Chapter 20

Hwang Tiffany secluded herself from her friends, pretending to listen to songs by putting on her bright pink bedazzled headphone. Volume put on max. Celine Dion graced her ears with her greatest hits on endless loop.  She occupied the furthest seat in the mini-van by the window while her best friend, Kim Hyoyeon, sat at a seat in front of her. There were constant glances made by the eccentric fashion designer, with her long blonde locks tied up to the side and down, resting on her shoulder. Hyoyeon tried to make an eye contact with her friend, to no avail. It had been such a demented days ever since the TREX arrived at Jeju Island.

First night at the resort, there was that drunk fest, led by the President himself. In the same night, the unexpected happened and it led one to a state of confusion while the other in a state of rage. And now, just this morning, as Yoon Bora boarded the mini-van, whom Hyoyeon expected to see her charismatic smile to light up this dreary disposition, was looking rather uncompromising and hushed. Hyoyeon tried to talk to her but, just like Tiffany, she put on her headphone and just lost in the soulful music of an Indie singer. Something was wrong and Hyoyeon doesn’t like it.

She did tell Kim Taeng about this situation, most on the Fany-Yul little trouble. And now, she kind of wonder how is talking to the fire-fighter going to fix this issue. It intrigued her curiousity. She kind of realized how she kept coming to Taeng whenever there was something out of the ordinary happen.

Always the fire-fighter. Not Tiffany. Not even Jessica. Always Kim Taeng.

Her phone buzzed. Tearing her gaze from the stunning bright yellow flower filled field, Hyoyeon picked up her phone and unlocked it. There on the screen, a text popped up along with the name of the sender.

Kim Taengoo-goo.

She smiled. Quick slide of her finger on the bottom of the screen, the message appeared and it said, ‘Hyo-yah, Kyu and I are on our way to Jeju. Don’t tell everyone. We want to keep this mission on the down low—‘

Hyoyeon let out a small giggle. ‘Heh, mission?’ Reading on, ‘’its gonna work out. Hang in there. Hyo-yah... See you soon.’

‘See you soon.’

Hyoyeon blinked.

‘See you soon.’

Hyoyeon blinked again. Her thumb stayed on the screen, re-reading the last words.

‘See...you...soon.’

She doesn’t know what it is but somehow, she could feel her cheeks burning, reddening and the corner of her lips curved upwards on its own. Realizing what she was doing, Hyoyeon put down her phone and looked up. Her cheeks were burning. Her heart was beating loud in her ear. What just happened? She shook her head and let out a shaky breath. Trailing her gaze over to the window, she remained still, hoping what she just thought of was just nothing.

Just nothing.

**********

That scene lingered on even though he tried to think of something else. He remembered how brave he was or in a saner note, how stupid he was, holding her like she was his once again and then the way how he pressed his lips against hers, in such an unexpected casual way, it was surreal.

He had been spending his time walking idly. Kwon Yul was back in his room, spending the time to relax from the wrath of Hwang Tiffany and was, most probably, digging through the mini fridge by now. It’s funny how it was the same fire-fighter that Im Yoong was afraid of. Well, he – foolishly drunk – messed with the Kwon siblings by announcing that he’s dating the youngest Kwon, triggering turrets of paparazzi on the poor girl. Yoong was a mess. He doesn’t even know how he was going to face the girl now. And then, there was Kwon Yul who vowed publicly that he will make Yoong’s life a living hell. The fire-fighter was not pleased with the way how Yoong treat his sister. So, there’s two Kwon, Yoong need to deal with. And then there’s Yoon Bora. Thanks to Im Yoong’s terrible way of dealing things, he brought this upon himself as he, yet again, mess it all up by bringing back that heartbreaking past. If his fans could see him now, they’ll be shaking their heads, shocked by how impulsive their role model was.

Not actually a strange thing, coming from Im Yoong. He was, as the tabloid would describe, a trouble-maker with an innocent face. Layers after layers, he was filled with surprised. However, this surprise would cause scandal so massive; Im Yoong might consider a change in career path. You can see the headlines of celebrity gossips blogs all over the internet; ‘Im Yoong, Serial Lady Killer.’ He wished that he was different personaly. He wished that he would not act impetuously. He wished that he was not a model to begin with.

Out into the grand entrance hall of the resort, moving so casually though the pressure weighing him down making him dragging his feet; Im Yoong stared at the dazzling marble floor as he placed his hands into his pants pocket. He often wondered what it’d be like if he wasn’t a male model. There was a point in his life that he considered to become a Doctor or maybe a Lawyer, basically what his parents would approve. Imagine what it’d be like… Im Yoong, the Doctor… No, Im Yoong, the Lawyer… or maybe, Im Yoong, the—

“YAH! BABO IM YOONG!”

Eyes everywhere in the grand entrance hall tore off from their respective conversations and turned to look at a woman who was then marching off the receptionist counter. The direction she took, to the people’s surprise, was towards the lone model, which slowly had his head hauled up to the latter. The sight of her caused Im Yoong to react in the most dramatic way. He staggered and felt himself frozen on the spot, bit by bit cowered at the enraged young college whom he had dragged into a scandal mess.

Im Yoong cleared his throat. “Seo—Seohyun-ssi, what are you doing here?”

“To do what my brother suppose to do!” Kwon Seohyun added sternly, completely ignoring the wandering eyes that glued to her and the male model. “Seriously, he can be a bit slow to fix things and I really shouldn’t depend too much on him.”

“Seohyun-ssi, I don’t think this is the right time—“

“Oh, now you’re telling when the right time is?” Seohyun scoffed, rolled her eyes at the latter. She had enough. She needed it to be done. Right now. “I had been hiding all day all night just to get away from those tabloid friends of yours who decided to waste their lives camping out of my house and outside my oppa’s café, just to get some dirt out of me.” The young Kwon then begun to march towards the dazed looking Im Yoong, who now started to retreated, thinking he should run off. But judging by how persistent Kwon Seohyun materialized, Im Yoong was done for.

Dragging her luggage along, Seohyun stomped her feet towards the latter and kept her blazing eyes at him. “Come to think of it,’ she started again, “Maybe I should come out of there and say things about you. About how irresponsible you are. How stupid you are. And howwhat you had done back there at the party was just to fish in some publicity to make sure your stupid celebrity title still intact.”

Im Yoong kept retreating.”Seohyun-ah, please, this is not the place… listen to me—“

“NO YOU LISTEN TO ME!” The youngest Kwonfinally yelled at the latter. “I HAD ENOUGH! JUST STOP SAYING THAT I AM YOUR GIRLFRIEND! STOP PRETENDING! IT’S RIDICULOUS! YOU’RE A GROWN UP MAN! START ACTING YOUR AGE!”

No one dared to make a move after that final blow. From afar, Im Yoong and Kwon Seohyun looked like a broken up couple on their honeymoon and the pile of symphathy was placed on the man. Nevertheless, by what Seohyun had finally set free, the bucketful of symphathy was kicked aside and was dumped instead on the young woman’s side. Whispers started to emerge, accompanied by lingering gazes. And that was it. No one dared to take out their phone to put this scandalous scene in video format. How on earth will this raging fit going to fix the mess.

Kwon Seohyun let out a deep sigh, finally felt at ease. What she had bundled up inside had finally let loose. There was no more she wanted to say. Even though the chance to be with someone as popular as Im Yoong – not to mention, as good-looking – was every girl’s fantasy, this world was not for Kwon Seohyun. She was better.

Better…

Bet—ter…

“Seohyun-ssi, what are you doing here?”

Time to get back to reality. It was the grand entrance hall to the resort. That’s true. Kwon Seohyun’s there, right at the exact place. That’s a double check. And right in front of her, who noticed her presence from afar, was Im Yoong, the man who put her life in a total disaster by pinning on a label that to others, beautiful, to her, a total disaster. There should be a double emphasize on that.

Her hand gripped tight around the handle of her luggage as she watched Im Yoong closing in. Seohyun couldn’t help but let her eyes wandered to his fit physique. No wonder the man was named one of the best Korea Male Model; he was definitely good to look at. Her head was still spinning ever since she board off that plane from Seoul. And what she had planned to say to him was still rolling up at the corner of her mind. Untouched.

Seohyun tightened her grip even more when Yoong was right in front of her, looking back with his calm brown eyes and that trademark model smile. He turned away for a brief moment, which Seohyun seized the chance to – in hushed voice – questioned herself why she froze in his presence. It was strange. She never behaves like this to anyone. She wanted to let him have a piece of her mind, her frustration and her—

“Let me show you up to your brother’s room, you can stay there for a while.” His surprisingly composed voice made its way into her head, gradually painting this rather different image ofIm Yoong. What happened?

**********

“Sica-unnie! How long do we need to wait?’

 An hour had passed and the plane had landed safely at the airport. Both the Jung sisters decided to stay back a bit in the lounge area in order to secure a taxi to a small pension house by the beach (as defined by Hyoyeon). Jessica specifically asked for a driver who won’t drive like as if they were in a Formula One race. She was concerned for her sister, who can easily get carsick if not careful. It was a bit too much to ask but it’d be worth it.

Jung Jessica returned from the receptionist to her sister, with cool smile, and informed that they will have their taxi in about ten minute or so. That brightened up the younger Jung, who had been slumping on the airport message chair and had spent so much on drinks and cookies. “Ah, I really cannot wait to see Fany unnie and Hyoyeon unnie and I hope we can camp under the stars again. It’d be fun.”

While the younger Jung went on and on about what she will do at the pension house, Jung Jessica casually – though cautious – took out her phone and opened a new text message withits heading reading ‘To: SoonKyu’. She began to type in whle occasionally nodded at what he sister said.

No one knows about her and Lee Soonkyu. Those who knew her well thought she was still going strong with her cheater fiancé. Well, they should know her more nowadays if they want to keep up. But still, Jessica was still engaged. She hasn’t put an end on her relationship with Seong Woosung. She should do so, soon. She should do as soon as she returns to Seoul. If not, she might end up hurting the one who she had fallen for.

Speaking of the man Jung Jessica fell for; Lee Soonkyu was in the exact same airport as she was, just entering the arrival hall with his best friend, Kim Taeng. They had arrived at Jeju Island for a mission of their own. To clean up the mess that Kwon Yul had done nothing to. Well, another was to bring Kwon Seohyun back to Seoul before any disaster take place. A disaster will happen, bound to, especially all the people was there at Jeju.

“I’m going to check if we can get a cab,’ Kim Taeng started, taking charge as he noticed Soonkyu quickly reaching infor his phone. As his best friend nodded at him, Taeng then made his way across the vast hallway, over to the receptionist. With a smile, he then let his purpose known.

Lee Soonkyu step by step moved towards a pillar as he checked his phone. There were missed calls from Kwon Yul and, just arrived, a text from Jung Jessica:

‘Krystal and I are going to the pension house soon. Will let you know if we arrived. Xx’

He smiled, quickly responded with:

‘Don’t get sick. Bring your blanket along if itget too cold. I missed you.’

On the other side of the hallway, Jessica felt her phone vibrated and quickly checked it. The text made her smile, though she tried not to in front of her sister. It was getting kind of hard to keep such secret like this. How she wish to let the world know of it.

Noting the receptionist was calling, the Jung sisters hurried off and were greeted by a calm-looking taxi driver. He then helped them with their bags into the trunk while the sisters seated in the back seat of the vehicle. Meanwhile, also at the front of the airport, Kim Taeyeon and Lee Soonkyu just got their luggages into a trunk of a taxi and immediately seated inside. Both vehicles took off at the same time. However, at both reached the crossroads, one turned left and the other headed straight.

One more text was received by Soonkyu and who his surprise, it was not from who he expected. It was Kang Hyosung and the text said:

‘I’m trying to keep Sherbet safe. You owe me a dinner.’

Looks like Jessica wasn’t the only one who want to get rid of a horrendous past.

Note:

Hello  my fellow SONE! My beloved readers! I am back, at last and I want to apologize for my long absense. I have a good valid reason why, so bear with me. I am currently on my final year in college which means I need to put my studies first above anything. This is gonna be the biggest semesters ever. I have been working hard and I did tried to update the story few times but I didn't get the chance to. However, right now, I am currently on a one month break which means I will be able to update things here and also at ssf. Hopefully. Just hopefully I will be able to do everything before the next semester start.

Next update will be up soon.