Chapter 6 - Maybe I'm in Love With You...
Hara followed Onew towards the carpark. From a distance away, Hara was able to spot his car. As they neared the vehicle, Hara grinned wickedly the moment she saw Onew's bulging eyes. She knew he did not expect this - seeing all four tyres of his car punctured. Onew gave a low growl before taking out his phone to call someone. She heard him arguing with the person on the other line before he finally stopped talking and shoved his phone into his pocket.
"What now?" Hara pretended to ask, looking concerned.
"Let's just use your car." Onew replied, glancing at Hara.
"Great! Let's go." Hara led the way towards her car which was parked just a few metres away from his.
***
*30 minutes earlier*
"Lee Joon-ah, I need your help with something!" Hara whispered into her phone.
"Yah, when you're in need, I am always the first you'll find right? So typical of you!" Lee Joon mocked.
"Please Joonie! I know I can count on you right?" Hara pleaded.
"Hm, what is it that you want me to help you with?" Lee Joon asked. "Make sure it's something fun."
"It's fun alright."
"Sinchia? Okay, shoot!"
"How about flattening tyres? Do you dare to do it?" Hara raised an eyebrow.
"Whose car? Where? You think I don't dare do it?"
"Of course you dare. I never doubted you even for a moment." Hara smiled.
"Where's the car?"
"It's just here, at the carpark. It's just a prank actually." Hara shrugged.
"Okay what model is it? Any plate numbers?" Lee Joon asked.
"But you have to do it now!" Hara told him. "Can you?"
"I have no problems on my side. It's part of my job too actually." Lee Joon said with a smirk. "How do you think I was able to catch up on interviews with some of our celebrtities who tried to run off from us press? A punctured tyre of course! I'm great at it!"
"I know you are Joon, that's why I need your help now!"
"Okay tell me the details."
Hara grinned. "Okay, it's a black Kia Forte with the plate number..."
***
Hara drove her car skillfully towards the airport. With her behind the wheels, she suddenly felt very much in control. Onew was sulking beside her on the passenger seat. He was suddenly too quiet and that made Hara felt a little uncomfortable. She was getting used to his snickerings and with his silence in her car, she thought it felt so wrong.
The moment Hara had her car parked, Onew quickly rushed out, practically leaving her behind. Hara had to run a little to catch up with him but it was a bit hard on her since she was wearing heels. She had almost trip during her run but luckily a tall white man managed to stop her fall. Hara smiled thankfully before running off again in search for Onew.
"Yah! Slow down will you?" Hara said panting the moment she caught up with him.
"I work fast. You're the one who's slow." Onew spat. "And you have time to flirt off with some random guys? Unbelievable."
"That man? He helped me break my fall!" Hara exclaimed, clearly upset with Onew. "It's not like I threw myself on him!"
"Whatever." Onew shrugged. "I'm going to check the arrival information."
Hara watched as Onew walked away again with his confident posture. Hara gritted her teeth. He was really making her very angry. She blinked back the angry tears which were threatening to come out.
'Why must I make make the effort to explain the situation to him? I shouldn't care of what he thinks of me!' Hara told herself. 'Maybe he needs more than four punctured tyres!'
The more Hara thought about Onew, the more annoyed she became. So she sat herself on one of the seats at the waiting area, as she stared into space. She was not going to care about her work anymore. She was going to let Onew handle it all by himself since he always boasted to her that he worked better alone.
"Having some problems?" Hara turned up to see the white man who had helped her earlier, sitting beside her. He had a friendly smile on him and that made Hara smiled back in return. "Do you speak English?" He asked again.
"Y-Yes, I do." Hara replied in her most confident tone. "I'm Hara by the way. And you are?"
"I'm Mike. You can call me Mikey if you want." Mike said as he held out a hand to shake Hara's.
"Is this your first time here in Korea?" Hara asked.
"Yes. It's my first time! And I love it here!"
"Oh really?" Hara nodded. "So what aren't you sight-seeing?"
"I'm waiting for my flight back to America actually." Mike explained.
"Ah, I see. Have you checked in then?"
"Not yet. My flight is delayed because of a bad weather somewhere." Mike shrugged. "Then what about you?"
"Oh, I'm waiting for my friend." Hara said.
"I really like Korea. And the women here are so beautiful!" Mike said as he brushed a finger on Hara's cheek causing her to stiffen almost automatically. Hara could feel Mike sitting a little bit too close to her.
"Ah! I need to go now. Hope to see you again!" Hara smiled nervously as she tried to get up from her seat but Mike held her back. One hand was grasping tightly on her arm and the other on her thigh, just above her knee..
"Since I have a few more hours to wait, why don't we head on to somewhere quiet. I'll show you something extraordinary." Mike whispered into Hara's ears causing her to shriek in response.
"Let me go now! I'm not the kind of girl you think I am!" Hara said in panic. "I need to go now, my boyfriend's waiting for me. If he sees you harrassing me like this, he'll surely won't let you get away with it!"
"Boyfriend? Who? The guy earlier?" Mike sneered. "He doesn't care about you! But I do, and I'm sure I'll perform better than him."
"Let me go!" Hara struggled. She was strong, but Mike was stronger. Hara cringed when she felt Mike pulling her towards him and she could feel his hot breath on her face. Hara was sure Mike was going to force a kiss on her, so she pursed her lips tightly and closed her eyes. But the kiss did not happen and Mike's grasp was nowhere to be felt on her shoulders. Hara opened her eyes to see Mike being pushed away by someone. And that person was none other than Onew himself. Hara had never been so happy to see him there.
"Stay away from my girlfriend you bastard!" Onew shouted in fluent English, his voice full of anger.
"Onew!" Hara cried out and almost by instinct she jumped up into his arms, hugging him tightly. She felt Onew's hands circling her waist, embracing her.
"You're lucky this time. Next time, I won't hesitate to call the police!" Onew threatened Mike who was still sitting down on the floor before walking away with Hara, who was sobbing in his arms.
Onew brought Hara back to her car. Onew let go of Hara gently and handed her a piece of handkerchief. “A-Are you okay?” He asked worriedly, surprising Hara a little.
“Ne. Thank you for coming on time.” Hara replied softly, her head bent low. She accepted the handkerchief gratefully before wiping her tears. She was suddenly feeling embarrassed to look at her saviour.
“Ani, I did what I think was right.” Onew shrugged. “Besides, you looked rather uncomfortable.”
“I was.” Hara admitted. “It was my first time being in close proximity with a guy. Even my previous boyfriends never got so close like that.”
Onew nodded in understanding. “I’m sure if you wear something more proper, no guys would dare take advantage of you like that.”
Hara grimaced upon hearing Onew’s words, but she nodded absent-mindedly, knowing there’s a truth in them. “I learn my mistakes now.”
“So, uh, do you think you can drive?”
“Huh? Aren’t we waiting for the soccer team to arrive?” Hara asked, confused.
“Ani. Their flight has been cancelled because of bad weather. So I believe we should go instead of lingering here.” Onew explained. His voice was much softer and gentle this time that it made Hara shivered a little.
“Ah, I see.” Hara replied before taking out her car keys and handed them to Onew. “Here, you drive.”
Onew raised an eyebrow. “You sure?”
Hara nodded. “I’m still in shock.”
Onew grinned. “Ahrasso. Get in then!”
******
“You were late.” Seohyun said again, folding her arms across her chest, feigning anger. She kept her eyes focused on the road ahead.
“I’m sorry Seohyun-ssi. I was held up earlier.” Yonghwa said as he continued to drive his car towards Seohyun’s house. Once in a while he would throw a glance towards the girl beside him.
“I waited for you for two hours you know that?”
“I’m so sorry. It won’t happen again.” Yonghwa promised. He stopped his car just in front of the gate.
“What made you so sure to make that promise to me?” Seohyun asked facing him with raised eye brows.
“Because this time, I’m going to ask you for your phone number. So if next time I’m going to be late, I would give you a call earlier to inform, so you won’t have to wait for me.” Yonghwa grinned before taking out his phone from his pocket. “Please tell me your number then.”
“Is this one of man’s tricky ways to get a girl’s number?” Seohyun asked again with a frown.
“Ani. This is what they call sincerity.” Yonghwa answered, smiling playfully.
“Ahrasso. I will give you my number, just because you look like a trustworthy person.” Seohyun grinned as she took Yonghwa’s phone from his hand and keyed in her number into his phone.
“Komawo.” Yonghwa said shyly.
“So what does this means exactly?” Seohyun questioned as she handed the phone back to Yonghwa.
“What does what means exactly?”
“You know, you asking for my phone number.” Seohyun shrugged.
“Didn’t I just explain it to you earlier?”
“Yeah you did. But is that it?” Seohyun raised an eyebrow.
“What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean.”
Yonghwa was confused. He was not sure what Seohyun was talking about suddenly.
“So, my number is just for safe-keeping sake?” Seohyun’s asked, annoyed.
“What are you talking about now? You’re making me confused for no reason at all.” Yonghwa said. “Can’t you just say it straight to the point?”
Seohyun sighed out loud. “Fine. I guess we won’t see each other anytime soon after this.”
“What? But why?”
“I’m out of here.” Seohyun said as she opened the car door to get off.
“Wait!” Yonghwa exclaimed causing Seohyun to look at him for a moment.
“Where’s your anklet?” Yonghwa suddenly asked as he took a peek at Seohyun’s ankle which was indeed missing the anklet.
“Oh shit! I must have dropped it!” Seohyun cried as she quickly scanned Yonghwa’s car for any sign of the anklet. “It’s not here!”
“Let’s look for it then!” Yonghwa offered.
“I think it’s better if we were to walk back rather than take your car.” Seohyun told him and Yonghwa agreed.
So both Yonghwa and Seohyun took a walk down the road back towards the place where Yonghwa had picked Seohyun up earlier. At the same time they were scanning the grounds for Seohyun’s anklet that they did not notice a familiar couple who was walking hand in hand approaching them from the opposite direction.
“Hyunnie?”
“Yonghwa?”
Both Yonghwa and Seohyun looked up to see Joori and Tony peering down at them.
“What are you doing?” Joori asked. “And who’s this Hyunnie-ah?”
“He’s my brother, Yonghwa.” Tony said before either Seohyun or Yonghwa could answer.
“Your brother?” Joori gasped. “Is he the one who always called you when we’re out on dates previously?”
“Ne. He’s the same one.”
“Hyung! Who’s this? And why are you holding her hand?” Yonghwa asked, pointing towards Tony and Joori’s linked hands.
“Yeah unnie, why are you holding hands with a stranger?” Seohyun glared at the older woman in front of her.
“Yah! Can you please don’t be so rude here.” Tony told Yonghwa. “She’s Joori. We used to date a few years ago.”
“Ah, the one you dumped previously?” Yonghwa asked to be certain. Tony just grimaced.
“Ah! You’re the ex boyfriend? Ommo!” Seohyun gasped, placing her hand on her mouth. “And you’re Yonghwa’s brother?”
“How come you are related to her?” Yonghwa asked Seohyun, as he rubbed his chin trying to remember something.
“She’s my landlord. I rent a room in her house.” Seohyun replied.
“Ah! That’s right. I remember now.” Yonghwa nodded in agreement. “I often see the three of you jogging together every Saturday.”
“You saw us?” Seohyun tilted her head towards Yonghwa. “And how do you know we jog on every Saturday?”
Yonghwa stiffened. Did he just said something he should not have?
“So you’re the girl he always climb the roof for every Saturday morning!” Tony exclaimed grinning.
“He climbed the roof just to see Seohyun?” Joori asked in shock. “Hm, but this sounds awfully familiar. Is there a balcony somewhere in your house as well?”
“There’s one in Yonghwa’s room. Why?”
Seohyun was dumbfounded. She stared at Yonghwa long and hard. Yonghwa cringed under her stares and tried to act oblivious about it.
“Is that why you’re eager to find that anklet earlier?” Seohyun asked.
Yonghwa gulped. “What anklet?”
“You know very well what I am talking about.” Seohyun said. “Are you the ‘Yong’ as in the letter?”
Yonghwa fidgeted as he threw a look at Seohyun. “Ahrasso, I admit it now. I am the ‘Yong’ okay.” Yonghwa finally confessed before heading back to his car, feeling so embarrassed suddenly. He never wanted his confession to end this way.
Seohyun gaped. So he was the guy who wrote that cheesy but romantic letter. And the best thing was, she enjoyed reading it so much. Everytime she read the letter, she felt as if she was reading lyrics from a song and that made her smile so much.
“Aren’t you going to chase him?” Tony suddenly asked causing Seohyun to jump a little.
“Ne?”
“I said, aren’t you going to chase him? I think he likes you very much you know.”
“Ah, ne!” Seohyun answered before running to catch up with Yonghwa.
“Aigoo. Kids nowadays have weird ways to fall in love.” Tony sighed, shaking his head.
“Not just them, you included!” Joori retorted as she poked into Tony’s chest.
Tony grinned. “Um, shall I show you my house first before I send you home? I don’t want to get in the kids’ way while they’re making some huge confessions.”
Joori grinned back. “Ahrasso. But not too long.”
“I know.” Tony said before leading Joori towards his house.
******
“Yah! Wait up!” Seohyun exclaimed, grabbing Yonghwa’s arm to turn him around.
Yonghwa looked at her with a pair of sorrowful eyes. He did not want her to mock him for his childish letter. He did not want her to make fun of his sincerity. He did not want her to think that whatever he did was just out of a simple playful crush. And the most important thing was that he did not want her to reject him plainly after knowing who her admirer was. After six long months of just watching from afar, he did not want this short meeting with her to end just like that.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have sent the letter in the first place.” Yonghwa said with his head bent low. “I’ll leave now.”
“No!” Seohyun shouted causing Yonghwa to gape.
“W-Wae?”
“Um, w-we no, I mean you still need to help me find the anklet.” Seohyun said.
“Bo?”
“I said, we still need to look for the anklet.” Seohyun repeated.
“We?”
“Yes we! And I want it found by tonight!” Seohyun said as she grabbed Yonghwa’s hand and held it tight. She knew she must be blushing madly right at that moment but she chose to ignore it. “Are you coming with me?”
Yonghwa looked at their linked hands. He blinked several times to get it registered in his mind again and yes, indeed they were still holding hands. “A-Are you serious?”
“Of course I am! Aren’t you the person who gave the anklet to me?”
“Ah ne.”
“Then you must help me find it!”
“So you’re not angry? Or upset with me? Or is it one of your ways to tease me?”
“Tease you? For what?” Seohyun frowned.
“A-Ani.”
“Then let’s go!” Seohyun pulled Yonghwa to follow her.
“Ah, before that, I wanted to be frank with you about earlier.” Yonghwa said as he gently wrapped his hands properly around Seohyun’s.
Seohyun smiled shyly. “What is it?”
“Do you know why I asked for your number?” Yonghwa asked with a grin.
“Why?”
“Because I want to get to know you better.” Yonghwa admitted. “Would you like to go out with me?”
Seohyun grinned nervously before nodding. “Ne, I would love to, Yong.”
Yonghwa smiled wide unable to believe what had just happened. “Let’s find the anklet together!”
Seohyun nodded and allowed Yonghwa to pull her with him, heading off towards the direction of the park.
