Chapter 2 - The First Meeting
You & Me...Worlds Apart
#2
As the lights went down and the roar of the crowd had died down, Gyuri finally released a much awaited weary sigh. She immediately kicked off her pair of killer high heels, which almost gave her severe cramps onstage, and opted for a simple pair of comfortable sneakers. Their waiting room had been busier than ever with people coming in and out, delivering gifts from fans and whatnot, oh the life she has! She slyly smiled at the staff that caught her tiredly watching from the mirror and turned around for one of her members.
There’s a satisfying smile on each of their faces but also an obvious exhaustion, making the Leader feel bad deep inside. She walked behind Seungyeon and pressed her palms down onto the latter’s shoulder, massaging it in a circular motion. A mumbled thank you reached Gyuri’s ear and she pressed on a little harder, the only way she can thank her member for working this hard.
She continued massaging as Seungyeon closed her eyes and she felt a hand touching her own shoulders. Through the mirror, a smiling JiYoung winked at her and copied what she was doing to Seungyeon. At every press and move of the makane’s little fingers, Gyuri’s exhaustion slowly fades away; her muscles relaxing little by little.
“You did great tonight, Unnie,” JiYoung said, staring at her admiringly in the mirror.
“So did you,” she took one of her hands from Seungyeon’s shoulder and patted the one on her own. “Everyone did a great job.”
“KARA on the parking lot now!” From the door, they caught a glimpse of their manager walking out holding cases of their stuff.
“Come on, time to say hello to our bed,” she patted JiYoung’s hand once again and lightly shook Seungyeon, who was half-asleep.
They gathered the rest of their things and followed their manager. But instead of walking ahead from the rest like she always do, this time she chose to fall behind, her eyes searching for that certain someone that’s been in her mind ever since the show begun.
Jung Yunho, where in the world are you?
And as if the said man had been thinking the same, around the corner, a mysterious looking guy leaning against the wall came up to her and whispered in a low voice which she was very sure she recognized, “Wait for my call.”
And with that, he sauntered off, leaving Gyuri dumbfounded with not much of an explanation. Secretly, he relished that innocent look she made when she was caught off guard. Besides, it had been a few months since they had the opportunity to meet each other at a close proximity. What’s a few more hours, right?
Making his way back to TVXQ’s dressing room, he saw Changmin in a serious discussion with their manager and also a few of the Super Junior guys. Apparently, the guys were trying to coerce the manager into taking them out for a celebratory dinner for the great performance tonight.
“Ah, Manager-hyung~ it’s been a long time since you treat us for dinner. Aren’t we your favorite dongsaengs?” Lee Teuk cheekily tried to persuade their manager. A chorus of agreement echoed from the rest and Yunho felt that perhaps it’s timely for him to make an intervention.
“Well, Lee Teuk hyung does have a point. We did a great performance tonight. Don’t you think we deserve a treat?”
Seeing that it was a request from Yunho, the manager gave a sigh of defeat and finally relented to their pleas. The boys cheered and each one gave him a pat on his back.
“Yunho-shi, DAEBAK!”
The promise of a buffet spread sent the boys into a frenzy and the Super Junior boys rushed back to their dressing rooms in record time to start packing their belongings, leaving Yunho and Changmin alone in the dressing room.
“Where were you?”Changmin asked, while changing into a pair of comfortable jeans and a T-shirt.
“Nowhere.” Yunho replied curtly, maintaining a straight face.
At this, Changmin snickered. “Hyung, you’re a multi-talented guy. But if there is one thing that you at, it has to be lying. Hands down.”
Yunho carried on with putting his belongings into his bag, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. In a way, he felt ashamed of himself. Changmin was like a brother to him, yet he had not once spoken to him about his relationship with Gyuri. Not that he wanted to keep it a secret from his dongsaeng but, he felt somewhat like a hypocrite. All those years since their trainee days and even after debut, Yunho always advised his dongsaengs to focus on their careers. And this, includes the idea of getting involved in a relationship. Hence, for him to be the one to break that, makes him feel unworthy of being a good role model to Changmin.
“Hyung, you don’t have to feel bad you know. Manager-hyung told me about it. You went to see her right?”
Yunho merely nodded, his eyes downcast and apologetic. “Yeah. Changmin, I’m really sorry for not telling you earlier.”
Changmin gave him a pat on his back, indicating that everything is cool between them and that he was okay with it.
“Then why don’t you go meet her later? It’s still pretty early.”
“No, I cant. I asked her manager about her schedule just now. They currently are recording an interview…”
Yunho made a mental note to himself that he probably should not stay out too late with the guys tonight. If he did, he’d be drinking all night and he didn’t want to risk angering the one who would be waiting for his call tonight.
On the ride back to their hotel, Jiyoung didn’t fail to notice the look on their Leader’s face. Gyuri was a mixture of anxiety and anticipation and what had caused her to act in such a way, Jiyoung had no idea. After their interview with the Japanese media, everyone had gone to bed, except for the maknae, who’s currently drinking a glass of hot milk while seated next to Gyuri, who can’t seem to be separated from her cellphone.
The silent monotone sounds coming from the TV gave the atmosphere a little bit of distraction, something for JiYoung to listen to as she hesitantly watch Gyuri from the corner of her eye. The same goes for Gyuri, the TV provided some form of activity to keep her occupied while waiting for her phone to ring.
As the clock struck 12, Jiyoung saw how Gyuri’s unfazed features turned worried. She kept checking her phone for the nth time that night and sighed. She did remember Yunho telling her to wait for his call, but she never thought that she would be waiting this late.
Something in the back of her mind tells her that the guy might have been doing some late schedule. Gyuri recalled what had happened back at the artist waiting rooms, she’s positive that there’s a man who was leaning against the wall and she was 100% sure it had been Yunho, and knowing the guy, he never breaks his promise.
He would call, he will call. She kept on repeating those words like a mantra, silently wishing that her phone would light up with his name flashing across the screen.
A small smile grazed her lips. Upon hiding their relationship, she had listed him as “He” on her contacts, thinking that it won’t attract any attention to whoever might see. But now, she can’t help but to think that it didn’t look suspicious but yet, it does seem slightly suspicious in itself.
The sound of a slight shuffling caught her by surprise and she saw JiYoung standing up to look at her before saying, “Whoever it is unnie, I’m sure it won’t keep you waiting all night.” She smiled, and Gyuri thought that she saw an angel disappearing into the room that belongs to their maknae. The baby of the group whom should be worrying about her own schoolwork was also worrying about her, the group’s leader. Bless her innocent heart.
Gyuri held on to Jiyoung’s words and decided to wait on for the call slightly longer. Whatever it is that was keeping Yunho up this late, she knows that she will listen to his explanation without a doubt. There’s no point in being angry with him if he was really caught up with work. Rather than having an argument, Gyuri decided that she’ll make the most of the time spent with him, for who knows when will they ever get another chance like this.
Thirteen minutes later when Gyuri was on the brink of sleep, Yunho called. Startled by the vibration of her phone, she bolted from her position only to fall on her knees at the sudden sensation of having butterflies flying around happily inside her stomach. She sat back and took in a few breaths, calming the race in her heart as she answered her phone.
At the first note of his ‘Hello’, Gyuri almost shed a tear, almost. Few months and she missed him like crazy, all the tiring work that never seemed to end, the new things waiting for her in line. But all of it didn’t mean a thing at this very moment. What matters is that Jung Yunho is talking to her. Finally, Gyuri can hear his voice and she loves it. And even though it seemed unreachable, Gyuri felt like she’s almost there, beside him.
She’s in love, absolutely in love.
Jung Yunho made it seem like everything’s possible if she’s with him. The world of idols, clearly an unhealthy job, but Yunho was there. That time when KARA’s darkest hour came, she wouldn’t make it if not for Yunho, the guy that had suffered much worse than what she had gone through to save the group. Gyuri indeed fell in love with a man who knows how to lead her. A trait she never forgets to mention whenever asked about her ideal type.
“I’m outside,” it came out husky but those two words made everything around her move in a flash.
::End of Chapter 2::
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