“So, why me?” I ask in a whisper.

“You? I don’t know. I still haven’t figured that one yet. At a first glance, you are just like any other socialites I met. Arrogant and self absorbed. No offence” He takes a glance at me glaring, “But there’s something about you. It’s like there’s a secret inside you that I need to open up”

“I’m an open book though. I say what I want to say. I say what I feel”

“I noticed” He chuckles. “I wrote two songs after we met at the club and I realized that maybe you could inspire me too”

“So you’re here because I inspire you?”

“Yes” He nods, full of certainty.

~~~

The night darkens and the continuation of the chattering chaebols inside the building becomes louder with occasional cheering every time the winning bet announced. Me, the only princess of LG Empire opts to sit outside, away from the celebration. Why? I ask myself. If this were two weeks ago, I would be inside the room, among my people, cheering at the extravagance of money spent on unnecessary items for the sake of ‘charity’.

But not now.

I am now staring at the dark garden, enjoying the tranquility with the company of an idol. The thought of it makes me shudder but I couldn’t make myself leave. What is wrong with me now? Have the curse of a low-life people casted on me, that I actually enjoy sitting outside at night doing nothing?

“This is nice” The idol breaks the comfortable silence. “Before my debut, I used to sit outside, like in some public park or at my house’s rooftop. Night breeze calms me. When I was little, I used to go outside in the morning and would comeback when the sun is out. Often my mom would call police to find a missing child” He chuckles. “Do you do that too?”

“I never play outside” I answer simply.

He sits up straight, surprise by my statement. “Never??”

“Not when I was young, no”

“Why??”

“My nannies never let me”

“What?”

“I was never allowed to play outside. They say that the sun will ruin my perfect skin and at night some bad people might try to kidnap me. So I was never outside”

“And this doesn’t bother you??” He doesn’t seem to like the idea of never going outdoor.

“Nope” I shake my head.

“Are you--”

“Since I was young, I was treated as a princess. My skin never once scarred. My hair never once tangled. My face never dirtied. I was forever perfect. Like a porcelain doll.” I reminisce, “The nannies believed that out in the open, I am prone to some danger and ruined my body. They need to make sure I stay perfect from the moment I wake up to the second I fell asleep.”

“And you let them caged you like that??”

“Caged me? No. I was more than happy to play inside. I believe what they said is true. The outdoors may ruin my perfect physiques. I don’t want that too. Especially when I have nothing else to offer”

My last sentence freezes him. His mouth stays part as he stare at me with undecipherable expression.

“What?” I turn my head to him after noticing his silence.

“What do you mean you have nothing else to offer?” He asks, judgingly.

I shrug, “I’m not smart. No, cross that. I’m dumb. Borderline idiotic. I couldn’t offer anything else apart from my physicality. I couldn’t be a Koo in terms of my brain. The only thing I could maintain is my physiques”

“You--”

“It started when I was ten.” I interrupt him to start my story, “My father insisted that the school send me to contests; Math contests, spelling bee contests, and musical performances contests. He wanted to let the world know that his seeds are winners. Unfortunately, I constantly fail. Never once had I ever come up as a winner. Not even a second place. I was always the first at being eliminated. Though my mother always assured me that everything would be fine. That I would soon find my forte and win. The stupid kid I am, I believed her.”

The idol stares at me intently, absorbing every word I speak.

“It wasn’t until ten when I overheard some people mocking me behind my back. They said that I was autistic and dyslexic. They said that I sounded like a brainless kids from the slump. They accused of me being adopted because I am nothing like a Koo and they said that the Koo should’ve throw me away because I’m an embarrassment to the chaebol society”

The idol is silence once I stop my story. I didn’t expect him to respond anyway.

“I accepted that fact ultimately. I will never be able to hold up Koo’s name by the use of my brain. I can, however, maintain my beauty and make sure that I am as spotless as my mother. That’s the only thing I can do to no longer stain Koo’s name. At least now, people can marvel at my beauty, not mocking at my lack of intelligence”

He smiles but I can feel sympathy emanating from his eyes. He leans his body towards me, making our proximity closer than before. I can feel his breath tickling my ears and I can sense his intense stare penetrating to me. I feel my heartbeat quickens, like it has been for a few days.

“You don’t have to feel sorry for me, idol. I got the world on my palm. You should feel sorry for yourself” I sneer.

“And why should I feel sorry for me?” He his head.

“Because you’re an idol”

He laughs heartily upon my remarks. “Why would I feel sorry for myself because I’m an idol? I love being one”

“Pfft--”

“Though at times I do question myself” He cuts me from mocking him.

“Question yourself?” A man with such confidences and arrogance could actually question himself? This baffles me.

“Yeah” He leans his back to the backrest of the bench as he lets his head fall and stare up to the dark sky. “I was praised a lot since I was young. A lot of people believe that I’m talented. That I’m a prodigy of someone great”

“Ck. Arrogant bastard” I mutter to which he chuckles but still continue on with his story-telling.

“I was always pushed to get the best result. Since I was five years old, I never stop working. Though truthfully, I am scared” His voice softens with vulnerability in every word. “What if all of my ability somehow stops? What if I could no longer deliver? What if I disappoint people again? Those things scares me”

“Again?” I scrunch my eyebrows.

He nods and his head sideways, “The scandal”

“Scandal?”

“My scandal”

“Your scandal?”

“Last year”

“Last year?”