by Con Template
She smiled wryly when she remembered Chae Young. She grew despondent when she realized how much she missed her. “I—I don’t have a lot of close friends. I was really sick in Taecin so I lacked a lot of friends because of that, you know? But when I started working at the diner, I met this girl who was nice to me. We clicked instantly – just like Hae Jin and I – and became best friends.”
She laughed ironically at herself when she was reminded of her relationship with Chae Young. She gently slapped a palm against her forehead. “Oh God, I imagine she must’ve called me a million times since you ‘recruited’ me from the diner.”
Tae Hyun watched a family of ducks swim beside them when he asked, “Have you spoken to her since?”
Yoori shook her head, her eyes noting that the sunset had begun to disappear behind the trees, the radius of the bright orange lights limited to what was behind the leaves.
“After I ran away from you, I ignored phone calls from her because I didn’t want her to get involved. You know, ‘gang stuff.’ But after that night when you came for me, my phone ran out of battery and I forgot to get the charger when I went back that one time.” Yoori shrugged sadly. “I didn’t get ‘reminders’ to call her afterward because my actual phone died. But I suppose it’s better this way. I miss her but I don’t want to get her involved in all of this.”
When the sun hid deeper behind the trees, Tae Hyun turned his head in her direction. This move caused Yoori to do the same. They were eye-to-eye, nose-to-nose and almost lips to lips.
A subtle dash of guilt teemed in Tae Hyun’s eyes. She knew what she said touched a sensitive nerve within him. She just didn’t know how sensitive that nerve was.
He parted his lips. His voice was soft and unsure, but also hopeful. “We could stop by the diner on our way back to the city tomorrow,” Tae Hyun offered, his gaze never leaving Yoori’s.
Yoori gave him a strange and quizzical look.
“No, I have a good plan,” he continued, heeding her apprehension. The hopeful beam took over his eyes. “I could introduce myself as Kwon Tae Hyun, a young, budding entrepreneur who walked into a local diner after a crappy business meeting with one of his investors. I could tell her that I was having a terrible morning until I saw you—the most beautiful girl that I’d ever laid eyes on. I could tell her that when you accidentally spilled hot coffee all over my hands, I knew then that my life wasn’t going to be the same. I’ll tell her that after some sweet talk and a lot of courting, I convinced you to run off to Paris with me. I’ll apologize to her for stealing you away so abruptly. I’ll tell her it was because we fell in love at first sight and it couldn’t have worked out any other way. She’ll smile and nod at me while giving approving eyes at you. And then I could give you guys some alone time to catch up and then afterward, we’ll tell her we’re going to jet set around the world but you’ll be able to catch up with her on the phone.” He smiled reassuringly at her. “She’ll never have to be involved.”
“That was a really nice story,” said Yoori, unable to hide her bittersweet smile. It would’ve been nice if she could actually have that fairytale story with someone.
Tae Hyun nodded. A similar, bittersweet gleam was present in his eyes. “Do you want things to happen like that? With some editing of my story, we could make it work.”
Yoori shook her head, knowing better than to lie to Chae Young like that. She also knew better than to keep perpetuating that story and bringing it to life. It wasn’t true and she didn’t need to be reminded every time that it wasn’t true.
“It’s best if you don’t bring me back to Chae Young. I’m honestly not good with keeping secrets and I’ll probably end up blabbing everything to her. If I see her, then I see her. But right now, if I can keep her out of it, I’ll do that.” She smiled appreciatively at Tae Hyun. “Thanks for the offer though. That was very considerate of you.”
“Yeah, I do have my days,” Tae Hyun concurred, bending his elbow up and resting the side of his chin on the palm of his hand. He forged on with his remaining questions. “Where would you have gone to work after you left the diner?”
Relieved that they were moving on from the somber topic that dealt with Chae Young, Yoori eagerly answered. “A cellphone company. I think I might want to start there first. Plus, there’s one with my namesake…I probably would’ve wound up taking an entry-level job there. It’s called Ch—”
“Choi Mobile,” Tae Hyun finished for her, a big smile plastered on his face.
Yoori giggled, taking note of the familiarity in his eyes. She was reminded of the 1st layer and Tae Hyun’s vast connections. “Don’t tell me you know the heir...”
Tae Hyun nodded proudly. “Choi Hyun Woo. He’s one of my best friends.”
Yoori, somewhat flustered that he had connection to a place she could’ve wound up, also added, “Well, there’s still a chance I wouldn’t have met you. I would’ve applied to work for the competition too! Lee —”
“Lee Quest? Yeah, my other best friend is the heir for that one too. Daniel Lee.”
Yoori gaped with rounded eyes. He really was that connected…
When her thoughts traveled back to her philosophical observation earlier in their conversation, Yoori let out a loud laugh. She beamed happily at him. “Y—You…hehehehe…you know what this means, right?”
“What?” he asked, staring at her giggling self like she was high on drugs.
“It means that you’re like my boomerang.”
“It means that I’m like your boom…mer…rang?” he repeated, utterly baffled.
She nodded, very much entertained. “It means that even in an alternative world, you’d always find your way back to me. You can never get away from me.”
“No,” Tae Hyun suddenly protested.
A confused smile slapped on her face. She stopped laughing. “No?”
“No. It means that you’re my boomerang because you’re the one flying around. Everything that you do, you would always somehow find your way back to me.”
Yoori snorted in disbelief. She was surprised that he played along. “So we’re both boomerangs now?”
“Yes, we’re both boomerangs.”
“Augh. Boomerang is such an ugly word though,” Yoori admitted, shaking her head. She didn’t know how she came up with such weird metaphors.
“I guess you’re lucky to have a handsome one.”
Yoori made a rude noise at his cocky statement. Even though she agreed with the handsome part, she wasn’t sure if she would consider herself lucky.
“Anyway, I really like it here,” she added promptly, watching as a couple of geese flew above them. Yoori could become easily distracted, even when her gorgeous boss was staring longingly at her.
“Yeah, I like it here too,” Tae Hyun murmured, his eyes resting on a particular pair of pink lips. He found immense interest on the exquisite curves of her pout and the teasing suppleness of her parting lips.
Oblivious to what was happening, Yoori shifted her eyes back to him, ready to ask him a question about what else he did when he came here.
“So do you —” She stopped and gulped uneasily when she realized that he was staring at her lips. One would think that Yoori's awkward self would blurt out something that would scare him out of his longing. But when she found herself lost in his gaze, she couldn’t help but stare at him and his lips. Her mind went entirely blank. The only thing that existed in her thoughts were Tae Hyun and how inviting his scrumptious lips looked…
Silence hung over Yoori and Tae Hyun. They continued to lay frozen, Tae Hyun staring down at her and Yoori gazing up at him. Their chests heaved up and down in unison – in anticipation. Everything in the world slowed. The lake froze in a trance, the ducks quieted in awe, and the setting sun stopped to stare. The world around them stopped and stared as Tae Hyun and Yoori gazed unblinkingly at one another.
Slow motion…that was how it happened.
The whole world waited and watched as movement began.
Tae Hyun began to descend his lips down to meet her awaiting ones.
The only thing in the breathing world that didn’t slow was Yoori’s heart.
Beating relentlessly against her chest, it waited in a frantic stupor. Her chest heaved up and down, every nerve in her body tingling in excitement every time Tae Hyun moved closer—every time their lips were closer to meeting.
Closer…
And closer…
And just as their lips were about to meet…
“Huh?”
Feeling something cold and wet entangle itself around the ends of her skirt and legs, Yoori distractedly averted her eyes. Shock rammed into her when she saw lake water seep into the boat.
The boat was leaking!
“Oh my God!” she cried, pushing Tae Hyun off of her just as their lips were about to form a union. She had completely forgotten about the strange stupor they found themselves in. “The boat is leaking!”
“Wh – What?” Tae Hyun stammered, clearly disoriented that his lips never attained the quest they wanted. He looked at her incredulously before turning to see what the hell she was blabbing about. “Wha – no – no. Of course the boat isn’t leak– holy shit! The boat is leaking!”
With quick instincts, Tae Hyun hastily grabbed the paddle and ran to the area of the boat where water seeped through. He pressed his knees against the leaky area and began to paddle. His obvious goal was getting them back to the foundations of mother earth as quickly as possible.
While he did this, Yoori made herself useful by cupping her hands together and throwing out all the water that made its way into the boat. A swell of indignation gathered over her. It made sense that her life was this rotten that something terrible would happen to ruin her scenic bonding with nature.
“I cannot believe you took me out on a faulty boat!” Yoori complained to Tae Hyun, shivering as she started throwing water out. The water splashed violently onto several ducks when she did this, causing them to quack in terror.
“Who the hell sat here?” Tae Hyun argued, paddling faster. His clothes became moist from sitting across from Yoori and the splashing water.
Yoori flung him a dirty look. “You suggested that we lay down. And then! And then you distracted me by invading my space!”
“You were the one who started the distraction with that weird boomerang shit!”
“It’s not weird shit! It’s called being clever with words!”
“‘Clever’ wouldn’t be a word that I’d use!”
She growled, her irritation rising through the roof. “Augh! I can’t even look at you right now!”
Tae Hyun scoffed, paddling faster. When it looked like he was about to say a retort, Tae Hyun's eyes grew huge. Something behind Yoori stole his attention.
He stood up slightly and pointed warningly behind her. “Y – Yoori! DUCK!”
Yoori blinked at him. Huh?
Too late.
“Quack! Quack! Quack!”
And at that exact moment three things happened: A duck (that could be arguably viewed as the duck she shouted at earlier) attacked Yoori. Yoori lost her balance and was ready to fall into the lake…but not without Tae Hyun attempting to jump forward to save her. Unfortunately for both of them, the leak in the boat was the least of their problems, especially when both lost their balance and dove in, nearly crushing a couple of ducks as they plunged into the waiting water.
Splash!
Like a vortex, a swarm of ripples and thunders of excess flying water surrounded the area where the lake swallowed them whole. When it appeared as if both would never rise again, a ring of bubbles floated to the surface, a prelude to their masters rising like whales from beneath.
Once they pulled their submerged heads out of the water, both began gasping for air as they coughed out lake water. Blades of cold water attacked Yoori’s face while her lips quivered uncontrollably. The lake was amazingly cold and the presence of a cool breeze, no matter how small, caused her lungs to struggle for breath.
Tae Hyun and Yoori glanced at one another to make sure the other was okay. When they were relieved to see that the other was alive and breathing, a dirty glare soon followed the relief. No doubt. They blamed each other for what took place.
Lips shaking relentlessly, they swam toward their leaky boat that now appeared like a chariot from heaven. Yoori found the closest side of the boat to cling onto and Tae Hyun swam a little further out and clung onto the opposite side. They rested their hands over the sides of the boat and gazed at each other in silence. Their dirty glares morphed into lethargic ones.
Yoori took a look around and returned her uneasy gaze back to Tae Hyun. It may have been the cold, or the attack from the stupid duck, or the fact that Tae Hyun was considerate enough to jump after her, but Yoori was suddenly consumed with guilt.
“You know,” she began nervously, clearing her throat. Water dripped down her pale face. “I’ve had a chance to cool down and now that I think about it, I may have overreacted. In the overall scheme of things…a leaky boat is really no big deal.”
Tae Hyun blinked lethargically, sighing as his gesture of concurrence.
Yoori nodded apprehensively, more water dripping from her hair and into the lake. Things could’ve been worse. She mentally nodded to herself. Yes. There were definitely worse things than suffering on a leaky boat and falling into a freezing lake.
For instance, she could’ve been wearing a white tank top as she fell into the water. That in and of itself would’ve been way worse because the concealment of her bra and skin would’ve been completely visible to Tae Hyun’s naked eye if and when they struggled to get back onto the boat.
Yeah, things could’ve definitely been worse, especially minutes later when, as Tae Hyun began to stare awkwardly at the ducks, she looked down at her chest to find that she was indeed wearing a white tank top
Oh. My. Fucking. God.
As a downpour of humiliating horror bombarded her, Yoori frantically covered herself with her arms and turned her back to Tae Hyun. He was uncomfortably paddling their leaky boat, purposely looking every which way to avoid staring at her. Though that seemed very chivalrous of him, Yoori was certain that Tae Hyun got a two-second glance at her chest before she had a chance to cover it. It wouldn’t make sense that he would look that uncomfortable unless he saw something briefly and was mentally restraining himself from taking another quick glance.
Yoori slammed the palm of her hand against her forehead in misery. She contemplated jumping into the lake to purposely drown herself.
Could this day get any worse for her?
Little did Yoori know, the answer to her question would be subjective.
In the bigger scheme of things, the whole “falling in the lake” fiasco was going to do little to imprint itself in her memories. There were bigger and more eventful things awaiting both her and her handsome “boomerang.”
“Let’s disappear, Princess.”
04: Never Have I Ever
Yoori squeezed the last drips of water off of her newly showered hair and expelled a tired sigh after she threw her purple towel onto a nearby chair.
Picking up her blue and white plaid pajama pants so the hem wouldn’t get in her way, she descended out of her bedroom and down the glass stairs. Yoori smiled wryly when she spotted Tae Hyun. With the recollection of the “almost kiss” purposely hidden in the depths of her memories, she inverted her brows in curiosity when she approached him, wondering what he was doing. Normally, Yoori would be more adamant about having a talk with Tae Hyun about what happened, but a big part of her was too scared. She was afraid he would simply laugh at her for being a silly girl.
Yeah, Yoori thought decidedly. It’s no big deal. Don’t think too much of it.
Her decision set, she drew closer to Tae Hyun.
Her wry smile graduated into a cheery one when she saw that Tae Hyun stood behind the bar. He took several bottles of alcohol out of four brown bags.
Her spirits lifted like a hot air balloon.
The awkwardness of wanting to forget the “almost” event aside, it was also no secret that she was left feeling pretty shitty after the unannounced wet t-shirt incident. As her cheeks turned red at the reminder, Yoori was grateful that Tae Hyun held the ticket to her sanity in his hand.
The brands of the alcohol ranged from the likes of Hypnotic, Jack Daniels and her two personal favorites: Grey Goose and Southern Comfort – two much-needed friends to help alleviate the pang of embarrassment and shame she was being tunneled through.
“Is this our late night snack?” she asked cheerily, approaching the bar after Tae Hyun pulled out two shot glasses. He looked just as excited about their newfound alcohol “buddies.”
Nodding proudly, Tae Hyun smiled at Yoori. His hair, face, and entire body were still misty from his shower. A bout of perverse daydreaming overtook Yoori. She found herself ready to float in another staring stupor. Luckily, having learned her lesson from earlier, she quickly snapped herself out of her unwarranted reverie. She kept her eyes firmly on the curves of the alcohol bottles. It was a tough show of restraint on her part because her eyes were swayed by the wonders his black muscle shirt was performing for his body. She hated that it accentuated the curves of his sculpted chest and did little to cover the scintillating muscle on his arms.
She inwardly shook her head in disapproval. Damn this Kwon Tae Hyun! He was so promiscuously dressed. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he was trying to seduce her.
“I figured we could make good use of this with the day we’ve had,” he shared casually, oblivious to the fact that Yoori was ready to gauge her eyes out because they were getting ready to succumb to perverse temptation.
He picked up the Grey Goose and poured the drink into two shot glasses. Once the vodka filled to the rims, Tae Hyun handed one to Yoori. She took it without hesitation.
Ah yes, she definitely needed this. She was feeling too tense and too awkward (more so than usual). She needed something to loosen her up and this little glass of holy water was going to do the trick.
Tae Hyun raised his shot glass in preparation for a toast. His face was beaming with a virtuous quality. It was an expression so righteous that Yoori couldn't imagine anything offensive coming out of those innocent lips.