Forbidden (Chapter 3)

Thanks for the comments guys!! They seriously keep me motivated to keep writing. If it weren't for you all, I think this thing would have probably been stopped at the prologue.....or maybe even just not written at all. THANKS AGAIN YOU GUYS! I'M SO GLAD YOU LIKE THIS LITTLE BRAIN-SPAZZ FROM ME! -wipes tears of happiness from eyes-

ps- The email in the previous chapter could not have been written without the help from my e-friend MissAcidMuffinUkki!! Thanks so much!!

pss- The fight scene in this chapter was not made up by me. It actually happened in episode four of H.I.T. =D And the descriptions of the people are really how they looked in that episode. =DD

Chapter 3

I couldn't sleep last night. I kept tossing and turning, the memory of the evening before still burning in the recesses of my mind. I had lost my job. Not because I wasn't a good worker--Boss said I was one of the hardest workers--but because the rent of the property had increased by at least 250,000 Won and he needed to "cut back" some. And I guess since I was the not-so-needed extra hand at work, I was the one that had to be let go. (Of course, he didn't tell me that last part, but I knew that was the reason for him to lay me off). Anger flared inside me along with worry for not being able to find another job to pay my (also not-so-needed/practically non-existant) rent in order for me to stay here. (Not that Mi-Young's parents will kick me out anyway, but it was for my own sanctity). In total, I think I was only able to get at least 4 hours of sleep when I was finally able to calm down some and drift off, by counting sheep backwards. (That really works, I was surprised). I woke up feeling extremely groggy and was surprised to see Mi-Young fully dressed in just a pair of jeans and a white shirt, reading a book sitting on the computer seat. (Omg, the Apocalypse has officially commenced! She's not on the Internet!)

She took one look at me and said, "You look like Hell."

"I feel like Hell," I answered trying to rub sleep out of my eyes. "I couldn't sleep that well last night," I added, trying (and failing epically) to stiffle a yawn.

"Aww....why not?" she asked. I shrugged and tried to run my hand through my hair. It was a big matted mess so I ended up giving myself somewhat excrutiating pain and quickly withdrew my hand from my head. "Bad dream, I suppose," I lied. I couldn't tell her I had been laid off (or fired; however you want to see it. Personally I see no difference, it all comes down to the same thing: I. AM . JOBLESS!). If I did, she would be really worried and take off her time from work to try and find me a new one, and I seriously didn't want that. I didn't want to be a nuisance and a constant worry for her. I'd find a new job on my own....there's gotta be something out there.

"Are you feeling homesick? Extreme homesickness could make a person not sleep well," said Mi-Young. "Maybe you should go visit your family!" She smiled at me.

"No," I said a little too sharply. She stared at me and I answered in a softer tone, "I mean...not yet. Money's kinda tight right now, y'know? Maybe when I've worked some more at the restaurant and saved up, I'll go and see them. Just....not now." She seemed to buy that because she nodded and said, "Ooh, yeah. Well, hopefully you'll get to go visit soon. And you have to bring me with you!" I smiled and said that of course she would come with me, because she'd have to meet all my friends. I yawned again and flopped back down onto my bed.

"So why aren't you on the computer? I would have figured you'd be on trying to buy the concert tickets," I said.

"I'm getting them today," she said going back to her book. "I'm meeting up with some friends and we're going to go buy them together. You wanna come?" she asked, looking at me. I sighed.

"Nah. I think I'm just gonna chill here for today. Walk around for a bit and do nothing, y'know? I'd much rather enjoy my day off." I resisted flourishing "day off" with air quotes.

"Lucky whore," she teased, smiling. "Hey, don't be using words I taught you against me, now! I know a hell of a lot more terms than you; I can totally pwn you," I retaliated, smirking. She rolled her eyes and I yawned again. "What time are you leaving?" I asked. She looked at her watch.

"Oh, crap. I was supposed to be gone by now," she said hurriedly and grabbed her purse and house keys. "I'll see you later!" she smiled and squealed at me and added, 'I can't believe we're going to the concert!" and left me alone in the room staring at the bed above me. I couldn't help but feel relieved that she was gone; it gave me time to think about my current situation and how I was planning on fixing it.

"I believe this calls for some drastic action," I muttered to myself. "TO THE WANTED ADS!" I sat bolt upright in bed and knocked my head against Mi-Young's bed and flopped back down in pain with many exclamations of "JESUS CHRIST!" and "HOLY SHIT!" and a number of other profanities as well as some Korean.

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I had taken a shower, dressed in jeans, a dark brown fitted sweater, and high heeled boots which I had tucked my jeans into, and eaten breakfast, all in about 10 minutes. (Which is surprisingly fast since I was known for spending a much longer amount of time in the shower than what was thought as inhumanly possible). I told Mi-Young's parents that I was going out for a bit and I'll be back in a couple of hours, grabbed my purse, and within a few seconds outside, I was armed with the newspaper Wanted Ads (that I can some-what decipher....little words here and there), a red pen, and some money for food.

I took a deep breath and started walking in the direction of a park Mi-Young and I often go to just to hang out sometimes. There, I started sifting through the ads to see what it was I was actually capable of doing. I picked up words like "chef" (no), "zoo animal caretaker" (hell no!), and a lot of other things I was seriously not capable of doing. I ran a hand through my hair in frustration. DAMMIT THERE'S NOTHING!

I folded the paper over in annoyance and looked at the people wandering around the park. Oh, these people...wandering around with not a care in the world (ok, well...they do but...you know what I mean) and just going about their business. I HATE THEM! THEY HAVE JOBS!! I clawed my fingers into my hair again, and stared at the ground, thinking. (More like going "my life...is fucked up.") I did that for about 10 seconds, then got up and decided to just walk around the city and maybe even look into stores with "Help Wanted" signs posted.

I looked at street vendors selling their goods and food and contemplated doing that, but that fell in the line of "chef" and I couldn't cook to save my life. If I had done that job I most likely accidentally poison my customers...then I'd be wanted for murder. And I am jailbait. So, no thanks. I checked my watch. It was still pretty early for lunch so I decided to go into a department store and browse around. It was run by a really nice lady, of middle age (she looked like she was 26, omg. But knowing how the aging process works around here, I'm guessing she was actually 30-40 years of age. What the hell...) and asked if I needed help finding anything. I told her I was just looking, but asked if she had any job openings available (I said this in almost perfect Korean. Yes, I am good!). "Hmm...I'm not hiring as of right now, but I'll be happy to give you an application," she told me, smiling. My heart sank, but an application was better than nothing. And right now....I needed something.


"Oh yes, please. That'd be great," I answered. She nodded and beckoned me to follow her to her front desk where she dug in a drawer and pulled out a one-sheet application and handed it to me.


"You can fill this out at home and hand it to me whenever you like," she said. She smiled at me and asked "Is there anything else you need?"

"Oh, no. Thank you, this is enough," I said bowing to her. 'Thank you very much, have a nice day!"

"You too!" she called after me as I left the shop, feeling good about myself. One job application acquired...a hundred more to go. But I wasn't about to let that dampen my good mood. THIS APPLICATION HELD THE PROMISE OF A JOB! HELL YEAH!! I stuffed the application in my purse and went to prowl some more potential job sites.

I walked around for hours, and so far I had gotten two more applications, both also at department stores, though neither was hiring at the moment. Curses. I checked my watch; though I didn't really need to since it was past mid-day and the sun was starting to set. Oh, and I had completely missed lunch. Well....more like I had forgotten to buy some lunch because I was so busy and pre-occupied. I dug in my purse for my cell phone to check if I had any missed calls. I had 15. All from Mi-Young's parents at home. Oh shit....I'm in so much trouble.

I hurriedly called home and her mother answered on the first ring.

"Yobuseyo?" she said. (For those of you wondering, that's how Koreans say "hello" on the phone.)

"Anyunghaseyo, Unni," I answered, sounding really guilty. She must have been worried sick about me. I heard her say with relief and answer me in heavily accented English. She was self-conscious about her accent so she didn't like to speak the language much. Which is good for me, because I was really trying to practice my Korean.

"Kimi! Where have you been? My husband and I have been worried sick about you!"

"I apologize," I said. "I lost track of time. I was taking in the sites and just kind of...lost it. I should have been paying more attention to the time, I'm sorry." My stomach clenched with guilt at having to lie to her, but I also didn't want her to find out that I had lost my job. The family had enough on their plates without me adding my problems. "Did Mi-Young go to work yet?" I asked.

"Yes, she left a while ago. She left her cell phone here, so she couldn't call you to figure out where you were. You had us all worried, you know!"

"I'm sorry," I apologized again. "I'll be home really soon, ok? I promise."

"Ok, be careful. Call to let us know where you are and when you're coming home."

"I will. Again, I'm sorry."


"It's ok. Just be careful, and call to tell us where you are and when you're coming home."

"Dae," I said and told her goodbye and hung up. Now I felt really bad and promised myself that I would stop by one more place and then go straight home.

"Straight home," I muttered to myself. I walked around for a couple more hours, trying to find a place that would give me a job along the lines of waitressing (which is what I was good at, anyway.) By sunset, I had stumbled upon this little bar and figured "why not?"

Ok, I know running a bar isn't exactly waitressing, but seriously, it's better than nothing. I walked in and bowed in greeting to the man at the stove (and the customers who all gave me a little nod in return), whom I assumed was the owner (I hoped). He greeted me with a hearty "welcome" and a small smile and a bow. I smiled back and came up to him asking if he had some job openings available. He opened his mouth to say something but the abrupt halt of the karaoke music made him hold his tongue and look up. That was when I took a really good look at the occupants.

One man was sitting next to a woman with short hair and a white zip-up sweatshirt. She had on a black turtleneck underneath and black pants; running shoes covered her feet and she looked positively exhausted. The man sitting next to her also wore a black turtleneck, but he wore a light tan blazer over his and black trousers. He wore expensive looking shoes and an expensive looking watch on his wrist. I assumed this man was their boss. I looked at the others.

One man, who I could tell was somewhat shorter than the rest, had on a tight (omg, ew!) green short-sleeved shirt (in this weather!? it's fucking freezing!) and acid-washed jeans. He was really...muscular, but he didn't look rather smart. I guess you could say he was the "all brawn and no brain" type looking kind of guy. (Think of Crabbe and Goyle from "Harry Potter") He also wore running shoes and was staring at the man at the karaoke machine.

This guy was wearing a black jacket and dark jeans and running shoes (what is it with these people and running shoes?!).....and he kinda looked like a sleaze-ball. I looked at the final person sitting down and I had to stifle a gasp. OMG, HE WAS SO HOT! He wore a dark orange turtleneck, a dark denim jacket, khaki pants, and nice, fancy shoes. (Also expensive looking, omg) He had a chiseled face, short hair sculpted perfectly with gel, and really hot looking (*cough-more like INCREDIBLE SEXY!-cough*) lips. Omg, I almost died from the hotness overload! I quickly looked at the floor and pressed my palm to my face, trying to cool my heated cheeks from my involuntary blush o' doom. CRAP CRAP CRAP!!!

The sleaze-ball looking guy looked really pissed about something (I managed to look up and witness what was going on without having a massive heart attack) and sat down next to Mr. Sexy (yes....I named him) and took a bottle of Soju and poured into a shot cup and drained it. One of the workers came up to Stove Man (the owner who I just named as of now) and asked in hushed tones, "What do we do now? He looks like he's gonna blow."

Stove Man answered calmly though I could tell he was on edge too, "If anything happens....remove the hot pot." I was proud of myself that I understood that much, but then I started to get confused and scared as the customers started getting into this really heated argument about something, and apparently the woman was at the center of it. Then suddenly, it turned into a fistfight! I placed my hands to my mouth, as I witnessed Mr. Sleaze-ball grab Mr. Sexy by the collar of his jacket and punch him in the face!

Stove Man told Mr. Purple Sweater (the worker who looked uneasy beforehand) to take away the hot pot and he and Mr. Purple Sweater and Mr. Multi-Colored Striped Sweater went to take some things out of harms way before anyone got hurt. Then Mr. Sexy started yelling at Expressionless Woman (the only female there...besides me) and then at Mr. Sleaze-ball. Apparently he had pinched a nerve because Mr. Sleaze-ball (whom Mr. Sexy called "Shin." I'm guessing that's his name) tried to land another blow but Mr. Sexy blocked him (YAY!). Then it really got bad because the two of them started fighting again and Mr. Shin knocked Mr. Sexy to the floor and Expressionless Woman started to say something but I couldn't hear her. I was too scared to listen properly anymore. I looked at the dumb looking guy and saw that he was steadily drinking Soju and looked pissed. Um....maybe I should leave?

I saw Stove Man gesture to Mr. Purple Sweater and he came over to me and told me everything was going to be ok and stood in front of me. I hadn't realized I had backed against the wall and was staring at the scene, shaking from head to foot. Then Mr. Tight Green Shirt (the dumb looking guy) suddenly stood up and flipped over the tables!! Not just the one he was sitting at, but all of them! Wtf?! He then started yelling at everyone and that kinda made everyone cool down but the atmosphere was still pretty tense. Then after Mr. Tight Green Shirt blew off some steam, he took his jacket and left the bar. The others exchanged glances, Mr. Shin said something to Mr. Sexy (whose lip was not bleeding. OH NO!! -sad face-) and also left. Then one by one the other three left, but not before The Boss apologized for his colleagues' behavior to Stove Man. Stove Man said not to worry about it.

Mr. Purple Sweater stepped from in front of me and bowed, saying he was sorry I had to see that. I nodded still some-what shaky and said it was no problem...in a really really weak voice. Stove Man came and told Mr. Purple Sweater to go help Mr. Multi-Colored Striped sweater clean up and he will join them later. I stood rooted to my spot, still shaking and wide-eyed. Stove Man came to me and said (and I surprisingly understood it), "About you looking for a job, I do have an opening, but as you can see, this place gets pretty violent and I don't think this is any place for a young girl like yourself to work. You would most likely get hurt."


I nodded. I knew he was right; and after what I just witnessed I kind of didn't want to work here anyway. Finally able to bring some control over my shaking body, I bowed and thanked Stove Man for his help....and then got the fuck out of there. I walked a little ways away from the bar, then dug into my purse and brought out my cell phone. It was already dark outside and I really needed to call home. I punched in the number and waited for someone to answer. Mi-Young's mother did again.


"Unni! It's me," I said. "I'm on my way home now, I'm just going to get something to eat then I'll come straight home, ok?"

"All right. Come home soon," she said and we hung up. I put my phone back into my purse and found a nearby street vendor and got something to eat. I sat at a small table and brought out the want ads from my purse and was able to make out some words in the small light of the vendor. A few minutes later a girl about my age came and asked if anyone was sitting next to me. I told her no and she graciously took the seat. As I ate, I circled potential jobs I could be able to do and crossed out ones that I had no interest in doing.

"Are you looking for a job?" asked the girl beside me after about 10 minutes. I looked up at her. She was very pretty with hair tied back in a low ponytail and light make-up. She wore a black (or dark blue, I couldn't tell) hoodie and a denim mini skirt and knee-high boots. (Wasn't she cold?! Again, it's FREEZING! IT'S WINTER!!)


"Yes," I answered. "I just lost my old one. It kinda sucks." She nodded and said, "Well, the company I work for is always looking for new people, if you're interested."


I looked at her. "What kind of company do you work for?" I asked.


"It's a modeling agency. I'm one of the models." She was a model? No wonder she was so pretty!! -uber sad face- I smiled and said politely, "I'm not really much of a model....hell, I don't even think I'm that good looking to begin with."


"You don't necessarily have to be a model. There are other things too. If you don't want to be a model, then you can help the staff carry the equipment."


"How much does it pay?"


"I'm not sure....I can ask the manager for you. Here, I'll even give you his card." She dug in her purse and brought out a business card and a piece of paper and wrote down her name and phone number and handed them both to me. "He's in the country right now, so it should be no problem for you to set up a meeting with him. This is my name and cell phone number so you can tell him I sent you."


I looked at the business card and saw that the manager's primary office was in Hong Kong and I gaped at her. "He works in Hong Kong?!" I exclaimed, flabbergasted. If I took this job, that means I'll have to move again....


I considered my options. I had checked around practically almost all (well...y'know, not really, but a lot of places) around Seoul and nobody was hiring. I checked at the bar, and was scared shitless due a a bar fight that broke out. I was seriously in need of a job and right now, this one really sounded promising, and like she said, I didn't have to be a model. I looked at the piece of paper with her name and number on it.


"So your name is Lee Su-Jung," I said, looking at her. She nodded. "And you are?" she asked.


"Kimi Holmes. Is there any possible way you could meet me at the park tomorrow around 4:30? I'd like to talk to you more about this job and possibly getting an interview."