Chapter 30
Na AhJung
I opened my eyes as I woke up from my sleep. The sunlight filtering through my window was blinding so I quickly closed my eyes again and turned away from it. Hoping that it wouldn’t be so bright this time, I slowly opened my eyes. Contrary to my expectations, something else lay before my eyes that blinded me.
Bright gold. Blond gold hair like a foreigner.
My fogged-up brain woke up instantaneously upon seeing the golden-haired man reading at the tea table.
“Who are you?” I asked shooting out of bed.
The man turned his head and I recognized him right away.
The man was Lee Jihan.
Unable to fathom the reasoning behind this, I sat in awe without speaking a word. JiHan closed the book casually and placed it on the tea table.
“If you’re awake, get up and go wash your face. We have a lot to do today.”
It was definitely Lee JiHan. His voice was Lee JiHan’s. As I was numbly staring, JiHan stood up from his seat. Then facing me, he walked toward the bed.
As he stood right in front of me, his eye-catching golden hair caught the morning sunlight and glistened even more.
It was an unnatural color as if he had painted gold all over his hair. How was it that it actually looked good on him?
I looked up at JiHan as if he was a golden Buddha statue and got a sudden urge to bow.
JiHan looked down at the awestruck me and frowned.
“Na AhJung, you don’t have to live broadcast your drooling.”
“What, me? Now?”
Waking up from my trance, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.
“Not that it matters,” JiHan added quietly. He bent over and grabbed my arm. “If you’re going to wipe the drool, might as well wash your face with water so we can leave after breakfast.”
I got out of bed following JiHan’s lead. Still not knowing what was going on, I ended up in the bathroom.
***
While I was eating breakfast, JiHan was in his room talking on the phone with someone, so I only had to concentrate on stuffing my mouth.
Only after I had finished eating and put the empty bowl into the sink did JiHan come strutting over. He grabbed my wrist.
“Let’s go.”
“What?”
He pulled me to my room and pointed to the top of my bed. At some point, he must have gone shopping because bags were sitting on my bed.
“We’ll leave once you change into those. Go.”
Suddenly hurrying, JiHan spoke fast. Then, just as fast, he left the room so that I didn’t even get a chance to question him.
What’s gotten into him? Is it another blind date? And why is his hair like that?
Although my curiosity continued to grow, I put it on hold to check the contents of the shopping bag. Inside was what looked like a moth-eaten white t-shirt and jean shorts. Looking at the two pieces of clothing in the shopping bag, I scratched my head in confusion.
He’s not expecting me to go on a blind date wearing this, is he? It can’t be.
After changing, I looked at my reflection in the full-length mirror next to my closet. My skin peeked through the small holes in the t-shirt, showing a little of my waist and a little of my clavicle. Luckily it didn’t look too revealing or erotic. I spun around to check how I looked, including my back.
I hadn’t been sure why I needed another mirror if there was one attached to the vanity but looking at it now I began to understand the reason. It was nice to be able to see yourself from head to toe.
I nodded in approval, took a deep breath and headed to the door. When I opened my door, JiHan stood on the other side. I jumped in surprise. When he saw me, he examined me carefully and suddenly, very seriously started to clap.
“I knew this would suit you, but I didn’t know it would look this good.”
“What?” Did he just say I looked good?
At his sudden compliment, I felt extremely bizarre and cringed. Lee JiHan didn’t mind my reaction and grabbed my wrist, then strutted toward the front door.
***
Standing side by side in the elevator with JiHan, I asked the question that had been nagging at me for some time.
“Where are we going right now?”
“On a trip.”
“A trip? All of a sudden? To where?”
At my baffled expression, JiHan replied with a question.
“Where do you want to go?”
“What?”
“Wherever you want to go. I’ll go where you tell me to.”
“What are you talking about.”
Before I could get all my words out, the elevator stopped and the door opened. JiHan grabbed my wrist once again and exited the elevator. Before we left the apartment complex, he stopped walking and faced me. He examined me carefully with his eyes and his fingertips swept away the stray hair stuck to my cheek. He stepped back two steps, then looked me up and down fully.
“All good.” JiHan nodded as if checking the status of an actor before going on stage. “This is much better than yesterday.”
I did not have my hair done nor was I wearing a nice outfit like I had been yesterday but JiHan smiled in approval.
“You look very nice today,” he said still smiling.
I’m beginning to think that Lee JiHan has changed his tactics.
He was no longer trying to introduce me to other men, instead he must’ve decided to give me a heart attack instead.
We left the apartment complex as I grasped at my erratically beating heart.
***
In the driver’s seat, JiHan started the car. I was trying to calm both my heart and my breathing. It felt as if the seat belt that JiHan had buckled me into was squeezing my heart.
“Have you decided where we should go?”
“I’m not sure. It’s all so sudden. I don’t really know what’s going on.”
“It’s simple. Pick a place where you can laugh the most. You are advising me on a place like that.”
A place where I will laugh a lot...
However hard I thought, I couldn’t recall any memorable venue or how many times I had laughed at such a place. I mean, who would actually count that sort of thing? How many times did I laugh as I walked, how many times did I laugh at home? Is there really anyone that counts these things one by one? Just in case, I thought about it a little more, but ultimately I couldn’t find a place to suggest.
“I don’t know.”
“Then let’s go to an amusement park,” JiHan replied at once as if he’d already decided on a place.
I glanced over at him suspiciously. He opened his window and stuck out his left hand. With his right hand, he turned the handle and started to drive.
“What are you doing? Why are you doing that with your hand?”
“I’m giving a sign to let others know that the car is moving.”
“A sign? Isn’t that only necessary if there are people around you? There’s no one here.”
“Someone might see it.”
It’s not like he’s being tested on his driving skills.
JiHan drove carefully and meticulously, to the point where he was sending signals to the invisible strangers that “might need to see it.” When we got to the amusement park, he stopped and unfolded a map, observing the different rides.
“Na AhJung. Do you like rides where you fall straight down from the sky?”
“I’m not sure,” I replied truthfully.
“Why don’t you know?” he asked as if my answer had been inadequate.
“I’ve never ridden it before so I don’t really know,” I admitted.
“Then can you ride the ones that speed across the sky?
“I don’t know that either. I’ve never ridden one.”
“Then what is it that you have tried riding?”
“Nothing.”
“How could you have never ridden a roller coaster?”
“Because, I’ve never been to an amusement park before.”
Lee JiHan’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“You’ve never been to an amusement park? Not even once?”
“Yes, but there’s actually a lot of people like me,” I answered as if this was completely normal.
JiHan folded his map stone faced. “Then we’ll ride everything.”
“What?”
“Today, we’ll ride everything here before we go home.”
JiHan grabbed my arm and walked quickly to the nearest ride. All of a sudden he stopped and looked around as if he was looking for something.
“Are you looking for something?” I asked.
JiHan seemed to have found whatever it was he was looking for and his gaze focused on a spot. Then he nodded slightly.
“What is it?”
I turned my head to see what he was looking at, but JiHan’s two hands grabbed my face and held it in place.
“There’s a ghost following behind you.”
“What!” I jumped in fright at first, but finding my head, I frowned at him. “Stop fooling around. Why would there be a ghost at this hour of the day? Did you think I would fall for that? No way. What do you take me for?”
“Not a real ghost. A fake, dressed up one that’s even scarier.”
“A fake ghost?”
“Sometimes, amusement parks have haunted theme days. Employees dressed as ghosts follow you around and try to scare you.”
“I think I’ve seen something like that on television before. They pop out of nowhere and follow behind you,” I stuttered as I started to get frightened.
“Do you want to see them?”
“No!”
I was afraid that Lee JiHan would twist my face around to show me so I blurted out in fear. JiHan answered me calmly.
“Then don’t look behind you.”
With my face frozen in dread, I nodded vigorously. I’ll never look, never. I repeated to myself. JiHan let go of my face and grabbed my wrist.
“You can relax your expression.”
“You said there’s a ghost behind me.”
“There’s a ghost behind you, but I’m next to you. Who’s scarier?”
Just for a moment, I compared the two. Based on my opinion, the answer was obvious.
“You. Oh, I mean, mister.”
JiHan laughed at my answer.
“The ghosts fear me also.”
JiHan let go of my wrist and held my hand. As his hands slipped into mine, I was so surprised that my heart felt like it was already on the roller coaster. At the same time, my shoulders flinched and my legs stepped back. JiHan didn’t take notice and continued to talk.
“Whether it’s a real or fake ghost, they won’t be able to bother someone with an aura as strong as mine. So if you don’t want to see a ghost, then you must continue holding onto my hand.”
His words rang true. Whether ghost or person, who would be able to mess with him? Me on the other hand...
Then the ghost behind us is after...me!
Getting goosebumps, I nodded my head shaking. JiHan started moving toward the rides with a smile plastered on his face and his hand still intertwined with mine.
***
When we left the amusement park at sundown, there was not a single ride in the whole, huge place that we hadn’t tried.
How many times did I cry today? How many times did my eyelashes get wet then dry again. I was sure that if I batted my eyelashes in that instant, it would rain down salt.
Thanks to JiHan, I was able to learn that I could not ride the coasters that fell straight down or sped across the sky. I couldn’t ride the ones that swung back and forth like a boat in a tumultuous sea either.
Even so, I was sorry we had to leave, and looked back at the amusement park several times. The ghost must have clocked out since JiHan no longer stopped me from looking back. He also didn’t stop holding my hand.
JiHan sat me down in the passenger’s seat, then finally let go of my hand. He closed the door and walked around the front of the car. He looked like he was going toward the driver’s side when he stopped in front and took a call. I became entranced by his golden hair as if it was the light coming out of a lighthouse.
Except for the moments in which I’d teared up in surprise and fear, it had been an enjoyable day. I knew I could look back at today and laugh about all the memories we’d had, even the scary moments. I would remember it as the first day I visited an amusement park and reminisce over all its memories over and over again.
I didn’t understand the reasoning behind it, but I was thankful for the result. Even though not knowing the reason was as nerve wracking as being strapped to a time bomb...
My thankfulness disappeared and the anxiety returned, causing me to watch JiHan nervously while chewing up my fingernails.
Who is he talking to? It looked like he had called them...he’s not selling me away, is he? You know, like in dramas where right before they abandon you, they give you one last wonderful day by taking you somewhere nice. And the number one place to take you is an amusement park. Sometimes, they abandon you at the amusement park. Is he going to sell me off?
As my anxiety reached the brink of explosion, JiHan ended his call and returned to the driver’s seat.
Now that I think about it, that eye catching golden hair... what if it’s purpose is as a disguise? After he sells me off, he’ll go back to his regular hair, then when the police ask the witnesses, all they will remember is that golden hair!
I dreamed up every horrible possibility that could happen to me. In the midst of this, Lee JiHan got into his seat.
“It will take about 40 minutes to get back to Seoul so if you’re hungry, tell me now. We can stop by the market to grab some things to cook with near here.”
“What? We’re going to Seoul? Both of us?”
You’re not just leaving me here by myself? You’re not selling me off?
“Both of us, were you expecting the ghost to tag along so it would be the three of us? Should I call the ghost over?” JiHan asked, confused at my question.
“Ah, no! No, no.” I held onto the seat belt as if it were a saving rope sent from heaven and shook my head forcefully.