Chapter XXV – Study Session

It was finally Sunday, and Sophie and Arthur were preparing for Irene’s arrival.

“Alright, these are all I’ll be needing,” Sophie sighed placing three heavy books onto the living room table.

They were covered in sticky notes of various colors with unique markings. Some were straight forward though, such as three question marks, an exclamation mark, and a simple checkmark.

Curious, Arthur placed them one next to the other.

“Let’s see. . . So we have science, Korean history, and umm. . . English?” Arthur looked at her confused. “Why English?”

Sophie flopped onto the couch next to him and sighed.

“Just because you are good at English, doesn’t mean I am as well. . .”

“True, but how good are you?”

“Well, I’ll most likely get a good grade, but if I can already use the two of you to practice then why wouldn’t I? Besides, I want to hear Irene's English.”

“Hmm. . .” Arthur pondered before a coy smile made an appearance. “Sounds fun.”

Arthur yawned deeply while stretching, but was spooked out of it by the doorbell.

“She’s here!” Sophie yelled out excitedly, jumping out of the couch and rushing towards the doors.

With a smile on his face, Arthur decided to wait in the living room as he looked over the books. He could hear the two talking in the hallway but it was hard to make up the words.

“Heyo!” Irene said entering the room, holding a full bag of snacks in one hand and her school bag over her shoulder.

It was the second time he saw her out of her school uniform, but unlike last time when she wore clothes for comfort alone, she dressed up a bit. Irene wore cut-off shorts, a light blue and yellow plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and a thin black velvet choker around her neck. Sophie gave her slippers as to not be barefoot.

“Hi,” he said cheerfully, it was the first time he awaited guests at home. “What’s that?”

Sophie followed behind carrying another bag from the store which had numerous drinks. The two placed them on the knee-high table.

“Just a few snacks and drinks to keep us going,” she answered before dropping her school bag on the floor.

“You really shouldn’t have,” Sophie said. “We planned to order food, but couldn’t decide without you. You fine with pizza?”

“Sounds great,” she answered while looking around. “This is quite a cozy place.”

“Want me to show you around?” Arthur offered.

Irene simply nodded extending her hand to help him up. He couldn’t help but smile accepting it.

“So obviously this is our living room where the infamous movie night happened. . .” he explained glancing over towards Sophie who chuckled at his comment all while ordering food via phone app. Ari and Sophie made sure to tell Irene all about it. “Then over here we have the kitchen. . .”

Arthur spent the next few minutes showing her around everywhere except for their rooms. Irene seemed to absorb every little detail all while having a winsome smile.

“That’s pretty much it,” Arthur said glancing over her, noticing a puzzled look.

“What about your rooms?”

“What about them?”

“Aren’t you gonna show me?”

“Ah. . . Well. . .” he mumbled with a forced smile.

“I see. . .” Irene took a step back as her expression turned curious as she began to ponder.

The two stood in silence for a moment as Arthur could not figure out what she was thinking.

“What is it?” he couldn’t help but ask.

“Well. . .” she turned to look at him again with a playful smile. “It’s because your room is indecent right? Admit it, what lewd posters do you have?”

“What?!” he yelled out flustered by the false accusations. “I don’t have anything like that!”

“Sure you don’t. . .” she whispered sarcastically giving him a wink and tapping him on the shoulder.

“You’re not going to believe me, are you?” he sighed calming down a bit.

“Nope, but that’s ok. If I were a guy, I’d probably have those too.”

“Fine, fine. . . I’ll show you my room,” he sighed in defeat.

“Thank you,” she said smugly.

The two proceeded to his door, as he sighed knowing that his room hadn’t changed at all since he cleaned it initially. Opening up, he walked in glancing around the plain, mostly empty room. Irene followed behind him.

“Oh! So this is your room,” she said observing the neatly cleaned, but at the same time lackluster room. “Guess my theory was off.”

“Told ya. . .”

The bookshelves remained for the most part empty, only having school books on them, and the walls lacked decorations apart from a clock that was running a minute or two late.

“It's nice though,” she said genuinely as she approached the window.

“It’s nice?” he asked confused, personally not finding it anything special.

“Sure, it could use redecorating, but you got a killer view and the sun must peer through here each morning. You get to see beautiful sunrises, unlike me who only sees sunsets.”

“You dislike sunsets?”

“Nah, I love them,” she answered turning towards him before sitting down on the bed.

“Ah, don’t sit there. . . I haven’t changed the sheets yet.”

“Huh? Don’t worry about that. . . My place is a mess right now!” she explained with a beaming smile that turns into a curious one. “Unless you’ve done something that you shouldn’t have?”

“What? No. . .” he sighed flustered once again. “Stop teasing me like that.”

“It’s fun tho! Your reactions are priceless,” she giggled.

“Well, you’ve seen my room. I can’t show you Sophie’s without her permission.”

“That’s fine, I’ve had my fun. I’ll just ask her later.”

“Shall we go down then?”

“Sure.”

Irene jumped up on her feet before walking past Arthur. He couldn’t help but notice a faint yet very alluring perfume that she was wearing. He was left standing there for a few seconds, before glancing back to his room.

“Redecorating huh?” he pondered out loud before going downstairs.

Sophie had ordered food and poured the three drinks. Irene opened up the bag of chips and poured it into an empty bowl. She already acted at home.

“So how come you two are alone at home?”

Arthur looked over the bags and noticed that she also purchased sliced cheese, milk, and a pack of sea salt along with other snacks.

“The two of us live with our grandpa, and he's at work most of the time. He won’t be home till late,” Sophie explained. “It’s noon, so we'll have the house for ourselves.”

“What’s all this?” Arthur asked.

“Hmm? Ah! Yeah. . . I planned to make us nacho cheese topping, same as the cinema one. I’ve asked Sophie what you had so I purchased the remaining ingredients.”

“You really love that stuff,” Arthur commented.

“You could call it an addiction. . .” Irene sighed. “Sophie also mentioned you have what I need to make a chili sauce on the side.”

“Yup! We got everything. I’ll help you make it,” Sophie added.

“I thought we planned to study. . .” Arthur sighed looking at the two who were clearly just planning to hang out and work minimally.

“Oh come on Oppa. . . You can’t study on an empty stomach. Besides, we're just polishing our knowledge.”

“Yeah. . .” Irene reinforced Sophie’s claim while slowly opening the nachos. "Don't be such a buzzkill."

After a light conversation about what they did since they’d last seen each other, the three finally settled down and opened up the books. Arthur was surprised just how knowledgeable Irene was. Not only that, but her soft-spoken voice and easy explanations made everything memorable.

“Ah! I get it now,” Sophie said as she managed to solve a problem she previously struggled with.

“You’re good at explaining things. Have you ever tutored before?” Arthur asked.

“No. . .” she glanced down towards the books. “My mother used to sit down with me when I was little and teach me things. I just adopted her style and added flavor to it.”

“Well, you’re great at it!” Sophie added. “Did you consider becoming a teacher?”

“Thanks,” she said glancing at Sophie. “I did when I was little, but I’ve decided that it’s not something I’d want to do as a profession. Haven’t really settled on a choice.”

“We all still have time to figure that stuff out,” Sophie reassured her. “Besides, with your looks, I’d doubt students would focus on their studies. . . Right Oppa?”

“What?” Arthur mumbled caught off guard, making the girls chuckle among themselves.

“Anyway, let’s get back to work. We still have loads to go over,” Irene commented tapping her mint polished fingernails on the wooden table.

Time went by quickly as the group decided to take a break upon the pizza arriving. Sophie went to get it while Arthur got the plates and Irene poured more drinks.

“Finally. . . Took them long enough,” Sophie complained.

“Ah, well. . . At least we had extra time to study before taking a break,” Irene pointed out placing her hand on the pizza cover. “But before we eat, Sophie!”

“Hmm?” Sophie glanced towards her as Arthur seated himself.

“What was the name of Seoul during Joseon Dynasty?”

“Ah. . . Uh. . . Hanyang!”

“Correct!” Irene said cheerfully before turning to Arthur. “Arthur! In Korea's founding myth, the Legend of Dangun, which two animals pray to the Heavenly Prince Hwanung to help them become human?”

“Bear and Tiger,” Arthur answered before lifting his index finger in the air smugly. “In the myth, the god Hwanung gives them cloves of divine garlic and a bundle of mugwort and tells them to eat this sacred food and avoid sunlight for 100 days. After about 21 days, the tiger gives up and leaves the cave in search of better food. The bear, on the other hand, perseveres and becomes a human woman named Ungnyeo or bear woman.”

“Correct!” Irene clapped.

“Show off. . .” Sophie huffed.

Irene removed her hand and started opening the box, but Sophie held it closed.

“Nah, first you got to answer a question as well.”

“Oh?” Irene grinned.

“What should we ask her Oppa?”

“Hmm,” he pondered before turning to Irene. “In what year was the Korean Empire proclaimed?”

“Easy, 1897. Right Sophie?” she glanced towards Sophie, showing her best poker face.

“You’re not gonna catch me off guard this time. . . It is indeed 1897, by Emperor Gojong.”

“Wrong. . .” Arthur sighed closing his eyes and shaking his head.

“Huh?” both Irene and Sophie looked towards Arthur in confusion.

“Just kidding!” Arthur chuckled opening his eyes to their priceless confused expressions. “Couldn’t help it.”

“No pizza for him,” Irene said to Sophie.

“Agreed.”

“Wait what? That’s not-” Arthur complained, but was interrupted by Irene handing him a plated slice.

“Oppa, since when are you so gullible?”

Arthur was always great at perceiving when something was wrong or someone was attempting to deceive him due to excessive experience, but he knew that there was still loads to learn.

The three divided up the pizza and lazily sat around the table.

“So Irene,” Sophie said after swallowing a bite. “What’s your guilty pleasure?”

Arthur curiously looked towards her.

“Hmm, I wouldn’t say a guilty pleasure, but something that surprises people is definitely the fact that I love romance anime.”

“You watch anime?”

“More than I’d like to, but they are addictive.”

“I could never get into it. Arthur used to watch loads of them though. . .”

“I did?” Arthur joined the conversation.

“Yeah. . . Before the accident, you were all into anime and manga.”

“Maybe I’d like it again.”

“I can recommend you a few,” Irene said.

“Just don’t get as addicted if you do. . .” Sophie sighed.

“Don’t worry, I don’t find watching stuff alone that entertaining.”

“We could watch them together sometimes if you want,” Irene offered.

“Sounds good to me. Pick your favorite.”

“Ah. . .” Irene mumbled flustered for the first time. “You see. . . Favorite doesn’t really mean the best. Especially when it comes to anime. . .”

“Doesn’t matter, I’d like to see it.”

“Well. . . We’ll see,” she chuckled. “Alright, are we all done with eating?”

Both nodded before moving the pizza box along with any remaining slices off the table.

“So up next is English huh?” Irene asked holding the grammar book.

“Yeah, I presumed you’d be good at teaching me since you are from London. Our mother is from the UK, so we learnt it, but I haven’t had the chance to speak to anyone, unlike Arthur who played games online.”

“So your dad is Korean?” Irene asked.

“Yeah, he was,” Sophie answered.

“Was?” she asked but presumed the answer.

“He died in an accident when we were young, and our mother left us so that’s why we live alone with our grandfather,” Sophie explained.

“I’m sorry. . .”

“Don’t worry about it. It happened a long time ago, so I’ve moved on.”

Irene nodded but glanced towards Arthur who to her surprise remained unfazed but rather was saddened for Sophie's sake.

“Don’t look at me,” he said calmly. “I don’t remember them, so I’m fine.”

“Alright then. . .” she said taking a deep breath and shaking her head quickly to snap herself out of it. “English!”

Her tone changed back to cheerful, as the three got ready to continue their study session.

“Hmm, so what seems to be troubling you?” Irene asked.

“Not much. We could just practice passive voice.”

“Sure,” she said taking out her phone. “Let’s look for some tests online and go over it.”

“You can find tests online?” Arthur asked.

“Yeah, but they are not the same as the ones we’ll be having, just examples,” Sophie explained.

“Ah, cool.”

“This is a good one,” Irene cut in before clearing her voice. “My friend bought a new car.”

Both of them listened in on Irene speaking English for the first time in front of them. Her accent differed significantly compared to when she spoke Korean, both sounding native to her.

“Damn, I’m jealous of your accent. . .” Sophie whispered making Irene chuckle.

“Is that so? Well, once you visit England, I’m sure it’ll stick to you as well.”

“Visit England?” she asked confused.

“You never know. . .” Irene whispered teasingly. “Anyway, back to the question at hand. Do you know the answer?”

“Ah, right. . . Hmm, a new car was bought by my friend?”

“Correct!”

The three continued their study session for another hour before finally finishing up. Arthur, unlike Irene, had a more American-influenced accent rather than a pure British. Turned out that Sophie knew English better than she led on, and instead only wanted to hear Irene speak it. They sat around enjoying snacks and discussing the movie they watched, as well as debated on who they believed was going to better at midterms between Tjay and Max.

“Well, I should get going. . .” Irene mentioned.

“You sure you can’t stay longer?” Sophie asked.

“I got some stuff still to finish, but I promise we’ll hang out next weekend as well.”

“Want me to walk you home?” Arthur offered.

“Thanks, but I’ll be taking a cab. I need to make a quick stop by my uncle’s place.”

“Alright, well while you call the cab, I’m off to the bathroom real quick,” Arthur said leaving the two in the hallway.

“Irene, can I ask you for a favor?” Sophie whispered.

“What is it?” she whispered back while ordering a taxi via app.

“It’s about Arthur. . . You see. . .” she leaned in closer. “It’s his birthday next weekend. To be precise it’s on Saturday, the 30th.”

“It’s his birthday? Why did nobody tell me sooner?" she asked surprised. "I need to think of a gift. . .”

“The rest don’t know I believe. . . They’ve only recently become friends, and Arthur doesn’t think about it either. He hasn’t mentioned it once, but I’ve been thinking of throwing him a surprise party. Can you help me organize it?”

“Sounds like a great idea! We’ll discuss it over texts.”

“Discuss what?” Arthur asked returning to the room.

“Ah. . . Umm. . .” Sophie mumbled flustered.

“She asked me for help in regards to makeup, so we’ll discuss it over texts,” Irene cut in to save Sophie.

“Right!”

“You wear makeup? Both of you look great without it.”

“True, but it’s still something us girls love,” Irene explained.

“I get it, don’t worry I won’t pry. . .” he sighed but remained confused by Sophie's surprised expression. “Did you manage to get a cab?”

“Yeah, it’ll be arriving shortly.”

The three said their goodbyes before Irene finally left. Cleaning up, Sophie closed the books.

“Today was fun, and thank you for helping me Oppa.”

“I’m sure we all had fun and will do that again sometimes.”

Sophie smiled softly before both eventually returned to their everyday activities.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.