"Kids?" I asked while tilting my head.
I never thought about whether I like or dislike kids at all. Much less to have my own. So, the sudden question got me aback.
"Ummm...no? I haven't thought about it."
Jinsu stayed quiet for a moment, pondering before showing me a little smile, "I think you would work well with kids, Ji..." she blurted out.
"Huh? Me?" I scratched the back of my neck in confusion, "you think so?"
She nodded. "I totally see you with kids. I think they have a liking for you..."
I chuckled at this nonsense, "no they don't, Jinsu. I think they hate me, you know...?"
"Hate you?" She blinked repeatedly, "why are you saying that?"
I raised an eyebrow as if it was the most obvious thing. "Are you serious? Didn't you see how your students were eating me alive?" I pointed at the distance, "even now, they are mad at me for being so close to you..."
Jinsu followed where my finger was pointing, just to encounter some of her students staring at me with the same puffy and jealous cheeks.
"Ahh~~ hahaha~~ they don't hate you, Ji~~ they sometimes think that teachers are their mothers so that is why they act like that,"
I stepped back and humphed. "Always like that, huh? Well, what about my co-workers? They are not kids, Jinsu." I rolled my eyes, "you know, I don't even have a complete day meeting you and I already have enemies at one of my jobs and now in an elementary school... I'm starting to be afraid of being your friend. I think we should-"
"YAH!" Jinsu hit me in my arm with her tiny fist, "don't joke with that! I will kidnap you if you ever think of leaving me. Didn't I tell you how much effort it cost me to find you? Tsk! Tsk! How dare you?! How dare you?!!"
I laughed while pinching both of her cheeks. "Why do you have to be this cuuute for, huh?! I'm just joking, you silly~ I feel so bad for being so good at teasing you."
She humphed. "Well, I feel so bad for... I feel bad for..." Jinsu tried and tried, but nothing came to her mind. So, she gave up with a pout on her lips, "I'll think about something later. Can we go now, Ji? I think we can start our day-"
"Wait," I said while spotting someone running from my peripheral vision. "Aren't we going to wait for that child?"
It was that small kid I helped to communicate with his teachers just a few minutes ago. He came running while holding something in his little hands.
His arms extended as his eyes were glued to me, meaning that that hug was for no other person than myself.
Even if I knew this, I didn't know if I should or not run in his direction since the remaining teachers were in the distance, looking at the kid.
"It's okay, Ji..." Jinsu tapped my shoulder when she saw me hesitating. "You can reciprocate his hug..."
Having Jinsu's permission gave me the confidence to walk further and extend my arms while kneeling for him to come.
As soon as that small kid saw my action, he ran faster until collapsing with my chest. His little beanie bounced and showed me more of his long brown hair.
"Easy, buddy..." I gently warned, "te cuidado." and then patted his back. [Be careful]
He showed me a pout while accommodating his beanie just the way it should be. After that he climbed my lap and hugged me properly.
"Ten..." he whispered in my ear. [Take this...]
I separated his little body from me just to see a small chocolate bar.
My eyes softened when I saw this. The gesture reminded me of that little dog I spent some days with on Jeju island.
It's been a while since I saw him, and I just remember how much he cried when I told him I wouldn't be returning to play with him in the near future.
I just wonder if his owner kept him by his side or if the little puppy is still wandering the beaches on his own.
Poor thing. I wish I could have taken him with me.
"¿Es para mí?" I asked with a bright smile. [For me?]
This kid nodded while he was fidgeting with a piece of my clothes sheepishly.
He was just so cute that I couldn't help it anymore. I took his little face in my right hand and approached him gently. I kissed his right cheek and whispered, "no tenías porque darme algo por ayudarte. Pero aprecio mucho tu intención, así que lo conservaré. Muchas gracias." [You didn't have to give me something to help you. But, I appreciate your intention a lot, so I'll keep it. Thank you so much.]
His eyes went wide after receiving a kiss from me. Also, his cheeks went red, and his eyes sparkled in astonishment.
The next thing he did was to wrap his whole body onto mine and tightened his grip.
He didn't utter another word. He just kept like a small koala clung to me.
The minutes passed, and the teachers and Jinsu started to talk between them in the distance.
I couldn't hear a thing, but they surely were talking about the previous scene because they were giggling and covering their mouths to whine. Especially Jinsu.
I decided to not pay too much attention to the ladies. Instead, I drown myself in the new feeling increasing in my heart. It was not usual for me to get this type of affection from a kid I barely knew, but in all honesty, I loved it.
It felt so good to help a little human with a problem that had to do with communication. My language skills suddenly turn into something more than an extra tool I had hidden in my brain. It actually helped someone, and that made me feel proud somehow.
When the parents of this child arrived, to converse with the principal and the misses about his situation, I had to let go of him. It was so strange, but when I saw that kid being snatched from my arms I felt like crying. A part of me didn't want to stop hugging him.
And I swear he felt the same. I even saw tears in those beautiful caramel cristal eyes.
~~~
After the hard goodbye at the school, Jinsu and I spent the rest of the day going from one end of the city to the other.
Even if I joked about me getting enemies everywhere because of her, I was beyond happy for her appearing in my life.
As I said before, I don't even have a complete day meeting her, and she has already given me hope to keep on living in the right way and with no dark thoughts. Something I doubt I could go back into the next thousand years.
But here I am, walking next to a girl that is full of dreams and a positive vision towards life. Maybe she is rubbing off on me with some of her enthusiasm, but I feel quite happy today. More than usual, and that is to say a lot.
When the sun was setting, and the lights of the city were turning on, I got the great idea of inviting Jinsu to my home. I wanted to show her where I live, and also to introduce my brother to her since they talked the day prior.
After all, we are friends, and friends should know where the other person lives and who they live with, right?
Jinsu got so happy at the idea that she insisted on buying us a drink and some pieces of bread. She said a person shouldn't arrive empty-handed at any place. I argued that that was not a problem for me, that I was inviting her, but she refused and made me wait for her for some minutes.
Prior to the long wait, I was sending messages to Changbin hyung. He would be in our house in one more hour, so I was planning to prepare some food for him and Jinsu.
Changbin hyung got so happy about it that he offered himself to prepare the food for us.
I couldn't refute his desires as well. My brother was more than happy for me for getting a new friend. Of course, I wouldn't miss any chance to make him happier by accepting his food.
During my stay outside of a random shop, I saw in the distance a couple walking hand in hand.
It was not a surprise for me to see this. I already knew who it was.
Hyun-su, and I think one of those random new boyfriends he always gets for one week or two were passing by.
I tried to walk to the other end of the store just to avoid crossing paths with him, but for my bad luck, he spotted my presence.
As soon as Hyun-su did this, he let go of the hand of the other person in the hope for me not to see that, but it was too obvious that I had already seen it. What a jerk.
I don't know what lies Hyun-su told to his partner, but the latter went away, and Hyun-su came in my direction.
Seriously, he is not ashamed to make such rudeness to that new partner that he had got. Nothing good can be expected from a lover like this guy.
"Ji...?"
Hearing this name come out of his mouth made me nauseous. For some reason, it sounded one hundred times better when it came from Jinsu's reddish lips than this idiot's chapped one.
"Yeah?" I replied unbothered while pulling my phone out, typing imaginary words to an imaginary person. I just wanted him to go away without actually telling him that.
"You haven't answered my messages..." Hyun-su started. He took my left hand in his and tried to lock fingers with mine, "Ji...I would like to talk with you..."
"Talk?" I scoffed. 'more than fuck...' I thought while freeing my hand from his grip.
Hyun-su noticed my action but still made another move. This time, he caressed my left cheek, "yes, to talk. I was meaning to call you the other day, but I got busy and-"
"Yeah....yeah..." I said while pushing his hand away from my face, "let's leave it for another day..."
"Another day? I cannot wait for another day. We haven't seen each other in almost-"
He was about to start with the same act just to get inside my pants when someone interrupted.
"Ji...Jisung...?"
I turned to my right just to see Jinsu holding two cups in one hand while in the other a bag of bread.
I jumped out of my seat and reached for her to help.
"Hey, let me get that for you. Is it hot? Or is it cold?" I inquired with a smile while taking both things, the drinks and the bag of bread, "by the way, my brother is the one that will cook-"
Jinsu cut me off with a frown on her pretty face, "Ji, that guy... Isn't that person your ex-"
"Yah! Han Jisung..." Hyun-su called my full name, and this made me mentally roll my eyes. I don't know why I thought that if I ignored him he would go away without saying anything. "I was talking with you...??"
I sighed and turned around just to say something quickly, "not now, man. Let's talk another day. I'm busy right now."
"Huh?"
This time I ignored him and just turned back at Jinsu, trying to hurry us away. "Jinsu, can we go now?"
"Not yet," Jinsu scowled.
"Huh? Why not?"
"Ji, what does that guy want? Is he bothering you? Is he perhaps inviting you to have... To....well...you know?"
I shook my head, "not at all. Don't mind him."
"Jisung...don't fucking play with me. You know I need to talk to you," Hyun-su demanded in the distance but now with a strong voice.
I was about to tell him to fuck off in the same tone, but in that instant, something more caught my attention.
Of course, it was Jinsu. She clicked her tongue and suddenly folded her long sleeve. She took a rubber band to put it in her hair in a ponytail.
I blinked repeatedly when I saw Jinsu walk past me. I didn't know what she was about to do or say, but she left me speechless for that look I saw in her eyes.
She was on fire.
It gave me chills. And I'm not joking.
"Excuse me..." Jinsu uttered with a firm tone, "what is your business with my boyfriend? Didn't you hear he is busy? Are you deaf or something?"
I widened my eyes when I heard this and immediately turned around.
"Jinsu!"
"What?" Hyun-su held the same expression I was holding. It surely took us aback the word boyfriend. "Wait- Did you say, boyfriend?"
She crossed her arms and nodded, "that's right...you heard me."
"Jinsu, w- what are you doing-"
"HAHAHA. You almost fucking got me. You surely almost got me, dude..." Hyun-su laughed exaggeratedly, making me pause.
"Dude? Do you think I'm joking???"
"Listen...girl..." Hyun-su said while wiping a fake tear from his eyes, "don't come with bullshit to me, okay? There's no way you are serious about being Jisung's girlfriend. That's impossible."
"And why is that?" She inquired with the same pedant tone.
Hyun-su looked at Jinsu from head to toes, and then a smirk formed on his lips, "for just one big stuff you are missing between your legs. Something Jisung likes to receive...you know...pleasure with." He grinned, "so, what makes you think you could ever give pleasure to someone like him with that thing between your legs, huh?... Don't be ridiculous, young girl. Go home to play with your dolls or something."
I felt so disgusted when I heard his stupid explanation.
His words flowed with so much confidence that I felt the need to kick him in the balls. He was a total asshole. Not only to Jinsu but to women in general.
I was already used to dealing with this junky, but the fact he told all of this to Jinsu fired me. But what got me more pissed was when I saw Jinsu clenching her little fists, making that beautiful dress wrinkled.
"I surely can do-"
Before Jinsu could take a step forward and replied, I held her from the waist and brought her closer to my body. "Hey, you silly. What do you think you are doing defending me, huh? Do I really look like I need you to act like this?"
She turned her face to me and pouted, "Ji, this bitch is-"
"Don't curse, pretty. You don't have to lower your status for this idiot..." I whispered in her ear, "you are wasting our precious time in useless matters and on useless people. We have better things to do, remember? Let's keep enjoying our special day..."
Jinsu smiled at me and I at her. For a moment we forgot about the other person standing some meter away from us.
"Yah! Jiii! What the fuck is this? What are you doing? Who the hell is this girl? Is she really your girlfriend? Were you that needed? Come on! You are not-"
I felt goosebumps when I heard this asshole express something like that about Jinsu. So, I shot a glare at Hyun-su as I pulled Jinsu closer to me in a protective way, "Hyun-su, can you shut the fuck up, man? You've been talking shit non-stop. Learn how to treat women, idiot. This is not the way."
His expression was unreadable. He really was not expecting that reaction from me. "Ji-"
"Also, stop calling 'Ji'. It sounds so fucking disgusting when you say it."
"You-"
I didn't even mind continuing with the conversation. I just turned Jinsu towards me and smiled, "I know I told you not to curse, but... well... hahaha, can we go now, Jin-ssi?~"
She nodded with a now faint smile, but still took me from my arm before glaring deathly at Hyun-su.
After that, we walked away and I led Jinsu to my house.
~~~
All the way to my place, Jinsu became quiet.
Way too quiet.
I was the only one talking. She just asked me two or three things about Hyun-su, and I replied without a problem, after that she didn't say anything.
When we arrived, Changbin hyung called me. He wasn't coming home yet. He said he would be arriving one more hour late and that he was going to buy the food instead of on his way here because he wouldn't arrive in time.
For Jinsu and me it was okay. We didn't see any problem if the food was homemade or delivered.
However, the waiting for my brother was quite something.
Our stay in the house was a little bit awkward. I might dare to say.
I tried everything to make Jinsu talk or laugh in the meantime, but she just kept on drinking my boba tea and eating a piece of bread, utterly ignoring me.
"Jinsu... Jinsu... Jin-ssi?"
"Yes?" She finally replied while mindlessly scrolling through her phone. She has been glued to her device ever since we arrived.
"Why are you not looking at me? Can you leave that thing aside and spare a glance at this human, please?"
She shook her head without stopping looking at her phone.
"Pleeeaaase...?" I insisted in a playful tone.
Jinsu sighed at my insistence and then raised her head to meet my eyes.
"What's wrong?" I asked with a worried expression, "why are you like this?"
"Ji..." she took my hand, "I..."
I took her cup and phone and made them aside.
"Yes?...You what?"
"I've been thinking about something..." she seemed hesitant, and this only raised my curiosity.
"About what?"
Jinsu nibbled with her lips and fidgeted with her fingers before speaking.
"I searched on the internet, and...well..."
"And well?"
"I didn't find the answer there..."
"The answer to what?" I was confused.
Jinsu's face softened as she took both of my hands in hers. "Is it true, Ji?"
"Ummm, what thing?"
"Is it true I would never be able to give you pleasure like a man does?"
"..."
"Is it true that I-"
I placed my hand over her mouth before she could ask the same thing. I felt how a hot sensation pierced through my stomach and climbed up to my head.
I couldn't believe what I was listening to. I couldn't believe that what was in her head all this time of her being so quiet was that!
"Tell me, Ji~~"
"Jinsu, you- How can you- Why would you- ugh! I- You are crazy!" I stood up from the table and walked to the second floor, "you just gave me a headache! I'll take a nap. Wake me up when my brother arrives."
"Yah! Ji, come here!"
"No!"
"Ji!!!!"
"I won't talk about that with you! Keep on searching on the internet if you want!"
"Aaaahhhh, Ji-"
"I said no, you silly!"
I tried to completely ignore her. I knew that if I replied to that conversation, I would be in trouble.
Maybe Jinsu was curious to know if a person can, or would, change their sexuality, but I'm pretty sure that that does not happen. I mean, the person needs to be willing to, and...I- ugh!
By all means, that is something I wouldn't want to talk to her, and less with someone I had already made out with and slept with while hugging her. Things that I don't regret doing, and things I wouldn't mind repeating.
Hwang Jinsu- no. I scare myself.
She once asked me to teach her how to kiss and I accepted just like that. Just the idea of her asking me to experiment with something extra made me blush in so many ways that I had to come up with an excuse to leave from her side.
---