CHAPTER 08

WHAT A CELEBRATION INDEED

Sunday, 14 Feb 2016

"Eunhee-eonnie, since you'll be going with your family, we don't have to wait for you and just meet you there right?" Haneul asked as she sat on the sofa and tie her shoe laces. Although the new pair of shoes given by Jiyong were starting to eat into her skin, Haneul was still wearing them. A beaming smile crossed her face every time she looked at them, and her heart fluttered as she was reminded of the kiss that followed after receiving the special gift.

"Uh huh.. You girls can go first.. I'll catch up and meet you girls there," Eunhee replied as she got her make up touch-up and hair restyled by Sooyeon.

"Okie! Jooeun-eonnie, since you're not ready yet, is it okay if I meet eomma and Jaejoong-oppa first? I don't want to keep them waiting by themselves for too long.. I'll meet you at the van, okay?" Haneul asked as she looked at Jooeun via the mirror reflection as the older girl was getting her makeup done.

"Sure, go ahead! I still need to get Chanyeollie and tell him that the managers have allowed them to hitch a ride with us," Jooeun answered as she flashed her bright excited smile towards the younger girl, and Haneul nodded as she grinned cutely and flashed an 'okay' sign. 

All dressed in her casual after-party outfit, Haneul checked her reflection for the last time and exited the dressing room with her manager. Upon arriving at the lobby, she bowed respectfully towards her members' family members and friends, and the other VIP guests who were either waiting for the people who had invited them or waiting for their rides to come. As she caught sight of her mother and cousin, Haneul excitedly rushed towards them and got into her mother's open arms. She missed her, she really really missed her. Haneul would usually visit her mother once a week or once in 2 weeks however, since she was busy with ATH3NA's debut preparation, she hadn't got a chance to visit her mother for almost a year now. 

"Haneul, the van is here.. Let's go?" Manager Joonyup said and asked, and Haneul nodded as she then pull away from her mother. 

As they walked towards the van, Haneul noticed Jaejoong was a tad bit too quiet and wasn't really himself. She noticed how he kept looking backwards as if he was looking for someone. When he turned around and their eyes met, Haneul raised her eyebrows questioningly but he simply shrugged and smiled.

"Urh... Hannie-ah, are your members not coming along with us?" Jaejoong asked, and Hanuel noticed the short pause before he asked the question and it made her wondered if he had actually contemplated the question before asking. Jaejoong never really contemplate or think twice before asking anything. 

"Eunhee-eonnie will be going with her family in Taemin-oppa's car but Jooeun-eonnie will be joining us with her father and EXO friends," Haneul answered and she noticed the slight frown on his face before it turned into a small smile as he nodded.

Once they reached the van, Haneul helped her mother up into the van first before she got in herself. She was about to ask her mother how her health had been when she realised that Jaejoong was still stuck at the entrance of the van. Seeing how he kept looking back at the lobby, Haneul wondered if he saw someone he knew or had they accidentally left someone behind that she doesn't know about. 

"Oppa, are you okay? Are you waiting for someone else?" Haneul asked as she looked at him curiously, and she saw how he looked quite surprised at her question as if he had just been caught red-handed at doing something he wasn't supposed to.

"Ahh, nothing.. I'm fine.. Let's go," Jaejoong said, and he finally entered the van and took the seat behind Hanuel and her mother. 

"We can't go yet, oppa.. We have to wait for Jooeun-eonnie," Haneul said and she heard him hummed a soft yes absentmindedly.

Confused by her cousin's strange behaviour, Haneul turned around and she saw how restless and occupied he was. It seemed like he was really bothered by something and he was trying to hide it. She has never seen him act this way before and so it really puzzled and worried her as to what is bothering him.

Haneul was about to ask him when he suddenly looked at her and asked, "Hannie-ah, your leader is coming to the after party right? She's not ditching the party to go somewhere else, right?"

"What?!" Haneul blurted out, surprised at the questions that just came out of her cousin's mouth and even more amused at the rather obvious desperation in his voice, and she asked, "Why are you asking? And is that why you have been looking very restless? Because you think she's going to ditch the after party? But why does it concern you if she's coming or not? Is there something going on between the 2 of you that I should know huh..."

Looking at the playful teasing look on Haneul's face, Jaejoong blushed - thank God it was dark or she would have seen his crimson red face and he won't be able to explain why he was stupidly blushing - as he immediately shook his head and said, "Wh-What are you talking about?! Of course, there's nothing going on between me and your leader! I'm simply asking because I'm worried noone will be there to take care of you when your mother and I head home later.. We won't be staying for long, so yeah.. Tsk, I don't know what's going on in your head.. Asking doesn't mean I have something with her you know..."

"Well, I was simply asking because you're acting all weird today.. And yes, she's coming.. So, don't worry too much okay? Besides, there are other seniors who always take good care of me like Big Bang and WINNER.. And our director will be there too.. So I'm sure everything will be good and there's nothing to worry about," Haneul said and the older guy sighed - unbeknownst to her, it was actually a sigh out of relief as she bought his lie - and nodded. 

"Haneul-ah, your director and seniors all seem to be really good people.." Hyemi said as she looked at her daughter, and the younger girl nodded.

"Yes eomma, there really are! Well, director-nim is a little bit strict but he always ask how we are and how we are coping. Although he really expects a lot from me and my members, he did try to balance our schedules and make sure we're not overworking ourselves. And my seniors are always there for us.. from training days till now, there always guide and correct us, and made sure that we don't make the same mistakes as they did," Haneul said, smiling. 

"That's good.. I was worried that your director will take advantage of you especially since we're indebted to him for his help all this while but I'm really glad that wasn't the case.. I'm really happy that you're surrounded by good people Hannie-ah.. At least, if I'm gone, I'm at ease knowing that you're surrounded by people who care and love you," Hyemi said and Haneul frowned. She hates the way her mother sounded like she was going to leave her. 

"Mom, can you don't say that? It sounds like you're leaving me and I hate it.. Yes, I may be surrounded by really good people but none of them will match the way you love me and how I love you.. I can't live without you.. So please, don't say that," Haneul said in English, and her mother apologised. 

Pouting cutely as she nodded to show that she forgives her mother, Haneul diverted her attention to her phone as she messaged Jooeun to hurry up as it had been quite a while already. As she looked at her phone, she missed the sad look on her mother's face. The moment Haneul turned her attention back to the older woman, she was already smiling as she asked where Jooeun was. As the conversation continues between the mother and daughter, Jaejoong had his eyes strained outside as he looked at the people who passed the van. Although he reasoned to himself that he was just passing time, he knew it was more than that. He was waiting and looking for that someone to pass by. And the more he denies this new feeling, the more he feels for her.

'Why the hell are you feeling this way, Kim Jaejoong?! You have known her all this while and you had never felt this way! Get a grip of yourself!'

Approximately 15 minutes after Haneul left the dressing room, both Eunhee and Jooeun were finally ready in their changed outfit. As the girls met up with the 2 EXO members who were waiting at the lift lobby, the 2 boys were quite surprised by how different the 2 girls looked. Although they were still wearing makeup, it was slightly lighter than the stage makeup they donned earlier. Also, the girls looked suprisingly adorable and approachable compared to their strong and charismatic pesona on stage. Knowing numerous YG idols for the past few years, not many of them looked as approachable as these girls are and thus this comes as a surprise to the 2 boys, especially Baekhyun since Chanyeol knew Jooeun while he's the complete stranger amongst them.

"Finally! We grew 10 years older while waiting for you!" Chanyeol said teasingly, earning a light punch on the arm by Jooeun as they got into the lift.

As they met up with their respective family members whom had gathered and chat with one another, the 2 girls greeted the parents with warm hugs and Jooeun introduced the EXO members. Although their family members rarely meet one another, they seemed pretty close by the way they were conversing with each other. They continued talking until Jooeun received a message from Haneul, which reminded her of their dinner celebration.

"Eonnie, I think we better go now.. Hannie just messaged me and I think we're going to be late if we don't make our move now," Jooeun said and Eunhee nodded agreeingly as they then went their separate ways as Taemin had his car parked at the parking lots near the back door entrance. 

Upon reaching the van, Jooeun bowed and apologised for being late as she then greeted and hugged Haneul's mother. As she grew up without a mother figure, Jooeun had always admired and loved Haneul's mother as her own while the younger girl took Jooeun's father as her own. Seeing how the 2 girls wanted to talk to each other's parents, Jaejoong got up from his seat and moved the one behind, and both Jooeun and Haneul thanked him. 

"I don't do things for free.. You girls owe me 1 spicy jjamppong each," Jaejoong joked and everyone laughed. 

Once they settled down with Chanyeol and Baekhyun in the seats behind Jaejoong, they moved off to the location of the dinner celebration. Being the odd ones at the back seats, Chanyeol and Baekhyun were awkwardly silent as they watched the active interaction happening before them. They wanted to join in the conversations but seeing how the girls were having their moments with their loved ones, they decided to respect that and simply look on and listen. They did, however, exchanged small awkward talks with their legendary ex-senior. It was more like Jaejoong was doing all the questioning while they were giving one or two words answers as they were too nervous and excited to say anything more than that. Thankfully though, the ride wasn't a long one.

"All right, we are here! Jooeun and Haneul, director-nim just messaged me saying that he wants to see you girls for a short while.."

"I was wondering why you invited me to this showcase when you had never done that with your past artists, not even Big Bang and 2NE1.. But now, after watching their performances, I finally knew why.. You just want to show off your new talents!" the famous founder of JYP entertainment agency, Producer Park Jinyoung said and Director Yang Hyunsuk laughed. 

Although the 2 men are known for their rivalry and competitive nature in the entertainment biz, they are also known to be close friends. As much as they always go head to head in terms of getting the best talents and, at times, putting their artists against each other, they still respect each other and value the friendship that goes way back before they become famous director and producer of 2 very successful entertainment agencies.

"Well, you've always showed off your female idols like Wonder Girls and TWICE so it's my turn now," Director Yang Hyunsuk said and the 2 men laughed.

"So, I'm guessing that these are the girls you told me about?" Producer Park Jinyoung asked and Director Yang Hyunsuk nodded as he kept looking for the 3 girls as they were supposed to be here already, and he continued to say, "But seeing how talented they are, I don't know why you're worried about them. Why didn't you debut them earlier? I mean they definitely have what it takes to be debuted earlier. And I remember that they had already made their drama and even musical debut way earlier right? And one of them were already in a sub-group with Jiyong and Taeyang before. Why didn't you continue and debut them earlier? Wouldn't it be better if you had debuted them when they're much younger? It would be easier to attract the younger fans than they are now.. I'm not saying that they are old but the average age to hit the market is about 16 to 18 years old now, and they're like 20 plus?"

"I know what you're saying but I wanted them to build a stronger bond with each other first. After I formed 2NE1, I realised that they're not as bonded as Big Bang and I think that's what that puts them in their current situation. I didn't want to repeat the same mistake and so I delayed their debut to get them to familiarise with each other first. Besides, these girls are different. As much as they do have the YG sound, their individual colours shine more and so I decided to take advantage of that and created something new. I guess you can say that these girls are the new sound and turning point for the agency," Director Yang Hyunsuk replied and Producer Park Jinyoung nodded, silently impressed at his friend's ideas and plans for his new group. 

"Hmmm... Talking about them, aren't they supposed to be here by now? Where are there?" Park Jinyoung asked as he looked around for the 3 girls. 

"Their managers said they had.. Oh! There they are!" Director Yang Hyunsuk said as he saw ATH3NA entered the restaurant with their managers in tow. 

Standing in front of the 2 founders of the biggest entertainment agencies in KPOP industry, ATH3NA bowed low respectfully and stood still as they smiled nervously while their director introduced them. Looking at the older man beside their director, the 3 girls were starstruck and blown away by his presence.

"Congratulations on your debut. I must admit, you girls did a great job for your first live stage," Producer Park Jinyoung said and the 3 girls bowed low as they thanked him for his kind words. They were sincerely excited and proud to hear another founder of a huge talent agency praise their performances. 

"JYP will be the few entertainment agencies that you will be working with the most. It's not just because he's my close friend but his artists are scattered all around in the industry. From sharing the same stage on music shows to variety shows and even musicals, you can find his artists everywhere," Director Yang Hyunsuk said and the 3 girls nodded as they listened carefully while the other older man laughed at how his friend had described his agency. 

"Well, I do look forward to work with these girls. I do have a few stages coming up for myself and my idols so let's see if we can discuss something soon," Producer Park Jinyoung said and their director nodded with a thoughful look on his face while the girls simply smiled. 

"Sure, of course. Alright girls, you can go ahead and join your family members and friends now. But make sure your phones are always with you as I'll call you when I need your presence," Director Yang Hyunsuk said as he looked at them seriously and the 3 girls nodded. 

"Yes, director-nim..."

Once everything was settled backstage, Jiyong informed Taeyang that he needed to go somewhere to collect something, After he has gotten his stuffs, he rushed out of the showcase venue, got into his car and hurriedly drove down to his favourite bakery cafe. He had specially ordered Haneul's favourite taro mousse mini cakes for the dinner celebration and he hoped that he's on time to surprise her with them before the younger girl has reached her eating capacity. Upon arriving, he parked by the road side and rushed in to collect the cakes. 

"They're perfect, just the way she likes it," Jiyong said, flashing a small smile as he checked the cakes to make sure they're as how he had ordered them. 

With the cakes in hand, Jiyong walked out of the cafe with excitement fluttering in his stomach. His heart did a little dance as he imagined how she would react to them, and he unconsciously fasten his pace. However, his footsteps came to a halt when he cross pathed a familiar figure. A very familiar figure. The bag of cakes dropped from his hand as he stared at her, and time seemed to have stopped for the two of them.

"Jiyong-kun.." the  familiar figure said in her gentle voice, and his heart stopped. Oh, how he missed hearing her voice calling out to his name.

The excitement he felt earlier all disappeared as he stood there in front of her who seemed to have not changed since the last time he met her. Dressed in her favourite blue dress and a hat, he could see her beautiful eyes as she stared lovingly at him. A small smile carved on her face as she stepped forward, and his feet carried him towards her until she was barely inches away from him. He noticed that she's using his favourite perfume, the one he had bought specially for her, and his heart raced like the first time he met her. 

Komatsu Nana. 

The only girl he knew that loved him as Kwon Jiyong and not the famous G-Dragon. The only girl that loved him the way nobody ever does that he knew he'll probably never find anyone who would love him the same way when he left her. She loved him so much that he learnt to love and value himself. She loved him so much that she was willing to let him go as long as he's happy. Jiyong never thought that he would ever meet her again since he ended their relationship almost a year ago but now that she's in front of him, it felt like she has never left his side.

"How are you?" Komatsu Nana asked in her adorable basic Korean, her smile as gentle as the wind blowin