一层一层剥掉你的衣服

Chapter 120: Chapter 120: The Identity of the Exchange Student (Part 1)

“What are you doing?”

No one was jumping. By the looks of it, they were too scared.

“Mom! Hurry up! Jump!” the kid started shouting, but his mom remained frozen.

“Nayoung!”

“Yeah?”

“Push!”

“What?!”

Nayoung stuck her head out the window, wondering if she’d heard it right while the rest immediately drew back.

“Ugh.”

Am I going to have to go and pull them out one by one? But just then, one of the girls was thrown out the window!

Kyaaaah!

The girl fell towards the ground and I swiftly caught her.

“You okay?”

“Y-yes…”

The girl was out of it. And just then, another girl was thrown out the window and I caught her as well. Next was a middle-aged man and I caught him just as well. This was some nice throwing going on. Who was it? One by one, everyone was thrown out the window and I caught them all. The last one was Ako-san and I caught her, naturally.

“You okay?”

“Sniff….”

She immediately succumbed to tears. Has she finally started to sink in the fact that she was going to live? Just then, Nayoung stepped towards the edge. Wait…had it been her who had done the throwing? She’s stronger than she looks.

“Jump!”

“Okay!”

Nayoung immediately jumped and I caught her. Everyone applauded as I put her down.

“Spider-san! Aishateru!”

“Hulk Lady! You’re amazing!”

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

“Come on, let’s go!”

Taking the group of survivors, I ran as far away from the building as possible. Soon, we ran into the group of firefighters. But wow, these firefighters were no joke.

***

A 6.5 earthquake followed by a 7.3 aftershock. Tokyo wasn’t in total ruins, but it hadn’t escaped the damage completely either.

“I can’t believe this.”

Who would’ve thought that there’d be an earthquake on my first day here?

“Thank you, Sian,” Nayoung said, giving me a nudge with a smile. Oh, Nayoung. Luckily, she wasn’t hurt anywhere.

“No problem,” I said with a shrug. There was no need for that.

“Are you going back to Korea then?”

“Yeah. And you?”

“I’m wondering if I should as well. My parents just called.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah. I really want to treat you to a meal when we go back.”

“It’s fine. The moment you do that, you’ll go bankrupt. I eat a lot.”

It’s true. There’s no denying that I eat like a pig. She was only a student. There’s no way she could afford it.

“Oh, really?” she said with a smile. She clearly didn’t believe me.

“Do you have any money saved up…”

“Then let’s make a bet. Either you give up eating first or I lose all my money first.”

Oh? Well, well, look at that. Alright. I’ll accept her challenge.

“Fine. Then, let’s meet up next week. You better not regret it. I eat a lot of food. Are you sure about this?”

“Yep.”

So, we exchanged numbers and made plans to meet when we were both in Korea. Of course, I couldn’t help but wonder if she had something up her sleeve. She seemed pretty eager to prove herself.

Just then, Ako-san said something in Japanese and Nayoung translated.

“Ako-san wants to know if she can come visit you in Korea as well.”

“Of course!” I said. Ako-san beamed.

Now that I could take a proper look at her, Ako-san was actually really cute. Especially when she smiles. Her two front teeth stick out slightly, and it was adorable. Anyways, we said our goodbyes and parted ways after making plans to meet up again. I successfully found Hak-gyu and Hainan, getting on the next flight out to Korea at the earliest time possible. A few days later, I became big news in Japan. The survivors that I had rescued had apparently spilled the entire story about me on Japanese social media sites, and I became the number one searched topic on all the major portal sites. Then again, many people didn’t believe the survivors’ stories. It just sounded so unbelievable. Walking on air…breaking walls…holding up ceilings…still. A few people did believe the story, adding a few more people to my growing fandom. Just the fact that I helped some people was enough to make me a hero in Japan.

***

We arrived back in Korea. The moment Jinwoo saw us, he gave me a bone-crushing hug. He started to cry, screaming phrases like thanking god that I was alive, think that I was dead, and if I died, he would’ve followed, blah blah blah. Stuff like that.

“Mr. Park?”

“Huh? Sniff sniff…” Jinwoo said, still crying.

“Um…”

“What is it? Tell me. Is there anything you need? My card? Here, take it. Take it all,” he said, putting his wallet into my hand.

“Oh, that’s not it. It’s just…”

“Yeah. Go on. Tell me,” Jinwoo said, giving me father-like smile.

“I lost your necklace.”

“Oh.”

Jinwoo’s face froze as a thousand different emotions passed through his eyes. Like he wanted to be mad, but he was purposefully holding himself back.

“I lost it while I was helping the survivors. Is that okay?”

“Oh…uh..well…sure…” Jinwoo forced out with a nod. I mean, it’s not like I sold it or anything. I had to use it to help people. What else could he say to that?

“Well anyways, thank you very much, Mr. Park. I’m going to eat with the other girls.”

And with a wave, I was gone.

Off to my reunion with the other members.

“Hey! Sian!”

Jia was the first to fly into my arms, bawling her eyes out. The other members wrapped their arms around me, sobbing. They started to cry, saying they were sick with worry. Aw, how sweet. So to cheer them up, I held up the card Jinwoo had given me.

“Ta-da!”

“Wow!”

Everyone immediately stopped crying. Food really is better when you’re using someone else’s money to buy it.

***

A few days passed. Japan was still dealing with the damage and articles about me kept popping up in the meantime. They started circulating in Korea as well while people were flooding the comment section. Most of them were complimenting me, saying they had mad respect for me and what not. But a few others were also saying that they were now sure that I was an alien and unsurprisingly, that opinion seemed to be growing.

“They sure don’t know when to quit.”

Some people are so funny.

“Sian, did you really fly?” Jia asked. Her big eyes were round with wonder as she stared at me. It was adorable.

“Of course not. ”

“I thought so. I mean, how can a person fly? That’s impossible.”

Everyone nodded at Jia’s statement. But then, she went on.

“But some people are giving you the nickname Spiderman. They said you were climbing walls…”

“Yeah, right.”

“The Hulk…”

“Huh?” I said, giving Jia a confused look. The others nodded, thinking that there’s no way I’m an alien.

Just then, my phone rang. The ID read Nayoung. Oh, that flake. The one who almost got assaulted by that guy in Japan. The one I rescued.

I picked up the phone.

“Hey, Nayoung.”

-Hey! You picked up!

“Of course I picked up. You promised to buy me food.”

I smirked. How could I forget? We made that bet, didn’t we? Either I would give up eating first or Nayoung would lose all her money first. The result…is obvious, isn’t it? I’ll give her an hour before she caves.

– I did. Do you want to meet up tonight then? I saw you on the news and I really miss you.

“Okay. Tonight then. Where do you want to meet?”

I was a hot topic these days.

– Hmm…How about Mr. Hong’s restaurant in Itaewon?

“Oh, you mean Ji-chun’s place?”

The top gay, Ji-chun Hong. We agreed to have a gathering at his restaurant. Well then, I could take this opportunity to visit and pick out an official date. But his restaurant…I heard that the main location is pretty high-end. She’s not talking about that one, is she?

– Yes, the main branch.

“Oh!” I gasped.

All the members turned to stare at me. I gave them an awkward smile before turning back to my phone.

“Look, Nayoung. That place is really expensive. No student can afford to eat there.”

– So? It’s my choice.

She really didn’t seem to care. Did she think that maybe I wouldn’t eat as much to be polite…If that’s so, then she’s sorely mistaken…

“Are you sure about this?”

– Yes, I’m sure. Let’s meet at 8 then. Make sure to come, okay?

“Okay...”

I’ll have to ask Ji-chun for a celebrity discount. Anyways, I hung the phone up and looked at the other members. Sure enough, they were still watching me.

“Oh, that was one of the girls I rescued in Japan. She said she’s buying me dinner.”

“Where?” Jia asked.

“At Hong’s main restaurant in Itawon.”

“Whoa!” Everyone gasped. Hong’s main restaurant branch. The most high-end and expensive restaurant in Itaewon.

***

As 8pm approached, I made my way to the restaurant. I got there just in time. The place was two levels and the interior décor was rather unique. It also looked very expensive.

“We’re eating here?”

Just in case, I brought Jinwoo’s card as well. If the price ends up being too expensive, then I’d use it. I mean, I would feel bad for Jinwoo, but he did tell me to use it as much as I wanted. It’s only right that I use it then – polite, even. To not do so would just be rude.

I then entered the restaurant.

Ring.

The bell above the door rang and the employee looked at me. He was tall and very lean, but not my style. Of course not. I’m a guy. Anyways, I walked in, looking around for Ji-chun.

“Is Ji-chun here?”

“Um, yes, he’s here. But who are…”

“Sian!” Ji-chun shouted, cutting off the employee. He ran towards me and engulfed me in a big hug.

‘Ugh, this guy…’

I’ll let it go since he’s gay.

“Hey, you! Are you okay?” Ji-chun said, letting me go and eyeing me up and down. He had sent me about a thousand texts, asking me the same thing.

“I’m fine. How are you?”

“Don’t worry about me! Do you know how worried I was about you?”

“I can guess.”

Looking at his face, he really did seem worried.

“Well, at least you’re okay now. That’s what’s important.”

“Thanks. But when are we going to have that dinner? You said you’d treat us.”

“Oh, right! We should. When should we have it? Tomorrow?”

“Whenever you don’t have guests.”

“Okay!” Ji-chun said with a nod, but then he continued.

“By the way, how do you know Nayoung?”

He looked really curious. As if he couldn’t believe that I would know Nayoung Kim. And that’s when I started to realize that maybe she wasn’t an average person after all.

“I met her during the earthquake.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah. Anyways, how do you know her?”

“How could I not? Her father is…”

“Hi, Sian!”

Just then, Nayoung appeared from the 2nd floor. It seems like she had come earlier and waited for me.

“Hi, Nayoung.”

“Come on up, Sian. I got us a table.”

“Okay.”

I nodded then turned back to Ji-chun.

“See you later, Ji-chun.”

“Okay, sweetheart. Go on upstairs. I’ll bring up your food.”

“Thanks.”

With that, I went up to the 2nd floor. And as I walked up, I stared at Nayoung’s butt. Not on purpose! It just happened to be there…it looked really perky…She was wearing skinny jeans and…hnnng!