What I Did for Love

Part 19
"What are you looking at?" asked Kyung Hee.

Whew. I let out a sigh of relief. "They're here," I whispered to her.

"Who?" she asked, looking over my shoulder.

"SechsKies."

"Oh. So you want to go serve them?" I shook my head 'no' quickly. Kyung Hee laughed. "Okay. Don't get so worked up, Mina. I'll do it." She took a waitress pad and headed over to their table. I remained in the corner watching them.

"Hi, my name is Kyung Hee and I'll be your waitress today. May I take your order?"

All the SechsKies members looked up to the pretty, young girl who just approached them. Instantly Sung Hoon made the 2 girls on his lap move. He looked up at Kyung Hee, giving her his best smile.
"I don't know what I want for dinner, but you want to be my dessert?" The other 5 Kies members laughed while Kyung Hee rolled her eyes.
"That's so cute. Must have took you all day to think up that one huh?"

"Ooh," shouted Ji Yong. "This one has a mouth."

Sung Hoon just smiled. "Feisty. I like it."

Then he pinched Kyung Hee's side playfully. She moved away, glaring. "Hey don't touch me!"

"Come on babe. Go out with me. I'll show you a good time."

"Hell no!" Kyung Hee shouted back in his face.

Then Ji Won stood up. "Don't talk to my friend like that," he said in a low threatening voice. "Or else I'll have you fired." Ji Won's glare made Kyung Hee move back a little bit but she answered back anyways.
"You can't fire me! I quit!"

She handed Jae Jin her apron and pad and stomped over to me in the dark corner. "Stupid, lousy jerks," she whispered to me.
"I know," I whispered back, patting her shoulder. Suddenly, I caught Ji Won staring at me. I didn't know what to say or do so I just left.

Part 20
Ji Won stared at the girl who was talking to Kyung Hee. 'She looks like Mina,' he thought. 'But can't be.'

"Hyung," said Sung Hoon. "What are you looking at?"

"Her," said Ji Won, pointing in Kyung Hee's and Mina's direction.

"You like my waitress too?" asked Sung Hoon, pouting.

"No," said Ji Won, shaking his head. "Her friend. Doesn't she look like Mina?"

Sung Hoon glanced at the person Ji Won was pointing to and watched her walk away. "No..." said Sung Hoon slowly. "That girl's hair is much longer and Mina has a nicer body. That chick looks like a stick."

Ji Won cocked an eyebrow at Sung Hoon. "How do you know Mina have a nice body?"
Sung Hoon's eyes widened. "I dunno… just guessing. Ji Yong's calling me. I'll go see what he wants," Sung Hoon said quickly and ran over to Ji Yong right away. Ji Won began to chase the girl who just left.

I heard some footsteps following behind me. I quickly turned a corner and entered my room.

Ji Won ran after her as fast as he could. He saw the girl turn a corner and he continued chasing her. He saw a figure up ahead and he grabbed her by the shoulder. When the girl turned around, she had a surprised expression on her face.

"What do you want?"

Ji Won looked at the strange girl. She looked nothing like Mina. "Wrong person." The girl walked way. Ji Won sighed. 'Maybe it's cause I miss Mina so much that I'm beginning to see her.' He began to walk back to the lobby, disappointedly.

From my hotel room, I was watching Ji Won with the little hole in the door. I saw him pat a girl and then walk away with his head bowed down. I went over and sat down on my bed. I let out a sigh. Ji Won doesn't miss me. He has too many girls with him already. He probably forgot who I am by now.

Tears fell down my face and I didn't even realize it. I quickly wiped them away. I wanted to tell myself that I hate Ji Won but I couldn't because then I'd just be lying. There was only one thing left for me to do.

I stood in front of my bathroom mirror. I can't be with Ji Won as Mina, but I wanted to be by his side to watch over him. I thought about it for a while and remembered they were recruiting new members for Black Kies.
I looked at myself. Hmm…if my hair is short and put into a cap, I wear sunglasses more, darken my skin with make-up, and lower my voice…I can pass for a guy.

So I did it. Within an hour, I had transformed myself into a guy. I checked myself over. As a guy, I didn't look too bad. I smoothed out my new short hair and tucked it into a cap. Guys wear earrings too so I didn't have to worry about my earring holes.
I wore a couple of T-shirts under my flannel and 2 pairs of boxers under my baggy jeans so I would fill out more and wouldn't look so scrawny. I checked my make-up, making sure I was well-covered. I put my sunglasses on.
'Perfect', I thought. Now all I have to do is have to pass the test to join the gang.

Part 21
Ji Won walked down the aisle looking at the 5 new candidates. He nodded his head as he studied them.
"Pretty good," he said to them. "Alright," he clapped his hands for attention. "All of you know how it's done. Jae Jin and Jae Duc will jump each of you in. If you're still standing after 5 minutes, then welcome to SechsKies."

Only 2 of the 5 guys lasted when Jae Jin and Jae Duc were done beating them up. "Okay," said Sung Hoon. The two newest members to join is-"
"Wait!" shouted a voice, interrupting Sung Hoon. Everyone looked over to see who it was.

Ji Won stared at the young boy who was walking towards them. 'What the hell? Damn! This kid looks like Mina!' he thought. 'I must be losing it. How come I keep seeing her today?'
Sung Hoon looked at the new boy curiously. "Yes? What do you want little man?"

I looked at Sung Hoon. 'Gosh, he developed an attitude', I thought. I took a deep breath. This is it. "I want to join SechsKies."
A guy I recognized as Jang Su Won busted out laughing. He placed his hand on top of my head. "You? How old are you boy? 15? 16? And how tall are you now? 5'?"

I moved his hand for him. "No. I'm 18 and I'm not 5', I'm 5'3." That remark made all the other members laugh, except Ji Won. I looked at him curiously and realized he was checking me out.
'Oh no', I thought. 'Please don't recognize me'.

Ji Won held up his hand for the others to stop laughing. "Hey, if he wants a chance, then we'll give it to him."
Then he turned to face me. I felt my heart thumping loud and prayed he couldn't hear it. He placed his hand on my shoulder. Dang, he smells good, I thought as I tried to suppress a smile.

"Look kid," said Ji Won to me. "You have to be jumped in to join. These 2 guys (pointing to Jae Jin and Jae Duc) will kick the crap out of you for 5 minutes. If you're still standing, you're in."

I nodded my head. I knew I had to last because I'm doing it all for Ji Won. I stood there as Jae Duc and Jae Jin began to hit me. Jae Jin threw the first punch and it gave me instant pain. He's even stronger than my stepmom, I thought. Jae Duc kicked me and I was knocked to the ground but I kept pulling myself up.

Ji Won looked at the helpless boy who was struggling to stand up. He doesn't understand why but when he looks at the boy, images of Mina replaced him. Right now in his eyes, it looked like it was Mina being beaten up by Jae Jin and Jae Duc. He couldn't help it.
"Stay down!" he yelled to the boy. Everyone stared at Ji Won. Both Jae Jin and Jae Duc stopped hitting the boy because they were surprised that Ji Won was being nice out of nowhere.

I heard Ji Won yelling for me to stay down. My ears listened but my legs wouldn't. I refused to stay down. No matter how many times they hit me or how hard, I managed to get up. Finally 5 minutes was over and I was still standing.
"Am I in?" I asked in a weak voice. I saw Ji Won staring at me with a surprised expression.
"Yes, you're in." he said patting my shoulder. I smiled and fainted into his arms.

Ji Won held the boy, surprised. He realized the boy had fainted. Usually he would have let go if someone fainted on him, but this time he held on tight.

The other 5 Kies members looked and the 2 new recruits looked at Ji Won with queeried eyes. "Uh, hyung," said Sung Hoon, as he patted Ji Won on the shoulder.
"What?" asked Ji Won, as he continued holding the boy.

"What should we do about the new recruits?"

"Give them instructions and show them to their rooms. We'll have a meeting tomorrow."

"Okay."

They all left but once in a while, they all would glance back looking at Ji Won, who was carrying the boy in the other direction.

Part 22
Slowly I began to regain my consciousness and I woke up. I looked around and realized I was in the biggest room in the Nam Hotel. The Presidential Suite.
"What am I doing in here?" I asked myself. Then suddenly the chair in front of me spun around. Ji Won was sitting in it. I stared at him with wide eyes. I started to panic because I was all alone with him in the room.

Ji Won gave me a sideways glance. "You okay?" he asked. I nodded my head. Ji Won got up out of his seat and walked towards me. He sat down on the bed next to me and looked at me straight in the eyes. "So what's your name?" he asked.
"Mi-" I began but instantly cut myself off. 'Stupid, I thought to myself. You almost said your real name!' I saw Ji Won's eyes grow wide.

"What did you say your name was?"

"Min-Sung," I answered him quickly.

"Oh," he said and backed away from me.

Ji Won stood up and walked towards the window, looking outside. He knew the new recruit was a boy but somewhere inside him wished Min Sung would say his name was Mina. He let out a sigh.
"There's a meeting tomorrow. Be there okay?"

I looked at Ji Won with his back facing me. It had only been 2 years but I felt as though I couldn't read what was going on in his mind anymore. I let out a sigh myself. "Ji Won, where do we meet later tomorrow?"

The call of his real name made Ji Won suddenly look up. He ran over to where Min Sung was sitting and grabbed him by his shoulders. "How do you know my real Korean name? No one knows me by that. Everyone calls me Matthew."

Oh no, I thought. I had completely forgotten that Ji Won had changed his name to Matthew but I thought fast. "I didn't know your name as Ji Won. All I said was, 'Gee, wanna go out later tomorrow?'"
I felt Ji Won's grip on me loosen. He had bought the story. When he was looking, I let out a sigh of relief.

'I'm losing it,' thought Ji Won. "We'll meet in the main dining room tomorrow," Ji Won told Min Sung. He nodded his head and left. Ji Won walked out to the balcony and looked up at the sky.
"I love you Mina, that's why it hurts so much that you're not here."
But the real Mina had left before she could have heard those words.

Part 23
Meanwhile back in the hotel lobby…

After Sung Hoon and the others gave the new recruits instructions and about the meeting, they all went back to their rooms.
"You think there's something wrong with Matthew hyung?" asked Jae Jin.
"Yeah," said Jae Duc. "Did you see the way he held the new guy?"
They began to shudder.

"No, it's nothing," answered Sung Hoon.

"You think maybe Matthew is gay?" asked Ji Yong.

"You're the one who looks gay," said Jae Duc, jokingly.

"Shut up!" yelled Ji Yong as he punched Jae Duc lightly.

The others began to laugh. Then Su Won said, "Could be though. I never saw him 'be' with a girl before."
Sung Hoon lets out a sigh. "Okay, I'll tell you guys the real deal. But don't let this get back to Matthew okay?" They all nodded and leaned forward to hear the story.

"It was like 5 years ago when Matthew hyung met this girl named Nam Mina…."

"She a babe?" asked Jae Duc, interrupting.

Sung Hoon gave him a look. "Yes, Duckie, she's a babe."

"Oh, okay," said Jae Duc. "Continue."

"Anyways, Matthew knew her before he met me. It turns out that she was the first person who ever really cared about him and Matthew fell in love with her. But you know how hyung is. He could never tell anyone exactly what' s on his mind or how he feels. Instead of saying he wants Mina to be his girlfriend, he said he wants her to be his dongsang-"

"That's stupid!" yelled Jae Duc, interrupting Sung Hoon. "Why did he say that for? She's a babe!"

"Sh..!" yelled Jae Jin, Ji Yong, and Su Won at Jae Duc.

Sung Hoon continued. "Well, Matthew ended up having this blood ceremony with her. They scarred each other's back with their initial. It looks like a blood tie but later on I found out it was his symbol of promised love-"

"Ow..that must have hurt," said Jae Duc, as he hugged himself. Jae Jin smacked him on the head for interrupting again.

"I think they knew each other for a year before they met me. At first I thought Mina was cute, but then by the way Matthew acts, I can tell she was off limits. See, Mina had this heart condition where air would suddenly be closed off and she couldn't breathe. The only way to get air in was by this respirator-"

"The one hyung always carry?" asked Jae Duc.

"Yes Duckie," said Sung Hoon, rolling his eyes. "Anyways, it was either that or mouth to mouth. Once when Matthew went collecting shells for Mina, I was walking along the shores with her. One of her attacks came on. I freaked out of course, but I knew what to do. I laid her down and I was about to give her CPR but then Matthew ran the speed of light and knocked me into the ocean and he gave her CPR."
The others started laughing.

"Dang, ain't he a Romeo?" said Jae Duc, laughing.

Sung Hoon smiled. "It's cause he loves Mina and didn't want any other guy touching he. I mean, during school, if any guy talks about wanting to date her, Matthew made sure he didn't. Oh yeah, Matthew hyung hasn't always been Matthew. His real name is Ji Won. The 'M' scar on his back stands for Mina, not Matthew."
The others opened their mouths in shock. They never knew Ji Won had been this much in love before.

"How romantic," whispered Jae Duc.

"Shut up hyung," said Ji Yong. "Quit interrupting!"

"Okay, okay," said Jae Duc, blocking himself from Jae Jin's hand.

Sung Hoon began talking.
"If there are no more interruptions, then I'll continue." He paused for a second and then continued. "The day before Matthew and I made it to Korea, he and Mina were supposed to get married. Matthew didn't like his dad and there was this feud in their family on who gets the grandpa's inheritance. Matthew got it, of course, and he took it all and left Hawaii. He took me and he was planning on taking Mina too. When he went to her house though, his uncle's men were guarding the place and he couldn't take her. He ended up leaving Hawaii without saying goodbye to Mina."
All of them remained silent.

Then Su Won spoke. "Last year hyung sent me out to get some news on Nam Mina. She had died drowning."

Sung Hoon nodded. "Yeah but Matthew and I think she committed suicide. He think it's because Mina can't handle living with her stepmom, who always abuse her. If you ask me, I think Mina committed suicide because Matthew left her without any reason. I think hyung thinks that too but he won't say it. I think he blames himself for her death and since then he hasn't been the same. He used to be nicer and not this touchy. Also that's why he's never been with another girl. I mean, we see him flirt with other girls but none of us actually see him 'be' with another girl right?"

The others nodded in agreement. Sung Hoon continued. "About this new boy today. I think Matthew is losing it. He probably thinks when he sees the boy he is see-"
Sung Hoon stopped talking as he looked up. He finished his sentence with a "-See you later!" and he ran off.

Part 24
The others looked up surprised. Jae Jin smacked Jae Duc on his head.
"What?" asked Jae Duc. "I didn't interrupt!"
"It's not Duckie's fault," said Ji Yong. "Look." Ji Yong pointed to where Sung Hoon ran off too.

"Aigo," said Jae Jin. "It's that same waitress babe."

"See?" said Jae Duc. "It's cause of a girl, not me. You hit me by mistake."

"No, it's not a mistake. I still wanna smack your head cause it makes this cool hollow sound," replied Jae Jin as he smacked Jae Duc on his head again.

"So, wanna go out sometime?" Sung Hoon asked Kyung Hee, leaning near her. She rolled her eyes at him.

She answered flatly, "No" and began to leave.

Sung Hoon held onto her arm. "Come on babe. X-mas is next month and don't be a scrooge."

Then suddenly, Kyung Hee gave him a seductive smile. "I guess. How about we go out on November 31st then?"

Sung Hoon gave her a sexy smile back. "It's a date then," he answered, letting her go. The other 4 walked up to him.

"How'd it go Mickey?" asked Su Won.

"Hey, hey, what can I say?" answered Sung Hoon cockily. "I'm the man!"

Jae Jin gave him a high-five.

"Alright!" yelled Jae Duc. "When you 2 going out?"

"November 31st," answered Sung Hoon.

"Uh, Mickey," said Ji Yong.

"Sup Ji Yong?" said Sung Hoon.

"November doesn't have a 31st."

"What?" asked Sung Hoon, surprised. He looked at the calendar. November ended on the 30th. He looked around but Kyung Hee had already left. He started cursing while the others tried to hold back their laughter.

November 23, 1998

"This meeting of SechsKies is now in session," announced Ji Won to the main members of the group, along with the new recruits. His voice got their attention and they quickly focused their attention on Ji Won.
Ji Won looked to see if Min Sung was there. He was. Ji Won gave a little smile to him. He didn't know why but when he looks at Min Sung his mind would replace Min Sung's face with Mina's.

"So any new business?" he asked the members.

"Yes," answered Jae Jin. "The Black Dragons have killed some of our members and took away some of our businesses."

"Damn it!" yelled Ji Won as he pounded his fist on the table. "We'll just have to see that this Black Dragon matter will be solved. Mickey you, Ji Yong, Su Won, and the 2 new recruits deal with the businesses. Jae Jin, Jae Duc, and Min Sung will come with me." Everyone looked at Ji Won strangely.

Sung Hoon began to speak. "Uh, hyung. You want to take Min Sung along?"

Ji Won glared at him. "Yeah. Anyone here have any objections?" No one answered. "Meeting adjourned," announced Ji Won and everyone went to work.