City Lights: Chapter 8

Chapter: 8 Characters (in order of appearance): Hee Jin*, mystery idol, Eun Young*, Young Bae*, Ye Jun, Young Hak, Seung Hyun, Jin Chul, and Jin Ho*. *indicates original character Words: 2,375 Edits: 0 Added: February 5, 2011

Korean Notes:

Sunbae: Senior in school or work. Hoobae: Junior in school or work.

In the noraebang building, being unable to get a room, Hee Jin, JaeJoong, and his friends turned around and headed for the front doors. Just then, a girl came running toward them. "Sunbae!" she said, smiling brightly.

"Oh? Eun Young?" one of the guys, Young Bae, said. "What are you doing here?" He turned to the others, "She's my hoobae from high school."

"I thought it was you, Sunbae," Eun Young said, biting her lower lip. "You're leaving already?"

"Nah. There aren't any rooms available so we were going to go do something else," Young Bae replied.

"Oh! Well, we have room for more people. Why don't you come join us?" Eun Young said excitedly.

Young Bae looked at the others, unsure. "Well," he started, "won't it be a little awkward? For your friends, I mean. You guys are still in high school, right? We're all older."

"Awkward? No, not at all!" Eun Young then swayed back and forth, acting a little embarrassed, "Actually, I'm the youngest one there. I made my sister take me with her. The rest are around your age."

"Really? I guess.... if it's not a big deal with your friends," Young Bae said, still a little unsure.

"Great!" JaeJoong shouted and then shoved past Young Bae. "Let's go!"

Eun Young giggled and led them to the room. She slowly walked in and said, shyly, "Unni."

The girl sitting on the left of Ye Jun stood up, looking irritated. "What did you do now, Eun Young?"

"I didn't really do anything," she replied innocently. "I just brought more friends to play."

The girl was about to get angry but then froze when JaeJoong peeked in.

"Hi," he said, happily. "Mind if we join you?"

Young Hak opened his mouth to reply but the girl cut in, "Of course not! Come on in!" she replied, obviously enchanted with JaeJoong, who was smiling ear-to-ear.

JaeJoong's friends and Hee Jin all came inside. Seung Hyun was sitting down but jumped up as soon as he spotted Hee Jin. He was about to walk up to her but JaeJoong noticed right away and grabbed Hee Jin's hand and got her to sit next him.

Undefeated, Seung Hyun went and moved over to the other side of her. "Hi," he said with a little wave.

"Hi," she said back. "I'm Hee Jin." She put out her hand to shake his but realized what she was doing and quickly did a little bow instead. He did likewise and said, "I'm Seung Hyun."

JaeJoong, looking quite jealous, pulled Hee Jin a little closer to him. She looked up at him and asked what he was doing. He went red at the closeness of their faces and quickly turned his head and mumbled, "Nothing. Sorry."

Eun Young pulled a reluctant Young Bae up to the front to sing the next song while the two guys that had been up there singing sat down.

JaeJoong's head was turned toward the singers but his eyes kept darting over at Hee Jin and Seung Hyun who had begun a small conversation.

The room became very noisy. Those sitting were trying to talk over the sound of the singers or clapping along to the song.

"Hey! What happened to Jin Chul?" Ye Jun shouted to Young Hak from the other side of the room.

"Washroom," Young Hak replied.

"He's missing all the fun. I'll be back, ladies," Ye Jun said as he jumped up and headed for the door.

Jin Chul and Ye Jun nearly collided in the doorway. "I was just about to get you," Ye Jun said.

Jin Chul looked around. "What in the...? Where did all these people come from?"

Ye Jun grinned. "Who cares? There's more chicks. That's all I care about," Ye Jun said with a little dance. "Hurry and sit down."

Jin Chul sat down next to Jin Ho. More people? This was not helping his mood. He grumpily looked around the room. He sighed and opened a soda can in front of him. He took small sips while continuing to look around. His eyes fell on a very pretty girl talking to Seung Hyun. He took a swig from his drink and then looked at the girl again. He choked on the soda when he realized who the girl was.

Seung Hyun looked over at Jin Chul when he heard him coughing. "You okay?" he asked as Jin Chul's coughing settled down.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered with a hoarse voice.

Seung Hyun nodded and was about to go back to talking to Hee Jin when he said abruptly, "Oh! Let me introduce my other best friend." He told her, "This is Jin Chul." Hee Jin bowed her head a little and looked up at Jin Chul. Her smiled fell and her eyes got huge.

Jin Chul did a small bow and looked away. He could still feel Hee Jin's eyes on them but he tried to ignore her.

"Don't worry about it. It's not you. He's been grumpy to everyone lately." Seung Hyun told Hee Jin.

Actually, it was because of her.

Hee Jin shot him a dirty look and went back to talking with an oblivious Seung Hyun.

Friday, July 16, 7:28pm
Seoul, South Korea

Jin Chul stood in a bathroom stall staring down at a paper. He was barely in the noraebang room for three minutes when he couldn't handle it anymore and excused himself to the washroom. He wanted to finish reading the chat he had had with Hee Jin before. It kept bothering him. He knew there was more to what she had said than what he read earlier.

He unfolded the crumpled page and continued from where he last left off:

Snowy_summer10: I was so happy when my mom's health improved. Snowy_summer10: Then, on the 28th of August, my mom collapsed in the kitchen. My brother found her and called the ambulence. She was rushed to the hospital. Snowy_summer10: It was really weird because all morning, I had the worst feeling. Like something bad was going to happen. Snowy_summer10: Do you ever get that feeling? MSTRMND_61: sometimes yea. Snowy_summer10: Well, I had been out with my friends all morning. I then got a call from my brother. I'll never forget that phonecall. Snowy_summer10: It was horrible. Snowy_summer10: I really believed she was going to get over the illness. Snowy_summer10: Over the next few days, her health had taken a huge plunge and she was barely ever awake. Snowy_summer10: She looked the worst I had ever seen her. Snowy_summer10: It was so heartbreaking. I cried every night. Snowy_summer10: But I never imagined it could get any worse. Snowy_summer10: Do you know what's worse than seeing a parent dying? MSTRMND_61: no idea Snowy_summer10: Seeing a parent who doesn't know who you are dying. Snowy_summer10: When I came in to see her the one day, she was awake and looked over at me blankly. Snowy_summer10: She could hardly talk but she was able to say some things, just very slowly. Snowy_summer10: I'll never ever forget the words she said to me. MSTRMND_61: wat did she say? Snowy_summer10: "Who are you?" Snowy_summer10: My heart sank. I wasn't sure whether I should believe it or not. I came closer so she could have a better look but... Snowy_summer10: I could tell she still didn't recognize me. Snowy_summer10: I cried right in front of her. I told her who I was but she still didn't know. Snowy_summer10: One of the nurses had been in the room at the time so they ran and told the doctor. Snowy_summer10: The doctor came and took me aside and said they wanted to do more tests but they believed the illness had gone to her brain. Snowy_summer10: It may have resulted in her losing memories. Snowy_summer10: I was devestated. Snowy_summer10: My dad was too when he came in a bit later and my mom didn't recognize him either. Snowy_summer10: He didn't know what to do or say. Snowy_summer10: When my mom first got sick, my dad kept getting angry at the doctors for not curing her. But that didn't do a thing. Snowy_summer10: He got so desperate, he even begged the doctors on hands and knees. I had never seen my dad do that before. Snowy_summer10: But now he was all out of energy and truly didn't know what to do or say. Snowy_summer10: I think what really got to him was when my brother came in, my mom recognized him. Snowy_summer10: She called him "child" and had him hug her. Snowy_summer10: The doctor had no idea what to say. He found it odd that my mom remembered my brother over her own husband. Snowy_summer10: The doctors ran more tests over the next couple days and saw the spread of the illness was getting worse in her head. Snowy_summer10: And she still could only remember my brother. Nobody else. Snowy_summer10: I was so depressed. I didn't even go to school when it started in September. I was allowed to stay home. Snowy_summer10: I still visited my mom but my heart hurt each time we made eye contact. I could see she didn't know me. Snowy_summer10: No matter what I said or did, she couldn't remember me. My brother tried to make her remember too. Snowy_summer10: We told her stories and showed her videos. Snowy_summer10: But it was too much on her. She kept getting flustered and wanted to sleep. Snowy_summer10: She cried whenever she woke up and my brother wasn't there. Even if I was there, she ignored me. Snowy_summer10: My brother had to spend lots of time with her in order to keep her calm. Snowy_summer10: But, as the time grew nearer, she wasn't awake near as much. She slowly faded away. Snowy_summer10: I wasn't there the day she died. I quit going to see her the last five days. My heart couldn't take it. My brother didn't push me. He knew how I felt. Snowy_summer10: My dad hardly saw her at all. When he did, he'd walk in and stare at her and then walk out. Snowy_summer10: But that was when she was awake. When she was asleep, he'd sit next to her and hold her hand and cry. Snowy_summer10: After she died on September 30th, I went into a depression. My brother noticed and so he kept me in his sights constantly. Snowy_summer10: He was super worried and made me do things with him. Small things like watching TV with him, eating meals with him, wash the dishes with him. Snowy_summer10: His favorite was putting together a jigsaw puzzle. It kept me busy. I knew what he was doing and so I just went along with it. Snowy_summer10: I did fight him on certain things but I knew he was only worried about me so I gave in most of the time. Snowy_summer10: He helped me through the toughest time of my life. On the other hand, my dad grew apart from us. He seemed bitter towards us. Snowy_summer10: Especially my brother. I think he was still upset that my mom only remembered my brother. Snowy_summer10: It wasn't a year later when my dad remarried a woman with five kids. My brother and I didn't feel welcome so we moved out and into a small apartment. Snowy_summer10: I think it was for the best because there were no more bad feelings in our home. It felt like a huge weight was lifted. Snowy_summer10: My brother got married a couple years later and made me continue to live with him and his wife. Snowy_summer10: He still didn't trust that I'd be okay on my own. I wasn't happy about it but I sometimes think he was right in doing that. Snowy_summer10: It's this time of the year every year that I feel glad that he made me stay with him. Because, I always get depressed at this time and he helps me out. Snowy_summer10: I've never ever told him how I felt about mom, dad and even him. You're the first and only person I've ever said this to. MSTRMND_61: i'm glad you told me. MSTRMND_61: i never knew you went threw such a tuff time. MSTRMND_61: thanks for tellin me Snowy_summer10: Thanks for listening and not getting freaked out. MSTRMND_61: onyl an idiot wuld get freaked out MSTRMND_61: *only Snowy_summer10: And this is why you're my best friend. Snowy_summer10: Seriously, thank you. Snowy_summer10: I feel a lot better. MSTRMND_61: i'm glad. dont keep stuff like this from me again. ok? Snowy_summer10: Yeah. Okay :) Snowy_summer10: Gotta go. MSTRMND_61: k MSTRMND_61: bye Snowy_summer10: Bye.

Jin Chul leaned against the wall of the bathroom stall and lightly bumped the back of his head against it over and over again. He felt so stupid. How could he forget something this important? What made him feel worse was the way he acted toward Hee Jin since he found out she was a girl. He kept thinking about all the secret and important things he had told her and how he felt betrayed when she lied about her gender. However, he never once took into account of how much she told him. She entrusted him, a stranger, with her deepest thoughts and feelings and all he cared about was himself. He couldn't believe how selfish he had been.

He wanted to talk to her. He wanted to apologize for being a jerk. All the angry feelings he had built up since she came to Korea seemed to have washed away.

The main issue was, though, he had made such a big scene about the whole thing that he wasn't sure exactly how he was going to apologize. And would she even forgive him if he did?

He heaved a heavy sigh.

The good thing was, he still had time. She was going to be in Korea for a few weeks so he just had to think out a plan and then somehow meet up with her. He didn't know where she was staying so he would have to call her out. Hopefully she'd come.

Jin Chul neatly folded the paper and placed it back into his pocket. He then stepped out of the bathroom stall and headed back to the noraebang room.

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Author's Notes:

So even though I wasn't planning on doing the 8th chapter so soon, I had to split the 7th chapter up since it was so long and so chapter 8 was already partially written. Then, it turned out the rest of the chat was looooooooooooooooooooooooooong. I didn't realize it was this long. I honestly would like to know how you guys felt when reading the rest of the chat. I felt really sad when writing it. It felt very real. Reading it again tonight made me feel sad. Omo~ I feel the depth to Hee Jin's character so I'm really happy. I like the relationship she and Jin Chul shared online >___< I only hope I can continue making their characters deeper. I'm making no promises but I really hope I can release chapter 9 very soon. It's at a crucial part so I have to force myself even if I start to have issues. Please cheer me on and wait patiently! Hwaiting!