Got7 Short Stories

The weekend went by like a passing storm that hit you enough to shake you up and then left you wondering where it went.

“Noona… wakeup already…” the sleepy voice of Yugyeom cooed by your bedside. He was squatting at your side at 7am, in his bunny pyjamas that had white rabbit ears sticking out of the hood.

You reluctantly opened your eyes and saw the ears nodding at you as your sleepy brother was about to doze off. Pulling him up to your bed, you let him continue sleeping in your spot while you got up to get ready for work.

He was nice enough to walk over to wake you up even though his room was on the other side of the house, somehow knowing you overslept. As you brushed your teeth, you mentally planned a quick breakfast for both of you before needing to run off.
Today was also Yugyeom’s first day of work, as an intern in another department of your company.

He apparently got the job through Bambam who seemed to be a rather small but influential figure with the hiring department. It didn’t take much for Yugyeom to be offered the position and he couldn’t be happier to be in the same office as you and Bambam.

As you both got ready and took a quick bite, you heard a car drive in to your front porch. It was Mark.

“Mark?” You said as you opened the door to see him get out of his car.

He smiled, “Morning babe, I just thought to pick you up and head to work together.”

Just then Yugyeom stepped out as well in his suit and bag. “Oh Mark! Guess what?? we’re colleagues now!” As he said that he skipped over and went into the car needing no invitation.

You locked your front door and let Mark open his car door for you. “Thanks… you really didnt need to… come all the way.” Slightly uncomfortable at his surprise appearance that caught you off guard, you were happy but a little  helpless at the same time.
Afterall, you managed to talk about a few things when he last came over, one of which, was to keep a little bit of distance when it came to working times, especially so now, as you felt a little rushed into the whole relationship issue. Thankfully he respected it and agreed to your decision.

You knew you had to come to a decision about things and make it clear to either JR or Mark. One was the closest friends you had by your side for a good part of your life for the last 10 years,  while the other was your happiest childhood memory that came back in a way you never expected. It wasn’t an easy choice especially when they both were opposites in charactor yet laid back and for most parts got fairly aggressive when it came to confessing their feelings.

As you sat in the car, all you could think about was whether you saw a future with Mark or with JR. It was honestly a vexing time, because either way, you would lose one friendship - which was the last thing you’d wanted.

Mark broke the silence after awhile, “So Yugyeom where are you going to work at?”

Yugyeom paused to think for a moment, “my friend got me into his department which I think is……. erm…”

“He’s in the Research and Design side.” You replied, snapping back to your senses.

“Ahhh I see.” Mark smiled, glad to engage you. “What’s your friend’s name? He must be sitting quite high up to pull you in there though.”

“Nah. He’s just a small staff that is too friendly for his good. Doubt you know him tho… Bambam. Have you heard of a name like that?” Yugyeom leaned in from the backseat to get closer to Mark.

Mark looked a little stunned by the name.

“Why? Do you know Bambam?” You turned and asked Mark as well.

Mark looked at you in disbelief, “wait you’re kidding me, don’t you know he’s the CEO’S SON? He’s gonna like... inherit the company?”

“What??????” You echoed Yugyeom in total shock and turned back to look at your equally shocked brother.

He pointed at you as you did the same to him, and said at the same time “SHOULDN’T YOU HAVE KNOWN??”

Yugyeom pressed his body into the narrow space between the front seats and had his whole face between you and Mark. “You’re kidding me right? You work there all your life and you know Bambam too!!” He said to you.

“Hey, YOU know Bambam all YOUR LIFE and you know the company I work for. Shouldn’t YOU know that when he got you the job, huh???” You poked his cheek and pushed him backwards so you could talk to Mark.

“But I thought his son wasn’t in this line? And didn’t they say that his daughter was the one who would come in at some point to learn the ropes? I didn’t hear that happening yet?”

Mark continued, “His son isn’t and that’s precisely why he’s put into that dept. So he can pick it up from the source where the Research starts. He’s been there for like what, 1 year plus now right, Yugyeom?”

Both of you looked to him for a confirmation only to be met with his even more blank expression.

“So Anyway,” Mark went on, “Mr K did talk about his daughter and the intent to have her in as well. But it seems that as a traditionalist, he made his son start first.”

“His daughter, wait… doesn’t that mean it’s Bambam’s older sister… OMG KIM YUGYEOM!!!” You screamed crazily and choked yourself on your seat belt after connecting the dots.

“Hey hey! chill for abit babe! It’s not his fault.” Mark hurriedly pat your back with his free arm while keeping the other on the wheel.

“No! It’s not! – ” you struggle to find your breath between coughs. You pointed repeatedly at Yugyeom who was still stoned from hearing all that.

“Just relax and say it slowly!” Mark tried to calm you down wondering why you had to be so worked up.

Finally you cleared your throat, took a deep breath and calmed down. Signalling to Mark with nods that you were fine, you turned to the back to face Yugyeom. “It’s not just that, Mark! MY BROTHER IS DATING HER! Bambam’s sister, the CEO’S DAUGHTER!”

“O.M.G.” he said under his breath. Clearly, Yugyeom had hit a pot of gold and was the last to find out. Not only was he BFF of the next CEO of the corporation but potentially, the next in line. And, it was just his first day at work today.

“Alright Mr Kim, we have arrived.” Mark teased, “Welcome to your future in-laws estate.”

“Kim Yugyeom we had better get this sorted out tonight when you get home.” Opening his door and dragging him out of the car, you briefly patted his cheeks to wake him up to the reality. “Now. You don’t ever ever say you know either Mark, Jackson, or dare call me Noona in this office. You, are Kim Yugyeom, friend of Bambam, and that’s it. You hear me?”

“Arraseo.” He nodded nervously as Mark walked ahead of you, holding the doors. “Noona I’ll take it from here, you go with Mark.”

“OK kid. Get your act together and see you at home. Text me if anything crops up.” You leave him to go in the other direction with an uneasy heart.

“He’ll be fine, don’t sweat. No one’s gonna touch him if he’s got Bambam… and now that you figured, his sister. Wow. Your bro has got some luck with making friends.” Mark put his arm on your shoulder as usual, the way he usually would.

You looked at him, and then his arm.

“Oops.” He smiled and took it away. “Ma bad.”

-

As you strolled into the office, you see a stack of files piled up on your table. Beside it were 2 bouquets of flowers.

“Wow. What’s all that?” You asked Jackson as he looked up from his desk.

“What? The work or the flowers?”

“Both??? I don’t remember leaving so much work behind from a weekend?? And yeah what’s with the flowers?” You started flipping the card that came with it.

The first one read.
“I hope you have a lovely day… ♡ JR.”

“Oh gosh. How did he know where I work?!”

The second one, didn’t have a sender’s name but came with a handwritten message in a special arrangement that was made of a bunch of lavender flowers that were so fragrant.

“To Mandy: I heard you weren’t well. Cheer up and know you are the best. You can do it! From: A Secret Gardener”

“A secret gardener?” You mentally listed out the guys you knew who had green fingers.

Mark? Nope. He didn’t even know the difference between ginger and garlic.

JB? Probably not, his house hardly had any living organism except his cat, which definitely wouldn’t co exist with a garden.

There wasn’t any other guy that you knew, might even send you flowers except for them and JR of course.

Your phone rang as you saw JR calling you. Quickly you put down your stuff and walked to the stairwell for some privacy.

M: Hello?
Jr: Good Morning!
M: *laughs* Yes yes…. I saw that ….
Jr: like it?
M: How did you know where my workplace was?
Jr: That’s a secret… anyway I hope that keeps your other prospective suitors off.
M: how’d you know there was another?
Jr: HA! I guessed. Was mine really not the only one? Oh damn..
M: Is it some special occasion today or something?
Jr: It is, to me. It’s...... our 100th hour.
M: ARE U KIDDING ME? (mentally counts backwards and realised it was about 4 days ago indeed that you were with JR.) Oh... Jinyoung ah... You’re unbelievable seriously.
Jr: well not really exact but I just needed an excuse to do this. I hope you’ll be happy. Oh and I called to let you know I’ll be flying off later noon for a week or so… you promised me you’ll pick me? Right?
M: Yes I did! And I will Jinyoungie, don’t worry.
Jr: I’ll keep in touch. I’m thinking of you.
M: (somewhat dumbfounded) Well, have a safe trip. kay?
Jr: Wont u Miss me?
M: ahh... Hajima yo… it’s so cheesy Jinyoung…. Haha
Jr: Alright alright. Be good while I’m gone.

You hung up shortly after, feeling even more troubled than before. You couldn’t bring yourself to say anything to hurt the innocent and pure feelings he had. Yet you knew you were being unfair to him if you couldn’t decide on who you were going to settle with. Jr was so set on you that he would even walk hand in hand with you in public if you let him. On the other hand, Mark was secretive about things but you had an unspoken chemistry with him like no other. He was important to you as a friend but at the same time he made your heart race each time he came close. You remember the warmth of his lips and the comfort of his hugs. You had feelings for him, but what about JR? He was just like the prince that became a common folk just to win your heart and put you first over everything. He said he was sure he would be the best man to love you. Well, of course those were just words. But it felt that he was capable of that indeed.

“Why’s this so difficult ….” you sat on the stairs and put your head in your hands, closing your eyes hoping it would go away.

“Noona?” You looked up to see Bambam walking up the stairs.

“Bambam? Why are you here?” Startled that there would be some one and of all people, the little punk you only saw around your brother at home.

He smiled a little sheepishly “Oh, I … actually wanted to look for Jackson but cos I don’t have the access to your front office so I had to come from here.”

“Oh silly kid, just call me next time when you’re there and I’ll let you in. Hey Wait, you know Jackson??” This was giving you a headache already.

Bambam sat down beside you “Yeah I’ve known him for awhile now. We met at the –” stopping short remembering you weren’t supposed to know about their dinner meeting, he quickly changed his story. “… The restaurant near my house. Before he started working here.”

“Oh wow I see. So you guys go way back huh?” You figured they were friends that hung out since Jackson was more or less somewhere near Bambam's age.

“Kinda. Hey noona I’ll catch ya later okay? Gotta get back to work!” He ran off and waved goodbye.

You couldn’t connect the relations of everyone and felt that Jackson’s appearance couldn’t be as simple as it seemed… now that he was connected to Bambam. But what was the real deal here? Was Bambam really here to learn the ropes to take over the company? Then why didn’t Yugyeom know anything about it? Something just felt strange. You got up and went back to work, with too many questions in your mind.

You hoped Yugyeom on the other end would be okay and found some answers to the questions you both had, that wouldn’t jeopardise things as it were.

Mark briefly saw you sit down with a sigh and seeing the flowers on your desk, made him squirm in discomfort. He hated the idea of sharing you with anyone much less 2 other unknowns. He really had to do something before he came one step too late again. He’d never felt so anxious before because you had never entertained other guys that tried to get close at work. He’d always step in as your convenient decoy when need be and most guys backed off. But this time, he couldn’t. Because everyone knew now thanks to his big mouth, that not only was he single, but you as well.

“Urgh.” He let out a loud grunt in frustration.

“Sup Mark? “Jackson came around and put his hand on Mark’s shoulder. "So did you clear the air with my video?”

“Hey. Yeah it helped thanks. I owe you one.” Mark blurted unwillingly.

Jackson bent down to whisper in hushed tones to Mark, “Does she get flowers often?” Referring to you.

“She? Nah. The guys don’t dare to.” He shrugged and gave Jackson the unimpressed frown.

“Don’t dare? Why?” Asked Jackson.

“Cos there were too many rumours of us going out together. So unless he’s looking to get fired by me, or unless he’s sitting above me, otherwise they generally don’t do such open declarations. But she gets her fair share of them on Valentines… and so do I.” He grinned.

“Doesn’t she look happy? I wonder who’s the other one from… it came before I arrived” the inquisitive Jackson was out on prowl.

“You know the sender for one of them?” Asked Mark. Quick to pick up and read between the lines.

“OF COURSE! IT’S YOURS TRULY THE FLAWLESS WANG.” He beamed with pride written all over his face.

Mark choked in response and shock
“you WHAT?!?!”

“Shhhhh I didn’t put my name down! Don’t tell her!” Jackson cupped his hand over Mark’s mouth keeping it down.

Mark swatted his hand away unable to contain his shock “Jackson! dude! are you out of your mind?! She’s your BOSS for goodness sakes?!”

“I know! and that’s the only way I can think of!” His whisper was catching your attention and he hurriedly went back out instead. “Later, Mark”.

The day went by and you had no clue who the ‘Secret gardener’ could be. you absolutely loved lavender and you knew how hard it was to find them at where you were. This guy had definitely got lots of tricks up his sleeve to know this much about you.

As you ended the day, you felt like being alone for abit to sort out the tangles mess you got yourself into, with Mark and Jr.

You head to the park nearby to catch a breather as you sat down by a small pond. Watching the clouds drift by above you, you wonder what it would be if you hadn’t gone to the class reunion. You probably wouldn’t have kept contact with JB, JR, and goodness knows when Mark would have been pushed to reveal his feelings for you.
You did make it clear that office romance was a no-no and going against that yourself would be so wrong. At the same time, he had been your friend for so long, and you vaguely remember how you both met.

(Recollection of the past)

You picked up your books as the last class ended and you head home as usual. You were living alone then and dreaded the walk home. Putting in your earplugs you dragged your feet to the bus stop.

Over at the other end you saw a fair skinned and lanky boy, being spoken to by the principal in serious tones. He was being reprimanded for something and he looked so helpless in his baggy tees and weird bird nest red hair.

You passed them quickly and picked up a few words in the air. Seemed that he was flunking his grades and had problems mingling around. His parents were asked to come but they didn’t, so the principal asked to speak to him after school. These menial things weren’t usually handled by her so you figured he was definitely not just any student.

Later at the bus stop you saw him walking by again, his face downcast. It turned out you both were heading up the same bus. You let him move before you to scan his student card on the machine but it beeped loudly in error while he sighed and started digging his bag for some coins. You tapped yours instead for him, pushing the card into his hand. “Here. I’ve got a spare.” And tapped another card for yourself moving pass him to the back row.

He followed behind you and sat at the empty spot, “Hey thanks. I’ve been having trouble with this card.” He spoke in a thick American accent that gave his descent away at once.

“Are you new around here?” You asked.

“Yeah. Hello, I’m Mark.” He held out his hands and smiled brightly.

“I’m Mandy. I saw you talking to the Principal awhile ago. I figured you must have transferred over.”

He looked down at his hands and bit his lip. As you saw his side profile up close, you noticed how high his nose bridge was and the whiteness of his skin. It was almost like a cream pudding.

“Well… adjusting to the area is hard enough but matching up to the grades I got in with, is worse. I…. I moved out of my parents home back in the states, because I didn’t like the pressure there was on me. I’m the oldest son and I’m expected to follow in the footsteps of my sisters, who have become quite accomplished in their fields. As for me, I’ve only managed to enter a faculty of law in Harvard.”

Your jaw dropped. Did he just say ONLY? Harvard? Law?

He politely continued, “but that wasn’t my choice.”

“But how did you end up here… in this… erm, common university with such an impressive qualification?” You asked while completely baffled.

“I knew I wanted a normal life, one that was free from all the socialite lifestyles or prestigious pretense. I hated reading and I barely scraped through the exams. It was by ….. shall I say, influence and affiliation that my place was secured. The grades I had were just enough to put me through to this school. And I changed my name so my parents wouldn’t be traced.”

“So you mean your grades were…… bad? That’s….. not possible I mean, we’re talking about HARVARD here dude.” You were by now quite sympathetic about his plight.

“Haha… of course they weren’t bad. I came in as your top student. That’s of course how I could join midway through the term. But I’m really struggling with the language."  Mark sighed.

"You’re American Korean?” You asked.

“No I’m American born Taiwanese.” He answered, “and … you?”

“Oh. I’m Chinese too! It’s just that my brother and I have Korean surnames from way back in time but I speak English and Chinese and my brother speaks more Korean when we have to.”

That bus journey was one of the longest and most entertaining ones that you had, having found so much in common with Mark and became his first friend as well.

It had been close to 7 years since, and you had your share of guys who wanted to know you, and he too had hits and misses with some girls. All of which you never really thought were good enough for him. Afterall he was hardly lacking in the looks or personality department, that you had to always act as his stand in girlfriend whenever he needed a decoy and sometimes he had to do so for you. He would argue that it was what friends were for.

But things changed since the night he fell sick. It was then that you found out he wanted to be more than just friends.

As you introspected deeply, you knew deep down that Mark was irreplaceable. You could imagine life without Jinyoung but definitely not Mark. You liked him. ALOT.

You truly understood what it meant to be caught in between a rock and a hard place, because on the other hand, Jinyoung was such a sweet and tender loving young man. So kind and just so innocently devoted. You could tell he would make the perfect husband and it was just your fortune to be the focus of his affection. Imagine the girls that he had from his long standing celebrity circle, many of which had even openly expressed their interest but he was hardly bothered.

You sighed for the umpteenth time.
Catching your head in your hands, you let out a ramble of frustrations. “arghhhhhsssss! I dontknowwhattodoooooooo!!!!”

Your sudden outburst startled another girl t the end of the bench, as she jerked in shock, and dropped her map into the pond.

“OMG Choesongheyo!! I’M SO SORRY!” your attempt at flinging your arms over the ledge proved futile as the map drifted further away.

The girl looked at you speechless.
“I’m so, so so sorry!! Are you heading somewhere? I’ll help you, I live here!” You eagerly wanted to make it up to her.

“I’m… looking for a hostel nearby actually.” She spoke and you immediately recognised a gentle European sounding accent even though she looked Asian like you. She seemed to be a little lost and out of sorts.

“Hey, you okay?” You moved closer to her and laid your hand carefully on her arm. She was a little younger than you and had nice petite features, hiding behind black rimmed glasses.

“Uh, yes. It’s just, that I can’t speak Korean and I was fired from my job after a week. So I had to move out of the lodging.” You smiled mildly at her seeing that there were a few bags with her.

“Let me search it online for you. It’s getting late though you need to find a place soon before sunset. Do you have a budget?” You asked, with the local hotel app ready on hand.

“I……. don’t.” She shook her head and looked down.

“Oh, hmm ok then let’s start from the nearest to the city centre!” Happily you scrolled… and scrolled… “this one’s nice, hmmmm this one’s good too! I’ve read lots of reviews about the food. Oh and this one is really nice! It’s got a pool and —–” you looked up expecting some positive response from her instead you were met with a strained expression.

“It’s. . It’s. . Too expensive……. I didn’t get paid when they threw me out…. so I…. … I …… ….. only have 50 dollars.” She held her tears as she looked away briefly.

“Are you kidding me? Come stand up! Let’s go!” You stood up angrily, unable to stand injustice towards such since you were a foreigner yourself and tugged at her arm to get going.

“Where to?”

“I’m gonna get your money back for you! Lead the way!” You started picking up her bags and taking her luggage with you.

“It’s okay the boss is… nasty.. it’s okay thank you for your thought…” she tried to hold you back but you simply fished out a card from her bag.

“Is this the place?” You scrutinised the restaurant and found that it was the one under your office. The one you patronised often.

“Yy..yyes…” she hesitantly replied.

“Good. Let’s go. I’ll lead the way.” You grabbed her by the shoulders and hung her bag on her, and took her by the hand back to your company.
** “Welcome!” ** greeted the boss that served you lunch today.

“Hey dude, I heard you let go of a kitchen staff today?” You asked.

The boss was a young man around your age, and you were no stranger to him having been having your meals there for the last few years.

“Yeah! She couldn’t even understand the cook, how could I keep her?” He frowned.

“What’s your hourly rate like anyways?” You sat down casually, as you left the girl outside.

“I can’t afford you. don’t bother. But if you’ve got someone for me, I’ll take them for 10.” He smirked while trying his luck on you.

“Well then that’s great, it means you owe her 560.” You pushed the door open and pulled the bashful girl in.

“You–!” The boss was obviously appalled to see you both together.

“I’m sure you can afford that. Afterall you don’t want me speaking to my leasing department on this do you? Withholding wages in addition to discrimination isn’t the best combination for an image like yours, Mr nice guy.”

“Oh of course not, I wasn’t even intending to withhold anything what have you been hearing!  Come come, Miss Wu please come this way, you should have just told me that we missed your cheque…” he ushered the girl to his counter while he flustered around looking for his chequebook.

“Oh and just to remind you, an invalid cheque is worth a lawsuit of fraud. Not saying that you would of course.” You shrugged and helped yourself to a glass of water.

“Here, here, here you go. All the best young lady! It was nice to have you.” He smiled awkwardly and handed her a cheque of the amount almost twice of what she thought she was getting.

You stood up and said your goodbyes and brought her out with you.

“Oh goodness, I couldn’t thank you enough… this is so overwhelming! I was only going to be getting $300 but omg. Thank you, thank you! Please tell me what I can do to show you my thanks!”

“For a start I don’t know your name?” You smiled and put your hand out, “I’m Mandy and I work in this company.”

She took your hand with both of hers, “I'm really glad to meet you, I’m Miyaru but you could just call me Miya.”

You felt a strange urge to befriend her.
Was it because of her situation or was it your guilty conscience?
No. It seemed more than that.
There was just something about her that you just couldn’t put your finger to. You just…… had that feeling that you wanted to give her a place to stay and made sure you would see her ok tomorrow again.

“Hey Miya, why don’t you come and live in my house while searching for a job? And it is pretty late right now I can’t let you be roaming around the park.” You asked cautiously knowing that you were just about to invite a complete a stranger into your home, without even asking Yugyeom yet.

She held up both her hands and shook her head, “How could I ?! No no I don’t want to trouble you any further, you must be tired from from a long day at work at this big company…” she said as she waved her hands in the air signalling the large 4 story void of lobby space where you both stood.

“Well ok here’s my number. If you get to a hostel or whatever you call me and let me know what you’re safe. And if you don’t, call me and I’ll come get you. Got it? So whichever way I’ll be waiting for your call.” You passed your card with your number on it and made sure she understood.

As Miya took it she wasn’t sure what to say, feeling touched at a stranger’s overwhelming care for her.

“Alright.” She looked and you and smiled. “I couldnt Thank you enough, Mandy. I will stay safe please have a safe trip home tonight too!” She reached forward and pulled you into a warm hug, catching you by pleasant surprise.

You watched her leave as you also headed home, sinking into the reality of the present, where you had another tricky situation waiting for you at home.

-to be continued!

Thanks all my readers who have been waiting for this chapter as well as your very entertaining comments on your thoughts of the plot! Tell me how this Chpt was please! I will be more than willing to reply each and every one of you :)

Notes