Sarange Ch. 29
Chapter. 29
It's like something from a soap opera.
I was so done with being pregnant at this point. Most women give birth around 36 weeks, which is why I thought I was going into labor, but here I am pushing 38 weeks and still no baby. It was irritating having to stay off my feet all the time. There was nothing for me to do but watch TV or get online and that got very old very quickly. I couldn't sleep because the weight of the baby pressing against my bladder made me feel like I had to pee every five minutes. On top of that, laying flat made it harder for me to breathe so I tried sleeping on my left side like the books say but it felt weird. I was so ready to have the kid and get it over with that I looked up natural remedies to induce labor. They all turned out to be complete bullshit but it gave me something to keep my mind occupied.
I was just leaving the coffee shop the next morning when my phone went off. Balancing my coffee and wallet in one hand, I fished my phone out of my pocket and smiled as I answered.
"What do you want?"
"Oh, nothing. Just checking to see how my favorite bowling ball is doing."
"You're such an asshole."
"I know. So how's it going?"
"Better if I didn't have people that I don't even know trying to tell me what to do."
"Pissed off so early? What happened?"
"This stupid girl at the coffee shop tried to tell me that caffeine isn't good for the baby. Like I haven't been aware of that fact for the past six months. I just told her that I knew the risks but I wanted the coffee anyways. The bitch probably went ahead and gave me decaf. It's bad enough I have Sean nagging me all the time; now complete strangers are on my case."
"Ah. Speaking of Sean, has he asked you out yet?"
"No, and he better not cause it'll just be weird after I tell him no."
"Why would you say no?"
"Um, hello? I'm about to give birth to an illegitimate child fathered by one of the guys I used to work for. It's like something from a soap opera. Besides, I don't need the drama in my life."
"Yea.. about that.. Look, I don't know if you even wanna know this but I called for a reason."
"It's about the boys, isn't it?" I was a little apprehensive. No news was good news. That meant nothing bad was happening.
"It is. You know that Jae, Yoochun and Su hired another management company, right?"
"Yea, some girls were talking about it like it was a mistake."
"Well, mistake or not, they are going to the US to work with some American producers. They are doing an all-English album under the name 'JYJ'." I almost dropped my coffee.
"What?!"
"Yea."
"When? Who are they working with?"
"I'm not sure. I only heard about it recently."
"How did you hear about it?"
"Oh.. Well this guy I've been sort of seeing is the lawyer for the company they hired."
"You're sort of dating a lawyer? When did this happen?!"
"A couple of months ago. It's not a big deal. I'm not even sure I'm going to keep dating him. Before you have a conniption fit, I didn't tell you because I didn't want to upset you or stress you out. I don't even know if I like him."
By this point, I had made it to the bookstore and proceeded to kick Sean out of the chair he was sitting in so that I could get comfortable.
"You never date anyone for a couple of months. What's wrong with him?"
"Nothing that I can tell. He's smart, funny, attractive and my mother loves him.. which I guess could be considered a bad point."
"Be serious. What's his family like?"
"His dad is American, his mother is Korean. He comes from a long line of lawyers on both sides of the family. They have a house in upstate New York. He's going to come after the baby is born and we are going to greet them."
"Greet them.. like greet them formally? Are you guys getting married?!"
"No! I told you I don't even know if I like him like that. We are just going to meet them since I'm going to be in town anyway. It's not a big deal. I think they just want to make sure I'm not some kind of crazy person before it gets too serious."
"Well don't fuck it up by being yourself."
"Gee, thanks. So are you going to try and meet up with the boys?"
"I don't see that happening."
"Why not?"
"Um, let's see.. I caused numerous fights between them, dumped their friend with no explanation and then left the country. Something tells me they won't be so receptive to a visit from me. Besides, there's no telling what Jae told them."
"What do you mean?"
"Jae and I ran into each other at their fan meeting before I left Korea. I told you this."
"Um, no you didn't.. Did you tell him? How is it that you can tell him but you can't tell Changmin?"
"First of all, who I tell is up to me, and second of all, I didn't tell him; he just saw me. The look on his face was pretty obvious that he figured it out."
"Holy shit... Do you think he told? Wouldn't they have called already if they knew?"
"I don't know, Nae. Honestly, I don't have time to think about that right now. I'm not going to meet them so it really doesn't matter."
"But you have to."
"What do you mean I have to?"
"After you left, there was a lot of talk about you.. like a lot. A lot of rumors, mostly started by Hikaru and her posse. I tried my best to shut them up but you know they never listen to anyone. Finally, one day I was walking down the hall and I heard someone yelling. It was Yoochun. I didn't understand all of what he said cause it was a lot of slang but man was he pissed. Takara was crying when they left. I'm guessing they were transferred cause the next day I didn't see them at rehearsal."
"Well shit.. why couldn't they have done that while I was still working there? It would have saved me a lot of trouble."
"Seriously."
"Look, Nae, I gotta get to work. Sean is giving me the evil eye cause I stole his chair."
"Oh to be young and in love."
"Yea, have fun meeting your in-laws."
"Shut up!"
With that, I hung up on her. Shrugging my shoulders at Sean, I decided to go through yesterday's register summary and log the totals into the deposit book. It was a relatively slow day so we closed up shop early, and Sean walked me down the street to the hotel. Lifting my nose in the air, I breathed in the scents coming from the Korean buffet next door. Making a quick pit stop, I loaded up a to-go plate with all kinds of yummy goodness. They had almost every kind of side dish you could think of, plus the typical street stall food. After paying, I made Sean carry everything upstairs. After I used the bathroom, I sat down on the bed, getting myself situated. Pulling out the banana milk I purchased, I stabbes the time straw into the yellow carton and took a long drink. It was emptied in two drinks which made me glad that I bought six. Grabbing my box and pulling it into my lap, I began shoving large amounts of food into my mouth. Sean was in the process of putting an egg roll-up into his mouth when he looked over at me and just stared.
Noticing that he wasn't eating, I looked up and demanded, "What?"
"Nothing. I was just wondering if you could even taste the food at the speed that you're putting it in your mouth."
I snarled my lip at him and went back to eating until I wasn't hungry anymore. I turned on the TV and leaned back against the head board on a mound of pillows, looking for something interesting to watch. Sean stayed for a little while, being his general irritating self before announcing that he was leaving. I got up to pick up the trash to set outside the door for the cleaning people to pick up. He brushed past me on his way out.
"I'll be by tomorrow morning to get you so don't walk over by yourself."
"What? Am I in middle school? I can walk across the fucking street by myself."
"Just do as I say!"
Down the hall, someone stuck their head out to see who was making a fuss. Sean, being Sean, told them to mind their own business. After they shut their door, he turned back to me with the same irritated expression he always wore around me.
"You're driving me crazy, woman!"
"Well there's an easy way to fix that."
He stood there fuming for a few seconds before he turned to leave. As I was shutting the door, he put his hand out to stop it. I opened my mouth to ask him what he wanted and then he kissed me. I stood there for a few seconds, wondering if it was really happening. He stepped closer to me or maybe he pulled me closer to him, but for whatever reason, my body temperature rose and I knew my cheeks were turning red.
Suddenly, he was gone. Without saying anything, he just turned and walked down the hall to the elevator, leaving me standing there like an idiot. The ding of the elevator sliding closed brought me to my senses and I closed the door, walking slowly to the bed and climbing under the covers. I brought my fingers to my lips, trying to rub the tingle away but it remained. After deciding that he really did kiss me, I spent the next few hours tossing and turning, trying to figure out why the hell he did that.
It's like something from a soap opera.
I was so done with being pregnant at this point. Most women give birth around 36 weeks, which is why I thought I was going into labor, but here I am pushing 38 weeks and still no baby. It was irritating having to stay off my feet all the time. There was nothing for me to do but watch TV or get online and that got very old very quickly. I couldn't sleep because the weight of the baby pressing against my bladder made me feel like I had to pee every five minutes. On top of that, laying flat made it harder for me to breathe so I tried sleeping on my left side like the books say but it felt weird. I was so ready to have the kid and get it over with that I looked up natural remedies to induce labor. They all turned out to be complete bullshit but it gave me something to keep my mind occupied.
I was just leaving the coffee shop the next morning when my phone went off. Balancing my coffee and wallet in one hand, I fished my phone out of my pocket and smiled as I answered.
"What do you want?"
"Oh, nothing. Just checking to see how my favorite bowling ball is doing."
"You're such an asshole."
"I know. So how's it going?"
"Better if I didn't have people that I don't even know trying to tell me what to do."
"Pissed off so early? What happened?"
"This stupid girl at the coffee shop tried to tell me that caffeine isn't good for the baby. Like I haven't been aware of that fact for the past six months. I just told her that I knew the risks but I wanted the coffee anyways. The bitch probably went ahead and gave me decaf. It's bad enough I have Sean nagging me all the time; now complete strangers are on my case."
"Ah. Speaking of Sean, has he asked you out yet?"
"No, and he better not cause it'll just be weird after I tell him no."
"Why would you say no?"
"Um, hello? I'm about to give birth to an illegitimate child fathered by one of the guys I used to work for. It's like something from a soap opera. Besides, I don't need the drama in my life."
"Yea.. about that.. Look, I don't know if you even wanna know this but I called for a reason."
"It's about the boys, isn't it?" I was a little apprehensive. No news was good news. That meant nothing bad was happening.
"It is. You know that Jae, Yoochun and Su hired another management company, right?"
"Yea, some girls were talking about it like it was a mistake."
"Well, mistake or not, they are going to the US to work with some American producers. They are doing an all-English album under the name 'JYJ'." I almost dropped my coffee.
"What?!"
"Yea."
"When? Who are they working with?"
"I'm not sure. I only heard about it recently."
"How did you hear about it?"
"Oh.. Well this guy I've been sort of seeing is the lawyer for the company they hired."
"You're sort of dating a lawyer? When did this happen?!"
"A couple of months ago. It's not a big deal. I'm not even sure I'm going to keep dating him. Before you have a conniption fit, I didn't tell you because I didn't want to upset you or stress you out. I don't even know if I like him."
By this point, I had made it to the bookstore and proceeded to kick Sean out of the chair he was sitting in so that I could get comfortable.
"You never date anyone for a couple of months. What's wrong with him?"
"Nothing that I can tell. He's smart, funny, attractive and my mother loves him.. which I guess could be considered a bad point."
"Be serious. What's his family like?"
"His dad is American, his mother is Korean. He comes from a long line of lawyers on both sides of the family. They have a house in upstate New York. He's going to come after the baby is born and we are going to greet them."
"Greet them.. like greet them formally? Are you guys getting married?!"
"No! I told you I don't even know if I like him like that. We are just going to meet them since I'm going to be in town anyway. It's not a big deal. I think they just want to make sure I'm not some kind of crazy person before it gets too serious."
"Well don't fuck it up by being yourself."
"Gee, thanks. So are you going to try and meet up with the boys?"
"I don't see that happening."
"Why not?"
"Um, let's see.. I caused numerous fights between them, dumped their friend with no explanation and then left the country. Something tells me they won't be so receptive to a visit from me. Besides, there's no telling what Jae told them."
"What do you mean?"
"Jae and I ran into each other at their fan meeting before I left Korea. I told you this."
"Um, no you didn't.. Did you tell him? How is it that you can tell him but you can't tell Changmin?"
"First of all, who I tell is up to me, and second of all, I didn't tell him; he just saw me. The look on his face was pretty obvious that he figured it out."
"Holy shit... Do you think he told? Wouldn't they have called already if they knew?"
"I don't know, Nae. Honestly, I don't have time to think about that right now. I'm not going to meet them so it really doesn't matter."
"But you have to."
"What do you mean I have to?"
"After you left, there was a lot of talk about you.. like a lot. A lot of rumors, mostly started by Hikaru and her posse. I tried my best to shut them up but you know they never listen to anyone. Finally, one day I was walking down the hall and I heard someone yelling. It was Yoochun. I didn't understand all of what he said cause it was a lot of slang but man was he pissed. Takara was crying when they left. I'm guessing they were transferred cause the next day I didn't see them at rehearsal."
"Well shit.. why couldn't they have done that while I was still working there? It would have saved me a lot of trouble."
"Seriously."
"Look, Nae, I gotta get to work. Sean is giving me the evil eye cause I stole his chair."
"Oh to be young and in love."
"Yea, have fun meeting your in-laws."
"Shut up!"
With that, I hung up on her. Shrugging my shoulders at Sean, I decided to go through yesterday's register summary and log the totals into the deposit book. It was a relatively slow day so we closed up shop early, and Sean walked me down the street to the hotel. Lifting my nose in the air, I breathed in the scents coming from the Korean buffet next door. Making a quick pit stop, I loaded up a to-go plate with all kinds of yummy goodness. They had almost every kind of side dish you could think of, plus the typical street stall food. After paying, I made Sean carry everything upstairs. After I used the bathroom, I sat down on the bed, getting myself situated. Pulling out the banana milk I purchased, I stabbes the time straw into the yellow carton and took a long drink. It was emptied in two drinks which made me glad that I bought six. Grabbing my box and pulling it into my lap, I began shoving large amounts of food into my mouth. Sean was in the process of putting an egg roll-up into his mouth when he looked over at me and just stared.
Noticing that he wasn't eating, I looked up and demanded, "What?"
"Nothing. I was just wondering if you could even taste the food at the speed that you're putting it in your mouth."
I snarled my lip at him and went back to eating until I wasn't hungry anymore. I turned on the TV and leaned back against the head board on a mound of pillows, looking for something interesting to watch. Sean stayed for a little while, being his general irritating self before announcing that he was leaving. I got up to pick up the trash to set outside the door for the cleaning people to pick up. He brushed past me on his way out.
"I'll be by tomorrow morning to get you so don't walk over by yourself."
"What? Am I in middle school? I can walk across the fucking street by myself."
"Just do as I say!"
Down the hall, someone stuck their head out to see who was making a fuss. Sean, being Sean, told them to mind their own business. After they shut their door, he turned back to me with the same irritated expression he always wore around me.
"You're driving me crazy, woman!"
"Well there's an easy way to fix that."
He stood there fuming for a few seconds before he turned to leave. As I was shutting the door, he put his hand out to stop it. I opened my mouth to ask him what he wanted and then he kissed me. I stood there for a few seconds, wondering if it was really happening. He stepped closer to me or maybe he pulled me closer to him, but for whatever reason, my body temperature rose and I knew my cheeks were turning red.
Suddenly, he was gone. Without saying anything, he just turned and walked down the hall to the elevator, leaving me standing there like an idiot. The ding of the elevator sliding closed brought me to my senses and I closed the door, walking slowly to the bed and climbing under the covers. I brought my fingers to my lips, trying to rub the tingle away but it remained. After deciding that he really did kiss me, I spent the next few hours tossing and turning, trying to figure out why the hell he did that.