Chapter 10

 

 

Eyes gazing directly at the girl while comfortably chewing her rice cakes, her answer didn't matter to her. She was completely fine with total rejection but of course, absolutely happier to have her love accepted. She knew the pains of love very well and understood that Chorong might've felt the same way too.

"Actually...." said Chorong carefully.

"I'm afraid Eunji-ya..." confessed the girl.

"As in how, unnie?" The younger girl's eyebrows raised, it was an answer she did not expect.

"Even if I do say yes, even If I do have feelings for you, I'm scared that I might change. You might change."

It was then Eunji remembered that the girl used to be in a relationship before. She must've had a horrible experience by her former boyfriend that it was difficult for her to start again. It must've scarred her deeply, a betrayal that she never expected to occur in her life. 

"Unnie. Do you trust me?" asked the girl boldly.

"I do but-"

"Then that's enough for you to accept me."

"Eunji-ya"

"Unnie, you're always choosing the safe method. I understand. Although I'm not in the position to say this because I don't know what kind of things you went through with your previous relationship but I will never be like him. I've never found someone who saved me from darkness and gave me a hope to live on. Before I met you, all I had in life was to contanstly work and work to provide money for Hayoung. Hayoung was my only purpose in life. But now, I'm out there trying to reach for my dreams that I had given up previously because you gave me the chance to do so. You also saved me from breaking my relationship with Naeun to something even worse. None of this would've worked out if it wasn't you, unnie. I wanted to be like you unnie, you were like my hero so I want to be your hero as well. That's why, I fell in love with you." confessed the girl, speaking in a fast pace as her Busan accent accidentally slipped out.

The older girl couldn't say anything, she was taken aback by Eunji's sudden outburst of thoughts. She had no idea that she felt that way, until now. By understanding her feelings, Chorong was able to open her heart little by little, wanting to take a chance at falling in love again. She felt that it was the right choice to do so, after all her body itself couldn't help but to resist her charms. When she thought about it, Eunji coming into her life made everything happier and brighter. Without her, she would not have become the person who she is today, who had more confidence in herself.

"Unnie." said the younger girl, who started to get impatient. Placing her cup of spicy rice cakes onto the ground, fixing her pink cap and wiping her lips with her thumb, she stood up from the swing and crouched down to maintain eye-level with the older girl. Hands warmly cupped Chorong's cheeks as she had a wide smile on her face.

"I promised Bomi to make you the happiest girl in the world and I will do that. All you have to do is follow my lead. Let me love you unnie."

"You really know how to make a person's heart flutter with your words, Eunji-ya." giggled Chorong, feeling shy and slightly hot at how close she was between the girl. It instantly reminded her of today's kiss and immediately had her heart thumping like crazy.

"I know you love me, unnie. You're just too shy to admit it." grinned the girl confidently.

"And you're too tired of waiting aren't you?" teased the older girl.

"So is that a yes?"

"Maybe~" teased Chorong again with an adorable pout, rolling her eyes somewhere.

"This unnie really likes to play with me"

"You do that all the time"

"Oh, really? Then I should-" said Eunji as she moved nearer to the girl but immediately, Chorong placed her fingers on Eunji's lips.

"I don't want to kiss you after eating those spicy rice cakes." said the older girl.

"Wow. Then, can I kiss you tommorow?" 

"No. Not in public."

"Did you apply the same rules with your boyfriend too?"

"Yup."

"He must've had a hard time."

"Then don't date me."

"No, it'll even make me want to do that even more."

"I knew it." sighed the girl with a smile.

"If a kiss isn't allowed, how about a hug? It's getting cold." asked the younger girl.

"I'm not cold. These rice cakes are so spicy, i don't need it." said Chorong, continuing to enjoy teasing the girl. It wa her moment after become a victim of Eunji's jokes.

"Then you leave me with no choice unnie." smirked Eunji as she suddenly stood up and cracked her knuckles.

"W-What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm carrying you home." said Eunji with a cheeky smile as she suddenly used both of her arms and forcifully carried the older girl in a bridal-style.

"H-H-Hey! Put me down Eunji-ya! This is embarrassing!" screamed the girl in surprise.

"You're not going to let me kiss you. Not even a hug. What do you think?" pouted Eunji.

"Oh god."

"Well unnie?" It was at that moment, Eunji felt a gentle wet peck on her cheek.

"Put me down...." said Chorong shyly.

"Very well madam." Eunji put her down as promised, happy with the result as she grinned from ear-to-ear. This was her intention all along because she knew the girl would never be the one to kiss first.

With night falling deeper, two girls finally confirmed each other's feelings in a very subtle way. After much thought and a game of push-and-pull, the love race came to an end.

Girls who started off as strangers who in turned decided to help each other and became friends along the way, eventually fell in love.

 

 

 

 

~X~

 

 

 

A month has passed since then. 

 

The first episode of Superstar K aired on South Korean television nationwide while at the same time, Eunji continued to film for the show. Already passing through the first round that cut off 1000 applicants and left only 100 contestants standing, she still had a long way to reaching the grand prize. She's already busy prepping for the second round that was a group battle, she was paired up with three other contestants to present a vocal cover performance. For many nights, she practically lived in the LOEN training room that was specifically only for Superstar K contestants to do their own preparations. 

With another new month entering the year, this meant another deadline for Chorong to pay her debts. Well, she had another safe run this time. With her proposal project of the upcoming drama set to broadcast on KBS, the company had given her bonuses and extra digits in her bank account as a reward for all the hardwork she had earned. Indeed, it never went to waste. She was now preparing several scripts as filming for her self-written drama begun, casting of actors and actresses were all set and the girl often found herself visiting various sites, monitoring the shoot and discussions with directors. It was quite a big and burdening role because this was the KBS writer's first up-scale project. But it wasn't that hard because she had Namjoo as her right-hand man, helping her out if any problem arises.

Speaking of Namjoo, the girl was upset to hear that Hayoung's internship had ended. The maknae had returned back to her university days to write a report of her experience and also to prepare for the big, final exam that concluded her four years in tertiary education. But that didn't mean it was the end of everything. The girl was occasionally sneak past her working hours to meet and hang out with Hayoung. Sometimes, Chorong and Eunji did wonder if the relationship between those two were more than just "senior and junior".

"Unnie, the show is starting!" shouted Namjoo, holding snacks in her hands while stuffing crackers into like it was a pocket.

"Is the thing recording?" asked Naeun as she checked the remote, wanting to record the first episode reveal of Superstar K.

"Ah, this is going to be so embarrasing to watch" mumbled Eunji as she tightly hugged a pillow.

"They interviewed you right? Don't tell me you mentioned us or something like that.." said Chorong, eyeing the girl suspiciously.

"I'm going to check the live reactions online" said Hayoung as she opened her phone.

"QUIET! I CAN'T HEAR!" shouted Bomi.

"YOU'RE THE NOISY ONE SHUT UP!" shouted Eunji.

The six girls gathered at Naeun's apartment to watch the first episode of Superstar K live. It was a Friday night where everyone decided to leave work early and had a small party. Why did they choose Naeun's apartment out of all the others? It was a pretty simple reason. Naeun was technically the richest among the six, working as a stylist has earned her more than a million won, her apartment house was the most spacious for one person to be living and it's the cleanest place for adult kids to mess around with.

As they quietly watched the show, making comments of other contestants as it cut in between clips of the actual auditions, interviews and various other cuts. It was then, an image of Eunji displayed on the screen.

"Hello, I'm Jung Eunji from Busan."

"Wow, Eunji is finally a celebrity. She's finally on TV!!" shouted Bomi in excitement.

"Gotta take a picture of this." said Namjoo as she took a snapshot.

"You guys are making me embarrassed." giggled Eunji shyly.

"Why did I join Superstar K? Hmm, I'm sure everyone dreams of becoming a singer right? We all have our own stories but what's important is experience. I don't even know whether I'll get eliminated but I'm just going to do my best because I want to do it. I want to become a singer for that person."

"E-Eunji-ya!" said Chorong upon hearing Eunji's interview. Turning her head towards the girl, unsure what this outcome might come out.

"What? I just said the truth unnie." said the younger girl cooly, not concerned at all.

"I mean you could've just make up a lie or something."

"So, you're saying our love is fake?"

"What? That's not what I even meant-this doesn't make sense I-"

"Unnie. Calm down. Eunji didn't even mention who that person is." said Bomi.

"Trust her. She'll never expose your name out there in public. Just relax and enjoy the show unnie." said Hayoung unfazed as if she knew that was what her sister was going to do.

The girls continued to watch the two hour long programme until the very last minute. Clapping their hands, they praised Eunji for showcasing her vocals on television and wished her good luck in the upcoming rounds. Already late into the night, they decided to clean and pack up, ready to head home. After all, Naeun still had to work on a Saturday so staying over is a big no-no. One by one, the girls left reluctantly, obviously wanting to spend more time with each other. As it was already past midnight, trains had stopped running but no worries, Eunji had her car.

Driving each of the girls home respectively, dropping Bomi off, followed by Namjoo and Hayoung at her own place, she was left alone in the car with Chorong.

"You're dropping me off first?" said Hayoung in surprise as she catched the house keys thrown by her sister.

"Mm. You're making your own breakfast tommorow, I'm not coming back. I have to practice for my performance. Just don't mess up the kitchen. Call me if you need anything." said Eunji.

"Lies, you just want to spend time with Chorong unnie right?" smirked Hayoung to which Chorong smiled shyly upon hearing it.

"S-Shut up. Go to bed you kid, it's getting late!" stuttered Eunji with a giggle as she rolled up her window and drove off.

"She's getting more out of hand these days." giggled Chorong.

"This girl is hanging out with Namjoo too much. Where did my young, innocent Hayoung go to?" sighed Eunji, her arms gently holding the steering wheel while occassionally stealing glances to look at the older girl.

"You're still going to practice even though it's the weekend?" asked Chorong in worry.

"I gotta win the competition for you, unnie." 

"D-Don't say that..."

"Right, sorry. I just made you feel burdened right. Sorry unnie." smiled Eunji as she extended her arm and patted the girl's tiny head. At times, she seemed like the older one who comforted her dongsaeng even though it was the other way round.

"Don't drive me back home." 

"Hm?"

"I'm not going to leave you alone. I want to tag along and see how you practice."

"If you do that, I won't be able to concentrate."

"Then I will make you concentrate." said the older girl as she turned and smiled at her with a rather, creepy grin.

"Right..." laughed Eunji nervously as she stepped on the accelerator.

 

 

 

 

~X~

 

 

 

Arriving at the LOEN Entertainment building, there was absolutely no one besides the security guard at the entrance. Tapping the card, it enabled the two to enter the lift as they headed to the 5th floor and walked along the corridor that had several practice rooms across each other. Heading to Room No.3, it was a rather tight room with a keyboard displayed on a table, papers messily scattered all over and scribbles everywhere. It was rather different from what the older girl had expected.

"There honestly isn't much space in here, hold on. Let me clean this mess up." said Eunji, quickly taking papers away and giving a seat for the girl.

"I thought you would be in a spacious room that had mirrors and speakers."

"That's the dance room unnie. I'm not an idol."

"Ah, right." said the girl as she looked around. There, she saw a black notebook laying at the corner of the table. Carefully flipping over the first page, there was a phrase written in the centre with Eunji's handwriting.

"Where can I see you now? Again today, I'm looking for you."

Immediately from a quick glance, Eunji quickly snatched the book away from her.

"D-D-Don't look at that unnie..." she said shyly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean too..." giggled Chorong.

"I'm writing lyrics unnie....I want to try composing my own song one day....."

"And did you write those lyrics thinking about me?" smiled the older girl as she gazed at her. There was only a quiet nod from the pink-cap girl as she proceeded to turn on the keyboard and test out the chords. Without saying anything else, Eunji cleared as she began to play the keyboard. Harmonies filled in the air as she began to sing, in front of Chorong who was sitting beside her. For three minutes, the girl listened to her vocals quietly as if it was a gentle lullaby.

"How was it unnie?" asked Eunji after singing one song.

"Mm, I love it."

"But you probably didn't understand the lyrics right? It's an English song." laughed the girl.

"It's okay, as long as I got to hear your voice."

"It's Jessie J's Who You Are and I really love her."

"Mm." nodded Chorong, clear that she was getting sleepy after a long day.

"Unnie, are you sure you don't want to go home?"

"I want to stay here with you."

"You're tired aren't you?"

"It's okay, I'll just hear you sing."

"Alright." smiled Eunji as she gently patted her head.

Continuing to practice as usual, the girl pretended as if Chorong wasn't there. Playing the keyboard while singing, often belting out high notes in the middle, she was serious in making sure that her performance was perfect. Even though it was supposed to be done in a team, the girl didn't want to let down her mates and fixed even the smallest mistakes in terms of tone and pitch. She had been so engrossed in her own performance, time passed so quickly throughout the night. It was only until, she felt a gentle touch of a head falling onto her shoulders. That's when she realised, Chorong had already fallen into a deep sleep.

"I wondered how long she had been asleep? She's such a stubborn girl, I told her to go home but here she is, so close to me." thought the girl with a smile. Checking her phone, it was 4am. It was no longer surprising for Eunji to work at this late hour as a yawn escaped .

"I guess I should get some sleep too. Two hours should be good." mumbled the girl as she leaned against her chair, still having Chorong sleeping on her shoulder as she too, slowly closed her eyes. She had wanted to hug her unnie, put her in her arms but she didn't want to wake her up. She was already more than satisfied to have her, right beside. She was more than happy to achieve her love, to finally have her heart accepted and to know that Chorong was hers now. That's all that mattered.

It seemed only like a blink of an eye, as Eunji woke up to the sound of her phone alarm that she had set earlier. Slowly opening her eyes with a groan, she noticed her shoulder was lighter. Looking around, the older girl was gone. But instead, she saw a can of energy drink on the table with a sticky note attached to it.

"Sorry Eunji-ya, I don't want to disturb you so I went home first by taking the first train. Fighting for your performance!"

There were also throat candies at the top of the can. The girl must've woken up first and headed to the convenience store to buy it. It wasn't much but the girl could feel a sense of warmth and love into such a simple action. Eunji wanted to embrace the girl in her arms and tell her those few words "thank you" because it gave her strength to continue working despite battling against sleepiness.

 

 

 

 

~X~

 

 

 

With the second, third and fourth episodes of Superstar K airing consecutively each week, netizens online had given nicknames for Eunji as she gained more recognition not just for her vocal but also for her appearance and humble attitude. Names like "Eye-smile Queen" or "God Eunji" were popular web related searches on various websites. She soon garnered a rising number of fans who supported her in the competition as she survived four rounds of elimination. Succeeding the team battle as well as solo performances she received high praises from the judges. Time passed quickly over the course of four months in the programme until Eunji didn't realised that she was in the finals. 

She was now, up against one more contestant, Kwak Jin-eon who was a man well-known for his sweet, gentle vocals. There was a lot of discussion online in many forums, where people strongly believed that Eunji would be the winner while others opposed, saying that Jin-eon had a better chance. It was quite difficult to predict who would win, after a long battle. The criteria for the last round was rather simple, it was freestyle. The two contestants were allowed to do whatever they want to please the judges and audience as it was set for a live broadcast with over 1000 fans at the recording site. Eunji decided to do what she had the most confidence in yet wanting to challenge herself to something new. She decided to make a cover yet compose a seperate production of her chosen song to suit her own style of singing.

They were given a week to prepare before it was finally D-Day. The final episode of Superstar K was set, broadcasted live on television nationwide.

 

[10th August, 7:00pm SBS Broadcasting Station]

 

The 93-liner sat still in the waiting room as make-up artists and stylists surrounded her, fixing her hair and applying various makeup on her face. She was staring intensely on a piece of paper that had lyrics printed as she hummed to a melody. It was then, there was knock on the door as a girl shyly entered, wearing a tag over her neck that was shown as "VIP".

"Hello...." she said softly, bowing to the other staff.

"Unnie!" smiled Eunji but she had to stay still because she was still not ready yet.

"Don't. I'll just sit here and wait for you."

"You should be honoured that I gave you the one and only VIP ticket for today's show. Hayoung was so jealous that I didn't give it to her." she giggled.

"Thank you Eunji-ya but-"

"No buts unnie. I need you to be here. That's all that matters"

"H-Hey! Don't say that here! Everyone's listening to our conversation!" 

"Right, sorry. Manager oppa, stylist unnie, she's Chorong unnie. The one I've been talking about all the time." said Eunji with a proud smile.

"What things did you tell them?" eyed the older girl suspicious towards the mirror, giving a rather scary glare that let Eunji a nervous laugh out of .

"N-Nothing in particular that will have you kicking me...."

This had the staff laughing quietly as Chorong got embarrassed, wanting to give Eunji a earful but at the same time, she decided to hold it in because today was an important day. Honestly, it didn't matter if the girl didn't win because Chorong's job had become so stable after her self-written drama became a huge hit. Her salary had increased and she was able to pay out her debts one by one. Although she still had to worry about paying it every month but she was slowly getting there to clearing everything in the end. Feeling awkward in the situation, the girl wanted to run away and hide. But she didn't. Instead, she decided to stare at Eunji through the reflection of the mirror as she saw her slowly, getting transformed into an image she had never expected. Usually, she would dress in a very tomboyish manner, typical oversized sweaters, sneakers wrapped on her feet and her usual pink cap over her head. But today was different. Eunji was in a long, white dress, wearing heels and other accessories that were quite feminine.

For a moment, Chorong laughed.

"U-Unnie! Stop that!" said Eunji shyly, knowing what that meant. She too, felt weird wearing the outfit. 

"If Bomi or Namjoo were here, they're definitely going to make a huge ruckus on this."

"Well, they're going to see me live on television today. I have a feeling today's group chat is going to be spammed with screenshots of me." sighed Eunji, expecting something to happen.

"Y'know, your mom is going to see you like that."

"Ah, stop reminding me unnie"

The girl giggled, finding it fun to tease Eunji as it was rare for her to do so, because she was always the victim.

At last, Eunji was ready to head on stage as it was almost time for the live broadcast to begin. 

"Manager oppa, can everyone leave the room? I want to talk to Chorong unnie in private." requested the girl who stood up awkwardly in her white dress.

"Fine but only five minutes. We don't have much time."

"I got it."

Just by her simple request, the staff left the room as said. With the door closed, Eunji proceeded to lock the door.

"Omo, Eunji-ya what do you think you're doing?" said Chorong as her heart skipped nervously.

"Don't worry unnie, nothing much. I just don't want people interrupting us."

"I see....it feels weird seeing you like that" giggled the older girl.

"S-Stop...I'm still trying to not look awkward wearing these heels. My face feels so heavy with all these makeup on and I want to hide my legs."

"Your legs are pretty Eunji-ya, what are you saying?"

"Wow, unnie is finally giving compliments. Wow, this is a great improvement." said Eunji sarcastically with a clap.

"Hey."

"I'm just joking." she laughed.

"I don't want you to pressure yourself Eunji-ya." said the older girl as she turned serious with worry written all over her eyes.

"I know, I know. I don't want my ears to bleed from your nagging again mom."

"Gosh, you really-" 

"I just want a good luck charm from you."

"Me?"

"Come on, you know what it is unnie~" pouted Eunji as she shrugged her shoulders cutely. Indeed from Chorong's eyes, she seemed like a puppy who wanted attention from its master. She could imagine the girl waving her tail excitedly, eager to expect something from her. It was really cute from that perspective and absolutely had her weak from that stance. This was the only method that always prevented Chorong from scolding her any further. She couldn't resist it. At all.

"Fine." said the older girl as she shyly went closer and gently pecked on her left cheek.

"That's all?" said Eunji, with a cute frown.

Instead, the older girl sighed. She wasn't the type to openly kiss her like that, even though she was thankful for Eunji locking the door because she would definitely be more than just embarrassed if someone walked in, seeing them doing these kind of things. She went and kissed on her other cheek.

"You're kissing the wrong areas unnie." frowned the younger girl as she looked into her eyes.

"Then, where?"

It was then, Eunji pushed her face in front, letting her lips touch Chorong's.

"This is where you should be kissing, unnie" grinned the girl as she removed her lips and pointed her fingers towards , obviously wanting to recieve a direct kiss from the girl. 

"Fine, just this once." said Chorong as she gently placed her lips back onto Eunji's.

"Are you ready now?" asked the girl as she removed it after about two seconds.

"Yup. But I'm still not satisfied with the kiss. It went too fast." pouted Eunji with a nod.

"If you win, maybe..."

"Really?"

"I don't know~" said Chorong as she shrugged her shoulders cutely, taking a step back as she unlocked the door.

"Come on, you have to get ready for your stage Eunji-ya."

"Alright unnie. You ought promise me that." 

"What?"

"If I win, I'm going to kiss you from here all the way down there." smirked Eunji with a tease, scanning her eyes from Chorong's neck all the way to her chest.

"S-Stop playing around! Hurry up or your managers are going to come looking for you!" said the girl, startled as she hit the Eunji's hand before holding it, pulling her out of the waiting room and dragged her towards the corridor. With a laugh, it was all Eunji needed to be prepared. Just by being with her Chorong, the nervousness and anxiety that filled inside her heart, disappeared immediately. 

 

She was ready. Ready to win.

 

 

 

 

 

[END OF CHAPTER 10]

 

 

 

 

 

A/N: Will Eunji slay the competition and earn the grand prize as she had promised so confidently? Do share your thoughts about this chapter and the next! Thank you for reading and subscribing! Unfortunately, Chapter 11 will be last of Strangers but don't worry, it will not disappoint you. Stay tuned~ :)