Chapter 15:  Good Night

A/N: the song for this chapter is “Falling Slowly” from the movie Once.

They didn’t stay at the beach for long. When everyone collectively realized that Yonghwa had gone back to the van, the frolicking and fun ended. The ride back was just as quiet as the ride up, but everyone stayed awake. Yonghwa, who had been sitting in the driver’s seat listening to music—Korean music finally—had driven them back to the city.

Jungshin and Sooyoung chose to be the couple in the back this time, while Hyoyeon sat in between Minhyuk and Jonghyun. Seohyun embarrassing sat in the front, where she and Yonghwa kept stealing awkward side glances, and not the good awkward. Several times she wanted to say something, to him, to anyone in the van, but she felt like she had ruined everything. Because of her, her unnies couldn’t get closer to the guys, and Minhyuk had been left out. Yonghwa had wasted a night on liking her.

Maybe there would be no friendship between them.

When they finally reached her dorm, she felt relieved. She wanted to go upstairs, fall into bed, and pull the covers over her head. Tightly.

Everyone got out of the van and stood in a circle to say goodbyes. The morning air was chilly, but the sun was creeping up, large and wide.

“Yooonghwa,” Sooyoung said musically, “it was good seeing you.”

“Yeah,” added Hyoyeon, shoving him lightly. “I can happily say I spent the night with the handsome CN Blue.”

“We have more to say, I think,” said Jonghyun. “A long night with SNSD”.

“It’s sad though, right?” said Jungshin. “I feel closer to everyone. This seems like it’s the last time we’ll do this.”

“Closer? You and Sooyoung were holding hands,” laughed Hyoyeon. “Of course you feel closer, Jungshin-chingoo.”

“It was fun,” Sooyoung grinned at him, squeezing his hand.

“I know it ends tonight, but—“ Jungshin hesitated, “If even for friendship, can I have Noona’s phone number?”

“Dae, of course. I’d like yours too,” Sooyoung replied. Both took out their cell phones.

“You’ve got my number, right?” said Jonghyun to Hyoyeon, who nodded.

“Text often. You too Minhyuk,” she patted him on the shoulder.

“Ok, Noona,” said Minhyuk. 

When Sooyoung and Jungshin were finished exchanging numbers, Sooyoung kissed him on the cheek. “Call me whenever you need Noona for anything. Or just to talk.”

“Dae!” Jungshin smiled brightly, sweeping his bangs out of his face. 

Seohyun longed to go inside. She couldn’t bare this any longer. Everyone was so comfortable, maybe too comfortable, and the person who was her comfort was standing too far. Yonghwa, too, was watching all of this with a frowning expression.

“Oh, poor Minhyuk. We should’ve taken care of you better. You’re too cute to pass up the opportunity. Right, Sooyoung?” Hyoyeon asked, advancing on him.

“Oh, I think so,” Sooyoung began to advance too. Minhyuk’s eyes went wide and he backed up, but they both threw themselves onto him in a hug. Hyoyeon happily placed a small kiss on his cheek. Minhyuk began to blush furiously.

“Yah! You know what I told you,” said Jonghyun sternly. He leaned down, offering his cheek to Hyoyeon, but she pushed him away.

“Pabo!” she laughed.

He offered it again, and very quickly, she complied with a kiss.

Just then, Yonghwa approached her. “Seohyun.”

She turned toward him a little too fast. “Dae?”

He sighed and put on a smile. Seeing him do so almost made her cry. “It was a good night. Thanks for calling us.”

Calling you, she thought.

“Of course,” she replied, forcing her own smile. “We should keep in touch this time.”

“I’d like that,” he nodded.

“Good night,” she said.

“Good night.”

She turned toward the boys. “Jonghyun Oppa, Chingoos! It was fun, right?”

“Dae! Call us again,” cheered Jungshin. “Honestly.”

Everyone bowed and waved goodbye, and Seohyun and her unnies and Yonghwa and his dongsaengs headed the opposite way to the van. Right before she reached the doors, Yonghwa called out to her.

“Hyun, wait! There’s this movie called Once,” he breathed. “And in the movie, these two people meet through music, and they fall in love more and more with each song. But at the end of the movie, after their job is done together, the girl decides to go back to someone else, even though she doesn’t love him. And the guy goes off to make his dream come true.”

His voice was growing hoarse, and she would’ve scolded him for talking so much in the cold had she not been enthralled in whatever he was trying to explain to her.

“We live our dream everyday, and I refuse to let go of that life, but I don’t want you with someone else after we’ve made this beautiful music together, after we’ve opened our hearts.”

Everyone watched them intently. She could almost hear Hyoyeon and Sooyoung’s reeling thoughts. Jungshin, Minhyuk, and Jonghyun’s faces faded into the background.

“Oppa, I don’t understand.”

“I’m saying I love you,” he confessed. “I’m saying to not be a fool. What is your heart telling you?”

She started to answer, but he stopped her. “No, don’t answer until you’ve listened to it and learned it, and then speak.”

“Oppa, I’m sorry,” she replied quietly.

He scoffed and blinked away what looked like tears. “Ok. Go inside, it’s cold. It was nice to meet with you again.” His tone was controlled, she noted, but it was clear he was trying not to get choked up. He looked at Sooyoung and Hyoyeon. “Take care of her please.”

She waved goodbye again to Jungshin, Minhyuk, Jonghyun and who smiled politely at her but it was not the friendship smile she was used to.

Once the boys were back in their van and out of earshot and they were in the apartment lobby, Hyoyeon smacked Seohyun hard on her arm. “What is the matter with you?”

“Ow! Unnie!”

“He just confessed to you in the middle of a street with all of us looking on, and you tell him that you don’t understand and sorry!” She shouted.

“He deserves the truth,” Seohyun said quietly.

“Yeah, and you didn’t give it to him,” replied Sooyoung. She had never seen her unnies look so disapprovingly at her the way they were now.

Seohyun felt herself about to cry.

“We don’t know what to do with you, Hyunnie. How old are you now? You’re not that little girl singing nursery rhymes anymore. It’s ok for you to love someone.” Sooyoung grunted and stormed toward the elevator.

They rode up in complete silence, her unnies focusing on anything other than her. She thought about Yonghwa driving home and how much she had probably embarrassed him in front of everyone.

He had told her that he loved her and had meant it. She had saw it in his eyes and understood that much. But what he had asked of her, could she really do it? It was like her book was teaching her. The decision should be made with both the heart and mind, and right now, both were thrown into chaos and sadness.

The three of them entered into their dorm quietly to find Yuri asleep on the couch. She must’ve returned from her drama and collapsed right there in exhaustion. The smallest noise of Sooyoung shutting the door made her sit straight up.

“Where have you guys been all night?” she asked, blinking and rubbing her eyes.

“We had dates,” Sooyoung responded with a yawn.

“With who? You took Maknae along?” Yuri pointed mystically at Seohyun.

“She had a date too,” Hyoyeon shuffled toward their room tiredly.

“With who?”  Yuri’s face lit up. “Don’t tell me, Jinwoon-ah?”

“Annio, not him,” Seohyun heard herself say rather forcefully. Her three unnies looked at her.

“Then who?”

“It doesn’t matter. She made sure to tell him she wasn’t interested,” Hyoyeon said somberly, turning away from Seohyun. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” Sooyoung echoed.

“Goodnight,” called Yuri in English. Seohyun sat down miserably beside her on the couch, and Yuri stood.

“Unnie, where are you going?” Seohyun pouted.

Yuri looked at her confusingly. “To bed. Where else? Goodnight, Maknae.” Then she disappeared down the hall.

“But it’s morning,” Seohyun uttered, falling back into the couch.

A/N: The story is coming to a close everyone :(. ONE more chapter, and it’s not that long. It will be posted late on Tuesday night. Please anticipate it :)  

If you remember, Once was the movie that the first song they played/sang together “Falling Slowly” came from. I watched the movie a long time ago and really liked it (but it’s very slow paced), but I hated the ending. When I first started watching Yongseo’s “We Got Married”, after they sang that song, I definitely saw a parallel between them and the two main characters in the movie. That’s what made me stick around to see where their relationship would lead :)