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thefatnoona · 7 years ago

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Monster Woo: 261 (pt. 1/5)

She tapped her feet impatiently. Tucking a stray hair behind her right ear, she checked her watch for the umptieth time. The first day of the student exchange programme had not gone well by her definition, what with missing the one and only bus that went to the university, having to wait another 30 minutes for the next bus, getting lost within campus grounds and arriving 20 minutes late for the first class, being hungry for lunch and realising that she had forgotten to grab her wallet which was right on top of the dresser, getting more and more lost amidst the labyrinth of seminar rooms and lecture theatres for the remaining classes, and now, it did not seem as if she would reach home at all to have her first meal of the day.

Murphy’s Law was clearly at work this time.

She pressed her headphones tighter over her ears, immersing herself deeper into Crush’s mellifluous voice. She glanced at her watch again nervously, aware of the increasing pain on her shoulders due to the backpack that seemed much too big for her body, and of the inner walls of her stomach creating a mini rock concert by themselves. It was a miracle that she survived the day at all, partly due to her trusted red Nalgene bottle and the fact that there were plenty of water coolers located within the university.

“Finally!” she muttered under her breath, as the blue number 261 bus drew nearer to the stop. Scrambling to get to the front of the line (which was really non-existent anyway due to the law of supply and demand: low supply of buses versus high demand from the countless passengers), she managed to get a foot into the bus when she felt a push to her backpack. She just about managed to stop herself from falling flat face down by grabbing the bus railings by the entrance door. Her headphones slipped and rested awkwardly against her neck.

“괜찮아요?” the bus driver growled out in Korean. “Are you okay?” he then asked in slightly accented American English. His voice was deep and raspy, a stark contrast to the sweet and soothing sounds of Crush.

“네, 괜찮아요 아저씨,” she replied hastily. Despite having taken Korean lessons for a year prior to relocating to the Land of the Morning Calm, she still felt anxious in communicating with the locals. “I’m alright. Thank you, 감사합니다 아저씨.” She could feel the blood rushing to her face, a picture of embarrassment for all to see.

“Okay, be careful. 조심해요,” said the driver. The shades that were shielding his eyes, as well as his tattooed hands and fingers, projected a menacing aura that reminded her of the mafia and assassin movies from yesteryears. Having done a compulsory Modern Film Studies module, she could not help the comparison as she tapped her shiny T-money card and picked up her pace towards the back of the bus.

Murphy’s Law seemed satisfied to cease its play, as a single, lone seat appeared to have been saving itself for her right beside the bus exit door. She sank herself gratefully onto the seat and dusted her hands, suddenly realising the pain from seared fingers and slightly torn skin on her left palm. Oh well, at least she would be getting home after all.

***

A week passed just like that. It was amazing how quickly seven days could whiz by inbetween classes, a gazillion homework assignments and tons of notes to read. There was so much to be done in a rush that suddenly, she forgot to feel hungry.

It was on the Friday at the end of her first week, when her “sunset” class had ended for the day, that she was once again waiting for the blue number 261 bus. She had managed to gobble a bowl of noodles as a late lunch cum early dinner prior to attending the 6.30pm class on Advanced Semantics, but trying to stay awake and attentive throughout the entire 3 hours after an extremely long and tiring day was nearly next to impossible. While the other students celebrated the end of their last class of the week by gearing themselves up for a weekend of partying, she was counting down to the moments that she could hit her beloved bed and run a marathon of The Big Bang Theory episodes that she had missed.

A half-crescent moon shone proudly amongst the wisps of grey-silvery clouds in the night sky, pulling her to switch to Dean’s acoustic version of “D” on headphones. Spotting the now-familiar numbers on blue approaching the bus stop, she stood up from the bench and was surprised to see that no one else was following suit.

Boarding the number 261, she recognised the man at the wheel with his tattoed hands and gangster-like shades. If he had felt likewise due to her embarrassing misfortune from the other day, he displayed no indication of it other than simply giving her the usual once-over as she entered the bus. She tapped the fare, thankful for his silence, and headed for a single seat near to the exit. Feeling the wind on a warm, summer night prompted her to give a little sigh to no one in particular. She checked her playlist, added a few more songs to it and braced herself for the 45-minute bus leg of her journey home.

***

She could not fathom the reason for her stiff neck. As far as she had known, her pillow was neither hard nor soft. It had seemed to offer just the right amount of support for her aching head and neck. And why was she unable to stretch her entire body flat on the bed?

“저기요! 일어나! 너 여기서 잠들 수 없어!” someone seemed to be saying over and over amidst Simon D’s unexpected falsetto. “아가씨! 일어나!”

Frowning with closed eyes, she yawned and tried to make out the source of the voice. A gruff-looking man with his shades removed, greeted her sight. The sleeves of his white uniform were folded all the way up just above the elbows, revealing tattoos that fully adorned both of his arms. He was kneeling in front of her, giving the impression of a proposal gone wrong.

She gasped and removed her headphones immediately. “Ah! I’m sorry! I must have fallen asleep!” she rattled off unconsciously in English. Gathering her backpack, she looked around and discovered that they were the only ones in the bus.

“You’re not from around here, are you?” he responded back fluently. “This is the bus terminal. You must have missed your stop a while back.”

“Oh no…” her voice trailed, as she stood up and glanced through the windows at the surroundings out of the bus. There were other buses parked nearby, most with engines off, a few with the headlights still on while their respective drivers did some final inspections before calling it a night. “How do I get home from here?” she wondered aloud, more to herself than to the intimidating person before her, who had by now risen to his feet and proven himself to be quite the fit giant next to her. “Can’t I just take this same bus back?”

“This was the last bus for the night. You can probably take a taxi home,” he replied, crossing his arms, revealing taut veins that peeked out cautiously among his tattoos. “Where do you live?“

“I live at…uh…” she checked herself before giving away the location. Why would she tell personal details to a complete stranger? She was alone in a foreign country and rule #1 from Korea 101 probably stated: Do not give your personal details away to a stranger.

“Look, I can call a taxi for you. It will take some time if you’re okay to wait,” he offered.

“Oh.” Her eyes opened widely and she followed his lone figure as he alighted from the bus. “Thank you. How long does it take to wait for a taxi?”

“Hmmm…says here close to 20 minutes. Doesn’t look good for a Friday night. It’s too early for the clubbers to go home so the taxis don’t like to respond,” he replied, his eyes glued to his handphone screen, referring to a taxi app. “I guess you’re not the clubbing type, huh,” he said, taking in her appearance. Faded jeans, an oversized white T-shirt, Nike trainers, a messy ponytail and a pair of black glasses perched on the bridge of her nose. “You seem like you prefer reading to clubbing.”

“What’s wrong with reading?” she demanded, feeling confident and annoyed all of a sudden. She glared at him from head to toe. It had been a long day, she was tired as hell and she sure did not need any shit from anyone at this point.

“Nothing’s wrong with reading, chill. I was just making small talk. Don’t bite my head off,” he said, raising both his hands, which were large with slender and ridiculously long fingers. “Sorry if I sounded rude.”

She glimpsed to her left and bit on her lower lip. “No, it’s okay. I’m sorry too,” she said, recovering herself instantly. “I’m just exhausted and I just want to get home as soon as I can.”

“Look, would you like a lift?” he asked, eyeballing her with a furrowed look. He seemed pretty intense all of a sudden. “I’m not sure if the trains are still running at this time. Plus, no matter how safe this country may be, it’s not so safe for a girl like you to be out alone at night.”

She inhaled deeply and exhaled rather roughly. Just 10 minutes to go before a new day arrived, according to her watch. She should probably throw rule #1 from the imaginary Korea 101 out the window already. “Alright, sure. Thank you very much.”

“Just wait here a bit while I go sign out.” He motioned a little clearing next to her, then disappeared within the confines of a stuffy-looking single-storey office. It seemed like forever until she heard a whistle and caught him gesturing for her to follow him. Walking a little bit behind, she drew in her breath sharply when her eyes chanced upon the massive beauty that stood before her.

“You…ride this?” Her eyes appeared even bigger behind her glasses. “It’s…huge.”

He gave a low chuckle, grinning. “My baby’s beautiful, huh? Hop on, I borrowed an extra helmet.”

Grabbing the helmet, she fastened it on her head and lingered beside the Harley Davidson softail chopper, unsure of what she was supposed to do next. He was already on the bike, helmet securely in place and tightening on a pair of leather gloves. How was she supposed to get on?

“What are you waiting for? Come on, hold onto my shoulders and get behind me. You want to get home soon, right?” he said as he turned to look at her, again with that intense expression. “Where do you live? This baby will get you there in no time at all.”

***

“Is that where you live?” he nodded his head in the direction of a tall building opposite of where he had just stopped the chopper. Upon hearing her grunt, he held her waist unconsciously while she steadied herself back on the ground. She gasped and swept his hand away. “야! 뭐야?!” he burst aloud in Korean.

“Don’t touch me!” she snapped back.

“I wasn’t doing it on purpose! I was just helping you get off the bike!” he growled. “Is this the thanks I get for sending you home?”

Silence ensued between them before she bowed her head. “Sorry,” she mumbled, her ears going red. “I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’m not…”

“Not used to being touched by strange men?” he cut her off. She stared at him in wonder. Did he just read her mind? “Yeah get off your high horse. I don’t touch strange women either.” He held out his hand expectantly, looking smug.

She was rooted to the spot, just staring at him blankly, wondering what he wanted. He snorted, then got off the bike and stepped up to her up close, towering over her with all of his 6 feet plus stature. Bending down to her eye level, he looked at her squarely. She could smell cologne, stale cigarettes and minty sweets from his even breath. She froze when he touched the helmet strap framing her face. “Stay still,” he ordered softly, his voice coming out low and raspy, before removing the helmet off her head, all the while maintaining eye contact.

“Oh…” she let out meekly. “Th-thanks.”

“I’ll see you around,” he waved a hand coolly. “I’m Woo, by the way.”

#fiction #fic #monster woo #kim young woo

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