#9irls6eneration Special

Young drove fast but safe. And he was relieved to see the Jung residence looming up in the distance. Perhaps, there would be a chance that they could dodge Krystal’s father. It was strange, their predicament. He never thought that he would end up in a relationship that was under so much scrutiny but life always had its way of making things interesting. Fortunately for them, the entire Jung household staff was rooting for them and they helped them a lot. Just like in this case.

He drove round to the back. There was a little backdoor that could only be opened from the inside but the butler was there to open it, having received the call Krystal made to inform him of her impending arrival.

“Goodnight, babe. Call me when you’re safe in your room.”

“Bye, Young.”

He watched as Krystal slipped out of his car and disappeared behind the backdoor. A sigh found its way out of his system and that’s when he realized just how tensed up he was. It was stressful, dating like that. And so ironic that he’d date a girl who had a curfew. A curfew. Like Cinderella or something. After all the girls he had hung out with all day, all night, here he was with a Cinderella. Or Krysterella, rather.

Well, technically, it wasn’t an official curfew that her father had cast in stone but with his hawk eyes trained on them, it was as good as a curfew in his opinion. But it was something that he was willing to live with. It was not a problem. The only problem would be if her father didn’t approve of him and forbade them from seeing each other. That would be the problem.

~~~~~

Something was wrong. He could sense it. Had her father caught her? Oh no. Were they going to end up like Romeo and Juliet? He was prepared to fight to the end if that was the case. But he wouldn’t allow anyone to die for anyone. It was going to be Romeo and Juliet with a happy ending. Yes, it was. A happy ending.

If this was him months ago, he might not have had the confidence to say that he was the man for Krystal but now, several months later, he was confident of it. He and Krystal belonged together. They were made for each other. He might have helped her in her hour of need and ‘saved’ her as she often said, but it wasn’t just a one way street. She had saved him too.

She had saved him from a life of aimlessness. She had saved him from a messy web of relationships with woman after woman. And ultimately, she had saved him from getting into a marriage with someone he didn’t necessarily love—something that he had been resigned to from the start—and now, he truly believed that he had a shot at real happiness with the women he loved from the bottom of his heart.

The happiness was unbelievable. Incredible. Unrivalled by any other. Just seeing Krystal made his heart do weird flips and jumps. Being close to her made his blood race around in circles like happy bees and touching any part of her gave him the most intense tingles all over. It was IN-CRE-DI-BLE.

But right now, he was worried sick. Krystal hadn’t called or texted him yet. That could only mean one thing. One bad thing.

~~~~~

“I don’t want you to see him anymore.”

“But Daddy—”

“I WILL NOT LET MY DAUGHTER DATE SOMEONE WHO MAKES HER GO HOME THROUGH A BACKDOOR!!!”

Krystal was shocked into silence by her father’s outburst. And all she could do was curse inwardly, the misfortune of having forgotten the time and landing herself in this predicament. She’d always been careful to return home at a suitable time. So had Young. But this one time when they got carried away…her father had to be right there to pounce on her. Darn it!

Her heart had literally stopped when she saw her father standing a distance away from the backdoor. Her butler could only look at her apologetically. It was obvious enough that he hadn’t had a choice in the matter. So she had smiled at her butler, grateful for his help all this time. But now, it was time to face the music. It was hers alone to face.

“Daddy…I’m sorry.” Krystal felt truly sorry for slipping up and getting into this mess.

“You shouldn’t be! It’s him! Why are you apologizing for him!” Her father was absolutely livid. “I told him to keep his hands off you! I told him to take care of you! I warned him!”

“It’s not all him.” Krystal was beginning to feel a little exasperated. Why was her father so dead set against Young? What had he done to deserve this?! Yes, it was true that he had had his way with many, many women before but all that was past. History. Gone. “You can’t just put this on him. I’m to be blamed too.”

“You’re young. You’re just beginning to date. You won’t even know if he’s taking advantage of you or not!”

“I’m not that dumb!”

“That’s what all young girls think. You think you know everything. You think you know men. But you don’t. You don’t know what the men are thinking.”

“Daddy, Young isn’t like that.”

“Of course you would say that. You’re blinded by his charms. He knows exactly what to do.”

“It’s not like that. Please trust me. I know what I’m doing.”

“Soojung-ah, you can’t trust him so soon. You can’t.”

“We’ve been together for months now. We’re serious about each other.”

“Soojung-ah—”

“Daddy,” Krystal interjected firmly, “I know you love me and want to protect me from harm. But you have to accept that you can’t. If I’m meant to be hurt by Young, then I will be, no matter what you do. But right now, my heart belongs to him. And his, to me. He’s been treating me really well. I think it’s incredible that he went from a new girl every other week to sticking to one girl for months. I don’t know how he did it but he is true to me. And maybe he was only the way he was because of his circumstances. So that isn’t what he’s really like at all. This. This is the real him. He’s a gentleman and a wonderful boyfriend. I’m very lucky that he’s my first. So please, give us some space. And have some faith in us. One day, I will be a very happy Mrs. Choi. As happy as unnie is as Mrs. Kwon.”

Krystal looked straight into her father’s eyes unblinkingly. Unwaveringly. Mentally imploring him to understand. To believe. And it was a great relief for her when her father sighed heavily.

“You…you and Sooyeon are all grownup now. Neither of you need me anymore.”

He looked dejected as he spoke, and Krystal’s heartstrings were tugged. Hard.

“Oh Daddy…” She stepped towards her father with her arms wide open and engulfed him in a big hug. He hugged her back and they stayed that way for a while.

~~~~~

Young was just about to pull his hair out and drive to the Jung residence to find out if Krystal was okay when she called.

“Krys! Oh my gosh. I was worried sick about you. What took you so long to call me?”

“I had a little…talk with Daddy.”

Young could tell from the tone of her voice that her talk with her father hadn’t exactly gone down too easily.

“Are you…alright?”

“Yeah…we kind of ironed things out. But I’m feeling a little bit…down.”

“If I were there, I’d give you a big hug. But since I’m not…go slip under your covers and snuggle.”

“Okay. I’ll get changed first.”

“Put me on speaker.”

“Okay.”

Young put his phone on speaker as well and headed to his bedroom to get changed. It didn’t take him very long and when he was done and lying on his bed, he could hear the rustling of fabric as Krystal changed into her nightwear. Images of her being topless flooded his mind and he berated himself for thinking about her in that way when she was downcast.

“Hey,” Krystal was back. “I’m snuggling right now.”

“Good. Get all warm and comfy.”

“I wish you were here with me.”

“Me too, me too.” Young smiled. “So, tell me, what did your father say to you?”

“He was very angry at first and didn’t want me to see you anymore.”

Young bolted up straight like an arrow in panic. “He didn’t want you to see me anymore?!”

“Relax, chill. I said ‘at first’, in the end, I managed to talk him around.”

“So he’s not mad at you?” Young’s heart was still beating too quickly from the shock he got earlier.

“No. He might still be mad at you though.”

“What?! Really?!”

Krystal’s giggle came through the phone and Young heaved a sigh of relief again. “Krys! Please don’t freak me out. My heart can’t take that many shocks, you know.”

“Aww, Young, I love you.”

Young’s heart didn’t get any rest at all upon hearing her say those three awesome words.

“I love you too, Krys.” Young kissed her through the phone and he could hear her kissing him back. That led to the silliest grin forming on his face and it wouldn’t go away. He was just elated. And again, he was astounded over how something as simple as a kiss over the phone could jet him straight up to cloud nine just like that. He’d never felt this sort of bliss with any other girl before. “I love you, I love you, I love you.”

Krystal giggled again. “Is that all we’re going to say to each other?”

“I don’t mind hearing you say it.”

“I like hearing you say it too,” Krystal’s tone bore a trace of shyness and it set his heart pumping at double speed. Oh gosh. The things Krystal could do to his heart were by no means healthy. At this rate, he’d have a heart attack very soon.

“So I’ll see you in a few hours. Feeling better now?”

“Yes.”

“Great. We’d better go to sleep then. Goodnight, babe.”

“Goodnight, Young.”

~~~~~

Tiffany couldn’t keep her smile off her face. Her lips had curled into a smile and refused to uncurl. After their first ‘shower’, Taeng had insisted on cleaning her legs properly and it didn’t take very much more for her to seduce him into going for another round with her in there. So, as they returned to their seats, she mentally thanked Jessica profusely for her foresight in arranging their shower slots back-to-back so that they had more time in the shower together.

And as she thought about her trip with Taeng, she came to the conclusion that it had been a very fruitful trip for the both of them, to say the least.

~~~~~

A couple of Sundays later, Yoong was acting like an excited puppy and Sunny could only smile and shake her head at the extent of his excitement. She had slept over for the night and right from the instant Yoong opened his eyes, he’d been extremely exuberant until now. However, she thought it was very sweet too, for today was the day that marked their eighteenth month as a couple. And to celebrate, Yoong had bought them tickets to the hottest concert in town!

He was definitely the more romantic person between the two of them, she thought. For while she was pretty stoked for the day, her level of excitement wasn’t as high as his. Neither did she do much of the planning for their anniversary. Yoong was the one who planned everything. And that was one of his lovable qualities. His sentimental side.

~~~~~

They took their seats and waved their light sticks excitedly. The venue was already filled up completely with fans who were shouting fan chants at the top of their voices. The energy was high and went through the completely when the stars appeared on stage.

“Shinhwa! Shinhwa!” Sunny found herself yelling along with Yoong who was already on his feet, waving his light stick with all his might.

The concert was entertaining and by the end of it all, Sunny had lost her voice from screaming too much for the past couple of hours. Yoong too, was in no better state than her and the two of them laughed at their hoarse voices when they tried talking to each other.

“You sound like an old man, Yoongie.” Sunny giggled.

“Why, hello grandma,” Yoong quipped with a charming grin, “this old man here thinks your voice is kind of y. Wanna hang out tonight?”

“Mmm…for an old man you look pretty good. Perhaps, I can consider hanging out with you.”

“I’ve got a fun night planned for us, bunny.”

“I know. Knowing you, you’re totally going out of your way for this.”

Yoong patted his chest proudly. “That’s because I’m the best boyfriend a girl can ever have.”

Sunny grinned. “I’d have to agree.” And she gave him a peck on his cheek.

“Sunny!” a man’s voice yelled out from behind them.

Sunny turned to look and grinned immediately. “Yul oppa!”

“Hey Sunny! Hi Yoong!” Yul chirped as Taeng appeared from behind him.

“Oh hi Taeng oppa!” Sunny greeted the shorter man cheekily and giggled when he smiled shyly. She could have sworn that he still hadn’t forgotten how she had blackmailed him into kissing Tiffany at the restaurant more than a year ago, from the way he looked at her rather apprehensively.

“We didn’t know that you guys were coming to this concert too or we could have come together,” said Yul.

Yoong grinned cheekily at that and replied, “Sorry pal, we would’ve said no anyway. It’s our eighteenth month anniversary today. We’ve been together for fifteen months! Can you believe it?”

“That sounds wonderful, bro! Congratulations!” Yul smiled sincerely and gave Yoong a hug.

“Thanks, Yul,” said Yoong. “What about you two? A little bit of bromance going on eh?”

“Just a guys’ night out. Jessica isn’t too keen on very noisy places and she’s pregnant so she didn’t come along.”

“And Tiffany’s been busy with work again after we came back from our holiday two weeks ago.”

“I see, I see. Well, we’ve got to get going. I’ve got more activities planned for us tonight. Let’s hang out sometime, Yul, Taeng.”

“Yes, we should. I’ll arrange for one,” said Yul.

“Alright, bye guys.” Yoong smiled as he waved.

“Bye, Yul oppa! Bye Taeng!” chirped Sunny as the two men left.

Once they were gone, Yoong turned to Sunny and said, “Let’s go home. The real fun begins there.”

And home they went.

~~~~~

“Yoongie. I’m not wearing that.” Sunny shook her head vehemently and pushed the suit away from her.

“Oh, come on. I’m already in my suit,” Yoong pleaded.

“I’m not wearing it. It’s too hot in there. The summer heat is killing me.”

“Aww…but it’s our anniversary…”

“I don’t mind taking off my clothes but I don’t want to put on that suit.”

“But I want to do the Care Bear song and dance with you…” Yoong’s shoulders drooped in disappointment and Sunny heaved a sigh. She could never say no to Yoong when he did that.

“Alright. I’ll get into the suit.”

“Yay!” cheered Yoong as Sunny trudged into the room to change into the suit.

~~~~~

“Care bears countdown! Four, three, two, one!” Yoong chanted and they began dancing to the tune of the Care Bear theme song. They stepped from side to side and sang, “Who’s that coming from somewhere up in the sky? Moving fast and bright as a firefly! Just when you think that trouble’s gonna pounce, who’s gonna be there when it really counts? Do the Care bears’ countdown. And send a wish out through the air. Just do the Care bears’ countdown. Just when you need them, they’ll be there. Don’t be afraid when trouble’s brewing in your heart. If you can dream just send out a wish out in the dark and do the Care bears’ countdown. Five, four, three, two, one!”

Then, they looked at each other, nodded and yelled, “Care bear stare!” and pushed their tummies out.

“Alright. Happy now?” Sunny asked Yoong impatiently.

“Yes, I’m happy now, Funshine bear.” Yoong patted Sunny’s ‘tummy’ which had a picture of a smiling sun on it. “And this heart here is for you,” he declared as he stuck his ‘tummy’ out at Sunny, showing her the huge red heart that was in the middle of it.

“Well, if we’re done with the dancing and everything, I’d like to get this suit off. I’m melting inside.”

“You can take it off now.”

“Great.” Sunny first removed the bear head, followed by the body suit. Yoong’s eyes bulged and jaw dropped the moment the suit hit the floor.

“S-Sunny…” he stuttered.

Sunny merely grinned lopsidedly and flashed him a come-hither look. “Let’s not waste any more time. Come and get me, Tenderheart bear.” And with that, she turned around and ran into the bedroom stark with Yoong the Care bear chasing after her the best he could in his suit.

~~~~~

Taeng returned home to see Tiffany working hard at the computer.

“You’re back.” Tiffany stood up and walked to him. They hugged, kissed and smiled at each other. “How was the concert?” she asked. “Was it fun hanging out with Yul?”

Taeng nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! We cheered and did the fan chants and everything!”

Tiffany giggled. “Sounds like a great night out!”

“Yes, it was! And we met Yoong and Sunny too.”

“Oh? Those two kids? They were at the concert too?”

Taeng nodded. “Mhmm! And they were celebrating their eighteenth month anniversary. They’re so romantic.” Then, he pouted sadly. “We didn’t celebrate our anniversaries…”

“Aww,” Tiffany cooed as her heart went out to him, “don’t be sad…we can always celebrate our sixteenth month together.”

“It’s our sixteenth month already?” Taeng was surprised.

“Yes, it is.”

“Wow!”

“Come to think of it, it’s been a really long time, hasn’t it?”

Taeng nodded vigorously and Tiffany smiled.

“We should go out for a nice dinner to celebrate.”

“Let’s do it when you’re free.”

“I’ll make time for us, Taeng. You’re always more important to me than work, you got that?”

Taeng nodded happily. “Got it!”

~~~~~

“Baby, I’m back…” Yul whispered as he returned to the bedroom they shared.

“Yul…” Jessica’s sleepy voice replied.

The room was dark so he switched on the bedside lamp and sat on the bed beside Jessica.

“Was it nice?” she asked drowsily.

“It was fun. We cheered a lot. Yelled a lot. And guess who we met after the concert?”

“Who?” Jessica responded disinterestedly.

“Yoong and Sunny.”

“Oh? They were there too?”

“They were celebrating their eighteenth month anniversary.”

“That’s nice.”

“Remember our first year anniversary?” Yul asked fondly as the memories came rushing back to him. “We had such a great time.”

“Great dinner, movie, stroll and .”

Yul laughed. “You make it sound like any other day.”

“Okay, you did give me a very nice bouquet of flowers.”

“Sica…baby…what will I do with you?”

“Sleep with me.”

Yul grinned. “Sleep with you?”

Jessica smacked his thigh and he groaned in mock pain. In truth, he only did it sometimes to make her feel sorry for hitting him but it didn’t really hurt that much. And sure enough, she was sorry.

“I’m sorry. Does it hurt?” she asked as she rubbed the spot that she smacked.

“It hurts a little.”

“I’m sorry.” Jessica continued to rub his thigh and he started to heat up a little inside.

“Baby,” he cooed and bent to kiss her, his hands slipping under her nightgown as he did. But she squealed and pushed his hand away.

“Not tonight.”

“But baby—”

“I’m tired, Yul. And sleepy. Let’s just sleep.”

Yul sighed. “Okay. I’ll get changed and sleep.”

“I’ll wait for you.”

~~~~~

“And that’s all for the day! Good job everyone!” the dance instructor announced and Hyun was about to turn around when the instructor called him. “Hyun!”

“Yes, Instructor Kim?”

“You need to stay behind with me. There’s a step that I want to work on with you.”

The other students snickered cheekily as they picked up their bags and left and Hyun blushed. It was no secret that Hyoyeon was his girlfriend and her ‘extra’ lessons with him were of a slightly different nature.

Hyoyeon shut and locked the door after everyone left and he stood awkwardly in the middle of the dance studio. He knew what was coming up next.

“Put your hands on me.”

Hyun blushed a deeper red as he held her waist with his right and grasped her hand with his left. She stood dangerously close to him, their hips plastered together.

They were learning the Rumba. A love dance. Why in the world she had chosen to teach him a dance like this was beyond him, however. Ever since the hip , she’s been teaching him more dances involving the hips and this was the latest. Distinctive side-to-side hip movements were the focus. Exaggerated hip movements. And it was all very difficult to him. Especially when he had to keep his upper body still. As still as possible.

And all of these was made even harder by her proximity to him. He was shy and a little embarrassed when he watched some Rumba dances to learn more about the dance. The moves were so sensuous! But he tried his best and they were swaying their hips together to the beat of the sensuous music when loud cheers were heard from the outside.

“GO HYUNNIE! GO!” his classmates cheered and he froze as did Hyoyeon.

The both of them stepped away from each other awkwardly and it was only when the cheers died down and all was silent again that they looked at each other again.

“I think we need to find some other place to practice,” Hyun began.

“But if we’re so shy while dancing together, we’re not going to have a shot at doing our dance in front of an audience.”

“An audience?”

Hyoyeon nodded. “Why else do you think we’re doing the Rumba? I’m invited to compete in the Latin Rumba dance competition and I have to dance with a student.”

“Oh. Did you tell me this before?”

“I did. I told you about this when I visited you at your office last week.”

Hyun thought for a bit. He could recall Hyoyeon’s visit but he couldn’t recall her mentioning any of this. Was it because he was busy and wasn’t listening properly? Anyhow, it was too late to back out of it, he supposed.

“Well, when is the competition?”

“We have a couple of weeks to practise.”

“Only a couple of weeks?!”

“Don’t worry. With me as your teacher, you’ll be very good. We’ll practise every day. Every night.”

Hyun wasn’t sure if he’d be able to live up to Hyoyeon’s expectations but he would try his darnedest to do it well.

“I’ll do my best, Hyoyeonie.”

“I know you will, Hyunnie.”

~~~~~