venus fly trap method

The Venus Fly Trap Method by Ji Eunie

Prologue

The street lamp light was the single beam of brightness throughout the block. The image of the light was almost like the beginning of those depressing theater one acts that start off with the loner by himself on the street corner. The light from the lamp would bounce off the ground onto the loner’s dirty shoes. These weren’t thoughts that normally entered my head, but today, they filled my head like a garbage can that was too full. Secondly, the light wasn’t bouncing off my dirty shoes. The light was bouncing off my red-stained hands. My feet were stained, in fact, my entire outfit was stained. I could feel myself fall to my knees as tears rolled down my cheeks.

“I’m too late. I’m too late!” I burst into tears as my composure crumbled to my feet. His body lay cold and silent as his hand rested against his unmoving chest. I crawled over to him and desperately beat against his shoulders.
“Wake up! You must wake up!” I sobbed loudly as I threw caution to the wind. My nose began running like a five year old child. I knew he wasn’t going to wake back up. I wanted so badly for him to wake up, but the bloody wound on his chest told me over and over that he wouldn’t wake up.


Chapter 1

“Ah ga shi! Ah ga shi! (young lady, young lady!)” the woman called impatiently to me. I jerked up from my daydream and looked at the disgruntled woman with wide eyes.
“Yes!” I called out loudly as I grabbed a pair of tongs and tried to look as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as possible.
“I want two of the pizza breads as well as six cream horns. Why don’t you pay attention next time? You almost put your elbow in the cream cake.” the woman said disapprovingly as she reached out a chubby hand to her equally chubby son. Her tone of voice changed drastically with her son.
“What does my plumpy-wumpy want? Does my plumpy-wumpy want a hot dog?” the woman cooed, her neck fat jiggling as she leaned down at her son with his eyes glazed over with stupidity.
“Potato cake.” he said. I swore I saw drool dribbling out of the little monster’s mouth.
“Well, pack up three potato cakes for my son!” the woman snapped at me as I jumped slightly and quickly tonged three potato cakes for the boy.
“Your total comes to 11,000 won.” I said as cheerfully as possible. I took the woman’s damp bills and bowed to her as she walked out of the store. I marveled at her ability to squeeze her plump feet inside her tiny sandals and walk anywhere with shoes that were clearly two sizes too small on her.

“You’re going to get fired if you don’t stop daydreaming.” my co-worker Yoo Chun chided as he rested his elbows on the counter next to me. I looked at him and noticed that he was in just a sad a state as me. There was a fine dusting of flour on his head as well as a fine dusting of flour on his black rimmed glasses. He was the best student baker at the shop, but I had no clue how he could get flour everywhere like he does.
“I’ll be all right. You just keep on making your rich, braided breads and cupcakes.” I said nonchalantly with a smile to reassure him that my job was secure. Yoo Chun looked at me in disbelief.
“I can’t believe you take your job so lightly. I thought this was your sole source of income for spending money. Didn’t you say that you wanted to go to America this summer?” Yoo Chun asked seriously. I shrugged my shoulders.
“I’m sure I’ll get the money somehow. Plus, that’s months and MONTHS away. Stop taking everything so seriously Yoo Chun! That woman was born a complainer. Even if I had been the most attentive attendant ever, she still would’ve complained.”
Yoo Chun shook his head and walked away from me. He knew he couldn’t win.

To be honest, Le Maitre’d was the third alba (part-time job) that I had this year. I hadn’t been the most diligent and attentive of employees at my last two jobs. I worked at a sam gyup sal grill before the bakery, and I had worked at a PC Bang before that. Both of my previous bosses had fired me with very similar words: “Grow up before you get another job.”
I would be lying if I said that those words didn’t sting, but I honestly didn’t know what they were talking about when both my ex-bosses told me to grow up. I guess if I compared myself to other high school seniors, I would be considered “mediocre” or “below average” in terms of academics and extracurricular activities. The only thing I was actually pretty good at was boxing. Of course, this thrilled my mother when she found out that her only daughter was good at punching the lights out of anybody. I think I actually didn’t get to eat for three days when she found out. However, she never found out that the street vendor near my house took pity on me during my time of need.

“Hey Yoo Chun! When’s our next midterms?” I called out casually as I grabbed a rag and began cleaning off the display cases. I had to look busy just in case our boss lady came in this afternoon. Yoo Chun, unlike me, was a brilliant student. He always got into the top three averages of our grade, but he was “below average” like me whenever it came to extracurricular activities. Someone told me that he was really good at the guitar and piano, but I had never heard him play. Coincidentally, we had always ended up co-workers when it came to part-time jobs, so we were definitely job buddies. He was a good guy - solid and steady in emotion and personality. I always felt like nothing could go wrong if Yoo Chun was there, like he would take care of everything if something went wrong.

“Two weeks!” Yoo Chun called out from the back baking room.
“Are you prepared?” I yelled. Yoo Chun never got a chance to answer me because the front door rang as it was pushed open by a customer. I almost lost control of my bodily functions when I got a good look at his face. He was the most beautiful human being I’d ever seen in my entire life.
“Hello! Welcome to La Maitre’d!” I said too loudly with a goofy grin. The boy looked at me with his slightly slanted eyes and didn’t say anything. I followed him from behind the display cases.
“Can I help you look for something specific?” I asked, my voice not getting any softer. The boy shook his head slightly as he walked over to the cake section. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him.
“Our cream cakes are great! Our cheesecakes are really good too!” I said, unable to shut up. I knew I must look like a fool. Finally, the beautiful boy looked up at me with a disdainful look on his face.
“Do you always holler at the customers?” he asked softly, his voice dripping with haughtiness. I laughed and touched my nose for a moment.
“I didn’t know I was hollering. I’m sorry.” I apologized with a big grin. The boy didn’t look any more impressed as he pointed his long finger at our most expensive cake.
“Wrap that up.” he said shortly.
“Yes sir!” I said briskly as I opened the glass door and took the cake out. I picked out the cardboard box with the prettiest design and slipped the cake inside.
“What color ribbon would you like?” I asked as I motioned to the spools of ribbons on our decorating table. The boy shrugged his shoulders and told me it didn’t matter.
“We have red and blue as well as green and orange! We have purple...”
“I said it doesn’t matter.” the boy said as he cut me off sharply. I was slightly taken aback by his voice, but shook it off, crediting it to his slightly unfriendly personality. He was probably tired or something.

“It’ll come to 39,000 won.” I said in a softer voice as I looked at the handsome boy. He sighed and got up like it was the biggest hassle in the world and handed me a bank note for 100,000 won. My eyes opened when I saw that his wallet was two inches thick with them. He noticed me staring and slapped his wallet shut.
“Do you mind?” he snapped as he motioned for me to ring his order up.
“Sorry...I’ve never...”
“Seen that much money? Figures.” the boy snorted as he looked down at his hand. He picked at one of his nails as I pulled out change for him. My cheeks turned rosy from embarrassment. How had he known that I had never seen that much money before? My cheeks burned even hotter when I became self-conscious about my monetary state. If I looked like I didn’t have a lot of money, did I look cheap then?

“Thank you, enjoy your cake.” I said, my cheeriness draining out of me like water from a cracked cup. He picked up the cake and didn’t look twice as he walked away. My heart squeezed in envy at the boy’s easy going life and from longing to be with someone who was as comfortable as he was. It was superficial to think like this, but sometimes I really felt like money made the world go round.
“Yun Ho! When did you get here?” my boss said in a surprised voice when she stepped into the bakery. The boy tried to dodge her, but he was blocking her way into the bakery. He gave a perfunctory bow and a fake smile.
“Hello Aunt. Father is coming back from France tonight and my mother wanted a cake to celebrate. Our pastry chef is sick this week.”

A pastry chef?! OUR pastry chef?!

“That’s too bad Francis is sick this week. You should’ve called me, I would’ve sent one of my own bakers.” my boss, and this boy’s aunt, said sympathetically. The boy gave a stiff laugh before he bowed again.
“I have to get going because Father is coming into the airport in an hour. I’ll tell Mother that I saw you.” he said as he began walking away. My boss smiled and waved good-bye to him. She turned back and looked at me. I quickly lowered my eyes and pretended to be busy. She came up to me.
“Did you take money from him?” my boss asked curiously. I raised my eyebrows in confusion.
“Ma’am? Oh..yes, I did. I had no idea he was your nephew though. I wouldn’t have otherwise.” I said apologetically. My boss snorted as she tossed her purse and coat onto one of the tables.
“The boy is the sole heir to 3,000 uk (~300 million dollars), I don’t think he’d suffer any if he bought my entire chain of bakeries out.” my boss said wryly as she dismissed me with her hand.

I honestly felt a cold wind go from my stomach and out when I heard that. How could anybody fathom that much money? I could tell this guy was someone who lived in another plane of existence than me.


Chapter 2

My thighs burned with exertion as I slowly walked up the hill to my house. There was a slightly sour scent of urine as I passed by a light pole. I turned my head and crinkled my nose. The neighborhood that we lived in was so disgusting; I was always complaining to my mother about moving away from the tightly packed spaces, the dingy laundry lines with old clothes. I knew it always pained my mother to hear me say these things because she couldn’t provide for me better, but I couldn’t stop saying the painful words. They were like a disease and the words bubbled out of my mouth.
After I reached the top of the hill, I stopped for a moment to catch my breath. I had four more flights to climb before I got to our attic house. It was more like an attic room, but I was too tired to argue semantics with anybody. After my father left for Thailand to make money, we never heard from him again. I realized that next month would be two years.
“Eun Suh? Is that you?” my mother called down from the top of the building. I craned my neck up and waved my free hand.
“Why aren’t you coming up?”
“I’m taking a break. My legs are aching because I’ve been standing up all day.”
My mother smiled sympathetically and waved me up.
“My legs hurt too, daughter. Come up and we’ll have dinner.” she called cheerily as she walked away from the edge. I ignored the small hiccup of pain in my chest. I hated getting sentimental and weepy.

My mother was spreading something out on the living room floor when I stepped into the house.
“What are you doing?” I asked curiously as I looked at her. My mother looked up and smiled sheepishly.
“Well, I got a letter from the school saying that they’re changing the school uniform again. I ran out to the second hand shop and grabbed the best used uniforms for you before the other kids. These are almost brand new Eun Suh yah! Look!” my mom motioned to the jacket, skirt, and vest. I became annoyed at her enthusiasm. How could she be so enthusiastic? They were used.
“I could’ve just saved my alba money and gotten a new one.” I grumbled as I sat down in a huff and wouldn’t touch the clothes. A hurt look passed over my mother’s face before she reached for my hand.
“Touch the material darling, it’s really nice!”
“I’m tired, I’m going to wash up.” I said curtly as I got up without touching the material. My mother didn’t say anything as she quietly began folding the clothes up. I went into my tiny room and whirled around to face the door again. I hoped to God she wasn’t going to mope because I didn’t like her method of saving money on school uniforms. I became more annoyed whenever I heard her soft knock on my door.

“I left your dinner on the table. I have to go down to the factory to pick up some extra darning pieces so I’ll be back in about an hour. Wash up and eat your dinner.” my mother called out. I didn’t say anything as I began opening my dresser drawers. I stopped in mid-action when I heard the front door clang shut against the door jamb. I felt guilt wracking my body at my intentional cruelty. Why was I so mean tonight?
“Why does she have to act so cheap?” I muttered to myself in justification to my anger.
“Whatever.” I said as I shook my head of my unpleasant thoughts. I walked out to the living room and headed to the bathroom.

.....It’s just that I’ve never seen...
....This much money before? I figured as much....

I became the ultimate level of annoyed whenever I recalled the snide comment made by the handsome, rich boy. I hated the fact that I thought he was absolutely gorgeous because he was someone who would probably step on me on the way to do his business. I imagined myself parched and gasping for a drink of water next to him while he sipped on a café au lait and had a bottle of Evian languidly in his hand, teasing me. Or he was a adventurer millionaire enigma that liked to hike the Andes. I imagined myself dangling from the cliffs with only two fingers and him walking by with his Chilean tour guide, laughing and ignoring me in Spanish.

“What a jerk!” I said angrily as I vigorously scrubbed my feet. I knew my righteous anger was my own pride trying to make up for the fact that I had salivated all over him today in the bakery.
“I just wish he wasn’t so cute.” I said with a scowl as I remembered his slightly tilted eyes and perfect nose. He was tall, lean and well dressed with a Burberry scarf wrapped casually around his neck. It had been in one of those careless knots that everyone knew it took hours to create.

I climbed out of the bathroom with a towel draped over my neck. I heard my phone buzz with a voice mail. I plodded over and grabbed it before plopping down to some good old stew and rice that my mother had made for me. I flipped open my phone and listened to the message while I shoveled a spoonful of rice into my mouth.

I punched out for you today. You’re so thick headed, how could you forget again?
Over and out.

“Crap! I can’t believe I forgot again!” I said as I slapped my forehead with my free hand. I was really glad that Yoo Chun had caught my mistake again for me. I owed that kid a lot, that was for sure.
“Well, I may wear second-hand uniforms at school, but I at least I have someone smart like Yoo Chun to be my job buddy.” I said in a resigned voice as I sipped the stew. It was hearty but way too spicy. I coughed painfully as I jumped up to grab a cup of water.

*~*~*~*

“Choi Eun Suh! You are tardy again!” the teacher on duty yelled at me as I barely slipped by the closing gate to my high school.
“Please Mr. Kim! My mother had the whooping cough this morning and I had to bring her hot water...”
I flinched when the bamboo cane despised by all students of our school came whistling down to a loud crack against the gate. I squeezed my eyes shut and hoped that the bamboo wouldn’t make contact with my flesh.
“How dare you lie about your mother! I saw her get on the bus this morning on the way to school myself! Get down and give me a push up position for half an hour!” Mr. Kim barked as I hastily got down to the torturous position. I had cleaning duty this morning too. I wasn’t just dead once, I was dead twice. My bum and thighs were going to get it today, I could tell. The clock at the top of our school clanged in my doom as it rang nine times mournfully.

“Mr. Kim, I have cleaning duty this morning and I’m late as it is, so could I please do this punishment after school?”
“Ten more minutes in that position, Choi.” Mr. Kim said unmercifully as he strolled back and forth. He must have vinegar in his veins or something, how could he possibly be this mean to a girl?!
I was fuming to myself when I heard a car stop in front of the school. I looked up and my eyes widened in recognition when I saw the handsome boy from the bakery step out of the black car. Another boy, taller and lankier, stepped out as well. He had a baby face with brown hair instead of black. However, he stood easily six feet tall and probably taller. A distinguished older man came out of the other side of the car by help from the twinkle toed driver. He was hunched over like an old woman, always keeping his eyes averted to the ground. Mr. Kim glowed with pleasure as he swung the gate right open for Richie Rich and his friend.
“Ah, Mr. Jeong. How kind of you to drop your sons off on their first day at our school. We do truly appreciate your concern.” Mr. Kim cooed as his voice became unbelievably pleasant. I gritted my teeth and restrained myself from jumping up and socking him one in the jaw.

“I shall escort Yun Ho and Chang Min to their respective home room teachers to be introduced today.” Mr. Kim said politely in that same infernal voice.
I noticed Mr. Jeong only looked at the handsome boy from the bakery only.
“Do you want me to come in, Yun Ho.” he said coldly as he blatantly ignored the tall kid, Chang Min. He was an austere man that was probably a little scary to get involved with or piss off. However, I personally thought it was rather cruel to play favorites.
“No, I’ll be fine.” Yun Ho said with a slight smile. He bowed to his father respectfully and as did Chang Min. Mr. Jeong stepped back into the car and the driver scurried back to his side after closing the door. I watched the car drive away with curiosity. I wondered if this was how all rich people acted.
“Choi Eun Suh!” Mr. Kim barked as he stood over me. I gulped and hoped he wouldn’t make a martyr out of me to show how he could discipline to these boys.
“Yes?”
“You still have half an hour left for your previous impertinence. Do not move from your spot until I come back. I will know if you’ve rested.” Mr. Kim growled as he walked away from me. I looked up with eyes small with hate the same moment Yun Ho turned around to look at me with a smirk on his face. Our eyes met for just a split second before he turned away. I was infuriated by his eyes, yet my cheeks blushed furiously against my own will.
“Oh stop it, you’re such a girl.” I snapped at myself as I shifted my weight. My wrists were already starting to ache badly. I hoped the end of the punishment didn’t end with a caning, that was all that I hoped for.

When I wandered, dusty and disheveled, into class, I got two looks from people in my classroom. My teacher for one scowled at me while Yoo Chun looked at me with sympathetic eyes. His eyes flickered over the red marks behind my legs as I walked past him. I tried not to limp, but the bamboo had smarted more than usual today.
“Choi Eun Suh, you missed the introduction of our transfer student today. His name is Jeong Yun Ho and he’s from a private international high school in New York City.” my teacher said crisply. I didn’t say anything as I eased myself into my chair. I didn’t notice that the Yun Ho kid was my desk mate.
Yun Ho coughed discreetly as he waved his hand delicately over his nose and mouth. I looked at him and started when I realized it was him.
“You!” I whispered fiercely as my heart yammered away. What was he doing sitting next to me?
“Teacher?” I said suddenly as an idea hit me. My teacher turned around and looked at me critically.
“What is it?”
“I think Jeong Yun Ho needs to change desks. My desk was originally designed for an all-girl’s school. His knees barely fit underneath the desk. It would be really uncomfortable for him to sit like this all day throughout the school year.” I said sweetly as I smiled my most innocent smile.

What I said wasn’t false. Yun Ho’s knees brushed up against the top of our desk as he situated himself in an angle to fit into the desk. I wondered why he hadn’t complained before I had gotten there. He seemed the picky type. The handsome, picky type. From the way Mr. Kim had cooed over him and his brother, I knew the school wouldn’t allow precious Jeong Yun Ho to have an ill fitting desk.

My hunch was right.

“Yun Ho, why don’t you move next to our class leader, Kim Jae Joong? He’s got a boy’s desk.” my teacher said to Yun Ho with a bright smile on her face that had been missing when she had addressed me two minutes earlier. Yun Ho didn’t say anything as I got up meekly to let him pass. He had an inscrutable look on his face as he walked past me with his book bag slung over his shoulder. Pretty Jae Joong looked nervous as Yun Ho plopped down next to him. My mind began to wander as the day’s lessons began. What was a guy like Jeong Yun Ho doing back in some unknown high school in Korea when he could’ve stayed in New York City? It just didn’t make sense. I knew I would leave Seoul in a heartbeat if given the chance, but perhaps he didn’t feel the same way I did. I sighed and looked down at my blank notebook. I picked up my pen and focused as hard as I could to the teacher’s droning voice.


Chapter 3

“Choi Eun Suh, are you a lesbian?”
I turned around slowly to face the school’s biggest tramp and the school’s biggest gossip. Though they both had their Korean names blatantly written on their uniforms, after classes were over, they insisted on being called Cherry and Leslie, respectively. Cherry’s botched up double lid job eyes looked at me like a goldfish in a magnifying glass tank.
“Why on earth would you turn down being desk mates with that hottie, Jeong Yun Ho?!” Cherry said incredulously as Leslie looked at me suspiciously. She opened her mouth and her raspy voice tried to sound sincere.
“You can tell us, we won’t tell a soul. Are you a lesbian?”
I almost laughed in their faces when they swore their secrecy. They must know that their promises meant absolutely nothing to me.

“He’s a punk, you two know that as well as I do. I had to stand in a push up position for 40 minutes for being 10 seconds late while that Yun Ho kid breezed in 10 minutes late and gets escorted by Mr. Kim himself. It just isn’t fair.” I said with a grimace as I continued to wipe down the desks. Cherry and Leslie followed me while I cleaned.
“He is worth about 3,000 uk more than you though. That’s to be expected, don’t you think?” Cherry said snidely as Leslie stifled a laugh.

How news travel fast at this school....

I stopped wiping and looked at them.
“You know the answer now, do you want to bother someone else?” I said curtly.
“Ok okay! We’re going, sheesh.” Leslie said dramatically as she and Cherry walked away. I heard one of them murmur something nasty about me, but I could care less. I just wanted to be done with my cleaning duty so I could go home. Monday was the one day of the week that I didn’t have work.

“Hey Eun Suh, I was thinking about getting some dduk bok gee after cleaning duty today, did you want to get some with me?” Yoo Chun said as he came up to me. My growling stomach told me I was starved, but I couldn’t rely on Yoo Chun’s kindness again. He always said that dduk bok gee was something that the boy always had to buy, but I knew it was because he knew I didn’t have much pocket money.
“Nah, I think I’m just going to go home today. I’m really tired for some reason. Thanks, Yoo Chun, you know I appreciate you buying me my favorite food.” I said gratefully as I gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. Yoo Chun looked worried as he looked at my face.
“Are you okay? It’s not like you to pass up dduk bok gee. Are you feeling sick?” Yoo Chun asked as he playfully put his hand on my forehead. I knocked his hand away with a laugh.

“You’re so weird.” I said with a smile as I turned around to grab my book bag. I stopped when I saw that rich kid Yun Ho was hanging out by the sycamore tree underneath my window. I stared at him for a moment and noticed that he was looking out into the field with a little too much fascination. What on earth was he staring at? He looked liked he was about to bore holes into the field. I wrinkled my nose in distaste when I saw a cigarette dangling from his lips. I suddenly noticed that the tall kid, Chang Min, was by his side. He had a cigarette dangling from his lips also.
“Worthless” I whispered as I slung my book bag over my shoulder and picked up my cleaning supplies to put away.
“What did you say?” Yoo Chun asked curiously as he followed me.
“Nothing, I’ll see you at school tomorrow.” I said cheerfully as I waved good bye to him. I accidentally looked over Yoo Chun’s shoulder and saw Yun Ho whip his head back from my window and stare intently out at the field again. I shrugged my shoulders and walked out of the classroom.

Cars and motorcycles zoomed by me as I walked slowly down the sidewalk, pondering about everything and nothing. I had a cell phone bill looming over my head as of last week. I knew I would have enough money once I got paid on Friday, but I had planned on going to see a movie this weekend with Yoo Chun and a couple of the other bakery alba kids. Of course, I hadn’t asked Yoo Chun yet, but he didn’t seem to have a lot of plans during the weekend. The new Harry Potter movie was something I had been looking forward to for months.
“I wonder if Richie Rich would be interested in going to a movie...” I wondered out loud. As soon as the words left my lips, I regretted them instantly. What on earth was wrong with me?

My thoughts were interrupted by the clanging of cans against an alley wall. I looked down the dim lit space and saw three big guys in a semi circle around a group of trash cans. It was normal for delinquents and other strange kids to hang out in this part of town, but it was still light out. What was going on?
“We’re going to stuff you into the trash can you little maggot.” one of the growled loudly as I heard a body getting slammed against the wall.
“We’re going to beat the living sh*t out of you first.” another one snarled menacingly. My feet wandered nearer and nearer the alley partly out of curiosity and partly out of morbid fascination. Who were they threatening?
“I don’t have anymore money! I told you I get paid on Friday! I’ll meet you in front of the grocery store at 7 pm on Friday and hand over my pay packet to you. I just don’t have enough money on me now.” a strangely familiar voice pleaded desperately with the thugs. The scared voice was raspy and high. It was a voice that one definitely did not forget easily.

“Hey! Jun Su!” I called out suddenly. The three thugs turned around and looked at me while I finally got a glimpse of Jun Su, cowering in the corner.
“Hey! It is you! I thought I recognized your voice!” I said cheerfully as I approached the thugs.
“Who the hell is she?” one of them demanded as he pointed his thumb at me.
“Hey, do you remember me? I’m Eun Suh, I used to work at the sam gyup sal grill with you! I haven’t seen you in so long! How are you?” I asked pleasantly as my eyes darted rapidly from one thug to the next. They were all pretty big. If Jun Su could distract one, I could probably take two. One of them put his burly hand on my shoulder and pushed me away.
“Go home girlie, this has nothing to do with you.”
“I think this has everything to do with me. I don’t like bullies and you guys are definitely bullies. Plus, Jun Su can’t fight all three of you guys, so I have to take two.” I said matter-of-factly. There was a moment of silence before the thugs burst into laughter.
“We don’t fight with little girls. However, I don’t might teaching you a lesson.” the one who pushed me said with a lecherous grin on his face. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jun Su gripping the lid of a trash can. I reacted quickly and swung back to connect my fist with the jaw of the burly thug that wanted to “teach me a lesson.” His head snapped back severely before I kicked him in the stomach. He tumbled to the ground with a loud grunt. Jun Su slammed the garbage can lid on the head of the other thug. The last one standing looked pissed as I approached him.

“You little f*ckers! You won’t get away with this!” he howled as he took off into the alleyway and jumped the wall to the other side. I dusted my hands off before smiling at Jun Su.
“It’s funny how he said we won’t get away and he’s the one who runs away, huh?” I said with a laugh. My laughter disappeared when I saw Jun Su’s eyes. They were about the size of doorknobs.
“What’s the matter with you?” I asked, confused.
“I can’t believe you knocked that guy out with one punch.” he said, his voice squeaking in awe. I laughed uncomfortably.
“You knocked that one guy out too! Come on, let’s get out of here before they wake up and want a re-match.” I said as I began walking away. Jun Su jumped over one of the unmoving bodies and walked next to me. He finally got over the fact that I fought like a boy and started talking.
“Where are you working now?” he asked as his shaggy blonde hair bounced along as we walked. I knew that was his polite way of asking of what I was doing after getting humiliated and fired at the grill.
“I work at a bakery now. I guess I just can’t get out of the food business.” I said with a laugh as I adjusted my bag. There was an awkward silence after that. Both our feet plodded loudly against the sidewalk.

“Thanks....for that back there.” Jun Su said quietly, his cheeks turning slightly red.
“It’s slightly embarrassing to get saved by someone who’s supposed to be the weaker sex physically, but I’m really glad you helped me. I really appreciate it.” Jun Su said with a shy grin. I patted him on the back reassuringly.
“There were three really big guys about to beat you up. Even if you were really tough and macho, you wouldn’t have been able to take three guys. Why did they want to beat you up in the first place?” I asked curiously.
“I won some money from them by playing cards a couple months ago. Ever since then, they’ve been hitting me up for money saying that I took all their money away. It wasn’t even that much, probably a week’s allowance for them, but they’ve been hounding me ever since.” Jun Su sighed.
“Why don’t you report them to the police?”
“And get in trouble for gambling while I’m underage? No thanks.” Jun Su said emphatically as he shook his head. I nodded in understanding.
“Well, if you’re thinking about switching jobs to get away from those guys, I can see if the bakery has an opening.” I offered. Jun Su looked appreciative, but cautious.

“I can’t decide what’s worse: to move my job to get away from those guys to have them find me later or to stay where I am and just tough it out.” Jun Su said as his brow furrowed in thought.
“Well, if you decide you want a new job, I can see if the bakery has an opening. Besides, I owe you a lot for covering my ass at the grill while I worked there. I remember you took three shifts for me whenever my mom got sick.”
Jun Su shrugged his shoulders in embarrassment.
“It wasn’t a big deal. Plus, Yoo Chun saved your ass more than I saved it. I’ve never met anybody as attentive as Park Yoo Chun. That kid could open up his own restaurant now and be fine.” Jun Su said with a grin.
“That’s true! You know he’s working with me again? He told me he got fired from the grill and was looking for another job when he passed by the bakery and saw the help wanted sign. Isn’t that weird? This is my third job with him as a co-worker.” I said with a laugh. I stopped when Jun Su didn’t laugh.

“What?”
“Yoo Chun told you he got fired?”
“Yeah”
“That’s strange, he didn’t get fired at all. He left because you left.”
“What?”
“Yeah. He said he couldn’t work at a place where workers got paid so little to be humiliated in public. He said he wouldn’t stand for it. It was really dramatic actually. He threw his apron in the boss’s face and slammed out of the grill.” Jun Su recalled as he scratched his head.

Yoo Chun did that? For me?

“I wonder why he didn’t tell you.” Jun Su said thoughtfully.
“Yeah, me too.”
“Well, he probably was embarrassed to tell you he caused a scene. I wouldn’t worry about it.” Jun Su shrugged it off as he slowed to a stop in front of a Family Mart.
“I work here on Mondays. You should stop by sometimes, it was really good to see you again, Eun Suh. I can get you free ramen.” he offered.
“I’ll definitely have to take you up on that one night.” I said with a smile as I waved good bye. I was still smiling as I watched Jun Su’s retreating back. I didn’t think about Yoo Chun’s sacrifice until a couple days later.




Chapter 4

I stared out the window next to my desk as my classmates ran around joking and flirting. There were a couple that were hunched over books for The Exam in November. My heart clenched a little bit out of jealousy when I saw that they would take the exam and probably go to college next year. I knew for a fact that we couldn’t afford it and I wasn’t smart enough to get a scholarship. My mother always stressed that if I could just study really hard for a year then I could probably get into a college and she’d somehow find the money, but I just felt no motivation. Honestly, it just didn’t make sense to me.

“So you think I’m a punk, huh?” an unfamiliar voice said next to me. I looked up to see Jeong Yun Ho looking down at me from his perfect nose. He must’ve heard me through the open window yesterday.
“You know, eavesdropping in an incredibly unattractive habit.” I said with a scowl. Yun Ho didn’t say anything as he looked intently down at my chest. I began to feel uncomfortable.
“Choi Eun Suh? Figures you’d have a terrible name to go along with your terrible manners.” Yun Ho said with a scoff as he seated himself down next to me on my nonexistent partner’s desk.
“Oh Teacher! Yun Ho can’t sit here because his legs are too long! He’s just too tall and handsome for me Teacher!” Yun Ho said in a falsetto voice as his malicious grin stayed plastered on his face. He was obviously trying to piss me off. I gritted my teeth and refrained from punching him.
“What do you want?”
“Oh, I was just bored....and curious as to how you got those cuts on your knuckles.” Yun Ho nodded toward my hand. I immediately slid my hands underneath the desk. If my teacher found out I had been fighting again, I’d get suspended from school.

“I’m an amateur boxer.” I lied, not able to meet Yun Ho’s eyes in case he caught me in my lies. Well, it wasn’t completely a lie...I could box pretty well, I just had never boxed in a ring with rules and regulations. Yun Ho lifted his eyebrows at me in surprise.
“You know how to fight?”
This time I met his eyes squarely.
“No, I know how to kick your ass.” I said plainly, boldly. Immediately, all voices hummed quieter as Yun Ho and I had a staring contest. I could tell by his eyes he was debating whether or not he should believe me. I was pretty tall for a girl, but I was thin and very awkward, especially according to my mother.
“Hit me then.” Yun Ho challenged.
“I’m not going to hit you. I actually like going to school. If I got kicked out of school, I’d have to get another job to fill up the time.” I said with a grimace.
“I wouldn’t know what that was like.” Yun Ho said lightly. That comment, more than anything, pissed me off. He was blatantly rubbing it in my face that he was never going to have to work his entire life!

“Hey Eun Suh, I made copies of the Calculus study sheet....” Yoo Chun called out to me as his voice trailed off when he saw the situation. He looked wary as he looked at the two of us.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing’s wrong. Yun Ho was just bored so he thought he’d talk to me. I’m honored, our school’s most valuable student, literally.” I said in a sickeningly sweet voice as I wanted to kick myself over and over again for acting like a buffoon in front of him the first time I met him. Who knew he’d turn out to be the biggest jerk ever?
Yun Ho’s eyes turned to slits before he got up from the desk.
“Good luck studying.” he said to Yoo Chun nonchalantly before he walked away. Yoo Chun sat next to me with a curious look on his face.
“What was that?” he asked in a confused voice.
“He’s bored Yoo Chun. This isn’t New York City.” I said bitterly as I took the ditto sheet from him.

*~*~*~*

“After the Korean War, which movement was caused because of corrupt government officials, ultimately leading to the death of President Park?” Yoo Chun asked as he munched on a piece of garlic bread. I looked up sadly at him and shook my head.
“I don’t know! The Hunger Movement? How can you do this to me? I’m starved and you’re eating in front of me!” I whined as I tried to reach for a piece of garlic bread. Yoo Chun slapped my hand away.
“When you get this memorized is when you get to eat this delicious garlic bread. Oh god! It’s like a party in my mouth!” Yoo Chun said dramatically as he rolled his eyes. I sighed and stared at the glass counter, hoping for an answer written in the icing of one of the display cakes.
“I don’t know!! I’ll learn it tonight! Please give me one!” I begged. Yoo Chun sighed as he handed over a piece. I smiled happily as I bit into the bread.
“Make sure you take small bites though. If the boss comes in, you have to be able to swallow the piece before she realizes you’re munching on company goods.” Yoo Chun warned.
“You bought it though, why does it matter? Plus, it’s so quiet tonight.” I said as I took another bite.

As if some higher power wanted to teach me a lesson, the door opened with a ding just a second after I said that. I looked around in panic before painfully gulping the piece of garlic bread in my mouth. I could feel it getting stuck in my throat. I swallowed again. I almost choked when I saw that it was Richie Rich Jeong Yun Ho’s brother, Chang Min.
“Can I help you?” I asked weakly as a wary look crossed Yoo Chun’s face. He kept his eyes on Chang Min.
“I’m looking for a special kind of bread. I’m not sure if you guys sell it, but I was told that this bakery has the most selection of bread.” Chang Min said politely with a delicate smile on his face. I was taken back by how polite he was. He was worlds different from his snotty brother!
“What’s the name of the bread?”
“They’re called malmuls? It’s a kind of cookie? I’m actually being sent on an errand, so I don’t know what these look like.” Chang Min said apologetically.

“Yeah, we have those.” Yoo Chun spoke up in a curt voice as he got up and walked around the counter. He motioned for Chang Min to follow him to the far side of the bakery to the cookie aisle. I wondered why Chang Min would act so formal in his aunt’s bakery. Yun Ho had breezed in like he had owned the place two days ago. If they could come to the bakery so often on foot, then they must live nearby. I rang up the cellophane bagged cookies and put them in a big paper bag for Chang Min.
“You go to my high school, right?” Chang Min spoke up as he looked at me with friendly eyes. I couldn’t help smiling back at him because he was so cute.
“Yoo Chun and I are in the same class as your brother.” I said as I handed the bag to him. Chang Min’s smile wavered a little bit before coming back on.
“Oh, right! Yun Ho hyung....”
“See you at school.” I said with a wave as Chang Min walked away.
“He’s different from his sibling, huh?” Yoo Chun commented as he sat back down. I noticed the continued edge in Yoo Chun’s voice. Why did he dislike the Jeong brothers so much?

“Yeah, he’s a lot nicer than his brother.” I said absent-mindedly. It was strange, Chang Min and Yun Ho were so different physically and personality-wise that if someone met them separately, they would never guess they were related. I had always assumed siblings had something, even a tiny thing, in common. However, I was an only child so I wouldn’t know.
“How about we go over the Calculus again before we attack Korean History again. We still haven’t covered World History at all or English.” Yoo Chun said, bringing my thoughts back to our dreaded mid-terms coming up in twelve days. I groaned and slapped my hand across my forehead.
“Do we have to? Why can’t we just take a break tonight?” I asked, trying to convince Yoo Chun to not study.
“You got third to last place at the last mid-terms, Choi Eun Suh. Don’t you want to do better?”
“What’s the point?”
“The POINT is for personal satisfaction. I know you’re smart. Look at all your clever antics trying to get me not to study.”
I laughed and punched Yoo Chun lightly in the arm.
“All right fine! Let’s study.” I said, giving up to Yoo Chun’s stubbornness. He was like a bulldog about some things. I had to admit, it felt nice to have someone care enough to make me study.

“Hey Yoo Chun?”
“Hey what?”
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
Yoo Chun looked thoughtful as he looked up from the workbook. He put his hands up to his chin and thought for a moment.
“When I was little, I wanted to be a musician.”
“Why did you change your mind?”
“Because I decided that making music wasn’t my calling.”
“Really? What do you think is your calling now?”
“I don’t know, honestly. It’s not making music though.”

I suddenly remembered the school rumors about Yoo Chun’s ability to play the piano and the guitar. Perhaps the rumors held some grain of truth. I was dying to know why he quit.
“Why did you stop? I think musicians are hot!” I prodded as I nudged his shoulder. Yoo Chun laughed and ignored my questions.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Yoo Chun asked.
“A mom.” I said immediately.
“What?”
“A good mom. A mom that plays with her kids, who makes her kids lunch and who has the time to write them hand written notes inside their lunches. I want to be able to take care of my husband as well as my kids and show them that I love them.” I said sincerely as I felt my eyes go soft with unbidden tears. I wasn’t about to let Yoo Chun see me so vulnerable, but he had caught me off guard with his question. I almost spilled to him about my father in Thailand, but I opted to keep my mouth shut.

“A mom....well, how about that.” Yoo Chun said in surprise as he turned back to the workbook. We began studying again.


Chapter 5

The rest of the week flew by like it always did because of school and work. Yoo Chun was especially hard on me at work because he would help me with my part of the job and then spend the extra time we had left grilling me with mid-term questions. I thought my head was going to burst from too much knowledge. I became a little bit more confident in my knowledge of the subject matters we had to know.

“Which king was the last of the Shilla Era before the Three Kingdoms came together?”

“What tense do I take when I ask someone about an event that has already happened?”

“What are you doing this weekend?”

“What?”
Yoo Chun sat down next to me and took off my earphones. I had been practicing my English with a couple of tapes he had lent me.
“I said, what are you doing this weekend?”
I sighed and rolled my eyes.
“I’m NOT studying with you this weekend! I’m taking today OFF from studying as soon as work is over.”
Yoo Chun seemed amused at my complete disgust in studying this weekend.
“Are you going to optional studies on Saturday morning?” Yoo Chun asked.
“You mean tomorrow?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I was going to skip tomorrow.”
“Me too! Great, then we can do something. We don’t have to be at the bakery till late afternoon!” Yoo Chun said happily. I was amused at how little things made him so happy. Especially little things like my company.
“Sure, what did you have in mind?”
“I was thinking maybe we should go to Everland or something. My aunt gave me free tickets. You want to go?”

I clapped my hands and squealed with joy. Yoo Chun looked around with a look on his face that was a mix between embarrassment and horror.
“Please refrain!”
“How exciting!! Wait, how many tickets do you have?”
“I don’t know, I can ask for however many that I need just as long as it’s not sixteen or some huge ass number.”
“We should invite Kim Jun Su! You remember him right? He worked with us at the sam gyup sal grill this summer. I met up with him earlier this week by accident.”
Yoo Chun’s face remained blank.
“Remember him? The blonde haired kid? He had a high voice but he was really nice?”
“Oh! Xiah! Yeah, I remember him.” Yoo Chun said in recognition.
“Xiah?”
“Yeah, that’s his nickname or whatever. Sure, we can invite him.” Yoo Chun said amiably as he wrote on his hand to ask his aunt for Everland tickets.

Yoo Chun walked back to his seat on the other side of the room. I smiled like a fool while I looked around the room, waiting for the teacher to come. I suddenly noticed Jeong Yun Ho’s dark eyes staring at me. My good mood fizzled immediately. I tried not to notice that he was staring at me, but he was being so blatant about it. What was up with this kid? All my past notions of him being handsome disappeared with his continued staring.
“Whaaat?” I said rudely to him as I fixed my gazed on him. Yun Ho didn’t even flinch as he just slid his eyes away. I couldn’t believe the nerve of this kid.

A couple hours later, shy Kim Jae Joong came up to me with a piece of paper. He didn’t say anything as he slid it to me and walked away. I opened the piece of scrap paper with interest and saw a bold hand with a short line on the paper.

I still don’t believe you.

I sighed out of disgust and looked at the author looking innocuously at me. Yun Ho flashed me a quick grin with his brilliantly over bleached teeth and turned back to his lunch. I turned the paper over and wrote furiously.

If I gave a flying f*ck about what you believe, I would’ve tried to convince you otherwise a long time ago. I don’t need to prove myself to you in any way, shape, or form.

I crinkled the note into a ball and threw it expertly at Yun Ho’s head while he was taking a bite of rice. He froze when the ball slapped against his perfectly coiffed hair. He put his chopsticks down and opened the ball up. He snorted with laughter as he reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. I was wondering what he was up to when my pocket buzzed.

He knew my number?!

He laughed out loud when he saw the look of shock on my face. I fumbled for my phone and flipped it open. Sure enough, there was one text message from an unknown 017 number.

You curse like a sailor. Are you sure you don’t have a penis hanging from beneath your school uniform skirt?

I stood up and stalked over to him. He looked up at me slowly with a languid smile.
“Why, if it isn’t manly Choi Eun Suh.” he taunted.
“How do you know my number?” I demanded. Yoo Chun looked over at me when he heard my voice. The wary look on his face came over again when he saw me speaking to Yun Ho. However, I was too pissed to even notice anything else besides Richie Rich’s snide smile.
“Student directory. Why, are your man boxers in a wad?” Yun Ho teased as he picked up a fried shrimp and bit into it.
“Please take my number off your phone.” I said with gritted teeth. Yun Ho finished chewing before answering.
“No.”
“I don’t want you calling me.”
“I didn’t call you, I text messaged you.”
“Regardless, I lost my appetite because of you. Don’t call me again.” I said as I whirled on my feet to walk away.
“Lost your appetite huh? Your appetite could use some curbing. Does your dad not make enough money to support you and your family enough to feed you? Are you hungry Eun Suh? Awww....” Yun Ho taunted as he started laughing to himself. My fingers clenched into fists as I turned around. I was seeing red.

The room stood frozen in time for a split second while my hand made contact with Jeong Yun Ho’s face. I had opened my fingers just in time to give him a earth-shattering smack across the face rather than a full-force punch. No one said a word while Yun Ho’s face turned toward his desk, disappeared from view. I was shaking with rage. I found my voice a couple seconds later.

“Don’t ever mention my father again. You aren’t fit to lick his shoes.” I said in an angry whisper. Consequences or no consequences, Jeong Yun Ho deserved that smack more than anybody that I knew. However, I couldn’t stop a small prick of fear from entering my heart. Since I slapped the richest, most powerful kid at school, I was sure to be expelled from my high school.
I grabbed my book bag and ran out of the classroom before everyone could see my tears. I hadn’t cried in so long, I was surprised when a tear made its way down my face.
“Eun Suh! Eun Suh!” Yoo Chun’s voice called from the classroom. I had to get away before he could catch up with me. I ducked into the girl’s bathroom and slipped into a stall.
My breaths came out in ragged gasps as I found myself weeping.
“What’s the big deal? I’m not going to college! It doesn’t matter that I didn’t finish high school.” I said as my voice cracked and disappeared between my sobs.

I could only imagine the look on my mother’s face when she saw that I had been expelled from high school. She’d be so disappointed. My body was wracked with guilt when I touched my jacket and thought about the care she had put into picking out the best secondhand school uniforms for me so I wouldn’t look cheap and mended. I had yelled at her for buying secondhand, but now I would break her heart by getting kicked out of school. I slid down the bathroom door and curled up into a ball and cried even harder.

“Daddy, where are you?” I called out in a little voice as I wiped my nose. Somewhere deep in the heart of Thailand, my father must be trying to come back to me. He would come back with enough money to keep me from working. I could study and go to college, I could be a normal kid with normal dreams. Yun Ho’s taunting voice came back to me with fresh waves of hurt as his words struck home. My father couldn’t provide for us. He couldn’t and that’s why he left. Perhaps he had only said he was going to come back to reassure us, but he was really running away. Regardless, the most hurtful point was that he was not here now.

Feeling completely abandoned, I got up to wash my face. The cold water felt refreshing and woke me up a little bit from my pity party.
“It’s going to be okay Choi Eun Suh. You have to be strong.” I told myself in the mirror, red eyes and all. I didn’t believe myself at all, but hearing it gave me a little bit of strength. I walked out of the bathroom and made my way out of the school. If they were going to expel me, I was going on my own terms, on my own accord.


Chapter 6

“Here” Jun Su said as he handed me a banana milk. I looked up at him glumly and sighed. My hand wouldn’t listen to me. Jun Su ended up putting the milk in my hands.
“Drink it, it’ll make you feel better.”
I took the straw from him and peeled the cellophane away. The milk did taste good, but it didn’t take away my apprehension.
“What am I going to do Jun Su?” I said miserably as I looked up at him for some kind of advice. He sat down next to me looked straight ahead.
“You say this kid is the richest and most powerful kid at school?”
“Yeah”
“There’s no way you can come back to that high school since you hit him right?”
“Right.”
“Then I say we kick the sh*t out of him good and proper. If you’re going to get kicked out anyway, you might as well do it with a bang. Give him something he’ll never forget.”

The chilly wind blew against my hair as I sucked down the milk and looked at the Han River. The riverbank was getting colder by the minute but I didn’t notice. Yoo Chun had called me five or six times, but I didn’t have the courage to call him back.
“I don’t want to beat him up again.” I said honestly with a waver in my voice. Jun Su looked at me while his blonde hair fluffed all over the place.
“Why not?”
“I don’t know. What he said was the truth? I never meant to hit him, I guess I just got upset because he was saying things that I had been denying for so long.” I said sadly. I could feel tears trying to well up in my eyes again, but I fought back. I wasn’t going to be weak now.
“You can always go to another high school, Eun Suh. It won’t be so bad.” Jun Su said hopefully as he patted me on the back. It was slightly awkward to have my ex-co-worker try to comfort me, but right now I had nobody else.
“Do you want to get some soju?” I asked as I motioned with my head toward the avenue of street vendors. They lined the recreation area by the river. Couples had dates here as well as families gathered to play and eat good, cheap food. Jun Su grinned at me and stood up. He dusted off his bottom and held out his hand.
“Come on, I’ll buy.”

“Ahjumma! One more bottle!” I slurred a bottle later. Jun Su looked at me with doorknob sized eyes again, except this time it was out of pity at my incredibly low alcohol tolerance.
“You can’t be drunk already.”
“Did I mention I was a lightweight?” I said as I leaned toward Jun Su. He turned away from me and took another shot of soju.
“You’re a bundle of paradoxes Choi Eun Suh.” Jun Su said with a thoughtful look on his face.
“Why do you say that?”
“You can beat up a guy that I couldn’t take down, yet you can’t take more than a bottle of soju. You didn’t cry when the drunk customer you pissed off at the sam gyup sal grill tried to bury your face into the hot flames, but you cry when a rich boy who has nothing but money says one thing to piss you off. I don’t understand what hurts you.”
“Life hurts me Jun Su.” I said with a big grin, goofy grin on my face. My lips quivered immediately as unexpected tears sprang to my eyes.

“Nothing’s fair in life and somehow that burns me up more than anything else. That’s why I box. When I box, I feel like everything is at an equilibrium somehow. I’ve never had formal training. I’ve just seen boxing movies and other fighting movies. The motions may be violent, but they’re still beautiful just the same.” I said as my voice got slower and more slurred. I tried to reach for the bottle of soju, but my hand missed.
“You shouldn’t drink anymore.”
“You said you’d buy! If you don’t want to buy anymore I can buy!” I insisted as I reached for the bottle again. Jun Su easily took it away from me and unscrewed the top.
“One more.” he said as he looked at me sternly.
“Hee hee..” I laughed as I stuck my chilly hands into my inner thighs and shivered.
“The river wind is cold, huh?”
“Yeah, it’s chilly. You cold? You want my jacket?” Jun Su offered. I was touched by his offer. I knew he had nothing but a short sleeved polo shirt underneath his jacket.

“Nah, I’m a tough girl, I can handle the wind. I CAN HANDLE THE WIND!!” I suddenly yelled out as I stood up abruptly. Jun Su jumped at my hollering voice and pulled me back down.
“You scared me!” he snapped as soju dripped off the edge of the table where he spilled.

“You’re drunk Eun Suh, I’ll take you home.” a familiar voice said behind me as Yoo Chun’s hand came down on my shoulder. I craned my neck to look up at his concerned face.
“Yoo Chun! You’re here! You’re just in time. Come have a drink with us.” I motioned with my hand for the empty seat next to me.
“Eun Suh, I stopped by your house after school and after work to see if you were home. Your mom is worried. Let’s go home, I told her I’d look for you and bring you back.” Yoo Chun said firmly as he held out his hand. I looked up at him blankly.

“How did you find me?”
“Jun Su told me where you guys were.” Yoo Chun explained. I whirled around to look at guilty looking Jun Su.
“What?”
“I had to use your phone while you went to the bathroom. Mine’s out of batteries.” Jun Su said apologetically.
“Yoo Chun called right when I picked up your phone. I couldn’t lie to him.”
“You’re worthless.” I said nonchalantly as I begrudgingly took Yoo Chun’s offered hand. The ground wobbled when I stood up.
“I have to head home, but can you take her home? If not, I can go with you.” Jun Su offered. Yoo Chun shook his head.
“I can take care of her. Thanks a lot man. I know this is a strange situation, but it’s really good to see you.” Yoo Chun said with the first grin since he got to the river to find me.
“I’ll see you guys around.” Jun Su said as he walked away.

“Come on, Eun Suh, stop fighting me.” Yoo Chun huffed as his arm trembled under my weight. I wasn’t trying to be a dead weight, but it was so comforting to have someone’s arms around me. I sighed and turned to face Yoo Chun completely. We were by the street light fifty feet away from my home. How we had gotten home, I had no idea.
“What are you doing?” Yoo Chun asked in a joking voice as I leaned forward and buried my face into his chest.
“Am I fired from work too?” I asked in a muffled voice. I could smell Yoo Chun’s scent. It was a mixture of deodorant, cologne, and bakery bread. It smelled wonderful.
“No, I told the boss that you were sick with the flu. She gave you two more days off.”
I jerked my head up and shook my head.
“I can’t do that! I have to work now because I won’t be going to school!!” I cried out sadly. Yoo Chun chuckled and pushed my forehead with his finger.

“If you had answered my phone calls, you would know this already....but Jeong Yun Ho didn’t say a word after you ran away. He pretended nothing was wrong when the teacher asked him what was wrong with his cheek. He said he got allergic reactions to some kind of wool a lot. It was definitely a bullsh*t story, but he was obviously saving your ass. I really don’t think he’s going to rat you out to the teacher for you hitting him.” Yoo Chun said.
“Are you serious?” I asked in half-amazement, half-despair. If Yun Ho didn’t press charges or report me to the school, I was in debt to him for the rest of my life! What a disaster. My head cleared up a little bit when Yoo Chun told me the good news. I tried to pull away from Yoo Chun’s embrace, but he held onto me.

“Will you promise me something?” he asked as the air turned very suddenly awkward. I looked up at Yoo Chun’s face and smiled at the sincerity in his eyes.
“Sure.”
“Just stay away from both of them, please? You’re right. They’re obviously bored and Yun Ho especially has somehow chosen you as his target. Guys like that just dally with girls and throw them away like used napkins. You know that right?” Yoo Chun said with a quiet intensity that kind of scared me. He seemed really adamant that I never get hurt by the two rich kids at my school. I wondered why Yoo Chun was so wary of Chang Min as well, but I chose not to ask him.

“I’ll stay away.” I promised as I pulled away. The ground was still wobbly, but I wasn’t stupid drunk anymore.
“Promise?”
“Yes, I promise.” I said, meaning it as I held up my pinkie finger. Yoo Chun linked his pinkie finger with mine and we stamped on it as well.
“Do you want me to walk up the stairs with you?” Yoo Chun offered.
“Oh no! I can make it up those stairs fine. My mom is probably home. She’d have a heart attack if some guy she’d never seen before came up to our place. I mean, you don’t look scary or anything, but you know what I mean, right?” I said sheepishly as my tongue felt thick in my mouth. I couldn’t get anything out right. I gave a little laugh and started walking away.

“I’ll call you about Everland tomorrow.” Yoo Chun said with a wave and a smile. I waved back and trotted up the stairs. I noticed that he waited until he couldn’t see me anymore before he walked away.