Chapter 8. Without lies

Soona layed on her back, talking with her best friend Choa from the phone:

"Things between me and Jonghyun are really different now... The other day, he told me to rely on him and he'd listen to everything I say - talk about 360, I don't know what to do now haha. He texts me every morning, asking me out for coffee. Truely bff's, so cool man."

"I can't listen to this," the friend adds to it, "I can't have my bestfriend with this guy...You know what he is, a shark... He smells your injuries or worst, he'll hurt you so you can run into his arms. Don't tell me you don't feel the circling, so naive."

"Choa, Jonghyun is sweet and likes to make people laugh."

"GET THE F*** OUT OF THERE," Choa shouted from the other end, "no matter how innocently and organically your friendship with Jonghyun develops in the begining, at some point, he will lay the charm on you and you'll give in to him -- boom, just another notch on his belt, friendship ruined. I know his type Soona, trust me. As soon as you can, run for the hills. Total badboy, ew."
Soona's friend judged Jonghyun for another hour, injecting paranoia into the friendship or whatever it was till Soona thought uneasy of him, again. Sadly, Soona has a recital "date" with Jonghyun that morning and now she doesn't want to show.

[At Jonghyuns studio]
Soona knocked on the door. A few short seconds later, Jonghyun appears about, opening it for her, "Goodmorning, you look pretty today," he smiled, wearing a white hoody, matching the white cap on his head.
Yet Jonghyuns nice words couldn't be anything but rubbish because Soona looked at her outfit as he said that and she remembered how much trash she looked like today. "Jonghyun, what are you working on?" she moved things along, "I see papers everywhere - making something new?"
"Take a seat," he shows the chair to her, sitting down along side her as he passes her his latest work, "later on, I'm having one of my guys come over to make a beat. What do you think?"
"Lyrics aren't weird, right?" she joked.
"Depends on what weird is... What you consider weird may not be what I consider weird. Also you're going to listen to it whether you want to or not." :P
Soona began reading the lyrics outloud: "Baby why do you wonder? Wondering how solely you can be so alone. We can repair your heart. You thought what I said was words of a good friend - but it's not. You respond to my deep feelings light-heartedly. I can protect you, I will protect you - do not love me as friends... It's so painful I will die."
 She took in a gulp of air, jabbing him, who wasn't looking at her, with her eyes. She stopped reading the lyrics and placed the papers on her lap, only to reply, "Jonghyun, how is it possible to make this so fast? It's quite deep... And something someone that experienced it would write."
"I thought of you when I wrote it...Is that weird?" He confesses suddenly, without feeling guilt or shame.
"Bwo...? Do not love me as friends... It's so painful I will die." She repeated his lyrics, then continuing to read the first verse fully; it read: "I don't know if I should stay away from you to keep the friendship or if I should... call for you. Do you have to leave? Why did you make me love you with such heavy feelings..?" she then stopped reading it as it became too much. "Jonghyun...I.. I.. " She didn't know whether to confront it or to pretend she didn't get the lyrics.
He looked at her with a warm smile, putting a hand on her hand kindly, "Ok, you can stop reading it. Wanna hear me sing it for you??"
"Sure..." she tells him quietly, feeling a tightness in , impulsively convincing herself that he was... IN LOVE WITH HER.
He stood up and walked near the piano in the studio. His laptop was connected to the sound system and he hit the space bar, preparing lacking, unfinished background music to go with the song.
Soona immersed herself fully as he sang, playing extra close attention to things she found awkward - making herself feel more uncomfortable.  She was now standing from off and away from the chair to watch, holding a cup of water in her hand guiltlessly.

He sang with a rich, clear voice, resembling his emotional tone for Y Si Fuera Ella. "Do you have to leave? Why did you make me love you with such heavy feelings..? If I would have one wish, my longing heart would hold you tightly - don't ever leave me." As Jonghyun sang that part, Soona accidently dropped her cup of water on the floor of the studio. It didn't make her feel all warm inside, it made her feel frighten and awful for some reason.
"Jonghyun, um... Can you wait a second...I need... to check my phone.. Hold that... Thought... Please." She asked, clutching her chest with her left hand.
"Of course."

Soona hid in the bathroom for a while; upon rushing into the bathroom though, she through-up immediately. Splashing water all over herself and sweeping the hair off her face, Soona sighed and tried to get a grip, looking at her own suspicious expression. "A week ago, we were at each others throats - NOW, I respond to his deep feelings light-heartedly? If I would have one wish, my longing heart would hold you tightly - what the hell is wrong with him? Aishhh, I'll go insane." As she beat herself up, her phone suddenly vibrated from the side of the sink. It was her bestfriend Choa.
"Sis, how is Jonghyun treating you? I miss you. Don't let him.  " the text read.
Soona didn't want to talk with her friend, she already knew Choa didn't like Jonghyun; Choa thought she should date someone else - yet Soona was dreadfully uninterested in dating Jonghyun at this point, she kept a massive emotional distance from him on purpose. Now she was afraid and didn't know what to tell her friend.
"Jonghyun is serenading me! I don't know how I'll survive today, just tell me goodbye and you told me so.. I'm a goner. " She texted back impulsively, sweating and making a mess with her fingers as she typed.
"Ok girl, what's the address, I'll fly down there and slug him in that handsome jaw of his. Taemin is more your type, don't let him more than 3 feet of you."
"No, I have to spend time with him for another two weeks, I have to cope at best. I just don't know what to do... Jonghyun is not a bad guy Choa... He seems irritating and overbearing but... He is very sweet. I just don't know what to do, and why am I so worked up?"
"You've been successfully romanced. You're worked up because.. THAT'S BUTTERFLIES. You feel the same... "
"No way!"
"Yes, Soona, if... You have to keep rejecting my advice, go with him.. But don't say I didn't warn you. I'll be here later to help wipe away your tears... Fighting!"

[After texting her friend a while, she made her way back to the audio room Jonghyun recited in]
In Jonghyuns studio-
"Hey clever girl, you're back," he said instantly - as soon as he saw her slowly walk back in, closing the door behind herself. "You were gone so long I started working on something else; also, it's lunch time and I ordered something for you, Samgyopsa, one of your favorites.."
"Oh.. Jonghyun, you a really too.. Kind. I don't deserve your friendship."
"Friendship? Ha, fancy that... Did you listen to my song at all?"
"Yeah..." She then got nervous, "why'd you make that lol"
"An artist must have good timing and portray exactly how he feels at a given time. Relax, don't take my song out of context, I thought of you when I made it. I am not singing about you in reality - or am I? Being a great artist is also leaving the listener curious about the exact meaning hahaha."
"..That's not funny babo. Yes or no? Song about me or because of me? Just an idea from me and nothing to actually do with me? Hello? Ah, I see, mix feelings." She honestly wanted to know and tried to pretend she was uninterested as she possibly could.
"Soona," Jonghyun blurted out suddenly, "you're my type. I really like you - maybe when you come back to Seoul in the future, I'll text you like crazy and go on dates.. I like you, get that through your air head. Pay me visits often, okay?"
"Um.. Jonghyun... Really?... Ok..I'll come back to spent time... Together.. Ok." She finally blushed and gave in..
But as Jonghyun seemingly confesses, knocking appeared at the studio door - making it a - third party happening. "Oh snap, my DJ is here."
Walking in was not a man like Jonghyun proclaimed earlier. It was a highly attractive female: her hair, super long and wavy, blondish orange, her figure, curvaceous and her face - lovely, she had that japanese super model look. Soona looked away, wondering, "who is THIS?" she wasn't jealous.
"This is Ella, an expert composer and smoking hotttttttt! Also I've known her for 4 years, we were friends a while.. She helped with a few songs from TVXQ, no? An understudy from Kenzie. She studied in California for 7 years so she knows her stuff..I am so glad you are here, have a seat." Jonghyun tells the whole world if he could; yet, there was only two seats in the studio.
Things became suddenly extremely uneasy as this lady shows up like this. Soona looks around and knows her "place," standing up and from off the seat, bowing and motioning for Ella to sit where she was. "Who is this?" Ella asked Jonghyun rudely.
"Nobody lol," he acted awkwardly, "older rookie - pay it no mind. It's a friend. Are you comfty?"
"It????? I am a it?" Soona said, aggressively looking down at Jonghyun from the chair. "Yes, very nice to know."
"Ella, my song, Missing You, I think it will fit your music style best, you are going to love it. I picture a music video - maybe a model as yourself for it? It fits for someone who didn't want to let go of someone amazing, that one time love kind of thing." Missing You was the song he just said he made with Soona in mind - she is suddenly so confused.
Ella just smuggly allows him to congratulate her on being born so wonderfully. "True. Oh wait, I'm thinking a 80s vibe bass-line. " She tells Jonghyun with excitement.
"It's more fitting to have a slow song vibe - like Y Si Fuera Hyeya - but not as deep... Maybe with less acoustics..." Soona said randomly, trying to stay in the loop.
"Again, who are you?" Ella then states, turning her chair Soona's way rudely, "no one even knows who you are... You're nothing special physically either - so our Jonghyun won't even use you if that's what you think; also you are giving input, why?"
"Soona..." Jonghyun said quietly, but he doesn't exactly know what to say to the ladies and so, he lets them stare at each other hostilely.
"I..." Soona stuttered, "I really love this song from Jonghyun... Oppa.. I am foolish.."
"Yes you are foolish; Jonghyun can she be excused?"
"Soona, annyong. She is right, you don't belong here right now. Wait in another room from this one..." Jonghyun said it coldly, he really did - it was so careless.
"Ok.." Soona replies, her ego clearly wounded, "I'll wait in another room.. Good luck."
Jonghyun must of felt slight remorse, "Soona," he adds before she left, "I'll let you know when we are done."

There was no other seats in the small sub-studio, so Soona stood on the walls of the halls, at least untill she got too tired of standing and set down on the floor. She listened to Jonghyun and Ella flirt and play and make musical magic for about two hours untill she got so wored out from hearing it that she tuned it out completely. She waited so long that she about lost interest in the whole project, dazing off every now and again, untill the drowsiness finally carried her away.
Soona fell into a very deep sleep and rests for a long time. She wakes up suddenly, hearing someone appear around her, "Jonghyunie," she says instinctively thinking of her elder, but it was a maintenance man, "Oh, sorry... I fell asleep...Um, don't you have the time? Where is Jonghyun...?" She asked, looking in her pocket for her phone.
"It's 11:47pm and I was about to wake you because I have to clean and close the place before 12am. Jonghyun and his female DJ left.. A hour ago.. I am sorry he didn't tell you, I watched you laying down here all day, you've waited too long.."
Soona looked to the window and notices the darkness outside. She stares off at nothing for a few comprehensive seconds, a face of discernment. ".."

[Chapter 9,]