Monday, January 1, 2007

떡볶기 - Tteokppok-kki (Rice Cakes in Hot Sauce)

This is a fic I wrote for SBSK's Chang Min project. It's a really short story since they only allowed one page per person. Enjoy!
-21 Dec 2006-


“Chang Min!” I shouted at him. “Wait up!”

We were running to the nearest tteokppok-kki stall after school. Chang Min could never wait for the final bell to ring. When it did, he zipped out of the school gates for his favorite after-school snack.

“Hurry up, slowpoke!” he yelled as he turned around. I’d miscalculated my speed and bearings and I crashed into him, pinning him on the pavement.

“Omigod! Chang Min! Are you alright?” I quickly sat up and looked at him.

“Tt-tt-teok-ppok-kki…” he stammered and then dropped his head to the side.

“Yah! Chang Min!” I yelled at him and poked his forehead. He loved playing dead and I hated it whenever he did that.

“Oww…” he exclaimed, rubbing his forehead.

“Stop playing dead,” I said. “I hate it when you do that.”

“You’re so heavy, I could’ve been. Besides, you knew I was just playing.”

“I still hate it,” I sulked.

“Mian,” he said sweetly and he helped me up. “Let’s go eat,” he smiled as he put his arm around me.

It’s been 4 years now, and Chang Min is now a member of TVXQ. I missed our school days… our walks in the park, the school trips we took, sleeping over at each others’ homes and those times we’d spent gorging on junk food. Ever since he joined TVXQ, I only got to see him once a year, and every time we met, he’d ask me the same thing.

“Don’t you miss that tteokppok-kki stall outside our school? Let’s go there someday.”

But he never found the time.

I’m walking home from the nearby video rental store where I worked part time. It was a hot day, but I took my time, walking in the sun and scuffing my shoes on stones and the uneven pavement as I walked. As I turned the corner into the street leading to my house, I saw a tall figure leaning on the lamp post outside my gate. My pace quickened as I realized who it was. It was as if the scene was replayed all over again, but this time, I knocked him over with a hug; a hug spurred by happiness. I was so happy to see him turn up unexpectedly. I’d been waiting for this moment for the longest time. He looked up at me and smiled as I lay on top of him.

“Let’s go for tteokppok-kki!” he said.

1 comment:

Bubbles said...

i love this story...very sweet n innocent <3