Chapter 5: I have an idea. Do you trust me?~Elphena
"This is it! I'm gonna win! I'm gonna win!" Heechul grinned.
"Nu-uh! I'm gonna win!" I giggled.
"Nooooo!" Heechul shouted.
The Frozen Frefall game on Heechul's iPhone was a whole box of items and there was no more space for him to swipe them off.
"Yes! I beat you!" I screamed like a little girl and shoved mine with a higher score right in front of his face.
"Aish! I should have won! I'm always a master at this game!" Heechul whined.
"Maybe we can have another match soon?" I patted his shoulder, grinning like a Chesire cat.
"Deal." Heechul agreed.
Ding Dong!
"Oh! That must be Liz!" I said. I went to open the door; Liz immediately dragged a suitcase through the door.
"Whoa! You look like you got kicked out or something." Heechul chuckled.
"It's just a week, Heechul." I rolled my eyes.
Liz pressed her left hand against the wall as she stopped pulling the suitcase.
"Next time...I'll have to bring the one with four wheels." she panted.
"Sorry to trouble you, Liz." I mumbled.
"Huh? Oh...it's...cool...I'm...glad...I...can...help..." she breathed as she collapsed next to Heechul on the couch as if the dorm was her second home.
"Whoa! You okay?" Heechul asked. He craned his neck to take a closer look at Liz. Once she looked at him, her eyes widened and her mouth was hung open.
"Is it just me or did I just see a hot guy this close?" Liz exclaimed.
"Well, as a matter of fact, you're talking to universe pop star Kim Heechul." he replied.
Liz jumped off the couch and stared back at him in awe, "Elphena, you didn't tell me about this smoking hot guy in Super Junior, did you?"
"What are you talking about? I've told you about every member in SuJu before, but you always mess up with their names." I corrected.
"Oh! Right..."
"So...where is the room I'm gonna sleep in?" I questioned.
"Right this way." Heechul got up and led me to a room with dark blue wallpaper. A portrait of all thirteen members was hung above a computer and blue Christmas lights surrounding its sides. A queen-sized bed with a blue checkered quilt was at another corner. The one thing that caught my eye the most was a huge framed photo of a city which was hung above an empty wooden desk.
"This is..." I exclaimed.
"Donghae's room. Yeah, pretty cool, huh?" Heechul smiled.
"It's so cool!" I smiled, "I thought he shares a room with Eunhyuk."
"Oh, well we kind of said it wrong." Heechul explained, "Eunhyuk actually has his own room in his parents' apartment."
"Oh, yeah! Now that you've mentioned it, I've watched his housewarming party video on Youtube."
"You definitely are an ELF." Heechul praised.
Just then, Liz pulled my suitcase to the room and all she responded was, "Wow!"
"I know!" I laughed.
Liz quickly glanced at the time on her phone.
"Oh! Shoot! I have to go help my mom at her restaurant!" she gasped.
"I'll escort you out of the apartment if you like." Heechul offered.
"Thanks, but I know how to get to my car." Liz refused and bowed before Heechul and I, "Call me if you need anything, okay? Annyeong!"
"You've got a cute friend there." Heechul smirked.
"She's probably into you." I winked.
"Ah! Yes, everybody's into me. I'm beautiful." he boasted.
* * *
"Are you sure you wanna do this? The paparazzi will be after you again." Jung Hoon said.
He parked a few yards from the entrance of Seoul National University. He pushed the gearshift lever to parking mode and looked at me worriedly.
"Don't worry, manager-ssi! I'll walk out straight to your van once my class is over, just like what we've planned." I replied. I covered my head with the hood of my sky blue hoodie, put on my favourite pair of black shades, and slung my handbag over my right shoulder.
"Be careful, okay? If anything happens, call me immediately." he reminded.
"Neh, algesubnida! (Okay, I understand)"
Hoping that no one recognized me in this disguise, I tiptoed up the stairs and straight through the glass doors of the campus building. As I made my way to my classroom, my peripheral vision caught up with staring students. They were like bats aiming to attack me.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." my conscience echoed.
I shuffled to an opened elevator and shakily pressed the "3rd floor" button. A couple of students came in and stood at a corner. They didn't even move forward to press the buttons. I assumed that they were going to the same floor.
"Mrs. Wong?" a voice made me jump. Who the heck was that? A ghost?
I turned and saw Miko and Kinora looking suspiciously at me, "Why are you wearing sunglasses? It's gonna rain today." Kinora asked.
"Oh! Uh...I just bought this new pair so I thought I want to show it off." I replied with a fake smile.
"I see.." Kinora nodded.
The doors opened, just in time for me to scram.
"See you in class then! There's still five minutes left!" I said and shuffled to the staff restroom which was a few feet from the students' restrooms. Gosh! That...was scary! I wondered if they were just being nice or they were spying on me. My head felt a little dizzy. I decided to put my hood down and rinsed my face with water. Geez...I should have bought aspirin.
* * *
"So today...I'm gonna get you all in groups to discuss about your favourite books. I'll also will give you a writing exercise as a kick start for your first assignment. " I announced. The students kept giving me cold looks, but I continued on giving them instructions about their first group participation. Besides it's my class, I have to give them the best impression possible.
They looked like they were co-operating. I heard familiar titles like The Hunger Games, Divergent, and The Fault In Our Stars. Some even had already came up with brief ideas about their first fiction draft because they got inspired by the novels they had read.
After ending the group chatters and listening to each of their favourite fiction, I decided to call in a fifteen-minute break. Everyone didn't want to be in the classroom; they all walked out to get coffee.
Ah college kids! It reminded me of my university days. Good times.
I got up and headed to the staff restroom again. This time, I really needed to pee after drinking half of my water bottle just to save my dry throat and my nervousness. Minutes later, I came out, feeling refreshed. But as I took a step forward, quick footsteps echoed from the opened elevator. A group of reporters and cameramen stormed in like a swarm of bees! They crowded around me and I just stood there like a statue. What...in...the..world????
"What's all this commotion?" the dean of the university, Mr. Song Hyun squeezed in the circle. He looked at me with a frown on his tomato-shaped face,
"Sir, I can explain!" I stammered.
"I don't have time for that, Mrs. Wong." he boomed, "I know what's going on. It's all over the news."
White stars flashed that blinded my eyes. Geez...I hate cameras with flashes. I clutched my handbag tightly and I scanned for a way to escape from this ring of crazy animals, but I was the center of attention and they were pushing one another to get a good view of their culprit.
"Why are you here?" the dean growled, "Because of you, these people invade my campus without permission."
I opened my mouth to answer, but my throat went super dry. Again.
"I usually don't do this to my lecturers but," he said, "You're fired. I don't ever want to see your face at Seoul National University again."
I could feel my insides tearing apart like paper. Did he just give up on me? I just got the job, for goodness sake!
"But sir, I..."
"No buts!" he roared, "You're not to teach here again. AM I CLEAR?"
The chatters died down, but the cameras were still flashing.
I nodded in reply, "Neh, algesubnida! (Okay, I understand)"
The dean turned back. He pushed the people away but they were like a stone barrier, blocking him back in the circle.
"Let me out!" he yelled. Microphones were poking at him and cameras suddenly switched to his attention.
A hand suddenly grabbed on mine and another one covered my mouth. Oh, what now??? I wanted to scream, but my whole body was dragged away. I was brought to the classroom which was a few doors away from the restrooms. The kidnapper finally let go off his hands.
"Who the heck..." I paused as I saw the dark brown eyes that somehow calmed me down,
"Kyuhyun? What are you doing here?"
"What? I've saved you once again, and I didn't get a thank you?" he raised his eyebrow.
"You shouldn't be here!" I said.
"And so are you! You should know that you're everyone's target."
"Oh geez..." I sighed. I felt light-headed once more. I quickly sat at my desk to massage my temples.
"Listen," he explained, "You have to pack up your things so that we can get out of here, alright? I'm taking you to somewhere else."
"Your apartment?"
"Uh, no...I have a schedule coming up, and I'm taking you with me."
"But there will be paparazzi as well, right?"
"Not necessary." he smirked.
I stuffed my water bottle, pencil case, and books into my handbag. The only thing that I didn't feel like bringing was the binder with the class' attendance lists, teaching plans, and activity sheets.
"Aren't you gonna bring that with you?" Kyuhyun asked.
"No," I shook my head, "I got fired anyway."
"Are you serious?"
"Sad, huh?" I let out a fake laugh, "Besides, someone's gonna replace me. It's better than being stared by a bunch of cold-looking students."
"I..I'm really sorry." Kyuhyun responded.. His eyes were now a darker shade. The colour of pity and sadness. I couldn't stand seeing him looking at me like that.
"Let's just get out of here." I said.
Kyuhyun pushed the door and stuck his head out. He immediately closed the door, "One problem, the paparazzi's still there."
"Are you freaking kidding me?" I groaned.
"Is there an emergency exit near by?"
"I don't know! I've only been here for two days!"
"Dammit..."
I peeked through the door and suddenly spotted a yellow janitor cart which was parked near the door of the opposite classroom. Luckily, the lights of that classroom were off.
"I have an idea. Do you trust me?" I asked.
He put his sunglasses on and fixed the navy blue beanie that covered his hair, "What you got, Elphena?"
"Let's just say you're gonna be garbage in this escape plan." I winked.
"I don't like the sound of that." he bit his lip.
"You just have to squeeze into that big vinyl bag of that cart. Can you do that?"
"Why not you do it?"
"Because I know the way out." I replied, "Plus you're an idol, I know a lot of SuJu fans in this school."
"Okay fine then." he shrugged his shoulders.
Kyuhyun sneaked out first and put his left foot into the yellow sack.
"It's a little small!" he complained.
"Just get in!" I hissed. I tried not to laugh because he looked like a baby chick hatched from an egg. He finally squeezed himself into the sack. I took my hoodie off and covered the top of the sack with it. Good thing I still had my black cardigan on to keep myself from shivering in the spring temperature. I pushed the cart down the hallway. A group of students went out of the elevator, just in time for me to push the cart in.
"Eww!" a voice muffled from the empty garbage bag.
"What?"
"There's a chewed gum here!"
"Oh, be quiet! We're almost there!"
That's it! Ground floor! I pushed the cart from the lift and straight towards the doors. The students who roamed around the area looked like they had never seen a freshly-minted but expelled lecturer running away with a janitor cart, but I didn't care. All I thought about was a car waiting for me outside to escape from this hell.
I charged straight to the doors that the cart hit against the glass. Pretty hard.
"Ouch!" I heard Kyuhyun yelped.
I stopped pushing and lifted my hoodie off the garbage bag.
"Sorry! I should have walked backwards to push the door." I said.
"Well you should have done that seconds ago!" he snapped. He pushed both hands on the sides of the cart and got out of the yellow vinyl sack.
"Where did it hurt?"
"On my head...and my arm."
"Sorry! Sorry sorry sorry sorry!" I put my palms together and moved it from my right to my left.
Kyuhyun let out a small laugh. He suddenly grabbed my right hand and ran down the stairs.
"So where's the van?" I looked around.
"There's no van. We're taking another car." he answered.
"Oh really? Whose car?"
He took me to the parking lot and fished in his jeans pocket for a set of car keys.
"No way!" I gasped.
He pressed a remote and a black Audi A7 beeped in front of us.
"This...is your car?"
"Yeap," he smiled, "I'm your driver for the day."
He opened the passenger door and beamed, "Hop in!"
It was like living in the dream. Kyuhyun was a smooth driver. His hands gripped comfortably on the steering wheel and his posture was definitely an A+ in a driver's test. He was so focused on the road. So confident...and sexy.
"I thought we were like Charlie's Angels back there. Sneaking out of the university with a cleaning cart. That's a brilliant spy scene movie directors will go crazy for." he laughed.
"Yeah, pretty crazy huh." I agreed. And then, the scene replayed in my head. The dean's words stuck out to me like a magnet.
"You're not to teach here again. AM I CLEAR?" his stern voice rang.
Unexpectedly, tears streamed down from my eyes. Kyuhyun glanced at me with a furrowed brow. The traffic light in front turned red. His foot pressed against the brake and the car came to a complete stop.
"Hey, what's wrong? First, you're determined to get out and went full speed like a maniac. And now you're upset."
"I...I just...I can't believe I've lost my first full-time job. That's my only chance to earn money to survive here." I chocked back tears.
"Why don't you get a new job then?"
"I don't know...maybe now's not a good time...if only all of...this wouldn't have happened, I'll get a steady job in peace."
There was a silence. I couldn't stand silence. Even though I was sniffling and hiccuping as tears kept flowing, I thought it was really embarrassing to be in his car, crying.
He did a parallel parking between a couple of small cars. He stared at me for a long minute. I wanted to stop crying but I couldn't. He suddenly pulled out a tissue from the tissue box in the glove compartment. He reached out to my left eye and wiped my tears with it. Then, he did the same to my right eye. He was just so gentle. And surprisingly, my tears stopped welling. He wiped my cheeks and my nose as well.
"Can you smile for me?"
I looked into his eyes, and soon a small smile was on my face.
"That's better." he smiled, "A girl is the most beautiful when she smiles."
His voice was like a power up to my heart. I could even feel it.
"Can I...uh...call you by another name?" he asked.
"What?"
"Since your name is Elphena and the first four letters rhymes with ELF, as in Everlasting Friend, how about I call you Elph? E-L-P-H?" he suggested.
"Huh...I never thought of that." I said, "Yeah...sure...I guess."
"I know it sounds weird but I feel like giving you a nickname."
"What? Are we friends now?"
"Of course we are friends."
"Then...uh...can I give you a nickname as well?"
"Well you know that people call me Kyu Kyu or Gamekyu...the list goes on."
"Babykyu?" I giggled.
"Hey! I'm not a baby!" he pouted.
"Or maybe I can just call you Kyu?"
"Hmm..Kyu sounds better."
"Okay then, " I smiled wider, "Kyu!"
"Elph!" he shot back.
"Kyu!"
"Elph!"
We both laughed. I gazed at him pulling the gearshift lever back on driving mode.
"So...where are we going?"
"You'll see." he replied.
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