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.

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.

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)