3 ¦ New Neighbors

                                    

                                          
I stared at the upper body of a boy. A pretty hot upper body of a pretty hot boy. I wanted to lift my gaze and stop staring so intensly, but I just couldn't do it. It was all my mother's fault, or so I thought. 


Today was Sunday and because we had officially moved into our new home last night, my mom had asked me to go over to the neighbors and say hello. She had baked a cake and I had no problem bringing it over, but I didn't expect to be invited in by Hana (the neighbor) and I didn't expect her to leave me in the living room, only for a shirtless guy to appear in front of me a few seconds later. 


"Do you want to take a picture maybe?" a deep voice asked boredly and my eyes widened in shock. Not only did I feel caught, but all of a sudden I got all nervous because I knew that voice from somewhere.


I managed to let my gaze wander to his face and froze. Standing before me was none other than Lee Heeseung. Of all the people in this town, I had been ogling Lee Heeseung. Why did I just feel like fate was having fun with always putting me in awkward situations with Heeseung?!


I let my dark hair fall in front of my face to hide how red I was blushing. "Um... hi.", I said quietly because I didn't know what else to say. Heeseung tilted his head and squinted his eyes. I had a feeling he recognized me but couldn't place me. However, I did not do him the favor and enlightened him, but extended my hand to him. He didn't know my name anyway. 


"I'm Clara. We just moved in next door," I introduced myself and pretended not to know him. Heeseung looked at my hand and then back at my face. "Good for you Claire." "Clara.", I politely corrected and withdrew my hand again after he failed to grab it. 


Embarrassed, I played with the hem of my shirt, a habit I desperately needed to stop. My tops were already partially worn out because of it. "So... um you live here?" 


What the hell kind of a question was that?! Of course he lived here, why else would he be walking around here shirtless? A thought occurred to me that made me wonder, Heeseung was known for his bedtime stories and I didn't rule out that maybe he was just visiting here. 


Heeseung snorted derisively. "Obviously." I heaved a sigh of relief. It would have been a bit embarrassing if I had just been in the house of one of his sweethearts had been. Hana came into the living room. She was holding two plates, each with a piece of Mom's cake, and clicked her tongue disapprovingly when she saw Heeseung.


"Heeseung... Put some clothes on." she admonished him, but Heeseung grinned. "What mom, Claire likes what she sees." Mischievously, he winked at me and once again I blushed furiously. "My name's Clara.", I muttered towards the floor. 


"Heeseung, Behave" his mother said sternly. He shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes  "You know what? It seems pretty lame down here anyway so i'll just be in my room." He turned and disappeared down the hall without another word. 


Embarrassed, Hana handed me a plate and pointed to the sofa. "Sorry. Heeseung can be a little... uninhibited sometimes when it comes to that sort of thing, and he's also rather awkward when it comes to dealing with people," she apologized. 


I wanted to laugh out loud. Uninhibited? I wonder if his mom knew what they were saying about him being uninhibited at school. "It's okay." I waved it off with a smile and sat down next to her on the couch. 


"So, Clara was your name right? So tell me Clara, what school do you go to?" "The local high school," I replied. She looked surprised. "Ah, then maybe you and Heeseung already know each other?" she echoed. I quickly shook my head. "No, um... Well, I mean, I've seen him before, but we don't know each other. He's a grade above me." 


She nodded thoughtfully. "But maybe now you'll get to know each other better," she said, and I had a feeling I wasn't imagining the faint undertone of hope. "It would be nice to know friends of Heeseung's who are reasonable for once." 


As if he realized he was being talked about, Heeseung passed the door at that moment. "Heeseung!" his mom called out, and I heard him groan before he came back and stopped in the doorway. "Where are you going?" she asked. He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "To Jay's." he said, annoyed. 


Hana looked at him with her eyebrows drawn together "We have company." "So what?" he glanced fleetingly at me and frowned. "I think you should join us. Clara goes to your school, maybe you guys could get to know each other," she suggested. 


I would have liked to run away. I felt like I was an excuse for Hana to keep her son here. Heeseung looked at me again and suddenly realization showed on his face. "I know why you look familiar," he said suddenly, and my heart slipped into my pants. His gaze darkened and his gray eyes seemed ice cold. 


"You're the girl who first walked in on me and then spilled popcorn all over my head." "I...um...", I tried to explain. His mother next to me, looked back and forth between us, confused. Heeseung took advantage of that moment and waved: "I will go now then, since I already know Claire anyway." 


He didn't wait for an answer from his mother and simply left. As the door slammed shut behind him, Hana heaved a sigh of relief. "He just always does what he wants." 


Her smile seemed forced, but then her face suddenly brightened. Her pale blue eyes beamed at me enthusiastically. "How about you and your parents come to the barbecue next Friday? I'd love to meet them," she suggested. I didn't want to spoil her joy, so I nodded "Sure, I'll ask."


Since I didn't have much time myself because I wanted to unpack the rest of my boxes today, I said goodbye to Hana after another piece of cake and went over to my place. Hana seemed quite nice and I was sure that my mother would get along well with her.





A/N: Is this too boring?