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.

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)