Chapter 48: Hi Ya Ya

“Yoboseyo,” I yawned into the phone.

“Sierra, is hyung there?” Jun Su asked.

“Yea, he’s sleeping,” I said.

“I was worried for a moment when he didn’t come home last night,” Jun Su laughed, “then I remembered that he was probably sleeping over at your place.”

“You mean you haven’t gotten used to him not coming home yet?” I teased.

“Yes… give us back our hyung!” Jun Su yelled playfully. “He’s been neglecting us since he met you.”

“It’s not my fault that you guys aren’t attractive enough for him,” I laughed.

“We’re attractive, alright? Girls dig us.”

“So you don’t need Jae Joong, do you?”

“Fine,” Jun Su sighed, “we admit defeat.”

“Andoe!!” I heard Chang Min shouting in the background, and I laughed.

“Is this why you’ve called me at such an ungodly hour?” I asked him.

“Ungodly?” he exclaimed. “It’s almost 11am.”

“We slept at 4am!”

“We slept at 5am!”

“You guys are insane!”

“Okay… erm… can you wake hyung? We need to go somewhere in about an hour.”

“Where?”

“We have a last minute costume alteration.”

“He’s not gonna be happy,” I smiled as I looked at Jae Joong, who was still sleeping soundly. “He’d been looking forward to a day of rest.”

“It’s just for a few hours. We’d still have the afternoon free,” Jun Su said. “Wanna play soccer with us later?”

“Me?”

“Yes, you.”

“I’ve not played in years.”

“It’s okay, we’ll teach you.”

“Fine…”

“Great! See you later then. We’ll call you after the costume thingie. Wake hyung and tell him we’ll be there in 20 minutes. Bye!”

“Okay, bye,” I said and hung up. I turned to face Jae Joong and nudged his forehead with my forefinger. “Wake up,” I said. He pulled the pillow from under his head and covered his face as he turned away. I pulled the pillow off his face and smacked his butt with it.

“Mmm…” he groaned softly as he rubbed his butt.

“Wake up!”

“Shiro…” he said and grabbed the pillow from me to cover his face.

“You have costume alterations in an hour. The guys are arriving in 20 minutes!”

“They didn’t call me,” he mumbled through the pillow.

“They called me. What’s wrong with your phone anyway?” I said as I grabbed his phone off my desk; the battery was dead.

“Yah! Don’t you charge your phone?” I said as I nudged his legs with my feet.

“I forgot.”

“Get moving,” I said as I shoved him off the futon and stood up to walk to my charger. It was a good thing we’d decided to buy the same phone. He’d often forget to charge his and I had to charge it for him whenever he came to my place. When I turned around, he was crouched on the floor, face down, his butt sticking up. I smacked his butt as I walked past.

“Why are you so violent today?” he grumbled as he rubbed the spot I’d hit.

“Violent? You’re being such a pig, you deserve it.”

“Why am I the pig now?” he grinned. “Aren’t you the one born on the year of the pig?”

“You just had to remind me of me age…” I said as a tossed my pillow at him.

“What’s wrong with your age?” he asked. I ignored him as I lay down on my bed and hugged my bolster. “Sierra,” he said as he ran a finger down my arm.

“Go away,” I said as I shrugged him off. He lay down beside me and put his arm and leg around me.

“Sierra-yah,” he cooed. “I won’t mention your age again, okay?”

“Too late,” I said.

“Come on… I’ll shower quickly and I’ll make you breakfast,” he said as he planted a kiss on the back of my neck.

“Shiro…” I sulked, even though I wasn’t angry at all.

“You sure?” he asked as he leaned over me to look at my face and I quickly covered it with the bolster so he couldn’t see my expression, but I was too late. He’d seen me smiling. “Ya…” he said as he poked me. “Did you think that I can’t tell when you’re faking it?”

“I was hoping,” I smiled as I turned to look at him.

“Women…” he said affectionately as he hugged me.

“Go get dressed. They’re gonna be here any minute.”

“Araso,” he said as he rolled off the bed.

I was in the kitchen pouring milk into my cereal when Skye bounded up from behind me.

“Nuna!” he yelled and almost caused me to spill the milk.

“You crazy monkey! You almost made me spill the milk.”

“No worries, I’ll just lap it up,” he winked.

“Michin…” I laughed as I put the milk back in the refrigerator.

“Did you like the surprise we left in your room yesterday?”

“Yep,” I said as I shoved a spoonful of cereal into my mouth.

“Yep? That’s all you can say? Where’s the gratitude? Don’t I at least get a hug?”

“Was it your idea?”

“Well, I did help pick it.”

“You did? Aww… thanks!” I smiled through my mouthful of cereal.

“Gross…” he yelled and pretended to look disgusted. I say that he was pretending because this is what he always does to Shoei and me. He loved showing us the contents of his mouth when he was eating.

“Why are you guys bickering so early in the morning?” Shoei said as he walked out of the workroom.

“What’s new?” I shrugged as I continued eating.

“Nuna isn’t grateful for the surprise we’d prepared for her yesterday,” Skye grumbled to Shoei.

“Which one?” Shoei smiled.

“What do you mean?” Skye asked.

“The bucket of water, or the Sony VAIO?”

“Ooh…” Skye exclaimed softly as he remembered the other surprise he’d sprung on me yesterday.

“Yea…” I said as I looked up at Skye, “I’ve not had my revenge for yesterday.” I put down my spoon and stood up.

“Ah… nuna, calm down,” Skye said as he started backing towards his room.

“Calm down? You’re so gonna pay for yesterday,” I said as I walked towards him.

“Run, Skye, run…” Shoei laughed as Skye ran into his room and locked the door. Then, I turned around to glare at him.

“Oops… I forgot I was involved as well,” he said sheepishly as he ducked into the kitchen.

“I’m gonna get you guys,” I yelled in the now empty living room.

“Ya… have you gone mad?” Jae Joong said as he walked out of the bathroom.

“Mad?”

“Yea… why are you talking to the walls?”

“I was issuing a warning to the two monkeys I live with.”

“Still pissed because of that prank they played on you?” he laughed.

“Yah! It’s not funny,” I pouted.

“Araso,” he laughed as he walked into my room. Just then, the doorbell rang. I peeked at the screen and saw Yoo Chun waving like a mad man at the camera. I buzzed them in and unlocked the door for them. They walked into the apartment on their own as I continued to eat my breakfast.

“Where’s hyung?” Chang Min asked as he rushed to the sofa and picked up a throw pillow, pretending to look under it as if Jae Joong could be hiding under it.

“He’s in my room.”

“What did you do to him?” Jun Su wailed.

“Calm down, Jun Su,” Yoo Chun patted his back. “I’m sure we will find his remains.”

“I didn’t eat him alive, if that’s what you’re getting at,” I said as I tossed a cardboard coaster at Yoo Chun.

“Kim Jae Joong!” Yun Ho yelled. “Get your ass out here!”

“Hyung,” Skye popped his head out of his room. “You’re here.”

“Are you hiding or something?” Chang Min asked Skye.

“It’s nuna,” he said. “She wants to kill me.”

“You started it,” I pointed at him.

“It’s all in the name of fun,” he reasoned.

“I don’t care!” I yelled and he quickly disappeared back into his room.

While waiting for Jae Joong, Jun Su and Yoo Chun turned on the TV and settled down on the sofa to watch a game show. Yun Ho went into the workroom with Shoei, who’d appeared from the kitchen awhile ago and Chang Min helped himself to a bowl of cereals and sat down beside me at our little dining table.

“Aren’t you taking Kristi out today?” I asked Chang Min, and he turned red.

“I… ah… maybe later.”

“What about later?” Jun Su said as he turned around to look at Chang Min. “Aren’t you playing soccer with us?”

“Chang Min can always play with you another day. Kristi isn’t always gonna be here in Korea. Right, Chang Min?” I smiled.

“Erm... right,” Chang Min mumbled as ate another spoonful of cereal.

“I’m ready,” Jae Joong said as he walked out of my room.

“About time,” Yoo Chun grumbled. “What were you doing? Putting on makeup? We’re not performing today, you know.”

“Oooh!!” Jun Su suddenly exclaimed. “Did I tell you guys, I found photos of us online, without makeup?”

“What did I look like?” Chang Min asked.

“You were fine, a little tired though. Jae Joong hyung had horrible eye bags and dark circles, and Yoo Chun was unrecognizable. Hahaha!”

“Mwo???” Yoo Chun exclaimed.

“I couldn’t recognize you,” Jun Su laughed. “Yun Ho hyung looked alright though. Come to think of it, he even looked normal.”

“And what about you?” Yoo Chun asked him.

“I looked angelic, as usual,” he smiled.

“Pah!! You probably looked like a troll,” Yoo Chun said.

“I didn’t, but you did,” Jun Su said in a sing song voice.

“Liar,” Yoo Chun said as he started to walk towards the door. “Let’s go. We’re running late.”

“Did I really look horrible with the eye bags?” Jae Joong asked Jun Su.

“It’s normal… anyone can have eye bags,” Jun Su said. He walked to the workroom and knocked on the door. “Hyung, let’s go.”

“But did I look like a panda?”

“You looked like yourself, with darks circles under your eyes. That’s all.”

“Omigod…” Jae Joong groaned.

“Don’t worry, hyung,” Chang Min said as he patted Jae Joong’s back. “Who doesn’t have eye bags?”

“I don’t,” I piped in with glee. It was true that I didn’t have eye bags. I never get puffy eyes either. But if I were really tired, I’d get very faint dark circles under my eyes and they’re usually barely visible, unless you stared at my face.

“I think it’s the Korean gene,” Jun Su said. “Cos it’s true that we’ve never seen Sierra with eye bags.”

“No fair!” Chang Min said.

“What’s not fair?” Yun Ho asked as he walked out of the workroom.

“That Sierra doesn’t get eye bags like us,” Jun Su explained.

“Hmm… yea… come to think of it, she doesn’t,” Yun Ho said wistfully.

“Right… shoo! Go!” I said as I pushed them out of the apartment. Yoo Chun was holding the elevator door open for them as they walked out.

“Why are you guys so slow today? I wanna get this done with and enjoy my day off,” he grumbled.

“Bye!” they waved as they walked in. Just as the elevator door was about to close, Jae Joong jumped out.