Fan Fiction 1: I LIKE YOU, KWON! – Chapter 7

Title: I Like You, Kwon!

CHAPTER 7

OUTSIDE BEG’S DORM, AFTER THE CONFRONTATION

As Seul Ong walked away from the BEG’s dorm, away from the confrontation with Kwonnie, he began to calm down. The fury he felt when Kwonnie said he didn’t do anything was indescribable. How could he say such a thing? Has the Jo Kwon he knew for the last 5 years changed so much? Then his memory focused on Ga In and her actions the whole day, how much she must have been hurting when she saw Kwonnie behaving like it’s perfectly fine to be close to her when he already has a girlfriend. How lousy and frustrated she must have felt! That idiot Jo Kwon!!

Seul Ong allowed his mind to drift back to the last time he saw Ga In so upset and hurt. It was 8 years ago…

8 YEARS AGO, SEOUL MIDDLE SCHOOL

They were both 15 and were put in the same class after being promoted to their senior year in middle school.

“Hello! My name is Son Ga In.” The girl seated herself next to him and introduced herself. Her eye-smile made her look very cute. Seul Ong could not stop the smile that started to form on his face.

“Oh.. Hello… I am Im Seul Ong.” He replied shyly.

Ga In was a very lively girl who has many friends. While Seul Ong and her got along fine, they were not close. Until that fateful day…

As Seul Ong had not be able to catch up with some of his subjects, he was told to remain in school for extra lessons since the mid-term tests were coming up. It was almost 6pm when he was finally allowed to leave. Just as he was walking towards the gate, he happened to glance up at the classroom block and he saw someone sitting at the edge of the roof. He thought that figure looked somewhat familiar and took a second look.

“Wait a minute! Isn’t that Son Ga In?! What is she doing up there?”

With that, he took off and ran as quickly as he could towards the roof of classroom block. His actions would have surprised anyone who knew him because he always gave people the idea that he was very aloof and did not really care about anyone else. At that time, he also did not have time to examine his own actions. All he could think of was this girl needed someone.

“YA! SON GA IN!!! What are you doing? Come down from there!!!” Seul Ong, though breathless from his sprint, shouted to let Ga In know of his presence.

Ga In turned around to look at him. Not a single word was said, her expression also did not reveal any of her emotions. She seemed calm. Seul Ong approached her slowly so as not to scare her. When he was close enough to see her face, he knew that her calm was a façade. It was evident that she had been crying and her tears had left their tracks on her face.

“What’s wrong? Why are you crying? What can I do?” Seul Ong was at a loss. He had never been good at dealing with girls, or tears, or worse, a combination of both! What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to say? Yet, he could not bring himself to turn away.

Ga In took a look at his face and said in a calm voice, “Go away, just go away. Don’t be a busybody. It’s none of your business what I do with myself. Go.” With that, she turned to move towards the edge of the roof again.

“YA!” Without second thought, he pounced forward, grabbed her around her waist to pull her away from the edge of the roof.

“YAAAA!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!! LET GO OF ME!!” Ga In struggled to get out of Seul Ong’s arms. “WHO ARE YOU TO BOTHER YOURSELF WITH MY LIFE? EVEN MY MOTHER HAS LEFT ME! MY OWN MOTHER!! MY ONLY KIN HAS LEFT ME!! WHY DO YOU CARE WHAT I DO WITH MYSELF?!”

Ga In continued to struggle but Seul Ong refused to let go. She started hitting him but with each sentence that she shouted, her punches also got weaker. But her tears never stopped flowing. Seul Ong didn’t say a word. He just continued holding her, afraid that if he were to loosen his arms, she would run straight for the edge of the roof and jump.

As the sky started to darken, Seul Ong looked at the girl in his arms who had gone all still in his arms. He nudged her and realized that she was fast asleep. The traces of her tears were still visible and occasionally she would suddenly cry out “Oma! Don’t leave!” The voice when she said those words was so sad and full of longing.

“Why did I come up and get myself into this? Seul Ong mumbled softly to himself, his hands were getting tired from holding Ga In for the past hour. But even as he said that, he started rummaging through Ga In’s bag to search for her student pass. Seeing that her house was not too far away from school, he decided to piggyback her home. He shifted Ga In to his back and got up slowly.

“Why does she feel so light? It feels like I’m carrying a little kitten on my back. Why do I feel that I could continue carrying her like this for the rest of her life?” That last thought caused him to stop abruptly. He shook his head and laughed “Im Seul Ong! You can hardly take care of yourself and yet you want to take up responsibility for this girl. You must be crazy!”

Seul Ong turned to look at Ga In’s sleeping face. Her frown was no longer there and she looked very at ease lying there on his back. Seul Ong smiled and could not deny it anymore: It did feel good to be able to protect her.

When they finally arrived at her house, Seul Ong took out the keys from her bag and started to open the door. The next-door neighbour, having heard the sound of door opening, looked out of her window and said “Ga In ah? You are back from school?” That was when she saw a boy was carrying Ga In. She came out of her house hurriedly and looked up at Seul Ong, her puzzled expression demanding an explanation.

“Oh… hello… I’m her classmate. She fell asleep in school so I brought her back.” Seul Ong was feeling embarrassed. After explaining to her, he bowed and quickly went into the house. He carried Ga In all the way to her room and after making sure she would be alright, he left her house.

“Young man, please wait a moment.” The moment he stepped out of the house, the next-door neighbour stopped him.

Seul Ong stopped in his tracks. The neighbour continued, “Seeing that you sent Ga In back home, I know you are a good person. Our Ga In is very pitiful. When she was about 5 years old, her father left her and her mother to fend for themselves. Then, a week ago, her mother also left her to be with another man. But at least she has a conscience and left Ga In some money, promising to deposit some money into her account every month for her living expenses. But still, a girl as young as her, being left alone to fend for herself, is still a very pitiful thing. So, in future, please do look out for our Ga In.”

Seul Ong could see that tears were swimming in the neighbour’s eyes. Her eyes told him that she believed that he could be trusted to look after Ga In. There was a moment of panic but in the next moment, he found himself nodding. That nod, was the beginning of his commitment to looking after Ga In.

Ga In got to know from her neighbour that it was Seul Ong who brought her back home. When she went back to school 3 days later, she went to Seul Ong, thanked him and asked him, “Seul Ong ssi, is it ok that I call you “oppa” from now on?” Seul Ong looked at her and nodded.

From that day onwards, Seul Ong was always there by her side, whenever, wherever. Ga In also treated him like her only trusted friend and family. They got into the same high school and when they graduated, both decided that they wanted to be artistes and went to separate companies to begin their training.

That was 8 years ago. Although they would bicker whenever they meet each other, but underneath that bickering, there was a bond between the two of them that could never be broken.

Seul Ong’s trek down memory lane was interrupted by his phone ringtone. When he took out his phone from his pocket and saw Narsha’s name on the caller-id, he immediately answered the call.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen to Ga In?” Seul Ong was already turning back towards the direction of the BEG dorm.

“Ga In’s fine. She’s sound asleep after I gave her some water. Seul Ong, I saw your confrontation with Kwonnie just now. While I didn’t hear everything, it’s pretty obvious both of you are angry at each other. This whole thing feels fishy but at the moment, I can’t say for sure yet even though I have my suspicions. Would you promise me not to do anything rash in the meantime? You have to remember that 2AM is still doing promotion for your new album so for the good of the whole team, don’t let your concern for Ga In sour your relationship with Kwonnie, alright? I’m sure Ga In won’t want the two of you to be at odds with each other because of her.”

“Alright, I got it. I won’t do anything rash. Please look after Ga In and if you do find out anything about the situation, please tell me immediately.”

With that, both ended their conversation. Yes, he has to remember that he has responsibilities towards his other group mates too. He stopped in his tracks and flagged down a cab to go back to his dorm.

END OF CHAPTER 7

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Translator/Writer’s note: In the original story, this flashback happened much later. But I thought it would make more sense to put it here to explain the relationship between Seul Ong and Ga In. I hope it explains why Ga In would go to Seul Ong every time she has a problem or why she would call him “oppa”. While Seul Ong’s initial motivation for looking after her might have changed a little, at the end of the day, please remember that he was there when she needed him the most, 8 years ago. Be kind to my Seul Ong in this story.