DING!!

A loud, furious piano sound broke the beautiful symphony of that rehearsal room as the pianist made a mistake for the umpteenth time already. All members of that forty-piece orchestra tilted their heads to the piano man, who was about to have argument with the foreigner in front of him.

“No, no, no, it’s not like that!!” yelled Sylvester Levay, a well-known Hungarian composer to the pianist. “How many times I should tell you that this song is started in F major? Can you do anything right?”

Levay screamed furiously in English, which was of course an incomprehensible language for the Korean pianist. But, the later didn’t even need interpreter to understand that Levay had said something offensive.

“That’s it!!! I’m done with this!!” yelled the pianist in Korean. His co-musicians, who were watching them in silence, made a loud gasping sound as he said, “Find another man to be your slave, outsider!”

At those words, he left the hall where they had been rehearsing for the last two hours. Junsu, who was standing in the middle of the stage, could only stare blankly. He understood that the musical wasn’t anywhere near the easiest job to do. They needed months of preparation, practicing over and over again because they would be performing live on stage for at least five consecutive days. And Sylvester Levay, the composer they were working with, was such a thorough person. He paid to any little details, especially in their music. Even just a little inaccuracy in the tune could piss him off. Adding the fact that he only spoke in English, which meant he needed translator to build a communication with his Korean team, could only highlight the hardship they had to face.

“I guess it’s enough for today,” said Levay loudly, and the interpreter, a thin and bespectacled Korean beside him immediately translated what he had announced.

“I’m sorry,” said Junsu out of the blue once Levay reached him. Yes, though he had been always laughed at for his fail English back in his Dong Bang Shin Ki days, still he was English enough to say some simple phrases. The older man wiped his forehead in tire before taking a seat on the stage. Junsu followed his act.

“What are you sorry for?” asked him. “I should apologize. I guess I’m too inflexible. Now what are we going to do? Only two months left and the pianist walked out. I’ve messed up.”

While Levay was regretting his sudden rage, in addition to complaining about how they could find a pianist to fill the empty spot perfectly, Junsu instantly thought of his girlfriend, Lee Daehee. Yes, he had a girlfriend, even if the fans and the mass media failed to discover it. The girl was a daughter of his mother’s fellow ex-Miss Korean contestant, a rich and musically talented young lady who played piano as her main instrument.

“Junsu, do you know a pianist who can help us? You’re a singer, right?” asked Levay suddenly.

“Umm… Park Yoochun…?” he said uncertainly. But even if he came up with the idea, he himself couldn’t help but disagree. Yoochun was super busy with his drama schedule and JYJ activities. He might stop by the rehearsal from time to time just to show his support for Junsu, but it was almost impossible for him to take an actual part.

“Hm, I think… Yoochun is busy, isn’t he?”

“He is,” Junsu nodded. He responded to people’s saying mainly by body gestures in those recent days, since the sore throat he had was getting more and more serious.

Levay must’ve noticed it too, because later he asked, “Have you seen the doctor? We don’t want our Mozart’s voice to get worse, do we?”

“Ukh… Of course, I’ll try my best to recover soon… But, never mind, we need a pianist as soon as possible,” said Junsu.

“Well, what I’m thinking about is a hidden talent, someone who is qualified enough but has never worked professionally before. But of course, it will be hard for him to adjust the musical style. Junsu, what do you think?”

‘Daehee will be perfect’,thought Junsu.

***

Later that night, Junsu had stood up in front of his girl’s door with a bouquet of golden flowers in his hands and a wide smile on his lips. He missed her. There had been a month since their last meeting, due to Junsu’s hectic schedule and Daehee’s routine as…

‘Wait a minute… what does she do?’thought Junsu.

Junsu’s girlfriend, to be accurate, was very much a socialite. Crawling from club to club every single night and using up her days by money-spending was half of her daily routines. She used her father’s money to the max to get into the upper-class society. Even she knew celebrities and public figure more than Junsu did. If it wasn’t because of his mother, Junsu might never meet her. But her bright personality had attracted Junsu. Despite of her money-wasting habit, she was always honest and straightforward, a kind of traits Junsu didn’t see very often due to his superstar status.

“Jagiya…,” said Junsu happily once Daehee opened her door.

“Oppa!!” squealed the younger girl. She jumped excitedly to his embrace. “I’m missing you…”

“Yeah, I miss you, too,” answered Junsu. “Here, I got something for you.”

He gave her the flowers he had prepared. But it didn’t seem to do a favor for Daehee, since she furrowed her forehead.

“Chrysanthemums?” she asked. “Why not roses? You know I love roses.”

“But they’re beautiful, aren’t they?”

Junsu’s heart felt so full, even if Daehee didn’t like the flowers very much. He scanned the face of his girlfriend to notice how she seemed brighter and more flawless. Every little thing in her was perfect; her straight, long, brown hair, her milky skin, her bright eyes, and her pinkish lips. She stood 172 cm in height and she had that model-like figure. With a pair of shorts on, her long, slender legs were exposed prettily.

‘Perfection is before my eyes,’thought Junsu.

“How is your day, Daehee-ah?” asked Junsu lovingly once they both had settled down in her living room. She averted her gaze from the vase, where she was arranging the flowers, to give Junsu a smile.

“Not bad,” she answered. “There’s a new shop in town, did you know? God, they have the very original collection of Dolce & Gabbana, can you believe it? Now I mustn’t travel abroad just to buy a wallet... And I gotta buy something to match my new Valentino night gown. There’s a company dinner next month, I’ve bought two or three gowns in advance, just in case I can’t find proper accessories, I really hope I don’t have to buy another stuff from internet, I really hate waiting. It will be faster if I travel directly to Paris or Milan than ordering through internet, they deliver things so slowly, they should’ve learnt…”

The next words were lost in blur for Junsu. Daehee continued blabbering about the shopping mall, about her father’s company dinner, and her friend’s birthday one week later, where she had planned a pool party.

“…I guess I need to visit tanning salon as well, white is just boring and plain for me…,” she sighed.

“Oh, come on, you’re pretty with your flawless skin,” said Junsu. He was an entertainer, yet he never got his girlfriend’s idea of looking exotic.

“Tsk, you’re lying! Bronze skin is in, do you know that? You mustn’t know that kind of thing! Every artist in Hollywood does want their skin to look darker, it emits ier and more glamorous aura-”

“What I meant was you’re pretty just they way you are, baby. Should be happy with… uhk…”

There lost his voice again. For a moment, Junsu couldn’t say anything properly, because he felt that kind of choking feeling in his throat. He cleared his throat for several times before trying back to speak again, yet he failed, to which Daehee responded by giving him her underestimating stare.

“So it’s true that you’re having laryngitis? You’re a singer, oppa, you should’ve known how to cure it, shouldn’t you? Why did you let yourself to be in this situation? Go visit the doctor at least!”

“I will,” said Junsu once he found his raspy voice back. “I thought I’ll recover soon, but…”

He let out some loud coughs. Daehee didn’t say or do a thing to help her boyfriend. She eyed him suspiciously instead, while wondering why on earth she ever had Junsu as her man. Dating him felt like dating a five-year old boy in Daehee’s opinion. She thought with that charisma he had, those achievements, and the iness he always performed on stage, going out with Kim Junsu would feel like the best thing on earth. She had always imagined how he would bring her to luxurious places she had never been in, but their date turned out to be just normal, if it wasn’t embarrassing for her. Dating Kim Junsu meant normal and boring picnic in amusement park, where he would get shaky just by riding a roller coaster, or watching football match on TV, or spending an hour for video-chatting while he was in Japan. Dull.

“Get some water, then,” said Daehee to the older man, who later walked rather with coughs than feet to her mini-kitchen. But there was no water in her fridge. Once Junsu opened it, he found nothing lighter than whiskey.

“Jagi, you drink whiskey?” he asked in annoyance. Junsu himself avoided to drink alcohol ever since he was a little boy, so it shocked him to found numerous bottles of hard liquor in his girlfriend’s kitchen.

“N-n-no, it’s my friend’s, oppa…,” answered Daehee. She quickly stepped to the kitchen to cover the fridge from Junsu’s suspicious eyes.

“Friend? Why do you put it here? Jagi, you know hard liquor isn’t good for our health, right? Maybe you should tell your friend about it.”

“Oh, come on, oppa, I’m not a baby girl anymore. Even if I drank it, nothing bad would happen. I take a sip, not more, just to keep me warm. Winter’s coming, so…”

“I can’t believe it,” Junsu shook his head.

“Oppa, what do you mean?” demanded Daehee. “What’s wrong with me keeping some bottles in my fridge? My fridge, oppa!”

“I thought you know better, Daehee-ah,” said Junsu in disappointment. “I’m leaving now.”

He gave a soft kiss on her forehead, but that didn’t calm the anger inside Daehee. While Junsu made his way to her door, she shouted, “To hell with you, Kim Junsu!! I’m living my life the way I want it!!”

Junsu stopped at the door and sighed. His hand had already reached the knob. His excitement to invite Daehee to join him as pianist was long lost. He had even forgotten what he was doing there aside of having another fight with her, a fight due to the wide, deep gap between them.

“Yeah, just get out of here!!! I don’t need a coward as my boyfriend!!”

‘I should’ve known you’ll never understand me, jagiya,’Junsu’s heart whispered in pain as he closed her door.

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Guys, I'm really, really sorry for abandoning this fic. I really hope this chapter makes it up to you. Tell me what you think in comment box below, please? Thanks for your support :))

And Jun-chan, congratulations for Tarantallegra!! Daebak!!!