April 16, 2016 (Saturday)

I stiffen a giggle when I stare at Kyuhyun, who eats his food like a bear. He slurps the pasta, munches the salad, crunches the croquettes, and gnaws the beef. His eyes go googly when Leeteuk-san adds more food to his plate.

    "Eat as much as you want, Kyuhyun-san!" he winks, "There's plenty." 

    "Thanks, Leeteuk-san! I will!" he nods. 

    Sometimes, I imagine Leeteuk as the evil witch in Hansel and Gretal, because he has this excited glint in his eyes when he watches Kyuhyun eat. If Kyuhyun's whole body suddenly bulges the size of Baymax, Leeteuk the evil which will push him through the furnace and roast him to death for dinner. Gosh, where has my mind gone? 

    "Wow! Kyuhyun Oniisan can eat a lot!" Donghae remarks. 

    "A lot more than Ryeowook Oniisan!" Eunhyuk agrees. 

    "Hey!" I pout, "I do take second-round sometimes!" 

    "Yeah, but your second round is usually a tiny bit only." Eunhyuk snickers. I narrow my eyes and reach my hand out to tickle his left armpit. He loses control that he drops his spoon on the floor. While Eunhyuk stares at the poor cutlery, I quickly get up to grab a new one. 

    "Well, because Kyuhyun-san eats a lot, he has a good body build." Leeteuk comments. 

    "Why, thank you," Kyuhyun laughs, "but I haven't done a lot of exercises lately, though." 

    "Well, you do look fit. I worry about Ryeowook-san's appetite. He sometimes skips dinner, because he thinks that he has no time to study, especially Japanese." 

    "So you've been catching up, huh?" he asks once I return to my seat. 

    "Yeah," I answer, "besides, I wouldn't want to face the language barrier again." 

    "Aww! Ryeowookie's such a good student! Who knows, you'll get mixed up with your English as well." 

   "Watch your mouth!" 

   "Calm down! I'm just joking!" 

    Leeteuk's sudden giggling startles us. We watch as he covers his mouth. 

   "Sorry," he says, "I haven't seen such a cute interaction in  a long time." 

   "We got used to this." Kyuhyun shrugs, "We're like a married couple." This time, it's me who drop a spoon. I stare at him in surprise. 

   "W...what?" 

   "Gotcha!" he laughs, "Gosh, Ryeowookie! You're too easy!" 

    I roll my eyes and walk to the kitchen to get myself another one. When I return to my seat, I can see Kyuhyun's eyes shining as he talks about his passion for music with Leeteuk. It turns out that Leeteuk is a fan of Sung Si Kyung and Lee Sun Hee, two of Kyuhyun's top favourite idols. Kyuhyun even starts singing the start of the chorus from Lee Sun Hee's "Fate," and Leeteuk joins in. Kyuhyun's vocals make my heart pound twice as fast again. I don't know why every time I hear him sing, my heart acts this way. I realize that I can't stop looking at his side profile. His eyes are closed when he sings high notes. His hair is draped loosely above his eyebrows. He even has beautiful long lashes. It's going to take more than words to describe his perfect facial features. When they finish singing the chorus, the kids and I clap in unison. 

   "You sure have an amazing voice, Kyuhyun-san!" Leeteuk-san exclaims.

   "Why, thank you! I like your voice too. " Kyuhyun smiles. 

   "No no no no I'm more of an amateur!" Leeteuk-san waves his hand in embarrassment.

   "Aww, come on! You even sang with me!" 

   "You started it!" 

  "But, you do sound good!" 

  "You're much better than me!" 

  The rest of us laugh as we watch the two argue. I realize that with Kyuhyun, the house seems a lot warmer and brighter. 

                                                                                    *                               *                               *

   There's still leftover, so Leeteuk-san offers to pack some for Kyuhyun to take home. Kyuhyun thanks him before he follows me downstairs. I figure that this is the right time for me to tell him. 

  "Kyuhyunie." 

  "Hmm?" 

  "About...that time when Mr. Lau told us about the story." 

  "Yeah?" 

  "I feel like I want to believe it." 

  "What do you mean?" 

    I take a deep breath before I face him, "I may not have been in a relationship before, and I may not know whether I can fall in love with a guy or not, but I want to try to fall in love. And since Mr. Lau says that you will be that special someone, I think...I might give it a go." Kyuhyun slowly smiles. "I mean, first...I want to catch up more with you. There's still a lot more I want to talk about with you and..." 

   "I know," Kyuhyun says. 

  "D...do you feel the same way?" 

   He looks up at the ceiling for a minute. "Yeah, I do feel like that too. It's like destiny." 

  "Somehow, I think Mr. Lau is making that all up. 

  "Why would you think that? Mr. Lau never lies." 

  "Yeah, I know. It's just that...it feels like we're forced to fall in love with each other or something." 

  "No, I don't think so." Kyuhyun chuckles, "Think of it as an a...hmm...a suggestion. Or a recommendation." 

  "Well...yeah, I guess." The next thirty seconds are filled with the sound of squealing and stomping from upstairs. Donghae and Eunhyuk are probably playing tag again. 

  "Can I say something?" Kyuhyun blurts. 

  "Yeah! Absolutely!" 

   He takes a deep breath before looking at me with a serious look. "What if I've fallen for you?" 

   I stare at him blankly. "H...huh?" 

   "What if I've like...actually...fallen in love with you?" he asks, "Will you feel the same way like I do?" I feel like my whole body is frozen. My hearing has drifted away till I find out that Kyuhyun is waving his hand over my eyes. 

   "Yoohoo? Earth to Ryeowook?" 

   "Huh?" I blink. 

   "Did I say something?"

   "No! Nonononono i...it's fine! I...uh...I was just uh..." Great...now I'm losing my composure! Kyuhyun's brow furrows. I hate seeing him like this! 

   Leeteuk-san finally comes down with a bag of containers. "Here you go, Kyuhyun-san! These will last you for a week or so." 

   Kyuhyun's face lit up. "Arigatoo gozaimasu!" he exclaims and bows. 

   "It's great having you over. You are welcome to come here anytime, Kyuhyun-san."

   "I definitely will!" 

   "Well, Ryeowook will send you off then. Oyasumi nasai, Kyuhyun-san!" 

   "Hai! Oyasumi!" 

   I open the front door just as Kyuhyun is putting on his shoes. I am about to wave goodbye when suddenly he leans his face against my ear. My heart skips a beat. 

   "You're the prettiest when you smile," he whispers. A chill crawls down my spine as his voice lingers through my mind. He stands back, carries the bag of leftovers and walks off. "See you at the audition tomorrow, Ryeowookie! Have a good night!" he stops and waves. I watch as he gets in his car and drives off. 

    "Ryeowook? Why are you still standing here?" Leeteuk's voice made me jump. I turn to see him staring.

   "Oh! Uh...nothing. I just sent Kyuhyun off, that's all." 

   "I see..." he says as he raises his eyebrow in suspension. 

   "What?" 

   "Everything okay? You look startled." 

   "Y...yeah! I'm okay! Well, it's getting late. I better get ready for bed." 

   "Well then, oyasumi, Ryeowook-san." 

   "Oyasumi, Leeteuk-san." 

    I have a feeling that Leeteuk has peeked from the stairs. I don't think I wanna tell Leeteuk either about this weird feeling that has been churning inside my stomach or the legend about the couple that will set free the hidden love charm. I mean, he is one of the people whom I trust, but I think that it would be so weird if I tell him all about it. I stare at the ceiling. I replay Kyuhyun's words countless times. I don't know why my heart is pounding beyond the average rate. I can't remember when I've finally got to fall asleep tonight. 

                                                                                            *                                     *                                      *

April 17,2016 (Sunday)

    Bzzzzzz! Bzzzzzz! I wake up to my vibrating phone. As I reach out to it, I am surprised to see "Kyuhyun" flashing on the screen. 

   "Hello?" I answer as I let out a yawn.

   "Ryeowookie! Oh, thank God! I need your help!" 

   "What's wrong?" 

   "Kibum is down with a fever this morning, so he can't do the audition. I was wondering if you can do the audition with us instead." 

   My eyes immediately fly wide open. "M...me? Audition?" 

  "Yeah! Is it okay for you? We need a third singer because the song we're doing is a ballad." 

   Am I hearing him correctly? He's asking me to sing with him and Yesung...in front of Choi Siwon, the founder of Choi Entertainment @ one of the world's top K-pop idol companies. The last time I sang in public was my final concert with KRY before I moved to the other side of the globe. I don't know if I'll ever going to sing as confidently as before. I mean, yes, it's only one person or maybe a panel of judges, but still, I think I'll get nervous. 

   "Ryeowookie? Ryeowook?" Kyuhyun's voice rings. 

   "Huh?" 

   "Will you help me?" he pleads, "I hope that you will help us! This is really, really important!" 

   "B...but I've never even sung...or rehearsed..." 

   "Don't worry, we'll help you." he explains, "We have about three hours left to audition, so we can help you to practice." 

   "I...I guess I can try." 

  "Oh, Ryeowookie! Thank you! Thank you so much!" he sighs with relief, "We'll come over as soon as we can!" Once he hangs up, I find myself pacing here and there. I can't believe I agree to sing in front of Mr. Choi. Worst of all, it's been freaking long since I've sung on stage. I mean, I do sing to myself in my room or the shower. And I do sing in front of my family and friends. But this is an audition, so it's different. 

   The doorbell rings just as I've changed into a fresh pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. I am about to get the door when I spot Leeteuk already opening the door. "Kyuhyun-san!" he exclaims. 

  "Ohaiyoo, Leeteuk-san!" Kyuhyun bows. He looks like he just got up from the bed. His hair is dishevelled and the collar of his jacket is upturned. 

  "Oh! And who's this?" Leeteuk-san asks as he spots Yesung behind Kyuhyun. 

   "This is my friend, Yesung. He's a friend of Ryeowook's too." 

   "Nice to meet you, Leeteuk-san." Yesung bows. 

   "Why it's nice to meet you too." Leeteuk bows back, "What brings you here?" 

   "We just want to check out on Ryeowook for a bit," Kyuhyun replies. 

   "Oh...okay, sure." he nods. He turns to see me and smiles, "Well, the kids have a dentist appointment, so I better get ready. Ryeowook, be sure to lock the door, okay?" 

   "Yes, Leeteuk-san!" I answer. Once Leeteuk goes upstairs, Kyuhyun and Yesung take off their shoes. "How are you guys doing?" I ask as I walk forward. 

   "Relieved." Yesung replies, "because of you agreeing to sing with us; we have a feeling that we will nail the audition." 

   "But it's been a while since I've sung in public...or even with you guys." 

   "Don't worry, Ryeowookie," Kyuhyun winks, "we're here to help you." Dammit! There it is again! I can feel my heart beating in staccato. The way he winks is just adorable. Fortunately, I manage to collect myself and lead them to my room. Yesung immediately pulls out lyric sheets from his backpack, which is shaped like a tortoise's shell, and hands one to Kyuhyun and me. We do a few vocal exercises, including Kyuhyun's favorite, which is lip trill. I don't remember us motorboating our lips back when we were kids. Kyuhyun must have found ways to improve his vocals tremendously. Yesung, as well. 

Kyuhyun's Lip Trill Exercise (skip to 1:27)

    After the exercises, Kyuhyun plays the instrumental version of a song on his phone. I recognize the tune right away. It's "Sky" from a 2012 drama called "To The Beautiful You." As I quickly scan through the sheet, each of us has parallel lines, which brings me back memories of us KRY contributing our singing parts very well. 

KRY's LIVE version of "Sky."

    When the song ends, I am surprised to see Kyuhyun and Yesung smiling from ear to ear. 

   "Did we do well?" I ask.

   "Well? It's more than that!" It's perfect!" Yesung replies. 

   "Really" 

   "He's right! It's better than I expected!" Kyuhyun nods, "And also, your voice has gotten a lot prettier than I remember." 

   "Th...thanks," I say. I realize that my cheeks are burning. 

   "Okay! Let's practice for a few more times!" 

   "Sounds good to me. And then we can go straight to the venue." I can already feel confidence flowing in my veins. I may still feel a little nervous, but I know that we will pass the audition. 

                                                                    *                                                  *                                                 *

    Choi Entertainment building is a skyscraper of what seems like 20 floors. Its blue-tinted windows stand out among the other buildings that have black windows and dull grey walls. As I stare at it for a good minute, I realize that my hand brushes against Kyuhyun are a few times. My heart leaps every second our skin meets and I kind of like it. 

   "It's taller than I imagine." Kyuhyun gasps. 

   "I agree." I nod. 

   "Come on! Let's go!" Yesung waves from the front doors. We follow him through the automatic sliding glass. A chubby man in a white shirt and a pair of beige khakis bows in front of us with a smile, "Konnichiwa! You must be here for the audition." 

   "Yes, we are," Kyuhyun replies. 

   "Right this way," he says. He leads us to the fifth floor and through a door where Mr. Choi is. A rectangular table, with a couple of chairs, is at the far right; a projector screen is hung at the opposite side of the windowless room. 

   "Hello, boys!" Mr. Choi smiles. He walks forward and shakes hands with Kyuhyun and Yesung. He pauses when he sees me. "Hmm...I don't think I've seen you back at the park. You look a lot shorter." 

   "Oh! This is a good friend of mine, Ryeowook." Kyuhyun explains, "Kibum is sick, so we ask Ryeowook to take his place for today." 

   "Ah...I see." Mr. Choi says. From the sudden frown on his face, I have a feeling that he's not impressed. 

   "So shall we begin?" the chubby man asks. 

   "Just a moment, Shindong." Mr. Choi says before he faces us again. "I thought you're serious about this." 

   "What do you mean?" Kyuhyun blinks. 

   "People who are committed to becoming stars take care of themselves well. They must be well prepared for their moment. If one member is unable to make it, then there's no way the band can be successful."

   "But...there's no way we can call Kibum over! He's sick! We can't force him or anything. Plus our friend Ryeowook here is an amazing singer. If you can listen to us, you will surely..."

    "I'm sorry, Kyuhyun-san." Mr. Choi cuts off, "I expect you to come here with both of your band members, not a mere replacement. I don't accept this unprofessional manner." Yesung's jaw drops. Kyuhyun stares in disbelief. Cursing words are hiding at the back of my throat, just waiting for me to yell them out. I can't believe Mr. Choi is such a strict person. He has brought up so many K-pop groups, so he should understand things like this. Mr. Choi is about to walk off when I immediately clear my throat. 

    "Mr. Choi." I say, "I know that this is not what you expect, but at least please give us a chance to do the audition." My voice is a little shaky, but I keep my posture straight. Mr. Choi turns his head slightly and looks at me coldly. He strides away. I check on Kyuhyun, whose eyes are on the floor. His shoulders slump. His eyes are covered by his bangs. 

     "Kyuhyun...I..." 

      Before I know it, he turns back and runs out of the room. 

     "Kyuhyun!" I shout. Yesung grabs my hand and shakes his head. 

     "I...uh...I'm terribly sorry." the chubby man says. He gets up from the chair and walks to us. "Mr. Choi is always after consistency. Everyone who goes for the audition must be present." 

    "Even when they are sick?" I ask. 

    "Sadly, yes." he nods, "I don't know why Mr. Choi has a blind eye towards other people's health or any other personal issues. No one finds it easy to convince him to give people time to recover or backup ideas to make the performance work." 

    "Gee, he sounds like a total jerk." Yesung makes a face. 

    "Tell me about it." he giggles, "I'm disappointed that I don't get to hear you sing. From the look on your faces, I can tell that you three have talent, and so I thought that Mr.Choi would be impressed. However, I guess I was wrong. He has turned down a few other groups who do auditions with missing members." 

    "It's okay, sir." I smile, sadly. 

    "I really wanna hear you boys sing." he continues, "And I wish that Mr. Choi will give you a chance too." 

   "That's kind of you, sir, but I don't think Mr. Choi wants us anymore." 

   "Tell you what," he says as he leans forward, "if you have a concert or event coming up, please do let me know so that I can at least help to direct your performance. Here's my card." I watch in surprise as the man hands over a silver business card with shiny white lettering. 

    "Shin Dong Hee." I read. 

    "You can just call me Shindong." he smiles, "I'm the director of K-Pop concerts under Choi Entertainment." 

   "Wow...that's very nice of you, Shindong-san! Arigatou!" 

    "It's no big deal." he smiles, "I look forward to hearing from you, boys. And now I guess you should go and chase after that friend of yours." 

    "Oh, right! Kyuhyun!" 

    "How are we gonna find him now?" Yesung groans.

     An image suddenly flashes in my head like a vision. I recognize the place right away. "I think I know where he's going." 

                                                                                       *                                               *                                        *

     The sweet smell of sakura whirls around. I scan through the park, hoping that my guess is correct. I've asked Yesung to look for Kyuhyun at the parking lot, just in case Kyuhyun has parked his car and never bother to come out. I make my way past joggers and strollers when I finally spot a sulking Kyuhyun leaning against the stone of the bridge. 

   "Mind if I join your pity party?" I ask. Kyuhyun turns his head back and looks at me in surprise. 

   "How do you know I'm here?" he exclaims. 

   "Just a feeling." I shrug. 

   "Wow, you have superpowers." he snorts. I laugh and rest my hands on the railing. We watch the people taking over the walkways and the petals floating in the breeze. 

    "I'm sorry," I say. 

    "For what?" 

    "For being in the tiest audition ever." 

     Kyuhyun chuckles. His eyes still never leave the water. "The tiest indeed. I still can't believe that Mr. Choi said such things." 

    "Well, he's the boss of Choi Entertainment after all. He has his rules." 

    "Yeah...I know."

    "But hey, there's loads of opportunities, right?"

    "I've taken a lot of opportunities. I think I've gotten sick of them."

   "Come on! Don't give up just yet! There's gotta be another audition waiting for you to go for!"

   "I just thought this is my one last chance." 

    I reach out to squeeze his hand. "Look, Kyuhyunie, I know things don't go the way you expect, but you can't make your dream come true unless you keep on trying." 

   "That's what everybody says." 

   "Edison tried 1000 times till he has successfully created a lightbulb, so why can't you do the same with your dream?" 

    "Becuase I'm not Edison."

    I hold back a giggle when he rolls his eyes. "But he didn't just fail 1000 times. He has tried 1000 steps." He shifts his gaze to me. The confused look on his face signals me to continue. "Everyone has their own 1000 steps. In fact, for now, I can see that you're standing in the middle of your own 1000 steps. You don't want to remain where you're currently on. So why don't you climb up? Why don't you climb further? One day, you will finish climbing your 1000 steps. And when you've reached to the top, your dream will come true." I realized that our eyes are locked for what seemed like forever. "You can't give up just yet. You're just not at your 1000th step yet." 

    "I guess you're right." he smiles. 

    "Don't just depend on one audition. You'll have to try as many more auditions as you can till you've got in one." 

    "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you, Ryeowookie." 

     "Your welcome." 

     I notice that the wind carries clumps of petals. Some ribbons of it float above us like tiny pink stars. As my gaze shifts to Kyuhyun, I can't help admiring how handsome he has become. I know I've said this quite a few times, but I can't take my eyes off him. His warm eyes, his kissable-looking lips, his brown hair that sways gently in the spring air...everything of him is just so damn attractive. Is that why all of my insides feel weird whenever I'm around him? Is that why my heart has been begging me to get closer to him? Am I falling for him? How...am I suppose to answer all of these questions that have been burning in me for a while now? Kyuhyun looks back at me, and my heart pauses. I'm lost into his pair of deep brown orbs. 

    "Kyuhyun..." I murmur. He says nothing, but through his eyes, he wants to express and words he wants to spill. My heart is beating a lot faster now, signalling me that I have to do something to keep this connection alive. So I lean forward, close my eyes and kiss him. Within seconds, he kisses me back. I can feel my whole body melts into his kiss. It feels good. I want more of this. Suddenly, something tickles my forehead. I pull away from his plump lips and see a big storm of cherry blossom raining down. 

     "Ryeowook!" Kyuhyun gasps and points above us. I look up to see a thick layer of petals covering the sky. The petals shake violently like they are about to explode. To my horror, the petals immediately drop towards us like arrows. I let out a scream. Kyuhyun quickly pulls me close to his chest and wraps his arms around my back. I can picture us suffocating in the heap of pink. Weight seems to hold us down, but we are still standing. 

   "Ryeowook, we're okay," he whispers. 

   "You sure?" 

    "Yeah."

     I slowly open my eyes. Petals pile up to our knees. The depth is almost like the aftermath after a few nights of snow.  

     "What the heck is going on here?" a familiar voice suddenly makes me jump. Yesung is standing at one end of the bridge. His eyes are the size of baseballs. Oh, crud! He sees us hugging! This is not good! I wiggle myself away from Kyuhyun's arms. 

     "I...uh...I gotta go!" I stammer and wiggle through the queer mess. 

    "Ryeowook! Wait!" Kyuhyun shouts. I run as fast as I could down the walkway without looking back. I can't believe that just happened. I instantly remember that I kissed him. I kissed my childhood friend. And I'm screwed! 

Ryeowook (リョウク)