CHAPTER 09

THE WILD EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER CELEBRATION

Sunday, 14 Feb 2016

Haneul had no idea where Seungri brought her but the moment he stopped, she squatted down and cried her eyes out. Her mind was flooded with memories she shared with Jiyong; those days where he would stay back with her till late night while she practiced, how he would always massaged her feet when she fell, those days they spent their cheat days together at their favourite restaurants or cafes, how he really hated having other guys being so close to her, when he gifted her those shoes on her feet, and the first kiss he gave her just the day before. Every single memories wrenched her heart and her cries became even louder. She tried to keep her voice down but she couldn't. She had never felt this kind of pain before. She could literally feel her heart writhing in pain and she has no idea how to stop it. Seeing how hard Haneul was breaking down in front of him, Seungri's heart break for the younger girl. 

"Haneul-ah..." Seungri whispered as he knelt down and hugged the younger girl, holding her tight in his arms.

"I hate him, oppa.. I really hate him..." Haneul said in between her tears, and Seungri nodded as he rubbed her back so as to soothe her cries, and she continued to say, "Why must he be so nice to me? Why must he make me fall in love with him through all his actions but in the end, I'm nothing but a close friend? Why am I so stupid to fall in love with him when I know it has always been her in his heart? God, I'm so stupid..."

"No, Hannie-ah.. You're not stupid.. It's not your fault.. It's normal to fall in love after everything that happened between the 2 of you.. He's the stupid one.." Seungri said but she shook her head against his chest. 

"No, oppa.. He's not stupid.. She's a better girl than I am.. more beautiful, more talented and most importantly, she's the one whom he had always loved all this while," Haneul said softly, and Seungri pulls away from her and looked at her as she looked up at him and continued, "I knew she's the one that he fell in love with a couple of years back.. I knew she's the girl whose picture he kept in his wallet and the one whom he has as his laptop display picture.. I knew and yet I stupidly falls in love with him.. I don't even know when I started having this feeling for him.. I tried.. I tried really hard not to fall for him or anyone but when he started bringing me out and were always there for me, I just can't stop myself from falling for him.. I thought he was over her when he asked me out and all.. I thought we.. I thought we had.. Oh God, why am I so ing stupid?!"

"Haneul, please! Please stop calling yourself stupid! You're not stupid! And she's not more beautiful or talented than you are! You're the most beautiful and talented girl I had ever met so please stop looking down on yourself! Stop being so hard on yourself! It's normal to fall in love.. It's just that you happened to fall in love with a guy who is already in love with someone else.. You're not stupid, Haneul-ah.. Please," Seungri said as he looked deep into her eyes.

Haneul didn't say a word as she hugged the older guy and cried in his arms. As he hugged Haneul tighter and rubbed her back, Seungri felt angry towards Jiyong and he really hated him for what he has done to Haneul. Of course, he understands that love isn't something that can be forced but Seungri believed that Jiyong knew that he was making the younger girl fall in love with him. Seungri knew that Jiyong liked her and that was why he backed off from liking the younger girl, because he truly believed that noone would ever love and cherish Haneul more than Jiyong did. However, seeing how things turned out and that Jiyong was actually in love with someone else, Seungri has no idea what he should do for Haneul. He hates seeing her like this. No, he no longer harbours any special feeling for her. He treats her like a close friend and sister, and so he really cares a lot for her. Not knowing how long had passed, Haneul's cries gradually toned down into soft sobs as she gently pushed Seungri away and stands up. 

"I'm sorry, oppa.. that you had to see me like this," Haneul said in between her soft sobs and the older guy shook his head as he smiled gently at her. 

"No, don't say sorry.. I understand.. It's okay.. You'll be okay.. I'll always be here, okay? Well, unless our director sends me away on tour again that is," Seungri said jokingly and Haneul broke into a small smile. 

"Thank you, oppa.. Hmmm, can I ask something from you?" Haneul asked softly, and Seungri nodded with a small smile, and she continued, "Can you please not blame or fight with Jiyong-oppa? I know how you are, oppa.. And I really am grateful for how you would always stand up for me.. But it's not his fault.. I guess we have been so close that I couldn't see myself with someone else.. But he's happy now, and that's all that I want for him.. As you said, I'll be okay.. So please, don't fight with him okay? I.. I'll get over him soon.. I have to get over him soon.. I have to..."

Sighing gently as he pulls the younger girl into his arms again, Seungri hugged her tight as Haneul burst into tears once again. Haneul's stomach twisted painfully and her heart pained at the thought of having to forget the feelings she has for Jiyong. She knows it's the right thing to do but, how does she do it? Haneul couldn't think of any solution as all she wanted to do was cry her eyes out until her heart feels better. As her breathless tears eventually came to a stop, Haneul gently pulls away from Seungri and wiped her tears with her sleeves. 

"I'm sorry for wetting your clothes, oppa.." Haneul said softly and Seungri chuckled as he bend down and helped to wipe her smudged eyeliner and mascara with the tip of his sleeves.

"Why are you apologising, Hannie-ah? It's not even a big deal.. Anyway, I have a small surprise for you..." Seungri said as he smiled with a glint of excitement in his eyes. 

"Surprise? What surprise? You don't have to, oppa.. What you have done for me today is more than enough," Haneul said as she flashed a small smile but the older guy shook his head.

"No, this has nothing to do with what happened.. I had prepared this surprise for your debut showcase.. Just wait here, okay?" Seungri said and the younger girl nodded, and he then took out his cellphone and called someone. 

"Hey.. Yes, sorry sorry.. I was caught up here.. Anyway, can you come to the playground opposite my restaurant? The one we always walk pass to go to the opposite capark? Yes.. Okay, we'll wait for you here.."

Jaejoong couldn't take his eyes off the small hand that was holding onto his wrist. His heart was beating so fast that he wondered if she could feel his excited heartbeat racing underneath her tight hold. He knew she must not have realised that she was still holding onto his hand but somehow, he had stupidly hoped that she was holding onto his hand on purpose. Once they crossed the road and stopped a few metres away from the restaurant, Eunhee turned to look at Jaejoong and it was then she realised that she was still holding onto his hand. 

"Sorry! I-I didn't mean to.. I was deep in thought that I didn't realise I was still urh... I'm so sorry!" Eunhee said as she immediately let go of his hand, blushing a deep red as she avoided his eyes while he looked at her rather amusingly. 

"You really don't trust me, huh? That you have to personally drag me away from my own cousin?" Jaejoong said jokingly, and Eunhee's head snapped up to look at him with her eyes wide open, shocked by his ridiculous accusation. 

"What are you talking about?! This has nothing to do with trust! I was just worried that you would overreact as you always did and all I wanted was to give Hannie her own time.. It's not about trust or...." Eunhee was saying but Jaejoong interrupted her as he laughed out loud. 

"Hahaha! Relax, Eunhee-sshi.. I was just teasing you.." Jaejoong said, laughing, and Eunhee almost punch the light out of him.

"Well, it's not funny.. Besides, I know how uptight you get whenever it involves Haneul.. that's why I did what I did," Eunhee said and this time, Jaejoong looked at her with a questioning look while she smirked in triumphantly as she knew her words just hit him right in the core.

"Uptight? Since when was I uptight? I'm actually pretty cool, relax and...." Jaejoong was saying but Eunhee intervened with an amusement look on her face. 

"Well, I can name a few occassions though.. like how you called me over 10 times just because Hannie didn't pick up her phone, how you verbally abused me because you thought I didn't take care of her enough and...." Eunhee said, grinning with a knowing look, and Jaejoong cuts her off. 

"I didn't verbally abused you! And fine! I can be pretty uptight sometimes.." Jaejoong admitted, and Eunhee smiled triumphantly while Jaejoong chuckled at how adorable she is, and he continued, "Anyway, can we get back to what happened to Haneul earlier? You said you would tell me.. "

Upon hearing Jaejoong's question, Eunhee's smile turned into a deep frown as she sighed and said, "Hannie.. she.. she falls in love with Jiyong-oppa and...."

"WHAT?! SHE'S IN LOVE WITH JIYONG?! SINCE WHEN?! WHY DIDN'T SHE TELL ME ABOUT IT?!" Jaejoong shouted out of surprise, and the younger girl backed away slightly.

"Because of your exact reaction..." Eunhee muttered and Jaejoong scowled at her, and the younger girl sighed and said, "Look, we girls don't always tell our brothers everything because we knew how you guys are going to react. In your case, you had personally shown Hannie your reactions. Remember the mysterious guy who saved Hannie twice from getting bullied during high school? You didn't even think about thanking him! The first thing you wanted to do was confront him for carrying her to the nurse's room.. How do you think Hannie would want to approach you about guys?"

Upon realising how true Eunhee's words are, Jaejoong sighed and he took a deep breath so as to calm himself. He hates how the younger girl knew so much about him, and yet he secretly enjoys it. Looking at the younger girl apologetically, Jaejoong said, "I'm sorry for raising my voice at you.. I was just surprised.. I-I've never really thought that Haneul would actually fall in love.. I guess my baby girl has really grown up.."

Cringing at the frighteningly familiar nickname that her brothers have for her, Eunhee said, "Why do you older brothers like to refer to us as baby girls? Do you know how annoying that is? And of course she has grown up.. She has grown up a long time ago.. It's just you who still sees her as a baby..."

Surprised at how personal Eunhee's replies are, Jaejoong raised his eyesbrows as he looked at her amusingly and said, "So, your brothers also calls you baby girl huh..."

Upon hearing Jaejoong's replies, Eunhee's eyes widen as she blushed a cute pink and said, "Yes.. What no! Wait, that's not the point! The point here is Haneul! She's in love with Jiyong-oppa and well, honestly, we all thought Jiyong-oppa loves her too.. He cares so much about her, he hates when other guys approached her, he took her out whenever they can, he bought her favourite foods all the time, he even gave her an expensive pair of shoes and kiss.. No! I mean..."

"HE KISSED HER?! HE KISSED HANEUL?! AND NOW HE HAS ANOTHER GIRL?!" Jaejoong shouted, and Eunhee sighed regretfully. 'Damn it.. I shouldn't have mentioned the kiss,' Eunhee thought to herself as she watched the raging man in front of her.

"Jaejoong-sshi, please relax okay.. Yes, he did kissed her but it's just a short kiss on the forehead.. Nothing more than that.." Eunhee said softly and the older guy nodded begrudgingly as he took a deep breath so as to calm himself again, and she continued, "And well, the girl.. I don't know anything about her. Jiyong-oppa and I aren't really that close but I have a feeling that Hannie might know something.. The way she looked at the girl seemed like she has seen her before.. So yeah, that's why she was crying earlier.. I may not know exactly how she feels but I feel the same disappointment towards Jiyong-oppa.. We all thought he loved her.. I could never imagine him with anyone else other than Hannie and so I could only guess how painful it must have been for her."

"Oh God, my poor baby girl.. I thought finding out that she's in love was bad enough, but knowing that she's heartbroken because of a stupid guy is even worse.. So, what should we do now? How do we help her get over this idiot? It's going to be very hard on her because she has to see his stupid face every day since he's your mentor," Jaejoong said as he frowned deeply at the thought.

"We can't help her with this.. She has to get over him herself.. But don't worry, both Joonie and I will be there for her.. We'll make sure she's okay and gets over him in no time.. Besides, our schedules are pretty pack this few months and Big Bang will be going on their world tour soon.. So, they probably won't see each other so much," Eunhee replied but Jaejoong doesn't look convinced.

"But what if he comes around to mentor you guys? From what I remember, he's always there right? And what if he brings that girl to your HQ? I'm really worried that Hannie will keep getting hurt from seeing him  or them around," Jaejoong said as he frowned, but the younger girl shook her head as she flashed him a small reassuring smile. 

"Jiyong-oppa might be around to mentor us but I'm very sure he won't bring the girl.. He's very professional when it comes to work and besides, our building is covered with CCTV everywhere. Anyway, no matter what happens, I'll make sure that Hannie will be okay.. So, don't worry okay? Leave it to Joonie and me," Eunhee said and the older guy finally relented as he nodded and sighed.

"Thank you, Eunhee-sshi.. Please take good care of her.. If anything, and I mean anything, at all happens, please call me straight away.. Okay?" Jaejoong said.

"Of course I will.." Eunhee said as she smiled gently and the older guy thanked her once again, causing the younger girl to chuckle and said, "You know.. you don't sound or act like her cousin.. You're more like her father.."

Jaejoong laughed at her remark. It wasn't the first time that someone told him the exact same thing; his ex-member Yunho used to say the same thing too. "Well, since she doesn't have one, someone has to take up the role right? Besides, you act like her mother too.. making sure that she eats, getting her to eat her medicine and being all worried about her.. There's no difference between us.."

Laughing at Jaejoong's response, Eunhee unconsciously said, "I guess we can both be her parents huh..."

Upon realising what she had blurted out, Eunhee's eyes widened and she blushed a bright red as she tried to explain that she didn't mean anything by her words. Although Jaejoong had acted all cool and calm as he nodded and told her that he understands that there was no meaning behind her words, he secretly liked the sound of her words. It caused his heart to skip a beat as he stole a glance at the younger girl, foolishly smiling as he looked at her. As awkward silence dawned between them, they began walking back towards the restaurant when Eunhee's phone rang. 

Seeing that the caller is none other than her twin, Eunhee answered the call, "Yoboseyo? Yes oppa.. I'm with Jaejoong-sshi right now.. We were looking for Hannie and everything's okay now so we're on the way back to the restaurant.. No, it's nothing serious.. Okay, bye..."

While Eunhee was talking on the phone, Jaejoong saw 2 familiar looking people that were seated on the pathway at the end of the road. As soon as the younger girl ended the call, he tapped her shoulder lightly and pointed towards the couple who seemed to be in deep conversation. 

"Eunhee-sshi, isn't that Jooeun-sshi and one of the EXO members?"

"WHAT?! YOU WERE ALMOST UALLY ASSAULTED?! HOW COME YOU DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ANYTHING?!" Chanyeol shouted as he looked at Jooeun seriously, and the said girl flinched slightly at his loud voice. The 2 childhood friends ended up sitting on the pathway by the roadside a few metres away from the restaurant as Jooeun answered Chanyeol's question about Bang Yongguk.

"I'm sorry, Yeollie-ah.. I didn't mean to not tell you.. It happened about a month ago before my debut and since I was so busy preparing for everything, it actually slipped my mind to tell you.. Besides, I thought you would find out from your manager or someone since everyone was talking about it," Jooeun said as she smiled apologetically. 

"I did heard of a female idol who was almost ually assaulted but I didn't know it was you!" Chanyeol said, frowning deeply as he was hurt and disappointed that his best friend didn't tell him about such serious incident that happened to her, but upon seeing the apologetic look on her face, he sighed and said, "Alright, fine.. I accept that you forgot.. But what does it have to do with him?"

"Because he.. he was the one who rescued me," Jooeun answered, her voice came out softer than she had wanted it to be.

"What?! How come?! Why was he there?!" Chanyeol asked, surprise evident on his face and in his voice as he looked at her.

"Can you please stop shouting at me?! It's hurting my ears!" Jooeun exclaimed and Chanyeol immediately apologises as he tenderly massaged her ears, and the younger girl sighed and said, "I'm sorry, Yeol-ah.. I didn't mean to get angry at you.. I-I just hate talking about this, about him.. I don't know why he was there or what he was doing there.. He just was.. He saved me but I.. I can't forgive him..."

Upon hearing Jooeun's shaky voice, Chanyeol put an arm around her shoulder and hugged her tight, and said, "Hey, shhh.. It's okay, I understand.. I'm so sorry for asking, Joonie-yah.. I didn't know.. Well, I did thought that he might contact you again but I didn't expect it to happen like this.. Are you okay? Wait, that's a stupid question.. I mean you know.. Anything else happen between the 2 of you?"

Chanyeol's stupid question caused Jooeun to chuckle slightly as she wiped her tears. Shaking her head softly, the younger girl replied, "No.. But he did send me a text to congratulate me on my debut but I didn't reply him.. I couldn't.. I hate him.. I still hate him.. But when I saw his face and recalled how he held me, I.. my heart still stupidly raced and fluttered for him.. I hate myself for being this weak for him.. I have no idea why must he still have this affect on me.. It has been years and yet I still couldn't.. I seriously don't know what I'm going to do if we accidentally meet each other backstage.. I'm scared to even imagine it..."

Although Chanyeol felt a slight uncomfortable squeeze in his heart upon hearing Jooeun's confession for her ex-boyfriend, he decided to ignore the feeling as he hugged her tighter and rubbed her arm so as to comfort the crying girl. He really hates that guy for always being the cause of her tears. It has indeed been years but she can never not cry whenever his name was brought up in a conversation. Chanyeol should have known better but he had always been unnecessarily curious about his best friend's love life. 

"Hey, it will be okay.. I know that you're afraid but you can't keep running away, right? I'm sure you'll be able to face him and ignore him as how you had been doing.. Besides, I'm here for you.. Although I might not be by your side when it happens, you know you can always call me right? So, when that happens, just call me and I'll talk to you until you feel better like how I'm doing now.. I'm not sure if I'm doing a good job but seeing how I never fail to make you laugh, you can always count on me to keep doing that for you," Chanyeol said and the younger girl chuckled lightly as she nodded and dried her tears with the sleeves of her sweater.

"Thank you, Yeol-ah, for always being the silly clown whenever I need one," Jooeun said, smiling, and the older guy nodded as he smiled and kissed the top of her head. 

"No problem.. What are best friends for, right? But, promise me that you'll never forget to tell me anything that happens to you again.. You know how I hate having secrets between us, right? It makes me feel unimportant in your life.." Chanyeol said dramatically as he pouted, and Jooeun laughed.

"Oh my God! You're still affected by that! I did say I forgot because I was really busy right? And I had even apologised!" Jooeun said in her defense. 

"Yes! But I still want you to promise! No matter what happen and how busy you are, you must tell me! I don't mind being the last person to know but I have to know! Okay? Promise me!" Chanyeol said, and Jooeun sighed and nodded her head. 

"Okay! Fine! I promise!" Jooeun said but seeing the look on Chanyeol's face, she sighed and added, "I promise that I will tell you anything and everything that happens to me no matter how busy I am.. Happy now?" 

"Yes!" Chanyeol replied as he grinned cutely, and the 2 of them laughed at how unbelievably childish the older guy is. 

They were talking about their upcoming projects and schedules when Eunhee and Jaejoong approached them from behind. Seeing Jooeun's puffy eyes, Eunhee was about to ask her when Jooeun subtly shook her head to signal her not to say anything. 'I'll tell you later,' Jooeun mouthed and Eunhee nodded understandingly.

"Eunhee-sshi, where's Haneul-sshi? I thought you guys went to look for her?" Chanyeol asked as he looked at Eunhee.

"Ahh, we found her.. She's with Seungri-oppa.. She'll join us when she's ready," Eunhee said and Jooeun looked at her.

"Is she okay? Do you think she'll need us to be with her?" Jooeun asked worriedly, and Eunhee shook her head gently. 

"No, it's best to let her have her own time for a while.. She'll come to us when she's ready.. For now, let's just go in first and wait for her inside.. I don't want her to feel pressured into telling us when she sees all of us gathered here waiting for her.. Okay?" Eunhee said, and the rest of them nodded agreeingly. 

As they walked back towards the restaurant, Jaejoong can't take his eyes off Eunhee. Seeing how well Eunhee knows Haneul as she takes good care of her, Jaejoong felt an unexplainable feeling bloomed inside his heart. He knew he liked her but this unexplainable feeling, he had never felt anything like it before. 

'Of course she's caring towards Hannie, Jaejoong-ah.. She's the leader.. But, why the hell am I feeling this way?! Why the hell am I even thinking that she'll be a good mother to my children?! WHAT THE KIM JAEJOONG?! STOP THIS NONSENSE RIGHT NOW! She's your cousin's leader and you appreciate that she takes good care of her.. That's all.. But seriously, why the hell am I feeling this way? What the hell is this feeling anyway? Damn it, I seriously need to get my together.'

Haneul was cleaning the smudged eyeliners and mascaras under her eyes when she heard someone approached them and said, "Yo! Seungri.. Why did you call us here?"

"Yeah.. What surprise do you have for us her