Reserved [Book V]

Stranger

Green is every place I see,
be left or right or up on a tree.
Nearby doves shook awake on their nests.
Color is brighter on robin's breast.
I rise and smile and bloom and stretch.
I thrive for the amount I longed to fetch.
And even with rain dropping down on my head,
I sit in tranquil beauty on a soft grass bed.

Sidewalk Flower (2016) by Jang Ah-reum

***

There was no way Areum could have avoided the questions during dinner. Not that she was thinking of not sharing anything, it's just that the moment she met Huang Zi-tao wasn't worth sharing. She didn't even want to repeat it in her own mind, what more with words aloud towards her brothers?

Areum was still confused before they began eating, less during. Her ears were focused for after a question, she'd answer, and then she'd throw her own query, to which Hongbin and Wonshik quietly paid attention, Jaehwan replied and Hakyeon agreed. It was almost a system, really, and Areum would've gone wary as hell if what she asked wasn't satisfied with a clear response.

She abused the time she was receiving information and learned that Jaehwan knew Zitao through a mutual friend's cousin. The boy was in high school and her brother was already working at WriteRight when they met. When Areum was left in Wonju to finish high school, she talked to her brothers every day, and Zitao happened to be one of those stories left unsaid. The name wasn't even one bit familiar.

So pushing her limits as she reckoned Zitao wouldn't tell her anything understandable, Areum asked and asked.

"What's with the debt?" She went ahead and voiced out. Hongbin furrowed his eyebrows and Jaehwan paused eating. Wonshik was only quiet and Hakyeon straightened up on his seat. "Zitao said something about paying a debt."

"Oh, that." Jaehwan cleared his throat, continuing on his meal. "He borrowed cash."

"And he'll pay you by looking after Areum?" Hongbin butted in.

"It was for a gaming set." Jaehwan explained. "The kid wanted to have it and during that time, tech stuff is pretty pricey, so he asked me to lend him a little."

"If it's debt involving money, why not just let him pay for it instead of going through all this trouble for me?" Areum hated the idea more and more. She wasn't supposed to be mixed up in some business between Jaehwan and Zitao but here it is, already occurring.

"It will be a long time before he manages to earn and pay me, and by the time he does, I won't need it anymore. I'm already stable with my job, Areum. I'm not supplying cash for anyone but you, besides rent for the apartment." Jaehwan seemed so sure about his statements that Areum found it hard to believe; not the statements itself but the fact that Jaehwan was serious, something out of character. "So while his schedule is not packed, I figured how he can get out of what he owed me by doing this favor."

"It sounds ridiculous, nevertheless." Hongbin shook his head. Jaehwan sighed.

"It's a win-win for both of us. I don't see how this is bad. He can finally pay me back and we have assurance that Areum's safe inside that fraternity-infested university. I trust the kid and his skills."

"Sure, you have a win-win thing, but haven't you considered how Areum feels about this? It's like saying she's a cripple who needs someone to push her wheelchair around." Hongbin reasoned out with a shake of the head. Areum pointed her chopsticks at him in agreement while said brother pointed his own on Wonshik and Hakyeon consecutively. "And I still can't believe you two agreed with this. Wonshik hyung is naturally protective but you, Hakyeon hyung..."