REPLY 1988: CHOI CHAE-WON

Ep. 1 Pt. 4

For the past week, Chae-Won was basically living in her studio. She spent day and night there in order to finish her statue and make sure no one broke in again. The boys tried to get her out but the lock was changed. She would only open the door for her father who brought her clothes, food, and her medicine.

All of them were worried for her obviously, but this wasn't the first time something like this happened to her. Whenever competitions or orders were crammed onto her, she would stay locked in her studio until they were finished.

Some people would ask her why she wouldn't just reject the orders or ask them to extend the date. The reason's one of her biggest weaknesses. She doesn't know how to say no. That's why her father hired a manager because if you approached her directly she would just smile and nod at you.

Despite her self-isolation from the outside world, she never forgot her best friend's birthday. She unlocked her studio for the first time that week and slowly walked out of the building. There she found Jung-Hwan and Sun-Woo leaning against the side of the building. She smiled tiredly at them and pulled them both to stand up properly.

"You're finally coming home?" Sun-Woo asked as she wrapped her arms around his and leaned against him. The girl gave a hum as they continued to walk out of the building.

"You finished the sculpture?" Jung-Hwan asked after taking the heavy backpack off her shoulder. He felt something course within him when he saw how Chae-Won wrapped her arms around Sun-Woo and buried her head on his shoulder.

"Not yet, I have to go back tonight again. I just wanted to give this to Deok-Sun," she replied sleepily while raising the hand that held a heavy box.

"Give it to me," Jung-Hwan said coldly reaching for the box. Chae-Won peaked from her closed eyes to look at him. She wondered what was wrong to make him so indifferent. "Oppa," she called cutely while pouting. Both of the boys heads snapped towards her before they realized she was talking to Jung-Hwan.

"What?" He replied looking back ahead. He wondered what she wanted this time.

"Did you miss me? Is that why you're grumpy?" She teased earning a chuckle from Sun-Woo who ruffles her hair.

"Tsk. Who'd miss you?" Jung-Hwan replied with a roll of his eyes. He turned his head to the side out of their view to sneak a small smile.

     He did, in fact, miss the sleepy girl. He would knock on the Choi residence everyday to ask her father is she went home yet. But he didn't want anyone to know that he was looking for her so he used the excuse of his mother wanting to have her over for dinner. He had been disappointed though everyday until this morning when Chae-Won's father asked the boys to accompany her home.

The three friends walked home with Chae-Won ending up piggybacking Sun-Woo when she fell asleep. This wasn't a narcolepsy sleep attack though, she was simply exhausted. The three ahjumma's saw the three of them walking towards them and immediately got talking.

"Look at that! My son is taking such good care of our Chae-Won. They look perfect together," Sun-Young said cheekily nudging both Il-Hwa and Mi-Ran who were peeling vegetables.

"What are you talking about? Look at that scowl on my son's face. He's clearly jealous," Mi-Ran whispered back as the three kids inched closer to them. She smiled seeing her son pull a strand of Chae-Won's short hair out of her face.

"Aigo, stop it both of you. Choi Taek might be a quiet kid but he's very protective of his sister. I doubt he would ever let Chae-Won date," Il-Hwa said and effectively ended the conversation as the three kids stopped in front of them.

"We're taking Chae-Won to sleep at home. Ahjussi said he won't be home until later tonight to run some errands," Jung-Hwan said not necessarily asking for permission. He knew his mother would agree.

"Sure! Don't let her sleep on the couch again. She fell last time. Let her sleep on your bed, okay?" Mi-Ran said looking concerned for the girl who looked exhausted now that she had an up-close look.

     The two boys nodded and proceeded to carry the girl to Jung-Hwan's room. After laying her down carefully, Jung-Hwan pulled the blankets above her and made sure she was tucked in. He smiled lightly when she pouted and proceeded to turn on her side. The boy stayed in the room, sitting on his desk while pretending to study. He would sneak glances at the girl on his bed and tried to hold back a smile.

     Later that evening, Chae-Won was woken up for dinner. After eating, she decided to make do what she intended to do before going back to the studio. She walked the short way to Deok-Son's house to give her a birthday gift.

     Nearing the door, she heard the yells and cries of Deok-Son that made her freeze into her spot. She winced when she heard more yelling and decided to place the box by the door instead of giving it herself. A frown made itself on her face as she wondered if what could've upset her fried on her birthday.

     Making her way to Sun-Woo's house, which was her next stop, she tiptoed as she entered the premise. Chae-Won knew that they were remembering Sun-Woo's late father. The joyous house was eerily silent except for the soft cries of Sun-Woo's mom. She carefully placed the bag of bananas by the doorstep before making her way out again.

     Planning to head to the studio now, she said stopped in her tracks when she saw Jung-Hwan outside their gate with his hands tucked into his pockets. He also carried a thermos of what she could guess would be his mother's homemade kimchi pancakes.

     "Why are you here, Oppa?" She asked unintentionally making the boy smile when she accidentally called him Oppa.

     She used to call them Oppa and Unnie all the tine and when they were kids because she was the youngest and they made sure to remind her of it. But now she would still refer to them like that occasionally.

     "Omma said to accompany you in the studio. She also made me bring some snack," he said nonchalantly while raising his right hand which was holding the food.

     The truth was that he planned it all on his own to accompany her. He was worried that she might have an attack on the way to the studio. His mother stopped him to ask where he was going and immediately packed some snacks for them.

     "Arasso!" She smiled while skipping towards him. She hugged his left arm to her side and proceeded to drag him with her. The boy would only shake his head and smile.

     Having never entered and seen her studio, excluding the occasional glance through the door, he was surprised to see the room so organized. She had a small bed on one corner of the floor with blankets and pillows. On another side was designated for big blocks of clay that was covered in plastic. It was for when she felt like doing some pottery to take a break from sculpting. On another side was a table stacked with wood blocks for when she did wood sculptures. And occupying the largest space were the big blocks of stone and ceramics.

     "Woah," he said softly while still standing by the door. This was her sacred place, and as far as he knew, he was the first one to see it besides her family.

     Chae-Won gave out a small giggle catching his attention. "You can enter, oppa," she said. Chae-Won, unbeknownst to him, knew what she was doing when she called him oppa. She noticed it first when he picked her up one day and she called him oppa out of habit. She caught him blush and smile out of the corner of her eye.

     Entering the room, Jung-Hwan saw more of her things. On the wall in line with the door was a wooden board filled with all of her tools hanging from it. Below the board was a working table that stood out of the rest of the room because it was a mess. What caught his attention was the big structure by the table that was covered in a cloth.

     He looked to Chae-Won who made her way to the structure and proceeded to take the cover off. Jung-Hwan was shocked to say the least at what was revealed. Sure, he had seen many of her works and have received a couple of them himself, but this was by far her biggest project. It was a very detailed sculpture of a man holding a flamed torch that was two times his height. He had to crane his neck to take in all the details. He watched again as the girl put on her apron that held her tools and a brought a ladder towards the sculpture. Jung-Hwan spent the rest of the night looking at the girl work with admiration and awe until the next morning when she deemed it worthy enough to be sent to the Olympics.