KFPCA 07

Chapter 07

Although Kim Seung-hyun knew that she was making excuses to get herself out of this frustrating environment, after she left for New Haven, Kwon Ji-yong had specifically looked up the safety index there.

New Haven is just before Chicago, and its danger level is arguably in the top three in the entire United States.

Thinking of this, Kwon Ji-yong set aside his own emotions and made an overseas call.

The call connected, and Kim Seung-hyun’s cheerful voice came through, “Yeoboseyo! Wuli Ji-yong, have you made up your mind? Are you coming to play with noona?”

“Kim Sparkle, be serious.” Kwon Ji-yong’s tone was stern. “Did something really happen? Yesterday?”

“Ne…” Kim Seung-hyun told the truth, but immediately reassured him, “But it wasn’t too serious, and it wasn’t really a robbery either. They just asked for some pocket money.”

“Why don’t you live in the dorms?” Kwon Ji-yong didn’t understand. “Isn’t living in the dorms a lot safer than living alone outside? Do you have to live by yourself?”

“Ne!” Kim Seung-hyun was uncompromising on this matter.

When Kim Seung-hyun was an undergraduate at Yale, she lived in the school dorms. At the time, she was young and unfamiliar with the area, and her parents were worried, so they strongly urged her to live on campus. She also wanted to integrate well with her classmates, so she agreed.

Yale’s dormitory environment was nice—a double room, quite spacious, and her roommate was relatively friendly.

But ultimately, they had grown up in different backgrounds, and there were some differences in their lifestyles and values.

Over the four years, not only had Kim Seung-hyun been accommodating to her roommate, but her roommate had probably been accommodating to her as well.

So when she enrolled at Yale again, no matter how much her parents tried to persuade her, Kim Seung-hyun refused to live in the dorms again.

The Kim parents had only this one child, and seeing her so insistent, they didn’t want to force her. In the end, the couple flew to New Haven themselves and rented a small two-bedroom apartment for her, just a five-minute walk from her classes. They helped her set it up before reluctantly leaving.

Kim Seung-hyun joked, “But this way, you’ll have a place to stay when you come!”

After saying that, without giving Kwon Ji-yong a chance to respond, she urged, “Oppa, come quickly, hm? If you come, you can accompany me to class.”

Kwon Ji-yong, of course, understood Kim Seung-hyun’s thoughtful intentions. Seeing that she had even called him “Oppa” just to persuade him, and since he was indeed tired of the current atmosphere, he thought, why not go and live somewhere else for a while? He would go see what a New Haven winter was like.

After getting his answer, Kim Seung-hyun began chattering away with suggestions for Kwon Ji-yong: “Ji-yong, how long are you planning to stay? Will you need to work in between?”

“No, there’s a family concert in December that I need to perform at. Coming back a week early to practice should be enough.”

“Meaning you can stay until the end of November, right?”

“Yeah, is wuli Kim Sparkle-ssi really welcoming me to stay that long?”

“Of course! Having you here is all benefits and no downsides for me!” Kim Seung-hyun counted them off. “If you’re here, we’ll be two people eating, so I won’t have to agonize over which dish to pick. You love staying up late anyway, so you can keep me company while I study at night.”

“Most importantly, you can walk me to class, so no matter how late class ends, I won’t have to worry about safety. You have no idea—lately, sometimes when class ends too late or I lose track of time studying in the library, I just stay in the school’s 24-hour study room until the next morning before going home.” Kim Seung-hyun shamelessly played up her hardships.

“Mo? Pulling all-nighters in the study room? Kim Sparkle, that won’t do!”

“Exactly, exactly! So Oppa, you need to come quickly!” Kim Seung-hyun started planning for Kwon Ji-yong right away. “Oppa, just stay until the end of November. These two months, it’ll be around ten degrees—about the transition from autumn to winter in Seoul—but it rains a lot, and sometimes there’s sleet. The wind is also strong, so bring more windproof and waterproof clothes. Remember to bring two pairs of warm shoes. And a hat—otherwise, you’ll get a headache from the wind when you go out.”

“And also, bring me some of the usual medicines. I’m almost out of the ones I brought when school started this year. Actually, never mind—I’ll call my parents in a bit and have them prepare everything, so I’ll trouble Oppa to go pick them up. On the 14th, I have a short fall break—six days off. I asked my advisor, and there’s no research tasks this break. My personal research progress is pretty good, so this break will be mainly for resting. Then we can look around the area properly. You know, I’ve been in the US for five years now, but I’ve never really taken you around to have fun. Tomorrow morning after class, I’ll go get a visitor card—you can get one for up to three months…”

Kwon Ji-yong lay on the bed, listening to Kim Seung-hyun’s endless stream of reminders, when suddenly, a ray of moonlight slipped through the gap in the curtains, bringing a faint light into the otherwise dark room.

By that weak light, Kwon Ji-yong saw the photo of himself and Kim Seung-hyun by the bedside.

The photo was taken on the day of their middle school graduation ceremony—that was also their first official picture together.

In the photo, both of them were wearing their school uniforms, their faces full of youthful innocence, smiling at the camera.

Looking at the somewhat silly smiles on the two in the photo, Kwon Ji-yong couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Hearing Kwon Ji-yong’s laugh, Kim Seung-hyun paused for a second, then said in exasperation, “Kwon Ji-yong, are you even listening to me?”

“I’m listening, I’m listening. I’ll prepare properly.” Kwon Ji-yong promised. “I’ll check tomorrow night if there are any reporters staking out my front door. If not, I’ll go to your place myself to pick up the stuff from your parents. If there are reporters, I’ll have Jihun-hyung go get it. I’ll buy a ticket for the early morning flight the day after—there are fewer people at the airport then.”

“Alright then, I’ll be done with class at ten in the morning the day after. Wait for me at the airport—I’ll come pick you up.”

“No need, I can take the train too. You’d be exhausted going back and forth, and if it’s raining and slippery, it’s not safe.”

“No!” Kim Seung-hyun wouldn’t accept Kwon Ji-yong’s suggestion. “Kwon Ji-yong-ssi, your friend now has a car. How can I let you, who’s come all this way to visit, take the train? And I’ve already driven through two winters in New Haven. Don’t worry about my skills, okay?”

“Alright, alright, I’ll listen to you.” Kwon Ji-yong answered with a laugh, then asked, “Does Kim Seung-hyun-ssi have any other instructions?”

“No, you may take your leave!”

“Ne!”

After hanging up, Kwon Ji-yong looked at the still-lit phone screen and laughed out loud.

Aigoo, wuli Kim Sparkle is as kind-hearted as ever!

She clearly wanted him to come and clear his mind; clearly, his visit would cause her quite a bit of trouble, yet she made it sound like she was the one getting the better deal.

Checking the time—six in the evening—he rubbed his stomach, which had been empty for a long while, and got out of bed.

Time to eat. After all, there was quite a lot to do next.

In the living room, Kwon Da-mi and Kwon’s parents wore worried expressions.

Ever since Ji-yong had suddenly come home three days ago, he had locked himself in his room. He would respond when called, but he refused to come out and barely ate.

Kwon’s mother sighed, “How can this go on like this? Wuli Ji-yong, why do such things always happen to him?”

Kwon’s father didn’t know what to say, so he could only sigh and pat his wife’s hand.

Kwon Da-mi didn’t know what to say either. She didn’t know how to comfort her brother—if such a thing had happened to her, she might have reacted even worse than he did.

Just as the three of them were at a loss, the tightly shut door opened.

Kwon Ji-yong, who emerged from the room, was still in his pajamas, hair disheveled, with stubble on his face, but his expression was different from when he first came home a few days ago—he looked much more spirited.

Most importantly, he actually said, “Eomma, what’s for dinner?”

“Eh?” Kwon’s mother was momentarily stunned.

“Dinner.” Kwon Ji-yong looked at the three frozen faces across from him and repeated with a smile, “I’m hungry. I want to eat. What’s for dinner? I’d like some grilled pork belly and kimchi tofu stew.”

Only then did Kwon’s mother realize she hadn’t misheard. She stood up, smiling through tears, and quickly said, “Eomma will go make it right now. Wait a moment, it’ll be ready soon.”

“Ne~” Kwon Ji-yong replied obediently. “Eomma, take your time. I’ll go take a shower first.”

It had been three days since Kwon Ji-yong had last asked for food. The three of them were so afraid that something might happen again to make him lose his appetite that they sprang into action together.

By the time Kwon Ji-yong came out of his shower, the food was already on the table.

The grilled pork belly and kimchi tofu stew he’d asked for, plus his favorite bibimbap.

Kwon’s mother handed the utensils to Kwon Ji-yong, looking at him with affection. “Ji-yong-ah, eat up~”

Kwon Ji-yong took the utensils and looked at the three people staring at him. “Father, Mother, Noona, aren’t you eating?”

Kwon Da-mi handed out the utensils she’d just brought to her parents. “We’ll eat together. Aigoo, since Ji-yong debuted, it’s been so long since our whole family ate together in this house.”

“Yeah, let’s all eat together.”

Kwon’s mother smiled warmly as she took her chopsticks. Kwon’s father didn’t say anything, but his actions were enthusiastic—he blew on the steaming hot bibimbap a couple of times and took a big bite.

Kwon Da-mi: “Father, be careful—don’t burn yourself.”

“Gwaenchanha. Your mother’s bibimbap is really better than what you get at restaurants.”

“Of course.” Kwon Ji-yong chimed in. “I still remember back when I was a trainee, whenever I had a rare chance to come home, I’d always pester Eomma to make bibimbap.”

The three exchanged glances, seeing that Kwon Ji-yong was actually chatting with them. They didn’t know whether to breathe a sigh of relief or remain on edge.

After eating about halfway through his meal—a mouthful of rice, a sip of soup, a bite of pork belly—Kwon Ji-yong finally said to his family, “Father, Mother, Noona, I’m going to the US the day after tomorrow.”

“The US?” Kwon’s mother put down her chopsticks. “Why are you going to the US now? Is it for work?”

Kwon’s father and Kwon Da-mi also put down their chopsticks, looking at Kwon Ji-yong.

Kwon Ji-yong shook his head. “Tomorrow, the company will put out an announcement saying I’m temporarily suspending my activities.”

“Why? That’s ridiculous, isn’t it?” Kwon Da-mi was very puzzled. “Hasn’t it already been proven that you’re not at fault? Why put out such an announcement at a time like this?”