[MULTI-CHAPTER FIC] LOVELY COMPLEX (9/?)
Title: Lovely Complex
Pairing: Dara/Jae-joong
Character(s): the rest of DBSK and appearances from SM and YG Family
Rating: PG
Genre: Gender-bender, Drama, Romance, Comedy, Angst, AU
Chapter nine ~ Expose the Undisclosed
Jae-joong was watching Bom eat all the leftover foods he made that afternoon, from the porridge to the side dishes, there wasn’t any food that his Bom noona would not consume. He had originally saved it for Shin though, in case he decided to eat later that evening.
At any rate, there wouldn’t be any food left for Shin to eat. Well he decided not to eat anyway, so I guess it won’t be a problem?
“How come you knew Shin Oppa, ah, I mean Shin… Bom noona? I could understand the part where you knew my punishment from the bet since Yu-cheon could have mentioned it to you, but to see Shin Oppa, ah I mean Shin… again, care to share what do you mean by that statement?”
Bom looked at him while munching the third side dish. She finished it first before motioning her hand to ask Jae-joong a glass of water. The man obediently did what he was asked to do, still waiting for his noona’s response. Bom gently put the chopsticks on the side after she drank half of the water on the glass. She angled her body forwards and gazed at Jae-joong from eye to eye.
“You called him ‘Shin Oppa’ too?” Bom said in amusement.
Jae-joong, who was sitting opposite Bom, shrugged, “I needed to act in character,” and then he handed her some tissue. Bom muttered a word of thanks as she wiped her mouth with it. She sighed at the sight of her bright red lipstick smeared on the tissue.
Ah, I forgot to remove my make-up from rushing over here.
“Noona! You can’t be spacing out at a time like this!” Jae-joong called for Bom’s attention. His body was angled forwards too.
Bom looked at him again, “Sorry, got distracted. I was so eager to meet Shin Oppa that I rushed over here as soon as I finished my schedule,” Bom informed Jae-joong, “Did you know that I came all the way from my shooting site in Suwon to Seoul in less than four hours just to see him?”
Jae-joong nodded his head, “From the looks of your dress to your make-up, were you shooting for your MV?”
“Yeah. All the people in there were surprise to see me leave as soon as we wrap up the filming…”
“Aish noona!” Jae-joong stopped her from getting their conversation side-tracked, “stop beating around the bush and tell me about it already.”
Bom put her hand on her chin and said, “Did you ask Yu-cheon why he recommended Shin Oppa to you?”
“Re - recommended? I was the one who randomly chose him that night -” and Jae-joong let his words roll as he remembered what Yu-cheon told him.
“Ah, that? It was because he was the same guy I was going to refer to you Jae-joong hyeong.”
Was that all just a coincidence?
Jae-joong wondered to his self. He looked at Bom again, who looked like she was expecting something from him, “well then, are you saying you’re the one who recommended Shin to Yu-cheon?”
Bom nodded, “On the day that Yun-ho informed Yu-cheon about you dating a guy as a form of punishment, I was with him. I decided to help seeing as to how Yu-cheon didn’t know where to find one. ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if that someone turned out to be an acquaintance of someone you know? At least in that way, you’ll be rest assured about that someone’s profile’ - those were the words I said to him, and he agreed to me.”
“More like Yu-cheon couldn’t say no to you.”
Bom smiled wider, “let’s say that was the case then.”
“Why Shin of all people?”
“Why not?” Bom replied playfully.
Jae-joong frowned at her, “How long did you know him, noona? Where did you guys met? Were you close?”
“Are you that curious about him and our relationship?”
“Yes, since I’m currently ‘dating’ him,” and Jae-joong grimaced.
Bom snorted, “Aha! That’s too cute Jae-joongie!”
“Aish… just answer the question noona,” Jae-joong pleaded.
All of a sudden Bom became stiff and she sounded serious as she related to Jae-joong their story, “I came to know him ten years ago. We were both transfer students in Gould Academy in Maine. We weren’t close, just so you know, but because it was my first time being all to myself in a foreign country, I was so glad to learn that I had a Korean transfer student for a classmate. To say the least, I followed him to wherever he would go.”
“He must have been annoyed big time,” Jae-joong commented.
“You can tell?” Bom beamed weakly, “He didn’t like company ever since I knew him and he would always find a way to stay away from me, but even with an indifferent attitude he was quite popular in school.”
“Oh really?”
“What seemed to be odd is that there were always rumors surrounding him. I’m sure you’ve seen Shin Oppa’s face up-close many times already, haven’t you?”
“So?”
Bom pursed her lips in exasperation because Jae-joong couldn’t comprehend what she was trying to tell, “Well, a face as charming as that is bound to have plenty of rumors. You know how kids were during their adolescent stage right? And it doesn’t help that even though we belong in the minority in terms of race in the class, he always manages to catch other people’s attention… and he was the least bit excited about it, so some people who were envious of him spread nasty rumors about him. The one I found most absurd was that he had been the cause of someone’s death.”
“What? No… way,” Jae-joong finally responded with interest.
Bom nodded sympathetically, “At such a young age and all alone, he has undergone through many bad things. I’m going to tell you this now, but you have to keep an open-mind, Jae-joongie. You know that my Appa is working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, right? Five years ago, I came back to Seoul after I finished my degree in Berklee College of Music. One time, I was cleaning off the papers on Appa’s desk, and accidentally I got a hold of the list of the people barred from entering the country… and Shin Oppa’s name was included in it.”
“W - What? What are you saying? Perhaps… you’ve mistaken him for someone else?” shock was evident in Jae-joong’s voice.
“Have you ever thought why Shin Oppa’s full name only consists of two syllables? It’s common for every Korean to have a three-syllable name as I’m sure you know… given that his name is unusual, it’s too easy to verify whether he’s the Park Shin I know or not.”
“What? Are you serious noona?” Jae-joong blurted in astonishment.
“I… invaded his private life. I had him investigated Jae-joongie.”
“Then… were the rumors true? How come he was able to come back in the country again?”
“There’s no way for me to know now… All that I have done were futile attempts in the end. I couldn’t get any more information about him no matter how and what methods I used… besides I’m feeling guilty too since it was not a good act. On the recent list I got about people barred from entering the country, his name wasn’t included on it anymore. I wasn’t able to find out too, whether the rumors about him were false or not, but I’ve always been sure that he’s a good person… because he had… saved my life,” and Bom’s voice grew somber.
Jae-joong’s already wide eyes even grew wider as Bom continued to shower him with lethal blows concerning details about Shin’s life.
“He… saved your life?”
Bom nodded gravely, “I’m sure you’ve heard the story from Yu-cheon.”
Jae-joong was in deep thought, then he looked at Bom with doubt, “Was… was Shin the p - person who was in a brief coma from the snowboarding accident?” he mumbled as he quivered.
“Yes…” and Bom lowered her gaze, “I know… that I’ve always been a nuisance to him since I’ve always followed him around in school. He never replied, not even once, whenever I start a conversation with him… and he always has this uncaring façade. So how could he risk his life for a bothersome me? Of course there’s only one answer to that, and that is because he was just misunderstood… by all of us,” the beautiful voice of Bom that Jae-joong often praised was filled with overwhelming sadness.
“N - Noona… it was an accident, right? You didn’t want it to happen in the first place. At… at least he recovered,” Jae-joong tried to comfort Bom.
“He never heard my apologies and thanks though. A day after he became conscious again, he was moved out of the hospital and brought to another country for rehabilitation.”
Jae-joong heaved a sigh. He grasped Bom’s hands on the table; she was still fidgeting from embarrassment and shame.
“You wanted to see him and say what you haven’t said ten years ago, is that it? Better be late than never goes a popular saying… c’mon, I’ll take you to him. He’s sleeping though. He’s sick with fever this day,” Jae-joong encouraged her. He guided Bom to stand up and led her towards his room. When they were inside, Bom slowly approached Jae-joong’s bed, where Shin currently sleeps.
I… kept my promise.
Jae-joong patted Bom’s left shoulder. Conversely, Bom looked at him and whispered, “Truth be told, I saw Shin Oppa on my flight back to Seoul from Macau, which was on the 26th day of September.”
“Eh?” Jae-joong raised his eyebrow as Bom continued whispering to him while looking at the sleeping Shin.
“We were both on the same plane en route to Seoul… I was so surprised. I thought he wasn’t allowed to enter the country? Should I approach him? Those were my thoughts the moment I saw his face, but because shame and guilt plagued me, I couldn’t even get any closer to him… His face didn’t even change with time.”
“That’s right. He looks way younger than his actual age, but then, you both share the same age…” Jae-joong tried to lift Bom’s mood by joking but Bom’s smile never reached her eyes.
“Jae-joongie… I have a favor to ask of you,” Bom unexpectedly turned to her left side where Jae-joong was standing, “Will you… continue to be at Shin’s side, at least until I regain my courage to face him and say what I have always been wanting to say to him? I know it’s a selfish request…”
But it’s the only way I hope that could keep Shin in the country.
Jae-joong looked at the melancholic face of his noona. He wanted to be of help.
“No worries noona, I’m stuck with him for a month anyway… so until then, you have to work hard to be able to face him again, would you promise me that in return?”
Bom smiled, “Mmm. Thanks Jae-joongie. Seeing Shin like this, I’m really relieved… Nobody from his family came when he was rushed to the ICU. There’s no one who looked after him from his family when he was in a state of coma. I wasn’t allowed to look after him because my Aunt wanted me to recover from trauma and mild injuries. I really felt useless, but seeing that you’re here for him at least for just one whole month, that will leave me rest assured. Thank you really Jae-joongie,” and Bom squeezed Jae-joong’s hand that was placed on her left shoulder.
Jae-joong looked at the sleeping Shin.
Is that why he asked me not to leave him a while ago when he wasn’t sober? So… that was his sub-unconscious talking to me, huh?
“Then I’ll take my leave. It’s really late and I wanted you to sleep well.”
“I’ll drive you home noona, it won’t take long,” Jae-joong offered.
“No, I’m okay. It’s too much trouble for you. I have my car with me so you don’t have to worry. Take a rest now since you seemed really tired from taking care of Shin.”
“You don’t have any idea how hard to handle a sick Shin is, noona,” Jae-joong sighed, “Please be careful on your way home,” and Jae-joong released his hand on Bom’s shoulder as Bom removed her grip on it. She stepped back still facing him. She waved her hand for a final farewell and turned her back on him. Bom on her way out of the apartment dialed for Yun-ho’s number.
(v)(v)(v)(v)(v)
Jae-joong was lying on his chaise longue again. He decided to sleep on it for now since he didn’t want to share the bed and sleep with Shin. He relaxed his shoulders and massaged his neck since it was strained for donning a long fake hair for too long. Jae-joong stared at the ceiling as thoughts occupied his mind.
So Bom noona recommended Shin to Yu-cheon because she wanted to keep an eye on Shin. I guess Yu-cheon knew about this too huh? Well it’s not all that bad anyway; I couldn’t care less about how and why I ended up with Shin.
Jae-joong suddenly remembered the times he spent with Shin, from their first meet-up in Cheongdam Park up until now.
I guess there were things that he was keeping from me. That explains why he wasn’t all that familiar here in Gangnam because it was only recent that he stayed in the country. Well he was mischievous from the start and I’m not exactly truthful to him too… plus he saved my life… that much I should acknowledge. It wouldn’t hurt to stay by his side for a month, would it? Ahhh… and I already gave him my word that I’ll help him experience life as what it really is. I couldn’t back out now.
Jae-joong turned around to see Shin.
It’s possible that he wasn’t feeling right earlier this day but he still insisted on coming here just so he could take care of the ‘sick Jae-hwa.’ Aish. How stupid and naïve could he get? I guess it’s in his genes and instincts to take responsibility for other people first before his self… He really has the power to make people feel guilty around him…
(v)(v)(v)(v)(v)
Shin pulled the blanket covering her face. She clasped the fever cooling pad on her forehead and removed it.
I didn’t have any hangover… must be because of the tea I drank last night.
She turned and saw Jae-hwa sleeping soundly on a fabric chaise longue at the corner. The clock on the bed side table showed that it’s already past seven o’ clock in the morning.
It’s been two hours since I woke up. She’s not an early riser, is she? Ahh, I’m really hungry right now!
Shin glanced at the tray on the round table next to Jae-hwa.
She even ate the foods that she said he cooked for me! She got up and walked out of Jae-hwa’s bed. There should be some leftover at the kitchen… right?
Shin walked to Jae-hwa, after checking that she was still sound asleep, she walked tiptoed across the room. She heard her stomach rumble when she was half-way towards the door. She slowly turned around to check Jae-hwa again.
Pabo me, she wouldn’t hear such a thing! So she concentrated on treading softly out of Jae-hwa’s room. Too bad though that as soon as she turned her back on Jae-hwa, the latter one opened her eyes.
W - What is he doing? Is he trying to sneak away?
Shin quickly strolled her way to the kitchen unaware of the fact that Jae-joong was silently striding behind her. She first checked the refrigerator but she didn’t found any leftover foods inside it. She started to wander around checking every cupboard to find any food or snacks that she could eat, but there wasn’t any.
What the? Why aren’t there any foods stocked in here? Did he even eat the leftovers from last night? Aish. I’m really, really, really hungry. Shin rubbed her stomach.
She sniffed from left to right trying to smell any scent of food around the place, then out of nowhere she spotted two plastic containers next to the oven. It seemed to contain the tteokbokki and gimbap she bought for Jae-hwa. She grabbed the two plastic containers and opened each of them at once.
Should I… eat this? My stomach’s been empty for too long… but… but I’ve never eaten these in my whole life! Shin carefully reconsidered; since there wasn’t any option left for her, she tried to get a piece of tteokbokki to see if it was close to her liking. But then, a hand quickly grabbed both of the plastic containers out of Shin’s sight that made her leap in surprise.
“What… the hell?” Shin mumbled as she turned to her side and Jae-hwa registered on her vision. She was smirking while looking down at her.
“Good morning Oppa!”
“G - good morning…” Shin looked away.
But Jae-hwa moved around to face Shin, she placed her hand over Shin’s forehead to feel him, “Good… seems like you’re completely fine now,” and she grinned at Shin.
Shin tightened her lip before opening it again to say a word of thanks. Jae-hwa’s eyes gazed back towards the tteokbokki and gimbap placed inside the two plastic containers, “You wanted to have those? I remember you haven’t eaten anything last night… you must be really hungry right now Oppa…”
“I don’t… I don’t want to eat street foods,” Shin answered back.
“Then I guess there’s nothing for you to eat now. I forgot to buy groceries for this week that’s why there weren’t any stocked foods or snacks in here. Well, you could have some milk if you want,” and Jae-hwa went to the refrigerator to get a carton of fresh milk inside it, “Hot or cold?”
“H - hot,” and Shin went to sit on a stool near the counter that serves a dual purpose, one as a divider for the kitchen and dining area and the other as a bar area. She watched Jae-hwa prepare her milk as Jae-hwa pour it on a small saucepan and heated it on a low temperature. Jae-hwa then ensued on heating the tteokbokki in the oven; conversely she was arranging the sliced gimbap on a large circular plate.
“Ah… this is going to taste good! Are you sure you don’t want to eat some of these?” Jae-hwa again asked Shin, she even raised the plate with her beautifully arranged gimbap on it in hopes of changing Shin’s mind.
“No I don’t…” Shin abruptly replied; she swallowed the lump on her throat twice. Jae-joong who has eagle eyes and keen senses noticed what Shin was trying to do. In fact, Shin was just too obvious for an observant Jae-joong.
How many times did I think that this man is stubborn? Probably, he’s the most stubborn person I’ll ever meet in my lifetime.
Jae-hwa smiled at him, “Go to the dining area Oppa, I’ll be finish in a minute.”
Shin obeyed her. Before she could even settle on her seat, Jae-hwa came after her with mugs on both of her hands. She placed one mug on the table in front of Shin and one for her on the opposite side, and then she went back to the kitchen to get the two snacks that she has been preparing. Shin decided to drink the milk to get her body warm and fill her empty stomach. Just then, Jae-hwa came back with a plateful of gimbap. She placed it on the center of the table and glanced at Shin. Her eyes were teasing.
It’s time for me to tease, heh. “I’ll just wait in the kitchen ‘till the tteokbokki is properly heated Oppa. Is there anything else you want?”
“N - none,” and Shin looked the other way again.
“Okay then, I’ll be back in two minutes,” Jae-hwa said aloud as she walked back to the kitchen.
Shin was slowly sipping her cup of milk while looking straight into the plate full of gimbap slices. She was having a battle within her that seemed to become tumultuous as each second pass. Pride versus Self-preservation, which side would win?
Obviously, a cup of milk isn’t enough! Aish… J - Jae-hwa doesn’t know how many slices of gimbap are there on the plate I guess… I - wait… what am I even thinking? I shouldn’t crumble upon weakness… I should keep my principles firm! But… but… it’s hard to ignore the rumblings in my stomach. Shin sighed.
Her shoulders drooped; she slumped forward and placed her chin on the table. She was concentrating hard on the snack in front of her, acutely counting the number of gimbap on the plate.
M - Maybe Jae-hwa’s deliberately teasing me?! And she hastily turned her head to check if Jae-hwa was just around the corner spying her. She kept her head that way to guard herself just in case Jae-hwa would suddenly enter the dining room; meanwhile her right hand was instinctively moving towards the plate.
Just one piece… no, three pieces… she won’t notice anyway.
Shin was about to get a piece of gimbap when she noticed that Jae-hwa was coming inside the room, so she immediately pulled her hand away from the plate and tapped the table instead. She grabbed her cup of milk and placed it in front of her face, trying to avoid Jae-hwa’s gaze.
“Ah… I forgot to bring some plate and chopsticks… I need to go back to the kitchen again, geez… you… honestly don’t want to eat Oppa?” Jae-hwa asked as she put another plate in front of Shin, this time it contained the recently heated tteokbokki.
S - Smells… smells good. Shin shook her head as she straightened herself up. Should I just throw my principle for now, at least for once? “Ah - I -”
Jae-hwa misunderstood Shin’s action as another rejection so she proceeded to say, “You really don’t want huh… okay, understood, I won’t bother you anymore Oppa. I’ll be back as soon as I get my chopsticks.”
“E - eh?” I was about to say that I wanted to have some too… even if those were just street foods! Aish! Seems like the opportunity slipped away from me. Fine then, come what may!
When Jae-joong got back, he noticed that Shin was in a bad mood. He could tell that he was purposely avoiding any eye contact with him and just concentrating on his cup of milk.
Should I raise the intensity of him in a ‘bad mood?’ With a smirk on his face he had already planned a scenario in his mind. First he decided to playfully enact his eating process in front of Shin. He deliberately showed an overreaction on his facial expressions while eating, from picking up the tteokbokki and gimbap up to chewing it, all the while making an appearance of a delighted and satisfied person munching a meal. Jae-joong detected how Shin couldn’t keep a straight face and was always swallowing a lump on his throat.
Aish. Why couldn’t he just admit that he’s hungry?
“Oppa! I’ve been thinking about something…”
Shin looked up at him and then she looked down again on her cup while replying back, “What is it?”
“You know how couples have their own term of endearments right?”
“W - What about it?” Shin became engrossed all of a sudden. She focused her eyes on Jae-hwa for a long period of time.
“Well, I always call you Oppa… but I never heard you call me something, you know…” and Jae-hwa shrugged.
“I - is it necessary? I mean… you wanted me to call you something?” Shin was skeptical.
“Uhmm,” Jae-hwa just nodded her head, she placed the chopsticks back on her plate and looked at Shin seriously.
“Pabo? Byeontae*? Jiralhanae*?” Shin offered.
Jae-hwa’s eyes swelled, “Oppa, how could you?! T - Those last two words are swear words! Are you seriously considering calling me that?”
This person, really! Aish. Just who does he think he is?!
Shin grinned, “Sorry, I didn’t know they are swear words now…” I’m just getting back at you for obviously mocking me. “And besides, you really are a byeontae; you might have perhaps forgotten what happened last night!”
“I already told you it’s not what you think it is… Aish!” Jae-joong drew in lots of breath. Stay cool. Keep calm. This is just a battle of wit and dry humor. “I’ll be the one who’ll suggest what you’ll call me then… how about Aegi*? Hmmm, Ae-in*? Jagiya*? Yeobo*? Ah, why don’t you try to call me Jagiya, Oppa?”
“Eh? Why would I?”
“Let’s just say that, as a token of appreciation to me who took care of a drunk and sick Shin, you have to call me that,” Jae-hwa smiled ever so beautifully.
Shin puckered her lips. Psssh, cringe-worthy words… “J - Ja - jagiya…” she said softly.
“Louder… I couldn’t hear you.”
“Jagiya.”
“Ah, why isn’t there any sincerity in Oppa’s voice?” Jae-hwa looked around the room.
“Jagiya.”
“Please repeat,” Jae-hwa ordered.
Shin clenched her teeth, she inhaled a deep breath and called loudly for Jae-hwa, “JA~GIYA -!”
With complete timing, Jae-joong shoved a mouthful of tteokbokki inside Shin’s open mouth. He was planning it the whole time and he was extremely pleased with himself that he did it at the right moment. He grinned widely and moved forward to reach Shin’s frozen face and body. He grabbed Shin’s chin to close his mouth and told him to chew the food inside his mouth obediently.
“Taste good, right? If you weren’t that stubborn, you won’t have to endure your hunger for a long time. Now I’ll make sure you eat everything else on this table with me before you leave the house, understood Oppa?” and Jae-joong moved Shin’s head up and down to make it seem like he nodded. Because Shin couldn’t move due to Jae-hwa’s powerful grip on her head, Shin just glared at Jae-hwa.
You’re a rose full of thorns indeed!
(v)(v)(v)(v)(v)
Shin decided to go home early that day after she had a ‘heartily’ breakfast with Jae-hwa. She was dressed back to her own clothes again, clutching her jacket close to her; she suddenly remembered something in her jacket’s pocket. Before she turned around to leave, she snatched Jae-hwa’s hand that was busy waving her off and placed on top of it a train ticket. Jae-hwa looked at her questioningly.
“That is a ticket to Jeonju. On Chuseok holiday which will start tomorrow, spend the first day of your holiday together with your family, pay respects to your ancestors and visit your ancestral hometown, and after that, you have to spend the remaining two days with me. Oh, I don’t take no for an answer,” Jae-hwa looked stoned on her feet and with that Shin left with a triumphant feeling.
*Byeontae is a Korean word for pervert, hihi XD
*Jiralhanae is a Korean swear word that has no direct translation, it could mean clumsy or piece of crap
*Aegi is term of endearment that translates to Baby
*Ae-in is for Girlfriend/Boyfriend term (uhhh, not quite sure about this)
*Jagiya is for the word Darling
*Yeobo is a word that means Honey and often used by spouses
Pairing: Dara/Jae-joong
Character(s): the rest of DBSK and appearances from SM and YG Family
Rating: PG
Genre: Gender-bender, Drama, Romance, Comedy, Angst, AU
Chapter nine ~ Expose the Undisclosed
Jae-joong was watching Bom eat all the leftover foods he made that afternoon, from the porridge to the side dishes, there wasn’t any food that his Bom noona would not consume. He had originally saved it for Shin though, in case he decided to eat later that evening.
At any rate, there wouldn’t be any food left for Shin to eat. Well he decided not to eat anyway, so I guess it won’t be a problem?
“How come you knew Shin Oppa, ah, I mean Shin… Bom noona? I could understand the part where you knew my punishment from the bet since Yu-cheon could have mentioned it to you, but to see Shin Oppa, ah I mean Shin… again, care to share what do you mean by that statement?”
Bom looked at him while munching the third side dish. She finished it first before motioning her hand to ask Jae-joong a glass of water. The man obediently did what he was asked to do, still waiting for his noona’s response. Bom gently put the chopsticks on the side after she drank half of the water on the glass. She angled her body forwards and gazed at Jae-joong from eye to eye.
“You called him ‘Shin Oppa’ too?” Bom said in amusement.
Jae-joong, who was sitting opposite Bom, shrugged, “I needed to act in character,” and then he handed her some tissue. Bom muttered a word of thanks as she wiped her mouth with it. She sighed at the sight of her bright red lipstick smeared on the tissue.
Ah, I forgot to remove my make-up from rushing over here.
“Noona! You can’t be spacing out at a time like this!” Jae-joong called for Bom’s attention. His body was angled forwards too.
Bom looked at him again, “Sorry, got distracted. I was so eager to meet Shin Oppa that I rushed over here as soon as I finished my schedule,” Bom informed Jae-joong, “Did you know that I came all the way from my shooting site in Suwon to Seoul in less than four hours just to see him?”
Jae-joong nodded his head, “From the looks of your dress to your make-up, were you shooting for your MV?”
“Yeah. All the people in there were surprise to see me leave as soon as we wrap up the filming…”
“Aish noona!” Jae-joong stopped her from getting their conversation side-tracked, “stop beating around the bush and tell me about it already.”
Bom put her hand on her chin and said, “Did you ask Yu-cheon why he recommended Shin Oppa to you?”
“Re - recommended? I was the one who randomly chose him that night -” and Jae-joong let his words roll as he remembered what Yu-cheon told him.
“Ah, that? It was because he was the same guy I was going to refer to you Jae-joong hyeong.”
Was that all just a coincidence?
Jae-joong wondered to his self. He looked at Bom again, who looked like she was expecting something from him, “well then, are you saying you’re the one who recommended Shin to Yu-cheon?”
Bom nodded, “On the day that Yun-ho informed Yu-cheon about you dating a guy as a form of punishment, I was with him. I decided to help seeing as to how Yu-cheon didn’t know where to find one. ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if that someone turned out to be an acquaintance of someone you know? At least in that way, you’ll be rest assured about that someone’s profile’ - those were the words I said to him, and he agreed to me.”
“More like Yu-cheon couldn’t say no to you.”
Bom smiled wider, “let’s say that was the case then.”
“Why Shin of all people?”
“Why not?” Bom replied playfully.
Jae-joong frowned at her, “How long did you know him, noona? Where did you guys met? Were you close?”
“Are you that curious about him and our relationship?”
“Yes, since I’m currently ‘dating’ him,” and Jae-joong grimaced.
Bom snorted, “Aha! That’s too cute Jae-joongie!”
“Aish… just answer the question noona,” Jae-joong pleaded.
All of a sudden Bom became stiff and she sounded serious as she related to Jae-joong their story, “I came to know him ten years ago. We were both transfer students in Gould Academy in Maine. We weren’t close, just so you know, but because it was my first time being all to myself in a foreign country, I was so glad to learn that I had a Korean transfer student for a classmate. To say the least, I followed him to wherever he would go.”
“He must have been annoyed big time,” Jae-joong commented.
“You can tell?” Bom beamed weakly, “He didn’t like company ever since I knew him and he would always find a way to stay away from me, but even with an indifferent attitude he was quite popular in school.”
“Oh really?”
“What seemed to be odd is that there were always rumors surrounding him. I’m sure you’ve seen Shin Oppa’s face up-close many times already, haven’t you?”
“So?”
Bom pursed her lips in exasperation because Jae-joong couldn’t comprehend what she was trying to tell, “Well, a face as charming as that is bound to have plenty of rumors. You know how kids were during their adolescent stage right? And it doesn’t help that even though we belong in the minority in terms of race in the class, he always manages to catch other people’s attention… and he was the least bit excited about it, so some people who were envious of him spread nasty rumors about him. The one I found most absurd was that he had been the cause of someone’s death.”
“What? No… way,” Jae-joong finally responded with interest.
Bom nodded sympathetically, “At such a young age and all alone, he has undergone through many bad things. I’m going to tell you this now, but you have to keep an open-mind, Jae-joongie. You know that my Appa is working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, right? Five years ago, I came back to Seoul after I finished my degree in Berklee College of Music. One time, I was cleaning off the papers on Appa’s desk, and accidentally I got a hold of the list of the people barred from entering the country… and Shin Oppa’s name was included in it.”
“W - What? What are you saying? Perhaps… you’ve mistaken him for someone else?” shock was evident in Jae-joong’s voice.
“Have you ever thought why Shin Oppa’s full name only consists of two syllables? It’s common for every Korean to have a three-syllable name as I’m sure you know… given that his name is unusual, it’s too easy to verify whether he’s the Park Shin I know or not.”
“What? Are you serious noona?” Jae-joong blurted in astonishment.
“I… invaded his private life. I had him investigated Jae-joongie.”
“Then… were the rumors true? How come he was able to come back in the country again?”
“There’s no way for me to know now… All that I have done were futile attempts in the end. I couldn’t get any more information about him no matter how and what methods I used… besides I’m feeling guilty too since it was not a good act. On the recent list I got about people barred from entering the country, his name wasn’t included on it anymore. I wasn’t able to find out too, whether the rumors about him were false or not, but I’ve always been sure that he’s a good person… because he had… saved my life,” and Bom’s voice grew somber.
Jae-joong’s already wide eyes even grew wider as Bom continued to shower him with lethal blows concerning details about Shin’s life.
“He… saved your life?”
Bom nodded gravely, “I’m sure you’ve heard the story from Yu-cheon.”
Jae-joong was in deep thought, then he looked at Bom with doubt, “Was… was Shin the p - person who was in a brief coma from the snowboarding accident?” he mumbled as he quivered.
“Yes…” and Bom lowered her gaze, “I know… that I’ve always been a nuisance to him since I’ve always followed him around in school. He never replied, not even once, whenever I start a conversation with him… and he always has this uncaring façade. So how could he risk his life for a bothersome me? Of course there’s only one answer to that, and that is because he was just misunderstood… by all of us,” the beautiful voice of Bom that Jae-joong often praised was filled with overwhelming sadness.
“N - Noona… it was an accident, right? You didn’t want it to happen in the first place. At… at least he recovered,” Jae-joong tried to comfort Bom.
“He never heard my apologies and thanks though. A day after he became conscious again, he was moved out of the hospital and brought to another country for rehabilitation.”
Jae-joong heaved a sigh. He grasped Bom’s hands on the table; she was still fidgeting from embarrassment and shame.
“You wanted to see him and say what you haven’t said ten years ago, is that it? Better be late than never goes a popular saying… c’mon, I’ll take you to him. He’s sleeping though. He’s sick with fever this day,” Jae-joong encouraged her. He guided Bom to stand up and led her towards his room. When they were inside, Bom slowly approached Jae-joong’s bed, where Shin currently sleeps.
I… kept my promise.
Jae-joong patted Bom’s left shoulder. Conversely, Bom looked at him and whispered, “Truth be told, I saw Shin Oppa on my flight back to Seoul from Macau, which was on the 26th day of September.”
“Eh?” Jae-joong raised his eyebrow as Bom continued whispering to him while looking at the sleeping Shin.
“We were both on the same plane en route to Seoul… I was so surprised. I thought he wasn’t allowed to enter the country? Should I approach him? Those were my thoughts the moment I saw his face, but because shame and guilt plagued me, I couldn’t even get any closer to him… His face didn’t even change with time.”
“That’s right. He looks way younger than his actual age, but then, you both share the same age…” Jae-joong tried to lift Bom’s mood by joking but Bom’s smile never reached her eyes.
“Jae-joongie… I have a favor to ask of you,” Bom unexpectedly turned to her left side where Jae-joong was standing, “Will you… continue to be at Shin’s side, at least until I regain my courage to face him and say what I have always been wanting to say to him? I know it’s a selfish request…”
But it’s the only way I hope that could keep Shin in the country.
Jae-joong looked at the melancholic face of his noona. He wanted to be of help.
“No worries noona, I’m stuck with him for a month anyway… so until then, you have to work hard to be able to face him again, would you promise me that in return?”
Bom smiled, “Mmm. Thanks Jae-joongie. Seeing Shin like this, I’m really relieved… Nobody from his family came when he was rushed to the ICU. There’s no one who looked after him from his family when he was in a state of coma. I wasn’t allowed to look after him because my Aunt wanted me to recover from trauma and mild injuries. I really felt useless, but seeing that you’re here for him at least for just one whole month, that will leave me rest assured. Thank you really Jae-joongie,” and Bom squeezed Jae-joong’s hand that was placed on her left shoulder.
Jae-joong looked at the sleeping Shin.
Is that why he asked me not to leave him a while ago when he wasn’t sober? So… that was his sub-unconscious talking to me, huh?
“Then I’ll take my leave. It’s really late and I wanted you to sleep well.”
“I’ll drive you home noona, it won’t take long,” Jae-joong offered.
“No, I’m okay. It’s too much trouble for you. I have my car with me so you don’t have to worry. Take a rest now since you seemed really tired from taking care of Shin.”
“You don’t have any idea how hard to handle a sick Shin is, noona,” Jae-joong sighed, “Please be careful on your way home,” and Jae-joong released his hand on Bom’s shoulder as Bom removed her grip on it. She stepped back still facing him. She waved her hand for a final farewell and turned her back on him. Bom on her way out of the apartment dialed for Yun-ho’s number.
(v)(v)(v)(v)(v)
Jae-joong was lying on his chaise longue again. He decided to sleep on it for now since he didn’t want to share the bed and sleep with Shin. He relaxed his shoulders and massaged his neck since it was strained for donning a long fake hair for too long. Jae-joong stared at the ceiling as thoughts occupied his mind.
So Bom noona recommended Shin to Yu-cheon because she wanted to keep an eye on Shin. I guess Yu-cheon knew about this too huh? Well it’s not all that bad anyway; I couldn’t care less about how and why I ended up with Shin.
Jae-joong suddenly remembered the times he spent with Shin, from their first meet-up in Cheongdam Park up until now.
I guess there were things that he was keeping from me. That explains why he wasn’t all that familiar here in Gangnam because it was only recent that he stayed in the country. Well he was mischievous from the start and I’m not exactly truthful to him too… plus he saved my life… that much I should acknowledge. It wouldn’t hurt to stay by his side for a month, would it? Ahhh… and I already gave him my word that I’ll help him experience life as what it really is. I couldn’t back out now.
Jae-joong turned around to see Shin.
It’s possible that he wasn’t feeling right earlier this day but he still insisted on coming here just so he could take care of the ‘sick Jae-hwa.’ Aish. How stupid and naïve could he get? I guess it’s in his genes and instincts to take responsibility for other people first before his self… He really has the power to make people feel guilty around him…
(v)(v)(v)(v)(v)
Shin pulled the blanket covering her face. She clasped the fever cooling pad on her forehead and removed it.
I didn’t have any hangover… must be because of the tea I drank last night.
She turned and saw Jae-hwa sleeping soundly on a fabric chaise longue at the corner. The clock on the bed side table showed that it’s already past seven o’ clock in the morning.
It’s been two hours since I woke up. She’s not an early riser, is she? Ahh, I’m really hungry right now!
Shin glanced at the tray on the round table next to Jae-hwa.
She even ate the foods that she said he cooked for me! She got up and walked out of Jae-hwa’s bed. There should be some leftover at the kitchen… right?
Shin walked to Jae-hwa, after checking that she was still sound asleep, she walked tiptoed across the room. She heard her stomach rumble when she was half-way towards the door. She slowly turned around to check Jae-hwa again.
Pabo me, she wouldn’t hear such a thing! So she concentrated on treading softly out of Jae-hwa’s room. Too bad though that as soon as she turned her back on Jae-hwa, the latter one opened her eyes.
W - What is he doing? Is he trying to sneak away?
Shin quickly strolled her way to the kitchen unaware of the fact that Jae-joong was silently striding behind her. She first checked the refrigerator but she didn’t found any leftover foods inside it. She started to wander around checking every cupboard to find any food or snacks that she could eat, but there wasn’t any.
What the? Why aren’t there any foods stocked in here? Did he even eat the leftovers from last night? Aish. I’m really, really, really hungry. Shin rubbed her stomach.
She sniffed from left to right trying to smell any scent of food around the place, then out of nowhere she spotted two plastic containers next to the oven. It seemed to contain the tteokbokki and gimbap she bought for Jae-hwa. She grabbed the two plastic containers and opened each of them at once.
Should I… eat this? My stomach’s been empty for too long… but… but I’ve never eaten these in my whole life! Shin carefully reconsidered; since there wasn’t any option left for her, she tried to get a piece of tteokbokki to see if it was close to her liking. But then, a hand quickly grabbed both of the plastic containers out of Shin’s sight that made her leap in surprise.
“What… the hell?” Shin mumbled as she turned to her side and Jae-hwa registered on her vision. She was smirking while looking down at her.
“Good morning Oppa!”
“G - good morning…” Shin looked away.
But Jae-hwa moved around to face Shin, she placed her hand over Shin’s forehead to feel him, “Good… seems like you’re completely fine now,” and she grinned at Shin.
Shin tightened her lip before opening it again to say a word of thanks. Jae-hwa’s eyes gazed back towards the tteokbokki and gimbap placed inside the two plastic containers, “You wanted to have those? I remember you haven’t eaten anything last night… you must be really hungry right now Oppa…”
“I don’t… I don’t want to eat street foods,” Shin answered back.
“Then I guess there’s nothing for you to eat now. I forgot to buy groceries for this week that’s why there weren’t any stocked foods or snacks in here. Well, you could have some milk if you want,” and Jae-hwa went to the refrigerator to get a carton of fresh milk inside it, “Hot or cold?”
“H - hot,” and Shin went to sit on a stool near the counter that serves a dual purpose, one as a divider for the kitchen and dining area and the other as a bar area. She watched Jae-hwa prepare her milk as Jae-hwa pour it on a small saucepan and heated it on a low temperature. Jae-hwa then ensued on heating the tteokbokki in the oven; conversely she was arranging the sliced gimbap on a large circular plate.
“Ah… this is going to taste good! Are you sure you don’t want to eat some of these?” Jae-hwa again asked Shin, she even raised the plate with her beautifully arranged gimbap on it in hopes of changing Shin’s mind.
“No I don’t…” Shin abruptly replied; she swallowed the lump on her throat twice. Jae-joong who has eagle eyes and keen senses noticed what Shin was trying to do. In fact, Shin was just too obvious for an observant Jae-joong.
How many times did I think that this man is stubborn? Probably, he’s the most stubborn person I’ll ever meet in my lifetime.
Jae-hwa smiled at him, “Go to the dining area Oppa, I’ll be finish in a minute.”
Shin obeyed her. Before she could even settle on her seat, Jae-hwa came after her with mugs on both of her hands. She placed one mug on the table in front of Shin and one for her on the opposite side, and then she went back to the kitchen to get the two snacks that she has been preparing. Shin decided to drink the milk to get her body warm and fill her empty stomach. Just then, Jae-hwa came back with a plateful of gimbap. She placed it on the center of the table and glanced at Shin. Her eyes were teasing.
It’s time for me to tease, heh. “I’ll just wait in the kitchen ‘till the tteokbokki is properly heated Oppa. Is there anything else you want?”
“N - none,” and Shin looked the other way again.
“Okay then, I’ll be back in two minutes,” Jae-hwa said aloud as she walked back to the kitchen.
Shin was slowly sipping her cup of milk while looking straight into the plate full of gimbap slices. She was having a battle within her that seemed to become tumultuous as each second pass. Pride versus Self-preservation, which side would win?
Obviously, a cup of milk isn’t enough! Aish… J - Jae-hwa doesn’t know how many slices of gimbap are there on the plate I guess… I - wait… what am I even thinking? I shouldn’t crumble upon weakness… I should keep my principles firm! But… but… it’s hard to ignore the rumblings in my stomach. Shin sighed.
Her shoulders drooped; she slumped forward and placed her chin on the table. She was concentrating hard on the snack in front of her, acutely counting the number of gimbap on the plate.
M - Maybe Jae-hwa’s deliberately teasing me?! And she hastily turned her head to check if Jae-hwa was just around the corner spying her. She kept her head that way to guard herself just in case Jae-hwa would suddenly enter the dining room; meanwhile her right hand was instinctively moving towards the plate.
Just one piece… no, three pieces… she won’t notice anyway.
Shin was about to get a piece of gimbap when she noticed that Jae-hwa was coming inside the room, so she immediately pulled her hand away from the plate and tapped the table instead. She grabbed her cup of milk and placed it in front of her face, trying to avoid Jae-hwa’s gaze.
“Ah… I forgot to bring some plate and chopsticks… I need to go back to the kitchen again, geez… you… honestly don’t want to eat Oppa?” Jae-hwa asked as she put another plate in front of Shin, this time it contained the recently heated tteokbokki.
S - Smells… smells good. Shin shook her head as she straightened herself up. Should I just throw my principle for now, at least for once? “Ah - I -”
Jae-hwa misunderstood Shin’s action as another rejection so she proceeded to say, “You really don’t want huh… okay, understood, I won’t bother you anymore Oppa. I’ll be back as soon as I get my chopsticks.”
“E - eh?” I was about to say that I wanted to have some too… even if those were just street foods! Aish! Seems like the opportunity slipped away from me. Fine then, come what may!
When Jae-joong got back, he noticed that Shin was in a bad mood. He could tell that he was purposely avoiding any eye contact with him and just concentrating on his cup of milk.
Should I raise the intensity of him in a ‘bad mood?’ With a smirk on his face he had already planned a scenario in his mind. First he decided to playfully enact his eating process in front of Shin. He deliberately showed an overreaction on his facial expressions while eating, from picking up the tteokbokki and gimbap up to chewing it, all the while making an appearance of a delighted and satisfied person munching a meal. Jae-joong detected how Shin couldn’t keep a straight face and was always swallowing a lump on his throat.
Aish. Why couldn’t he just admit that he’s hungry?
“Oppa! I’ve been thinking about something…”
Shin looked up at him and then she looked down again on her cup while replying back, “What is it?”
“You know how couples have their own term of endearments right?”
“W - What about it?” Shin became engrossed all of a sudden. She focused her eyes on Jae-hwa for a long period of time.
“Well, I always call you Oppa… but I never heard you call me something, you know…” and Jae-hwa shrugged.
“I - is it necessary? I mean… you wanted me to call you something?” Shin was skeptical.
“Uhmm,” Jae-hwa just nodded her head, she placed the chopsticks back on her plate and looked at Shin seriously.
“Pabo? Byeontae*? Jiralhanae*?” Shin offered.
Jae-hwa’s eyes swelled, “Oppa, how could you?! T - Those last two words are swear words! Are you seriously considering calling me that?”
This person, really! Aish. Just who does he think he is?!
Shin grinned, “Sorry, I didn’t know they are swear words now…” I’m just getting back at you for obviously mocking me. “And besides, you really are a byeontae; you might have perhaps forgotten what happened last night!”
“I already told you it’s not what you think it is… Aish!” Jae-joong drew in lots of breath. Stay cool. Keep calm. This is just a battle of wit and dry humor. “I’ll be the one who’ll suggest what you’ll call me then… how about Aegi*? Hmmm, Ae-in*? Jagiya*? Yeobo*? Ah, why don’t you try to call me Jagiya, Oppa?”
“Eh? Why would I?”
“Let’s just say that, as a token of appreciation to me who took care of a drunk and sick Shin, you have to call me that,” Jae-hwa smiled ever so beautifully.
Shin puckered her lips. Psssh, cringe-worthy words… “J - Ja - jagiya…” she said softly.
“Louder… I couldn’t hear you.”
“Jagiya.”
“Ah, why isn’t there any sincerity in Oppa’s voice?” Jae-hwa looked around the room.
“Jagiya.”
“Please repeat,” Jae-hwa ordered.
Shin clenched her teeth, she inhaled a deep breath and called loudly for Jae-hwa, “JA~GIYA -!”
With complete timing, Jae-joong shoved a mouthful of tteokbokki inside Shin’s open mouth. He was planning it the whole time and he was extremely pleased with himself that he did it at the right moment. He grinned widely and moved forward to reach Shin’s frozen face and body. He grabbed Shin’s chin to close his mouth and told him to chew the food inside his mouth obediently.
“Taste good, right? If you weren’t that stubborn, you won’t have to endure your hunger for a long time. Now I’ll make sure you eat everything else on this table with me before you leave the house, understood Oppa?” and Jae-joong moved Shin’s head up and down to make it seem like he nodded. Because Shin couldn’t move due to Jae-hwa’s powerful grip on her head, Shin just glared at Jae-hwa.
You’re a rose full of thorns indeed!
(v)(v)(v)(v)(v)
Shin decided to go home early that day after she had a ‘heartily’ breakfast with Jae-hwa. She was dressed back to her own clothes again, clutching her jacket close to her; she suddenly remembered something in her jacket’s pocket. Before she turned around to leave, she snatched Jae-hwa’s hand that was busy waving her off and placed on top of it a train ticket. Jae-hwa looked at her questioningly.
“That is a ticket to Jeonju. On Chuseok holiday which will start tomorrow, spend the first day of your holiday together with your family, pay respects to your ancestors and visit your ancestral hometown, and after that, you have to spend the remaining two days with me. Oh, I don’t take no for an answer,” Jae-hwa looked stoned on her feet and with that Shin left with a triumphant feeling.
*Byeontae is a Korean word for pervert, hihi XD
*Jiralhanae is a Korean swear word that has no direct translation, it could mean clumsy or piece of crap
*Aegi is term of endearment that translates to Baby
*Ae-in is for Girlfriend/Boyfriend term (uhhh, not quite sure about this)
*Jagiya is for the word Darling
*Yeobo is a word that means Honey and often used by spouses