#3

Her hands trembled unconsciously as she stared at the clothes inside her luggage, all the while mentally deciding on which outfit to wear for their brief meeting. She rummaged from an array of pyjamas, to casual clothes and to summer outfits before finally settling on a pair of sweat pants and a baggy hoodie. She decided to put on the first sweat pants which caught her eye and let out a little uncharacteristic squeal before resuming putting on the rest of her outfit. It was evident that she was feeling really excited and even her insides were on a crazy party tonight as she recalled Yunho’s voice in her head. She is practically meeting the guy of every girl’s dreams out there. She’ll be seeing Yunho, her boyfriend, Jung Yunho. The guy that had made such a huge impact to her life, without him knowing. The very same guy that admitted he had asked Eunhyuk, another popular boyband member, for her number. She bet it doesn’t get any more surreal than that.

He is that guy that made Gyuri’s world topsy turvy in so many ways but yet they still managed to find each other at the end of the day.

 Following her mother’s footsteps, Park Gyuri dreamed of becoming a singer and making it big. She wished to be well-known and thus, without her parents’ knowledge, she auditioned at one of Korea’s famous entertainment companies. It wasn’t a difficult process for her, probably because of the looks and talent she possessed. She was sent to practice as soon as the very next day.

In a room of not less than twenty people, Gyuri felt a shiver ran down her spine from the burning stares she was getting. The atmosphere in the training room was neither friendly nor accommodating, and she could practically hear the whispers which ensued once she stepped through the door. All of what was being said reached her ears; some of them were in awe of her beauty while most of those whispers were full of envy and malice with regards to how easy her audition had turned out.

She felt like an outcast, which almost made her gave up. However, if not for the only girl who thought differently than the others and bravely approached her, she would have quitted long ago. Taeyeon was her name, they were of the same height but she had a slightly slimmer frame. She’s cute and charming, and Gyuri immediately liked the girl. She was her only friend, and even if Taeyeon were friends with the other trainees, she chose to stick with Gyuri.

“Because I like your company, and we have a lot in common,” she answered one time during their break when Gyuri asked her why. And after that, Gyuri never questioned anymore and decided to just go with the flow.

It took months and Taeyeon’s persistent efforts before another soul had approached her. After that little progress, eventually everyone accepted Gyuri with smiles. The following days had been more fun and the hard work didn’t felt as severe as before. Being accepted by everyone lifted the weight in her shoulders, and it took a round of laughter from someone’s joke to make her realize that.

But as she indulges in that new chapter of her training year, Gyuri had forgotten what it was like to just sit in the corner and observe. She had forgotten how it felt to have someone staring at you from a far. The little things that she used to feel before, is slowly fading away and it prevented her from noticing the gaze of someone, who was curiously watching her from the open door.

And even before she has the chance to figure out the owner’s eyes, her parents had discovered her little secret. Gyuri was forced to drop out and eventually, changed companies.

 With the memory of her trainee days flashing through her mind, she momentarily lost track of the time. She was supposed to meet Yunho at the parking lot about five minutes ago and at once, she went into high speed mode. She grabbed a brush from the dressing table and proceeded to hurriedly get the tangle out of her hair. Once she was done, she thought it was best to at least apply some minimal makeup. Some lip gloss and light blusher should do the trick. When she felt that she was presentable enough, she rushed out of the door and practically brisk walked to the basement parking lot. All the while, hoping that her boyfriend would not be too annoyed at her tardiness.

 Yunho glanced at the clock in his car’s dashboard. She was late. They were supposed to meet about five minutes ago, and then he would proceed to the location in which he had prepared a romantic candlelight picnic under the stars. He leaned his head against the seat rest and turned up the air-conditioning. It was humid tonight as it had rained only a few hours before. But it would not put a dent in his plans. In fact, it was even better because not many people would be heading to the park at night and thus, the chances of them getting caught by the paparazzi were lower. 

As if on cue, he saw her figure making its way towards his parked car. She had on a simple attire of sweat pants and an oversized hoodie. He really liked how she was really comfortable in her own skin and it was an attractive quality to him. He noticed that she had also applied very minimal make-up, just the way he liked it. Her stage makeup is glamorous and he enjoyed seeing her in her Goddess persona. However, this was what he preferred. He loved witnessing her natural beauty, which was when he thought she looked the most beautiful he had ever seen.

He recalled the first time he saw her. It happened during a music show a few years back. The broadcasting PD had wanted a special collaboration stage between SS501 and KARA that day, since they were sibling groups who were performing during the same promotion cycle. He remembered that Jaejoong had insisted that they paid a visit to DSP artists’ waiting room since he wanted to meet Hyun Joong and give him some words of encouragement. They were best friends after all. Seeing that the dongsaengs were still busy with their makeup and hair, Jaejoong had dragged him all the way down the corridor although he was reluctant. To be honest, he was not particularly close to the SS501 guys like Jaejoong, but he thought that it was only proper of him as a sunbae to show support to the newer groups.

When they had stepped into the waiting room, they were greeted with a bustle of activity. In one corner, a few of the SS501 guys were getting their hair styled, while most of the KARA girls were busy with last minute practice on their choreography. He saw Jaejoong went over to Hyun Joong who was busy going through the lines with a member of KARA. He could not remember her name, but he recalled that he had seen her in a variety show on TV before. He knew that she was the leader of KARA, but that was all. For the most part, she was a mystery to him. Although, it was the first time he had seen her in person, he could not take his eyes of her. She had very elegant features, those which were more Caucasian rather than Korean. Even as she bowed to Jaejoong and him before moving away to rejoin the girls, he could not help but to follow her trail. He had seen many pretty girls in his time, but she… She was different. However, remembering that he had a performance to focus on later, he shook the thought out of his mind and forced his mind to cease thinking about KARA’s beautiful leader anymore… well, at least until the music show ends.

Little did he know, she was hard to forget

 Looking from left to right, Gyuri quickly slipped inside his passenger seat. A great scent of makeup removal cream, mixed with shower gel, wafted through her nose the moment she embraced his strong arms. She melted. She ducked her face into the contour of his neck and shoulder blades, inhaling the smell of their private romance, and tightly wrapped her arms around his middle.

“I’ve missed you,” he could feel her smile around his skin after the words left his lips.

“I missed you more,” and it was his turn to smile in glee.

Their day was long – dragging at most part – and ended pretty late. But all the exhaustion was greatly rewarded by this simple action. The little exchange of their challenging words, the quick meet-up, and the waiting part, all of those were worth it, now that the time is in their hands.

“I’m sorry I called pretty late,” he mumbled at their close proximity, foreheads leaning against each other.

“I understand,” she stared back at him with the same amount of loving he’s trying to pour in his gaze.

It seemed such a long time as they continued to stay that way but neither of them is going to complain. And in Gyuri’s wish list, making time stand still is on the top notch of the list. “Where are you taking me?” she asked as he breaks the contact between them.

The only response she got reminded her of that time when she’s only a novice in the world of radio. That time she had a glimpse of TVXQ’s leader talking comfortably with Super Junior’s leader. She remembered how carefree and all smiles he was when he patted Leeteuk’s arm as he bid goodbye.

She admired him that instant.

The only smile that is reserved for her remained in his lips as his fingers lightly touch the point of her nose, the place where Yunho’s lips landed before he ignited the engine and take her somewhere in the middle of the night. A place where people might or might not recognize them. Some place she does not know of but believes that tonight, only the two of them mattered.

::End of Chapter 3::