Lonely Soul

“Yoooohoooo!” Jiyong yodeled, pushing the door open. “Huuuuunnnnneeeeeeeee!”

Yoonji bounced down the stairs to see Jiyong enter the house from the back. “Jiyong oppa!”

“Whoa, hon! You look awfully girly today...Strange. You look just like gongju byung. Was the dream that bad last night?” Jiyong cracked.

“Haha. Oppa’s upstairs putting finishing touches on his makeup. He look like he’s gonna take some girl out. Does my oppa have a yuja chingu?”

“Him? With eighty-five percent wangja byung blood in him, do you think he could get anywhere close to having girls around him?”

“What about you?! You got wangja byung, too!”

“But ya see, I keep it down on the DL. Where is he? I heard him last night through my MD. I swear he sings louder than an opera singer with a microphone,” Jiyong joked.

“You heard him?!” Yoonji was surprised. “Dayam...that’s really bad.”

“Nah, I was just tripping. He’s in his room?” Jiyong headed for the stairs and paused when Yoonji started to say something.

“Yeah, just don’t scare him. He finally achieved his goal.”

“Doing what?”

“Adding a grand finale to his ballet dance. He jumped off the Grand Canyon.”

“Grand Canyon? What’s that?!” Jiyong frowned.

“It’s in Migook,” Yoonji told him, exasperated. “Don’t you ever learn anything in school?!”

“Not about Migook. We’re in Hangook. So we learn Hangook, get it babe? No, you don’t. Now get outta here!” Jiyong darted up the stairs before Yoonji could think of a smart come back. He knocked softly on Seonghoon’s door and waited for him to open it. But instead his girly voice called out ‘c’min’ and Jiyong nudged the door open.

Yoonji was right. The boy was putting finishing touches on his makeup. The funky smell of the hairspray filled the room and Jiyong made a sour face upon entering.

“Done, Snow White?” Jiyong asked, pinching his nose.

“Hey! It’s Belle, jerk! I ain’t no girl running around with dwarves!” Seonghoon declared, whipping around in his chair with the bottle still in mid-air.

“If you’re Beauty then who’s the Beast?”

“You are!”

“Haha. Done yet?”

“I’m having a bad hair day,” Seonghoon complained, putting down the bottle. He fluffed his hair with one hand, the other posing over his head.

“I’ll make it better,” said Jiyong, walking over to his friend. He stood behind Seonghoon with his hands on his hips and a mischievous smile playing at his lips.

“Nuh...what are you doing?!” Seonghoon stared at his friend in the mirror. Jiyong had that evil look Seonghoon had grown to know ever since when they were kids.

“I’ll make the bad hair day go away forever. Would you like the bald look or - ”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Seonghoon howled, pushing Jiyong away.

“Whoa! In broad daylight, too?!”

“Huh?” Seonghoon looked dumbfounded.

“You dream in the morning, too?” Jiyong laughed. “C’mon! We’re gonna be late. I didn’t do my homework. Jaejin promised he’ll lemme see it. Hurry!”

Seonghoon moaned and slowly rose out of his seat. He snatched up his bookbag and followed Jiyong out to his car, messing up his sister’s hair as he left. The only thing he could remember was her yelling on top of her lungs at him, but it didn’t make him want to do anything more to her.

“Why are you so down?” Jiyong asked abruptly.

“Huh?” Seonghoon stumped in a daze. “Whaddid you just say?”

“Why are you so down? Cheer up, you’re gonna be a man.”

“What? I still don’t get what you’re trying to say.” Seonghoon was utterly confused. He didn’t know what Jiyong was referring to so he retreated back to his own little world.

“Ko Jiyong reaching Kang Seonghoon. Anybody home?!”

Seonghoon slid into the car and looked over to his friend, who had his hands cupped over his mouth. “What?”

“Where you going tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow? Jiyong, I just woke up!”

“Yeah, so? That didn’t stop me from making plans.”

“What plans did you make?” Seonghoon asked, looking out the window.

“Oh, I dunno,” Jiyong waved. “Uhm...I was thinking...hmm...” he stopped, slowing his car down at a traffic light. “Hmm...I dunno yet. Jiwon asked me if I wanted to do sumthin special for someone. I agreed to it...but haven’t figured out what.”

“Special? For who?”

Jiyong shrugged. “Uh dunno...You tell me.”

Seonghoon was curious as to who that ‘special someone’ is. “Who is she?”

Jiyong drew a mortified look. “Whoever said it was a ‘she’?!”

“Isn’t it? Okay, fine. Who is it?”

“You tell me! It’s your birthday - ”

Seonghoon gasped. “Kang Seonghoonie?!”

Jiyong boiled, realizing he gave away the answer. “Oops.”

“What? What are you guys doing to me? Tell me!”

“I dunno yet. Haven’t thought about it. Jiwon said he’ll come up with sumthin.”

“No noraebang, please. I’m getting tired of that. My throat hurts from all that screaming.”

“I’ll be surprised if it isn’t,” Jiyong snorted. “In the meantime...Wanna go shopping?”

“Boy, we sound like a bunch of girls.”

“Do you?” Jiyong thrusted, ignoring Seonghoon’s remark.

“For the special occassion! Of course! You can get me...”

Seonghoon rambled on for the rest of the way to school and Jiyong nodded to let him know he was listening. When they arrived, as usual, Jiwon’s Beemer was parked in its usual space and Jiyong slid his car nicely right into the empty space. They plucked their bags out from the backseat of the car and headed towards the main building. Joosa, as usual, was surrounded by girls, chattering away.

“Seonghoon!” Joosa’s bubbly voice gushed at the sight of him.

Seonghoon offered a weak smile at the group. “Hi.”

“Seonghoon! Are you gonna be busy today? I need you to tutor me in English,” Joosa continued in her fake voice.

“Uh...English? Me no habla Eeee...Glashy!” Seonghoon babbled.

“Say what?!” Jiyong, beside Seonghoon, shrieked. “What’s ‘glashy?’ ”

“I know, Seonghoon, what’s that?” Joosa asked dumbly.

Seonghoon rolled his eyes. “I-I-I...no gong Engman,” he stammered in broke Cantonese.

“What?!” Joosa shrilled.

Jiyong stifled a laugh that began to bubble at his throat and turned his head the other way to avoid more of Joosa’s stupid demanding shrieks.

“Yingwen? Wo bu hui shuo Yingwen?” Seonghoon said shakily in Chinese. “Uh yang yang no?”

“What language is that?!” Jiyong couldn’t help but burst. “ ‘Yang yang yang?’ ”

“Look it up in the Seonghoon’s Book of Knowledge and you’ll know,” Seonghoon whispered, winking.

“Ahhh...Gibberish. I admire you. You even wrote a book,” Jiyong murmured back, giggling.

“So, will you!?” Joosa shouted one final time.

“Sorry, but this sexy babe’s taken. Perhaps you would like to schedule a date with him? Mmm...how about next month?” Jiyong said in a high pitched voice, steering Seonghoon away. He turned to Seonghoon as if consulting him on the date. “Next month? Then next month it is! Agreed. Nice doing business with you, milady. Your name?”

Joosa opened her mouth but Jiyong cut her off before she could even utter a sound.

“Never mind. We are late. We must hurry along. Toodles!” Jiyong said briskly and pushed Seonghoon into the building. They stumbled inside, laughing hysterically over the act Jiyong had just put on so talently.

“I never knew you had such amazing acting skills! Mmm. If Jiwon knew he would be so envious that Jiyong is actually better than him at something!”

Jiyong beamed at the compliment. “Thank you. Now to hunt down Lee Jaejin.”

They raced to Jaejin’s class and found him reading a comic book with earphones plugged in his ears as usual and barged in like a hurricane. One snatching the book out of his hands and the other swiping his cd player off his desk.

“Hey!” Jaejin shouted, bolting from his chair.

“Hyung,” Seonghoon sang, shaking the comic book.

“Oh...Seonghoon. How’s the girl doing?” Jaejin asked, eyeing his cd player.

“You’re looking at her!”

“What?!” Jaejin reverted his eyes back to Seonghoon. “What did you just say?”

“Jiyong’s a girl. Tell him, Jiyong.”

“I’m a woman! I feel so feminine! Touch me Jaejini!” Jiyong said drastically, opening his arms.

“Stay away from me! Take my cd player, take my manhwa! Take everything! Just stay away from me! I AM NOT GAY!” Jaejin thundered, moving away.

“Hyung!” Seonghoon said through grinded teeth. “You’re attracting attention!”

“Here, maybe a kiss will quiet him down,” Jiyong said sweetly.

“Eeeewwwww!” Jaejin howled, picking up his textbook. “Stay back!”

“Hahaha,” Seonghoon laughed. “He got you!”

“Not yet,” Jiyong replied impishly.

“Don’t!”

“He will!” Seonghoon whispered loudly.

“That’s it!” Jaejin heaved his book and it bounced off Jiyong’s chest with a loud thud, sending Jiyong doubling over with pain.

“Ooooowwwww!”

“Hyung! We were just playing!” Seonghoon told Jaejin, shocked.

“I thought he would know,” Jiyong choked.

“I didn’t hit him that hard!” Jaejin exclaimed. After seeing Jiyong’s pained expression, he was quick to add, “Did I?”

Jiyong coughed on, pretending to be dead. “You tell me.”

“Haha, very funny,” Jaejin replied dryly.

“Lemme see your homework,” Jiyong said softly, hauling himself up.

Jaejin shuffled through his bookbag and fished out loose pieces of paper. “Here. Don’t copy word for word. I’ll kill you if you do.”

“Ooh! I wanna see it, too!” Seonghoon hooted, scuttling over to Jiyong.

“Back off! It’s mine!” Jiyong declared, waving the paper.

Seonghoon hopped around the room, trying to get Jiyong to lower his arm. “Jiyong!”

“No!" Jiyong shouted. To Jaejin, "Thanks, hyung.”

“Hyuuuung!” Seonghoon’s voice rose and fell like a roller coaster. “No fair!”

“Jiyong,” Jaejin called out sternly.

“I will, I will. Get off my dick!” Jiyong said to Seonghoon.

“Oh!” Seonghoon clasped his hand over his mouth, pointing a shaking finger at Jiyong accusingly. “You!”

“Heh...Later.” Jiyong waved and dashed away to class, leaving Seonghoon to wander the halls by himself.

“Mayan...Kang Seonghoonie’s not having a good day,” he grumbled to himself, shuffling along to class.

“Yayayayaya,” Yoonyi babbled, yanking on her hair. “Yayayayayaya.”

“Yoonyi!” her mother called from the stairs.

“Eh?” Yoonyi stepped out of her room and peeked over the railing. “Oma?”

“The clothes,” the woman said evenly, pointing at the wagon Yoonyi left idle yesterday.

“Oh! The laundromat’s closed! The sign said it’ll be open the day after tomorrow,” Yoonyi informed her.

“Hmm...You better be doing your homework! If I hear anything from school...”

“I will, I will,” Yoonyi said, exasperated.

“Be good,” Yoonjang whispered from behind, patting her head.

“Ouch!” Yoonyi winced under the impact, watching Yoonjang trot down the stairs to their expressionless mother.

“Don’t get in trouble and don’t go out!” her mother said.

“I know already...” Yoonyi mumbled. They had to go over the same routine everyday. She frowned at the reminder and waited until her parents and brother left the house before letting out a relieved sigh. “About time!”

It was early in the morning. Only nine and Yoonyi climbed back into bed. They drag her out for every little event. She settled back into her spot and glanced at the clock again, wondering what adventure was lined up in front of her for the rest of the day.