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.

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.