Among carefully and painstakingly gardened flowers laid a dog, whose white tail curled comfortably. The cool breeze gently ruffled his short fur and he fell into a deeper slumber. He romanticized of the dreamy and beautiful Miss Dog, a wealthy half-decade old poodle who lived five houses down. The moment his eyes held her beautiful form with tail held high and nose to sky, he dropped all paws and crowned her queen. His owner had received a fond tug-o-war memory in grave attempts to remove him from her sight. In return, he was rewarded a tighter, thicker leash and half-a-dinner. That fated night, he plopped himself down for hours in front of the mirror, experimenting his best angle. When his owner’s older brother learned of this love episode, he laughed in his wicked way, and ungraciously said, “You are just a pug.”
However, the dog gave in not. The next morning, he prowled proudly house-to-house for his queen. For his effort, he was bestowed Miss Dog’s unpleased look and several shrill barks. Thinking she must’ve been angry from the lack of a house-warming gift, the next visit was prepared with his favorite toy, the Frisbee. When he hurled the Frisbee as an invite, he had to fish it back alone and returned home, droopy ears against dusky skyline. His sympathetic owner bought him delicious dog treats to court his fellow mate, and he continued to visit her but was turned away every time. Now he only visits her in dreams, because it was sweeter than reality.
In the present, the dog’s ears suddenly perked up with the opening of the front door and swift escaping steps of his owner’s object of fascination, a handsome man of 20.
A young and tall girl, dressed in training slacks, soon followed suit with a tray of baked goods, “Wait! What about the cookies?”
There was only the answer of hurried footsteps. The dog eagerly rushed up to his owner and bounced around in an attempt ease her sorrow. They actually share the same love story. A few houses down. Frequently offered chocolate chip cookies. Rejected.
The girl turned her attention to her little companion, “I did what I could. I even baked cookies!” He barked in agreement, as a witness of her efforts during all the slow long nights. His eyes followed her sullen retreating figure to the house.
As evening came along, the older brother tuned in on his sister’s recount of her “unreasonable” rejection to their worried mother. He did not think her ugly, but she cannot be considered a Korean beauty. For a girl, she was tall at 170 cm, towering over most guys at the sensitive age of 17. Korean female celebrities appear slim and tall on television, but most are only around 165cm.
“Oppa!” Not to mention, her voice ran deep, all tenderness lost. The brother shifted his eyes to her small sharp face, no longer childlike but the eyes innocent. They both shared hazel eyes owed to their European father. One difference was that he has light brown hair while hers black from their mother.
“Oppa! Why are you looking at me like that?” the sister asked.
You should keep your hair long, the brother answered.
“You know I keep it like this because of Tae Kwon Do.”
I feel like I have a younger brother, try to call me ‘Hyung’! he said.
“Cheon Tae Guk! Stop it!” She was quick to raise her fists.
Alright, Mi Ha. It’s almost your birthday so I’ll be nice, he smiled suspiciously.
****************************************************************************
A bit of time has passed since her rejection however she has not given up on boy-next-door. Mi Ha eyed herself in the mirror. It was time to upgrade her uniform to a size L. She waited until not a single cm was gained in the past 2 months. The doorknob turned, followed by her mother peeking in, and Mi Ha turned quickly to hide her face.
“Aigoo, my beautiful daughter clipped up her hair! Don’t be shy!”
She quickly pulled out the pins and ran downstairs to eat breakfast. Opposite to her calmly sat her brother. No words were exchanged but he sported a knowing look. The morning has turned awkward. He looked at her some more before he said, “I wired some money to your bank account last night. Now you can stop whining about playing the same game as Won Bin.”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
In her elatedness, she nearly flipped the table over by jumping out of her seat and giving her brother a big bear hug.
As she left for school, Mi Ha planned to buy the game by sneaking out during lunchtime. She had classroom duty after school, and when she was done the game store would close.
By the time Mi Ha arrived at school she had bumped into two of her friends, who congratulated her on the long awaited 18th birthday. Their school was for the wealthy and she attended with a sports scholarship.
When her friends realized Mi Ha could play the same game as them, they began to chatter excitedly about the VRMMORPG, which was released 2 years ago called <
Her beloved next-door oppa also played the game, but she didn’t have enough allowance to buy the headset which was used to connect to Non-Fiction. In all honesty, she only wanted to play because of her crush.
As every student filed to the cafeteria, Mi Ha also got up.
“Cheon Mi Ha!” called a bulky male student outside the classroom door.
“Sunbae! What’s wrong?” She wanted to leave quickly to buy her game.
“Did you forget about Tae Kwon Do practice for the upcoming tournament?”
Mi Ha lightly stomped her feet, ‘How could I forget?’ She was too love-struck and forgot all about Tae Kwon Do. There was no way to skip practice since she can’t risk her scholarship.
“OK, I’ll join you after I make a phone call!” Mi Ha quickly dialed her brother’s number.
“Oppa! Your uni classes end after 2, right? Can you please, please, please help me buy the game? It’s called <
Tae Guk stared blankly at his cellphone. He didn’t get a word in. After class, there was an important Student Government meeting.
“Was that Mi Ha? It’s her birthday today, isn’t it?” He looked at his girlfriend next to him. He was one lucky guy. His girlfriend offered to help him buy it. He gave her a light peck, gave her instructions, and invited her over for dinner.
Mi Ha sighed upon arriving home. Rushing to the kitchen to grab a sip of water, she failed to notice a familiar person sitting on their living room couch. She turned her head while chugging down a glass of water. A shattering of precious glass echoed through the house, and hurried steps rushed into the room.
“Young lady, I hope you have enough money left to replace the glass.” The mother sternly said.
“Eomeoni, it’s not her fault. She was just surprised to see me.” The familiar girl from the couch stood up and offered help to the surprised Mi Ha.
“Unni! You really scared me! Why didn’t you say anything?” the girl exclaimed, “And why are you here? Where’s oppa?”
“You oppa still has a meeting, and he asked me to buy the game for you. Before your mom came into the room, she was setting it up in your room!”
After the words left her mouth, she had to sweat drop at how fast Mi Ha left the room.
Upstairs, all the fatigue left Mi Ha’s body. On her bed laid her dog, Tobu, but what was important was the headset next to him. Briefly, she pondered what would happen if she put the headset on Tobu, would he be able to play, too?
In better judgment, she decided it was too expensive for her dog.
“Tobu, get up boy.” She replaced Tobu’s spot, and thanked him mentally for warming it up. Mi Ha could barely contain her excitement at the thought of playing with Won Bin oppa. She lay down comfortably, lifted the headset and did some breathing in preparation. Putting it on, her world immediately darkened.
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