"Aish! You're no help!" I yell down the phone to Yi Jeong. All morning i had been slowly developing a headache, on the verge of becoming a full blown migrane, trying to find a good gift for Jan Di's 21st birthday. I had kept thinking and thinking of what she would like best and now two weeks laters, it's her birthday and i STILL don't know what to get for her. I had called everyone i knew to ask about her, which really only included the rest of the F4, noona and her friend (Yi Jeong's first serious girlfriend) Ga Eul.
They were all useless!
"Bro, chill!" He says again, as i was about to retort that i can't calm dow, he continues "I have an idea and before you start yelling again, listen carefully because I knwo Ga Eul liked it when I did it for her; You should cook for her." he rushes to finish.
"Again with your idiotic ide-" I start saying in reflex that I had developed over the last half an hour on the phone to Yi Jeong but...
"That's...not a bad idea." I say. Yeah, she'll like that, she had made cookies for me before and I had loved them despite the fact that they weren't the best (understatement of the century). Finally, a decent idea.
"See, I tol-" I put the phone down before he can finish, in my excitement. I toss the phone on my bed, in case someone calls and distracts me - this will need my complete attention. So many things to do.
I run out of my bedroom, tumbling slightly on the staircase, to the kitchen looking around for the cooking staff. I spot the head chef but have no energy to run to him, so i shout panting;
"You!...Come...Come here!" And his shoots up to me, frightened, and he rushes to my side with offers of water or something to drink (which i promptly ignore).
"Y-yes, sir. Is...is something the matter?" Is he shaking? Really? But i don't have time for that right now, i have more important matters to be dealing with.
"What...What meat do we have...in the house?" I ask, gaining my breath.
"Ermmm...Err...Chicken and some Korean Beef, sir. We...we weren't planning on making many meat dishes t-tonight." I ignore his stupid stuttering. This is good. Jan Di likes Korean Beef. I think. Maybe.
"Good. Get me the Korean Beef out and a cook book. Now." I start moving about the kitchen now that i've caught my breath to wash my hands and grab the apron on the side hook. I turn back to collect the book and meat from him, but he's still standing in the same position as before with his mouth hanging open. What the hell?
"What are you waiting for?!" I yell, losing my paitence. Thsi seems to get his attention and he, once again, starts running around the kitchen to grab what i asked for. God, doesn't he know what we pay him for?
i get to work quickly looking over the book fir a recipe to serve beef that wouldn't be too difficult to make. Soon i realise that multi-tasking, or in other words cooking, is hard. While trying to cut up some onions and srying my tear-filled eyes with the back fo my hand (AT THE SAME TIME!), i had to make sure to turn the beef over on the frying pan. I burnt it. Twice. Aish! Why can't this stupid dish just turn up at the dinner table like all my meals do? At least the third time came out as well as i could hope for.
Maybe the chef does know what we pay him for.
I hear a knock at the door. Jan Di's here! i fix my suit jacket quickly, i had brought a new burngundy suit from New York for today, and run to open the door. She looks beautiful, but it has nothing to do with the fact that she's wearing the white dress i had sent to her apartment this morning. Nope. Just as i was about to wave her in, she shoots me a big, shy smile. Wow! definately not the dress.
"Happy Birthday." i wish her as softly as i can, she alsway says she likes me best when i use my 'inside voice'. if it's possible, her smile grows and she moves to hug me, blushing. I can'e help but laugh internally at this, pressing my cheek to her hair, 21 years old and she still blushes while hugging me.
"Thank you." She says in an even gentler tone than me. I quickly pull her in and shut the dooe, leading her into the dining room. I had the huge dining table replaced, for the evening, with a two-people small table. It was decorated in a simple white silk cloth with some roses (which i knew for a fact were her favourites) in a vase in the middle, and two candles in antique candle holders. It almost physically pained me not to have done more but i knew that if i had then Jan Di would've been embarassed and started thinking too deeply about social status and money and blah, blah , blah. I shake myself out of my thoughts to see her reaction and she doesn't disappoint.
"Wow!" She marvels at the sight as if i had just gifted her a whole restraunt instead of this small dinner. Her whole face hold a child-like joy to it, with her eyes widened and her mouth slighty open and turned up into a smile. I couldn't help be give myslef a pat on the back, what was it Ji Hoo had said? 'You'd have to be exteremly smart to come up with something that Jan Di would like, all by yourself. And i highly doubt that.' Hah!
Now it's; Jun Pyo - 1 and Ji Hoo - 0.
She let's out a laugh pulling me out of my thoughts, once again, and turns to me.
"It's amazing, thank you for keeping it like this."
"I'm glad you like it. Now come and sit down," I say while guiding her to her chair and helping into it before sitting down on the opposite end of the small table. "So that i can show you your birthday gift."
She looks up at me unceratinly, and i know then that she fears i've brought her something that hse would consider 'ridiculously expensive', but still tries to smile.
"Well let's see it! Ji Hoo sunbae called to wish me earlier and said that i would be sompletely 'blown away' by you gift and that it was something 'only Jun Pyo could think to get'." She indicates what he had said with her fingers and creating quote marks. Damn Ji Hoo! He didn't even know what i had gotten her, heck even i didn't knwo until a few hours ago. He justed to make her nervous because she knows my prefrence.
"I have to admit, I am a bit nervous," She says as if reading my thoughts and confirming them. I dejectedly think; Jun Pyo - 1 and Ji Hoo - 1. But she continues "but sinc this dinner is going far better than i had imagined it, i am quite excited to see what you got me now." I look up and can see that even if i had gotten her a 'ridiculously exoensive' gift, she would've been okay with it. I smile at the thought and tell her to close her eyes and when she does, i take the lids of the dinner plates.
"Okay. You can open your eyes now." I had felt pretty confident up until now, but suddenly lose all of it now. the presentation isn't the best with this being my first time cooking and having burnt the meat twice, it was the best i could do.
When she opens her eyes, i hesitantly point to the food. She just stares at the plate for a few seconds and this does nothing to help my nerves. I'm so sure she hates it at this point that i'm considering going to Yi Jeong's house tomorrow and beating the crap out of hi for giving me this crappy idea. And then going to his girlfriend's house and telling her the most embarassing moments of his life. I sigh preparing to apologise, I know that Jan Di likes simple things but she is a girl - was she expecting/wanting something big and pretty like all girls do, instead of a (badly) cooked meal by me.
Then she looks at me in disbelief and that starts me up.
"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have g-" I stare at the the white cloth as i apologise but get cut of as i hear Jan Di's chair squeaking against the floor as she stands. I follow immediately snapping my gaze to her, does she hate it so much that she's leaving? Oh, way to go, Jun Pyo!
"Hey don't...don't go. We can ju-" I start trying to come up an alternative to do, panicking slightly thinking the worst. But i suddenly feel her arms around my waist as she hugs me. Wait, hugs me?
"Thank you for making this, it means a lot to me. This is exactly what i wanted - a meal and some time with you. This is the best present you've given me in years, Jun Pyo. Thank you." she mutters into my chest and i barely catch her words. She likes it. I sigh, and finally wrap my arms around her too. Thank god, for a second there I thought all that burnt beef was for nothing.
We sit in the living room later in the evening and, as Jan Di likes to say, 'cuddled'. we talked about a lot of things that we haven't discussed lately such as our everyday lives (as i have yet to finish up and come back to Korea for good, and Jan Di still in Medical School) as i had only come back home for a week, anything inetersting we had seen or done recently, what we wanted in the future, how we saw our future together, even marriage was brought up.
There had been music in the background, to avoid the eerie silenece a house this big could produce. Then a song Jan Di likes came up and i find myself being tugged up and dancing. I smile to myself as i think about how we had fallen back into routine around each other after just two days together, 'you can't blame me' i think to myself 'it's easy to be liek this around her'.
"What are you smiling about?" She inquires softly.
"You. Us." i answer back simply, spinning her. When she faces me again she smile teasingly and scoffs.
"Ugh! Charmer!" she rolls her eyes playfully and cotinues "With lines that smooth, I should be worried about possible rivals in America."
I laugh along with her and take the good natured ribbing and reply "Shouldn't i be the one worried? I don't think Ji Hoo is over you yet and he spends far too much time with you for my liking." She laughs.
"Well," her smile fades as she exhales loudly and slowly, gwoing serious as our gentle swaying comes to an end "then i guess it's a good thing I love you."
I close my eyes, i had been laughing at her blushing about hugging me but every time she says she loves me, even after all these years, my heart picks up. I lean in to kiss her but stop to softly and sincerely whisper back "I love you."
I lean in further to kiss her and...wait her head isn't there. Wait. What?! i open my eyes to look around and see her knelt down...over a pile of...Ugh! Puke!
I pace around not being able to stand in one place, at the end of my bed, as the doctor examines Jan Di. I don't get it, the evening was going fine and Jan Di was fine and suddenly she's pucking. Ugh! i hate not knowing.
I turn to the doctor quickly as she gets up of my bed and rush to Jan Di's side, taking one of them into both of mine and peer up at the Doctor.
"Well, what's wrong with her?!" I nearly yell when she doesn't reply to my inquistive look. Jan Di attempts to whack my upper arm, clad of its jackets from earlier, but the most she can manage is a sort of pathetic pat.
"Miss. Geum Jan Di has gotten food poisoning, it's not too serious so i've written out some prescription tablets and if she takes them regularly she should be fine in a few days."
I look at the doctor incredulously, "Food poisoning?!"
"Yes, it's most likely some sort of undercooked or slightly raw meat. Again, she should be fine."The doctor dismisses herself after leaving the presciption note on the side table.
I can't help but open my mouth a few times but close it again. I had burnt the beef twice, the chef had said it was because i left it on the heat for too long, so the third time i got a little paranoid and took it off the head quicker. Too quickly.
I turn to look at Jan Di finally and she looks back at me with a pale and tired expression like she's going to fall asleep. My eyes widen as i realise:
I poisoned Jan Di.
I close my eyes shut tightly not knowing what to do, furrowing my brows, as i shrug spitting out the first thing that comes to mind.
"Happy Birthday."