It had been a week since we moved to Seoul and things were going pretty well. Today I interviewed at a university, I received a letter and was asked to go for an interview which I did. I was a bit nervous but I felt pretty good about it.
My mom and I were trying to know more about our neighborhood and we found a really lovely cafe which was owned by a pretty lady, she made all kinds of desserts and drinks, and they were all so pretty and aesthetic. The cafe also needed extra part-time workers and I thought of working it, but I could not really make up my mind since I would be going to college soon.
I also made a habit of going out at night around the park just beside my house, I liked to walk around and think, it was my 'me' time and the dark trees with their shadow from the street lights would sometimes surprise me because of their weird shapes. Mom was worried about me going out alone at night but I always brought pepper spray with me plus I know mixed of martial arts. I could defend myself pretty well.
I thought about taking a bus on my way back home but I wanted to know the way clearly so I decided to go home on foot. As I walked home I saw a stall that was selling hair accessories and pieces of jewelry, they were so cute that I had to buy some. I bought these really cute fox-printed scrunchies and a sun symbol necklace. They were a bit more expensive than I expected but they were worth the money. I tried a lot of street foods too and my favorite ones are tteokbokki and fish cakes, they were the absolute best.
I went home to my mother who was running around the house with a stack of papers in one hand while talking on the phone. My mom also found a job as a manager at a huge company and had been busy since day one. But despite being busy with all these changes, I could see that she was happy and excited, her eyes sparkled as she worked, and would do her work with a high spirit. It had been ages since I saw her like this and I was happy for her. Sometimes I would watch her work silently and would disturb her.
I took a nice long bath and went down to make dinner. I loved cooking so I often cooked for Mom and Dad, too. I looked up how to make japchae and stirred fried chicken on the internet and it was not very hard. I wrote down the recipes and stuck them on the fridge, it was really a pleasure to cook without having Mom pestering me to do this and that.
"Mom.. come and have dinner, " I said after I finished setting up the table.
"Oh.. Did you cook Korean food? Where did you learn it?" Mom asked as she washed her hands and sat down.
"I was interested so I looked it up on the internet," I replied.
"Mm.. you made it really well, almost as good as me." Tch... She just could not say that I was good, huh?
"Ah... I went for the interview today and I think I did pretty well." I forgot to tell her after I got home.
" That's a relief, I cannot believe you are already going to college... Time flies." Mom said shaking her head, she always said I grew up too fast and always looked at my childhood photo, she kept on telling me the same story where I pooped myself when we went for a check-up when I was three. I did not want to know that.
Mom said she would take care of the dishes so I went to my room to change for my night walk. I wore a black sweater with black leggings, I also took my pepper spray and put it in my pocket. I went to the door and called out, "Mom... I am going out for a walk," and put on my sneakers.
"Be careful and don't come home late!" She shouted from the kitchen.
"Okay!" I said and walked out. The air was clear and the weather was just nice for a walk. I stretched my arms as I walked around the park, what a nice night~
I saw a weird-looking shadow and thought it was a tree, I went near it to get a better view and it looked like it was behind a big tree. I walked around the tree to find a man with a bucket hat dressed in all black.
"Uh... Mister, why are you hiding?" He turned quickly when he saw me and pulled me to him, his hands on my mouth. What?! I quickly elbowed him on the stomach which made him release me and I tried to scream but he quickly held my arms together and closed my mouth again. Why was he so strong and where the hell was my pepper spray? I tried to kick him and free his hands but he was too strong, I could not even move a bit.
"I am so sorry I have to do this but please stop moving, my life depends on you." He said softly and still did not remove his hand from my mouth. His life depended on me? When he literally could knock me out and bring me somewhere? I reached for his arms and punched him as hard as I could. I could not believe my training for MMA for years just go to waste that night. He yelled a big, "Ow!" I tried to run but that was when I heard voices and footsteps.
"Yeonjun Oppa! Are you there?" I looked around to see two girls running toward where the man and I were. The man mumbled under his breath and took my hands and ran.
"Hey! You! What are you doing?! Who are you?!" I said trying to release myself while trying to keep up with his pace.
"Just run if you don't want to die." What?! I turned my head to see two girls running behind us and calling for him, I think. Wait... Why did a man get chased by girls?
He literally dragged me to an alley and pulled me into this big box and put his hand on my mouth again. I did not know why he did that but I was sure those two girls had something to do with it. Was he being threatened by them or did he do something wrong to them? But a man getting threatened by girls with strength like that did not sound right.
Just as I was about to fight him again, footsteps came and a girl's voice said "Hey!!! You should have been faster! It's all because of you we lost him!" They were right in front of us and I did not even dare to breathe hard, same for the weird man.
"How can that be my fault? But did you see the person beside him? I think it's a girl!" Another female voice said I was officially confused by the situation.
"No.. it's not. We had been stalking him enough to know he does not have a girlfriend. Probably one of the members.." Huh? What was happening there? I did not have a clue, at one point I thought we were getting killed or I was getting killed. Then they talked about a person having a girlfriend...
"Yeah.. right. Let's just go, we already lost him." When the sound of their footsteps got weaker I quickly got out of the box and was ready to run for my life.
"No no no wait!" The weird man said and caught me again.
"Wait! You misunderstand me, I am not trying to hurt you, I was actually running away from those girls." He continued and slowly let go of my arm making sure I was not running away.
"Why did you run away from them?" I asked and took a step back, I could not just trust him.
He scratched the side of his face and said, "They are my fans and always follow me around."
"Your fans?" I asked surprised.
"I actually am an idol." He said and rubbed his stomach. Did I hit him too hard? An idol? But him being an idol made sense too, and him running from those girls.
"May I ask who you are?" I asked and tilt my head to the side trying to make out his face in the dark alley.
"I am Choi Yeonjun from Tomorrow by Together." He replied.
*