chapter 01
She knows what she wants
“What the fuck?” Minwoo pounded his fist on the table. He watched half the patrons in the diner slowly turn around and create an ocean of stares looking straight at him. An embarrassed smirk appeared on his face as he closed his eyes. “That was loud, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah…” Eric smiled and took a sip of his hot chocolate.
“It’s like she’s freaking messing with me.”
“Why are you still with her?” Eric leaned in. “I mean… your relationship’s obviously not working out.”
Minwoo sighed and slumped down. “I don’t know… I’ve tried to end it like three times already but for some damn reason I keep going back to her.”
“But what do you see in her? She’s such a bitch.”
“She’s not a bitch; she’s really nice.” Minwoo pouted.
“Heh…” Eric belted an obviously fake chuckle. “Yeah, right…” He shook his head. “So tell me, Minwoo… you gave her…” He leaned back and crossed his fingers on the table. “…expensive golden earrings for Christmas this year… and what did she give you? Hmm?” He pointed at him.
“Uh…” Minwoo looked about hoping to pull an answer from space.
“Exactly!” He threw his hands up in the air. “She gave you a sad puppy dog face and said she was fired from her job… unexpectedly… even thought both you and I know very well that she was constantly hours late… that she blew off work almost every day… and that instead she went shopping with her girlfriends downtown at your expense while you worked your ass off day and night down at the studio.” Eric stopped only momentarily to catch his breath. “And I ain’t even close to done… she—”
“Eric!” Minwoo snapped at him with crossed arms. “Shut up!” His eyes moved off to the side and saw her walking to the table.
She had chocolate brown hair decorated with golden highlights, shiny knee-high high-heeled boots, a fur coat and a cozy black hat to top her all off. Her extravagance didn’t stop there: there were platinum white hoop earrings poking through her hair, a ruby pendant hanging on a silver chain around her neck, a diamond ring adorning her finger, and an expensive Gucci bag hanging from her shoulder.
“What?” Eric looked in the same direction Minwoo did. “Oh… speak of the—”
“Eric!” Minwoo kicked his leg under the table.
“Minwoo-oppa!” She sat down next to him and hugged him tight. The smell of her flowery perfume consumed him and brought him under her spell. Then she proceeded to remove her coat, hat and bag and placed them in between Minwoo and herself. After she was settled in she turned to Eric with a giddy expression on her face. “Hi, Eric-oppa.” She said hi to him with a cute smile on her face.
“Whore—Hyori.” He coughed. Minwoo’s face turned beet red and with forceful strength kicked Eric in the shin. His eyes shut tight and his jaw snapped closed. “Excuse… me,” he muttered. He swiftly rose and walked casually to the men’s room. Then a loud expletive resounded throughout the whole diner. Eric returned and retook his seat at the table. “Sorry about that.” He cleared his throat.
“Sorry I’m late.” Hyori turned to Minwoo. “I got lost in the subway. I got on one train and it was the wrong one and—”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.” Minwoo tried to throw his arm around her but was blocked by the pile of her stuff in the way. He saw Eric roll his eyes and shake his head.
“Nae gen numoo na sojoonghagi eh—” Eric’s coat started playing a muffled Christmas song. It was his cell phone in the middle of the bundle. He reached into one of the pockets and took it out. Andy was calling him.
He flipped it open and answered with a smile on his face. “Hey.” Only seconds after, his grin flipped upside down. A look of concern plastered itself on his face. “What happened?… Wait, wait. Slow down… Who died? Oh… Andy… they’re just cookies… Okay, I’ll be right there.”
“What happened?” Minwoo asked.
“Andy broke his oven again.” He put on his coat. “I’m gonna go and fix it. I’ll see you later. Oh… and don’t forget to put the trash out tonight.” He winked and left Minwoo and Hyori alone at the table.
“Wait. Doesn’t the garbage truck come on Tuesday?” Hyori went to sit where Eric was.
“Yeah…” He leered at the back of Eric exiting the diner with a chime.
“So, listen.” Her voice brought Minwoo’s attention back on her. “I was feeling kinda bad that I didn’t get you anything for Christmas, but…” her voice trailed off in a hopeful tone. Reached across into her Gucci bag and extruded a small, fancy box from the midst of her make up. It was trimly covered in glossy silver wrapping paper with a red bow on the corner. “Here.” She handed it gently to him.
Minwoo grabbed it reluctantly with a dubious look on his face, uncertain as to where she or how she got it. In any case, he smiled at her. “You got me a box!” he said in an excited manner. “Thanks!”
“No…” She looked at him like an idiot. “Open it.”
“I know… I know…” He stuck his tongue out at her and proceeded to carefully unwrap the box. Inside was a silver Seiko watch encased in a glass box. “Hyori…” He eyed the gift suspiciously yet happily. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Oppa.” She bounced back to where she originally sat next to Minwoo and kissed him on the cheek.
He was happy, but confused. He had no idea how she could have gotten him such an expensive gift. She had no job, very little money the last time he saw her, and he certainly hadn’t given her any that time either. He wanted to ask but didn’t want to ruin the moment.
Hyori went back to sit across Minwoo. “So… did we order yet?”
“No, but—”
“Okay, great. Get whatever you want tonight, cause I’m paying.” She held up a thick roll of dollar bills, to which Minwoo’s jaw dropped slighty.
Meanwhile, Eric had already made the fourteen block subway trip from the diner to Andy's apartment. After a quick elevator ride to the third floor, he opened the door to his little apartment and there he was with flour stains all over his shirt. His face was pale but his nose was as red as an apple. “Hey,” He said in a stuffed up voice. He waved weakly keeping his distance from Eric.
“Christmas is over; you should be back up at the North Pole, Rudolph.” He pressed Andy’s nose with his finger.
“I hate you.” He emitted a weak laugh followed by a series of little coughs. “Come in.”
Eric stepped inside and leaned in to kiss Andy but his lips were met by his hand pushing him away. “What?” He looked confused.
“Look at me. I’m sick.”
“So?” He held Andy’s arms down and planted a kiss right on his lips. “I don’t care. If I get sick, I get sick with you.”
Andy smiled and pulled him into the kitchen where the faint smell of smoke grew greater. The counter was a mess riddled with sacks of flour and sugar, vanilla, a half-empty carton of eggs and a bag of chocolate chips with pieces sprinkled here and there. A large bowl was in the middle of the mess with quite a bit of leftover cookie dough.
Eric removed his coat and hung it neatly on a nearby chair. Fixing Andy’s oven was kind of routine for him; he already knew what to do and how to do it easily. He managed to free Andy’s crisply burnt cookies from the oven in only ten minutes. Andy frowned as Eric scraped the crusty black circles off the pan with a spatula, throwing them in the garbage.
“What happened this time?” Eric asked.
“I forgot to set the temperature back down from when we made turkey on Christmas Eve. And I left to take a quick nap but I fell asleep for like an hour, so…” He sneezed. “…yeah.”
“Aw…” He patted his head. “What’s all the extra cookie dough for?” He dipped a finger into the sticky mix and scooped a large clump into his mouth.
“Iono… I guess I just wasn’t measuring well today.” Andy sat down at the kitchen table and motioned for Eric to come sit next to him.
“Are you gonna have this?” He grabbed the bowl and brought it with him.
“N—” Before Andy could utter the last letter of ‘no’ Eric had already dipped his finger into the bowl again and continued eating the uncooked confection. “I hope I didn’t ruin your thing with Minwoo.”
“Are you… kidding?” He said between bites. “I’m glad… you called. You know… I can’t stand that bitch…”
Andy sighed and coughed. “But why do you hate her so much?”
“Because… she’s a deceiving, conniving, despicable, slutty, sleazy, shady, devious bitch that uses her looks to get what she wants.” He spooned another clump of dough into his mouth. “She—”
“Okay, okay. I get it.” He smiled.
“He doesn’t listen to me when I tell him to dump her. It’s really starting to bother me. I know what I’m talking about when I tell him to leave her.”
“And how do you know that?” Andy stared at him curiously.
“Oh, Andy…” He tipped over to the side and rested his head on Andy’s shoulder.
“What?” He heard Eric start snoring obnoxiously. “Eric!” He slapped the side of his head with a rag.
“What the fuck?” Minwoo pounded his fist on the table. He watched half the patrons in the diner slowly turn around and create an ocean of stares looking straight at him. An embarrassed smirk appeared on his face as he closed his eyes. “That was loud, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah…” Eric smiled and took a sip of his hot chocolate.
“It’s like she’s freaking messing with me.”
“Why are you still with her?” Eric leaned in. “I mean… your relationship’s obviously not working out.”
Minwoo sighed and slumped down. “I don’t know… I’ve tried to end it like three times already but for some damn reason I keep going back to her.”
“But what do you see in her? She’s such a bitch.”
“She’s not a bitch; she’s really nice.” Minwoo pouted.
“Heh…” Eric belted an obviously fake chuckle. “Yeah, right…” He shook his head. “So tell me, Minwoo… you gave her…” He leaned back and crossed his fingers on the table. “…expensive golden earrings for Christmas this year… and what did she give you? Hmm?” He pointed at him.
“Uh…” Minwoo looked about hoping to pull an answer from space.
“Exactly!” He threw his hands up in the air. “She gave you a sad puppy dog face and said she was fired from her job… unexpectedly… even thought both you and I know very well that she was constantly hours late… that she blew off work almost every day… and that instead she went shopping with her girlfriends downtown at your expense while you worked your ass off day and night down at the studio.” Eric stopped only momentarily to catch his breath. “And I ain’t even close to done… she—”
“Eric!” Minwoo snapped at him with crossed arms. “Shut up!” His eyes moved off to the side and saw her walking to the table.
She had chocolate brown hair decorated with golden highlights, shiny knee-high high-heeled boots, a fur coat and a cozy black hat to top her all off. Her extravagance didn’t stop there: there were platinum white hoop earrings poking through her hair, a ruby pendant hanging on a silver chain around her neck, a diamond ring adorning her finger, and an expensive Gucci bag hanging from her shoulder.
“What?” Eric looked in the same direction Minwoo did. “Oh… speak of the—”
“Eric!” Minwoo kicked his leg under the table.
“Minwoo-oppa!” She sat down next to him and hugged him tight. The smell of her flowery perfume consumed him and brought him under her spell. Then she proceeded to remove her coat, hat and bag and placed them in between Minwoo and herself. After she was settled in she turned to Eric with a giddy expression on her face. “Hi, Eric-oppa.” She said hi to him with a cute smile on her face.
“Whore—Hyori.” He coughed. Minwoo’s face turned beet red and with forceful strength kicked Eric in the shin. His eyes shut tight and his jaw snapped closed. “Excuse… me,” he muttered. He swiftly rose and walked casually to the men’s room. Then a loud expletive resounded throughout the whole diner. Eric returned and retook his seat at the table. “Sorry about that.” He cleared his throat.
“Sorry I’m late.” Hyori turned to Minwoo. “I got lost in the subway. I got on one train and it was the wrong one and—”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.” Minwoo tried to throw his arm around her but was blocked by the pile of her stuff in the way. He saw Eric roll his eyes and shake his head.
“Nae gen numoo na sojoonghagi eh—” Eric’s coat started playing a muffled Christmas song. It was his cell phone in the middle of the bundle. He reached into one of the pockets and took it out. Andy was calling him.
He flipped it open and answered with a smile on his face. “Hey.” Only seconds after, his grin flipped upside down. A look of concern plastered itself on his face. “What happened?… Wait, wait. Slow down… Who died? Oh… Andy… they’re just cookies… Okay, I’ll be right there.”
“What happened?” Minwoo asked.
“Andy broke his oven again.” He put on his coat. “I’m gonna go and fix it. I’ll see you later. Oh… and don’t forget to put the trash out tonight.” He winked and left Minwoo and Hyori alone at the table.
“Wait. Doesn’t the garbage truck come on Tuesday?” Hyori went to sit where Eric was.
“Yeah…” He leered at the back of Eric exiting the diner with a chime.
“So, listen.” Her voice brought Minwoo’s attention back on her. “I was feeling kinda bad that I didn’t get you anything for Christmas, but…” her voice trailed off in a hopeful tone. Reached across into her Gucci bag and extruded a small, fancy box from the midst of her make up. It was trimly covered in glossy silver wrapping paper with a red bow on the corner. “Here.” She handed it gently to him.
Minwoo grabbed it reluctantly with a dubious look on his face, uncertain as to where she or how she got it. In any case, he smiled at her. “You got me a box!” he said in an excited manner. “Thanks!”
“No…” She looked at him like an idiot. “Open it.”
“I know… I know…” He stuck his tongue out at her and proceeded to carefully unwrap the box. Inside was a silver Seiko watch encased in a glass box. “Hyori…” He eyed the gift suspiciously yet happily. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Oppa.” She bounced back to where she originally sat next to Minwoo and kissed him on the cheek.
He was happy, but confused. He had no idea how she could have gotten him such an expensive gift. She had no job, very little money the last time he saw her, and he certainly hadn’t given her any that time either. He wanted to ask but didn’t want to ruin the moment.
Hyori went back to sit across Minwoo. “So… did we order yet?”
“No, but—”
“Okay, great. Get whatever you want tonight, cause I’m paying.” She held up a thick roll of dollar bills, to which Minwoo’s jaw dropped slighty.
Meanwhile, Eric had already made the fourteen block subway trip from the diner to Andy's apartment. After a quick elevator ride to the third floor, he opened the door to his little apartment and there he was with flour stains all over his shirt. His face was pale but his nose was as red as an apple. “Hey,” He said in a stuffed up voice. He waved weakly keeping his distance from Eric.
“Christmas is over; you should be back up at the North Pole, Rudolph.” He pressed Andy’s nose with his finger.
“I hate you.” He emitted a weak laugh followed by a series of little coughs. “Come in.”
Eric stepped inside and leaned in to kiss Andy but his lips were met by his hand pushing him away. “What?” He looked confused.
“Look at me. I’m sick.”
“So?” He held Andy’s arms down and planted a kiss right on his lips. “I don’t care. If I get sick, I get sick with you.”
Andy smiled and pulled him into the kitchen where the faint smell of smoke grew greater. The counter was a mess riddled with sacks of flour and sugar, vanilla, a half-empty carton of eggs and a bag of chocolate chips with pieces sprinkled here and there. A large bowl was in the middle of the mess with quite a bit of leftover cookie dough.
Eric removed his coat and hung it neatly on a nearby chair. Fixing Andy’s oven was kind of routine for him; he already knew what to do and how to do it easily. He managed to free Andy’s crisply burnt cookies from the oven in only ten minutes. Andy frowned as Eric scraped the crusty black circles off the pan with a spatula, throwing them in the garbage.
“What happened this time?” Eric asked.
“I forgot to set the temperature back down from when we made turkey on Christmas Eve. And I left to take a quick nap but I fell asleep for like an hour, so…” He sneezed. “…yeah.”
“Aw…” He patted his head. “What’s all the extra cookie dough for?” He dipped a finger into the sticky mix and scooped a large clump into his mouth.
“Iono… I guess I just wasn’t measuring well today.” Andy sat down at the kitchen table and motioned for Eric to come sit next to him.
“Are you gonna have this?” He grabbed the bowl and brought it with him.
“N—” Before Andy could utter the last letter of ‘no’ Eric had already dipped his finger into the bowl again and continued eating the uncooked confection. “I hope I didn’t ruin your thing with Minwoo.”
“Are you… kidding?” He said between bites. “I’m glad… you called. You know… I can’t stand that bitch…”
Andy sighed and coughed. “But why do you hate her so much?”
“Because… she’s a deceiving, conniving, despicable, slutty, sleazy, shady, devious bitch that uses her looks to get what she wants.” He spooned another clump of dough into his mouth. “She—”
“Okay, okay. I get it.” He smiled.
“He doesn’t listen to me when I tell him to dump her. It’s really starting to bother me. I know what I’m talking about when I tell him to leave her.”
“And how do you know that?” Andy stared at him curiously.
“Oh, Andy…” He tipped over to the side and rested his head on Andy’s shoulder.
“What?” He heard Eric start snoring obnoxiously. “Eric!” He slapped the side of his head with a rag.