Chapter 9: The Morning After

[Jae Wook’s POV]

“Hyung!!!” a familiar voice yelled, and I sat up quickly.

“I’m up,” I mumbled, and my head lolled around as I tried to stay awake.

“Come on,” my brother yelled. “I’m gonna be late.”

I dragged myself up and out of my room, then sat down in front of the table. As always, my brother had prepared breakfast. It’s really my mother’s job, but she’s either drunk and sleeping it off, or out gambling, so my brother and I pretty much took care of ourselves; I worked for the money, he took care of our home and meals.

“Come on,” he said. “Eat up. Or you’ll have to wash the dishes. I don’t want to be late.”

“Wae? You got punished the last time?”

“Ne…” he said and continued to stuff his face.

My brother didn’t do as well as I did in school, so he didn’t get into a school of our choice. His school was about an hour away, so he had to wake up earlier and commute daily.

“Jae Joong-ah…” I said. “Do you want to try again?”

“Mwo?”

“Applying to my school?” I asked him.

“I’m fine, hyung. It was like winning the lottery when you got in. I don’t think that kinda thing happens twice.”

“I could ask around, now that I’m in,” I said, and gulped a mouthful of seaweed soup.

“Wae? Do you have friends in high places now?” he joked.

“Well…”

“I’m fine,” he said. “I’ll get used to it.”

“I’ll just ask around,” I said.

“Keurae… just ask around. But I don’t need you to waste your time on it, ne?”

“Ne,” I smiled, and reached out to ruffle his hair.

“Ya…” he grumbled smacked my hand away. “Now I’ll need to waste more time fixing this.”

My brother and I… we had the same fair skin, the same expressive eyes, but somehow… his features ended up looking more feminine. I have feminine features too, but my brother could actually pass off as a girl if he wanted to. Being a pretty boy was a curse when you’re in school. The girls would love you to death, and the guys would love to beat you to death. Because of that, he spent most of his free time working out, and he ended up with a better figure than I had i.e. he had some real muscles and abs.

After we’d eaten and cleared up, Jae Joong put all the leftovers in one bowl and left it on the table beside a bowl of rice. My mother would eat that when she woke up. He then left for school, and I went back to my room to snooze another 15 minutes before I got ready for school.

[Sierra’s POV]

Sweat rolled down my back as I checked the oven again. Why did I agree to make breakfast for Sang Hoon oppa?

“Sierra-ya… paegop’a… where’s breakfast?”

“Soon,” I said. “Stop bugging me.”

He smiled, walked towards the radio in the kitchen, and flicked on the switch.

Music: Big Bang – Last Farewell

“Come on, come on… let’s dance!” Sang Hoon oppa yelled as he jumped around, then grabbed me to join him.

“Ya!” I laughed, then joined him anyway.

Sang Hoon oppa was the one who taught me to dance. During his stint as a rebel, he did a lot of street dancing too. Within seconds of the song, we were dancing one of the dances he’d choreographed some time ago.

“Ya… michoso?” Yong Min oppa laughed as he walked into the kitchen.

“What’s that smell?” Sang Hoon oppa said, and I realized that I’d almost forgotten about the food I was cooking in the oven.

“Is it burnt?” Yong Min oppa asked.

“No,” I said as I took out the dish and placed it on the counter as I beamed with pride.

“Wa…” Sang Hoon oppa said as he peered at the dish. “Lasagna for breakfast.”

One of the few things I was good at was basic Italian cuisine; pizza, lasagna, spaghetti.

“I thought we would get rice,” Yong Min oppa said.

“Oppa!” I glared at him. “You didn’t say you wanted rice, and you know I don’t cook rice.”

Yes… I still haven’t learnt to make dishes, but I mix a mean bibimbap. Most people tend to think that my mother was Chinese, I would at least be able to make Chinese dishes.

“Pap hae…” Yong Min oppa said.

“The only rice dishes I can give you are bibimbap and fried rice, and you know it.”

“Just eat it,” Sang Hoon oppa grinned, and started taking out 3 plates from the nearby cabinet. “Or we’ll never hear the end of it.”

“Araso, araso…” Yong Min oppa smiled as he raised him hands in defeat.

[Jae Wook’s POV]

Just in time… another few minutes and I’d have been late. I didn’t need the cane on my butt. I probably wouldn’t be able to take the pain since it’s been a long time since I’ve gotten in trouble like that.

I felt pretty good today. This morning, when I woke up, everything that happened yesterday felt so surreal. I had to see her today… I didn’t dare tell my brother yet in case it was just a dream. Or maybe Sierra was just humoring me yesterday, and she’d avoid me today.

As I walked into the school grounds, my eyes immediately scanned around the vicinity for Sierra’s face. She wasn’t here yet.

“Yo!” Dong Hae slapped my back and jumped in front of me.

“How did it go with your brother?” I asked him.

“I managed to sneak the bike in without him knowing,” Dong Hae grinned.

“Good for you,” I said. “Thanks for risking your neck to help me out.”

“Hey… what are buddies for?” he grinned.

“Ahem…” someone said as she tapped my shoulder.

Music: Super Junior - Marry U

I turned around and there she was; the face in my dreams.

“Hi Sierra,” Dong Hae squeaked.

“Hi Dong Hae,” she replied.

Just then the first bell rang.

“You’re late,” I smiled.

“I’m just in time,” she said.

“Shall we?” I said as I extended her my arm.

“I’d love to,” she smiled, and linked her arm in mine as we walked towards class.

As soon as we took 2 steps, a few other unmistakable voices appeared.

“Omo… are you guys dating already?” Hee Chul exclaimed.

“Omigod! Omigod!” Sung Min squealed, and I grinded my teeth at the sound of his voice.

“Pipe down…” Sierra said, shushing the 2 pretty brothers. “I don’t need the whole school staring.”

“But you’re holding hands. Does it make a difference?” Hee Chul said.

“Yah… you might as well yell ‘Look everyone!!! Sierra and Jae Wook are holding hands!’” she said sarcastically.

“Yea… but no one would know who Jae Wook is,” Hee Chul laughed.

“That’s right!” Sung Min exclaimed. “We should have you introduced to the school.”

“Who? Who? Who?” Shin Dong bounded up to us.

Now the whole motley crew was complete.

“Jae Wook,” Sung Min said.

“Who?” Shin Dong said, still not realizing what was going on.

“He wasn’t there when Jae Wook ‘saved’ Sierra,” Hee Chul said, smacking Sung Min on the head.

“Oh… right!” Sung Min giggled.

“He saved Sierra?” Shin Dong said, and gave me a once-over with the look of disbelief.

“Yea,” Sierra said, and she hugged me around my waist.

I had to control myself from puffing my chest up with pride. I didn’t do anything, and yet here she was, telling all he friends that I was her hero.

“From who?” Shin Dong asked.

“Han Kyung,” Sung Min said.

“Han Kyung?” Shin Dong gasped, and from this moment on, he looked at me in awe.

“I didn’t do anything, really…” I said.

I was starting to feel embarrassed with all the attention they were giving me.

“But you saved her from Han Kyung,” Shin Dong said, rapturously.

“What about Han Kyung?” a deep voice said, and our little group parted to make way for him.

“Hi Si Won,” Hee Chul waved, and I felt Sierra’s hands suddenly tighten around my arm.

[Sierra’s POV]

Drats… he’s done it again. I thought that I’d be over Si Won the moment I had someone like Jae Wook. It didn’t work. He still made me feel weak in the knees. Jae Wook snaked his arm around my waist just in time to stop me from sliding to the ground.

“Are you alright?” he asked me, softly.

“Yea,” I said. I can imagine how flustered I looked as I tried to straightened myself.

“Jae Wook saved Sierra from Han Kyung,” Shin Dong now repeated like a trained parrot.

“Really?” he said, raising an eyebrow.

“He did!” Sung Min piped up.

“I think we should get to class,” Dong Hae suddenly said, totally steering us away from the topic.

Everyone looked at him for a moment, as if he were an alien who had just invaded their turf.

“Right,” Si Won said, simply, and started walking away.

“Let’s get to class,” Hee Chul said, and we followed behind Si Won.

“Are you okay?” Jae Wook asked me as we walked.

“I’m alright,” I smiled. “I just happen to have a knee problem every now and then.”

I can’t let him know why I’d collapsed. Was he on to me?

“I see,” he smiled. “Well… you’re in luck. I’ll be here to catch you when you fall from now on.”

I couldn’t find a reply to his statement. Had it been yesterday, I might have felt tingles. But today, with Si Won’s over-powering aura… I was no longer able to connect to Jae Wook. What am I going to do now?

Music: Tim - 내 안의 전쟁 (The War In My Mind)