HEART LIES

BABY STEPS

Sonmi took off her shoes and wrapped herself under the covers; her heart exploded. Anger, frustration, and shock whirled and twirled in her mind.

Jae said he liked her, and it was not a lie. His feelings wrote themselves all over his face, but Sonmi did not want him.

She could not; it would be like falling for a kidnapper. Sonmi gripped the covers tighter only to feel them being pulled away. What happened with Jae tormented Sonmi.

How could she end up sleeping with him?

She was not the type of girl to sleep with the first man, yet it was what occurred, and off went her virginity. Sonmi knew it would happen, and in her idealistic daydreams, it was supposed to be with her husband, if not a least a man she loved.

The thought that she gave her virginity to someone who was not aware of it, for whom it was just a banal one-nighter, made her want to move to Lapland.

"Ya, Sonmi, do you think you are a princess? Do you think your throne above us all? How dare you treat Jae as is if he did something wrong. You slept with him no biggie, he's you're first, but he won't be your last, so cut him some slack. I don't know what he sees in you."

"Eun Young, why are you like this?"

"Because you annoy me, you're always acting like some innocent flower when you are as sly as a snake. Everyone knows you wanted Chae Seonbae; you couldn't have him, so you opted for Jae when you knew Hana was interested in him.

"You know that isn't true."

"Ah, really? You are the worst, Sonmi. Grow up, and open your eyes to the real world. That guy has a mad ass crush on you; I was at their place all week, I saw. He's human too, you know, consider that fact, and stop treating him like cow dung."

Sonmi was perplexed. The last sentences Eun Young pronounced seemed like advice.

Hana walked in and threw herself on the bed, "I hate him."

Eun-Young turned hands on hips she let out," what's the problem with you?"

"That guy has serious issues. He paid me a latté and left like a thief, congratulations Sonmi you can keep your weirdo. I don't want him, no matter how rich he is.

Eun-Young turned back and eyes glaring; she threw a YOU-SEE stare at Sonmi.

Jae arrived at the SOLICE café where Ji-Seong, as usual as plunged in his books.

"Always studying."

"You would too if you had Lee Seongsaeng," Ji-Seong said, raising his eyes to see his friends sit down.

"What happened to you?" Ji-Seong asked, seeing his friends skimmed cheeks.

"Nothing."

"Come on, Jae; we've known each other for nine years. I think I know you."

"You think so?" Jae said with a curious stare, "it's funny because I doubt knowing myself at times."

"So tell me," Ji-Seong said, shutting his book, "what's the problem?"

Jae hesitated, but he had so much on his chest, and Myeong's don't-sweat-it-man wasn't making the cut anymore.

"I met a girl, a good girl, we spent a night together, and she doesn't want to see me again."

"Okay, but you like her, and that's why you've opted with the walking dead zombie cheeks. Jae's phone rang, the name displayed was:

Taboo.

"Sorry, Ji-Seong, I have to take this call in private."

"No worries," Ji-Seong replied, watching his friend rush away. Only one person made Jae take her calls in secret, Hyeon-Ju.

Myeong arrived shortly after.

"Where's Jae?" Myeong asked as he sat down.

"He got a call."

"Oh, how was he?"

"A part of his face, I'd say good," Ji-Seong said.

"Did he tell you?"

"About the girl you mean, yeah, he seems to be hooked."

"You can say that again; I didn't think that first year of yours would do that to him."

Myeong's unreassuring grin made Ji-Seong follow up with another question.

"Which the first year, who's the girl?

Ji-Seong started to feel uncomfortable as a creepy yet possible idea crept into his mind.

"You know, Sonmi, that professor's of yours daughter, I mean okay, it was her first time, why all the drama?" Myeong's words made Ji-Seong bolt out of his chair.

"Hey, man, where are you going?" Myeong yelled after him.

Jae was on his way back when Ji-Seong caught and backed him up against the wall.

"WAE? Ji-Seong yelled.

Busted.

"Listen, Ji-Seong; it's not what you think. I'm sorting it out."

"With all the girls you can have, why her?"

Ji-Seong tried to find the answer in his friend's eyes, he knew what type of man Jae was, but still, he did not want Sonmi to be intertwined with him. Behind Jae, there was a poisonous snake, a python who would not let Sonmi live if she knew.

Hyeon-Ju would never leave her son to a girl like Sonmi.

Poor Sonmi, when Ji-Seong saw her the first time in the nightclub, Sonmi was tinted, and now Jae had tainted her. A virus, every day, an innocent was taken away by them.

It was not the only thing that bothered him; his entanglement with the freshman's mother did not arrange the situation.

The dangerous liaisons they formed became a Pentagon if you included Hyeon Ju instead of creating a traditional love triangle.

"I'm sorry, Ji-Seong, but my feelings are genuine. It's serious. I'm sorry if you had your eyes set on her, but Iㅡ."

Ji-Seong let Jae go and tried to recollect his thoughts.

Jae's heart beat fast. He managed to tell Ji-Seong about Sonmi, which was a liberating feeling. Now his full heartbeat speed as all the emotions exploded in his chest.

The young man had it all figured out; all that was left to do was convince the girl.