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.