| Fan Fiction |
by shattered teardrops
“Annyong hasaeyo!” Ga Eul greeted as a batch of customers came inside the twenty four hour bakery franchise where she now worked on a night shift. It was her first day on the job so she was really trying her best. Aside from working on the porridge shop, she took another part time job as a cashier on a bakery which was unusually named as ‘Soeul Sweets’. She was told that the name was supposed to be ‘Seoul’ as in the capital of South Korea, however, since the name of the bakery was written in English, the word ‘Seoul’ was misspelled into ‘Soeul’. (Soeul Sweets? kekeke… I’m a genius, ain’t I?)
It was already five days after Yi Jung exhibit. She and the man had no longer been in contact ever since. She had been contemplating whether to pay the man a visit in order to return his coat but decided against it. She promised herself that she would ignore him and pretend that he didn’t exist. It was only the logical thing to do. It was what all she could do in order to avoid experiencing greater pain. So Yi Jung was clearly out of her bounds. She should just quit dreaming about the guy and be realistic.
“Hmm… I want a dozen of chocolate crinkles please…” A guy wearing a blue beanie and dark rimmed glasses stood in front of Ga Eul. At first glance, Ga Eul wasn’t able to recognize the man, but the man clearly recognized her. On his lips, was an all too cheerful smile when Ga Eul handed him his dozen of chocolate crinkles. He decided not to give himself away easily. He might finally show himself up on his second visit, but for now, he decided that it was best to be aloof and anonymous.
When the guy was out of the bakery, he crossed the street and stood in front of a small café. He contemplated for a while whether to go in. Finally, he decided that his chocolate crinkles would go best with a glass of hot chocolate. He was after all, fond of sweet things. Unexpectedly, another familiar figure caught his eye. The smile on his lips only widened as his amusement escalated into a growing need to intervene with such a sweet, sweet thing. ‘Ah… The sweet throes of love…’ He thought.
He got his hot chocolate by the counter and settled himself aloofly at a table where he could perfectly watch the man he recognized. He took out his little notebook and began scribbling random and incoherent sentences. The very fact that he was the only one who knew what was going on between two people of very different stature made him feel… honored. It was as if he was bound to find their connection… Like it was fate… He always believed that ‘a song will outlive all sermons in memory’ and so, he thought that it was best to preserve such encounter in a beautiful sonata.
He started with the word… ‘Doushite’… In Japanese, ‘Why?’
-oOo-
So Yi Jung has not seen nor spoken to Ga Eul for four days already after his exhibit. He had Jagiya sent to her the day after but he hasn’t received any word of from her. Not even a word of thanks. What annoyed him the most was that it made him feel aggravated. He has been doing the usual stuff for four days and has been keeping up with his reputation as the ultimate playboy. But none of the girls he toyed with sufficed to his taste.
On the fifth day of not seeing her and feeling unable to take it anymore, So Yi Jung decided to find Ga Eul and observe what she has been up to. He had been watching her from afar since she started working on the porridge shop, up until she went to her second part time job by the bakery. Truth be told, he had been a little upset that she didn’t look like she was in need of his company, unlike him, who was beginning to act like some psychotic stalker.
He sighed and leaned back on his chair as he sat by the café across Soeul Sweets. He chuckled amusedly to himself as he realized what he had been doing. He had been sitting for hours by the café already. The waitresses were giving him provocative looks and he must admit that they were pleasing to his eyes, however, he wasn’t in the mood to entertain girls. He had been doing that for the last four days and thought that it wasn’t as amusing as taunting Ga Eul.
When the café closed down by ten in the evening, Yi Jung still stayed standing behind the shadows. He forced himself to go away but thinking about Ga Eul and how she would be able to go home so late in the night, he thought it would be totally unsafe as she was a girl. So again, he was compelled by his sub-conscious mind to stay.
Completing an eight hour shift, Ga Eul was finally able to go off of her part time job at three AM. It was very late and she was all alone but she convinced herself that she would have to endure going home late in order to earn enough money and help with her school fees. After all, education was not a cheap investment. Her parents had been keen on having her go to school despite unable to meet ends with her Dad’s small salary because they’ve insisted that the only treasure they could give her is education.
Ga Eul tightened her coat around her as she was walking by the street on her way home. Three AM wasn’t exactly a very nice time to be walking all alone, especially for a girl like her. Her Father had insisted to fetch her but she hard-headedly declined, saying that she was old enough to take care of herself. She thought of taking a taxi but argued against it since she thought it would only make her waste money. Public transport was not an option since buses weren’t available during the wee hours of the morning.
Ga Eul sighed and decided to walk instead. She only had to cross two intersections and two blocks to reach her home. It wasn’t a very long walk if she walked fast enough. However, despite the courage that she had been showing, she was really scared. She clutched the spray inside her pocket which was the only thing she brought with her as a defensive weapon.
Eventually, she had to pass by a really dark alley which was reported to have high incidents of theft, hold-up and yes, even rape. She clutched the spray tighter as she walked on her own. She was scared so she decided to close her eyes and walk fast so as not to stay by the area for long. Well, closing her eyes might have worked if it weren’t for the fact that by closing her eyes, she was unable to see where she was walking into. Eventually, she bumped into something. Personally, Ga Eul thought it was a wall since it was solid and hard, but when the wall suddenly let out an annoyed guttural sound, she realized that she had bumped into a person.
“Uhm… Mianhae…” Wrong move. She shouldn’t have just opened her mouth. She just revealed that she was in fact a girl.
“Eh? What’s a lady doing here at this time of night?” The man spoke with a gruff and deeply thick voice. Ga Eul could smell the stench of cigar and alcohol mixing together. That just made her all the more scared. The man took an assertive step forward, causing Ga Eul to take a step back. She could feel her heart hammering wildly inside her chest as fear tightly gripped her.
Ga Eul tried to open her mouth and scream but she was too petrified to do so. Suddenly, two more guys appeared out of the dark alley and began advancing on her as well. That scared her all the more. She took hesitant steps backward and even before she could run, the man to whom she bumped into, already had a solid grip on her arm, the one that was holding the spray inside her pocket.
“Yah! Let go of me!” She finally shouted in desperation.
“SHUT UP!” The man shouted and lifted his right arm in preparation to strike her on the face but was frozen in place when a deeply sinister voice suddenly spoke behind Ga Eul.
“Yah. Hit her and you die.” The tone was direct and, without hesitation and doubt. The voice was distinctively deep and ragged that it sounded so dangerously low.
The man slowly let go of Ga Eul and turned to face the guy who spoke behind her. “And who’re you?” The wall-guy asked as he shoved Ga Eul to the side and advanced on the guy who stood a few meters away from them.
“All you have to know is that I’m going to kick your ass and the asses of your other two friends.” The man who wore a baseball cap spoke. It was too dark to see faces but Ga Eul could definitely make out who was who out of the four men. By then, the guy who had spoken in time to save her from a violent strike was already surrounded by the three men who were all up to no good.
Imagine a scene in an action movie where the hoodlums surround the cool leading man and then they all erupt into a bloody fight scene. That was exactly what was happening before Ga Eul’s very eyes, except that it was real and it was very bloody. She could distinctly make out the clear sounds of punches landing solidly in the body and the sound of a perfectly executed roundhouse kick. She didn’t know who beat who though. It was too dark to see.
All too suddenly, someone grabbed Ga Eul by the arm. “Ga Eul…” The man called her. However, since Ga Eul was too scared, she acted on pure instinct and finally made use of the spray that she had been clutching for quite some time now. She sprayed it straight into the man’s eyes. “Ahhhhh!” The man let go of her and clutched his eyes in pain. Ga Eul thought that the man’s voice sounded oddly familiar. “Yah! It’s me! Yi Jung!”
“Omo! Yi Jung-sshi!” Shock and regret was evident on Ga Eul’s voice as she spoke. She immediately went towards him and held him by the shoulder. Panic was written on her face as she bit her lip in remorse. “Mianhae! I didn’t know it was you! I’m so sorry!” She tried to appease him but he still held his eyes tightly. In her panicky state, Ga Eul took out her handkerchief and wiped Yi Jung’s face, hoping to lessen the painful effect of the spray. It did little ease to him though. The spray stung his eyes like hell.
On the other hand, while Yi Jung was complaining about his eyes, Ga Eul threw a glance at the fighting men and realized that three men were already down, leaving the guy who was wearing a baseball cap. He was panting and was trying to catch his breath. “Stupid bastards…” He cursed under his breath and turned his back to walk away.
“Uhm… Uh, excuse me!” Ga Eul called out. The man turned back to her, as if waiting for her to say more. “Komaowoyo…” She said. The man tipped his cap to her as if acknowledging her gratitude and turned to walk away again. This time, Ga Eul left Yi Jung’s side and ran after the guy. “Yah! Wait!” She called out and he stopped walking.
“What?” The man answered in an annoyed tone. “Honestly woman, don’t go walking alone in the night again. You’re inviting trouble.” The man spoke harshly but truthfully.
“Uhm… I was just… Well, I would like to thank you for saving me and I was hoping you’d come with me so that I can properly clean your wounds. It’s the least I could do to thank you for saving me.” Ga Eul explained. Well, it was the right thing to do considering how the man was beaten up because of her.
By then, Yi Jung was already standing behind Ga Eul. His eyes were still very much aching but he did manage to walk. On his hand was Ga Eul’s handkerchief as he covered it on his eyes and on his other hand was his celphone. He had already informed the police of the incident and his driver was on his way to fetch them. “Yah. Just come with us already. I tell you, this girl won’t stop bothering you until you agree to her bidding.” He spoke rigidly and walked ahead.
After a few minutes, the police began arriving and arrested the three guys who were lying badly beaten up. The police suspected the baseball capped guy as part of the hoodlums but he was attested as innocent by Ga Eul and Yi Jung. To prove his innocence, he had no choice but to come with Yi Jung and Ga Eul into Yi Jung’s car and drove off directly into Yi Jung’s mansion. Ga Eul wanted to protest saying something about the need to go home but Yi Jung easily shushed her up.
“What I need right now is to get my eyes cleansed free of your spray. Please, Ga Eul… Just… Don’t start with me right now, okay? I’m in no mood to bicker with you.” Yi Jung’s voice sounded strained and controlled. Ga Eul recognized the discomfort in his voice so she decided to shut up instead. Well, it was her own clumsiness that caused Yi Jung’s eyes to be sprayed, right?
On the other hand, other than the fact that Ga Eul was the main reason why his eyes were irritated, Yi Jung was mostly pissed off of being unable to give her help against the hoodlums. He thought he looked totally uncool just now.
Unable to talk to Yi Jung, Ga Eul turned to the mysterious guy instead. He was her savior, right? “Komaoyo again… By the way, I’m Chu Ga Eul. You are?” She asked.
Surprise was clearly written on the guy’s face upon knowing Ga Eul’s name but it was quickly masked out by embarrassment and unease. “Seung Hyun… Choi Seung Hyun…”
‘Choi… Seung Hyun…’ Ga Eul mentally repeated the guy’s name and found it oddly familiar. “Seung Hyun!” Ga Eul finally remembered who Seung Hyun was. He was the delinquent boy who always cut class during their grade school years. He was the unsung hero who looked like a bad boy but was really a nice person. Not to mention, he was also Ga Eul’s first love.
To Be Continued…
- - - - - - - - - -Preview of Chapter Nine: “Just The Same”
“Yah! Chu Ga Eul! Did you come here just to get crashed by some drunken snowboarder?” Yi Jung’s voice raised a notch higher and his tone was angry and unforgiving. It was like he was mad at her for not being careful. For Woo Bin to have seen something like that coming from So Yi Jung, it was truly interesting. It even reminded him how Yi Jung had tricked him into believing that what he gave him was Ga Eul’s number. He mentally reminded himself to think of a way to get even with his friend’s little prank.
“I was just worried for Jan Di!” Ga Eul defended and Yi Jung knew it was true. However, he wasn’t going to accept any excuses from her.
“Aish! I won’t accept excuses! You should really take care of yourself more! What if I hadn’t reached you in time, huh?! How can you worry about other people when you can’t even worry for yourself?!” Yi Jung appeared to be really pissed off and annoyed at how careless Ga Eul could be. Seriously, she should stop with that others-first policy of hers! She wasn’t even taking good care of herself.
-oOo-
a/n: And yes, I will be taking some scenes from BOF’s original storyline every now and then…
-oOo-
Date Written: Feb21,’09
Date Posted: Feb27,'09