“The people at the company may be harsh sometimes,” He agreed. “But they know what people need to do and to be in order to make it. They can see the good and the bad and when they tell you that you need to do something better, they are usually right.”
“I have no doubt,” She nodded. “It’s remarkably mature that you can recognize that, which is mostly my point. You have achieved a lot and it wasn’t just some lucky break or the influence of people in your life giving you an easy road to success. You worked hard, you listened to people who knew more, and you made a team, a family, who all made it together.”
“It wouldn’t have worked without all of us together,” He insisted.
“I know,” She agreed. “Let me let you in on a secret. I was a fan of you guys before I got the job, not that I knew I’d be working with you when the job was offered to me. I know that what you put out there for your fans isn’t exactly ‘the whole story’ about everything, but I’ve got at least some idea of what all of you have put into getting to where you are. Every one of you are remarkable people to have gotten where you are today.”
“Thank you,” He felt a tingle of pride at hearing her compliment them in such a meaningful way. She wasn’t just saying that they were cute or blandly good at what they did, she saw the work, the sweat, and the tears that had gone into their success.
“What I want you to understand is that, honestly, I’m amazed at how well you have handled all of this,” She asserted gently. “If you weren’t feeling some anxiety about all the things you are doing, I would have to start wondering if you were really human.”
“I guess the secret is out,” He laughed as he looked into her sparkling eyes.
“Just wait until I tell the tabloids,” She joked. “Finding out that you all are really just human beings, it will be a complete scandal.”
“Oh no!” He feigned horror. “We’ll never survive it!”
“I know,” She winked at him. “I promise to keep it between just us, if you come and do some interview prep with me, how is that for a deal?”
“Hmmm,” He sucked his breath in through clenched teeth. “You drive a hard bargain, but I think I can agree to that.”
“Okay deal,” She extended a hand to him, which he gladly took. “Let me know when.”
“I should probably go,” He admitted, getting to his feet.
“I’ll be around,” Claire assured him. “I’m not hard to find.”
“Would it be okay if I just messaged to say hi or something sometimes?” He enquired despite his fear it was too awkward a question.
“I wouldn’t mind that,” She said after a slight pause, suspecting there was something she didn’t quite understand behind that question. He gave her a wave as he stepped out of the small room, butterflies dancing in his stomach.
Claire blinked a few times, still looking at the closed door. Cheol was a little confusing. He didn’t need her for the things she had been hired for, but he did seem to be in need of…something. There was something magnetically charming about him and his effortlessly friendly charm. Every member was kind and had their own charms, but he was just enchanting. She had the feeling it would be best if she drew a line somewhere with him, for her own sake, and that of her job, but when he turned that puppy smile on her, she wanted to promise him the world. She was probably misconstruing things coming from him anyway. Even if she was interested in him, she thought it was very unlikely that he was particularly interested in her. She wasn’t that lucky, for starters.
***
Saturday came quickly and she was rather proud of all the work that the guys had put into the assignments she had given them. Kitae had remembered to message her about his day every day but once this week and he had come to apologize first thing the next morning, which was sweet and cute. Wonjung and Minjun had made a good effort on their writings, which they handed over to her yesterday. Hyunwoo had turned in some of his favorite book passages, translated, and told her why he liked them so much. However, it had been Changho who had impressed her most writing pages of potential verses and performing them for her in their last meeting of the week.
She had received a few requests for brunching foods during the week, mostly for meat, which she was glad to make for them. In addition to the piles and piles of meat, she had packed sides like kimchi, pickled veggies, eggs to fry, a light broth, lettuce, sauces, and some fresh local fruits. Being American, she had a little trouble understanding traditional Korean breakfasts which didn’t involve anything that was specific to the meal. It made sense, and American breakfasts, to be fair, were basically dessert in the morning half the time.
She gave a light knock on the door thirty seconds before punching in the code on the front door and poking her head inside. It didn’t look like anyone was up yet, at least there wasn’t anyone in the living room or the kitchen yet when she entered.
Laying everything on the counter, she started planning what had to be done in what order to keep things warm and to avoid over cooking anything. Once she had a vague idea of what she needed to do in what order, she started looking through the cabinets and drawers for what she needed. With her tools selected, she pulled out her phone and put on her headphones and started playing her favorite playlist.
For the next hour she danced and lip synced to her favorite songs as she washed the produce and cut up the fruit, laying it out nicely on one of the large plates she set aside to serve on after counting out ten plates to set the table for all of the members and herself. Taking the fruit to the table, she decided it would be a good time to finish setting the table for everyone to clear a little more space in the kitchen. They would need, plates, small bowls, spoons, chopsticks, and a mess of things to serve with. She made an effort to set everything down carefully since her headphones didn’t let her hear how noisy she was being. As she was setting down the bowls, one of her very favorite songs started playing and she had to pause to give everything to her lip syncing and dancing.
’Cause I wanna touch you, baby
And I wanna feel you, too
I wanna see the sunrise and your sins
Just me and you
Light it up, on the run
Let's make love, tonight
Make it up, fall in love, try
But you'll never be alone
I'll be with you from dusk till dawn
I'll be with you from dusk till dawn
Baby, I'm right here
I'll hold you when things go wrong
I'll be with you from dusk till dawn
I'll be with you from dusk till dawn
Baby, I'm right here
I'll be with you from dusk till dawn
Baby, I'm right here
She finished setting the table and set to work prepping all the meat to cook in the four pans she had managed to find in the kitchen, starting the rice in the rice cooker at the same time. The steak started first as it would be best rested anyway, then the bacon, which could be cool and still good. After that the lamb, Cheol’s request, some sausage, and warming of the selection of fried chicken. The meat selection made her feel like she was serving a heart attack on a plate, but it was supposed to be a treat so maybe it wasn’t so bad.
Kitae was the first one to wake up, as he usually was, starting the day by poking at his roommates Minjun, Hyunwoo, and Wonjung, to help them get started with their day. He could already smell breakfast even from his room and he excitedly jumped out of bed at 12:30, heading down himself to see if anyone else had gotten up yet. He poked his head out of his room, dressed in his pajamas and saw that the other two doors were still closed. Walking quietly, he headed to the dining room and kitchen to check on how things looked there. He found the table all set, with lots of dishes already laid out and could hear the faint sounds of cooking coming from the next room over. He poked his head in and saw Claire standing at the stove singing silently and dancing as she managed the contents of the pans on the stove. He found himself highly amused by the sight and snuck back to the
bedrooms to get everyone else up.
He opened the door to Cheol, Changho, and Jaejin’s room and tiptoed over to each of them in turn.
“Guys you have to get up and come see the kitchen,” Kitae urged them quietly, shaking the dangling arm of Changho from his standing point between the beds.
“Huh?” Jaejin mumbled, lifting his head from the pillow slightly with bleary looking eyes.
“Claire is cooking and it’s really funny,” He whispered like it was a secret. He heard Wonjung emerge from his dorm room and called him in to ask him for his help in getting everyone up. Wonjung wandered into FX and Seunghoon’s room to poke at them. Cheol registered Kitae and that he was talking to them, but after another long night working with a distracted mind, he was slow to hear what was actually being said in the room.
“Claire is doing what,” Changho grumbled from the top bunk.
“She is in the kitchen cooking…and dancing,” Kitae broke into a giggle. “It’s too funny. You’re going to miss it if you don’t get up first. The food also looks almost done. You have to get up.”
“Okay, I’m coming,” Cheol finally half registered what was being said and sat up, his feet finally hitting the floor. He rubbed his face and stood up, the smell of the food finally reaching him as he reached the hall. He ran into FX and Seunghoon in the hall and could hear his room mates shuffling behind him down the hall. Kitae squeezed through the group of half morning zombies and gave them all a shush and follow me gesture. They complied, though also looking at each other with questioning expressions, shuffling into the dining room and quietly poking their heads into the entry way to the kitchen. There they were greeted with the sight of a headphone deaf Claire pulling some meat out the the pans and onto a cutting board and dancing it to the back of the kitchen.
She hadn’t noticed that she had an audience yet as she used a knife to slice the steak and mutton and slipped it onto the serving plate which already had a pile of bacon on it. Picking up the plate, she shimmied her way back to the pans to pull out the nicely browned sausages to add to the ever growing pile. Singing to herself, she turned toward the dining room to find a wall of amused and half asleep faces. She laughed, and moved one side of her headphones off her ear and decided to start singing out loud as she danced towards them and the table.
“To be drunk and in love in New York City, Midnight into morning coffee, Burning through the hours talking,” She sang as she reached the table and put the dish on the table.
“Damn, I like me better when I'm with you,” Turning, hands now free of dishes, she faced the group, moving towards the member closest to her who happened to be FX. She took his hands and started dancing with him as she continued singing.
“I like me better when I'm with you, I knew from the first time, I'd stay for a long time ‘cause, I like me better when, I like me better when I'm with you,” She led him in a swaying dance into the kitchen where she then handed him the bowl of warm rice.
“I don't know what it is but I got that feeling (got that feeling), Waking up in this bed next to you swear the room, Yeah, it got no ceiling,” She crooked a finger at Cheol, who followed like a good boy, joining her in a similar dance, adding a spin as she kept singing. “If we lay, let the day just pass us by, I might get to too much talking, I might have to tell you something.”
Letting him go, she filled his two hands with a plate of fried chicken and one of the small bowls of pickled vegetables and shooed him back towards the table.
“Damn, I like me better when I'm with you,” She motioned Changho forward next, dancing with him for half a verse. “I like me better when I'm with you, I knew from the first time, I'd stay for a long time ‘cause, I like me better when, I like me better when I'm with you.”
She filled his hands with a sauce and kimchi and sent him on his way as well.
“Stay awhile, stay awhile, Stay here with me,” she continued, bringing Seunghoon with her, holding both hands and guiding him with gentle dancing steps. “Stay awhile, stay awhile, oh, Stay awhile, stay awhile, Stay here with me, Lay here with me.”
She gave him the last two dishes and started signaling for all of them to take seats around the table.
“I like me better when I'm with you (yes, I do, yes, I do, babe),” She happily crooned, pulling drinks out of the fridge and putting them on the table in the little space that was left. “I like me better when I'm with you (ooh, no), I knew from the first time, I'd stay for a long time ‘cause, I like me better when, I like me better when I'm with you, Better when, I like me better when I'm with you.”
She finished the last verse with dramatic flare, standing behind Minjun and Wonjung at the table and finally removed her headphones with the end of the song. Cheol and Kitae gave her a laughing ovation, and she gave a dramatic bow as everyone in the kitchen laughed.
“Good morning,” Her voice was cheerful as she greeted them. “So who are we missing, then? We have an extra chair.”
“Hyunwoo,” Seunghoon answered. “He is always hard to get up.”
“Can someone go drag him out of bed?” Claire requested kindly.
“I can,” Kitae volunteered, standing to go back to the room where his friend had no doubt fallen back asleep. As he had expected Hyunwoo was still sprawled out on his mattress, dead to the world. Kitae was used to having to help his roommate get up and get going as he was definitely not a morning person, no matter when he went to bed the day before. After about a minute of pokes and gentle shakes, his friend was really awake and crawling out of his bed. He didn’t seem quite awake enough to do much more than follow Kitae to the dining room. He seemed surprised when he found everyone sitting around the table together. Usually their schedules were busy enough, everyone ate when they could and what they could pull together or one to a cafe to get something on the way to some scheduled event or practice.
“Good morning,” Claire greeted the zombie like Hyunwoo as he finally took his seat. “Ok, now that everyone is here, I want to announce the best student of the week. Everyone did wonderfully this week, but Changho I think did the best and so, the first bite goes to him as does the right to choose the reward if everyone keeps up their efforts next week as well.”
“I can pick next week?” Changho said excitedly. Claire nodded and offered him a large bite of lettuce wrap with rice, fried chicken, sauce, and some pickled radish inside. Changho took the bite with a self-satisfied grin as other members laughed and gave him a light round of applause in approval.
“Okay everyone, let’s eat,” She announced to the group as she took her seat between Cheol and Jaejin. Everyone started grabbing things off the table and passing them around to share and serve. They seemed very pleased with the selection of foods she had brought, which was a relief, she just hoped that there was enough for everyone. It was pretty hard to predict how much nine hungry teenagers to young men would actually eat.
“What did you want?” Cheol asked when he noticed that she wasn’t taking anything from the plates being passed around.
“I’ll wait to see what is left,” She gave him a reassuring pat on his arm. “This is a treat for all of you, I’m fine with whatever everyone doesn’t really want.”
“Don’t be silly, here,” he chastised, picking a few things off of the passing plates and setting them on hers. She shook her head and patted his arm as he laid a few last items on her plate.
“That is plenty,” She assured him.
“Are you sure,” he asked. “What about a little kimchi at least?”
“Sure, that sounds good,” she agreed with a little nod. “Now make sure you are getting enough for yourself.”
“I can never have enough to eat,” He joked.
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” She whispered back, taking a bite of melon. He laughed at her and took a bite of his own food.
“Thank you for all the food,” Jaejin said from her other side.
“Is it a good reward for hard work?” She asked him.
“Just needs so
me cheese cake,” He replied after a pause, grinning from ear to ear.
“Ah, I’ll keep that in mind,” She nodded conspiratorially.
“Next time?” He prompted.
“Next time,” She agreed, offering him a hand to shake. He took her hand and fell into peels of laughter.
When the meal was mostly done, she started to gather the mostly empty plates and clear off the table. A few members noticed and started to get up to do the same until she gestured for them to sit down and relax. They had a dishwasher and it wouldn’t be terribly hard to clean up what was left of the dishes. The kitchen was mostly cleared of dishes as she had needed to fill as she went to have enough cooking space. After a couple of trips, the dishwasher was full and only a few plates remained on the table still containing food. She could leave the rest of the clean up to them without feeling bad since it wasn’t much.
As she returned to the table, her pocket started buzzing. She pulled out her phone to see an incoming call from her friend Roz. It was late Friday night where she was and Claire guessed her friend was probably calling her during one of her after work nights out with friends. She used to go out on these nights with her before she moved away, usually being the designated sober or almost sober among the group, responsible for making sure everyone got home safe and sound.
“Roz? Honey, is that you?” She answered the call, striding through the dining room to go to the nearby living room to chat with her friend. A few ears pricked up curiously, hearing her conversing with the mystery person on the phone as she passed by. The living room and dining room were connected by a double wide opening with no doors, making them nearly the same room. Lying down on the couch on the far side of the room, she took the phone away from her ear, put it on speaker phone, and laid it on her chest.
The Tutor Page 5
