Chapter Eight

It was almost lunch time when I woke up. I can’t believe I overslept.

I didn’t even hear a squeak from my alarm clock.

I got off my bed and hastily went to the bath room to take a quick bath.

I really have no idea what happened.

Sungjae used to wake me up whenever I’m still in deep slumber. And now, it’s like I’m the only one in this house.

It was so quiet when I arrived downstairs.

No Sungjae, no Halmeoni.

Where are they?

Then it hit me, it was Wednesday today and Sungjae has class.

I can’t believe I even forgot about that!

Too much sleep maybe.

I grabbed my boots from the shoe rack and went outside.

I got inside the bus and sat beside an old woman who was asleep. Thank heavens she was sleeping.

I suddenly remembered what happened last night when we rode the bus.

It was really full and Kai had no choice but to sit beside an old woman. I was sitting in front of them so I can hear what they were talking about.

The old woman greeted Kai and he greeted the old woman back. And then there was a long pause.

I decided to look back at Kai and he mouthed to me that he really wanted to get off that bus and I shook my head and stuck my tongue out.

When I faced front, the woman started talking once again.

I heard him tell Kai about how attractive he was and that when her granddaughter sees him she would want to marry him and so on and so forth.

The old woman was so nosy that Kai spent the whole bus ride listening to her void questions.

My thoughts were ruined when the bus came to an abrupt halt.

The driver stood up in the middle and said that there was some engine malfunction and that it will take long before it gets fixed.

I looked outside and saw that the place where the bus stopped was only just two blocks away from the school. I waited for the driver to go out before I got off the bus.

Yes, I am going to walk all the way there.

Two blocks isn’t that far, is it? Besides, I needed to exercise.

If this is considered an exercise.

I started walking when my eyes landed on a cute Hello Kitty shop. I got attracted to it because it was all pink, my favourite colour.

I entered the shop and wandered inside. The store seemed to be selling some cheap stuff.

There were Hello Kitty stuffed toys, accessories, shirts, slippers, etcetera. I decided to get some for my girl pupils.

I got eight headbands with different designs.

But there’s one problem!

What am I going to give to my boy pupils?

I needed to look for another shop.

After paying for what I bought I started to look for another shop. But there was no other shop, so I just decided to buy some chocolates for them in a mini grocery.

It’s getting late and I needed to arrive there before lunch.

Running seems like a good idea.

…

“I missed you!” Jooyeon said as I arrived in front of the school gates.

Sunhwa hit my . “You owe us a lot!” She said.

“Really?” I giggled.

They laughed and dragged me inside. “Let’s go!”

“Good Afternoon Miss Kwon!” Hyunbin, the school bodyguard greeted me as I entered the gate. “Miss Han and Miss Lee’s been waiting for you to arrive.” He flashed me that pleasant smile of his.

I’m totally going to miss this big guy. His smile always make my mornings happy.

“Good Afternoon to you too Hyunbin! Yeah, I know and I’m here now so they don’t have to worry.”

“Yeah, and we need to get going. Bye, Hyunbin!” Sunhwa dragged us inside.

The pupils were fixing their things when I knocked on the classroom door.

Yoogeun, one of my brightest pupils ran to me and hugged me. “Teacher Minah I missed you!” He mumbled under my shirt.

“Look classmates it’s teacher Minah!” My other pupil announced.

I entered the room and everyone ran to me. They were speaking all at the same time saying how much they’ve missed me and so on and so forth.

I asked them to sit down on the floor and they all followed.

I took a deep breath, “I want you to listen to me okay?” I began.

This isn’t easy.

I cannot tell them all about the arranged marriage thing because I don’t want to confuse them. The only way to let them understand why all these are happening… is to lie.

“Teacher Minah is leaving.”

“I bet all of you knows about that already, right?” They all nodded.

It’s good to see that all of them are listening and paying attention to what I’m saying. “So,” I sighed. “I’m going to leave because I need to go to China and work there.” I said.

“Work there as what teacher?” Yoogeun asked.

“As, as a high school teacher.” I looked at their faces one by one. I don’t want to leave these fifteen intelligent pupils.

“But don’t worry! I’ll try my very best to come back after one month.” I smiled. “I’m not promising anything, but I’ll really try my best to come back for you. Now, while I’m away of course you’ll be having your new teacher, right? I want every one of you to stay as intelligent as you are when you’re in my class.”

“Don’t give your new teacher a hard time. I know that all of you are very obedient and kind. Never forget to always pray and talk to God appa and thank him for everything. Can you promise Teacher Minah that all of you will be good pupils while I’m away?”

Zoe, my other pupil stood up and hugged me. “We promise Teacher Minah,”

The other pupils stood up and we had a group hug.

I took the chance to wipe away my tears while they’re not looking.

“Arasso! Arasso! I want everyone to form one straight line. Ppali! I have something for you.” I smiled and took the paper bag from Jooyeon.

After getting their little remembrance from me, they fixed their things, said their goodbyes and headed home.

“Let’s go?” Sunhwa asked as she locked the classroom door.

“Are you guys sure that you don’t have your classes?” I asked.

They shook their head in unison. “Nah, we fixed our schedule just for you.” Jooyeon winked.

We left the school premises and rode a taxi cab.

…

We finished eating in an Italian restaurant and decided to take a stroll at the park nearby.

“Is that really the reason why you’re going to leave?” Jooyeon asked.

I sat down on a long bench under a big tree. The two sat beside me.

“Are you okay?” Sunhwa asked.

I looked at them. “Can I tell you guys something?”

Jooyeon held my hand and squeezed it. “Anything,” She smiled.

I told them all about the marriage. And of course the breakup.

“Told you, Woohyun isn’t worth your love.” Jooyeon said.

“So, what are you planning to do?” Sunhwa asked.

I sighed.

I have no idea.

“I don’t know. I, I just want to run away. I want to escape. I really don’t want to lose our friendship. It’s like a treasure I kept for years, and I won’t let this marriage ruin it.”

“Minah, you’re not going to lose your friendship. You’re just going to add more into it. Wouldn’t that be better?” Sunhwa said.

“You’ve been with Kai since birth. He knows everything about you. About the way you eat, drink, sleep, everything! And I can see that he loves you so much. Not just as a best friend, but more.” She added.

“And if you get married, that would be the most perfect thing ever! True love! Being with the person who knows every little thing about you. Who has been with you through everything! I would die to have a best friend like Kai, Minah.” Jooyeon stated.

True love?

There is no such thing! Believe me.

Just when I thought I was about to know true love with Myungsoo, he had to go to the states and live there.

Just when I thought I was about to once again know true love with Woohyun, his feelings for Hyomin had to come back and ruin the whole thing.

And I am not doing it this time with Kai.

He’s my best friend and that’s what I want him to be.

True love isn’t just meant for me. Maybe only lucky people get to experience true love but not me, never me.

Because I want my love story to be like the ones in the books. Like, fairy tales.

Impossible, right?

Love can wait. It will come at the right time.

I’m seventeen and I’m still young. My soul mate is just somewhere out there. But it’s not my best friend.

Our friendship is a treasure that I will forever keep.

Our friendship is inimitable.

I won’t let anything ruin it.

…

It was already 3:00 in the afternoon and the sky’s getting darker and darker.

Jooyeon and Sunhwa left and I was alone, still waiting for the bus to arrive.

Suddenly a fancy silver Bugatti Veyron stopped in front of me. The windows rolled down and a girl with huge sunglasses popped his head out of the car window.

Chaerin?

“Hey pretty girl!” She smiled and put her sunglasses on the bridge of her nose.

Those fierce eyes.

Definitely Chaerin!

“Hey! Hi,” I smiled back.

“Are you waiting for someone?”

“No, I’m actually waiting for the bus.”

She nodded slowly. “Why? Where are you going?”

“I’m going home.” I said.

“Oh, I see. Get in!”

“Aren’t you going somewhere?”

“Yeah, home.” She said and the windows rolled up.

I opened the door and got inside.

I fastened my seatbelt, for safety.

Chaerin doesn’t drive the way Kai drives, but you know, you don’t know what other accidents might happen.

“I’m sorry if the car’s dirty. I haven’t been able to clean my baby last weekend.” She said.

“Ah, so this is yours?”

She nodded. “Why?”

“Kai brought this the other day. He almost bumped three trucks.”

“He does that with every car in the house. Dad almost confiscated his driver’s license. Stubborn dark guy.” She shook her head.

I giggled silently and looked around.

“How are you? I heard that you broke up- that you saw your boyfriend with another girl.”

“Hyomin’s not ‘another girl’, she’s actually the ex.” I said.

Chaerin smirked. “Is he still bothering you? The guy, what’s his name?”

“Woohyun. He’s not bothering me anymore.”

“That’s good news.”

“Yeah, Kai’s doing a pretty good job in shooing him away.” I looked at her.

“But he’s not doing a pretty good job in picking his suit for the party next week.” She chuckled.

Chaerin unnie is really good at switching topics. That’s why I love chatting with her.

“Isn’t it too early for that?” I scowled.

Kai seemed to be pretty excited about the engagement party.

“I don’t know, he’s excited. Eomma already bought three suits for him, but he doesn’t seem to like one.”

So choosy.

“Oh! I almost forgot, the dress you’re going to wear is almost ready. We’ll visit the shop this Sunday.” She smiled.

I gasped. “Omo! Thank you so, so much Chaerin unnie!” I bit my lip to contain my happiness.

Kai’s sister owns a dress shop. Not just a dress shop, but a huge one! She’s got branches all over the world. The States, Paris, Japan, Philippines, and a lot more.

Industrious indeed!

“No problem,” She flashed me an eye smile.

The ride was awkward because Chaerin was so focused in driving that she didn’t bother to open up a new topic. But it’s okay, I wasn’t in the mood for more talk as well, so I just looked outside the window and enjoyed the view.

“Visit again if you have time, okay? Last time you visited I was asleep in my room. Eomma just told me about it when I woke up the next day.” She said as I got out of the car.

“Sure, promise!” I chuckled.

“Bye!” I said as I closed the door.

I opened the gate and entered the house.