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Rumske sheisawriter101 cassiopp3ia

。。。。。

I have a tutor.

Of course, I don't really need one seeing that my English is perfectly alright and I took Cremedale level courses in junior high. Maddie knows she can't teach me English, so maybe she thinks I'm struggling to adjust to classes, or... that look in her eyes....she strongly believed she couldn't refuse the school.

Oh, Maddie. My beautiful, serious, beautiful tutor.

Before the move, I told my parents I needed reform. Samchon was gone, but his words refused to leave my thoughts. They lingered and repeated as some self-check and conscious- eating mantra. And the one that bit a thousand times harder than others: Stop playing with girls...

When he died three years ago, I felt like someone had trapped me inside a glacier. Like an icicle, I became frozen and numb, chilling in the monotonous fall of snowy days. Counting the ticks of time but never feeling the thrill of events. I was blinded by grief.

I passed a year that way.

Then the frost began to thaw and the numbness seared into a burn. I felt backstabbed and betrayed. The things he said to me, work hard...don't take life too seriously... they made me bitter. They were the traitorous words of a hypocrite who had worked himself to death.

He'd told me the story several times of how he'd single-handedly risen to CEO of his own restaurant franchise, more than I can count on my fingers and toes.

"Samchon, how did you start Bam In?" I asked.

With a knowing smile on his face, he said, "Ah, Cho-Hyeon, do you really want to hear it again?" My answer was always going to be the same.

He sighed then, a long release that crinkled into a smile and furrowed premature lines on his young face. Do-yun and Min-jun weren't born yet so it was just me sprawled in the soft bristles of the scarlet carpet, eagerly looking up to him on his worn russet recliner. He rubbed the tick-sized bristles of hair on his chin and brooded his features, pretending to ponder deeply. We laughed and he cleared his throat.

"I grew up in a small farming corner of Incheon. My parents worked in rice fields and so did their parents and their parents before them. It was a family line, Cho-Hyeon, and my sister-"

"Omma!"

My parents were always away and my heart felt empty. Samchon chuckled, smiled at me, and I felt bright again.

"Yes, your mother. She and I wanted out." His dark eyes twinkled. "My parents begged me to stay and tried to convince me that I could expand the fields and make higher revenue. But I knew that was never going to be enough, besides, I hated waking before sunrise to bend back, crop the stalks-the morning work was paining me. So as soon as I graduated high school I packed my things and left."

Wind blew from the open window behind him. The breeze was a cool brush on my skin and it ran wild through Samchon's hair. An expression of absolute freedom turned him youthful again. The gray in his waves vanished and the only creases left were ones of happiness at the edge of his smiling eyes.

"I had no money; my wallet was heavy with passion.

Passion.

"I found a wonderful diner and worked long cleaning shifts. It was by no means fun and games, but I knew I had to push through. I spent my free time studying business texts at the library and slept a few hours at night in a goshiwon the size of a small bathroom. I would wake up at dawn to study some more. I became an early bird! That's when I realised-it's not that I wasn't a morning person, it's that farming was never something I could willingly dedicate myself to. It wasn't me.

"I worked there for a year, progressed to waiting tables, and finally," Samchon paused wistfully, "I was in the kitchen.

We both grinned like idiots.

"Seven years there, I climbed my way to head chef. I learned new things, made so many great friends, and was close with the owner. You know, I called him-"

"Samchon!"

He laughed. "Yes, Cho-Hyeon. He was like my Samchon. But I wanted a restaurant of my own, one that I built for myself. One I could stand before and proudly say it was all mine. So all those business books had led me to the stock market and I made good ground for myself. Finally, I had saved and earned enough to buy my own place. So I took one last look at the people I had grown to love over the years, my family I thought of them." His voice darkened. "And I left.

My throat was sticking.

"But," he trailed his voice with hope, leading to my favorite part. "I pushed through, burning hotter than ever with determination, seeing my dream so close until it was gripped tight in my hands. And I never let it go. I will never let it go. Bam In will always be mine. Ours."

From downstairs, the restaurant breathed delicious aromas of garlic and kimchi. Their taste flirted in the air and teased my stomach, evoking a hungry growl and earnest mouth drool.

Samchon let out his deep belly laugh. "One day, Cho-Hyeon, you will find your fire in life, one that all the water and wind in the world can never stomp out. And when you do, you must chase it down until it burns and consumes you, becomes one with you, fuels your desire to live. Because no matter what, you must be happy.

"Now come, let's eat."

I'll always admire him for building his dream from scratch. I'll always hate that he left so abruptly. Now all I have left of Samchon are his lingering words and dreams.

。。。。。

Sundays are supposed to be days of rest.

But since we've finished moving in, my parents decided today would be perfect to meet our peer neighbors, the Callahans. And after, Maddie's gonna stay for a couple of hours to tutor me.

Private sessions with her in my room...

Usually, I couldn't care less about meeting people, even if they do happen to be ones living right next to me. The last neighbors we had were dog owners and an annoying couple. The dogs would howl through the night like wounded soldiers and the couple constantly pitch-forked at each other's throat. I'm a light sleeper and so the ceaseless racket bugged the hell out of me. I went to Samchon's a lot, it was peaceful there and the car wheels rolling by at night was a calming background.

Thank god for all these old people here. I'm curious what Maddie's parents are like, does she get her seriousness from them? Do they push her to be this perfect child?

"Jason!"

I follow Abeoji's voice down from my room to the kitchen and see him and my brothers unwrapping the tin from mochi balls.

"Help us, help us!" Min-jun and Do-yun chirp. They are sharing a small wooden stool to reach the pan on the counter and they are identical in their matching green shirt and blue shorts. Most people can't tell the twins apart and the only people who could decipher them without fail were family.

I ruffle their uniform inky hair from behind.

"You don't need help, you guys are practically done. Right Min-jun, Do-yun?"

They crane their heads to face me and share an adorable frown.

"Liam." Do-yun corrected.

"Chris." Min-jun did the same.

Moving to America, we'd adopted English names. I did so because I wanted to be rid of my old identity while the twins saw this as a cool opportunity to pick a new username, like an Xbox game. My lips twinge and I felt a nag at the back of my head. I like their Korean names, I'm attached to them. But who am I to tell them otherwise when I can't preach those same words?

I nodded solemnly. "Right. Chris, Liam." I stick my tongue against the inside of my cheek and turn to Abeoji. He's struggling to take another large pan out from the fridge and I dash to hold the door open.

"Ah, thank you, Jason." He sets down the bakeware filled with silver balls and begins peeling them. His wiry circle glasses kept slipping down his long nose and his wide shoulders seem hunched, shrinking his tall frame. Even his normally neat brown hair looks flat atop his handsome face.

"I'm sorry they are not as good as Samchon's," he chuckles attempting to sound light. I eye the baby blue dough balls. The shapes are unevenly boxy and the corners are pinched. He looks so worn out and downcast it pains me.

I'm about to reply that it's alright when Omma comes bounding down the staircase, her long dark braid trailing behind her.

"Ai, they're coming! I saw them from the window. Are the mochis ready?" I push off the rectangle table in the middle of the room and she darts to grab a glass bowl pressed with elegant swirls out of the cupboard.

"Hurry, hurry!" Liam and Chris frantically encourage me to peel the aluminum shells and I indulge, getting tangled in the excitement. Our hands are flying like diving seagulls on a beach and Omma scoops them into the bowl like her life depends on it.

Abeoji hands her the last one from his pile and she scours at the discernably demented form.

"Aii Yeobo, what is this?"

He owns up, a little embarrassed, "Haha, I couldn't get it quite right."

She light-heartedly slaps him on the head and turns the ball upside down so the smoother side is facing up. Just then the doorbell rings and we all jump a little. Omma waddles to the living room with the clear bowl now towering with powder blue sweets and Abeoji rushes with her.

"C'mon, Hyung!"

"Let's go!"

Chris and Liam hop off the stool and wrap their thin pale hands around my wrists then proceed to yank me towards the living room.

"Guys, I'm coming." I protest while trying to break free. Let me say, never underestimate the power of six-year- old boys. Their grasps are like iron cuffs and I helplessly stumble after them as they lead me to the living room and pull me down to a cushion. With a satisfied toothy grin, they display their still intact set of teeth and sit on opposite sides of me on the floor. We're around the shiny black table, a rectangle with rounded edges, and the hill of mochi in the middle of it is eye-level.

Out of sight, I can hear my parents greeting the Callahans and Maddie's voice pings in my ears. My heart randomly decides that now is a good time for a jog and I feel unusually anxious at the approach of footsteps and chatter.

Chill man, nothing's even happening.

Except there is-she's coming.

They turn a corner into the room, shoeless like my parents must've requested, and I feel giddy. The first person I notice is Maddie. Those long curls of hers are tied into a high ponytail and she's wearing black skinny jeans with a red tee and a backpack clinging to her shoulders. She looks great in them and I wonder if she knows just how beautiful she is. I have to consciously draw my jaw close which makes me feel stupid because I always know to play it cool, I never trip up over girls.

She smiles at my parents, dazzling, and when her gaze turns to meet mine I flash my platinum-winning smirk. Her face goes blank and the expression pierces my skin.

Damn, she's tough.

They all take a soft seat by the floor, Omma and Abeoji on one end and the Callahans across from me and my brothers. Maddie is sitting directly in front of me, her deer eyes clearly avoiding mine. She looks at Liam and Chris and throws them the most beautiful smile in the world. I feel a twinge of jealousy. First, she stops walking with me to school, turns tail upon seeing me in the hallways, and now won't even acknowledge me-Why is she so adamantly shunning me?

Eamon, a really Californian-looking dude with blonde hair and blue eyes, introduces himself as her father, and holy shit he looks nothing like Maddie. Her mother, Amiko, on the other hand, is a time-forwarded mirror image of her. They both have that similar beige complexion, large chocolate eyes with a nipping crease at the lid (though her mom's is more severe), a slim jaw, and a proud mouth. I wonder if Eamon's her blood father or just the result of hidden genes.

Our parents go on talking about stuff like "How's the move?" and "LA is great" and all the interesting works about the universe's creation. My parents don't exactly know that I've failed to keep my mouth shut. We made a whole elaborate story of how I hit my head in a biking accident and lost my ability to speak English, and we even have really legit looking medical records. And they're bringing it up right now... Eamon and Amiko are offering really sincere condolences and I feel kinda shit accepting them all humble-like. Maddie glares at me and I plummet further into guilt, but at the same time...

...

...Her intensity is really turning me on.

Maddie single-handedly scarfs down practically half the mochi bowl. Either she has a tongue for Korean food or a tooth for sweets. I stare at her gorgeous lips as she chews and there are crumbs at the corner above her chin. She must sense my stare because she looks up at me. I scratch my face to tell her and she rubs the left cheek.

Wrong side.

I switch to the other side and she does the same.

Too high.

She scrunches her brows and drags her finger down.

Almost.

Her finger slides towards her mouth and I keep nudging my head.

Over, over.

Heat flushes her face the color of a ripe apple and I smile as she finally gets the crumbs. She flits her eyes away and continues to absorb the table conversation. What can I do to get her full attention? I just want to slip upstairs with her to my room and lock the doors behind us... then... then...

...Uhh, study. Right, just flipping through textbooks. That's all we're gonna do.

Our little housewarming gathering ends about fifteen minutes later.

"Well, it was really nice meeting you." Amiko beams at us as we all stand up.

"Really, it was a pleasure." Eamon seconds.

My parents are all smiles telling them oh-yes-wonderful-making-your- acquaintance and what not. I just want my session with Maddie to begin.

"And Jason," Amiko places her hand on my shoulder sympathetically, "I hope you get better. Stay strong."

"Uh, thank... nice you meet...." I shamefully mumble in my best attempt at broken speech while catching Maddie biting her lip.

I'd like to bite that lip.

No. Nope. Just studying.

Eamon says quietly to Maddie, "Take care, try to help him out okay?"

"Yeah, Eamon, I will," she grumbles in response.

It's odd, he calls her dad by his first name. I guess that confirms they aren't related. Her stepdad then? Where's her biological father?

"Bye-bye!" Liam and Chris wave Eamon and Amiko out the door.

They both laugh. "Bye guys!"

。。。。。

"And two hours starts... now." Maddie sets her phone on the table in my room. We're sitting on the floor again around a low table with seat cushions. I've always preferred these to normal desks.

I can see the timer on her phone. 1:59:46. She really isn't cutting any corners on this.

She looks up at me from across the table. It's a small table, honestly, if I leaned over I could probably kiss her. "What do you want to start with?" Her tone is bland.

Click. Click. Click. My pen clicks under my chin as I bob my head up and down on the table.

"Hmm-" I pretend to give thought to that; really I'm trying to create a mental feel for her lips. Soft. Warm. I wonder if she uses chapstick. Sweet maybe.

I lean over half the table, being cautious not to crinkle her carefully detailed notes, "Don't you want to do something else?"

"No." She shuts down the idea quicker than light could fill a room.

"Really?" I prod.

"Yes, I'm just here for two hours every Sunday to help you stay on track with school. Nothing more, nothing less."

Her voice is like an automated machine, yet her eyes sing a different pitch. They're dark and deep.

I smile mischievously, thinking of something to make her come out to me.

"You like sweets, right?"

Her ears grow a pleasing shade of pink.

"Yeah."

"I saw you eating that cookie before. And then there was today, you took out that mochi bowl like a starving shark."

She stops scribbling on a sheet of paper and her blush spreads to her cheeks.

"Oh, I'm sorry, they, uh, were just really good. I didn't mean to eat them all."

Aii, she's so cute.

"No worries. I'll let it slide since you're so beautiful."

She clenches her jaw slightly and I sense her shut up again. Does she not like compliments?

"Anyways, I'm sure you have lots of questions for me."

"Nope, none. Whatever you do is your business."

I lean my head down in my arms on the table. "Really?" I gaze at her through a lock of black hair that falls over my face. Maddie keeps her head down at her notebook but her hand has stopped writing again. I can see her delicate fingers curled around her yellow #2 pencil, mere centimeters away from my forehead. If I moved just the tiniest bit closer she'd be pressed against my hair.

I resist the urge to put my lips to her hand and wait for a reply. When none comes I continue.

"I had problems in the past." She looks up to me, finally, and her light brown eyes are gazing so intensely I feel my heart jumping. I can't trust myself to delve into the whole story without tearing up. I don't want to cry in front of her and look weak, nor do I want to weep over Samchon. It's been a good two years since I shed water for him and my emotions have managed to keep at bay.

I let out a long exhale. "In short, I've made bad choices and done things I'm not too proud of. So, I decided to start fresh and keep to myself when my family and I moved here." A melancholic smile slid onto my face. "You know, girls just can't keep themselves off of me."

She chuckles good-naturedly at my try to soften the air.

"So I figured to make myself completely unapproachable."

Maddie puts her elbows up and leans her chin on her hands. Her curly ponytail is dangling over a shoulder and her eyes are bright through her maroon glasses. "And how's that going?" Her voice is gentle now, something I want to hear on loops.

I grin. "Well, I'd have to ask you that. You're the only person outside my family who I have conversation with." My smile droops and I quietly implore, "You won't tell anyone, right?"

She studies me earnestly and shocks me by reaching out to make the back of our hands touch. Her skin is warm and smooth and just this minute contact sends delicious shivers currenting through my veins. I itch to touch her more, but something in her eyes tells me this is all I can have for now without pushing her towards the edge.

"It'll be our secret," she whispers.

Suddenly, she pulls her hands away and I long for the missing connection. Maddie clears her throat and rummages through her bag.

"By the way," her tone is back to it's monotonous normal. "Here. I washed the clothes you lent me last week." She tosses me a white bag. I open it and am met with my shorts along with...

A pair of silky black underwear. Matching top and bottom. I pull my head up to meet her eyes, thinking this has to be some sort of crude joke. She's back in a textbook and doesn't appear even the littlest bit fazed at all.

"Uh, thanks." I try really damn hard to repress a naughty grin and tie the bag up before chucking it onto my bed.

It was time to get even with my gorgeous ogler from next door.

。。。。。

Aiii, I've been dying to write a scene like this between Maddie and Jason FOREVER!

Anywho, thoughts? What should Jason do with his discovery?

And always, please fill up that orange star to make my day! Follow if you want to see more of my works:)