"I've got bad news, bro."
I look up from my work to see Woo Bin already inside my studio. So much for knocking, bro. He props down on the chair in front of me and looks me square in the eye.
"Didn't you hear what I said?" He asks me in his serious tone. I eye him curiously. He seemed really bothered by whatever he was about to say. He was leaning slightly forward, his elbows on his knees. I wipe my hand on the towel beside me.
"What is it?" I ask him and he lets out a deep sigh. He closes his eyes for a brief time, as if contemplating on how to tell me whatever the hell it was. I start to get nervous.
"Jae Kyung…she's been occupied lately." I fight the urge to laugh out loud in Woo Bin's face. Seriously? That what was what he wanted to talk to me about?
"You came here, looking like you just killed someone, to tell me that…your girlfriend has no time for you?" I ask in disbelief. I can't believe I didn't see sooner how whipped Woo Bin is.
"No, you idiot. I meant…occupied with another guy." I widen my eyes at him. So the girlfriend was cheating? That didn't sound like the heiress. Sure, she was flighty and, well, crazy but she didn't seem like the cheating kind.
"What makes you say that?"
"You remember their girls' night out last week? Ever since then, Jae Kyung has been talking about this Jacob guy non-stop." I knit my eyebrows at the name. So the dude wasn't Korean then? But where could have Jae Kyung met him? As far as he knows, the girls just went out to see a movie last week. And he should know, Ga Eul was with them.
"So, do you know anything about this guy? And how did you find out? Don't tell me you got your men to do it." With the mafia in the palm of his hands, who knew what he could have done to get this information?
"That's the thing; I don't need my men. Jae Kyung talks about him right in front of me. All I know what about him is he's supposed to have 'killer' abs and that he doesn't look good with long hair." Well, that was weird. Why would Jae Kyung talk about her other guy in front of Woo Bin? Did she want this Jacob to die?
"Looks like you have quite the competition there, man." I tell him. It was a good thing that Ga Eul never seemed to be attracted to the well-built guys. Not that I'm not, you know, well-built, of course I am. I'm talking about her celebrity crush, that punk Kim Bum. Psh.
"Don't so sound so lucky, bro. I didn't come here to share my love life with you; I came here to warn you." His look was more serious than ever now. What would he possibly warn me about?
"About what?"
"I'm not the only one with 'competition'. I happened to have heard Ga Eul yang talking to Jae Kyung the other day and it looks like she has her own boy toy." I couldn't even laugh at Woo Bin's use of the term 'boy toy' because I was too baffled by what he just said. Ga Eul has one, too?
"Non-sense, Woo Bin. Unlike you and your monkey girlfriend, me and Ga Eul yang have not been having problems lately." I defend.
"That's what you think but she seemed to be gushing pretty hard about some guy…what's his name? Right, Edward." I frown at the name. Edward? What kind of doofus name is that? Woo Bin must be bluffing. I don't even have the time to answer him as he adds…
"You're completely screwed, Yi Jeong. This dude sparkles."
--
I march angrily to Ga Eul's apartment. I stop as I hear voices through her door.
"I don't understand how you can still like Edward Cullen after seeing Jacob topless!" I hear the familiar voice of Jae Kyung say. Did she just say topless? Where the hell did they meet these guys, at a ladies' club?
"There's still something about him, unni. He's much more…gentle and perfect." Woo Bin was not kidding, Ga Eul was gushing! Gentle and perfect? She never called me any of that! What was the deal with this Cullen person? He couldn't be more attractive than me, that would be absurd. But Ga Eul seemed so drawn to him.
"Fine, more Jacob for me then!" Damn, I knew Jae Kyung was a bad influence. I should have never let her hang out with my Ga Eul.
I hear their footsteps get closer to the door and I pull my ears away from the door frame. I straighten myself out and stand coolly outside her door. I will not let her see me freak out.
"Sunbae!" she greets surprisingly as she opens the door. Jae Kyung gives me a wave before excusing herself and driving away on her Porsche. Yeah, you go you little girlfriend influence-r.
"Edward Cullen? Is that your new guy now? What, suddenly I'm not good enough for you anymore?" So much for keeping my cool. Ga Eul looks at me weirdly, as if trying to see if I was kidding or not. Why would I be kidding about something like this?
"What did you just say? Edward…"
"Yes, Edward Cullen! And don't try to deny it, too. I heard you and Jae Kyung with my own two ears." I rage at her. She doesn't look like she's the slightest bit affected by any of this. She actually looks like she's on the verge of laughing her head off.
"Sunbae…"
"No, Ga Eul yang, it's going to take more than that to make me understand. We were doing okay one day and now you're crazy over some Edward guy?" Ga Eul looks down, out of shame or out trying to stifle laughter, I couldn't tell.
"You really have to listen, sunbae…"
"Is it because he sparkles?" that probably did it for her as she explodes in laughter. She doesn't even try to stop herself now as she grasps on the wall for support. Tears were starting to form in her eyes and I couldn't help but feel stupid. Why in the world was she laughing? I wait for her to calm down before I give her a piece of my mind.
"Are you done now?" I ask her as breathes in and out to stop the laughter. She nods at me with a smile on her face.
"Sunbae, Edward Cullen's the lead guy in the movie we just saw last week, New Moon."
Oh.
--
Instead of being relaxed by the information that Edward Cullen was nothing but a fictional character, I was even more alarmed. The way my Ga Eul talked about him…what did he have that I don't? So I did what every respectable boyfriend would do, I saw the movie.
It wasn't too horrible, except for the screaming fan girls all around me. I swear to God, every time Teen Wolf took his shirt off, every girl (and even some guys, too) would explode in high pitched squeals. It was excruciating, let me tell you. But I didn't get much information about this Cullen dude form this film other than, yes, he does sparkle. How girly was that anyway? And weren't the vampires wearing too much concealer?
But, as I said, he wasn't shown much in the movie so I had no choice but to get a copy of the first film, Twilight and dare I say, of all four books. I wasn't halfway done with the third before my research felt done to me. Edward Cullen was this sweet talker vampire who was incredibly old fashioned and apparently looked 'god-like'. Psh. This Stephenie Meyer chick has obviously never been to Seoul.
So what do I do with this information? I use it to reel Ga Eul back, of course.
--
I wait in my car for Ga Eul to come out of the gates. It was four in the afternoon and her class had just ended. She was in for some surprise once she sees me.
"Sunbae!" I hear her call out. I reach out to the passenger's seat to open it so she could get in. She knits her brows at me.
"Uh, Yi Jeong sunbae, what happened to my hair?" I smirk at her. I take a glance at the side view mirror and see that my hair is still perfectly messy, looking like I just got out of bed. Just how Ga Eul liked it. Right?
"You don't like it?" I tousle it some more. She wanted Edward Cullen, huh? She's going to freakin' get it.
"Well, it's okay, I guess…" she frowns at me though as she says this. She turns her head and I start the engine. She was probably just getting used to it.
--
"Yi Jeong sunbae!" Ga Eul sounds surprised as she sees me standing outside her door. My hair was still the messy pile it was two days ago only now I added something more for Ga Eul, my first two buttons were opened. I had now perfected the 'just-out-of-bed' look that seemed to be really visible on the actor in the movies.
"Morning, love." I tell her and I can almost feel her heart melt for me. She blushes at the name I call her, I cup her cheek.
"You look beautiful today." Instead of blushing now, she frowns at me. What did I say?
"Sunbae, what are you doing? Is this one of your pick up line days again?" she accuses and I couldn't help but feel betrayed by my research. This was not the effect I was expecting.
"What do you mean, Ga Eul yang?" I ask her because God knows I had no idea how to read her anymore.
"I mean…you're looking and you're acting really weird, sunbae. What's that you said to me last night? 'Hurry back to me'?" she had her hands to her hips and I could smell trouble. But I don't get it; I thought she liked Edward Cullen? I just wanted to make her all giggly and gushy again. She was cute like that.
"You know what, I'll see you later. I'm going to be late." She doesn't wait for me to offer her a ride and just gives me a chaste kiss on the cheeks before hailing herself a cab. What the hell did I do?
--
The next time I saw her was that night, we just had dinner and now were walking down our favorite park. The elephant in the room remained ignored.
"Ga Eul yang…" I start because I have something really important to say. I thought about our short talk this morning and I think now I finally got it right.
"Sunbae?" she stops walking and turns to me, my breath hitches. That always seems to happen with her.
"I want to talk about these past few days…"
"Finally, now spill."
"It's just that…this Edward Cullen dude seemed to really get your attention and, maybe, maybe, I wanted to be him for you." I told her sheepishly. Casanovas weren't supposed to be admitting these things to their girlfriends. I could almost feel the slap all the Casanovas in the world were mentally giving me now.
"But, sunbae…" She seemed surprised by my confession. I cut her off.
"But I realized something today, Ga Eul yang. Why do you even like him? Because he was that girl's soul mate? Yeah, I guess if soul mates were supposed to be blood sucking punks who proposes at seventeen, technically." I find her smile slightly at this so I continue.
"But, come on Ga Eul yang, we're soulmates and we're nothing like them!" I didn't even mean to say that. Oh, damn, I'm worse than Woo Bin.
"No, because we're better." She tells me as she takes a step forward. She reaches up to my hair and pats it down to its original place and she lowers her hand down to my buttons and closes it. And then she smiles that bright smile of hers.
"I don't need you to be Edward Cullen, sunbae. I like your styled hair, your crisp suits and your casual smooth talking." She tells me and I just want to take her in my arms right then and there. But not before I ask this one important question…
"So I'm definitely better than Edward Cullen, right?"
"Of course, sunbae. I'm Team Yi Jeong all the way."
Take that, sparkle.