Chapter 6
The day Kyuhyun left, Jin Ri thought it would be a piece of cake, them being away from each other for a while. She really believed what she told him. They had been away from each other for long periods of time due to his work and they didn’t have any problems with that. They talked all the time too so, even though they missed each other, they were able to manage having such a big distance between them. But this time around, it was weird not having him nearby. It was strange waking up to an empty space beside her and not having him to go home to. They talked on the phone as often as they could, but often meant every two days at the most if not just once a week.

She stared at her phone, as if willing it to ring with Kyuhyun on the other line, as she thought about all of these and about him. She was currently at Angie and Leeteuk’s house. She had offered to help the couple with whatever they needed a week after Angie had been released from the hospital. Her unnie had been telling her that she hadn’t had a proper sleep ever since she got home since the twins kept on crying. Even Leeteuk, who had put off his military service because of the babies and who never had enough sleep to begin with, was having a hard time, which was why he had taken a couple of days off from his schedules. At the moment, the twins were currently asleep in their rooms, while she was in the living room, where a piano had been placed for when Leeteuk wanted to do some composing at home. She had been tasked by the company to compose a couple of songs for their artists, after having heard Forever, which was what she wrote and composed for Kyuhyun for their wedding dance. It was decided that it was going to be included in Girls’ Generation’s new album and so the company wanted to see what else she could write.

As she decided to go back to composing, putting her phone face down so that she couldn’t see Kyuhyun’s adorable KidKyu smile, a wailing sound echoed in the house, startling her. She hurried out of her chair and went straight to the twins’ room after telling Angie that she’ll take care of them.

It was the Sungjoo, the baby boy, who was crying. Leaning over the crib, she slowly and gently lifted him up into her arms and rocked him, hoping that he would stop crying. When he didn’t, she brought him out of the room and into the living room so that he wouldn’t wake Sunhee, the baby girl, and make her start crying, too.

“Everything okay?” Angie asked, walking into the kitchen, leaving her cooking for a bit. She was cooking dinner, mostly because Jungsoo liked it when she cooked, especially when he came home from a long day. At the moment, he was on his way back from a short meeting with his manager and the members.

“Yeah, don’t worry. I got this,” Jin Ri assured her, rocking the still crying baby, cooing nonsensical things to him. It seemed hard, raising a kid, much less two. But she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like when the time comes when she and Kyuhyun have one of their own. She wondered if the kid would be just like Kyuhyun, cheeky and impudent. She really hoped not.

“It seems like you do,” Angie observed as her sister-in-law tried to calm her little boy down by rocking him gently. Since they had gotten back from the hospital, Jin Ri had been always offering to assist in taking care of the twins and helping out at home. In the three weeks that had passed, she had cooked, cleaned the house, and babysat for them. In babysitting, it was obvious how much she adored kids. She couldn’t help but think about how hard the miscarriage must have been for her despite it being a kid out of wedlock and from a man she didn’t love.

“He’s not stopping from crying, though,” Jin Ri worried responded, frowning at the cute baby boy. “Why won’t you stop crying, little Sungjoo?” she went on to ask the little replica of Leeteuk and Angie.

“The twins like it when Jungsoo sings to them,” Angie offered, smiling at her efforts to calm his little one down. She wanted to bring the boy in her arms, but she smelled like kitchen food and didn’t want the smell to stick to her baby. “You can try that.”

Jin Ri made a face at her unnie. “I write and compose, not sing,” she reminded her.

“But doesn’t that come with the writing and composing?” Angie countered, chuckling at her reaction.

“Do you really want these cute little beings to be traumatized for life?” Jin Ri stated. She went on gently rocking the baby, whose crying had subsided for a bit. “I’m not going to be responsible for that. Maybe if Kyuhyun…” she trailed away, suddenly missing her husband again.

Angie watched as her face fell with the mention of her husband. It was obvious how much she missed him so much. The boys tried to do everything they could to cheer her up, but they knew that, unless Kyuhyun called or that he came back home, it wouldn’t be enough.

“I’m sure he’ll call soon enough,” Angie comforted her. “You know how busy they can get when they’re overseas.”

“I do know that,” Jin Ri replied, smiling a little at her. “I’m not mad or upset about how busy it is. I know he’s having fun. I just miss him.”

Angie chuckled. “You two are just so adorably funny,” she remarked. When the younger gave her a curious look, she proceeded to explain, “You really just can’t get enough of each other.” She smiled warmly at her dongsaeng.

“Haven’t you heard? We’re a fan of yours and Jungsoo oppa’s,” Jin Ri dryly responded, smiling a little. “So naturally Kyuhyun and I can’t get enough of each other.”

“Correction,” Angie countered. “Jungsoo can’t get enough of me.”

The front door opened and closed and the man they were talking about walked in. “I heard that,” Leeteuk announced, making a beeline for his wife and giving her a full kiss on the lips to which she responded so eagerly, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“I can see that,” Jin Ri wryly commented, looking away and focusing her attention to Sungjoo, who had sobered up. “Does your omma and appa always do this in front of you guys? I won’t be surprised if you and your sister grow up traumatized.”

“Will you stop accusing us of being such?” Leeteuk demanded, smirking and moving to get Sungjoo from her and giving him a kiss on the forehead. “Besides, Angie and I don’t mack at each other with others around like you and Kyuhyun do.”

“That’s what you think,” Jin Ri muttered under her breath, moving back towards the piano. She knew for a fact that all of the boys had walked in on Leeteuk and Angie making out, among doing other things, at least once.

“She just misses Kyuhyun, baby,” Angie stated, amused at their exchange, choosing to ignore Jin Ri’s retort. “Anyway, I’ll go finish up on dinner then get a shower so I can hug my precious babies.” She then left for the kitchen.

“He misses you, too, you know,” Leeteuk relayed to her as she sat back down in front of the piano and started tinkering with the keys. “I’m sure he’s trying to get into contact with you whenever he can. That magnae of ours is in love with you, after all.” He smiled at this. It was really nice to see the youngest member become so focused on loving and taking care of his wife.

“I know,” Jin Ri responded with a smile. She stopped playing with the keys and turned around in her seat to face him. “Oppa, do you think it would be okay if I suddenly just fly to Japan to see him? Would that be okay with the manager? I’m thinking I might be able to get a couple of days of break from work.”

“Are you seriously still asking that question?” he replied in surprise. “You know how happy he would be to see you.”

She shrugged. “He is busy.” Seeming to have made up her mind, she picked up her phone and started dialing a number. “It’s set then. I’ll go to Japan,” she announced. “I’ll just call Keiji to ask for his company for shopping with gifts for Kyuhyun.”

“Keiji?” he repeated, startled. She looked at him. “Why are you asking him for company? There are thirteen other guys who would be willing to go with you. Not to mention young cousins.”

“Only thirteen?” she teased.

“Yeah, well, I do have twins to take care of,” he reasoned, rolling his eyes at her.

“Oppa,” she responded rationally, “each of those eight guys are mad busy. There’s Heechul oppa with all the activities he’s cramming into his schedule. Hangeng oppa’s in China. Yesung oppa has his solo performances and his musical. Kangin oppa has his radio and variety shows. Shindong oppa has his radio and variety shows, as well. Zhoumi oppa keeps flying back and forth from China to Korea for his shows. Sungmin oppa has his drama and show guestings. Eunhyuk oppa has radio and variety shows. Donghae oppa has his drama. Siwon oppa has his drama, too. Ryeowook oppa has his solo performances and some shows. Kibum has his movie filming. And Henry is in Canada.”

“Alright, I get your point,” he grumbled. “So everyone’s busy, but can’t you get other people to go with you other than Keiji?”

“I really don’t get what you guys have against him,” she said, frowning.

He stared at her. “I thought Heechul said he talked to you,” he blurted out.

“Yes,” she politely interrupted him. “Kyuhyun and I have talked about this, too. We trust Keiji. He’s our friend. He’s helped both of us a lot during our stay in Japan. He’s a good guy.”

“I’m sorry, Ri,” he apologized at once, seeing that this was really making her sad. “Just think of it as your family looking out for you. You know how rocky things have been since you and Kyuhyun got together and how things have escalated since you guys got married. Besides, Keiji is proving to be a shady character. You can’t exactly blame us.”

“I just wish you guys would trust us,” she pleaded, looking at him.

~ * ~

Jessica stared at her newly polished nails in boredom as she waited for the rest of her members to come down from the practice room. They were supposed to leave for a schedule five minutes ago and she was still the only one in the lobby. And people say she was the one who’s always late. She sighed and looked at the stairs, wondering where everyone was. As she turned to leave for the vending machine and get some juice, she was startled to find Keiji going down the stairs.

“Ah Jessica-ssi,” Keiji greeted, stopping in front of her a giving her a bow. Jessica merely gave him a steely gaze. “What did I ever do to you to make you so upset with me, Jessica-ssi?”

“Don’t you Jessica-ssi me. Don’t act like we’ve only just met,” Jessica snapped, crossing her arms in front of her chest. She looked around, making sure that they were alone, then turned to him again. “What are you doing here this time?”

“I work here,” he told her innocently. He gave her a small smirk that he knew annoyed her. “I’m now part of Jin Ri’s photography staff, in case you’re interested to know,” he added proudly. In the meeting with her and Seung Hun the other day, he had been announced as a permanent part of her staff and not just someone who would be called on when needed. Somehow, in all the time they had spent together with Kyuhyun’s absence, he had managed to convince her to put him on her staff.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “I know what you’re doing, Keiji,” she stated sharply. “Don’t think for a second that no one sees what you’re attempting.”

“That may be so,” he acquiesced with an unconcerned shrug. Then he gave her a sweet, but annoying smile. “But you have no proof.”

“I’m proof enough of what kind of person you are and what you’re capable of,” she angrily spat.

“Oh Jessica,” he responded with a sigh, moving closer to her and running his hands through her hair. She shoved his hand away. “But you wouldn’t do that, wouldn’t you? You wouldn’t really tell anyone, not even your closest friends—no, sisters—what happened. Because, really, who would ever believe that the Jessica they know is that kind of girl?”

She raised her hand and slapped him hard on the face. “Don’t you dare blackmail me with made up stories,” she fumed, balling her fists to her sides. “If you think for a second that that’s going to work on me and that I’m going to allow you to destroy my friends’ marriage, think again. I would rather sacrifice my image than have you come between them.”

“Has Kyuhyun or Jin Ri actually believed any accusation that you guys have thrown at me?” he pointedly asked. When she didn’t say anything, he chuckled. “I thought so. It’s just too bad that the people whose opinions matter the most don’t even give a damn and don’t believe anything you guys say.”

“You’re disgusting,” she seethed.

“You told me once that you thought you were in love with me,” he reminded her with a smile that she wanted to smack right off.

“Stupidest thing I’ve ever thought,” she shot back.

Putting his hands in his pockets, he shrugged once more. “Doesn’t matter anymore, does it? Anyway, it’s really just too bad that Jin Ri and Kyuhyun trust me like hell. They’re good people, always giving people the benefit of the doubt. I don’t think I’ve ever once done anything to make them suspect me.”

“Why are you doing this?” she questioned, frowning and feeling even more upset. It really scared her to know that it seemed he really was planning to do something to them and their marriage.

The question surprised him for his gaze shifted to her, his eyes widening for a bit. He smiled a little then stared at the tile floor. “I have my reasons,” was his vague answer.

“Well whatever those reasons are—,” she started.

“Give it up, Jessica,” he interrupted her. “I know you’re upset with me because I left you hanging and all that, but don’t make this about you. This isn’t about you. If you think I’m going to hurt Jin Ri, you’re wrong. I’m going to make sure that she’ll be safe throughout all of this.”

“What is this?” she insisted, almost stomping her foot.

“Nothing you need to know,” he answered with a tone of finality. “Well, it was nice chatting with you, but I need to go.”

“Keiji,” she called when he turned to leave. He stopped walking, but didn’t turn around. “If you separate the two of them, you still won’t have her. She’s going to be broken without him. You won’t have her either way, with him or without him.”

Keiji stood there for a second, as if thinking of turning around to say something back. But he didn’t turn around and he didn’t say anything. Instead, he went on his way, disappearing through the sliding glass doors of the building.

~ * ~

Kyuhyun smiled and waved. The fan girls screamed. He chuckled at such a response so smiled and waved again. This resulted to an even wilder screaming. It was really interesting to him how a simple smile and half-hearted wave from someone they really didn’t know could make their hearts flutter and make them faint. He would prefer it if a particular person’s heart fluttered and fainted when he gave such a smile and wave, but he knew that she wasn’t the type, causing him to just exert more effort. He put his hand down and sighed, a small smile fixed on his face just so the fans wouldn’t have anything to say.

“Do I have anything after this, hyung?” Kyuhyun quietly asked his manager, turning to him. He wanted nothing more than to be able to call his wife. They hadn’t been talking as much as he wanted and that really bugged him, more than it usually would.

“I’ll make sure that the staff clears the room before you come in so you can call Jin Ri,” his manager responded swiftly, knowing what was going on in his talent’s mind. It was one of those times that he wished that the other Super Junior members were with him, that way he wouldn’t be the one who had to put up with all his whining about how much he missed his wife.

“Thanks hyung,” Kyuhyun jovially responded, giving him a hug.

Fan girls screamed like there was no tomorrow. Apparently, seeing Kyuhyun being all sweet and huggy was something worth screaming for.

“Alright, alright,” his manager replied, pushing him off when Kyuhyun clung onto him like a little kid to please the fans some more. “These are some of the times I really wish you have your hyungs with you.”

“Really? You’d rather have 14 boys than just me?” Kyuhyun teased, his arm still around him.

“You’re equivalent to 14 boys, Kyuhyun,” his manager exasperatedly stated, “if not worse.”

“Hey,” Kyuhyun called when he realized what his manager, who had run away to the side of the stage, had said.

Kyuhyun shook his head, turned towards the audience, who were still in their seats because he hadn’t left the stage yet. He gave one last smile, one last wave and a bow, making them wild again, then got off the stage, heading towards the waiting room.

True to his word, his manager had emptied the room of persons. He closed the door and excitedly made a beeline to the vanity mirror, where his bag, containing his mobile phone, was placed. Hurriedly taking it out, he pressed 1 and the familiar number started dialing on it’s own.

He was just about to press the phone to his ear and take a seat, when the room’s lights suddenly switched off, leaving him in a pitch-black room. He ended the call and stretched his arms out, feeling his way towards the door, where the light switch was.

He was making his way, bumping onto tables and chairs here and there, when, suddenly, he felt someone press up upon him. Arms wrapped themselves around his waist. He could feel breathing on his neck.

He was about to say something when the person, now identified to be a female, pressed her lips against his.

Stunned, he just stood there, hands clasping her arms.

When she moaned, calling him oppa, he smirked and proceeded to wrap his arms tight around her, intensely kissing her back.

“We should really stop sneaking around like this,” he whispered, moving to kiss her neck. “I have a wife, you know.”

As soon as he said this, the girl in his arms stiffened. With one motion, she pushed him off of her and scrambled out of his embrace. He stood still, waiting for what she was going to do.

In a second, the whole room was bathed in light. He blinked and shielded his eyes from the sudden brightness. When he put his hand down, he found Jin Ri standing by the door, her lips pink from kissing and in a pout and arms crossed on her chest.

“Princess,” Kyuhyun began, taking a step towards her, biting back the laughter that was bubbling up inside of him. She looked so upset and hurt that he wanted nothing more but to hug her tight.

“Don’t come near me,” Jin Ri stipulated, raising a hand to stop him.

“Princess, I was joking,” he emphasized, stopping and standing still, not wanting to make her more upset.

“How could you be joking?” she demanded.

“You were the one who called me oppa. You started the joke. You never call me oppa,” he reminded her, feeling very amused. “I merely responded in the same joking manner.”

“Do you always joke around like that with people who kiss you in the dark?” she asked. She then looked at him, a surprised and worried look on her face. “Do girls come into your room all the time and kiss you and then you kiss them back?!”

“Princess, you’re being ridiculous. You know I would never do that,” he told her earnestly, wanting to laugh so much at the way she was acting.

“How am I being ridiculous?” she questioned, frowning even more.

“I knew it was you,” he stated, raising his eyebrows at her when she looked surprised.

“How would you know it was me? You didn’t even see me,” she retorted. “The lights were turned off.”

“Are you being serious?” he scoffed, shaking his head. He took long strides towards her and brought her to his arms, despite the fact that she was squirming away. “I knew it was you the moment you wrapped your arms around me,” he stated, looking into her eyes and playing with her hair.

“Really? So the whole surprise was pointless?” she asked, frowning and suddenly forgetting why she was originally upset.

“Oh princess,” he chuckled, pulling her tighter into his arm and just holding her. He kissed her head. “I’m happy you’re here. I missed you,” he whispered through her hair.

“Keiji told me this would happen,” she went on, sighing.

He pulled away to look at her. “Keiji?” he echoed.

“Yes, I told him about surprising you like this and he told me that it would be easy for you to know it was me,” she relayed, still frowning.

~ * ~

“So what else do you and Keiji talk about?” Kyuhyun lazily asked as he played with Jin Ri’s hair.

After leaving the performance area earlier, they had decided to grab some snacks and then went on to go around, strolling hand-in-hand like people just dating. Currently, they were back at his apartment, lounging around the living room after a very strenuous but extremely enjoyable activity. Jin Ri had talked a lot about Keiji in the past couple of hours they’d been together and it really made him curious.

“All kinds of things,” Jin Ri answered, turning her head on his lap so she was looking up at him. She reached for his head and bent it down so he would kiss her. “I missed you so much, you know that?”

“I know,” he snickered, kissing her again. “You just showed me just how much you did.”

“I can’t wait for you to come home,” she told him, blushing at his statement. “Keiji and I have been looking at some houses and there are a couple of good ones that I think are nice. There are—.”

“You and Keiji looked for houses together?” he asked, frowning. He wasn’t sure if that was something he should be angry about or not, but it certainly didn’t make him happy.

“Yes,” she answered. “He told me that I should start looking, that way when you come home, we’ll have choices already.”

“Weren’t any of the members willing to help you look?” he pressed.

“They’re all really busy. I didn’t want to bother anyone,” she said. “Besides, it’s Keiji.” When her husband didn’t do anything to affirm her thoughts, she sat up and looked at him. “You’re not starting to believe what your hyungs are telling you, are you?”

“It’s not that,” he cautiously began. He really didn’t want to listen to his hyungs. Keiji had been nothing but good to them and had looked out for Jin Ri so much, but there was always this feeling that nagged at him whenever he or his name came up. And this was even way before Jessica and the other members started warning him about him. “I just… aren’t you spending way too much time with him? People might start rumors and—.”

“Is that what you’re worried about?” she interrupted. “Are you worried that your wife will be talked about as a two-timer?”

“Of course I’m worried,” he confirmed, pushing himself off of the couch and turning to face her, standing up. “It’s happened to Angie noona before and that guy was her ex-boyfriend, someone who supposedly cared about her a lot. When you think about it, what do we really know about Keiji?”

“I can’t believe this,” she stated, incredulity written all over her face. “I thought we’ve agreed that Keiji is our friend and—.”

“Keiji is our friend,” he stated, cutting her sentence short. “But we don’t know anything about him.”

“Do you always have such distrust for your friends?” she then demanded, standing up as well and walking towards the window, looking out of it. “We know enough. We know what kind of person he is.”

“Look, the members all have something against him,” he considered. “Don’t you think that’s something to think about?”

“I’ve grown up not listening and not caring much about what other people thought,” she muttered. “I know what kind of person Keiji is. He’s done so much for us. He’s even helping us look for a house.”

“Which is something he should be staying out of,” he argued, starting to get irritated. She turned around to look at him, surprised at his outburst. “It’s our house. Why are you looking at houses together? We should be doing that.”

“Well we can’t exactly do that with you being gone all the time now, can we?” she snapped, crossing her arms on her chest.

Kyuhyun stared at her. “Since when have you been upset about me being away so much?” he coolly asked. Not once had he heard her complain about his job, about him being an idol and all the things that came with it. So hearing her burst at him because of it was something new and a bit shocking to him.

Jin Ri looked away. She really didn’t know when she had started resenting the fact that he was always gone and traveling. She’d always been okay with every aspect of his work so this was something that was surprising to her, too. It wasn’t something that she could lie about. Kyuhyun would be able to see it. He always saw right through her.

“So… because I’m away, you’re spending time with Keiji instead?” he went on when she didn’t answer.

“Don’t accuse me of something you know I’m not doing,” she directed, upset at what he was saying. She shook her head and walked towards where her bag and coat was. Picking them up, she walked towards the door.

“What are you doing?” he demanded.

“I’m going out,” she stiffly answered.

“So this is your answer? You’re just going to walk out?” he spat, not making a move to stop her.

“It’s better than standing here, listening to you tell me how much you don’t trust me,” she retorted, opening the door and stepping out, slamming it behind her.

Kyuhyun crossly ran a hand through his hair. He hadn’t meant to accuse her. But, with being away from each other so long, hearing his hyungs talk about Keiji in such a negative way and seeing that his wife was becoming so close to said person, was taking its toll on him. They had never fought like that before. They both weren’t the type to raise their voices at each other and argue. But, then again, there was never much to fight about. Aside from all the drama that occurred between them, they hadn’t quarreled about anything.

Blowing out a breath, he pushed his hands in his pockets and walked towards the window. He closed his eyes for a second and willed himself to calm down. When he opened them again, he noticed the horizon.

The sun had started to set.