The Boy From Two Doors Down

Chapter 9

"Dad....It's me again. Just wanted to tell you I saw uncle Choi today. He bought me lunch. It was nice seeing him again. I didn't tell him you weren't talking to me. This really sucks, you know. I refuse to call mom. I want to talk to you...I wish you would answer. I might be coming home for a couple of days. Anyways, i'll try again another day." *Beep*

Su-mi sulks at her phone screen. The majority of the names on her call-list have been outgoing "Appa" calls. She feels saddened that her father won't answer her phone. She shutters when she remembers the last news headlines she saw the other day about North Korea. She's considering taking a trip home, but isn't sure yet. She's only been here for a couple of months after all.

She heads down the stairs into the underground station to board her train back home. A man at the bottom of the stairs is standing alone with his back faced towards her. He rocks back and forth on his feet like as if he's waiting for something or someone. Su-mi doesn't pay much attention to him. She walks past him quickly, but jumps when she feels an unexpected tap on the shoulder.

"Eh!?" She quickly turns around, only to find a grinning Hoseok who's standing there with a delighted look on his face.

"Phew! I'm so glad I was right on time." He chimes happily, pretending to wipe invisible sweat off his forehead.

"Oh! Hi there, Hobi." She returns the smile. Her apples of her cheeks are shaded a light pink. She's feeling slightly embarrassed to see him again after her breakdown this morning on the train. "I wasn't expecting to find you here."

"Hobi?" He flicks an eyebrow up. "You've never called me Hobi before."

"It's a cute name. I heard your friends call you that a couple of times."

"Ah, right." He nods with his lips pressed into a line. "Anyways," his smile returns, "Since it's Friday and the weekend has begun, I thought we should....maybe do something." He does a little dance with excitement, pointing the way back up the stairs.

Su-mi's expression drops. "Uh.." She rubs the back of her head nervously. She parts her lips but no words come out. She curls her lips in tightly now, unsure how to respond.

"What's wrong?" Hoseok's expression drops and quickly straightens his posture.

"N-nothing! But um...are you sure we should be--"

Hoseok's face went from worried, to annoyed within .05 seconds. He let's out a sigh, slightly shaking his head. "No Su-mi. I didn't mean THAT. I meant hang out, you know..like two normal friends. I could show you around Seoul and we could have dinner or something."

"Oh!! Yes, right." She laughs nervously. Her cheeks are turning red like two cherries now.

Before she could say anything else, Hoseok already had his elbow extended out towards her. He flicks his eyebrows up and his lips stretch out into a smile. "Are you ready?"

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Hoseok and Su-mi are sitting in a small restaurant right in front of a shopping mall. They're both sitting at a one-sided table that's facing the window which has a view of the sidewalk right in front of the restaurant.

Su-mi is enjoying her favorite Korean meat Bulgogi with fried rice on the side. She eats happily, scarfing her food down while Hoseok does the same. He peeks at her a couple of times with a smile on his face. He's amused to see her so content.

*zzzzz.....zzzzz.....zzzzz*

Su-mi and Hoseok both glance down at her vibrating phone:

Incoming Call