Chapter Eleven
"Don't leave me!"
"Sir, what?"
"Don't leave me behind," he begs, his arms clinging to her legs.
"My mom said you could come, sir."
He looks up at her from the ground and tilts his head, "Really?"
Ae-ri looks down and snorts, "Yes." She stops packing her bags to sit on the floor with him, "My mom talked to yours and your mom said it would be good."
"You're a god. She literally loves you."
Ae-ri cups her face, "I mean who wouldn't love this?"
"Dork."
"Simp."
***
Ae-ri's mom, Amara, smiles at Sun-oh. "Hi, darling, how are you?"
Sun-oh smiles at her warm energy and bows before replying, "I'm good, how are you?"
"Excited to see my family tomorrow. You guys rest up okay?"
Ae-ri kisses her moms cheek and they embrace before Amara leaves to her room. Sun-oh and Ae-ri were tired but too excited about their friend trip to feel the need to sleep.
They were currently on winter break which meant they had about a month or so to recharge before school started once more. Her parents had gifted her a family trip, knowing she had missed spending time with them, and of course extended the invitation to Sun-oh.
Their friendship had solidified to the point where they hung out together most of the time and spent time together on the weekends; it was odd to see one without the other.
Her family had some business to settle in her moms country, Dominican Republic, so they would be staying at their family home there.
"Are you excited?" she asks him as they listen to music and throw a pillow between each other.
"Very," he grins.
"I think you'll like it there. But, you might be intimidated," she muses.
"Why?"
"Latines are something quite different for lack of a better word."
"In a good way?"
"In a very good way."
***
They get up at around two in the morning, and prepare themselves. Ae-ri gets dressed first, sliding on baggy light wash jeans, a beige cropped tank, and slides on beige Nike Air Jordans. She decides on a thick white sweater to beat the cold until she arrives on the tropical island and could just wear the tank top. She chooses two pig tails for her hair and exits just as Sun-oh pulls on his shirt.
He had coerced her into matching outfits once more, so he wore light wash jeans, a white tee, a beige sweatshirt, and white shoes. "Looking sharp," he compliments as he tugs on his sweatshirt. "Thanks, babe," she winks before making her bed, and making sure she didn't forget anything.
Her dad knocks on her door, "You guys ready?" He was quite tall and his features were handsome. She smiles and looks at Sun-oh for confirmation; he nods and Ae-ri nods to her dad, "Yeah, we're good."
"Cool, we are taking two separate cars, we are gonna leave them there."
She gives him a thumbs up and Sun-oh realizes he has never seen Ae-ri drive.
"You drive?" he asks as he spritz on some cologne.
Her dad laughs as Ae-ri smiles softly, "Do I drive? Yeah, something like that," she nods.
***
They travel down the stairs after making sure everything is locked, turned off, and stored. Her dad had already placed their bags in their cars and tosses Ae-ri her keys. She catches them without looking and gives her parents a two-fingered wave. "Meet you guys there?"
They nod, "We just gotta lock some stuff up. We'll see you guys there." Ae-ri nods and looks at Sun-oh motioning for him to follow her. The morning air was crisp even inside the garage and Ae-ri tugs on her backpack strap a little tighter.
Sun-oh takes in the different brands of cars before him and feels shocked to notice they were all equally as beautiful in terms of engineering and style. Ae-ri begins to walk down the line of them.
"Is this one yours?" Sun-oh points to one he thinks could be hers and she snorts, "Darling please."
She clicks her keys and unlocks a black Audi, tossing her backpack in the trunk. Sun-oh slides his in, still in shock that this was her vehicle before she closes the lid and demonstrates how to open the door.
They hop in and close the doors, Ae-ri patting the wheel as she turns on the car. "Ah, yes. I have missed you my precious."
"You drive manual?"
"You don't?"
The car had already been turned on so it was heated and as they buckle themselves in, she scrolls through her music selection. "Sir, your Dominican journey starts now," she looks at him with an amused glint in her eyes and plays the song as she opens her garage door, and begins to back out.
Sun-oh is still slightly in awe, loving everything about her car. The song starts and he looks as she begins to sing in Spanish, a wide smile dawning on her face as she begins to drive towards the airport. The bass was deep and booming through the speakers as she shifted the gears, her body more relaxed than he had seen her in any other environment.
"What is this?"
"Reggaeton." she smiles.
"I like it."
"I'm glad."
***
Ae-ri pulls up to the airport, and she smiles at Sun-oh. "Wanna know the best part of being a lowkey badass driver?"
"What?"
"Exiting the car and men realizing it belongs to a girl," she grins. She checks behind her before turning off her car and they exit the vehicle as Sun-oh laughs, people looking at her in disbelief.
Her parents pull up just as they are pulling on their backpacks and she locks the car before walking over to her parents. Her dad begins to talk with the workers and they take the luggage where it needs to be, just as her mom exits the car.
"Powerful feminine energy runs in the family huh?
"Yup."
Her mom elegantly exits the car once her dad open the door and smiles, immediately entrancing those around her. Sun-oh didn't have to wonder why Ae-ri came out with innate elegance and beauty after seeing her parents.
"You kids ready?" her mom grins. Ae-ri and Sun-oh smile and as they begin to walk towards the entrance, Sun-oh tugs on Ae-ri's pinky before she intertwines their fingers; it was something they had kept among the months--if he didn't like the stares on her they would hold hands. It didn't take long before the habit simply became second nature.
The airport was pretty empty for five in the morning, but she knew it would fill up quickly seeing as the sun was now rising. They check-in smoothly and get through security with minimal discomfort.
"Wanna walk around?" Ae-ri offers once they deposit their things at their terminal.
Sun-oh nods and they dismiss themselves from her parents, having about thirty minutes or so of free time before boarding began.
"You're popular," she muses as she catches the third girl this morning setting off his love alarm. He scoffs, "Darling, please. If you had the app, you'd probably crash it," he states as he catches two guys look at her continuously.
She laughs and wraps his arm around her shoulders, her arm coming to his waist. They walk like this for a while before Ae-ri pulls away only for him to pull her back and frown, "Where are you going?"
"I'm preventing you from getting a girlfriend. Look at that girl, she's really pretty," Ae-ri discreetly nods. His eyes follow the direction of her head and he watches a petite Korean girl tuck in a strand of blonde hair, attempting to look as if she was not looking at him.
She was pretty, but she wasn't Ae-ri and he compared almost every girl to her.
"She's pretty, but she's not what I'm looking for-"
"Hi, my name is Ae-ri, and this is my friend Sun-oh. He is a little shy but he was wondering if he could get your number?"
"Sure!"
Sun-oh stands dumbfounded as Ae-ri and the girl exchange information without his consent. The girl smiles at him and he smiles back, waving softly. "Hi, how are you?"
The girl nods, "Doing good."
***
"I despise you."
"You love me."
"Yes, but also I don't like you."
Ae-ri laughs as she preps their headphones to share audios so they could listen to music and do their selective activities together.
"You need to get on the market."
"The girl I desire isn't on the market," he grumbles as he glares at her.
"Oh, right. I admire her, focusing on her studies and all."
Sun-oh glances at her before nodding, "Yeah, she's pretty great."
"When shall I meet her?"
Ae-ri glances at him and he holds her stare, wondering how a person could be so clueless. It had been about two months since he started hiding and gaining feelings for Ae-ri, but again, he refused to let them show. She had badgered him for more information that he refused to give but he let out that she wasn't looking for anything because the truth was Ae-ri wasn't.
"You'll meet her when the universe says so," he exhales softly, squeezing her cheek. Ae-ri flicks his wrist, "Get your hands off me, peasant."