Unexpected Ties

Caught in the Act

I decided to try calling Minjae with the number I had. I tried various combinations of the missing digit, from zero to five, but each time,  the dial tone became a constant soundtrack.

I took a deep breath, and dialed the number with the missing digit as six for my last attempt.

"zero..one..zero..eight..five..two..nine..six." I put the coin inside the coin slot.
"Please..pick up.." I whispered to myself.

"Hello." A voice answered from the other end of the line.
" I'd like to talk to Jung Minjae, please." I replied.
"Who's this?"
"We're doing a research..yes or no..please give your response after the tone..." I tried to imitate the beeping sound.
"Yes." He replied.
"Please provide us with your pager number."
"wait..Kim Hana?"

Shit, how'd he recognize my voice?
Without a second thought, I abruptly hung up and ran out of the telephone booth.
When I got back home, I opened the e-mail I received from Miyeon.

"Hana..did you get his pager number?"

"No..I tried but I couldn't..how are you Miyeon?"
I replied back.

"The surgery's after five days..and I'm scared already."

"It's gonna be fine Miyeon..I know it.."

"It must be night there..you should go to sleep now..and find out more about Minjae tomorrow."

"Sure."

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After a long wait of fifteen minutes, the bus finally arrived.I stepped on board and swiped my bus card against the card reader, only to be met with a dreaded message: "Insufficient Balance."

"How can I forget this.." I nervously whispered to myself.
"I will pay for two students." Siwoo got on the bus after me.
"Thank you...I'll return you the money soon." I smiled at him.
"It's for me and Minjae." He winked at me.
"You piece of..." I grunted.
"Please get off the bus if you aren't paying the fare." The driver said.

I had to recharge my card and wait for the next bus now, I'd be late to school today.

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Our first meeting of Broadcasting club was today. I stepped inside the broadcasting studio, some children were testing the equipments while some were chatting around.

"Sit with your assigned partners please." Jae-hee our broadcasting club president, announced.

I spotted Siwoo sitting on the second table. I made my way towards him.

"How was the punishment?" He smiles.
"for coming late to school?" he adds.
"Really good.." I said while smiling humorlessly.
"I was being sarcastic..I didn't have money for three people in my card."
"Yeah..whatever.."
"Okay..I am sorry." He nervously laughs.
"Forget it..can you tell me why your bestfriend backed off from joining this club?"

"He doesn't know a thing about broadcasting."
"then why did he audition for it." I muttered.
"What?"
"Nevermind..can you tell me about....."

I was interrupted by Siwoo, "I am willing to help.....if you can get me a movie."
"Your family rents out movies, right?" He continues.
I nodded, "Which one do you want?"
He came closer and whispered the movie's name in my ear.
"That's not for minors!" I looked at him with a disgusted expression.
"It's totally upto you..if you wanna know about Minjae.."
"Fine..I'll see whatever I can do."

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The following night, I sneaked out of my house, to my fathers DVD shop. The dimly lit room was filled with stacks of movies of all genres. I made my way towards the last shelf that read, 'Not for minors!'
I found the movie Siwoo mentioned and put the tape inside my bag's last pocket.

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I didn't see Siwoo in the bus today so I had to keep that movie tape inside my bag till recess.

"Complete the homework by tomorrow." Ms. Shin our homeroom teacher said as she was going out of the classroom.
"Oh! We have surprise bag checking today..So be ready with your bags." She added.

"What?" I gasped.
"What happened Hana?" my partner asked.
"Can you do it after lunch break?" I asked.
"No." Ms.Shin said sternly.

Well, Shit.