Kwon Sun Il (Urban Zapaka) - Promise

Donghae smiled to himself as he held an envelope containing an important letter close to him.

A week ago, he talked to some influential people in another company. He so was close to pulling some strings with his other connections but good thing what he did was already enough and that _________’s talent shined and sufficed.

Donghae showed another label company ________’s audition clip and other few videos of her singing.

He thought that ‘Fluxus music’ would be a better company for her since it would suit her style of music more. That company managed indie artists that now exploded with popularity like Clazziquai, Urban Zakapa, Loveholics and a lot more. Their company released artists that sung songs that were different from the mainstream pop music yet appealable to different kinds of people, matching various genres and relatable to different life stories.

He’s personally friends with the members of the trio of Urban Zakapa and has written songs for them.

Donghae strongly felt that they would be able to take care of ________’s music more, like how she truly envisioned it to be and how he sees her.

He’s not being disloyal to his own management company but he’s just looking out for someone. He actually couldn’t believe that he went to extremes just to get her another shot, a different opportunity. He even inquired with a lawyer he knew first about ________’s contract and loop holes around it that would make it legal for her to transfer to another company as hassle-free as possible.

‘I’m simply doing my job as her mentor. I know how she feels and what she went through. Why would I stop myself from doing something that would be beneficial to her and the music industry? I’m just paying it forward. How should I even give her the news?’ Donghae pondered and got lost in his own thoughts until a voice snapped him back to reality.

“Hey Hae Donghae!” Boa cutely called out to him and hooked her hand around his arm.

Donghae quickly tried to hide the letter-size envelope inside the pocket of his jacket but he was a step too late because Boa already saw it.

“What’s that? You didn’t used to hide things from me.” Boa asked with a small voice making Donghae instantly feel guilty.

“There were just some things I needed to arrange, nothing you should stress yourself with.” Donghae assured her and tried to change the topic.

‘Are you changing…for someone?’ On the inside, Boa's actually startled that Donghae was subtly showing changes in his character and she slightly feared that it was because of a certain girl. Not that Boa would hate or start to be a to that girl because she was never like that but…selfish as it may sound, she asked herself if she was ready to let Donghae go despite her leading him on yet not fully committing to him because of their work and current status. Being best friends…would it truly be enough or should she step it up before he slips from her? She’s had him waiting for her for so long that would it  be too much of a surprise if he really moves on already?

She does love him but not as much as he loves her and she knows it’s not enough.

After a long day at work, _________ was rewarded by being allowed to visit Hongdae on her own. Her group was cooped up for more than half a day at the recording room where they recorded a few demo songs that could be potentially used for their debut. The management was still testing out different songs choices for them to see which would be ‘the one’.

She hasn’t been to the home of her music for so long and despite being tired, she wouldn’t let this chance slip. She missed the place and the people too much that her tiredness was replaced with excitement.

_________ wanted to bring along the other girls so they could see where she came from but they had to apologetically refuse her offer, they really wanted to go with her but they already had prior plans with their family and friends.

Since it was already night and the weather was comfortable, _________ decided that she would start walking towards the direction of her destination. She loved to walk that not only serves as an exercise for her but it also helps her clear her head.

Not too long since she started walking, __________ heard some rowdy guys a few feet behind her talking to themselves quite loudly.

‘Boys will be boys.’ She thought nothing much about it at first and just minded her own business.

“Maybe she’s a singer or trainee or something.” After a while _________ started getting nervous because she had a strong feeling that the two guys walking behind were talking about her and maybe even following her.

_________ took out of her phone and quickly sent messages to her friends in Hondgae, asking if they could meet her halfway. She opted to text them instead of calling right away since she’s unsure of their schedule, they might have started doing a sound check for tonight’s performance already. Her visit to Hongdae was supposed to be a surprise for her friends and but it seems like that plan just got ruined because of the unexpected situation.

Knowing very well that a Friday is a busy night for everyone in Hongdae, _________ wasn’t able to reach her friends through the phone.

“Miss we saw you walking out of AFF. Are you popular?”

_________ didn’t stop walking and pretended not to hear the guys behind her. Feeling more anxious than ever, she didn’t look back nor did she stop walking or even thought of running away, that would probably just trigger them to go after her more.

__________ tried to contact Nichkhun and she was thankful that he answered her call after just a few rings.

“Hey ________. I’m so sorry I can’t talk too long right now. I’m very busy with recording right now, you know that, right? I’ll call you when we take a break.” Nichkhun quickly told _________ before she could even utter ‘Hello’. He disregarded her so fast, was it because he got already what he wanted? Or was he truly too busy?

At this point, __________ was running out of people to call for help, she didn’t even try to call the girls since she didn’t want to risk them all to get in danger.

The guys got gutsier because they continued to verbally harass her while she just continued to walk aimlessly, as long as she still has that distance from them but truthfully, she was running out of time.

She had no other choice but call that one person she wasn’t even sure would do something risky and run far for her.

‘Please...’ _________ prayed as she waited for the person to pick up the phone.

“Hello?”

“Hi. Uhh can you...I mean, where are you now?” _________ stuttered out of anxiousness, she clutched her phone very close to her.

“I’m at the office. What’s going on?” Donghae knew something was odd the moment her name flashed on his phone.

“Uhm…I’m…I kind of need your help right now.” _________ tried to stay calm and did her best not be loud with her voice since she didn’t want to let the ones trailing her know that she’s scared of them nor did she want to agitate them by letting them hear her complain about their presence.

“Miss, come hang out with us.” Donghae clearly heard voices of men coming from ________’s end, he quickly stopped and dropped whatever he was doing as he understood the situation she’s in. Donghae briskly walked towards the exit of the company’s building and held his phone tight since it’s the only thing that’s keeping him connected to her.

“I’ll come and get you. Where are you right now?”

“Really? I’m actually not sure. I walked from AFF and am supposed to head towards Hongdae but there’s a turn I think I missed and…I can’t think straight, I can’t remember the name of the street where I am now.  I just kept on walking and still am walking.” This has never happened to her before and it’s traumatizing her now.

“It’s not very nice to ignore friendly guys.” One of the guys shouted and sniggered.

Donghae got so frustrated because he wanted dearly to rush to where she is but couldn’t run too much because he needed to be careful with his steps, he couldn’t afford making wrong detours and waste precious time.

While still on the phone with _________, Donghae fortunately heard a distinct theme song that he immediately recognized, that’s his main obvious hint to where she is. There was only one restaurant he knew that had that commercial song and they only had one branch in the area.

After hearing that, he made his way to the direction where she exactly is.

He ran as fast as he could while trying to assure _________ that he’ll be with her soon.

“Just stay in brightly lit areas, and if possible always go with the crowd. Don’t make any turns, the alleys are dark there so just keep going forward.”

He ran through the streets because he knew driving there with his car would be useless since he would be stalled by the traffic jam and the people won’t let him enter the busy streets.

________ felt slightly at ease now knowing that Donghae was rushing off to her, but still she felt so scared because the guys’ voices started to get louder, their footsteps getting closer. She could sense their lack of patience with the ‘game’ they were playing…they wanted the real deal now.

_______ got startled and whimpered when she felt an arm drape around her shoulder.

“I’m here. You’ll be okay.” Donghae’s voice soothed her as his arm wrapped around her protectively. Tears escaped from her eyes, her crying due to a mix of feelings from fear and thankfulness to Donghae. Still panting and sweating, he turned his head and looked at the guys who were still looking intently at them. He shot the nuisance guys a glare and that made them stop from following them any longer.

He turned back to ________ and focused on her.

“You found me. You came. Thank you.” She whispered with a shaky voice. She now feels safe in Donghae’s arms. His warmth relieved her.

“You’re limping.” ________ said softly as she noticed Donghae’s walk.

“Just a clumsy stumble.” Donghae simply replied, leaving out the detailed story that he fell a few times and bumped against people because of the way he ran fast to get to her.

“Despite what just happened now, I am a strong girl. You can lean on me so you won’t have to put much pressure on your foot.” ________ raised her hand to hold Donghae’s hand that was resting on her shoulder, she adjusted his arm so that he can comfortably get support from her body. “It’s the least that I can do.” She told him with a weak smile.

Donghae flagged down a cab and told the driver the address to _________’s dorm. He sat beside her at the backseat and asked if she was feeling better.

________ nodded her head and thanked Donghae again.

“Were you able to…” Donghae’s voice faded when he saw that ________ fell asleep, probably due to the stress she got earlier and the fact that she worked all day.

Her head was against the window of the taxi and Donghae found himself suddenly drawn to her. He couldn’t look away, at least not yet.

He didn’t want to think about the circumstances that she would’ve been in if he didn’t find her at the right moment, at the right place. He sighed and just thanked the heavens that they directed him to her. Who knows what would’ve happened and what he would’ve done if he was a minute late.

He felt a subtle tug on his heart when he stared at her too long.

‘What is this girl doing to me?’

Donghae gently woke ________ up when they reached the apartment building. He insisted in walking her back and seeing her off right in front of the group’s apartment.

_________ hugged Donghae tight for a few seconds and again, told him how grateful she is for today. She backed away from him before he could even attempt to wrap his arms around her. She bowed and wished him a good night before SunMi opened the door behind her, eventually ruining their moment.

Donghae’s eyes widened when he saw Boa come out of the elevator that he was waiting in front of.

“OH Donghae! What are you doing here?” Boa stepped out of the elevator and looked at Donghae curiously.

“I…uhm…I came to see you but you were out?” That was obviously a lie. Donghae didn’t even know why he had to lie. This is not right and he knows it.

“Yeah I just got back from a schedule. Do you still want to come and spend some time tonight?”

“Not now. You should rest. Let’s just have dinner this week, okay?” Donghae quickly kissed Boa on the cheek before entering the elevator. He simply waved at her before the doors closed. Boa somehow was dumbfounded at his reaction and knowing him for so long, she knew there was something definitely different. 

Will reply to comments soon ^_^ Hope you enjoyed this chapter. 

Sorry for the errors, wasn't able to proofread