No Longer Afraid

What A Strange Place To Find Love

 Woo, concerned over how pale Hobi has become, tells him, "It's okay. It's just rubber, kind of like medical gloves. Just look at it as medical gloves cut in pieces and painted to look like muscles, not real."

Hobi holds one end as you apply the other end to Woo's arm without the prosthetic, making it look like it had been ripped off. Woo can tell this is hard for Hobi to watch, so he tells his story to distract Hobi.

Woo says, "I lost both arms when I was 16 working on the family farm. Since I couldn't farm like my dad, I went to college to become a child counselor. Now, I work with children and teens who are newly disabled. But every year, I take a vacation to volunteer here. I've been coming back for two years now."

Hobi says, "I'm sorry. Life must have been hard for you."

"Yeah, sometimes real life can be brutal. At first, it took a lot of work to find a job. People pity you or treat you like your brain is gone just because your arms are. But I love my work as a child counselor. I think I lost my arms because it must have been the path I was to follow."

"It seems you really like coming here too," Hobi tells him.

"I love it here." now that you are done, he looks at you.

"Hey, I almost forgot to tell you before returning to work in the office. I have a job doing prosthetic commercials for a large medical company in America. I'm so excited. Never thought I would get to travel and see the world." He smiles proudly.

You smile back, very happy for him. "Oh, Woo, that is so great!" You stand and hug him.

He is cheeky and says, "I would hug you back, but you know . . ." You and Woo laugh. 

He looks at Hobi and says, "I'm happy with my life as it is. I'm alive, have found the ghoul of my dreams, and have a baby on the way. I couldn't be happier."

You jump joyfully and scream, "Oh my god, Binna is pregnant!?" You quickly look at Hobi and say, "Binna is his wife. They met and fell in love here."

Hobi raises his brows, thinking, 'What a strange place to find love.' Then he stops, looks at Jae, and smiles, 'Maybe not so strange.'

Just then, a one-legged ghoul comes in using hand crutches. She stops in the doorway. 

"Did I hear someone scream my name?" she laughs as she goes to give Woo a kiss. He gestures to Hobi, "This is Hobi, Jae, and Tae's friend."

Binna smiles, "Nice to meet you." 

 Hobi smiles and gives a slight bow in greeting. His mind reels with zombies and ghouls, and he stops looking around the fake bloody kitchen. 'I won't embarrass myself by throwing up. I can handle this. It's all fake, it's all fake, fake... everything fake.'

You ask Binna, excited at the news, "Is it true you are going to have a baby?" you take her hands in yours, and she nods. You hug her, so happy for her and Woo.

"This is awesome news!!" Still smiling, you ask, "Do you need anything, Binna?"

She checks herself and then says, "Nope. It looks like I'm all here." She suddenly laughs, "Oh wait, I forgot my leg."

She hobbles out of the room and returns with her fake studio leg. Binna looks at you and says, "Jaejae, you should invite him to join us for dinner after work."

You look at Hobi, suddenly shy, and ask, "Would you like to meet up for dinner this evening?"

He smiles yet looks around at Woo and Binna, "Umm."

Woo says, "Oh, don't worry. We'll be back to human, living humans for dinner," he laughs.

"Let me check with the guys." Hobi starts to get his phone out.

Temporarily forgetting  about them, you blush and say, "They can come too."

While texting the guys, you start talking to Woo and Binna.

"Binna, what will you do when you start to show?"

She says, "They have already set me up for a new scene where I won't be on my stomach."

"That is fantastic!" you hug Binna, "I'm so thrilled for you two, umm, three." You and Binna start laughing.

Hobi comes closer to you, "Everyone is excited about going to dinner with zombies and ghouls."

 They all laugh as you gather your things up and tell Woo and Binna, "I have more zombies and ghouls to fix up. We will see you at dinner." 

You hold Hobi's hand, "Come on, let's see some more."

He follows you, not as afraid as he was before entering. After a couple more ghoul and zombie checks, you head down the hall, automatically holding hands. 

Suddenly, you scream, jumping back and pushing Hobi against the wall with your body. He catches you in his arms to keep you from falling.

 For a split second, your and Hobi's eyes were round as saucers, staring at each other. Your body pressed to his, and it seemed the world stopped.