06: Scandalous
 
Around the breakfast table…

Nibbling on my toast silently, I looked at the other end of the table where SuHoon sat, reading the daily newspaper. Even reading a newspaper makes him look… *sighs*

I blinked and choked on my toast as I saw him gaze back at me.

“Lyra? Lyra, are you alright? Here,” HyunChul said frowning at me and handing me a glass of water.

“I- I’m fine,” I replied smiling and gulping down the water, my face suddenly felt hot.

SuHoon’s gaze remained in my direction for a few seconds (where I think I melted into a puddle) then resumed reading the newspaper. God, those eyes are so… Get a grip Lyra, you need to confirm something!

“Um…” I started to say, five pairs of eyes turned to me and I felt my face go hot. “Um, S-Suhoon-oppa…”

Dark blue eyes focused on me. “Neh?”

“D-do you have a girlfriend?”

There was silence at first, then Jay started coughing, probably laughing or maybe really choking. Hyunchul’s eyes went wide and he just stared at me. Injun’ mouth was wide open, ready to take a bite of his toast, his hand hanging inches from his mouth.
Hyunmin was blinking at me. Was that question really weird?

SuHoon smirked and raised his eyebrows. “Why? Do you have a boyfriend?”

I was taken aback by his reply and mentally slapped myself. “W-what? It’s just…”

 

An hour earlier…

BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ

Urgh! I opened my eyes an inch and saw faint sunlight coming through the window. What time is it? Wait… I don’t remember having an alarm clock…

I looked to my left and saw something glowing softly, it was my phone.

“Hello?” I murmured, yawning.

“G’morning!” My sister’s loud voice floated through the speaker. “Did I wake you?”

“N-nahh…”

“Oh oke, anyway, so how’s Seoul? We hope you’re okay and I heard the storm’s gonna be gone in a few weeks, that means you can come back here, Ate!” she sounded hyper, I bet she ate sugar for breakfast.

“Oh, Seoul is alright hehe, I’m living with some pretty… interesting people,” I chuckled. “And really? That’s great!”
I heard her chuckle on the other side. I was pretty much wide awake already.

“So, how are you all there?”

“Ohh, were fine hehe,” then she gave a small gasp. “Ate? You know Dae Guk Nam Ah?”

I blinked. “Um yeah…”

“Did you know the leader, Suhoon or Mika, has a… GIRLFRIEND?!” she shrieked the last word. I nearly fell off the bed, not because she screamed right in my ear, but GIRLFRIEND?! What the…

“R-Really? How’d you know?” I asked, I never heard him talk about a girl, well, I’ve only been leaving here for… two days? And he never mentioned anyone, or that he’s going out with someone.

“There’s a rumor, at least I hope it’s a rumor, going around…” she replied. I sighed, its only rumors… “It’s on the news too, well not the official news, here’s what it says…”

‘Lee Suhoon, also known by his stage name Mika, was seen with a girl outside one of their recording studios. It seems like the other members knew of this girl as they were on the scene. Could it really be true?
Our sources tells us that it might be as Mika was seen holding out his hand to help her, also smiling a lot more when she’s around. As you all know, our Vampire Prince of a Leader rarely smiles (but if he does, you’ll definitely melt.’

She paused and giggled. “Who the hell wrote this? She sounds like a total Fangirl…” I chuckled back, slowly registering her words, could it really be true?

She continued reading…

‘Could it be that someone already stole our Leader’s heart? Could it really be true that… he’s really dating someone?!
And our sources also informed us that this girl is a non-celebrity. Is she worth dating Suhoon?’

My sister scoffed at the same time as me. “God, this journalist or whatever is really…”

“Rude, bad, crazy? Maybe it’s just because she’s jealous of this girl...” Fel replied, finishing off my sentence. “But is it true?”

The same question was running through my head. I was hoping it wasn’t true…

Urgh, the Fangirl in me is surfacing…

 

Breakfast…

Suhoon blinked at me as I told him my conversation on the phone with Fel. “Sooo…” I started to say, studying his expressionless face. “Do you?”

He scoffed. “Nope, not that I know of…” his eyes returned to the paper, but a second later a smirk appeared on his lips and he looked back at me. “But… Lyra, why does it seem to bother you?”

All eyes were on me now, especially Jay’s who was nibbling on his toast like there was no tomorrow. I bet he’s enjoying seeing me like this. “M-me? Bothering me?” I scoffed. “Y-you got to be kidding!”

Suhoon shook his head and grinned. “Yeah, yeah, whatever you say…” then the grin disappeared. “But if this carries on, I might get in trouble and Manager-hyung’s bound to find out soon…”

Hyunmin nodded. “Yeah, if they find out…”

“You might end up having a fake girlfriend, Hyung…” Karam finished.

“Wait… is it that serious?” I asked, looking at each of the members in turn. Karam nodded.

“Neh, especially since that girl they were talking about is a non-celebrity, I don’t know about Manager-hyung but the company might make Suhoon-hyung have a fake-girlfriend…”

“They’ll probably say it’s to protect his image or something…” Injun added.

There was silence, then Suhoon broke it with a loud ‘Ah!’ and stood up. “Anyway, Lyra we got to go…”

I blinked up at him. “Huh?”

“Manager-hyung wants us at the studio by 10, I’ll drive…” I nodded as he headed for the bathroom. I looked at the time; we still have two and a half hours.

I turned to finish my breakfast when I saw Karam smirking at me. “What?” I laughed.

“At the mention of a ‘fake’ girlfriend for Suhoon-hyung…” he replied. “You know what I saw?”

I frowned at him.

The corners of his mouth lifted, I swear he looked evil just then. “I saw the green-eyed monster…”

I gulped, then pretended to not know anything. “Green eye- wait, none of us is green-eyed!” I chuckled as he frowned.
“Wait, did I say it wrong in English?” He asked, slightly running his hand through his hair.

I shook my head. “Nahh, I know what you mean…” he raised his eyebrows at me. “And that’s where you’re wrong…”
I turned back to the table, thinking.

Is he?

 

Ate: Same meaning as ‘Uni’, older sister, in the Filipino language.
Green-eyed Monster: a feeling of jealous envy (especially of a rival)