Gilchi
(Korean)
noun
Someone who has terrible sense of direction and who constantly gets lost.
It's already getting dark when I drive up to my little cabin and I'm exhausted.
Getting up at five in the morning usually isn't a big deal for me. All surfers wake up at the crack of dawn, or even before that, to go to the beach before everyone else gets there – but on top of that I had a full schedule of teaching and running errands for Danny today because I owed him one.
Now though, I think he owes me favor. A big fat fucking favor for picking up that rowdy Tarzan he calls his friend. I already knew he'd be cocky, Danny warned me, but this? Jesus! That man is walking arrogance. Who steps up that close to someone you don't know? And that smirk? I can only imagine how bad it'll be when he's well-rested and without jetlag. He didn't even thank me for picking him up and driving his American ass around for two and a half hours. What a jerk!
He even had the audacity to stare at me and when I gave him one of the hair ties I carry around my wrist all the time he looked like I was going to poison him. I just wanted to be nice for fucks sake. He didn't thank me for that either, just grunted and proceeded to pass out on my passenger seat. His ridiculous man-bun began to fall apart two minutes into his nap, unable to contain this amount of wild, unruly hair.
All asleep with spread knees, dangling hands and slack jaw he looked almost tame, wildly contradicting his otherwise rough and rugged exterior. But once we arrived at the town's outskirts and he opened his blue-grey eyes again and spoke to me in his gravelly, sleep-coated voice, nothing but condescending shit came out of him.
Granted, I may overexaggerate here, but I'm really attached to Connor Head and he didn't really acknowledge the spectacular view over the ocean you have from atop the cliff.
Putting my truck in park in front of my home, I sigh. I know that eventually I'll give in and squeeze Mason into my teaching schedule because I can't say no to someone who wants to learn. But I'll let him stew for a little while. It should be fun to see him ask nicely.
Jumping out of my truck, I stretch, feel the yummy pop in my spine and I take a second to think about something fun that happened today. The three boys down at Connor Beach really kept me entertained today. They're all going through puberty and joked around, one of them was even bold enough to flirt with me while I explained how to not get washed off your board in a tidal wave. I snorted a laugh. His sloppy attempt to flirt was almost as lame as Mason's when he asked for my number.
Just as I approach my front door, I get a bad conscience. My dog, Baby, has been all alone for way too long today. I hate leaving her home and usually take her everywhere I go. Slotting the key in place, I wait for the familiar welcome bark, but it doesn't happen.
Pulling my brows into a frown and pushing the door open, I flick on the light and am greeted with the glorious view of my baby brother's bare chest as well as his boyfriend's bare back and ass.
"Are you fucking serious?" I groan and roll my eyes.
Two startled faces snap to me and immediately morph into stupid childish grins. Chase, my idiotic brother's boyfriend, topples off my brother and sofa, landing on his ass between the sofa and coffee table, trying to inconspicuously pull and zip his pants back up.
"What are you doing here?" Luke asks, dragging a hand through his dark hair and giving me a what I think is supposed to be an innocent smile.
"I live here," is my blunt response. "Don't tell me you locked Baby in the bedroom."
Making my way over there, I pick up a rogue shirt and toss it to Chase. Sure enough, my sweet girl is locked away in my bedroom. Freeing her, she winces and jumps up, wagging her tail like she's about to take off.
"We let her outside before..." Luke's words trail off as he throws an impish look to Chase.
"Why, thanks," I say sarcastically and kneel down to scratch Baby's soft fur. "What are you doing here?" I ask as I stand back up and find the two culprits sitting next to each other on the couch sharing a knowing look and impish grin. "Forget it, don't answer that."
Luke still lives with our mom who raised the two of us all on her own and she's not too fond of hearing her son having sex. What parent would really? So he developed this habit of taking my cabin hostage for watching movies, eating take-out and going at it with Chase. I don't mind as long as they stay clear of my bed, clean up after themselves and I don't have to witness anything that isn't PG.
"I thought you were supposed to be gone all day," Luke shrugs, leaning back and putting his arm around Chase's shoulder. It's kinda cute.
"I was gone all day." I kick at a sock on the ground that's looking for its counterpart. "Its eight in the evening."
"That's not late," he excuses and looks down to his one bare foot.
"If you say so." I roll my eyes again. I'm doing that too much and should probably stop before my eyes get stuck somewhere or I pull a muscle. "C'mon Baby, let's walk." Now I get the response I was looking for earlier, a happy tiny bark while she shakes and follows me.
I softly yawn as I step outside again into the darkness that surrounds my cabin. The only light comes from the slowly rising moon, but I don't mind darkness. After living here for years, I know my path around here, but it's probably the reason why I didn't see Luke's bike parked under a tree.
As Baby follows me along the path through shrubs and bushes, I inhale deeply, sucking in all the scents of my home. The salty, mossy breeze coming from the sea meets the woody and dry aromas of the trees and plants around me.
Maybe Connor Head can't keep up with Gold Coast in terms of shiny glass skyscrapers and action loaded events, but it has the most beautiful beaches, forests and sunrises far and wide, and it provides the perfect conditions for surfing – without being crowded like the more popular spots scattered across the east coast.
I hear Baby shuffling about behind me and take another deep breath. Everything's so familiar, relaxing and cozy. Home. It's always been since I moved here and always will be.
On our way back to the cabin, Baby stops a few times to sniff a few bushes.
I know it sounds hella cheesy, but as my home comes into view under the silver moonlight and between the gnarly trees, my heart grows and squeezes a bit at the same time. This place is where I've been the happiest in all my life for a while, followed by the saddest period of my life.
I pull my phone from where I tucked it in my waistband and find a missed call as well as a text from mom and a few in our group chat.
Harry: Anyone up for karaoke this week?
Rathi: Again?
Danny: No, busy this week.
Rathi What you doing?
Danny: *eyeroll*
Harry: Okay, since Riley isn't answering I figure nobody.
Joe: Seems like it.
Harry: Mmh
Because Joe hates karaoke, I laugh before typing out my reply.
Me: Sorry, I'm out. But my friend April is in town this weekend, wanna to do something Saturday? Bar and drinks?
Switching to my mom's chat I type out a quick message, letting her know that I found her lost son and that he'll probably crash at my place tonight.
I don't get an immediate reply, because I'm sure she's still working and tuck my phone back away, stepping foot into my home again.
Chase and my brother are clothed this time and cuddled up on the couch watching something on Chase's phone. They're cute like this and I can't help the toothy grin on my lips. Young love.
"You guys hungry?" I ask from the kitchen, opening my fridge only to find it quite empty.
"No, but we brought pizza for you, it's in the freezer," Luke calls back.
Ripping open my small freezer compartment, I find two veggie pizzas. My mind's flip-flopping. I'm tired and ready to go to bed, but I'm also hungry and the pizza will take a while it's they're ready. Sighing and vowing to myself to become better at adulting, I fill a bowl with fruit loops and almond milk before flopping on my sofa and putting my feet on the coffee table. Baby hops up next to me and curls into a ball, laying her head on my thigh. I slump down a bit until my arm that's holding the bowl is supported by my dog's body and scarf down my dinner in under ten minutes.
"Are you staying over?"
My question is answered by a yawn and a hum, but the two boys' eyes never leave the phone.
"That's what I thought." I join the yawning and finish my breakfast slash dinner, staring at the liquor filling up a trey on the sideboard. There aren't too many bottles, but considering that I live alone and the fact that they've been going down to half-full in only two months is remarkable.
After throwing the bowl and spoon in the sink and making a mental note to take care of that tomorrow, I get Baby's dinner ready and then head to my bedroom. I change into a pair of soft pajama pants and a tank top before quickly washing my face, brushing my teeth and finally, finally, climbing into my bed which is swarmed five minutes later by two fully grown babies who cuddle up on either side of me. Chase's head leans against my shoulder and my brother's long arm is draped over my waist, reaching over to splay on Chase's chest.
"Love you, Blue," Luke tells me.
"Love you, too."
"And who loves me?" Chase pipes up.
"Shut up," Luke jokes. In their world 'shut up' means something like 'you mean the world to me' and sure enough Chase is happy with that answer, humming contently and wiggling a bit closer.
I'm on my back, smiling into the darkness as I hear Baby's paw tapping on the hardwood floors before she jumps in too, squeezing her large body between Chase's and my legs. It's fucking crowded, nobody can move anymore, and even though I'm about to go up in flames because the two boys and my dog are like fucking fire places, I love it because I hate sleeping alone.
~~~
A/N:
I hope you liked the first little glimpse in our main girl's head.
Love,
Izzy 🌊