Chapter Three; Kun Kang
You could say that I've always been a "lady's man" – ever since I was a little kid. Enclosed in a time when guys thought girls had cooties and girls thought that boys were simply revolting, many would think that I was an exception. It's as though I practically broke a tradition; when I was a kid, I was already surrounded by giddy girls, and cooties and disgust was put aside. Let's face it, I was simply charming, though I never realized it until my later elementary years.
Elementary: when it didn't matter. And now, it does, especially since for some reason fate has brought her back into my life. I don't know how this is going to play out yet, but I can just taste the sourness of the future. And that's just too bad.
"Oh, so they know each other," Tae said, looking back and forth between Kun and Hyun-Ja.
"Obviously," Ga-Woon muttered, receiving a light punch from Tae to his stomach. He grunted a little, having not expected Tae's "attack". Just then, he felt a few drops hit his face. He, along with the others who felt drops as well, looked up at the sky to see dark clouds hovering above the entire town.
"Ahhh, sorry, please come in," Hyun-Ja said bowing out of embarrassment, holding the door open for her guests to enter through. Each of them filed in, one-by-one, Kun being the last one. Once he passed, however, he held the door open and motioned for Hyun-Ja to enter before him. Surprised, she walked back into her house, followed by Kun who closed the door behind him. Ga-Woon saw the scene unravel before him, and boy was he surprised at how much of a gentleman his best friend was acting like.
"Weird," he thought, before shaking his head and turning his attention back to his girlfriend, who was chatting with Que-Min. Their awkward little chat was put to an end when Hyun-Ja invited them to have a seat in the family room. They each murmured their thank you's and took a seat on the three couches. Hyun-Ja sat by herself facing the strangers. Across from her were Ga-Woon, Que-Min, and Tae, who was in the middle. Kun stood off to the side, obviously avoiding Hyun-Ja.
"Uh… Hello, I'm Tae," the girl said finally after an awkward period of silence. She stood up and stretched out her hand towards Hyun-Ja, who tentatively took it and shook it. She replied by saying her own name. "This is Ga-Woon, and this is Que-Min. And I'm assuming you already know Kun," Tae continued, gesturing at each of her companions respectively.
"Yes, I know Que-Min and Kun already, but nice to meet you," Hyun-Ja said, directing the last part to Ga-Woon, who extended his hand as well. "Not to be rude or anything, but why are you here?" she finally asked after the introductions took place. Her face showed her confusion at having so many people at her house.
"I'm Jung-Woo's cousin," Tae stated succinctly.
"Ahh, yes, Ghoon-Hahm mentioned you," Hyun-Ja replied.
"Ghoon-Hahm?" asked Tae, deeply concerned considering how Ghoon-Hahm had already put Jung-Woo in the hospital. "What did he do to Jung-Woo?"
"Nothing," Hyun-Ja answered; her eyes big with surprise. "He brought him here because he collapsed after looking for his dog in the rain."
"His dog?" questioned Tae, tapping her chin with her finger.
"He found him at school, I think. He took care of him," Que-Min hesitated to contribute.
"Where's the dog now?" Tae asked.
"Oppa's looking for him right now," Hyun-Ja said, wistfully looking out the water-spotted window. "He should be here by now," she thought.
"Oppa? You mean, Ghoon-Hahm is your brother?" Ga-Woon asked, surprised. He received a nod in response.
"That's right," Kun thought, turning his head away from the group and out the window as well. "They're siblings; I almost forgot."
The group was silent for a while, until Hyun-Ja suddenly stood up. She started walking, but stopped to turn around and motion for Tae to follow her. Tae followed and Hyun-Ja led her up the stairs to Jung-Woo's room.
Jung-Woo, still sitting in bed after Hyun-Ja left his room to wait for Ghoon-Hahm, heard the creaking of the steps. There were multiple creaks, so he extrapolated that Hyun-Ja and Ghoon-Hahm were ascending the staircase. There was a knock on the door and Jung-Woo wondered what Ghoon-Hahm wanted with him.
"Hyun-Ja?" he called.
However, the girl who opened the door was none-other than his identical cousin, Tae.
"Not quite," Tae said, grinning at her cousin. She walked across the room and sat on the edge of Jung-Woo's bed, then hugged him tightly.
Jung-Woo just sat there, shocked, hugging his cousin back. They didn't usually hug each other. Everything was back to normal when Tae let go of her cousin and slapped him upside his head, however.
"You scared me so much, you know that?" she exclaimed. He simply laughed at her.
Hyun-Ja felt that the two cousins should have their privacy, so she turned to leave. However, she was stopped by Tae's voice calling her name. "Hyun-Ja!"
Hyun-Ja turned around to face Tae. "Thanks for taking care of my cousin while he was sick." She nodded and started to descend the staircase.
Que-Min, Ga-Woon, and Kun were left in the sitting room, though Que-Min excused herself to use the restroom. She knew where it was already, considering how this was not her first time at Ghoon-Hahm's house. That left Ga-Woon and Kun alone; Ga-Woon still sitting down on the couch and Kun still standing and looking out the window with a pensive expression to match his natural model-posture. Ga-Woon glanced up at his best friend, wondering when he should start on his tactical interrogation. "Screw it," he thought, and then the show began:
"So, Kun…" he started.
"No, I'm not going to tell you anything." Yikes. Kun was ready, and on the defense; he didn't even flinch. Ga-Woon wasn't going to quit, however, and started on the offensive again.
"You'll feel better if you just let it out," Ga-Woon persuaded. Kun remained silent. "Come on, what do you have to lose if you tell me?"
Still, Kun was silent.
"Oh, I get it, you loved her, huh? Am I right?" Kun had yet to move. Ga-Woon had just been playing around, but with Kun's failure to speak, he realized that he may have been right; Kun had loved her, but he couldn't believe it until Kun actually admitted to it. And so, Ga-Woon pressed on.
"Tell me and I'll let it go. I know you don't want me to keep bugging you, and I know even more that you don't want Tae bugging you about it. Don't make me tell her."
"Fine," Kun spat out. Kun hated prying, but he'd rather his best friend pry than his best friend's girlfriend. At that moment, however, Kun was saved by someone pounding at the door. As if right on cue, Hyun-Ja then jumped down half the flight of stairs and ran past the two towards the door.
"Oppa!" she exclaimed, pushing open the door. Alas! It was her older brother, Ghoon-Hahm, soaked from the rain with a small dog in his arms. He nodded at her in acknowledgement and continued through the door. He took a few steps before noticing the two guests. Well, actually it became three for Que-Min had returned from the restroom.
"What are you doing here?" Ghoon-Hahm asked, more surprised than angry.
"Well, we came to visit Jung-Woo," said Ga-Woon. Ghoon-Hahm turned to Que-Min, whose expression soon became nervous.
"You brought them here?" he asked her, and she nodded. She murmured an apology. "No, it's fine. I was just wondering." That's all Ghoon-Hahm could say, after all, he had a soft spot for the girl. He then turned to his sister and let him know that he was bringing the dog up to Jung-Woo.
"Alright, Oppa," she complied and as he ascended the stairs, she decided to follow him. They reached Jung-Woo's room and with one arm around the dog and one arm free, Ghoon-Hahm knocked on the door. Hyun-Ja reached for the door knob and opened it slowly, sticking her head in first.
"Hi again, Jung-Woo," she said smiling. He smiled back and Hyun-Ja continued. "Look who's here."
With that, Ghoon-Hahm emerged from behind the door, dog still in his arms. Jung-Woo didn't know whether to be happy that he had his dog again, or disappointed because Ghoon-Hahm and Hyun-Ja had visited him together… like a couple.
"Ghost!" he exclaimed, and the wet dog immediately jumped out of Ghoon-Hahm's arms in order to run and jump onto the bed. Ghoon-Hahm hesitatingly leaped forward, unsure whether or not he should have run after the dog. Tae flinched, startled by the dog's quick movements. Hyun-Ja worriedly ran over to the bed, yelling, "He's wet! You might get sick again!" She stopped when she realized how happy the reunion made both the dog and its owner. She smiled. Ghoon-Hahm looked over at his sister and noticed that she had a peculiar expression on his face; he didn't like it.
"Hyun-Ja, let's go," he called to her, sounding a little too over-protective. She looked over at him confused, and he turned away, embarrassed by his outburst. His sister then smiled and laughed a little, and said "okay" as she followed him out the door.
"Ghoon-Hahm doesn't seem like it, but he really is sweet," Tae said out loud, not exactly directing it at Jung-Woo. "He's a good brother to Hyun-Ja, too." He looked up at her while Ghost fidgeted in his arms, and she looked down at him and smiled.
"They're brother and sister, huh?" he confirmed, looking back down at Ghost.
"Yeah, didn't you know?" Tae asked.
"No," he replied simply, and he smiled for a reason other than Ghost.
A/N: Hmm, chapter three is now up. At least I got another chapter up before August! My goal was to continue this during summer and I guess I've succeeded? But I've got a ways to go, especially with what I have in mind for this fic. I wonder who I should make the next chapter about; maybe Ghoon-Hahm or Hyun-Ja. If I don't stop here I'll continue to ramble on ;; Thank you for reading and please review!