What I Did For Love

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Chapter 2

Ji Won stared at the girl who had just walked away. ‘She must be the nicest or dumbest person in this world,’ he thought. He began to stand up but had to use the wall for balance. That girl had kicked him a little too hard. Ji Won had just run away from home again. He had ran away so many times that the alley was his second home. When he ran away he always stole his parents’ money.

He belonged to the richest family in all of Hawaii but they were also the disfunctional family. His father would have a lot of women with him and would betray a friend if it meant having more money. His mother was no different. She always had these young men around her and spent money like crazy. His parents were divorced and lived on opposite ends of Hawaii. ‘Bitch and bastard,’ thought Ji Won.

When he ran away this time, he didn’t have the chance to steal any money from his dad. So he had no choice but to rob somebody. When he saw the young girl walking out of the store, she seemed to be the perfect target. But obviously, it didn’t go that well.

Ji Won kept wondering why the girl gave him the money even though he could have killed her. Ji Won knew he couldn’t take the money because she was the first person in his messed up life that was nice to him because she wanted to be, not because she wanted something from him. He wanted to give the money back. When he gained some of his strength back, he caught up and began to follow her..

When I came home, I was greeted by the usual words. “Ugly wretch, wicked girl, freeloader, etc.” Luckily I made it through dinner fine. When dinner was finished, my parents went to sleep, leaving me with the dishes. I cleaned the table and washed the dishes. While I was taking out the trash someone suddenly grabbed me from behind.

My attacker turned me around to face him. It was the same boy I met in the alley. I began to panic. “I gave you all my money already! What more do you want from me?” He raised a finger to his lips and tried to shush me. I felt one of my attacks coming on. I started to hyperventilate and couldn’t breathe. I was beginning to black out.

Ji Won looked at the girl who looked like she was going to die. “Oh my God! Are you okay?” This time it was the girl’s turn to shake her head no. Then she collapsed in his arms. Ji Won didn’t know what to do but he had to save her life. He began to give her mouth to mouth. “Come on,” he whispered to her. “Breathe. Don’t die on me.” After a while she began coughing and opened her eyes.

I opened my eyes and saw a blurry object heading towards me. Then I felt something soft pressing against my lips and I felt a gust of air. Then I realized the boy was giving me air. I couldn’t believe what was happening. I blushed and gently pushed him away. “Thank you for saving me. I’m okay now.”

The boy turned slightly red. “Uhh.. you’re welcome. You kinda scared me there.”

“Sorry about that. Well, what is it that you want from me?”

“Here.” He handed me back the same ten dollars I had given him. I looked up at him. “No, it’s okay. Keep it. I think you need it or you wouldn’t have tried to rob me.” He shook his head. “No. I just wanted to borrow it only. I don’t take charity. Well, goodbye.”

Just as he walked away, I heard his stomach grumble. I bit my tongue so I wouldn’t laugh. Since he didn’t take charity, I said, “Um, hey. I just made some food and I don’t know if it’s good or not. I need a guinea pig because I don’t want to serve it to my parents if it isn’t and besides, you did save my life.”

Ji Won looked at her. ‘Why is she being so nice to me?’ he thought. He knew she was just saying that because she heard him say he doesn’t want charity. Ji Won’s stomach was growling like crazy. He had not eaten for 2 days already and the mention of food was killing him. “Uh, okay. I guess I’ll be your guinea pig since I have nothing to do.” He studied her face as she smiled at him. ‘She’s pretty,’ he thought as he smiled back.

I let the boy wait outside as I got some of the leftover mee-yuk-gook for him. He finished it in less than a minute. Then he leaned back and sighed. Out of nowhere, he let out a burp. I had to giggle. He looked at me and smiled. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay.”

I hesitated before I asked him the next question. “Umm.. so what’s your name?” He glanced at me and then stared at the ground. I could tell he was debating to tell me his real name or not. I didn’t want him to feel obligated to telling me his name. “It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

Ji Won looked at her surprised. “No! It isn’t that!” he yelled. She stared back at him surprised too. Then he lowered his voice. “I’m sorry. Please don’t misunderstand.” She nodded her head slowly and Ji Won could tell that she was confused. Ji Won felt that he could trust her and he wanted her to be his friend.

“My name is Eun Ji Won and you are?”

“Nam Mi-Na, but call me Mina. It’s easier to remember.” Then she gave him the sweetest smile. Ji Won felt his heart beat a little faster when she smiled at him. He blushed and looked away. “So uh, how old are you?”

“13,” she replied. “And you Ji Wonee?”

He smiled when she called him that. “I’m 15,” he said turning back to look at her.

“15?” I asked in disbelief.

Ji Won nodded. “Where are your parents oppa? You’re too young to be living in the streets.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I can take care of myself.” I gave him a doubtful look because he was trying to pull that tough guy act on me. “It’s okay though,” he told me. “I have a family. It’s just that things are bad at home so I’m just getting away from it for a while.” ‘So he ran away,’ I figured out.

I could tell that Ji Won was a good person. “Do you have a place to stay tonight?” He shook his head. “How about staying in my room then,” I offered.

Ji Won couldn’t believe his ears. He stared at Mina. ‘Did she just offer me a place to stay?’ “Ji Won?” Mina asked as she waved a hand in front of his face. “Are you okay?”

Ji Won shook his head and snapped out of it. She placed her hand on his knee. “Oppa, I asked if you want to stay in my room for tonight?” Ji Won was so touched that he felt his heart ache. No one had ever cared about him so much but he didn’t want to feel as though he owed her. “No thanks.”

Mina looked at him with her big sad eyes. “Please oppa? I’m afraid of the dark.” Ji Won smiled. He knew she was lying so he would say yes. For the first time in his life, Ji Won felt warm inside because he is wanted. He let out a sigh. “Aigo Mina, okay. You talked me into it. But just for tonight though.” She giggled and nodded.

“Okay.”

Silently, I led Ji Won into my room. My room was small and luckily, it was far away from my parents so they can’t hear much. I let Ji Won have the bed while I take the floor. ‘Damn,’ I thought. ‘Why does the floor have to be so cold and hard?’

Ji Won stared down at Mina who was trying to sleep on the cold stone floor. He picked her up easily and lifted her onto the bed.

“Oppa? What are you doing?” I whispered as my eyes grew wide.

“Do you trust me?” he asked.

I nodded my head slowly.

“Good,” he said. “This bed is small but it’ll fit both of us.”

My eyes grew wider at what Ji Won had just said. But I had just told him that I trust him. I couldn’t take my words back so I had no choice but to sleep with him. We both got in my bed and slept side by side. I was so nervous, I couldn’t sleep. Ji Won, on the other hand, had no problem. He fell asleep instantly.

I turned my head over to look at him. His face looked so innocent, like an angel, when he was slept. Who would have thought he was such a devil when he’s awake and moving?

An hour had passed and it was 3 in the morning. I still couldn’t sleep. Suddenly something weird happened. Ji Won turned his entire body around and did a 360°, kicking me. “Ow!” I cried out but covered my mouth so my parents wouldn’t hear me. When he was done, he had this happy look on his face.

At first I thought he was just playing with me but he really did do a 360 in his sleep. Suddenly he reached over and held me tight. My entire body went tense and rigid. I could feel Ji Won’s light breathing on my neck. I don’t know why but now that Ji Won was this close, it made me feel better. It’s probably because I’ve never been this close to a person in a long time. Soon I began to fall asleep too..

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