Page 135 of When Worlds Collide
My mum has life-threatening cancer, and I’m worried about an intern job? Who the fuck did that?
Somehow, my convoluted feelings delivered me into a weird, middle ground between bloody furious at the whole goddamn world, and so desperately sad it felt like I might be sick from the way my sobs were gearing up to rise up from my chest.
“Oh, bloody hell, England. Let’s get you in a taxi and off to wherever it is you live with your secret boyfriend. Come on, up you get.”
Hana, with a strength you would not suspect such a slight frame capable of having, heaved me up, grabbed my rucksack and nearly carried me out of the bar and into the street. It was raining. No – it was tipping it down in the way that I’d come to respect that only Seoul could do: heavy, thick droplets that could soak you in seconds. And it was LOUD!
So, when Hana shouted for a passing taxi, I cringed away from how loudly she shouted next to my ear, but simultaneously grateful, because the next moment, the back door of a yellow cab was opening, and I was being slotted onto the back seat like a letter into a post box.
“Yah! England, where you live?” Hana shouted to be heard over the thunderous downpour, and unthinking, I called back the address in Hannam.
I thought she might not have heard me, because she cocked her head at me in a way that seemed like too much thought for a simple instruction, but the next moment, she was relaying the address to the driver.
“I’ll see you again, England.”
She grinned at me before closing the door, standing on the sidewalk to watch as the car pulled away.
I fumbled with the lock on the door, leaning against the cool, stone wall in the hallway, before the door flew open. Jihoon was stood in the entrance hall.
“Kaiya, where have you been?”
Uh oh, he sounded mad.
“I’m not mad, I was worried.”
Oops, had I said that out loud?
“Yes, Ky, just like you said that out loud, too.”
He wound an arm around my waist and pulled me into the apartment and closed the door behind us.
“Where did you go?” His tone was light, but his jaw was tense.
“To the bar, with Hana,” I grumbled, pulling out of his hold so I could kick my shoes off, not bothering to tidy them away.
“You could have called to tell me that.” I didn’t like his tone.
“Oh yeah, like you tell me everything?”
Why had I said that?
“What does that mean?”
Jihoon put his hands on his hips.
“Nothing, nothing.” I sighed, waving my hand, as though my hand through the air would clear the words away.
“You’re drunk.”
He was right, of course, but even through the haze of alcohol, I was capable of hearing the tone of disapproval.
“I’ve had a bad day. I wanted to go out.”
“We could have gone out, if you wanted to drink.”
“Pfft! Where? Back to the secret celeb club?”
“I thought you liked it there?”
