“Jeong Hoon,” I exclaimed. “What are you doing?” He looked at me and his face darkened.
“Waiting for you, what do you think?” he said.
“Didn’t you say you were going home?”
“Would you forgive me if I did?” he said. I kept quite for I knew the answer to that question. He knew me well. He knew that if he wasn’t here now, I’d be pissed for the rest of the week. I opened the door and walked into the apartment without another word as he trailed after me.
“Have you eaten?” I asked him.
“Yea,” he replied curtly as he sat down on the sofa.
“I’m gonna have my dinner and I’ll be right out,” I said.
“Okay,” he said as he switched on the television.
I ate quickly and took a shower before I came back out to the living room. I didn’t think I would be able to pay attention to him while I was sweaty and grimy from my walk home from the bus stop. I walked into the living room and sat beside him, facing the television. We pretended to watch the television in silence for the next few minutes, or at least I did, and Jeong Hoon finally spoke.
“So are you going to hear me out?” he asked.
“Mm…” I murmured, not looking at him. He turned off the television and adjusted himself so that his body faced me.
“The girl who called yesterday… she’s my cousin,” he said.
“So why couldn’t you just tell me that when I asked?”
“I was panicking myself because she wasn’t supposed to be here.”
“What do you mean?”
“She sort of ran away from home,” he explained.
“How old is she?”
“She’s only 17.”
“So what are you going to do about her?”
“I’ve called her parents to inform them that she’s safe with me. I’ll let her stay a couple of days before I try to persuade her to go home.”
“And meanwhile, who’s entertaining her when you’re at work?”
“I’ve taken the day off tomorrow to bring her sight-seeing. You want to come along?”
“If you’d told me earlier, I could’ve taken the day off tomorrow. It’s too late now.”
“No problem, I’ll be fine. I can show her around myself.”
“Hey!” I exclaimed as I suddenly remembered. “If you didn’t know she was coming, why did she say that you were supposed to pick her up?”
“She sent me a text message before she boarded the plane in Korea. I didn’t see it until after her phone call that morning,” he reasoned as he took my hand. “You doubt me?”
“Mian,” I said as I leaned over into his arms and he put his arms around me. “You have to admit it was pretty sudden. Any concerned girlfriend would behave like that.”
“Mian,” he whispered and kissed my hair. “I’ll be quicker at explaining stuff the next time.”
“So where are you taking her?”
“Shopping,” he sighed. “Where else?”
“You can meet me for lunch,” I suggested. “I’d like to meet your cousin.”
“Sure,” he said. “I’ll call you when we arrive. I’ll pick you up.”
“Okay,” I smiled. I pulled away from him and stood up. “You’d better go home,” I said.
“Chasing me away?” he grinned.
“No… it’s late and you’ve not showered and stuff.”
“Araso, I’ll go now,” he smiled. “Naeil payo,” he said and gave me a quick kiss on the lips.
“Is that all I get?” I said, pretending to be annoyed. “That’s what you call a make-up kiss?”
“Mian,” he said and he pulled me to him and kissed me slowly. I put my arms around him, not caring that he’d been out the whole day and had not showered. We pulled away sometime later and I noticed his eyes looked like they were half-closed.
“Are you sleepy?” I asked him.
“Nah,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “Just felt so comfortable that I could just relax and fall asleep.”
“I make you sleepy?” I asked him.
“No,” he said, putting his arm around me and dragging me along as he walked to the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said and he kissed me again before walking off.
Danae came back an hour later, with Dong Wook in tow.
“Where did you go?” I asked her.
“We went to the opening night of this new play. Hossan Leong was hilarious!” she grinned.
“I don’t know what she sees in him,” Dong Wook sighs.
“She has weird tastes,” I replied.
“Hey… are you trying to imply that I’m weird?” Dong Wook asked me.
“Hmm… maybe you are,” I laughed as I walked into my room and closed the door.
I turned on my laptop and began my nightly ritual of scouring the internet for the latest news on TVXQ. I’m not some stalker fan, mind you. This is research… so that I will be prepared when I interview them at Sentosa. I stared at Jae Joong’s photo, the one taken for the Prince in Prague photo book. He looked mesmerizing as usual. I could drown myself in those eyes of his. How could someone look so gorgeous all the time? How could someone have that kind of intensity in his eyes all the time? I flipped my laptop shut at 11pm. Time for bed. As I snuggled against my bolster under the covers, I imagined myself hugging Jae Joong.
My phone rang and I opened one eye to peek at it. It didn’t sound like my alarm. I looked at the time on my radio clock; it’s too early for my alarm to ring.
“Hello,” I mumbled into the phone as I flipped it open.
“Sierra, you awake?” Jeong Hoon asked.
“What do you think?” I said as I yawned and stretched.
“Do you wanna go for breakfast together?” he asked. What’s up with him? Feeling guilty?
“Breakfast? We’ve never had breakfast on a week day,” I don’t get down that easily :P
“Have you forgotten?” he said.
“Forgotten what?”
“It’s been a year already.”
“A year? A year of what?”
“Gawd!!! You’re so dense in the morning,” he said, exasperated. “It’s been one year since we’ve met!”
“Oooh…” I giggled. “Mian.”
“I’m not gonna do the remembering for our next anniversary,” he complained. I could almost imagine him pouting as he said that.
“You think we're gonna last that long?” I teased.
“Yaah!! What are you getting at?”
“Mian,” I laughed. “I’ll get dressed. Come pick me in half an hour.”
“Ppali,” he said.
“Araso,” I replied and hung up.
30 minutes later, I stood at the gates of the condo’s compound waiting for Jeong Hoon. I was dressed in a feminine blouse adorned with lace and a simple pencil skirt. I decided that today since today was a special day, I was allowed a new pair of shoes. I happily unearthed my new pair of kitten-heeled ballet shoes that I bought a few weeks ago. They felt wonderfully comfortable. It pays to pay more because my feet didn’t feel pinched and I didn’t feel any blisters coming. Jeong Hoon pulled up minutes later in his pimped out Mitsubishi. I remember when he first got that car. I was wondering if I’d dated the wrong guy. I hadn’t imagined him to be like that. I thought that he’d just buy a nice, classic European car.
“Hello,” I smiled as I got in. I reached over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and turned to put on my seatbelt.
“That’s all I get?” he asked.
“You’ll get more, later,” I winked.
“I’d better,” he laughed as we pulled out onto the main road.
Tuesday 26 December 2006
Saturday 16 December 2006
Chapter 4: First Craze
“Sierra-shi… were you late today?” Karyn’s voice grated like nails on a blackboard.
“No, Karyn. I was on time.”
“Good. We wouldn’t want to be late on our first day as an editor.”
“Is there anything else, Karyn? I have a meeting in 10 minutes.”
“Yes, your first huge assignment,” she said as she dumped a thick file in front of me. “It’s an upcoming concert to be held on Sentosa. We expect you to cover it. You’re allowed to bring a partner.”
I flipped through the file and scanned through the artistes invited. Wang Lee Hom, Guang Liang, Wu Yue Tian, Edison Chen, Eru, Bada… and my heart stopped in my chest… TVXQ! I struggled to maintain my composure. “Erm… I’ll be sure to do a good job. Can I go now?”
“Yes,” she said and immediately turned to face her laptop.
I dashed out of her room to my cubicle. I sat down and I started to flip though the file again. Were my eyes deceiving me? Lee Hom, Guang Liang, Wu Yue Tian… I chanted in my mind as I flipped through. And there they were again, right after Bada. TVXQ! I stared at their photo; it was the one on the Version B of their 3rd album, the one where they all looked dangerous and manly. Can I scream? I want to scream with joy! And I did. Immediately, Skye’s head popped up from his cubicle.
“What’s wrong?” he asked with a shocked expression. “Did you get your period or something?”
“No!” I said, apalled. Sometimes Skye could be really crude.
“Then what is it? People are going to think you’re nuts.”
“TVXQ’s coming!!” I squealed in excitement.
“Where? Here? Our office?”
“No, silly. I’m covering the concert they’re gonna perform in.”
“Concert? Can I come? Who else is on the list of performers?”
“Your favourite, Bada,” I said and mischievously added, “I’m allowed a partner, and I’m not bringing you with me.”
“Sierra-yah…” Skye said as he came over to my cubicle. “Please take me with you! Chebal!!” he wailed and he shook my arm.
“We’ll have to see if you behave yourself for the rest of the week,” I winked.
“Aaahhh… Sierra-yah… You’re so evil.”
“What’s going on?” Shoei said he walked over.
“This girl…” Skye started.
“What about me?” I said as I batted my eyelashes.
“What’s with the screaming just now?” Shoei asked.
Just in case I’ve not described the two of them, they’re both tall and have great figures, but I’m not interested. Shoei’s a little darker than Skye since he loved to surf. Shoei reminds me of Hyde from L’arc en Ciel, the Japanese band with a hint of Takeshi Kaneshiro going on. He wears a pair of thick framed glasses to work. He’s serious to the point of being able to have a straight face, a deathly serious face, even when he was obviously cracking a joke. We’d laugh our heads off after he was done and he’d just smile. He had a mysterious smile, so it’s no wonder that he was one of the most revered guys in the office, apart from Lee Min Woo sonbae. Skye? Skye’s like part Won Bin with those eyes of his and the rest of his face fulfills the prerequisites of being a Korean pretty boy; the nose, the bone structure down to the jaw line. However, because he didn’t maintain an air of mystery about him and was almost too approachable, he wasn’t the most popular, but he still had his fair share of fans.
“Her idols are coming to town,” Skye sniffed. “So is Bada…”
“I’m going to cover a concert and TVXQ are performing in it.”
“Your dream come true,” Shoei smiled. Everyone knew about my obsession with TVXQ.
“Can you believe it?” I beamed at Shoei.
“Right, great, calm down… you’re gonna get a stroke,” he laughed.
During lunch, Jeong Hoon called while I was happily eating my pasta.
“What do you want?” I said in a surly tone as soon as I flipped the phone open.
“Sierra-yah,” he drawled sweetly, obviously trying to be cute. “You’re not still upset, are you?”
“That’s an understatement,” I said. “What do you want? I’m in the middle of lunch.”
“Will I see you tonight?” he asked.
“I thought you were busy with your fiancée from Korea,” I replied.
“She’s not my fiancée,” he said. “Stop acting like that.”
“Then who is she?” I half yelled into the phone. Several people in the restaurant started looking at me.
“Pipe down,” Shoei hissed at me and I rolled my eyes at him.
“I’ll tell you everything tonight, I just wanted to know if you had time to meet me tonight,” he said. He was starting to sound a little impatient, but I didn’t care. I was still hurt.
“Whatever,” I said and I flipped my phone shut before he could say anything.
“Can you not do that in public?” Shoei said as soon as I’d hung up on Jeong Hoon.
“Do what?” I said innocently.
“Make a scene,” Shoei said sternly. He was the kind of guy who liked to be inconspicuous and yet he possessed an aura which demanded everyone to look at him. It was truly ironic.
“I’m not making a scene,” I defended myself.
“No, you’re just making noise,” Skye snorted.
“Shuddup, Skye,” I said and made a face at him.
We were back at the office within the hour and bumped into Lee sonbae on our way up. I just keep bumping into him all day.
“Where did you guys go?” Lee sonbae asked.
“This Italian place nearby,” Skye replied.
“The one beside the Vietnamese restaurant about a block away?”
“That’s the one,” Skye smiled.
“I was there yesterday, they served great appetizers,” Lee sonbae said.
“We didn’t really have time for appetizers,” I said.
“Has Karyn been on your cases for having long lunches again?” he asked.
“Nah… we just prefer not to aggravate her,” Shoei replied.
“She’s a capable woman. She just doesn’t know how to be nice, that’s all,” Lee sonbae laughed.
“See ya, Lee sonbae,” Skye said as the elevator doors opened on our floor.
“See ya,” Shoei and I said as we waved at Lee sonbae and walked out.
It was 7pm. There was so much to do today that I’d been glued to my laptop ever since we came back from lunch.
“You’re not leaving yet?” Shoei stood beside my desk. He’d his laptop bag slung over his shoulders, ready to leave.
“In a moment,” I said as I continued to reply a mail.
“Do you want me to wait for you? I’ll walk you to your bus stop,” he offered.
“I’ll be fine. You go on ahead,” I looked up and smiled at him.
“If you say so,” he said and turned to walk off.
“Bye,” I called after him, and he raised an arm in response, without turning back.
I continued to type for another half hour, and my mobile phone rang. It was Jeong Hoon. I scowled at his caller ID before I answered.
“Wae?” I said, grumpily.
“Open up!” he said.
“What?”
“I’m at your door and I’ve been ringing the bell for ages. Are you in the shower?” he asked.
“No, I’m still at work,” I said.
“What?” he yelled and added some expletives.
“Hey! Don’t use that sort of language on me!” I yelled back at him. “You didn’t tell me what time you planned to go to my house and you didn’t bother to call before going to my house either.”
“Are you coming back?” he asked me, and he still sounded pissed.
“I’m leaving in a moment,” I replied.
“I’ll come pick you up,” he said.
“It’s gonna take you like half an hour to get here,” I complained.
“Fine! Get home yourself!” he yelled and hung up on me.
I stared at the phone. What was up with him? Was he going through hormonal changes?
I packed up and left within the next 15 minutes. It was a bit past 9pm by the time I’d gotten my takeaway dinner and reached home. As I walked out the elevator, I saw a figure crouched in front of my apartment’s door.
“No, Karyn. I was on time.”
“Good. We wouldn’t want to be late on our first day as an editor.”
“Is there anything else, Karyn? I have a meeting in 10 minutes.”
“Yes, your first huge assignment,” she said as she dumped a thick file in front of me. “It’s an upcoming concert to be held on Sentosa. We expect you to cover it. You’re allowed to bring a partner.”
I flipped through the file and scanned through the artistes invited. Wang Lee Hom, Guang Liang, Wu Yue Tian, Edison Chen, Eru, Bada… and my heart stopped in my chest… TVXQ! I struggled to maintain my composure. “Erm… I’ll be sure to do a good job. Can I go now?”
“Yes,” she said and immediately turned to face her laptop.
I dashed out of her room to my cubicle. I sat down and I started to flip though the file again. Were my eyes deceiving me? Lee Hom, Guang Liang, Wu Yue Tian… I chanted in my mind as I flipped through. And there they were again, right after Bada. TVXQ! I stared at their photo; it was the one on the Version B of their 3rd album, the one where they all looked dangerous and manly. Can I scream? I want to scream with joy! And I did. Immediately, Skye’s head popped up from his cubicle.
“What’s wrong?” he asked with a shocked expression. “Did you get your period or something?”
“No!” I said, apalled. Sometimes Skye could be really crude.
“Then what is it? People are going to think you’re nuts.”
“TVXQ’s coming!!” I squealed in excitement.
“Where? Here? Our office?”
“No, silly. I’m covering the concert they’re gonna perform in.”
“Concert? Can I come? Who else is on the list of performers?”
“Your favourite, Bada,” I said and mischievously added, “I’m allowed a partner, and I’m not bringing you with me.”
“Sierra-yah…” Skye said as he came over to my cubicle. “Please take me with you! Chebal!!” he wailed and he shook my arm.
“We’ll have to see if you behave yourself for the rest of the week,” I winked.
“Aaahhh… Sierra-yah… You’re so evil.”
“What’s going on?” Shoei said he walked over.
“This girl…” Skye started.
“What about me?” I said as I batted my eyelashes.
“What’s with the screaming just now?” Shoei asked.
Just in case I’ve not described the two of them, they’re both tall and have great figures, but I’m not interested. Shoei’s a little darker than Skye since he loved to surf. Shoei reminds me of Hyde from L’arc en Ciel, the Japanese band with a hint of Takeshi Kaneshiro going on. He wears a pair of thick framed glasses to work. He’s serious to the point of being able to have a straight face, a deathly serious face, even when he was obviously cracking a joke. We’d laugh our heads off after he was done and he’d just smile. He had a mysterious smile, so it’s no wonder that he was one of the most revered guys in the office, apart from Lee Min Woo sonbae. Skye? Skye’s like part Won Bin with those eyes of his and the rest of his face fulfills the prerequisites of being a Korean pretty boy; the nose, the bone structure down to the jaw line. However, because he didn’t maintain an air of mystery about him and was almost too approachable, he wasn’t the most popular, but he still had his fair share of fans.
“Her idols are coming to town,” Skye sniffed. “So is Bada…”
“I’m going to cover a concert and TVXQ are performing in it.”
“Your dream come true,” Shoei smiled. Everyone knew about my obsession with TVXQ.
“Can you believe it?” I beamed at Shoei.
“Right, great, calm down… you’re gonna get a stroke,” he laughed.
During lunch, Jeong Hoon called while I was happily eating my pasta.
“What do you want?” I said in a surly tone as soon as I flipped the phone open.
“Sierra-yah,” he drawled sweetly, obviously trying to be cute. “You’re not still upset, are you?”
“That’s an understatement,” I said. “What do you want? I’m in the middle of lunch.”
“Will I see you tonight?” he asked.
“I thought you were busy with your fiancée from Korea,” I replied.
“She’s not my fiancée,” he said. “Stop acting like that.”
“Then who is she?” I half yelled into the phone. Several people in the restaurant started looking at me.
“Pipe down,” Shoei hissed at me and I rolled my eyes at him.
“I’ll tell you everything tonight, I just wanted to know if you had time to meet me tonight,” he said. He was starting to sound a little impatient, but I didn’t care. I was still hurt.
“Whatever,” I said and I flipped my phone shut before he could say anything.
“Can you not do that in public?” Shoei said as soon as I’d hung up on Jeong Hoon.
“Do what?” I said innocently.
“Make a scene,” Shoei said sternly. He was the kind of guy who liked to be inconspicuous and yet he possessed an aura which demanded everyone to look at him. It was truly ironic.
“I’m not making a scene,” I defended myself.
“No, you’re just making noise,” Skye snorted.
“Shuddup, Skye,” I said and made a face at him.
We were back at the office within the hour and bumped into Lee sonbae on our way up. I just keep bumping into him all day.
“Where did you guys go?” Lee sonbae asked.
“This Italian place nearby,” Skye replied.
“The one beside the Vietnamese restaurant about a block away?”
“That’s the one,” Skye smiled.
“I was there yesterday, they served great appetizers,” Lee sonbae said.
“We didn’t really have time for appetizers,” I said.
“Has Karyn been on your cases for having long lunches again?” he asked.
“Nah… we just prefer not to aggravate her,” Shoei replied.
“She’s a capable woman. She just doesn’t know how to be nice, that’s all,” Lee sonbae laughed.
“See ya, Lee sonbae,” Skye said as the elevator doors opened on our floor.
“See ya,” Shoei and I said as we waved at Lee sonbae and walked out.
It was 7pm. There was so much to do today that I’d been glued to my laptop ever since we came back from lunch.
“You’re not leaving yet?” Shoei stood beside my desk. He’d his laptop bag slung over his shoulders, ready to leave.
“In a moment,” I said as I continued to reply a mail.
“Do you want me to wait for you? I’ll walk you to your bus stop,” he offered.
“I’ll be fine. You go on ahead,” I looked up and smiled at him.
“If you say so,” he said and turned to walk off.
“Bye,” I called after him, and he raised an arm in response, without turning back.
I continued to type for another half hour, and my mobile phone rang. It was Jeong Hoon. I scowled at his caller ID before I answered.
“Wae?” I said, grumpily.
“Open up!” he said.
“What?”
“I’m at your door and I’ve been ringing the bell for ages. Are you in the shower?” he asked.
“No, I’m still at work,” I said.
“What?” he yelled and added some expletives.
“Hey! Don’t use that sort of language on me!” I yelled back at him. “You didn’t tell me what time you planned to go to my house and you didn’t bother to call before going to my house either.”
“Are you coming back?” he asked me, and he still sounded pissed.
“I’m leaving in a moment,” I replied.
“I’ll come pick you up,” he said.
“It’s gonna take you like half an hour to get here,” I complained.
“Fine! Get home yourself!” he yelled and hung up on me.
I stared at the phone. What was up with him? Was he going through hormonal changes?
I packed up and left within the next 15 minutes. It was a bit past 9pm by the time I’d gotten my takeaway dinner and reached home. As I walked out the elevator, I saw a figure crouched in front of my apartment’s door.
Monday 27 November 2006
Chapter 3: Obsessions
5 minutes later, Jeong Hoon emerged from the bathroom.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” I asked him through gritted teeth.
“Mian,” he said as he kissed me on the cheek. “I’ve no time to explain now. I’ll call you tonight,” and he walked out of my room.
I finally get the job I want, live in the apartment I want and now there is the possibility that my boyfriend is cheating on me. So much for the first day of my supposedly new life. I walked out of my room and found Danae and Dong Wook eating their cereal in front of the TV.
“Where did John Hoon run off to?” Danae asked.
“I have no idea. Some girl called and off he ran,” I sighed. “I see you’ve got the TV hooked up.”
“Dong Wook needs his weekly dose of cartoons,” Danae said and Dong Wook kicked her feet playfully.
“I’m going back to sleep,” I said and I went back to my room to lie on my bed. I couldn’t sleep. Who the hell was that girl? Why couldn’t Jeong Hoon take 1 minute to explain her to me? I decided to surf the Internet since I couldn’t get back to sleep. Thank god I had the sense to hookup my broadband before I moved in. I could never survive without the Internet. It was my source of entertainment. I would spend hours surfing on all the things that interested me. The latest clothes and accessories, the latest chick lit available and of course, the endless stream of celebrity news, especially those concerning my favorite Korean band, TVXQ!
My obsession with TVXQ began more than two years ago, when I happened to watch their performance at the MKMF awards. They were singing Tri-Angle and they were dressed in their gothic inspired outfits. The first member I noticed was U-Know Yun Ho because he was the most boyish looking of the bunch. On a trip to Hong Kong, I bought their first album and listened to it every single day. When their second album was finally released, my attention shifted to Hero Jae Joong. I’d seen him in their Japanese music video for the song My Destiny from the album Heart, Mind and Soul, which I’d bought when I found that Rising Sun was not available at that moment, and I’ve started to fall for his beautiful face. Don’t get me wrong, beautiful he may be, but he is every inch a man, in my opinion. Ever since their release of the third album last year, I’ve been continuously obsessed with every bit of information regarding their work and their lives and this obsession did not sit well with Jeong Hoon.
“They’re younger than you are!!” he once said.
“Lots of women date younger men. Besides, Jae Joong is technically only 2 years younger than I am. That’s not such a big difference,” I said defiantly.
“Yes… and their taller, they’re much more muscular, they sing better, they dance better, did I miss anything out?”
I could see he was upset and I felt a teensy bit sorry for upsetting him. I walked over and hugged him and whispered in his ear, “You missed something.”
“What?” he said in a surly tone.
“You’re here, and they’re not,” and I kissed him.
Sometimes I wonder, where does the fantasy stop and where does real life begin. Call it wishful thinking, or you can even say I’m mad. Sometimes, I’d want to meet them so much that I’d conjure up images of them in my head and I’d imagine they’re right in front of me. The closest I’ve ever been to them is at their first concert in Malaysia. Pretty sad, eh? And sometimes, I really want an opportunity to at least communicate with them, or get their attention. But I’m not brave like those girls who crowd at the airport with banners, screaming at the top of their lungs and trying to rush forward to get a glimpse or touch them. Would they really notice someone in a crowd? Or a crowd is simply a sea of faces to them. And because I don’t know enough Korean, I miss out on info only Korean fans would know; like how to post on their official site or read their special messages to Cassiopeia.
Cassiopeia… At times, it irks me when they only thank Cassiopeia whenever they made a speech. I’m not a member of their official fan club. But that sure the hell doesn’t mean that I love them any less. It just isn’t convenient to sign up here. Or maybe I just haven’t tried hard enough. Oh well, enough with the bitterness. All TVXQ fans unite! Cassiopeia or not, we have one thing in common; that is our love and support for them. How I wish I could tell them in person someday.
Jeong Hoon never called and Sunday quickly came to an end. Before I knew it, I’d spent the whole day in front of the PC amassing thousands of bytes of TVXQ photos and videos. Jeong Hoon would have a fit if he saw this, but at this moment, I couldn’t care less. He was the one who disappeared without a word. I’m not about to feel guilty for all that I’ve done today. By the time I went to bed that night, he still hadn’t called. I’m so ready to murder him.
The next morning, I woke up as soon as my alarm rang. My first day as editor of the entertainment section at ‘Hot!’ I looked at my mobile phone and sure enough, there was a message from Jeong Hoon.
‘Miss u baby! <3 CU 2nite.’
I flipped my phone shut. I wasn’t going to reply his message. After what he did yesterday, he’d better come prepared to grovel tonight. I got up and started flipping through my closet. What shall I wear today? Not too formal, not too casual. I’m an editor now. I need to exude some professionalism but not seem like I’m trying too hard. I finally decided on a pair of grey slacks, a peach colored three quarter sleeved, round-necked top with a colorful knitted vest on top. I showered quickly and got dressed. Then I started putting on my makeup. The truth is I hardly wear any makeup; apart from a dusting of loose powder, eye liner, mascara and lipstick. I prefer to look as natural as possible as opposed to caking on makeup on my face.
I walked out of my room and started to make my breakfast. Danae emerged from her room after as I was walking out the door. Her job at the recording studios was more flexible than mine. If she didn’t have an appointment in the morning, she’d usually sleep in.
“I’m leaving,” I said and closed the door. As I descended in the elevator, I hooked up my MP3 player and plugged it into my ears. Call me a traitor, but these days, FTTS is all I listen to. TVXQ are my main eye candy though. I crossed the highway which separated me from the bus stop on the other side. It was about 7:45am and there were at least 7 people already waiting at the bus stop. My bus finally arrived and I cursed when I saw that it was full. I’ll probably have to stand all the way to the office today. Standing is such a physically taxing activity at such early hours in the morning.
I reached the office one hour later. After purchasing my daily cup of latte from Coffee Bean on the ground floor, I went into the elevator and hit the button for my floor. In the elevator with me was our chief editor, Lee Min Woo. I might not have mentioned this, but ‘Hot!’ was a Korean owned magazine and it had originated from Korea. Due to that fact, most of the senior positions at ‘Hot!’ were held by Koreans such as himself. He’s only 27 year old and that’s a pretty young to be a chief editor. We keep an almost informal culture at ‘Hot!’ Therefore when we met seniors like him, we’d just call him sonbaenim (senior).
“Lee sonbaenim,” I greeted him as I entered the elevator.
“Ah, Sierra. First day as an editor, I heard,” he winked. Lee sonbaenim was always full of charisma. It didn’t hurt that he had a hot body to boot. All the girls at the office fawn over him whenever he walks by. The bolder ones are always popping into his office and asking him if he needs a drink or a snack. If they keep this up, he’s going to lose his fit body and the adoration of his fans.
“Ne, sonbaenim,” I acknowledged him.
“Nervous?” he asked.
“Anieyo, sonbaenim,” I replied.
“Hmm… you seem to be a one liner,” he laughed.
“Ne?”
“Every question I’ve asked you, you replied with a short sentence.”
“Mianhamnida,” I said.
“There you go again,” he laughed. “Do I scare you?”
“Anieyo, sonbaenim.”
“Well, you’d better learn to speak in longer sentences. You seem so different today, compared to the girl I saw during the presentation last week. It was your great communication skills that got you this position. So be sure to use it well,” he smiled and oozed with charisma as he did.
“Erm… actually, the reason I have not much to say is because I’ve not had my morning coffee,” I smiled as I held up my cup.
“Oh! I see. I don’t blame you. On a bad day, I’ll need my second cup before I can think straight.”
“This is me,” I said as the elevator doors opened. Lee sonbaenim’s office is on the floor above mine.
“I’ll see you around,” he smiled and waved as the elevator doors closed, the kind of wave where he only stuck out his index and middle finger.
“Was that Lee sonbaenim?” the receptionist on my floor squealed as soon as I turned around.
“Yes, it’s him,” I rolled my eyes. Groupies…
“You got to ride in the same elevator as he did!!! How lucky are you? I bet you’ll have a great day today,” she continued squealing.
“Right…” I drawled as I walked in. As soon as I put my bag down on my desk, Skye popped up from the cubicle behind me.
“Yo!” he said.
“Stop popping up like that,” I glared at him. “I almost spilled my latte.”
“Mian,” he smiled. “So how was your weekend?”
“Don’t ask,” I said as I started to toss the files on my desk aside to make room for my coffee and laptop.
“Aah… lovers’ quarrel,” Skye laughed.
“It’s all your fault,” I pointed at him.
“And why is it my fault?” he asked, pretending to look hurt.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. You introduced Jeong Hoon to me.”
“And you should thank me,” he said. “Isn’t he like the hottest guy you’ve ever dated?”
“I’ve dated plenty of hot guys, thank you.”
“Well… they didn’t last as long as he did, did they?” he smirked.
“Wipe that expression off your face!” I said as I sat down and turned on my laptop.
“So what happened?” he asked as he came over to lean on my table.
“Some girl called yesterday, looking for her Jeong Hoon oppa.”
“And?”
“He didn’t explain who the girl was.”
“Hmm… okay. That was wrong of him.”
“Thank you.”
“Is he planning to tell you?”
“I wouldn’t know. Why don’t you ask him?”
“I will,” Skye smiled. “Now don’t get upset or your pretty face will get wrinkled.”
“Who’s wrinkled?” a voice came from behind us. It was Shoei.
“No one,” I said as I started to scroll through my email. Shoei was one-third of our group at the office. As you might have figured, Skye and Shoei are my closest friends at work. On the first day of work, none of the girls wanted to have lunch with me and till this day, I didn’t know why. Even though they’ve warmed to me and we’re all friends now, but my lunch group and sometimes weekend party group consists of me, Skye and Shoei. Before I forget, Shoei works in our IT department, maintaining our website. He’s from Japan.
“Karyn wants to see you,” Shoei said as he picked up my latte and took a sip.
“What about?” I asked him. Karyn was one of the senior editors and bitch with a capital ‘B’.
“Maybe she wants to congratulate you on your promotion?” Skye said and he’d meant that to be funny. Karyn and I were never on good terms. Before my promotion, she was always on my case and her favorite thing to do was to publish my mistakes for all to see during departmental meetings. Lucky for us, we had another senior editor, Jae Hee, who was sane and not a bitch. She would come to our rescue most of the time.
“Sierra-shi,” Karyn sang from her office. She had this annoying high-pitched voice that made our hairs stand whenever she spoke.
“You’d better go,” Shoei said as he walked off to his cubicle.
“Coming…” I groaned and started walking to Karyn’s office like my shoes were filled with lead.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” I asked him through gritted teeth.
“Mian,” he said as he kissed me on the cheek. “I’ve no time to explain now. I’ll call you tonight,” and he walked out of my room.
I finally get the job I want, live in the apartment I want and now there is the possibility that my boyfriend is cheating on me. So much for the first day of my supposedly new life. I walked out of my room and found Danae and Dong Wook eating their cereal in front of the TV.
“Where did John Hoon run off to?” Danae asked.
“I have no idea. Some girl called and off he ran,” I sighed. “I see you’ve got the TV hooked up.”
“Dong Wook needs his weekly dose of cartoons,” Danae said and Dong Wook kicked her feet playfully.
“I’m going back to sleep,” I said and I went back to my room to lie on my bed. I couldn’t sleep. Who the hell was that girl? Why couldn’t Jeong Hoon take 1 minute to explain her to me? I decided to surf the Internet since I couldn’t get back to sleep. Thank god I had the sense to hookup my broadband before I moved in. I could never survive without the Internet. It was my source of entertainment. I would spend hours surfing on all the things that interested me. The latest clothes and accessories, the latest chick lit available and of course, the endless stream of celebrity news, especially those concerning my favorite Korean band, TVXQ!
My obsession with TVXQ began more than two years ago, when I happened to watch their performance at the MKMF awards. They were singing Tri-Angle and they were dressed in their gothic inspired outfits. The first member I noticed was U-Know Yun Ho because he was the most boyish looking of the bunch. On a trip to Hong Kong, I bought their first album and listened to it every single day. When their second album was finally released, my attention shifted to Hero Jae Joong. I’d seen him in their Japanese music video for the song My Destiny from the album Heart, Mind and Soul, which I’d bought when I found that Rising Sun was not available at that moment, and I’ve started to fall for his beautiful face. Don’t get me wrong, beautiful he may be, but he is every inch a man, in my opinion. Ever since their release of the third album last year, I’ve been continuously obsessed with every bit of information regarding their work and their lives and this obsession did not sit well with Jeong Hoon.
“They’re younger than you are!!” he once said.
“Lots of women date younger men. Besides, Jae Joong is technically only 2 years younger than I am. That’s not such a big difference,” I said defiantly.
“Yes… and their taller, they’re much more muscular, they sing better, they dance better, did I miss anything out?”
I could see he was upset and I felt a teensy bit sorry for upsetting him. I walked over and hugged him and whispered in his ear, “You missed something.”
“What?” he said in a surly tone.
“You’re here, and they’re not,” and I kissed him.
Sometimes I wonder, where does the fantasy stop and where does real life begin. Call it wishful thinking, or you can even say I’m mad. Sometimes, I’d want to meet them so much that I’d conjure up images of them in my head and I’d imagine they’re right in front of me. The closest I’ve ever been to them is at their first concert in Malaysia. Pretty sad, eh? And sometimes, I really want an opportunity to at least communicate with them, or get their attention. But I’m not brave like those girls who crowd at the airport with banners, screaming at the top of their lungs and trying to rush forward to get a glimpse or touch them. Would they really notice someone in a crowd? Or a crowd is simply a sea of faces to them. And because I don’t know enough Korean, I miss out on info only Korean fans would know; like how to post on their official site or read their special messages to Cassiopeia.
Cassiopeia… At times, it irks me when they only thank Cassiopeia whenever they made a speech. I’m not a member of their official fan club. But that sure the hell doesn’t mean that I love them any less. It just isn’t convenient to sign up here. Or maybe I just haven’t tried hard enough. Oh well, enough with the bitterness. All TVXQ fans unite! Cassiopeia or not, we have one thing in common; that is our love and support for them. How I wish I could tell them in person someday.
Jeong Hoon never called and Sunday quickly came to an end. Before I knew it, I’d spent the whole day in front of the PC amassing thousands of bytes of TVXQ photos and videos. Jeong Hoon would have a fit if he saw this, but at this moment, I couldn’t care less. He was the one who disappeared without a word. I’m not about to feel guilty for all that I’ve done today. By the time I went to bed that night, he still hadn’t called. I’m so ready to murder him.
The next morning, I woke up as soon as my alarm rang. My first day as editor of the entertainment section at ‘Hot!’ I looked at my mobile phone and sure enough, there was a message from Jeong Hoon.
‘Miss u baby! <3 CU 2nite.’
I flipped my phone shut. I wasn’t going to reply his message. After what he did yesterday, he’d better come prepared to grovel tonight. I got up and started flipping through my closet. What shall I wear today? Not too formal, not too casual. I’m an editor now. I need to exude some professionalism but not seem like I’m trying too hard. I finally decided on a pair of grey slacks, a peach colored three quarter sleeved, round-necked top with a colorful knitted vest on top. I showered quickly and got dressed. Then I started putting on my makeup. The truth is I hardly wear any makeup; apart from a dusting of loose powder, eye liner, mascara and lipstick. I prefer to look as natural as possible as opposed to caking on makeup on my face.
I walked out of my room and started to make my breakfast. Danae emerged from her room after as I was walking out the door. Her job at the recording studios was more flexible than mine. If she didn’t have an appointment in the morning, she’d usually sleep in.
“I’m leaving,” I said and closed the door. As I descended in the elevator, I hooked up my MP3 player and plugged it into my ears. Call me a traitor, but these days, FTTS is all I listen to. TVXQ are my main eye candy though. I crossed the highway which separated me from the bus stop on the other side. It was about 7:45am and there were at least 7 people already waiting at the bus stop. My bus finally arrived and I cursed when I saw that it was full. I’ll probably have to stand all the way to the office today. Standing is such a physically taxing activity at such early hours in the morning.
I reached the office one hour later. After purchasing my daily cup of latte from Coffee Bean on the ground floor, I went into the elevator and hit the button for my floor. In the elevator with me was our chief editor, Lee Min Woo. I might not have mentioned this, but ‘Hot!’ was a Korean owned magazine and it had originated from Korea. Due to that fact, most of the senior positions at ‘Hot!’ were held by Koreans such as himself. He’s only 27 year old and that’s a pretty young to be a chief editor. We keep an almost informal culture at ‘Hot!’ Therefore when we met seniors like him, we’d just call him sonbaenim (senior).
“Lee sonbaenim,” I greeted him as I entered the elevator.
“Ah, Sierra. First day as an editor, I heard,” he winked. Lee sonbaenim was always full of charisma. It didn’t hurt that he had a hot body to boot. All the girls at the office fawn over him whenever he walks by. The bolder ones are always popping into his office and asking him if he needs a drink or a snack. If they keep this up, he’s going to lose his fit body and the adoration of his fans.
“Ne, sonbaenim,” I acknowledged him.
“Nervous?” he asked.
“Anieyo, sonbaenim,” I replied.
“Hmm… you seem to be a one liner,” he laughed.
“Ne?”
“Every question I’ve asked you, you replied with a short sentence.”
“Mianhamnida,” I said.
“There you go again,” he laughed. “Do I scare you?”
“Anieyo, sonbaenim.”
“Well, you’d better learn to speak in longer sentences. You seem so different today, compared to the girl I saw during the presentation last week. It was your great communication skills that got you this position. So be sure to use it well,” he smiled and oozed with charisma as he did.
“Erm… actually, the reason I have not much to say is because I’ve not had my morning coffee,” I smiled as I held up my cup.
“Oh! I see. I don’t blame you. On a bad day, I’ll need my second cup before I can think straight.”
“This is me,” I said as the elevator doors opened. Lee sonbaenim’s office is on the floor above mine.
“I’ll see you around,” he smiled and waved as the elevator doors closed, the kind of wave where he only stuck out his index and middle finger.
“Was that Lee sonbaenim?” the receptionist on my floor squealed as soon as I turned around.
“Yes, it’s him,” I rolled my eyes. Groupies…
“You got to ride in the same elevator as he did!!! How lucky are you? I bet you’ll have a great day today,” she continued squealing.
“Right…” I drawled as I walked in. As soon as I put my bag down on my desk, Skye popped up from the cubicle behind me.
“Yo!” he said.
“Stop popping up like that,” I glared at him. “I almost spilled my latte.”
“Mian,” he smiled. “So how was your weekend?”
“Don’t ask,” I said as I started to toss the files on my desk aside to make room for my coffee and laptop.
“Aah… lovers’ quarrel,” Skye laughed.
“It’s all your fault,” I pointed at him.
“And why is it my fault?” he asked, pretending to look hurt.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. You introduced Jeong Hoon to me.”
“And you should thank me,” he said. “Isn’t he like the hottest guy you’ve ever dated?”
“I’ve dated plenty of hot guys, thank you.”
“Well… they didn’t last as long as he did, did they?” he smirked.
“Wipe that expression off your face!” I said as I sat down and turned on my laptop.
“So what happened?” he asked as he came over to lean on my table.
“Some girl called yesterday, looking for her Jeong Hoon oppa.”
“And?”
“He didn’t explain who the girl was.”
“Hmm… okay. That was wrong of him.”
“Thank you.”
“Is he planning to tell you?”
“I wouldn’t know. Why don’t you ask him?”
“I will,” Skye smiled. “Now don’t get upset or your pretty face will get wrinkled.”
“Who’s wrinkled?” a voice came from behind us. It was Shoei.
“No one,” I said as I started to scroll through my email. Shoei was one-third of our group at the office. As you might have figured, Skye and Shoei are my closest friends at work. On the first day of work, none of the girls wanted to have lunch with me and till this day, I didn’t know why. Even though they’ve warmed to me and we’re all friends now, but my lunch group and sometimes weekend party group consists of me, Skye and Shoei. Before I forget, Shoei works in our IT department, maintaining our website. He’s from Japan.
“Karyn wants to see you,” Shoei said as he picked up my latte and took a sip.
“What about?” I asked him. Karyn was one of the senior editors and bitch with a capital ‘B’.
“Maybe she wants to congratulate you on your promotion?” Skye said and he’d meant that to be funny. Karyn and I were never on good terms. Before my promotion, she was always on my case and her favorite thing to do was to publish my mistakes for all to see during departmental meetings. Lucky for us, we had another senior editor, Jae Hee, who was sane and not a bitch. She would come to our rescue most of the time.
“Sierra-shi,” Karyn sang from her office. She had this annoying high-pitched voice that made our hairs stand whenever she spoke.
“You’d better go,” Shoei said as he walked off to his cubicle.
“Coming…” I groaned and started walking to Karyn’s office like my shoes were filled with lead.
Saturday 25 November 2006
Chapter 2: First Day
We were running up and down settling down boxes and unpacking the stuff we’d brought over from the flat. When we arrived earlier, we celebrated by ‘popping’ cans of Coke at the door before we opened it. Our new living room was painted in white. The rental had included furnishings; a white leather couch with a glass coffee table, a wooden TV cabinet stained in black stood opposite the couch, there was a small round dining table with a set of matching chairs, and apart from the stove and fridge, the kitchen lacked all other appliances. There was a washing room and a brand new Samsung washing machine stood in it, gleaming.
“It’s a front loader,” Danae exclaimed. “Now we have to throw away all the washing liquid we’d brought over from our old flat.” Just in case anyone is clueless, front loading washing machines need low suds washing liquid or the bubbles will leak or even flow and burst out of the machine. Top loading washing machines take any kind of washing liquid.
“Well, at least our clothes will never be ruined again,” I reminded her. Top loading washing machines are like the Tazmania Devil on Looney Tunes. They damage your clothes really fast, whereas front loading washing machines are gentle on clothes. I sound like a housewife, don’t I? Sigh… it comes from living alone and having a little sister to care for and boss around.
Once, Jeong Hoon made a remark about my motherly attitude.
“Sierra, if I needed a mother, I’d go back to Korea. Can you please act like a girlfriend?” he said. I’d been nagging him about something and it just blew his top off.
Not to be outdone, since I’d built up steam from nagging at him, I replied, “If I needed to feel like a mother, I’d adopt an orphan.”
“You’re driving me nuts, Sierra. Can't you just sit there and be quiet for a moment?” he said as he continued to type on his laptop, not even looking up when he was talking to me. We were in his apartment and he was too preoccupied with his laptop to even give me some attention.
“Fine, I’ll grant you your silence,” I said as I stood up and picked up my bag. As my hand reached the door handle, Jeong Hoon caught my waist and wrapped his arms around me, my back against the front of his body. He buried his face in my hair and inhaled.
“Kajima,” he said. “Mianhae…” My Korean wasn’t good then, and it’s still mediocre now, but I knew what he meant. It wasn’t fair that he knew my weakness. He knew that whenever he pleaded me in Korean, I’d just turn into putty. I sighed and he released me to turn me around so that I faced him.
“You’re obviously busy, we’ll just meet another day,” I said.
“Can’t you just accompany me?” he said. “It feels lonely to sit here and work alone.”
From that day onwards, I brought my laptop with me whenever I went to his place and we’d work together in the evenings.
“Be careful with that!!” I shouted at Jeong Hoon when I saw him tossing my precious poster around. I grabbed it from him and walked away.
“Sometimes, I think you love those 5 guys more than you love me,” Jeong Hoon laughed.
“Maybe I do, since they’ve never ridiculed me,” I replied as I walked around in search of the perfect spot to hang up my TVXQ poster. My new room was a little larger than my last. I had a queen sized bed with matching closets and dressing table and in the corner by the window, was my brand new workspace. After a long argument with Jeong Hoon, we came to an agreement that I would not hang the poster in my room, but I could hang it in the corridor leading to the front door.
“I’m not going to put up with 5 guys looking at me whenever I sleep over here,” he said.
“It’s just a poster,” I defended.
“It’s creepy!”
“Fine! I won’t hang it in my room.”
It was 8pm and my room had finally begun to look habitable. Before that, there were boxes and bags all over a place. Jeong Hoon had made himself useful by folding up all the empty boxes and stacking them up in a corner so that we can sell it to the ‘karang guni’. For those who don’t live in Singapore, the ‘karang guni’ what Singaporeans call people who travel around Singapore to buy or collect recycled paper, aluminum cans and even damaged electrical appliances that are salvageable.
“Annyong!” a deep voice called and a head popped in from behind our front door. It was Dong Wook. “Ya… don’t you guys lock the doors? It’s so dangerous to leave the door unlocked.”
“Jeong Hoon is here to protect us,” I giggled.
“Right,” Jeong Hoon said. “Are you underestimating my abilities?” he asked Dong Wook, pretending to be offended.
“Aniya,” he said, putting his hands to signal for a truce. “Where’s my Princess Danae?” Dong Wook asked. Sometimes he can be really corny, but he’s a good boyfriend to Danae.
“She’s in her room,” I said. “Did you bring us dinner?”
“Here,” he said as he thrust me a plastic bag with 3 boxes of chicken rice in it.
“Chicken rice?” Danae groaned as she walked out of her room.
“It was the most convenient food to takeaway,” Dong Wook reasoned.
“But I just had chicken rice yesterday,” Danae whined.
“Uh oh…” Jeong Hoon laughed. “Princess Danae is pissed.”
“Shuddup, John Hoon,” my sister snapped at him.
“Let’s eat,” I said as I pulled Jeong Hoon away. I can never leave the two of them alone. They’d always get at each other’s throats.
I opened up my box of rice and started moving all the cucumbers to Jeong Hoon’s box. I hate cucumbers. Why do they even bother to include it with chicken rice? It’s a redundant ingredient, in my opinion. Jeong Hoon automatically started eating the cucumbers, whilst drenching his chicken rice with the chilly sauce. Jeong Hoon loved spicy food; the spicier, the better. I could handle normal spicy, but I couldn’t handle the spicy he loved. That’s why I’ve never bothered to cook for him.
2 hours later, Jeong Hoon popped his head out from the attached bathroom in my room. Previously, at our old flat, my sister and I had to share a common bathroom. We now each had our own bathroom.
“Sierra, you haven’t unpacked your shampoo?”
“Oops…” I laughed and started to rummage through my toiletry bag on the bed.
“I’m starting to get cold here, hurry…” Jeong Hoon sang through the crack in the door.
“Got it!” I said as I ran to toward the bathroom door.
“You wanna come in and join me,” he asked, raising his eyebrows suggestively.
“Not in this lifetime,” I said and I pushed his head back into the bathroom and closed the door at his face.
I woke up the next morning feeling unusually refreshed and excited. It was my first day waking up in my dream condo. I stretched leisurely and turned to look at Jeong Hoon who was sleeping beside me. His eyelashes were so long. I couldn't resist touching them, and I did. His face scrunched up as he felt the tickling sensation when I touched his eyelashes. His eyes slowly opened and blinked a few times. This was how he woke up, or rather, how I always woke him. He yawned and stretched, then threw his arm across my body.
“Get off," I said as I tried to wriggle away. “You’re so heavy.”
“No I’m not,” he murmured as he pulled me closer and pinned me with his leg as well. I tucked my arms between my body and his as I snuggled closer. I might have had the air conditioning on a bit too cold. My feet were practically freezing off despite having duvet covering me. I tucked my feet under Jeong Hoon’s and he rubbed his feet on mine to warm them. I remember the first time we shared a bed.
“Omigod, what’s wrong with your feet?” he asked when my feet happened to touch his under the blankets.
“I’m cold, and my feet always get cold first,” I grumbled.
“Are you even a mammal?” he laughed. “Tuck your feet under mine,” he said and when I did, he started rubbing them with his, just like what he was doing without asking now.
Jeong Hoon adjusted the duvet and pulled me closer. I smiled and closed my eyes, savoring his warmth. I’ve dated guys who got cold like I did, and it wasn’t very comforting. Even though Jeong Hoon didn’t have an ounce of fat on his body, he was surprisingly huggable and he always felt warm. I could feel him kiss my forehead as I drifted back to sleep.
I woke up what felt like mere seconds later to the sound of Jeong Hoon’s mobile phone.
“Jeong Hoon,” I nudged him sleepily.
“Wae?” he mumbled.
“Your phone… shut it up.”
He sleepily reached over to grab his phone and flipped it open without looking, then he put it at my ear.
“Hello…” I groaned into the phone, thinking it must be one of our friends calling.
“Omo!!” a girlish voice squealed. “Nuguseyo?” she asked and I immediately jolted awake. I grabbed the phone from Jeong Hoon’s hand and sat up.
“Who is this?” I asked.
“Is Jeong Hoon oppa there?” the girl struggled to say in English.
“He’s sleeping,” I replied. Who was this girl? Why is she calling so early in the morning?
“But… I’m here. I’m in Singapore. Jeong Hoon oppa was supposed to come pick me,” she stammered. She sounded like she was about to cry.
“He’ll call you back,” I said and I hung up on her. I kicked Jeong Hoon hard on the leg.
“Aaahhh… wae?” he shouted.
“Some girl called for her Jeong Hoon oppa,” I said as I glared at him.
“Who?”
“Good question. Who?” I said. “Did you forget to tell me that you had a fiancée in Korea? Has she come to join you?”
Jeong Hoon sat up quickly and picked up his phone to check the last received call. “I gotta go,” he mumbled as he picked up his clothes and walked into the bathroom after checking his phone.
“Yah!!” I shouted. “You better explain yourself!!” I shouted as I threw my pillow at the bathroom door.
“It’s a front loader,” Danae exclaimed. “Now we have to throw away all the washing liquid we’d brought over from our old flat.” Just in case anyone is clueless, front loading washing machines need low suds washing liquid or the bubbles will leak or even flow and burst out of the machine. Top loading washing machines take any kind of washing liquid.
“Well, at least our clothes will never be ruined again,” I reminded her. Top loading washing machines are like the Tazmania Devil on Looney Tunes. They damage your clothes really fast, whereas front loading washing machines are gentle on clothes. I sound like a housewife, don’t I? Sigh… it comes from living alone and having a little sister to care for and boss around.
Once, Jeong Hoon made a remark about my motherly attitude.
“Sierra, if I needed a mother, I’d go back to Korea. Can you please act like a girlfriend?” he said. I’d been nagging him about something and it just blew his top off.
Not to be outdone, since I’d built up steam from nagging at him, I replied, “If I needed to feel like a mother, I’d adopt an orphan.”
“You’re driving me nuts, Sierra. Can't you just sit there and be quiet for a moment?” he said as he continued to type on his laptop, not even looking up when he was talking to me. We were in his apartment and he was too preoccupied with his laptop to even give me some attention.
“Fine, I’ll grant you your silence,” I said as I stood up and picked up my bag. As my hand reached the door handle, Jeong Hoon caught my waist and wrapped his arms around me, my back against the front of his body. He buried his face in my hair and inhaled.
“Kajima,” he said. “Mianhae…” My Korean wasn’t good then, and it’s still mediocre now, but I knew what he meant. It wasn’t fair that he knew my weakness. He knew that whenever he pleaded me in Korean, I’d just turn into putty. I sighed and he released me to turn me around so that I faced him.
“You’re obviously busy, we’ll just meet another day,” I said.
“Can’t you just accompany me?” he said. “It feels lonely to sit here and work alone.”
From that day onwards, I brought my laptop with me whenever I went to his place and we’d work together in the evenings.
“Be careful with that!!” I shouted at Jeong Hoon when I saw him tossing my precious poster around. I grabbed it from him and walked away.
“Sometimes, I think you love those 5 guys more than you love me,” Jeong Hoon laughed.
“Maybe I do, since they’ve never ridiculed me,” I replied as I walked around in search of the perfect spot to hang up my TVXQ poster. My new room was a little larger than my last. I had a queen sized bed with matching closets and dressing table and in the corner by the window, was my brand new workspace. After a long argument with Jeong Hoon, we came to an agreement that I would not hang the poster in my room, but I could hang it in the corridor leading to the front door.
“I’m not going to put up with 5 guys looking at me whenever I sleep over here,” he said.
“It’s just a poster,” I defended.
“It’s creepy!”
“Fine! I won’t hang it in my room.”
It was 8pm and my room had finally begun to look habitable. Before that, there were boxes and bags all over a place. Jeong Hoon had made himself useful by folding up all the empty boxes and stacking them up in a corner so that we can sell it to the ‘karang guni’. For those who don’t live in Singapore, the ‘karang guni’ what Singaporeans call people who travel around Singapore to buy or collect recycled paper, aluminum cans and even damaged electrical appliances that are salvageable.
“Annyong!” a deep voice called and a head popped in from behind our front door. It was Dong Wook. “Ya… don’t you guys lock the doors? It’s so dangerous to leave the door unlocked.”
“Jeong Hoon is here to protect us,” I giggled.
“Right,” Jeong Hoon said. “Are you underestimating my abilities?” he asked Dong Wook, pretending to be offended.
“Aniya,” he said, putting his hands to signal for a truce. “Where’s my Princess Danae?” Dong Wook asked. Sometimes he can be really corny, but he’s a good boyfriend to Danae.
“She’s in her room,” I said. “Did you bring us dinner?”
“Here,” he said as he thrust me a plastic bag with 3 boxes of chicken rice in it.
“Chicken rice?” Danae groaned as she walked out of her room.
“It was the most convenient food to takeaway,” Dong Wook reasoned.
“But I just had chicken rice yesterday,” Danae whined.
“Uh oh…” Jeong Hoon laughed. “Princess Danae is pissed.”
“Shuddup, John Hoon,” my sister snapped at him.
“Let’s eat,” I said as I pulled Jeong Hoon away. I can never leave the two of them alone. They’d always get at each other’s throats.
I opened up my box of rice and started moving all the cucumbers to Jeong Hoon’s box. I hate cucumbers. Why do they even bother to include it with chicken rice? It’s a redundant ingredient, in my opinion. Jeong Hoon automatically started eating the cucumbers, whilst drenching his chicken rice with the chilly sauce. Jeong Hoon loved spicy food; the spicier, the better. I could handle normal spicy, but I couldn’t handle the spicy he loved. That’s why I’ve never bothered to cook for him.
2 hours later, Jeong Hoon popped his head out from the attached bathroom in my room. Previously, at our old flat, my sister and I had to share a common bathroom. We now each had our own bathroom.
“Sierra, you haven’t unpacked your shampoo?”
“Oops…” I laughed and started to rummage through my toiletry bag on the bed.
“I’m starting to get cold here, hurry…” Jeong Hoon sang through the crack in the door.
“Got it!” I said as I ran to toward the bathroom door.
“You wanna come in and join me,” he asked, raising his eyebrows suggestively.
“Not in this lifetime,” I said and I pushed his head back into the bathroom and closed the door at his face.
I woke up the next morning feeling unusually refreshed and excited. It was my first day waking up in my dream condo. I stretched leisurely and turned to look at Jeong Hoon who was sleeping beside me. His eyelashes were so long. I couldn't resist touching them, and I did. His face scrunched up as he felt the tickling sensation when I touched his eyelashes. His eyes slowly opened and blinked a few times. This was how he woke up, or rather, how I always woke him. He yawned and stretched, then threw his arm across my body.
“Get off," I said as I tried to wriggle away. “You’re so heavy.”
“No I’m not,” he murmured as he pulled me closer and pinned me with his leg as well. I tucked my arms between my body and his as I snuggled closer. I might have had the air conditioning on a bit too cold. My feet were practically freezing off despite having duvet covering me. I tucked my feet under Jeong Hoon’s and he rubbed his feet on mine to warm them. I remember the first time we shared a bed.
“Omigod, what’s wrong with your feet?” he asked when my feet happened to touch his under the blankets.
“I’m cold, and my feet always get cold first,” I grumbled.
“Are you even a mammal?” he laughed. “Tuck your feet under mine,” he said and when I did, he started rubbing them with his, just like what he was doing without asking now.
Jeong Hoon adjusted the duvet and pulled me closer. I smiled and closed my eyes, savoring his warmth. I’ve dated guys who got cold like I did, and it wasn’t very comforting. Even though Jeong Hoon didn’t have an ounce of fat on his body, he was surprisingly huggable and he always felt warm. I could feel him kiss my forehead as I drifted back to sleep.
I woke up what felt like mere seconds later to the sound of Jeong Hoon’s mobile phone.
“Jeong Hoon,” I nudged him sleepily.
“Wae?” he mumbled.
“Your phone… shut it up.”
He sleepily reached over to grab his phone and flipped it open without looking, then he put it at my ear.
“Hello…” I groaned into the phone, thinking it must be one of our friends calling.
“Omo!!” a girlish voice squealed. “Nuguseyo?” she asked and I immediately jolted awake. I grabbed the phone from Jeong Hoon’s hand and sat up.
“Who is this?” I asked.
“Is Jeong Hoon oppa there?” the girl struggled to say in English.
“He’s sleeping,” I replied. Who was this girl? Why is she calling so early in the morning?
“But… I’m here. I’m in Singapore. Jeong Hoon oppa was supposed to come pick me,” she stammered. She sounded like she was about to cry.
“He’ll call you back,” I said and I hung up on her. I kicked Jeong Hoon hard on the leg.
“Aaahhh… wae?” he shouted.
“Some girl called for her Jeong Hoon oppa,” I said as I glared at him.
“Who?”
“Good question. Who?” I said. “Did you forget to tell me that you had a fiancée in Korea? Has she come to join you?”
Jeong Hoon sat up quickly and picked up his phone to check the last received call. “I gotta go,” he mumbled as he picked up his clothes and walked into the bathroom after checking his phone.
“Yah!!” I shouted. “You better explain yourself!!” I shouted as I threw my pillow at the bathroom door.
Thursday 23 November 2006
Chapter 1: In Vogue
Aaahhhh… the sandy beaches of Bora Bora. We’re strolling along the pristine white beach hand in hand. I kick at the waves as they crash onto the beach and I giggle. I felt so giddy, so incredibly happy. He pulls me into his arms and kisses me. As we kiss, I felt myself get hotter and hotter. Kim Jae Joong… you sure know how to turn me on.
Brriiinnnnggg!!!
Images of the kiss shatters as I’m jolted awake. Oh, no!!! It was all just a dream? I grabbed the source of that annoying sound and turned it off. I rue the day I brought home that clock. It was on sale at Ikea and I had to have it.
“Listen to it!!” I said enthusiastically as I turned it on so it rang.
“You’re gonna regret it. It’s so noisy!” Danae, my sister, warned.
How right she was. But this alarm had proved useful to me a couple of times. It woke me up on time for my all important job interview, which got me this job at ‘Hot!’ magazine. Last week, it woke me up on time for my big presentation, which got me my new position as the editor of the entertainment section. ‘Hot!’ was an up and coming magazine that is slowly gaining it’s foothold in the fashion industry. Sure it isn’t Vogue or Harpers Bazaar or even Elle, but we’ve had a strong following this past year and we’re looking forward to an even better year ahead.
“Phhiiiiggggg…” I could hear Danae sing through my door. Just because I was born on the year of the pig, she has to remind me each day. Don’t get me wrong though. I think pigs are so adorable and so utterly yummy. Hehe!
“Yesss…” I said as I stretched on my mattress. As I sat up, I was struck by how bare my room looked. Where did all my furniture go? Then I remembered… we were moving today. No wonder Danae was up so early. You usually wouldn’t see her emerge from her room until the sun has reached its peak in the sky i.e. 12pm. I stood up and walked to the huge poster on the wall. 5 guys smile back at me. They’re Jae Joong, Yun Ho, Jun Su, Chang Min and Yoo Chun, otherwise known as TVXQ. “We’re moving today, guys,” I said and I unhooked the poster from my wall and rolled it up. Their poster was the last piece of item which I’d yet to pack. Apart from my bag, correction, bags of clothes, everything had been packed and moved out to the living room for the movers to take away.
I was showered and dressed in 15 minutes. We had a long day ahead of us, but today would be a validation for Danae and myself; a validation that we have arrived. We were finally moving to our dream condo D’dalvey, on 23 Dalvey Estate, (S) 259555.
Brriiinnnnggg!!!
Images of the kiss shatters as I’m jolted awake. Oh, no!!! It was all just a dream? I grabbed the source of that annoying sound and turned it off. I rue the day I brought home that clock. It was on sale at Ikea and I had to have it.
“Listen to it!!” I said enthusiastically as I turned it on so it rang.
“You’re gonna regret it. It’s so noisy!” Danae, my sister, warned.
How right she was. But this alarm had proved useful to me a couple of times. It woke me up on time for my all important job interview, which got me this job at ‘Hot!’ magazine. Last week, it woke me up on time for my big presentation, which got me my new position as the editor of the entertainment section. ‘Hot!’ was an up and coming magazine that is slowly gaining it’s foothold in the fashion industry. Sure it isn’t Vogue or Harpers Bazaar or even Elle, but we’ve had a strong following this past year and we’re looking forward to an even better year ahead.
“Phhiiiiggggg…” I could hear Danae sing through my door. Just because I was born on the year of the pig, she has to remind me each day. Don’t get me wrong though. I think pigs are so adorable and so utterly yummy. Hehe!
“Yesss…” I said as I stretched on my mattress. As I sat up, I was struck by how bare my room looked. Where did all my furniture go? Then I remembered… we were moving today. No wonder Danae was up so early. You usually wouldn’t see her emerge from her room until the sun has reached its peak in the sky i.e. 12pm. I stood up and walked to the huge poster on the wall. 5 guys smile back at me. They’re Jae Joong, Yun Ho, Jun Su, Chang Min and Yoo Chun, otherwise known as TVXQ. “We’re moving today, guys,” I said and I unhooked the poster from my wall and rolled it up. Their poster was the last piece of item which I’d yet to pack. Apart from my bag, correction, bags of clothes, everything had been packed and moved out to the living room for the movers to take away.
I was showered and dressed in 15 minutes. We had a long day ahead of us, but today would be a validation for Danae and myself; a validation that we have arrived. We were finally moving to our dream condo D’dalvey, on 23 Dalvey Estate, (S) 259555.
For 2 years we had been working in Singapore and living in a rented HDB flat at a not-so-glam address. Now that I’d been promoted and Danae had established herself as a producer at her small but flourishing recording studio, FluffBox, we could finally afford to live at the address of our dreams. The rent was going to take up most of our paychecks, but to come home to a haven like D’dalvey would be worth every cent. Being brought up in a conservative family which valued the sanctuary of a home, we found it hard to shake the longing for beautifully decorated interiors and clean bathrooms. So the moment I was given my editor’s pay raise, we moved.
Just then, the doorbell rang. I opened the door to find Jeong Hoon at the door, posing. He was looking at the ground with one arm braced against the doorframe and from the index finger of his other hand hung a plastic bag with food in it.
“How many times do I have to tell you?” I said in mock impatience, “No… naui style aniya.”
“Good morning to you too,” he smiled and walked in.
Jeong Hoon had been my on and off boyfriend for the past year. He pulled me into a hug with his free arm and kissed my forehead.
“Hello, John Hoon… is that our breakfast?” Danae said. Jeong Hoon’s English name was John, but I’d refused to call him that since I loved the fact that he had a Korean name. Hence, the name John Hoon, which my sister had christened him out of sarcasm.
“Yes, Danae kongju (princess),” he answered as he dropped the packets of food on the table and turned back to me. “We need to talk,” he said as we walked into my room. Once inside, he pushed me onto the mattress and jumped on top of me.
“Hey, there…” he said as he played with my hair.
“Hey…” I replied, smiling. I’d met Jeong Hoon through Skye, my colleague at ‘Hot!’, during one of our group outings.
We were at the crowded hip hop section of M.O.S (Ministry of Sound), when Jeong Hoon appeared.
“Sierra,” Skye yelled in my ear. “Meet my old schoolmate from Korea, Jeong Hoon.”
“Hi,” Jeong Hoon mouthed as he gave a little wave and flashed me a megawatt smile and I nodded.
“This is Sierra,” Skye yelled into Jeong Hoon’s ear. “She’s my colleague at ‘Hot!’. The one I’ve been telling you about.”
Jeong Hoon nodded and as Skye turned away to talk to someone else, he moved up closer to me. “Wanna dance?” he said. I nodded. He grabbed my hand and we walked toward the crowded dance floor which was surrounded by a high chain-linked fence. We found a spot in the middle and he started moving. I liked the way he danced, he wasn’t flashy, but he was confident, and I followed. Two hours later, we were sitting at a café on Clarke Quay, unwinding from the loud music and smoke. I found out that Jeong Hoon had just arrived in Singapore and was now working for a huge PR/advertising firm in the business district. He spoke Korean, Japanese and English since he’d studied in the USA. He’d been schoolmates with Skye when they were in high school and they’d once formed a band together.
“He did, didn’t he? I’d figured that he’d probably have done something like that during his high school days since he was so into music. But now he’s stuck in the food and travel department,” I laughed.
“I think it’s still fine with Skye,” Jeong Hoon smiled. “He loves food as much as music. What about you? Are you in the department of your choice?”
“I’m in the entertainment department. I cover movies, concerts, new albums, you name it, I do it.”
“Looking for your big break, huh?” he smiled. “I have no doubt that it will come for you someday.”
“Thanks,” I said and smiled warmly. I was really starting to like Jeong Hoon. He was polite, friendly and engaging. But where would this go? Would he just up and move back to Korea someday? “So how long will you be staying in Singapore?” I asked him.
“For now, I’d say it’s indefinite. After arriving here, I feel like I can live here forever.”
“Won’t you miss home? The food? The people?”
“Now that I’ve met you, I don’t think I will,” he said.
*****
I traced the outline of Jeong Hoon’s face with my index finger. He was lying beside me on my mattress, looking at me with his big beautiful eyes as his hands continued to play with my hair. What was it with Koreans? If they were good looking, they were devastatingly good looking. If they were ugly, they could sure be damn minging. And Jeong Hoon has double eyelids.
*****
I’ve always complained to him that it wasn’t fair for him to have nicer eyes than I did.
“Your eyes are beautiful, Sierra. They’re so oriental,” he said as he stroked my cheek.
“But I’d love big Bambi eyes like yours. Then I can hypnotize people and always get my way,” I laughed.
“Believe me,” he said, “Big eyes bring trouble.”
“Yea… that’s why you’re dating me?” I laughed.
*****
“Phhhiiggg!!” Danae yelled. “The movers are here!!”
I sat up quickly. I’d totally forgotten about the movers and about breakfast since Jeong Hoon came.
“Go eat your breakfast,” Jeong Hoon said as he too sat up. “I’ll deal with the movers.”
We left the room and I started to wolf down my breakfast while my sister and Jeong Hoon instructed the movers. In 5 minutes, I was done eating and joined Danae and Jeong Hoon with the moving.
“Where’s Dong Wook?” I asked Danae while we were taking a break after loading the lorry.
“That good-for-nothing boyfriend,” she sulked. “He’s probably out playing tennis with his banker friends.” Danae’s boyfriend, Dong Wook, was a financial controller with a major MNC. They’d met through Jeong Hoon. “I blame John Hoon for introducing me to that slob.”
I smiled as Danae complained. Even though she gets mad at Dong Wook, whenever he appears, her face would light up and everything would be forgiven. But that’s not usually the case with Jeong Hoon and me. I’ll admit that I don’t have the best of tempers. If Jeong Hoon ever pissed me off, I’d just tell it like it is and we’d start arguing, hence, the designation of ‘on and off boyfriend’. We’d ignore each other for a week or two and then out of the blue, he’d call me and we’d just act like nothing had happened in the past weeks; as if we’d never had that argument. I’d have to give him credit though. He was always the one who made the first move after an argument. For that reason alone, I am still with him till this day.
Jeong Hoon handed me a bottle of water and some tissues. I drank thirstily and then started to dry the sweat which had been dripping down my face.
“So are we driving off soon?” he asked.
“Yep,” I said as I stood up. “You’ve got a little cobweb on you face,” I laughed and wipe it away for him.
“Ya…” he said in his adorable Korean slang. “You girls… I can’t believe how dusty and filthy your things are.”
“I’d like to see yours,” Danae said. “You couldn’t be much better, so don’t compare.”
“I’ve got a cleaner who comes in once a week,” he winked.
“Right, show off will ya. We don’t make more than 10K a month like you do,” Danae retorted as she stuck her tongue out at him.
We got into Jeong Hoon’s car and followed behind the lorry which was delivering all our belongings to our new condo. I looked back at the blocks of flats which I’ve lived in for the past 2 years as I said goodbye to my old life. I’m about to get a fresh start at the life I’ve always wanted and I had everyone that mattered beside me.
Wednesday 22 November 2006
Forewords
Here’s another dream of mine; to work in the fashion industry. When I was a little girl and up till today, I love my clothes. I love new clothes just like any other girl. I love looking pretty just like most girls. But to work in an industry where it's all about new clothes and looking pretty each day, that would be an ultimate dream.
Main Characters:
Sierra
Skye
Shoei
Danae
동방신기 (TVXQ)
Kim Jeong Hoon (from Goong)
Lee Dong Wook (from Arang) <-- dedicated to my sister
Fly to the Sky (FTTS) Super Junior
Lee Min Woo (Shinhwa)
Jun Jin (Shinhwa)
(and anyone I can think of to fit in the plot)
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