Love is never gone, my little princess. I remember...

“It’s been 3 years since we knew each other.” Ying Ling said to Junsu.

“Yeah and today is our 3rd anniversary.” He said to her with his usual charming smile.

“What are we going to do this year? Are we going to the beach again?”

“Hmm… Do you want to?”

“As long as you are with me, I don’t mind.”

He smiled at her reply.

“O.K then. Let’s go.” He said it chirpily.

Ying Ling knew. He just loves the beach. But they don’t go there often. He always insists on visiting the beach only during special occasions. His reason was - “The beach will always remain a memorable, romantic and special place. Visiting it too often will only make it a normal-ordinary place.”

We played a game of beach ball, Junsu went surfing, and Ying Ling watched him enjoy himself. Seeing him happy made her happy. To her, his smile is the most precious thing in the word, especially his smile to her. It’s almost evening, the sun will set soon. They decided to take a walk along the shore while waiting for the sun to set. They both love the moment. The moment when they are together, enjoying each other’s company, watching the sunset, short conversations and deep eye contacts.

“It’s getting dark and I am hungry, let’s get something to eat.” Junsu said.

“Okay.” Ying Ling replied.

“Let’s see… There are only fast food stalls. What do you want? McDonald’s? Burger King? Pizza? ”

“Get a pizza and let’s have it here, by the shore.”

“Yes, my little princess, on my way.”

Ying Ling laughed as her eyes followed him until he was on the sidewalk of the road. He was looking back at her, he crossed the road. Ying Ling turned away. She heard car tires screeching. Her instinct had her turned her head towards where her eyes last saw Junsu. He was on the road. Laying there. Blood on his forehead. She ran and had Junsu in her arms. Tears overflowing. The ambulance was called. Ambulance arrives very soon after.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Junsu-ah! Junsu! Junsu!”

“Miss, please stay outside.” The nurse stopped Ying Ling.

The lights to the emergency ward were on. She waited impatiently outside.

A nurse came out.

“Is your blood type “O”?”

Ying Ling nodded her head furiously.

“We need blood, are you willing to donate?”

She nodded her head again.

Blood was donated. She contacted his parents, and his best friend, Micky, who is like his pet brother. Rescue procedure was done. Now all that is left is the question of when Junsu will be awake. Everyone was worried. Ying Ling was by his bed. His parents sat at the sofa beside the bed. Micky sat at the other end with his girl friend. Ying Ling’s tears flowed continuously. She cried herself to sleep. She was woken up by a slight movement. She thought it was her imagination, but no, it was Junsu’s hand. She quickly rang the bell, nurse and doctor came in. They examined him.

“His condition is stable now. You can all talk to him. But his head, when he was involved with the accident, it collided with hard surface. He suffered from concussion. His memory, although he won’t lose all, but there is a big chance he’ll forget most things or maybe even mixed up his previous memories...” The doctor said after he was done with his examination.

“Junsu-ah! Junsu!” Ying Ling was calling him.

“Do you remember us?” his mom interrupted.

“W..h..y…n..o..t? Y..o..u…a..r..e…m…y….m..o..m… d..a..d...” he was talking slowly. His voice was hoarse.

“What about us?” Micky retorted.

“ Y..o..u…a..r..e….M..i..c..k..y…a..n..d….s..h..e….”

The door opened and one nurse entered the room.

“It’s middle of the night now. The doctor says the patient needs to rest, please visit again tomorrow.” The nurse said.

Everyone was asked to leave the room before they could ask any more questions.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Ying Ling can’t wait to visit Junsu. After getting ready, she headed to the hospital. She headed to the room Junsu was warded in. She entered and found that Junsu was still asleep. She worked quietly, trying not to wake him. She washed the vase and put a small bouquet of fresh flowers in it. She went into the washroom inside the room. When she exited, Junsu was awake. He was trying to get up.

“Wait, I’ll help.” Ying Ling rushed to him.

“Thanks Ying Ling.” Junsu replied. He sounded a lot better today.

“What did you call me?”

“Ying Ling? Aren’t you Ying Ling?”

She was shocked. Junsu never called her Ying Ling ever since they were together. He either calls her princess or Ling. He said calling her by her full name made them seemed like a stranger to each other, calling her princess shows their intimate relationship. But now, he’s calling her by her full name.

“Junsu, do you remember our relationship?”

“Yeah, we are best friends.” He smiled as he said that.

But this time Ying Ling, she isn’t happy. BEST FRIENDS!?

“Wh... What? Do you remember you have a girlfriend?”

“Of course. Ying Ling, why are you asking weird questions today?”

“Who?” She snapped without answering Junsu’s question.

“The other girl yesterday, Yen” Junsu look at Ying Ling as though she is the one going through memory confusions.

And now he’s calling Wan Yen so intimately? Oh gosh. I am going mad. She left the room without another word. Junsu was shocked by her behavior. Not long after that his parents came. They only dropped by for a while because they still needed to work. Now that Junsu’s condition is stable and he can leave 4 days later. They felt relieved.

“We’ll drop by tonight after work. Take plenty of rest.” his mom said to him.

“I will, mom. See you tonight.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Ying Ling went straight home. She skipped class. Junsu remembered everyone except their relationship and to make matters worse, he mistook Wan Yen as his girlfriend instead. She felt like it’s the end of the world. Her heart aches badly. Why is Junsu doing this to her? No, wait. It isn’t Junsu; he is behaving like this because of the accident. Yes, that’s it. She isn’t going to give up on Junsu so easily. She believes, love is never gone. He’ll remember everything again someday.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Hello Junsu” This time, it was Micky and his girlfriend who visited.

“How’s your condition today?” Wan Yen asked.

“Great!” Junsu was beaming.

“I’ll go ask the nurse for a thermos.”

“I’ll go with you.” Micky said and followed her out of the room.

Junsu was curious, why is Micky and Wan Yen suddenly so close to each other. After a while of thinking, he got up and walked towards the door. He was not supposed to get up yet but he did some peeping anyway. He opened the door slightly. What he saw shocked him.

Micky and Wan Yen was walking back to the room, they were hugging and Micky kissed her on the cheek. He thought * I am in the hospital and both of you, what are the both of you doing? Being together behind my back?* He quickly closed the door and went to his bed. He acted as though nothing happened.

“We are back.” Micky walked in first.

“Let me pour you some water, you must feel thirsty.” Wan Yen went to the table to collect a glass.

“Thanks.” Junsu forced a smile.

“Are you okay? You don’t look well.” Micky asked Junsu with a look of concern.

“I’m okay, just a little tired.”

“Do you want to rest? We’ll visit some other time.”

“I think I’ll have some rest. Sorry, you guys just came.”

“It’s okay.” Micky smiled and then headed towards the door. He then left with Wan Yen.

Junsu sat on his bed, thinking hard. Why is this happening? This matter will be solved, after I get out of the hospital. He wants to solve this matter hands on.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

He’ll be leaving today. And tomorrow, he’ll ask Wan Yen out for a movie.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

He arrived at the cinema earlier. Wan Yen came about 15 minutes later WITH Micky AND Ying Ling.

“Why are the both of you here?” Junsu asked Micky.

“Wan Yen said you asked her out for a movie.” Micky replied.

“Yes. I ONLY asked her, right?”

“Yes, you did, but you didn’t say we couldn’t come, right? We thought it’ll be more fun. And why are you behaving like this?”

“Er… Nothing in particular.” Junsu hesitated before replying. He doesn’t want to be the one revealing their relationship. He wanted them to admit it.

“Let’s go in, the show will start real soon.” Junsu quickly changed the topic.

The four of them headed to the booth.

“Tickets please.”

“Oh… sorry Micky, I only have 2 tickets with me.” Junsu was saying with a pathetic tone.

“It’s okay, We bought tickets. Nobody goes to a movie without tickets” Micky was smiling.

“Great!” he gritted his teeth.

Micky knew something isn’t right. He called Ying Ling yesterday. He asked her if Junsu asked her out for a movie. Ying Ling told Micky of Junsu’s confusion. He told Wan Yen about it. But they decided to keep it from Junsu, they wanted to clear that matter today. Wan Yen sat between Junsu and Micky, Ying Ling beside Micky. Junsu wanted that arrangement. Wan Yen felt weird. She seemed to be in between of everything.

“I feel cold.” Wan Yen said.

“I’ll give you my jacket.” Micky and Junsu said instantly.

Micky and Junsu started to argue.

“Here, take mine instead.” Ying Ling passed hers to Wan Yen.

“Thanks.” Wan Yen was smiling with a “thank you so much” expression to Ying Ling.

The rest of the movie continued with Wan Yen being the main attraction but Ying Ling the side attraction or rather, invisible one. Her heart aches at the fact of being neglected by Junsu but she understands. This isn’t Junsu’s doing, it’s the accident that causes this.

Finally, the movie ended.

“Let’s grab something to eat, Yen.” Junsu beamed as he said this to Wan Yen.

“Okay, let’s go.” Micky joined in.

“No, I’ll go with Yen only!” Junsu said it hard.

“But….” Micky tried to argue but Wan Yen stopped him.

“Okay, we’ll go together, only the two of us.” Wan Yen said to Junsu.

“Yen…” Micky tried objecting but Wan Yen stopped him again.

“Please bring Ying Ling home first. I have something to tell Junsu.”

She’s determined. Micky got her message.

“Alright, we’ll leave first.” Micky was disappointed but he knew what Wan Yen’s doing. He trusts her. Junsu was looking at Micky with a “Ha… ha… she’s going out with me not you” expression. Micky ignored that and left with Ying Ling.

“What do you want to eat?” Junsu asked Wan Yen after Micky and Ying Ling left.

“Anything will do.” Her reply was short. Junsu felt a little hot, why is she behaving like that? They went into a restaurant and sat down at a table.

“May I have your order?” a waitress asked.

“Two cups of tea only please.” Wan Yen answered the waitress before Junsu could answer and the waitress was dismissed.

“You don’t want to eat?” Junsu asked Wan Yen.

“No, Erm… Junsu… Please listen to what I have to say.”

“Okay, go ahead.” Junsu was curious.

Wan Yen took a deep breath and said, “I am NOT your girlfriend.”

She said it clearly so that Junsu could hear every single word she said and have no reason to say, “Did I hear wrongly?”

“What are you talking about? We ARE a couple, right?” Junsu was taken aback. He felt he had been slapped right on his face.

“No, Ying Ling is your only girlfriend. And I am Micky’s girlfriend.”

“NO, I and Ying Ling are best friends.”

“Junsu, do you know the reason you were admitted to the hospital?”

“Yes, I was involved in an accident.”

“And do you know what severe or minor injuries you got?”

“Erm…” Junsu hesitated. True enough, he never bothered about what actually made him stay in hospital for 5 days.

“It’s your head. It collided with something hard and the doctor said you might lose or mix up your previous memories. And yes, you mixed me and Ying Ling up.”

“I…” Junsu was speechless.

“You’ll have to figure this out yourself. That’s all I have to tell you. Take care.”

With that she left him, alone. Confused, somehow broken hearted and regretful.

Confused of what is the truth, somehow broken hearted because Wan Yen is actually not his girl friend, regretful because he misunderstood Micky and mistreated Ying Ling if what Wan Yen told him IS the truth. He left the restaurant. He walked along the street, thinking about what just happened. His head looking at his shoes. The longer the thought about what happened, the more confused he is. He quickened his pace. Still not looking straight.

“Look out!” someone shouted. Junsu looked up and… “THUD”. He blacked out. A group of teenagers about the age of 13-15 came over.

“Shit! Our baseball hit him right on his head.” One of the boys said.

“Call the ambulance.” another suggested.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Hello, Ms Ying Ling please.” A lady was speaking on the phone.

“Yes, I am. You are?”

“I am calling from the hospital. Do you know of a guy named Kim Junsu?”

“Yes, I do, what happened?”

“Someone sent him to the hospital. He fainted. Can you come to the hospital now? We need to do some procedures and then we’ll explain the details to you.”

“I’ll come right now.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Miss…, I am here…. to look… for a guy named…. Kim Junsu.” Ying Ling asked one of the nurses at the counter. She was panting.

“Ooh, so you are Ms Ying Ling, sorry I don’t know your surname. There is only a piece of paper with a name Ying Ling and a number in his wallet. So we decided to call you.”

“Its okay, what happened to Junsu?” She was speaking quickly.

“It seemed that a baseball hit him hard on the head and he fainted.”

“What!? Can I go see him now?” she is getting impatient.

“Yes, after you finished the hospital admission procedures for him.”

“Ooh… okay…”

After she is done with the procedures. She headed to the room where Junsu is warded. When she entered, Junsu was already awake. He was sitting on his bed.

“Junsu, are you okay? Your head…”

“Of course I am okay.” Ying Ling felt that there is a difference in Junsu between this afternoon and now. But she couldn’t really tell. She decided to test his memory.

“Do you still remember who I am?” she asked doubtfully.

“Yes! You are my wife and you are supposed to cook dinner for me, you know. Where’s my porridge?” Junsu was saying it in a rather chirpy tone.

“What!?” Ying Ling can’t believe what she just heard. Previously it was best friend now WIFE!!!??? Her eyes started going teary. She can’t take it anymore. Although this time Junsu said that she is his wife, she doesn’t feel happy. Junsu isn’t remembering who she is to him yet. She headed to the door and wanted to leave.

“Wait!” Junsu called after her.

“Sorry Princess. I was only joking.” He said with a smile. Tears fell but it isn’t sad tears, it is the tears of happiness. She turned and she saw his smile. This is the feeling that she wants, the feeling that belongs to only both of them. She walked towards Junsu.

“Junsu, your pillow, is it comfortable? Here, let me adjust it for you.” She reached for the pillow then she pulled.

TOK! Junsu hit his head on the wall.

“Ouch! Ying Ling, what are you doing?”

“OMG! Junsu. What did you just call me? OMG, no! I am sorry. Please don’t scare me. It was only a slight knock.” Her eyes are teary and she sounded afraid. Suddenly, Junsu hugged her. She was shocked but yet she felt a sense of relief spreading through her body. He let go and giggled.

“Love is never gone, my little princess, I remember.” He smiled. Ying Ling smiled and they both giggled.

Broken Heart - Part 1

"Wow...check that girl out. Hotness."

"Yeah...yeah. Whatever." He gulped down another mug of beer.

"Come on, Junsu. Stop drinking yourself silly. You are like on what...the seventh mug?"

"What do you care? You are not the one having a broken heart."

"Hey, Mr. Bartender. Give me a glass of martini."

"Hey, sexy. You're alone?" Junsu turned towards the girl sitting on the chair next to him.

"So what? It's none of your business." She gave him a glare before turning her attention back to the glass of martini that the bartender set on the counter top.

"Hey...hey, no need to be rude. Just curious." His vision started to blur. His words are slurred.

"Enough of this nonsense, Junsu. Let's get you home."

Micky pried the mug free from Junsu's tight grip.

"Let go of the mug. I'm not done drinking yet." He shouted to Micky.

People surrounding them pay them no attention. It's a usual occurrence for drunken customers to shout.

Micky put his left arm on Junsu's waist, hoisting him up from his seat. His right arm took Junsu's right arm and draped it over his shoulder.

He tried balancing himself with Junsu's whole body leaning against him. It proved to be a difficult task. Junsu's not helping much with his inability to even walk properly. He was still mumbling to himself.

"Hey, where's my beer? Give me another mug. I'm not done yet."

"Okay...okay. We'll have another round of beer once we get you home."

"Yeah, that's right. Cheers to all the broken-hearted people." He started laughing loudly.

Micky flagged down a cab and he lightly pushed Junsu into the cab.

"Thanks, Mr. Taxi Driver. This is the fare."

He helped Junsu out of the cab and together they walked to the apartment door of the house that they shared together. After getting the lights on, he put Junsu onto the couch.

"Ugh...man, you sure is heavy. Why are you always drunk like tonight?"

Walking towards the bathroom, he searched for a clean towel and put it under the running water. He rinsed the towel dry and took it with him towards the unconscious Junsu.

Junsu is still mumbling in his drunken stupor. His face was red from too much of a drink. His right leg was hanging over the couch. Lightly, Micky put the cold towel onto Junsu's forehead. He walked towards Junsu's bedroom and took his blanket returning to the living room.

He spreads Junsu's blanket over Junsu's body. He should really find a way to get Junsu to start talking about his problem. Getting drunk every night is not going to solve any problem at all.

"Good night, my buddy."

He switched off the lights to the living room leaving the room in complete darkness. He walked slowly towards his own room. Pushing open the door, he stumbled in the dark to search for the light switch.

He walked towards his wardrobe and grabbed a clean piece of shirt and pants taking his towel on the way to the bathroom. Right now, a warm shower is the best option. He needed to wash off the smell of alcohol and smoke from his body.

Wiping his body clean, he reached out for his clean clothes hanging on the clothes hanger. He dabbed his feet dry on the foot mat. Hanging up his wet towel, he reached for the hairdryer to blow his hair dry.

He climbed onto his bed and pulled the blanket up to his chin before falling into a deep slumber. It felt like a few hours had just gone by when he heard a soft groan beside him. He tried to recall where he was.

He turned towards the noise that had awaken him and to his surprise, Junsu was in his bed with half his blanket covering Junsu.

"Junsu, get off my bed. You smelled like hell."

"Ugh..."

"Junsu, I said get off my bed. NOW!"

"Hey, you don't need to shout, alright? I'm not deaf and I'm only a few centimeters away from you."

"Okay then. Get off my bed. Take a shower, will you?"

Junsu rolled off his bed and walked towards the bathroom with his left hand on his temple. He drank too much the night before. He knows what it's like to have a bad hangover. It's not the best thing ever.

"Are you alright? Do you need me to get you some aspirins?"

"Yeah, sure. Thanks a lot, buddy."

"No big deal. Remember to clean yourself up thoroughly. You smelled like you just spent the whole night in the beer keg."

"Micky, have you seen my apple boxer? It's missing."

"No. Try your drawer again. You are always misplacing your things."

"Found it. What's for breakfast?"

Junsu came walking out wearing nothing but his boxers. They had always been this way...walking around the house with nothing on but their boxers or shorts. Of course if there's guest coming to the house, they'll put on a shirt and a proper pants.

"Cereal and milk."

Micky poured two bowls of milk and handed one to Junsu.

"Junsu, are you feeling alright? You've been drinking a lot lately."

Junsu kept his silence. He doesn't know how to start pouring his heart out to Micky. Micky had always been there for him and he for Micky. Though they had only known each other for less than four years, it felt like they had known each other for a lifetime.

It's like Micky had a sixth sense. When he started talking to him using that caring and worried tone that Junsu found annoying sometimes, he knew that something is bothering Junsu. It's all only a matter of time before he opened his mouth to ask if everything is fine.

"Did I say something embarrassing yesterday at the pub? I don't recall a thing that happened in the pub."

"Yes, you were drunk silly and you started flirting with this stranger girl. It's just not like you to be flirting around like that."

"I..."

How was he supposed to start telling Micky that he and Jin-hye had broken up. He had really thought the she was the destined one. He loved her with all his heart and this is what he got in return for his undying love.

The moment he said those words, he stopped believing in love anymore. It's like his world had turned from a colorful one to one that is only filled with darkness. You might think this is too dramatic but that's the fact of life.

Maybe it was only him who didn't think that he could ever loved again. All this was because of Jin-hye.

Mango-licious

"Hey, I'm back."

That's strange. The house felt so quiet as if no one was home. I looked at my wristwatch to check the time.

The hour hand was pointed at six while the minute hand was pointed at five so that means it is 6:25pm now.

I shouted once more just in case no one heard me when I called out earlier.

"Hello...anyone home?"

I took off my shoes and walked into the kitchen. I opened the refrigerator to put the slice of cake I bought earlier on my way home.

The card displayed on the cake fridge was printed with "Mango Paradise". I thought she might like it since she loves eating cakes.

I should say she's a cake junkie. Any type of cakes just suits her tastes as long as it's cakes.

Just like its namesake, the cake is coated with mango puree mixed with fresh cream. In between the layer of sponge cake, there are layers of the mango puree cream with slices of mango.

She will surely love it. I only bought one slice since no one at home eats it. I am not a cake lover and neither is Micky nor her cousin brother.

Micky and I each rented rooms from her cousin brother. There are four rooms in the apartment. That means each of us has a room to ourselves.

Naturally, her cousin brother, Dan, has the master room to himself while the three of us each uses the remaining rooms. The rest of the three rooms are almost equal in size.

I set down my bag on the floor next to the couch and switched on the television, surfing through the channels to find something interesting to watch.

Another twenty minutes had passed by before I heard the lock on the door unlocking itself. Dan walked in through the door followed by Ling.

"Hey, you guys are back. I thought you, Ling, should be back earlier than all of us since your school was let out earlier compared to mine.'

"I had a bad day so don't talk about it."

On a closer inspection, Ling does look like she had braved through a difficult day. She looked pretty worn out.

Just then, Micky walked out of his bedroom rubbing the sleepiness away frm his eyes.

"Morning, everyone. Looks like everyone's home. What's for dinner?"

"Micky, you are actually home?!!"

"Of course I am home. Where would I be if I'm not home?"

"How come when I shouted just now, you didn't answer me?"

"I guess I might have fallen asleep when you came back."

"Micky, it's not morning and there's nothing for dinner. Alright?" Ling frowned.

"Hey, cool it, girl. It's just for fun. Looks like no one appreciated my humor."

"Ha...ha. It's not funny and I'm not in the mood for fun now."

She stormed into her room and slammed the door shut with such force that I am worried the door would fall out of its hinges in no time.

"What's wrong with her, Dan?" Micky and I spoke at the same time.

He shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. When I found her sitting alone in the park, she already had black clouds hanging over her head."

"Wow...that sounds like a very bad day to me."

"Come on, guys, shower up and let's go out for dinner. I don't think that grumpy little cousin of mine would want any dinner tonight."

All of us rushed to the bathroom together. We just loved to fight over who uses the bathroom first. It's a common thing in the house.

Ling will always win us over with the excuse that she's the only girl in the house so that makes her the first person who gets to use the bathroom first.

Argument will start between her and Dan.

"I'm the owner of the house so I get to use the bathroom first."

"Yes, you are the owner but you promised mom and dad that you will take care of me."

"Yeah, so what? I promised your parents to take care of you but that exclude letting you use the bathroom first."

"Uh uh...that includes letting me use the bathroom first."

"Get on with the argument. I'm using it first." Either Micky or I will walk into the bathroom allowing Ling and Dan to continue with their fight.

"Hey! Come out this second, Micky (Junsu)." They will start pounding on the door to get us to come out of the bathroom but we just ignored it.

We were done with showering. Micky and Dan were wearing their shoes. I walked over to her door and knocked.

"Go away. I'm busy now."

"Do you want to come to dinner with us, Ling?"

"No. Just go enjoy your dinner. I'm not in the mood to eat."

"Okay. Bye."

[Ling's POV]

He knocked on the door to ask if I wanted to join them for dinner. I told him to enjoy himself. I'm just not in the mood to eat tonight.

Today was just a truly bad day for me.

I woke up late this morning for school. When the alarm rang, I was already twenty minutes late from the usual time that I woke up.

I must have wound the clock wrongly because I was too sleepy the night before when I got to bed.

I rushed into the bathroom to shower quickly and ate my breakfast a little too hurriedly that I choked on my breakfast.

I got to the bus stop just to look at the disappearing shadow of the bus that I usually board to get to school. I had to wait for another ten minutes before the next bus came.

When I reached the school entrance, I got stopped by the discipline teacher who gave a full ten minutes lecture on my time management with my name printed permanently on her little black book that stores the names of troublemakers.

In her book, latecomers are included in her definition of troublemakers. She's just too rigid with her own ways even though you committed the offence for the first time. No one likes her.

The lesson started as usual. The teacher asked us to hand in our homework that she gave yesterday. I rummaged through my bag for the book when I realized that I had left it on my table.

After finishing my homework last night, I had put it on my study table thinking that I will pack it in the morning into my bag.

The teacher stopped at my table with a hand outstretched waiting for me to give her the book. I looked up at her meekly saying that I had left it on my study table at home.

"Are you sure you had forgotten to bring it or did you purposely forget about it?"

She practically shouted out for the enjoyment of the whole class. Everyone turned in their seats to look at me.

At that moment, I had truly wished that the floor would open up and swallow me to save me from embarrassment. Of course I didn't get my wish or else it would look real funny. Just imagine the floor opening up to swallow me.

When the school bell rang to signal the end of school day, I quickly packed my stuff into the bag and walked out of the class.

Little would I know that it would start raining. It got heavier as the second ticked by. I put my hand into the bag to grab my umbrella.

I was rummaging through it furiously that I started to get stares from the students who walked pass me. It's a little embarrassing.

I had to wait inside the school compound for the rain to stop before I could walk to the bus stop to take the bus home.

Thank goodness that this time I didn't miss the bus or else it would take me another ten minutes for the next bus to come this way.

I reached my stop around 4pm. I walked up the stairs to my cousin brother's house. We lived together since my real home is a little too far away from the school I attended.

My cousin brother owned the house and he is living away from his family as well. He had lived in the house alone for over a year before I moved in. Micky and Junsu moved in one month later.

Danny told me that he needed someone to share the house to lighten the burden of financing the loan he borrowed from the bank when he purchased the house.

My cousin's name is Daniel but he preferred to be called Dan. Due to our love of teasing each other silly, I took to calling him Danny. He hates that name. He said that it made him sounded so boyish when he’s not anywhere near the boyish stage anymore.

He's older than me around six years but he’s a fun cousin to be around with. He knows when to play and when to work hard. I can never be like him. I just can’t work hard and play hard.

I stepped in front of the door and put my hands into my skirt pocket to fish out the keys. Just then, I realized that it wasn’t in my pockets and neither was it in my school bag.

I racked my mind to remember where I had put the keys. A few seconds later, I remembered that I had put it on my table next to the homework I’m supposed to hand in today. I smacked my forehead so hard that it hurts.

I took out my phone and checked the battery level just in case it decided to die out on me in the middle of my conversation with Danny.

I called him to ask if he can come home right then because I had left the keys inside the house. He told me that he couldn’t be back till around 6:30pm.

I groaned audibly into the mouthpiece. I hung up and walked my way towards the park. There was nothing for me to do but to wait for Danny to come back.

Now I wondered why it never crossed my mind to call either Junsu or Micky to check if they were home. I guess my mood must be that bad that I can’t even think straight at all.

[Junsu's POV]

We came back from our dinner. The house looked the same as we left it an hour and a half ago.

Micky walked straight to Ling’s room door and rapped on it repeatedly before I heard a reply coming from the other side of her door.

I heard her door being opened slightly.

"What is it now?"

"Don’t you want to eat anything at all?"

"Oh Micky, it's you. Nah, I told you, I don’t feel like eating anything tonight."

"Of course it's me. Who do you think it is?"

"I thought it was Junsu again, bugging me."

I walked towards Micky standing at her room door.

"Do you want to eat the cake that I bought earlier on my way home? If you are not interested, I'll have to give it to someone else."

I grinned at her and I saw some reaction from her. She will just perk up at the mention of cakes. Like I said earlier, she's a cake junkie.

"Really? You bought a cake for me? Thanks a lot"

She pushed us out of the way and ran to the kitchen. Micky and I were laughing at her reaction at the mention of cake.

We sat in front of the television. I clicked on the channel that was airing a drama show. She was munching away at her cake.

"Hey, girl. You sounded real upset earlier. Something bothering you?"

Micky tried to strike up a conversation.

"Yeah, a totally lousy day."

She started to recount on her day's event. It sure sounded like she woke up on the wrong side of the bed with her accounts of what happened to her.

"Girl, are you alright?"

"Why?"

"You are scratching yourself like you are a monkey."

I turned to look at her as well. True to Micky's words, she sure looked like a monkey scratching herself that way.

"I don't know. I felt itchy all over my neck and my wrists."

"Stop scratching yourself. It's getting worse. I think we better get you to the doctor."

"I can't help it. I can’t stop the itchiness."

"Dan, we are sending Ling to the clinic." I shouted to Dan.

He walked out from his room and saw his cousin sister scratching herself nonstop.

"Ling, stop scratching. Go on guys. Bring her to the clinic. It's going to get worse if she can't stop scratching herself like a monkey."

He still had the time to make fun of her at times like this. I saw that she was giving him the evil stare.

"Why do I have a jerk for a cousin brother?"

"And why do I have a monkey cousin sister?" He chuckled lightly.

We walked to the nearest clinic and waited to see the doctor. She still continued scratching herself.

Micky and I tried stopping her from scratching herself raw. Her skin around the wrists and neck is almost as red as the tomato now.

Finally the nurse called out her name. I accompanied her into the doctor’s office while Micky stayed behind to wait for us.

[Ling's POV]

"Have a seat, young lady. What’s the matter?"

It turned out that the doctor was someone younger than I imagined him to be. I was expecting an old pleasant, smiling man. The doctor who was sitting in front of me couldn't be any older than Danny.

"I can't stop scratching my wrists and my neck. It's itchy all over like I got bitten by mosquitoes."

"Let me have a look."

A few seconds later, the doctor spoke up.

"Young lady, I think you got yourself an allergy. Are you in anyway allergic to any kind of food?"

"Allergy? You mean food allergy?"

"Yeah, food allergy."

"I'm not sure if I'm allergic to anything."

"What have you eaten just now?"

"A slice of cake, that's all."

"Anything special about the cake?"

"I'm not sure."

Junsu started to speak up. The doctor turned his attention to Junsu.

"She ate a slice of mango cake."

The moment I heard the word "mango", my brain started churning. Now I remembered that I am allergic to mango but that was a long time ago, since I was young.

"Mango?!! You gave me a mango cake and you didn't tell me about it?!!"

I saw Junsu's face turned pale at my tone of voice. Unknowingly, I had raised my voice inside the doctor's office.

"You didn't ask and you were too excited when I said there was a slice of cake in the refrigerator."

"Cool it, both of you. Young man, you should have told your girlfriend here that she's eating a mango cake."

"Girlfriend?!!" Both of us shouted at that doctor's impression.

"He's only my housemate, not my boyfriend."

"Sorry. Anyway, it looks like you are having skin rashes from the mango cake you ate just now. No worries. I'll just give you some ointment to rub on your rashes and some antibiotics to alleviate your itchiness."

"Thank you, doctor."

"You may go now."

The doctor gave a smile. Both of us bowed and said our thanks.

I walked to the registration counter to wait for my medicine and paid for it before walking home again.

On the way home, I didn't talk to either of them. I was too busy trying to stop the itchiness to bother about them.

I heard Micky speaking in a whisper to Junsu.

"What's wrong with her? She seemed so quiet since she walked out of the doctor's office."

"She is allergic to mango and the cake she ate just now was a mango cake."

"So she's mad at you for giving her the mango cake?"

"I don't know. How should I know that she is allergic to mangoes? She never told me before."

"Okay."

I walked into my room and closed the door behind me. I put the bag containing the ointment and the antibiotics that the doctor gave me on the table.

I opened up my wardrobe to search for some clean clothes and took it with me to the bathroom. I thought maybe the hot water might be a way to help me ease the itchiness on my wrists and my neck.

"Hey, are you alright there, my monkey cousin?"

I didn't answer Danny but just walked straight into the bathroom. Just as I was closing the door, I heard him asked Micky and Junsu about it.

"Is she alright? She didn't tell me what's wrong with her but just walked straight into the bathroom."

"I don't know. I guess she must be fuming over the fact that Junsu gave her a mango cake. It seemed like she's allergic to mangoes."

"Oh yeah, she did told me about it before. She said that she can't take mango because it will cause her skin rashes."

"How was I to know that she was allergic to mangoes?" Junsu answered grumpily.

"It's alright, Junsu. It's not your fault. She just had a bad day. The mango incident must have made it worse for her mood."

"Yeah, cheer up, Junsu. She'll be fine in no time."

"Her skin rashes will go away in another few days time and you will have that old cousin sister of mine back."

I turned on the shower at full blast with as much hot water as I could take. It didn't stop my itchiness but at least it lessens the urge to scratch it.

After my hot shower, I walked back to my room to rub the ointment on my wrists and my neck. The ointment had a weird smell to it. I poured myself a cup of lukewarm water to swallow the awful tasting of the antibiotics.

[Junsu's POV]

The house was feeling a little too quiet without the usual teasing from Dan and Ling. She wasn't speaking too much these few days.

On days when she was feeling lazy from putting on the ointment that the doctor gave her, she will start scratching herself again.

"Hey, monkey cousin, didn't you put on the ointment for your rashes?"

"Stop calling me monkey cousin. I'm not a monkey."

Dan will laugh when she said that.

"You looked like one to me when you started scratching yourself like a monkey."

"Okay...okay. I'll go put it on now. So stop calling me a monkey."

I just smiled at their teasing.

"Micky, can you help me put it on? I'm lazy to dirty my fingers and the ointment has a weird smell to it."

"Oh...you get to keep your hands clean and I get to have my hands dirtied with the ointment?"

He opened the container and put his nose close to the container to smell it.

"Eww...what's that smell?"

"I told you that it's smelly. How can you be so silly to smell it?"

She laughed at Micky's expression.

"Okay...okay. Come quickly. I want to get this over and done with."

He started to rub the ointment on her wrists and her neck. She kept dodging when he started to rub it on her neck.

"Stop moving around, will you? How am I supposed to rub it on your rashes if you keep moving like that?"

"It's ticklish. I can’t help it."

After he was done putting on the ointment, he rushed into the kitchen to wash off the remaining ointment on his fingers.

She took the ointment with her and walked into her room closing the door behind her.

Micky walked out from the kitchen bearing two cups of ice cream. He handed one cup to me and I took it saying my thank you.

"She's still not speaking to you, huh?"

"As you can see, nope."

"Don't worry, she'll get over it soon."

"Hopefully so."

A few days later, it can be seen clearly that the rashes started to disappear. I see this as a golden opportunity to apologize to her in a proper manner.

I bought her favorite chocolate cake as an offering for my apologies. I knocked on her room door that night after our usual dinner.

She has taken to locking herself in her room after dinner time since that day.

"Who's that?"

"It's me, Junsu. Could you open up please?"

I heard the chair being pushed back and her footsteps approaching the door.

"What do you want?"

"I just want to say I'm sorry for the incident."

"Come in then."

She stepped aside waiting for me to walk in. I saw that her computer was on and she was in the middle of a chat. Her book was opened with half finished work in it.

I sat on the edge of her bed waiting for her to settle into the chair in front of me before I spoke up.

"Are you still angry at me?"

"No. I was angry before but my anger just dissipated a few days ago."

"Then why aren't you speaking to me if you are not angry at me anymore?"

"I was waiting for you to apologize to me properly and yet till now, you still hadn’t done so."

I knew this was my best opportunity to apologize.

"Is that the real reason?"

"Yeah, that's the real reason."

I heaved a sigh of relief. Then I heard a laughter coming from her. I looked up.

"What's so funny?"

"You are."

"Me? What about me?"

"Your look and your sigh just now. It just cracked me up."

She continued laughing mercilessly. Her laughter is contagious that I started laughing myself. I must have looked funny when I knocked on her door just now.

"So you are not angry anymore?"

"No, Mr. Long-winded."

"Okay. Come out. I've got something to give you as my token of sincere apology."

"What's that?"

"Come on out and you will know it."

"I hope it's not another slice of mango cake. If it's that, I'm so not eating it. Once is more than enough."

[Ling's POV]

"No, silly. Of course it's not mango cake but your favorite chocolate cake."

He pretended a look of shock and horror at my playful accusation. He pushed me out of the room and guided me towards the dining table. He sat me down on the chair before going into the kitchen.

"Ta-da. Here you go. Your favorite chocolate cake."

He sure knows what I loved to eat. Sure enough, chocolate cake is the best but any type of cakes works fine for me.

"Thanks, Junsu."

"Don't mention it. I'm glad you've forgiven me."

"How could I not forgive my cute housemate? Just remember not to feed me with another mango cake."

"Of course...NOT!!!"

We both laughed. Danny and Micky walked right into the dining area at that moment and looked at us, puzzled by our silly laughter.

"So everything's fine between you and my silly cousin here?"

"Yeah, everything's fine now."

Both of us answered at the same time before collapsing into another bout of laughter.

"I'm glad to have my silly cousin back."

"Yahoo!!! The old Ling is back."

He jumped around happily and hugged me causing me to choke on my chocolate cake.

"Micky, stop it. You made me choke on my favorite cake."

"Oops, sorry."

All of us laughed at his blushing face.

Welcome on board

This is a new blog area that I created specially just to post up all the interesting stories that came across my mind.

Feel free to read it and remember to provide comments to ensure that I can improve on my writing.

Enjoy your stay in here. :)