KBIN - CALL ME K

BIG HYUNG

"Oh no, what a stupid mistake!!! The competition is near, what can I do now if I'm injured? Who can replace my part? The team will now have to suffer. What should I do to make it up for them?"

These thoughts are playing inside Hung's mind right after he regains consciousness. He doesn't dare to open his eyes to see his friends yet. Hung knows this accident is no joke, and his chance to recover before the competition seems slim. But, he needs to face the reality, and probably finds a solution with them. He slowly lifts his heavy eyelids.

None of his friends is here. The street is filled with people, but no one looks familiar. In fact, they are in ancient clothes and speaking the kind of language he cannot recognize yet. And it's not even the walking street he is used to. But Hung knows he has been here before. Hung shakes his head, in hopes that the memories can jump out of a corner in his brain, probably. After a few seconds, he finally gets the answer... Oh why?

Hoi An, a sunny day in 1678

He cannot be wrong, he is definitely in Hoi An. He can see the famous Japanese covered bridge from where he's lying. Hoi An is a popular well-reserved city in Vietnam and he has been here before, as well as read a lot about it before the dance contest. Well, he loves the city, that's why he is putting all the effort into the competition to get the free trip. But yes, why is he lying in the middle of its walking street? Why are people dressed so strangely? And what confuses him the most is why the young guy he saw before the accident happened is here too, about 3 meters far from him, just exactly like when he saw him earlier. He is wearing a Kimono, with a typical paper fan in his hand. 

Hung quickly stands up:

- Hey you.

Not a single signal from the guy. Does he dare to pretend not to know Hung after causing such an accident? Maybe he is the one who kidnaps Hung here. Hung goes to the man's direction. Wow, what a tall man, Hung is 1.76m tall himself but such a smol standing next to the guy. If a fight occurs between them, Hung might not be able to win it. Hung taps his shoulder lightly.

- Hey you. Why am I here? You saw me earlier, right?

Hung tries to speak fast to get the guts up. He cannot show the guy he's feeling a bit insecure. Yes, Hung must act like a tough guy despite his smol body. Only by doing so, he stands a chance to sound intimidating.

This cold-looking young man looks at Hung for less than a second and quickly turns his head, totally ignoring Hung's questions.

This is so frustrating! He doesn't have any courtesy, even just a bit? What kind of a polite person to ignore someone else completely when they try to talk to them? Such a handsome man, but way too rude. Hung's face is getting red before he overhears the conversation between the guy and some other merchants. They are speaking Japanese indeed. What's really going on? A bunch of foreign people doing cosplay of 17th-century merchants? Even the way they talk, they behave, it's not what Hung is used to. But it's not the right time to question, what matters now is knowing what is happening to him, not them. Hung lowers his voice, asking as politely as possible.

- Excuse me. Can you please tell me what is going on here?

The guy turns his head to look at Hung again. He seems to admire Hung's English. Well, there is never a shortage of what to compliment about Hung, a smile of pride starts to form on Hung's face. But it soon disappears as all the guy can say is just a simple Hello. Argh, Hung cannot speak his language, Japanese. Hung is fluent in Vietnamese, of course, his mother tongue, English, and he can convey what he means in Korean but not as smoothly as he wishes. The guy ignored Hung entirely when Hung spoke to him in Vietnamese, his English is limited to just a Hello, now their language barrier seems to be as big as Great Wall. Probably Hung should give Korean a try. As Korea and Japan are close, also the guy seems to be a merchant, maybe he can speak some Korean, Hung hopes so.

And he does understand Korean. Great!

- Where am I now?

- Hoi An, Dai Viet.

- I know, but what's going on? What kind of festivals is happening here?

- What's Festival? You mean trading? Yes, we are buying stuff to resell later in Siam.

What a funny guy, he is in the mood for jokes now? Siam Center wouldn't even let them enter their doors, let alone buying these things from them. But seriously, there is no time to argue, what is important the most is to be back to practice for the competition. Hung doesn't feel any pain, not in his hands, not in his neck. He can surely join the competition with his mates. At least, it's good news for such a weird day. Hung grabs the guy's kimono and asks:

- Do you know what date it is?

- 19/1/1678.

If it's really Hung's birthday, he might buy that they are doing him a surprise party. And what? 1678? This guy must be a comedian! Hung merely wants to know how long he has been asleep, and now he is trying to tell him that he wakes up in the past? About 350 years ago? Hilarious!!!

But wait...

None of Hung's friends can afford such a massive scale Japanese/Chinese-styled cosplay party. And if they all put in their money, why wouldn't they just buy Hung a flight ticket to Seoul? They all know how much his love for S.Korea is! And also, that Japanese covered bridge looks really new, it must have been built only a decade ago. There is no way it's a 400-year-old bridge!

Time travel? No, don't!!! It has been trending recently, Hung was obsessed with Rooftop Prince but he never thought he would be in such a situation. What can he do to earn a living here? He hasn't finished his Marketing course yet, he cannot dance to Kpop songs either. That music simply doesn't exist yet, and he doesn't even have his teammates here with him. Well, his future seems quite rough.

The guy is standing still with a surprised look on his face. Hung must have looked really funny. Hung quickly realizes he's still grabbing the guy's clothes tightly, and he's sure he pulled it strongly several times as he was lost in his thoughts. Hung immediately releases his sleeve and bows down to apologize for his reckless behaviors earlier. Hung is about to depart, then he remembers that he only has some modern notes in his pocket. What can he do with about 500,000 VND of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the 17th century Dai Viet? Hung then grabs the guy's sleeve again, making him startled. Trying to shape his smile into a cute one, Hung begs:

- Are you a merchant? I know customer psychology, I know how to attract more clients, to introduce products, please let me work for you!

Hung just read about Hoi An's history a few nights ago. Japanese merchants were struggling. Maybe Hung will have a better chance in the Chinese town nearby. But, for some reason, the guy nods his head, with a face as cold as the Fuji mountain in his hometown.

- Thank you. My name is Hung. What's your name?

- Call me Big Hyung.

There is no way Hung will satisfy this sassy man. Let's see. A big hyung is đại ca in Vietnamese. Đại ca? It sounds like a big k, so basically, he will shorten it as K. Yes, it should be enough to please this man. 

(In Vietnamese, ca means hyung, đại means big or old => đại ca means big hyung or a gang leader. As k is pronounced as ca, đại ca = big hyung = big k = K).