave this place for a personal reason. They don’t have any other choice but to adjust on his preference since there is no one better than him at what he does.” She continued – “His designs were all over international magazines and broadcasts. He is not just fond of getting people’s attention and being proud of his fame.” Laura stood up to get something inside the fridge.

I think I would need to visit that store. I hope it’s not expensive either since she mentioned its designer clothes.

I went back to my room after finishing my coffee and rested a bit on my bed for a nap. Music became a temporary remedy for my body clock’s unpredictable nocturnal sleeping habit.

I woke up with the sound of a dog barking near my window. With one of my eyes peeking through the small open space of my blanket I tried to take a glimpse but I can’t see anything. I needed to get up to figure out where’s the sound coming from. I lazily removed the comforter and lifted the hoodie to cover my head like I used to do at home. A hoodie is not a hoodie if you’re not going to use its hood.

I saw a full grown black labrador barking outside my window running back and forth. It was not just barking randomly, as soon as it saw me it stopped and started wagging its tail like its waiting for something. It then hopped on the ornamental fence and run closer towards my window and started its glass. It’s wearing a black tag around its neck with a mini bell on it. It’s fascinating.

I heard a knock on my door and Laura’s voice is calling outside. I hurriedly opened it and with such relief the dog stopped at the sight of her and just sat still in front of my window.

“Yaku is a very friendly dog. Our neighbour owns him. I don’t know why he always comes here whenever he escapes from his owner.” She explained. “Don’t worry; he is a very gentle dog and protective too. I think he is also intelligent in so many ways. I need to introduce you to him.”

I back away as soon as she said that. I am not an animal lover. I can take care of them but without the affection. This is one of my glitches. I will definitely dodge this one.

“Oh, really? Aunt Laura, I think I need to go to shop for clothes first” I said right away and began organizing my back pack.

She’s sensitive enough to feel that I am not interested at that moment for the abrupt meet and greet with a neighbour’s dog. She smiled and simply said, “Okay, don’t worry I understand. But later on, you don’t have any other choice but to know him. He comes here almost every day. Hahaha. I hope he doesn’t bother you.”

I’m glad that she was not a nagger, she just smirked at me. I thought she will stereotype me but why with all this amusement? Am I the only person in this town who acts awkward with a dog?

“No, of course not. His presence does not bother me at all. I am just not well acquainted with dogs.” I tried my best not to sound like a complete hater but seriously, I don’t hate them. I just don’t like them as much as I like cats.

She said good-bye with a soft pat on my shoulder and all of a sudden I heard a sharp whistle which came from nowhere and alerted Yaku, I am sure that’s not Laura. The dog ran off somewhere near the entrance wagging its tail. I think the owner might have called his pet.

My bag contained the black journal that Nana gave me with the fountain pen, my wallet, my lip balm and my mp3 player. Where’s my phone? I almost panicked and I remembered Nana took it too. She said it is not necessary here. I let out a deep sigh trying to erase what I left behind, all the work, all the planned schedules – everything. Thinking about it will just ruin my day.

I pressed hard on my head as soon as I thought of Junjin’s map. I can’t remember where I put it. I might have forgotten it in the hospital or probably at the restaurant last night. It made me feel a little bit disappointed with myself. I hope I’ll be able to find it again.

I asked Laura for more distinct directions before I head outside. I haven’t done any shopping for a long time since my secretary will get everything ready for me. This kind of thing is something that I need to figure out once again. Andy’s scarf matched with my jeans so I wore it along with my hoodie. Summer here at Sylfaen is the oddest summer of all. The sun is why up the horizon but the wind blows like melted ice from an open refrigerator. I can almost thought of it having its centralized air-conditioning system somewhere.

Laura called someone to drive me to the town proper since the Villa is located on a secluded area; a cab-like transportation that specialized for their place was available. There came a side car with a bicycle aiding for its travel. Base from how it looks, only two passengers can fit in and the back of the driver can also be free for anyone who would also like to hop in. It looked more a like a tri-cycle to me since another wheel is attached to the sidecar.

The polite driver greeted me with a kind smile. Laura directed him to let me down somewhere near the shop that she talked about and we started to move as soon as he saw me appropriately seated. The travel distance is fairly near but it’s not walking distance at all. He safely took turns on the narrow road and stopped on a waiting shed. He said I can walk from there.

I walked like a real tourist in Sylfaen, reading all the road signs and all the names of the shop that I can see. I tried to avoid eye-contact from random strangers. It’s a good thing they ignored my awkward existence in their place. So this is how it feels like when nobody knows about you. These gave me a lesser chance for unsolicited conversations and a lesser requirement to act nice and maintain my composure. This is a whole new world from my corporate life where I did my best to put up a good image for the company. My limitations are all gone and now I am here to act naturally as how I should.

The mini streets belonged to moving bicycles, no traffic and no commotion at all. Life here is so simple and serene. People seem to know each other and they will greet one another like a family asking about how they’ve been or just plainly waving their hands once they see an acquaintance. I felt like I’d like to belong here but I cannot give up all my responsibilities that easy.

I just noticed that I am already getting near where the M Store was. I can see a huge letter M almost 20 steps away from where I am. I lined together with the people who’s about to cross the street and reached the front door of the shop right after I a corner. I tried to peek on its translucent window but my eyes failed me. I twisted the shop’s golden handle and pushed the purple painted door to enter.

The walls were painted white matched with abstract paintings hanging from different directions putting up a minimalist distinct abstract concept. The clothes are grouped per their colour’s shade and randomly mixed with different designs. Men and women’s section were separated on opposite directions and white rounded fluorescent lights were pinned even on the walls divided by random braided linen with contrasting colours which looks like colourful ropes.

I walked with such fascination on the columns of the shop sandwiched with mirrors stretching from the floor up to the edge of the ceiling. The space of the shop was widely used and filled with stand-alone ladders with different pastel colours all of which have random items from shoes, caps, ties, hats and other interesting accessories resting on it.

“What a surprise! I was planning to visit you at the Villa this afternoon but you went all the way here already. How have you been my princess?” a homey voice spoke behind my back, I can even hear his smile through his unexpected greeting.

I wasn’t able to identify where the person was until I accidentally shifted and faced the mirror then I saw his reflection behind me as we made eye contact through the huge glasses. He’s hair was bronze-brown and it was waxed on a tight tousled manner. His chinky smiling eyes where matched with that kid like grin behind his iconic round framed glasses. His fashion sense is of a professional, I can see him wearing almost simple well matched complimenting clothes but he made it look classier for his box type body built. His height is almost the same to that handsome doctor who treated me but this person looked exceptionally taller from a distance because of the illusion made by his right choice of apparel.

Now I see were all the pride from Laura’s explanation is coming from. He looked like he’s someone who can set a trend even in the city and I can’t help to think that his face can almost make every girl fall for him because of his easy –going charisma and boy next door kind of smile.

“It’s a shame I was not able to welcome you yesterday Kris.” And he suddenly jumped right next to me to take a closer look. I flushed red with this immediate boundary disruption. I can almost tell he smelled like chocolate mint as he swayed closer to my shoulder.

He held out his hand and said nonchalantly, “I’m Minwoo. You may call me Oppa (older brother in Korean) if that’ll make you more comfortable around me.” I awkwardly moved a step away from him to gain my composure.

“Oh Hi.” are the only words that I can come up with at that time. Now, I just accidentally met the fourth knight of Nana. “I’m wondering if you have hoodies here? I am not familiar with this place and unfortunately I just brought normal clothes for my vacation.”

“In that case, I can see why Andy lent you his scarf.” He said while pointing at the navy blue scarf which is hugging my neck. “Don’t be surprised if I know it was his, I gave it to him. Hahaha. It’s a good thing to know that he was able to put it in good use too.” Minwoo laughed like he is teasing Andy in front of us.

“Looking at your hoodie it seemed like you never changed your preference since the last time we saw each other huh?” as his hands began playing with the hanged clothes on different levels. “I know that you loved baby blue the most but will only wear black stuff. Let us check that section.” He said after he stopped with the clothes with blue shades and jumped to the section which was tinted with black.

He was so fast and precise in picking them. It looked like he is confident that all the items in his hands will fall to my category of keenness. Minwoo directed me to follow him to the counter to double check the jackets and I can’t even say more. He moved swiftly behind the counter and rested all of the apparels on the white side-table. I noticed a panda stuffed toy sticking behind his laptop with a bundle of different coloured pencils standing alternately inside a clear jar beside it.

“I picked sizes larger than your original size. You never wore anything that’s fitted. You are also unlike to become a fan of body hugging clothes so I designed these inspired from your preference. I can say that my profession is something that materialized because of your unique preference.” He said as he rested his chin on both of his hands acting all cute and that - but he is really cute.

I adjusted my eyes on the clothes that he got for me and it is definitely my style. I take a look on all 5 jackets that he got for me and all were patterned with great simplicity and proper edged portions for mini classy details.

“How much for all these?” I didn’t hesitate to get all of it even if I haven’t seen the prices yet. I can strongly feel that I won’t regret buying them all.

Minwoo looked at me with a serious face. His smile unexpectedly vanished in a split second and gave me a long awkward silence. He tilted his head on one side and he spoke with a low voice asking me “Did I ask you to pay for them?” squinting his eyes, criticizing what I said.

I was about to answer back but his smile appeared again on his face and he immediately said “I was joking. Why are you so serious? Hahaha.. Hey, you don’t need to pay for them. Treat them as a gift from your Oppa. I owe you a lot of presents since we haven’t seen each other for a long time.” And he started taking them away from my hands and got a big black paper bag under the table compartment.

“You don’t fit your clothes when you buy them right? Let me know if they suit you well or if not, you may come back to switch it anytime” he said while finishes wrapping it and tied an orange ribbon to seal my clothes.

I watched him lock his computer then nodded at me gesturing us to go out. He carried the paper bag swaying on his right hand and throws a bunch of keys up and down on the open palm of his left hand. I went out naturally and he did too. He stopped in front of the shop’s door to lock it up.

I felt a sudden jolt on my stomach when a food-cart happened to pass in front of me selling deep fried quail eggs wrapped with recipe flour. I knew I tasted this somewhere before but I cannot remember. The sour smell of vinegar together with some chopped onions and bits of pepper also saturated the air and I followed it with my head. Normal citizens standing by the side walk rushed to buy some. I was caught off guard and I didn’t even have any breakfast yet.

My feet moved by themselves towards the food cart but something grabbed the scarf that I am wearing and stopped me.

 

 The Barista

“Hey! Where do you think are you going darling? You don’t eat kwek-kwek for lunch. Come with me and let’s have lunch together. I know a good place nearby.” Minwoo’s hand held it tightly that it halted me from my craving.

Even if he is addressing me as “princess” or “darling” he has this kind of feel of being a caring older brother and I like it. Nana knew that this person does not tolerate such kind of thing and other than that he already gained 3 points earlier. That can be the reason why I am comfortable with him.

I nodded my head and he let go of the scarf. I walked along with him side by side. My sneakers didn’t make such huge height difference from him. But I think if I wear 4 inches heels, our eye levels will surely meet. He does not mind carrying the paper bag for me. He’s not as talkative as Junjin but will smile at me from time to time as we walk. He also likes to whistle different sorts of tunes that made me think he loves music so much, I hope he can sing as well.

We stopped in front of a coffee shop. Yes, it is so near that it’s just almost 6 meters away from his boutique. His location is so strategic to be so close to this kind of place. Coffee shops are considered as hospitals too for my kind.

Its name was embossed from its modern designed flat rooftop. The signage hanged in the middle of its two-story floor setup giving balanced compliment to its wholeness. The combination of steel metal and figurative drift woods made it look uniquely artistic while its name was traced with white led lights it read – Healthy Grounds Café with mini wings on both ends and a halo on the top of the middle word.

I was delighted to know that there is a place like this here. The bell attached to the upper part of the entrance sounded our arrival and the fumes of caffeine filled my lungs when Minwoo pushed the door open. He took the spot near a window on the mid-section of the place. It was not a very big café but it made me feel the privacy of the environment. People like me would love to hang-out here to read their favourite books or simply have an intimate catch-up with a friend.

There are still a lot of seats to be occupied but the number of people seemed enough. Alternative ballad songs made the atmosphere semi-sophisticated with a feel-good aura. I need to remember this place. I can already imagine myself and Nana having a date here as soon as I finish this unexpectedly interesting mission vacation.

I didn’t realize Minwoo is looking at me all along while my head swirls with a lot of things to do. He caught my attention when he pulled a small panda teddy bear at the side pocket of his trench coat and had it kiss my right cheek while I am spacing out.

“This baby panda stays with you while you stay here so you won’t feel alone. Take it my princess.” And he slid it down inside the paper bag together with my new items.

“Thank you for that additional item.” I smiled. I’d like to ask him so many things but I can’t. My curiosity is already killing me but I can’t possibly live here for a year and disappoint Nana with this challenge.

Minwoo smiled at me. “There are still two more people to go. You’ll meet the fifth person here soon. He owns this place. He’s just busy preparing our lunch.” He said as he pointed inside the busy kitchen room. I can hear sizzling buzz of frying and tossing inside.

“Nana knew us ever since we were in high-school. She is the most admirable teacher that ever gave us the chance to prove ourselves.” He smiled while trying to contain his emotions. “We were the most rebellious group in our school, all the 6 of us. We are all driven by our own passions and teachers won’t understand us easily. She will always stay with us during our detentions checking if we are doing our duties right.” He paused and continued “Nana treated us like we are her long lost sons, sons who are not blood related but destined to look for each other as brothers.”

Minwoo’s sudden revelation about them surprised me. So that’s why they had that kind of fondness on each other; starting from Junjin, and the doctor, Andy and now him. I can’t wait to meet the other two.

“To tell you honestly, Nana’s game rule not to ask any of you a question related to about what you know is really killing me.” I told him bravely. “My whole two days here already felt like a week because I am stressing out too much connecting all the facts that I have gathered since yesterday but nothing makes sense.” It came out from my mouth almost like a rant.

Minwoo covered his smile and coughed jokingly trying to sound serious “But don’t you find this interesting? I’ll tell you a secret so that you will have a good time dealing with this cool mission.” He leaned closer and looked on both sides and said, “Stop over-thinking and just go with the flow. Enjoy it and you’ll never notice that time flies so quickly when you are having fun” he suggested.

I looked outside the window trying to root from what he said when a glass of iced-coffee landed on the table in front of me. I caught a man’s long fingers leaving it carefully and twisting the straw towards my direction. I followed his arms as he withdraws it from my sight and I saw an ethereal looking gentleman standing near me.

His jet black hair was well groomed with all the strands resting on one side. His small face shines with a glowing skin and with his small pointed nose and his tight shut thin lips, he looked like a well-mannered prince. He is elvish to me, his radiance is so surreal. His slim figure can be seen obviously with the usual white folded long-sleeves tucked neatly under his silver-grey slocks. His still a wearing a plaided apron around his waist with a small notebook and a pen properly inserted on its front pocket but he does not look like your ordinary waiter. He stands stunningly tall and beautiful for a multitasking barista.

He awkwardly greeted me with a stutter, “I.. I hope.. Kris.. No I mean.. I prepared iced-caramel macchiato for you Kris. You don’t mind right? I hope I got it right.” He led his open palm towards the waiting beverage in front of me. I just noticed that it was my all-time favourite drink that was served by this unexplainably humble owner.

“Oh yes, thank you. This is my first love and will always be my top of mind choice.” I stir it without looking at it since my eyes were still fixed at him. His face looked burdened at some point but still trying to recover from embarrassment. He then placed two plates of full meal for me and Minwoo and turned his back quickly to return the steel tray to one of his staff.

Minwoo generously moved from his seat to provide another room for him. He sat down full of finesse and moved the spoon and fork near my plate encouraging me to start eating. “Minwoo told me that you are the fifth person.” I smiled to encourage him not be awkward anymore.

He lowered his head with a sudden realization in his face that he hasn’t introduced himself yet. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth under those tiny lips as he tried to look away with such mistake. Minwoo laughed at him like it was a normal thing that happens to his friend and hit him with his elbow.

“Oh sorry I forgot. It’s nice that you reminded me.” He is trying his best to escape his embarrassment and openly said his name “I’m S.. No, I meant Hyesung.” And he pulled a smile from his puffy cheeks. I was surprised how his smile draw a better picture of him from what I thought was already noble.

I smiled back and replied “Please feel comfortable around me. No pressure. Just to let you know, I’ve met Junjin, Andy and the doctor yesterday. I’m sorry but I can’t seem to remember his name.” It was true. No matter how much I think about it, his name did not register in my mind. Shame on me, he’s the person who treated me as nice as them but forgot about his identity. Sigh.

“Oh, Dongwan. Hahaha. That sounded rather interesting. Hahaha. He is a doctor to us too. We are his first patients.” Hyesung blurted with pleasure. It seemed that the awkward moment was gone. I hope it never comes back. He looked way better with a curve on his face which openly exposes his perfectly aligned teeth. He had this natural mini eye bags that seemed to exist to promote manliness in his facial feature.

I took a gulp of my iced caramel macchiato and gradually felt the caffeine infiltrating my system. My lazy head recovered a bit. I took my time to appreciate the food that Hyesung offers in his gourmet café. To my surprise I just realized that a cup of crab rice is waiting to meet my stomach. It is partnered with grilled pork chop glazed with mini bits of pine-apple, THESE ARE MY FAVORITES. On the other side of the plate there were three mini rice-balls half-way covered with nori and sprinkled with sesame seeds on its top. It looked interesting.

While Minwoo ate happily beside him humming with the playing song, Hyesung offers me to taste the mini riceballs and started to pick it by chopstick by himself and attempted to feed me courteously. He carefully put his open palm under my chin just in case the riceball escapes his grip. His sincerity for his dish moved me so I tried to compromise and took it.

The taste of sesame seed combined with nori and well-seasoned rice made my taste bud miss my home. It tasted like one of Nana’s recipe but I cannot remember which of them. It blew a whole blast of nostalgic feeling inside my heart that made me want to ask him were he learned about that but, I can’t.

“Delicious right?” he asked me as soon as he saw me swallow it with pleasure. “I can make more of it so you may take it at the Villa” he offered freely with so much eagerness on his face.

“Hey! Don’t force her to like it!” Minwoo interrupted him and picked one of the rice balls on my plate and ate right away.

“Why did you eat that?! That’s for Kris!!!” Hyesung’s hands grabbed Minwoo’s neck jokingly as if he wants his friend to return it but it’s too late. He withdraws laughing and ended with saying “Eysh. I knew this will happen. It’s a good thing I made some more.” He got up from his seat and walked towards one of his staff and whispered as he explained.

He returned to Minwoo’s side shaking his head while looking at Minwoo’s mischievous face. I admire their incomparable closeness. They can get mad with each other yet still manage to be together like that. Hyesung’s easily provoked temper does not long that much as Minwoo tries to console him with his own style of admitting his fault.

Thinking about it, they have uniqueness and are really different from each other but they managed to blend as close as this. I am now starting to wonder how the last one is going to make an impression.

Our lunch at Healthy Grounds Café became an instant business discussion with both of them. I can see the potential of possible market profitable investment on both businesses that they are managing and even with Andy’s semi bistro restaurant but they insisted that they wanted to just stay in Sylfaen. They also told me that they are already aware of their business competencies outside the town but refused to leave their roots because it is already more than enough for them; that’s what they said.

My mind kept on telling me it’s such a waste for them to get boxed like this but the way they explained it to me, the way they switch the topic over bargain of happiness over success, the things you love and the things that you will leave behind, the things that you need and the things that you want and lastly the things that you dreamed of and the obvious fact of a satisfying yourself with a huge amount of success is broader than I imagined.

Their playfulness is something not to be taken as an account for any point of immaturity because they speak with abundant wisdom when serious things comes in and decision making gets rough. They are the kind of people that I need to be acquainted with. I have acquired knowledge from them which can be classified as a reliable foundation for business growth discussion. I admired this side of them.

“If you would like to gather more insights about this sort of stuff, the best person would be the one whom you haven’t met yet.” Minwoo said with respect in his voice.

Hyesung nodded in agreement to what he said and in an instant got his phone from his pocket and said “Speaking of the devil” as he looked on his blinking screen which letters read – “My Neighbour”. I was a bit puzzled he didn’t even saved the person’s number with a proper name.

*** continued in the next page ***