Last Romeo

3

Ha Na and I are back from the restaurant. I can't believe Woo Hyun works there. Was it destiny?

"I'm gonna go do homework." I say to Ha Na, who ignores me. I sigh, kids these days. I go to the room that Ha Na and I are sharing. I sit at my desk and stare at my homework sadly. I open my math textbook and attempt the first equation.

"What is this?" I mumble. I read the problem over and over again, but still don't get it. I move onto the next problem and am even more confused than before. I groan and put my head down on my desk. There's no one I can ask for help. An idea pops up in my head. I jump out of chair an grab my textbook.

"Where are you going?" Ha Na asks, as I put my shoes on.

"To do math." I say.

"Great, I can practice my routine." Ha Na says.

"Wow, you're trying to get rid of me." I say.

"Ani. Saranghae Unnie.~" Ha Na says, hugging me. I smile at her silliness. She lets go and I leave. I stand outside of Sung Yeol's apartment. I knock on his door and wait. Footsteps shuffle behind the door, it suddenly swings open. Sung Yeol stares at me.

"Hi~" I say, smiling.

"What do you want?" He asks, emotionlessly.

"Do you want to be study buddies?" I ask.

"I don't study." He says, closing the door. This is gonna be a lot harder than I thought. I wedge my foot between the door.

"This is a good opportunity to start studying." I say.

"I don't study." Sung Yeol repeats. He starts closing the door.

"This is why Woo Hyun said you're useless." I say, annoyed. Sung Yeol stops closing the door.

"Woo Hyun said I'm useless?" Sung Yeol asks, glaring at me. Uh-oh.

"Uhhhhhhhhh......" I say, not sure what to say.

"Come in." Sung Yeol says, opening the door for me. I step inside and take my shoes off. His apartment looks like mine.

"Have a seat." He says, motioning to the table. I have a seat.

"I'll be back." Sung Yeol says and disappears down a hall. I open my textbook the chapter we're doing. He's back in no time carrying his textbook.

"Function h is defined by

h(x) = 3 x 2 - 7 x - 5

find h(x - 2). " I read off out of the textbook. Sung Yeol thinks for a bit and then writes in his notebook. I also try the problem. He looks over at my notebook.

"That's wrong." He says.

"Aish." I say, frustrated. I'm doomed.

"The answer is h(x-2)= 3x2-19x+7." Sung Yeol says. I stare at him shocked and confused.

"But how do I get to that?" I ask.

"Substitute x by x-2 in the formula of function h h(x - 2) = 3 (x - 2) 2 - 7 (x - 2) - 5
Expand and group like terms

h(x - 2) = 3 ( x 2 - 4 x + 4 ) - 7 x + 14 - 5

= 3 x 2 - 19 x + 7 ." Sung Yeol explains, writing in my book. Wow, it makes so much more sense now.

"Is this why you don't study? Cause you're smart?" I ask.

"There's no point for someone like me to care about education." Sung Yeol says, staring at the table. Before I can ask why, my phone rings. It's from my mom. I answer

"Yoboseyo?"I say.

"Ha Eun-ah." Eomma says.

"Yeah." I say.

"Did you and your sister eat?" She asks.

"Yeah." I say.

"Good. You two stay safe." She says. She and appa have been acting weird these past few weeks and I don't know why.

"I was wondering when we can-"

"I have to go. It was nice talking to you." Eomma says, cutting me off.

"Uh, okay. Bye." I say

"Bye." She says and then hangs up. That was a weird call. I look over at Sung Yeol and find him sleeping. This guy sure does sleep a lot.

"Lee Sung Yeol." I say,shaking him. He doesn't wake up. I sigh. His phone suddenly rings and he jumps up.

"Yoboseyo?" He says. He sighs.

"Again?" He asks. "I'll be there soon." He hangs up.

"Where are you going?" I ask.

"Go home." He says, putting his shoes on. I grab my book and put my shoes on. When we exit, he locks the door and runs off towards the stairs and doesn't even say bye. I go back to my apartment and find my sister dancing. I lean against the wall and watch her. Her moves are sharp, but smooth. I wish I could dance. The music stops and I clap.

"You scared me!" Ha Na says, holding her heart.

"Maybe you shouldn't blast your music so loudly." I say.

"How long were you standing there?" She asks, taking a drink of water.

"Long enough." I reply. I drop my textbook on the coffee table in the living room and head to the kitchen. I grab a bottle of water and take a sip. I hear the front door open and then the sound of my grandparents voices.

"Welcome home." Ha Na and I say.

"You two are so cute." Halabeoji says.

"But I'm cuter, right?" Ha Na says. Our grandparents laugh.

"No comment." Halabeoji says.

"Good answer." Halmeoni says. We go to the living room, where we all sit.

"So how was the bakery?" I ask.

"Very busy, as usual." Halmeoni says. My grandparents own a very successful bakery, probably one of the most successful in Seoul. They had one back in Busan, but it wasn't so successful. I guess people in Seoul like sweets a lot more than people in Busan.

"Of course, you guys sell the best pastries in all of Seoul." I say.

"Speaking of the bakery, I need both of you come by and help out after school tomorrow." Halmeoni says.

"I can't, I have rehearsal until 6." Ha Na says. Halmeoni gives her a look.

"What? It's true." Ha Na says defensively.

"I'll be there right after school." I say, happily. Halmeoni smiles.

"Did you two eat dinner?" Halabeoji asks.

"I'm still full." Ha Na says. I cringe.

"You ate out?" Halmeoni asks.

"Unnie and I went out to eat." Ha Na confesses. Halmeoni looks at me.

"I told you that I was going to be back early and make dinner." Halmeoni says. "I also told you to tell your sister that."

"Ooops." Ha Na says.

"Come here." Halmeoni says. Ha Na gets up and starts running, Halmeoni chases after her. Halabeoji and I watch in amusement. Maybe this is why my parents wanted us to move in with our grandparents, to spend time with them. Or is it?

A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed!