In Ho's new apartment was. . . not quite a shithole. It didn't have rats or many cockroaches as far as he could see. And his flat was one of the larger ones available in the building, consisting of a small living space, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a bedroom. The movers had done a good job placing his things in the appropriate places. But not much could improve the worn and outdated flooring, the weak overhead lights, or the thin walls.
He looked at his dingy couch, sitting in the equally dingy living room. In Ho sighed. He had looked forward to spending a little of Jeong's money on better furniture but now it hardly seemed worth it.
On the upside, he was home an hour earlier than when he had lived on the other side of the university and could be awake an hour later in the morning. He peeked into the bedroom and his eyes fell on his sleeping mat. He had gotten used to sleeping in a western style bed when he lived in Mr. You's house. Maybe, he would buy a bed. He could afford that small indulgence, right?
Settling down on the couch, he scrubbed at his face with his hands and let out a sigh. Another dull day. He had followed Hong Seol to school, to class, to lunch, and back to class, and then to the library. It was so boring he actually found himself cracking open the text book about musical composition and reading it. . . . and actually being engaged by the text. He had always prided himself that he knew good music from bad but he'd never thought much about how good music was composed. Eventually, Hong Seol packed up her things and he followed her to the bus stop for the short ride back to their building. She had neither looked at him nor spoke to him all day. Apparently, she had decided to treat him like some kind of ghost- present but not inconvenient if you ignored it.
At least when he worked at the coffee place he felt like he was accomplishing something.
The next day he waited patiently outside her door, leaning against the wall. He checked the clock on his phone and shook his head. What was taking so long? He could hear her thumping around in there. If she didn't hurry she would be late for her first class.
Was this part of his job as a bodyguard, he wondered. Should he protect her from being late to class?
The door to her tiny studio flew open and when her eyes landed on him, she let out a little shriek of surprise.
"What are you doing here?!" She demanded.
He tucked his phone into his pocket and answered dryly, "What do you think I'm doing? I'm here to walk you to school."
Her eyes narrowed, "I don't need anyone to walk me to school. How did you get into this building? You need a key-"
Jeong hadn't told her.
Of course.
"I live here." He answered and pointed up the stairs, "Third floor."
As she stared at him, mouth hanging open, her bag slipped off her shoulder and she pulled it back impatiently. In Ho frowned. She looked different. She looked. . . disheveled. Exhausted. There were bags under her eyes and her skin was pale. When she reached up to push her wild hair out of her face, the sleeve of her jacket slipped down, revealing a too-thin wrist.
In Ho thought, Jeong isn't taking very good care of you.
Oblivious to his staring, she slammed the door to her apartment and marched toward the stairs. He followed with a shrug.
On the bus, she made a point of sitting next to an old woman so that the next closest seat was half the length of the bus away from her.
Whatever. He didn't get paid more if she liked him.
The usual routine played itself out over the day but In Ho found himself paying attention to things he hadn't noticed before- the number of coffee drinks she bought out of the vending machine, how little she actually ate at lunch, all the time she spent alone.
By late afternoon he found himself sitting in the lobby of the business education building, listening with one ear to the conversation of her presentation group. Two hours they had been discussing the assignment. His butt was starting to ache. Would this meeting ever be done?
"Who can make copies of the presentation packet?" Hong Seol asked briskly.
She had been doing most of the talking through the meeting, he noticed. When nobody answered, she asked again, "Doesn't anyone have time to make the copies?"
He repositioned himself casually in his chair so he could observe. Not one of the other three people in the group would meet her eye; each of them was carefully looking at their notes or phones or anything but Hong Seol.
"Fine," She said in a pinched voice, "I'll do it."
In Ho scowled down at his cell.
To his relief, the meeting concluded a few minutes later. The other three students let out exclamations of joy and high fived each other. Like they had done anything useful, In Ho thought with disgust. As they gathered up notebooks and bags, they began to chatter about their plans for the weekend. Hong Seol sat like a stone as their noise washed over her. When the others were gone, she lifted her bag onto the table as though it weighed a thousand pounds.
She needed a decent meal and a nap, In Ho thought. He checked the time. She still had to work her shift at the university library.
As she gathered up the papers spread in front of her, a folder slipped from her hand and papers went flying, scattering all over the floor. Her shoulders slumped and she regarded the mess with an empty look.
Without thinking, In Ho stood and made his way through the scattered chairs toward her. Kneeling, he began scooping up papers haphazardly.
"What are you doing?" She asked in a dull voice.
He ignored the question as he continued to gather the loose sheets.
"What are you doing?!" She shrieked.
Faces all over the lobby turned to look at her.
Hong Seol bit her lip, eyes taking on the glassy sheen that preceded tears.
Grabbing the last piece of paper, he stood and shoved the loose papers back into the folder. In Ho took the strap of her bag from her weak grip and settled it on his own shoulder, stuffing the folder into the outside pocket. Then he turned and began to march across the lobby, still carrying her bag.
Startled, she scrambled to catch up with him, "What are you doing?" She demanded in a hissing whisper. People were still watching. She put on a fake smile and nodded to a group of first year students. She grabbed the strap of her bag and tugged "Let go!" She growled.
But he hung on tight.
Outside, day was just rolling over into night. Looking around and spotting no one close by, she grabbed the bag with two hands and yanked but there wasn't much strength to it. She should have actually eaten her lunch, he thought.
"What are you doing?" She demanded as the bag slipped through her fingers and he continued walking. "People saw you back there! What will they say? My boyfriend is gone one day and a strange man is carrying my bag-"
"Tell them I'm your cousin from Busan." He answered, without slowing.
"Yesh!" She almost shouted and tugged hands through her hair in frustration. He almost laughed but instead hid his smile by glancing away into the dark.
She seemed resigned to follow him for now and they crossed the quad toward the student union in silence. Inside, he found an empty table near the small convenience store. He pulled a chair out and indicated that she should sit.
Her jaw worked for a moment like she was going to refuse.
Sighing, he placed her bag on the table and she snatched it up. Bag secured, her eyes narrowed and she opened her mouth but he interrupted mildly, "I'm hungry."
"What?!" She demanded.
"You hardly stopped for lunch today." He gestured to his stomach, "My belly is empty." He pretended to rap on it with his knuckles as he made an empty tinny noise with his mouth. Putting his hands together like a supplicant, he begged, "Can I have ten minutes to eat something, Hong Seol-Nim?"
She snapped, "Don't call me that!" Then she added, "I have things to do! I can't-"
He got down on his knees, his expression imploring. She turned red so fast he was surprised she didn't pass out from the sudden rush of blood. Glancing around to see if anyone was watching, she waved her hands at him, "Get up! Get up, you idiot! People can see you-"
"Oh, Great Mistress! I am so hungry! Allow your humble servant-"
"Fine! Fine! Get up! Stop making a scene!"
Rising to his feet, he gave her a cheeky grin, "I'll be right back. Wait here."
Hiding her face with one hand, she gave a quick nod.
When he returned to the table a few minutes later, he was holding a plastic shopping bag. He pulled out three rice cakes, and two drinks. Not coffee. He set the first rice cake and a drink in front of her.
"What is this?" She asked.
He picked the triangle of rice up and turned it in his hands, making a great show of examining it. Finally, he looked back at her and said in a surprised voice, "I think it's kimbap."
He set it back down in front of her.
"I know it's kimbap!" She snarled, "What do you expect me to do with it?"
"Eat it."
"I'm not hungry."
In Ho felt the urge to tear his hair out. "You were too busy at lunch studying to eat almost anything. And you've been sucking down coffee all day. You're hungry."
She hesitated.
"Don't worry." He assured her, "I'm not paying for it. Jeong will reimburse me."
Hong Seol gave him an incredulous look.
He fought the urge to laugh. Instead, he said, "I'll charge him triple. He'll never know. He's probably never eaten kimbap."
Hong Seol's eyes fell back to the tabletop. She reached out with one small hand and touched the triangle. "Sunbae and I ate kimbap together once. I bought it."
In Ho tried to imagine Jeong eating convenience store kimbap from a cellophane wrapper. He couldn't quite get the picture to coalesce in his mind. This wild-haired nerd must possess powers of persuasion the likes of which he'd never seen.
In Ho informed her, "You have fourteen minutes until your shift at the library starts."
Her stomach growled loudly.
He raised an eyebrow but she wasn't looking at him. Instead, she had snatched up the rice cake and was ripping the plastic off like a half-starved beast. She took an enormous bite and her eyes fell shut with pleasure. She chewed like a horse. Reaching across the table, In Ho picked up her drink and twisted off the cap. He sat it down in front of her and she snatched it up, taking a hurried gulp.
This was the girl Jeong cared so much about?
She demolished the first triangle and he pushed the second one toward her. She barely hesitated this time before tearing into it.
Taking up the third rice cake, he opened it up and ate slowly, savoring it.
When she was done, she let out a contented sigh and smiled. Then her eyes fell on him and she stopped smiling. She opened her mouth to say something but he interjected before she had a chance, "Nine minutes."
She looked confused for a second and then exploded into motion grabbing up her trash, throwing it into the bin, and then yanking her bag onto her shoulder before flying down the hall toward the library.
It all happened so suddenly that he didn't catch up to her until she was already out the door.