Searching Through The Woods

Ra Ra sat on the bed next to mine whilst contemplating on the words of Virel. "...everyone needs someone. And you… need to be comforted. I will be that friend who always comforts you."

Suddenly, a sound interrupted her thoughts and she looked at the direction of the sound. I had just unlocked the door and pushed it open.

"Are you back for good or will you return?" She asked me.

"I'm back for good", I replied. She opened her bag and took out my phone. I was so happy to see that she had it with her. "How did you get that?" I asked.

"If only you had brought this with you, then I wouldn't have gone through all that stress. Next time, don't leave your phone at your workplace or anywhere else, okay?" She was as strict as ever.

"Yes ma'am", I replied. After receiving the phone from her, I turned it on and saw the missed calls, the most recent ones were coming from dad.

I quickly called him back. "Hello dad!"

"Amy? How are you doing?" He asked but before I could give a reply, a feminine voice took over and asked: "Amy, where are you? Is everything okay? Have you eaten?"

"Mom", I said softly. She wasn't the type who usually cared that much about me, so this action of hers really touched me.

"Say something, would you?" She sounded like a typical caring mother. "Mom, dad, I'm okay", I replied before hearing a voice shout in the background: "Is that Amy?"

She took the phone from my parents and asked: "Amy, when will you be coming home?"

"Do you miss me already?" I asked and she replied, "Not at all. The thing is that the Maths problem that you solved was completely correct. According to the teacher, I answered it very professionally, like an engineering student. Sister, I must admit that you are a genius in Maths", she said happily.

"What Maths are you…" I nearly asked what would have created a lot of confusion but Ra Ra, who was very smart with this stuff, snatched the phone from my hand and took over.

"Poppy, is that you?" She asked. My younger sister, who was more of a fan of my friend due to her tall, slim figure, asked: "Ra Ra, are you with my older sister?"

"Yes, we are together. Will you be free this weekend?" My friend asked her. "Yes, why?" She asked with a lot of excitement in her voice.

"I was thinking of going out with you and Amy. What do you think?" Ra Ra asked. There was no way my sister would say no. And of course, she ended up saying: "Deal, I'm in. Can I bring my friend along?"

"Yes, why not, bring her along", she replied. "Yes, bye", Ra Ra hastily ended the call.

The laser stare she received nearly shot into her eyes. Returning the phone, she went on to say, "I will explain everything right now."

"You better do", I responded.

In the same room as Jin Ho, V was also thinking about Ra Ra's reply. After he had told her that he would be her friend, she replied back saying: "I don't need you as my friend. Amy is my friend and family. I don't know anyone else."

"Amy is my only family? Doesn't she have anyone else? Should I do a background check on her?" He asked himself.

"Do it and have your head chopped off", Jin Ho replied.

"You scared me. When did you return?" V asked Jin Ho after seeing him seated on the bed.

"You are easily scared, aren't you?" Jin Ho asked. The shy boy replied: "No, I'm not."

"Are you even a man? Does it work?" Jin Ho asked with reference to the number one property of all men.

"Of course it does", he replied with a lot of confidence. "Looking at your confidence, it seems like it really functions. Have you tested it before?" Jin Ho asked in a teasing manner.

"Hey!" V was getting angry. "Just pulling your legs", Jin Ho laughed out.

Ra Ra wanted to rest for a while. It was in the early parts of the night but the only thing she could think about were the words, "And you… need to be comforted."

Not being able to take a nap, she got up from her bed and headed out.

"Where are you going?" I asked and she replied: "Going to have some snacks."

After stepping out, she went to the kitchen and saw Jang Sik's wife preparing dinner whilst her husband hugged her from behind. Not wanting to disturb their romantic setting, she went outside for some air. She then saw Virel also standing outside.

"How did I end up meeting you here?" She asked him.

V, who had not seen her presence, quickly turned around and saw her. He was shocked to see her.

Ra Ra approached him and asked with sharp eyes: "You! Don't you have anyone to talk to?"

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Mom, dad, don't you have one?" She emphasized. "I do. I just don't want to get in touch with them", he replied.

"Why?" She asked but surprisingly, he replied: "I don't think I owe you an explanation", and quickly ran back inside.

"Wow, did that little thing… I'm pissed off", she said as she gasped for air. Despite all the air blowing around her, she was feeling suffocated.

A few minutes later, we were all seated at the table for dinner. This time round, V and Ra Ra were the citadel of the dinner and this allowed Jin Ho to disappear like the wind.

Since I had to help in answering some of Ra Ra's questions, I couldn't chase after him quickly. But once I had finished my meal, I went out in search of him.

"Where could he have gone to?" I asked as I looked around.

As my eyes roved about the compound, a voice said to me: "Let me guess. Are you searching for the tall, handsome and well-built Jin Ho?"

Knowing that voice very well, I reply saying: "Yes, where is he?"

"That means you agree with me", Jang Sik chuckled. "That's not it", I strongly denied his argument.

"It's okay, it's okay. One's features can't be denied. He's in the forest", he revealed.

"What?" I was shocked.

"He went in there but hasn't come out", he added.

"Which part of it?" I asked, only to hear him say: "The part with no light. I guess he wants some privacy. If you just wanted to say something trivial, then there is no need to take the risk. But if you wanted to see him for a special reason, then you might go ahead."

"Thanks a lot Jang Sik. You are very kind", I replied and went ahead.

Jang Sik looked at me in disbelief. "She went. Does that mean that she likes him?" He asked himself. But then, he heard his wife reply: "No, it means that she has started developing feelings for him. It won't take long before it happens."

"What?" He asked, trying to figure out what his wife was really talking about.

"Their first kiss", she enlightened him. "Hahaha!" Jang Sik laughed out heartily.

But since they were talking about kisses, his wife asked him: "Honey, do you remember our first kiss?"

Jang Sik's eyes nearly popped out. All of a sudden, he began sweating profusely. "That… " he said as he tried to recall but couldn't.

His wife looked at him and asked: "Don't tell me that you have forgotten about it?"

"Who says I have forgotten? I remember everything clearly. But do you need to hear it now?" He asked as he tried to buy some time.

"You don't remember, do you?" His wife asked and he laughingly told her: "Hahaha, wasn't it on a rainy day?"

But she replied: "It snowed on that day."

"Snowed? Yeah, it snowed. You wore a pink dress that day, right?" He guessed for the second time.

"Blue dress, not pink", he was corrected.

"Ah right, it was blue. I proposed shortly after that though", he added. That was the worst answer he had given so far as his wife corrected him by saying: "Honey, we were already married before we had our first kiss."

"What?" Jang Sik couldn't believe it. Why couldn't he remember it? His wife frowned at him and turned around. With a blazing fire flaming in her, she left him on the compound. He started running after her whilst saying: "Sweetie, wait up!"

No matter how fast he was, he couldn't catch up with his wife. Feeling disappointed in himself, his wobbly legs fell to the ground as he asked himself: "How did I mix that up? Sweetie, wait for me." He cried out.

With my phone's torch light, I searched for Jin Ho in the woods. I was at the darkest part but couldn't see anyone around. Hence, I decided to call him out. "Jin Ho! Jin Ho!" Unable to hear any response, I asked myself: "Is he really here?"

I was throwing the light about and saw something lying on the tree. Since I had read about how tigers liked to sleep on trees, my heart raced out as I exclaimed: "Oh my! It's a tiger!"

A voice from above said to me: "Now, I'm a tiger. I see, what other animal do I look like?" He asked. I could finally tell who it was.

"Jin Ho! I'm sorry", I apologized.

"Don't… say that word", he reminded me.

"I mistook you for a tiger. I didn't mean to", I still apologized I'm a more formal way.

"Why did you come here?" He asked whilst in the midst of the tree.

I actually had no great reason to be there, therefore I had to quickly prepare a story. "Umm… I… wanted to tell you that we will be leaving first thing in the morning. And Vinegar, I mean V ordered for a helicopter", I mentioned.

"Was that it?" He asked.

"Yes", I replied. Embarrassingly, he told me: "V has already sent me a text."

"What? Ah, you had the information already?" I tried to look cool.

"Why did you come here?" He asked yet again. "Why did I even come here?" I asked myself.

Just then, he jumped from the tree and landed his copper feet on the ground. "Oh my!" I got scared.

"Where did you learn how to jump like that?" I asked him.

He brushed away my question and said: "If you are done, then I will leave."

With his long legs, he was about to make a move but I grabbed his arm and said: "Hold on. I came to tell you that… I…"

He looked at me intensely and that made my heart start pounding heavily. He got closer and I went backwards. But before I realized, I had lost my balance and slipped backwards.

"Woah!" I exclaimed as I saw my body moving in reverse mode. However, a hand grasped my waist and pulled me closer. I extended my hand over his neck and held him tightly. But my heart couldn't stop beating quickly. This was mainly because my body had been drawn extremely close to his and I could feel his breath constantly traveling down my skin.

At that moment, I remembered what happened that night.