Christmas Overflowing with Love (2)
Ha-young's house.
Ha-young was helping her mom sort through the household items.
They tossed out the unnecessary stuff and carefully packed what they needed—clothes and odds and ends—into boxes. Before they knew it, quite a bit of time had slipped by.
Moving prep usually took days, but their place was so small and they didn't have much to begin with, so it didn't drag on as long as expected. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.
"Aigoo… Mom, is that everything now?"
"Yeah, looks like it. Ha-young, you've finally got some time off after so long—why don't you rest? I can handle this myself…"
"Your back's been bothering you, Mom. I'm home, so of course I'm gonna help out now! Oh, hey—wanna go out for a nice dinner tonight? I just got paid this month, so I've got plenty of cash!"
"Aww, my sweet girl. Alright, then—mind if Mom mooches off her daughter for once in a blue moon?"
"Just once? From now on, I'll treat you to all kinds of yummy stuff!"
The mother and daughter pulled each other into a tight hug.
It had been over ten years since Ha-young's dad died in that accident, forcing them to scrape by in a hillside shanty town.
As Kim Seon-ah's mom had announced at the press conference, Ha-young's father's death—ruled an industrial accident—had led to a substantial initial compensation payout. It wasn't a fortune compared to what they might have gotten, but combined with the savings Ha-young had scraped together as a pro gamer, it was enough for the family to finally leave the shanties behind.
By the time Ha-young arrived home on vacation, they'd already secured a new place and were just waiting for moving day.
It had been home for ten years, but the sorrow had far outweighed any joy, so Ha-young felt no real pang of regret at leaving.
By the time the move was done, her vacation would be over and she'd head back to the dorms—but knowing her mom could live somewhere better lifted her spirits immensely.
"Sorry, Mom. I wish I could help unpack too."
"Oh, hush. The movers will handle all that anyway—what's there for you to do? Just knowing my girl can live in a nicer place is more than enough for me.
How's the gaming going lately? I'm always stuck at work, so I never get to watch you play."
"Don't worry. We're winning everything right now. If we keep this up, we could hit Division 2—or even higher. Then I'll rake in tens of billions in prize money. We can move somewhere even fancier then!"
"That's my girl—you deserve the best. Make sure you thank Coach for looking out for you so much."
Ha-young's mom had heard all about the dorm drama from her daughter during the visit.
The big fight with her friend Seon-ah. Seon-ah's mom being the CEO of SA Electronics. And how the coach had stepped up big-time to make Seon-ah's family apologize for her dad's death and offer compensation.
She felt endless gratitude toward that coach, Kang Yuseong. Not only had he guided her worldly-naive daughter, but he'd treated her problems like his own and jumped in to fix them.
"You treat that coach with the utmost respect, Ha-young. Good-hearted people like him are rare these days. Never forget he's our family's benefactor."
"Yeah, don't worry, Mom. Even without you saying it, I lo—like and respect Coach a ton!"
Ha-young's mom could tell.
Whenever Ha-young came home, she talked about Coach nonstop.
And every time, a smile played on her lips, her cheeks flushing pink—a dead giveaway for a girl in love.
'Heh, she's totally smitten with him.'
Ha-young's mom chuckled inwardly as she took her daughter's hand.
"You've worked hard packing. Wanna go grab that dinner you're treating me to?"
"Yeah! What're you in the mood for, Mom?"
Ha-young walked down the hillside path with her mom, searching for restaurants on her phone.
Right then, a call came in.
Ha-young's face twisted the instant she saw the name.
010-xxxx-xxxx
No contact saved anymore, but the number was burned into her memory whether she liked it or not.
It was Jin-wook, her ex-boyfriend—the one who'd torn her down mercilessly over summer break and dumped her like trash.
'You jerk, why're you calling?'
Ha-young fumed silently and hit reject. When it rang again, refusing to quit, she rejected once more and blocked the number.
"Who was that?"
"Huh? Just spam. Blocked it, so no more."
Ha-young pocketed her phone, took her mom's hand, and headed downtown.
'Was feelin' so good, and you had to ruin it.'
With someone she actually liked now, Ha-young felt zero lingering affection for the ex who'd left her feeling worthless.
###
University Road.
Eunjae was chatting with her former dancer trainee sisters after their show.
"Oh yeah, you guys have been winning a ton lately? I was worried when you had that four-game skid—thought you might end up dead last."
"Hehe, we're killin' it these days! Just watch—we'll sweep the rest and hit Division 2."
"You better! If you make Division 1, sell some tickets to our shows, yeah?"
"You got it. You sisters better not quit by then—keep those shows goin' strong."
"Oh ho? Lookin' down on us? We won't quit till you sell 10,000 tickets!"
"Whew, sweatin' buckets makes me crave a smoke. I'm all out—who's lendin' me one? I'll buy ya back later."
One of the performing sisters held out her hand.
But sadly, none of the other performers seemed to have any to spare.
"I smoked my last one earlier."
"Mine's in my coat pocket back in the green room. Ugh, too lazy to grab it."
"Eunjae, sweetie—spot your sis one cig? I'll buy you a pack later."
"Huh? I ain't got none either."
The sisters gawked at her.
"Eunjae doesn't carry smokes? Thought you were the Treasure Goblin of Cigarettes."
"N-not anymore! I quit!"
The sisters went quiet for a beat. Then they burst out laughing in unison.
"Whoa, livin' to see Kim Eunjae quit smokin'."
"Girl was chain-smokin' since middle school dance practice, and now you quit?"
"F-for real! That's why I'm suckin' on candy instead!"
Eunjae pulled out her lollipop indignantly to prove it. Drool-soaked and half-melted, it was noticeably smaller.
"Now that you mention it, you haven't lit up once today. You serious about quittin'? What's the sudden change?"
"Coach told me not to…"
"Pfft. Dance coach nagged you the same way and you ignored him—now you quit 'cause Coach says so?"
"Hmm…"
One sister stared hard at Eunjae's face, then grabbed her cheeks with both hands.
"Eunjae, you like that coach, don't ya?"
"Wha—huh?! N-no! It ain't like that!"
"Bull. Last time you came to our show, he said no clubs and you quit goin'. Now no smokin' and you're quittin' that too?
Can't explain it if you don't like him, y'know? Better fess up if you wanna live."
"Whoa, Eunjae's fallin' hard—quittin' clubs and smokes to follow her man's word? Girl's hooked up with half our crowd—whatcha missin'?"
"Yo, show us a pic of this coach. How hot's he gotta be?"
Unable to withstand the barrage, Eunjae reluctantly pulled up Yuseong's photo.
The sisters let out impressed "oohs."
"Yeah, I get why you'd quit for that."
"Damn, girl fell hard for that face. You ever dated? Pretty boys like him break hearts for breakfast. Don't fall too deep—you'll get hurt alone."
"N-no! Coach ain't like that! Don't talk bad about him!"
"Whoa, she's serious. Did she just yell at me?"
"Eunjae's all tough on the outside, but soft and girly deep down. You messed up badmouthin' her crush."
Eunjae's face flushed crimson, hot enough to melt the winter chill.
"L-love? It ain't that serious…"
"Oh? Cool, then—mind if I snag this coach?"
"No way! That's why I didn't wanna show you sisters his pic… You're awful! I ain't tellin' you nothin' about Coach anymore!"
"Aw, Eunjae's pissed. What now?"
"Aww, poor baby. Sis is sorry— just teasin'. Our pretty lil' sis is in love? We'll cheer you on. Need any tips? We'll teach ya everything. Whatcha want?
How to suck good? Hip moves? Squeezin'? Top 10 moans to drive a guy wild?"
Eunjae found herself at the mercy of her ex-dancer sisters' lewd teasing.