CH.08 Strong rivalry
Love Footprints
Taecyeon tried to mask the mixing feelings that was disturbing his heart and mind by pulling out an expressionless face. Too many questions were floating in his head, why Hyun Joong were sending GuiGui text messages? When did they meet and how can they know each others contact numbers?
The main problem is those questions won't get an answer if he don't ask her for an explanation, but if he dare to ask her something she will probably think that he peep out her mobile phone invading her privacy without her consent. And that was the last thing he wanted to happen, arguing over someone. He didn't read on purpose Hyun Joong's message, it was more like an accident. She left her phone on the bench, someone texted and on the screen it popped a notification. But still, he was feeling guilty.
He then suddenly remembered the tv commercial that they filmed together, exactly the moment where he was trying to kiss her. Also Hyun Joong answering GuiGui's cellphone, speaking behalf her. Little pieces of the imaginary puzzle that he was trying to solve by himself were poisoning his mind. That kind of feeling was new to him, he never felt in that way before, in a man/woman relationship he was always able to detach himself.
"Oppa?" GuiGui's voice re-echoed in the air, making him lift his head and stare at her who was now sitting by his side "Are you okay?"
"Yeah.." more than feeling okay, he was feeling guilty,angry and hurt
"Here.." she handed him a bottle of cold water to fight against the hot weather
"Thanks" was his short reply, somehow he can't try to act normally and ignore the feelings that was surrounding his chest.
He blinked in surprise when GuiGui placed her hand on his forehead, he just stared at her and silently wondering what she was doing.
"You don't have a fever" she released a sigh of relief, for a second she thought that he was sick
"I'm okay" he tried to assure her, he felt more guilty for making her worry about him
"But oppa suddenly don't talk a lot, not like before" she paused for a while and looked at him "Perhaps are you hungry?"
"I'm okay, really" he nodded and smiled a bit but GuiGui was still not convinced by his words. He cleared his voice and tried to start a conversation while they were on a break "I saw the tv commerc..." he was interrupted by the director's voice, he announced that they were going to restart filming "Wrong timing Taecyeon" he thought,scolding himself.
They shooted for more than 3 hours and wrap up the filming when the sky was starting to get dark. The whole staff were busy rearranging their belongings while GuiGui was happily chatting with the cameraman.
"Why don't you take her to the hotel?" the PD, Eric, said when he caught Taecyeon was stealing glimpse on GuiGui
"What?" the tone of his voice suddenly reached a high pitch making the people turn around and stare at him "PD-nim what are you saying?"
"Why not? Her manager said that their flight will be tomorrow afternoon so they booked a room in Sheraton Hotel" he looked at him and then frowned "What were you thinking?" after a while when he analyzed their conversation he patted Taecyeon's shoulder "Ahh young kids now.." he laughed while looking at Taecyeon's embarassed face
"So they'll stay here tonight?" his eyes searched for GuiGui who was now talking with the female staffs
"Since we ended filming for today, you two can go now" he left him for a while and then came back some minute later "Use these props so you will pass unnoticed, atleast try to do so" he gave him two pair of baseball caps and a pair of sunglasses for him "Don't let her slip away from your own hands. Everyone's love her, it will not take long that someone else will notice how lovable she is" Eric lastly added before definitely leaving Taecyeon fighting with his own feelings.
"I know" he whispered to himself, he already know that GuiGui has the power to make everyone love her with her energetic and cute behaviour. And someone else noticed her already, in a short time that someone was also ready to steal her away from him.
He walked past the people around them, his feet were heading towards a girl who was laughing her heart out while talking with the female staffs. He didn't want to expose his self too much and bare his feelings to her already instead he wanted to take step by step trying to figure out the destination of their long path.
He didn't want to make the same mistakes he'd done before in his past relationships, this time he wanted to be more careful and be sure about everything.
"GuiGui" he called out her name, when she lifted her head to look at him he added "Can we talk for a minute?" at his question the female staffs chuckled, as they can sense that there was something going on between them
"What is it?" she asked once they were alone
"I heard you're going to stay here tonight" he tried to act as normal as he can, somehow it was harder than acting a role in a drama or film
"Yes, we booked a room in a hotel and will leave tomorrow afternoon"
"Is that so?" he acted surprised "I can take you to the hotel, if you want" he wanted to punch himself after saying those words that can be misunderstood "I mean..absolutely with no negative intentions" he stared at her, waiting for her reaction or maybe a slap to his cheek "Man, what's up with you? You really act like a newbie" he silently scolded himself
"Okay, my manager and I don't know how to get there so thank you"
"Good" his smile got wider, luckily she didn't read through his mind
"Me and your manager need to discuss about your schedule so I think it will take some time" Eric suddenly interfered with their conversation "You can head to the hotel first or maybe let Taecyeon go with you" he threw a glance on him "You shouldn't let her go alone,right?" he said in korean, emphasizing every single word
"I can wait" she insisted, clueless about the conspiratorial plan of the two
"It will take long" Eric tried to convince GuiGui "Besides she also said you need to go first so you can rest"
"Hmm..is that so?" GuiGui lifted her eyes and looked at Taecyeon "Okay, then can you please go with me since I'm not familiar with the places?"
"Of course" he fastly threw a glance on Eric and smiled pleased, Eric smiled back at him and then walked away. Thanks to the PD the mission that he considered impossible was now possible. He wanted to spend some time alone with her, to ask her many things and to also know everything "You just need to wear this baseball cap to cover your face, I just don't want you to get involved into an issue, especially since you're in a foreign country" he put the black cap on her head, he was afraid of her safety because there might be some fans who don't like her "Okay, let's go" he said and called for a taxi. It was safer than taking public vehicles, since he doesn't have his own car.
The two happily chatted inside the cab, talking about the latest filming that they did. They commented and laughed at their behaviour during the shooting and didn't realize that they already reached their destination until the taxi driver stopped the car at the entrance of the hotel. Taecyeon paid for the bill and both of them stepped out from the taxi.
They entered the majestic lobby of the hotel and headed to the main desk, he spoke to the man on the front desk and explained that GuiGui needed to check-in. Few minutes later they handed him an electronic key of a suite room.
They walked towards the elevator and silently ride it, somehow the atmosphere around them became awkward. There were no cameramen filming their every movement neither stylists that fix their clothes, it was just the two of them. With that thought Taecyeon couldn't help himself by not feeling nervous.
When they finally reached their floor, he searched for the room number and inserted the electronic key on the lock. It was totally a different feeling when they went to the hotel in Jeju Island where people of the staff were always surrounding them, this time it was more nerve wracking.
"Wooaaa" GuiGui expressed her amazement by seeing the huge room. A cozy living room welcomed them, the brown couch with green little pillows are like inviting her to test how comfortable it is. She walked towards the huge glass window and stared at the breathtaking view of the city. Being in one of the highest floor of the hotel gave her free access to check out the busy panoramic night life of Seoul. The lights of the buildings and street lamps were shining in front of her eyes, giving a magical and romantic sight to the viewer. She turned around searching for Taecyeon, he was sitting on the couch in the living room. He was too concentrated to search something inside his black backpack to notice the amazing panoramic.
"I brought these foods with me" he started to take out one by one what was inside his bag "In case you feel hungry and want to have a snack"
GuiGui laughed when she saw the junk foods that he brought with him. It was amusing to see this new side of him, a caring and cute Taecyeon. She sat beside him and grabbed the green box "What's this?"
"Chocolate almond crush pocky"he answered taking a glimpse on what GuiGui's asking for
She opened the box and took out a stick, she bit a small part of it when something came in her mind "Ah oppa, don't they use this in some korean tv shows?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know that game where I bite this part and you bite the other part" she paused, trying to remember what's the name of that game "Then they start to eat it until they bbo bbo"
"They are not going to eat it until they bbo bbo!" he shaked his head and laughed at her explanation "It's called pepero game"
"Huh? They are not going to bbo bbo?"
Taecyeon laughed nervously, how come they started to talk about kissing "The game mainly consist that the pair who eat and leaves the tiniest part of the stick will win" he paused for a while and looked at her "Probably during that process the pairing lips will slightly touch"
"So in the end they will bbo bbo" GuiGui insisted and ate the stick
He unconsciously stared at her reddish lips and silently cursed the lucky pocky stick that she was eating
"Oppa?"
"Hmm?" he raised his eyes to look at her, she was looking at him with a confuse expression printed on her face "Nothing" he nervously shaked his head and turned it away. For a minute he regret buying that kind of snack that was now teasing him "Get a hold of yourself!" he thought, today he scolded his self countless of times.
"What is this?" GuiGui grabbed a notebook that Taecyeon took out from his bottomless bag, she peeks inside it but he fastly steal it away from her hands, making her suspect on what's hiding inside that notebook.
"This is where I write my songs" he looked at the cover and gently caressed it "Lately I'm composing a new song"
"Can't I read it?"
"I'll sing it to you once I finish writing the lyrics" he sweetly smiled at her, it's been weeks already that he is composing that song. Neither s didn't know nor hear about it, he wanted to finish it first and sing it to the person who has the main role and source of inspiration "By the way I saw your tv commercial" he said, focusing the topic into something else "With Hyun Joong hyung"
"Ah Hyun Joong"
Taecyeon frowned when he heard her addressing his name informally "Are you two close?" he casually asked
"Not really close but we will work together from now on" she smiled while giving him that news "This morning I signed a contract for The face shop as their new female testimonial"
"Really?" he was happy to hear about the advancement of her career but still a part of him was feeling unsure "Congratulations!" he clapped his hand while smiling at her, he feels even worst knowing that the two will work again together.
Taecyeon didn't want to be selfish, of course he was happy for her but it would have been better if there wasn't any Hyun Joong around trying to split them. With that uneasy feeling he silently listened to every story that GuiGui was telling him, in the meanwhile he was fighting with his own emotions, trying hard to not feel jealous. Jealousy was really the right word to define the mixed emotions that he was feeling since the moment he read Hyun Joong's message. That unpleasant feeling that he didn't want to acknowledge. His mind and heart are always fighting, the rational thought always win towards his weak emotions making him into a cool-headed and detached person.
He looked at GuiGui who was cuddled up in the small space of the couch, she fell asleep while they were watching tv from the living room after a long chat. He stood up and gently lift her from the sofa carefully carrying her. He walked towards the bedroom, laid her on the soft mattress and covered her with the white bed sheets. He then lastly moved away the wisp of hair from her bangs and gave her a sweet kiss on the forehead. Due to tiredness he laid down beside her and watched her sleeping until he fell into a deep sleep too.
"Hmm.." GuiGui smiled as she stretched out her arms, she's fully charged now that she had a nice sleep. She rubbed her eyes and slowly opened them, to her surprise she saw Taecyeon sleeping face right next to her. His left arm was around her waist, hugging her while he was sleeping peacefully. At first she couldn't look straight at him because his face was too close but few seconds later she raised her eyes and stared at that angelic sleeping face. A sweet smile designed her lips as she can look closely at him, she was too lucky to wake up in the morning and find him sleeping next her.
Each day they spend together her feelings for him are almost overflowing and even though she tries to contain her emotions, those were much stronger than her will power.
She raised her hand to touch his brownish silky hair, but at the time that she was caressing his hair Taecyeon suddenly opened up his eyes. GuiGui blinked, surprised and at the same time embarassed that he caught her in the act, she couldn't even look somewhere else because their faces were too close to each other.
He kept on looking at her in the eyes without saying anything, locking his gaze into hers. GuiGui's heart started to beat fast and loud. She was afraid that he might hear the crazy heart beats and probably laugh at it.
On the other side Taecyeon lifted his head a bit, as if under a magic spell he was slowly approaching her decreasing the distance between their faces.
"I think that you both need to wake.." her manager Chen entered the bedroom and opened her eyes wide when she saw that scene "I-I'm sorry..." she apologized and fastly turned around "J-Just continue, I'll go out and eat breakfast" she said and walked out of the room
Taecyeon removed his arm from GuiGui's waist and he abruptly stepped out from the bed "Sorry..I didn't mean to.." he touched his neck, feeling awkward about what just happened.
"It's okay.." GuiGui moved away the white bed sheets and also stepped out from the bed "Sorry too"
"Where are my shoes?" he murmured, not being able to look at her
When he finally found his shoes he fastly wore them and looked at the watch on his wrist. Luckily he had a schedule to attend to that early morning. In that moment he absolutely needed a place where GuiGui isn't around because he promised to himself that he will take slowly step by step and be extra careful because this time he wanted her to be his last lover and her last man.
"I need to go now because I have a schedule" on one part he was reluctant to leave her already but the other part was glad that they will not need to face what just happened few minutes ago on that bed "I'll contact you later"
"Okay" was GuiGui's short reply, she accompanied him and watch the door slowly closing.
When both of them were finally alone they leaned on the closed door, trying to gain strenght as their knees became jelly..
"Good morning Taecyeon" Shindong from Super Junior said to the mic, they were at the radio station where he is the dj "Thank you for accepting to come this early morning"
"I'm happy that you finally invited me Hyung"
"You're not really used to get up early because you love sleeping but today" he paused and looked at him "You were surprisingly early, something happened?"
"Nothing happened" he shaked his head, trying to act normal
"So we heard that you're shooting again for GWGM, how do you feel about it?"
"It's nice to see everyone again. Working with the crew of GWGM is a lot of fun" he nodded and smiled at Shindong
"What's with that cheesy smile?" he fooled him around "Just say that you're enjoying the married life, I can see it in your face" he chuckled after seeing Taecyeon's face "How dare you marry first?!" he then hilariously asked making the radio staff laugh
"That's why Hyung, you should marry your girlfriend already"
"Yah Ok Taecyeon! Now that you're a married man you're looking down at me?"
"Aniyo" he laughed his heart out
"I didn't meet your wife yet but I watched the past episodes of GWGM, you two look good together"
"Thank you" he slightly bowed to Shindong making him laugh with his behaviour
"Let's talk seriously. What do you think of your wife?"
"GuiGui?" he paused, suddenly the image of her apppeared in front of his eyes, smiling brightly at him "She's one of a kind" those words were the best way to describe her
"One of a kind?" Shindong more "Stop giving me that cheesy smile!" he complained, rolling his eyes "Just people who have a special one in their life do that kind of smile"
"So hyung should do it too" when Shindong tried it, he cracked in a loud laughter
"You really changed"
"Me? You think so?" he asked surprised to hear those words
"You used to be more detached and a loner type but now you smile and laugh a lot" he paused and talked on the microphone of the radio "GuiGui-ssi please continue doing this great job. Thanks to you our Taecyeon is a more cheerful person now. I hope to meet you soon too" he hilariously clapped his hands after finishing that speech "We will look forward to the broadcast of GWGM. Thank you Taecyeon for coming"
"Thanks for inviting me. Please do support us and the show"
"So that's for it now. In the meanwhile we'll listen to 2pm's newest song titled Come back when you hear this song"
Shindong took off the headphones from his ears and patted Taecyeon's shoulder "If that's the effect of that girl on you, don't let her go. Next time I hope you'll bring her here" he lastly said to him
As response Taecyeon just nodded, with no doubt GuiGui really changed his life.
While walking the corridor of the radio station hall with a smile on his lips, his attention was caught by a man who was walking towards him, heading to the room where he came from. His smile slowly disappeared when he recognized the man, he slightly bowed to him and forced himself to smile.
"Hyun Joong hyung"
"Ah Taecyeon, what a surprise to meet you here"
"I just finished recording for Shindong's radio station" when Hyun Joong answered him with a simple smile, he bowed to him once again and walked away, at the fourth step he heard Hyun Joong's voice
"GuiGui told me that you are shooting for a few more episodes for GWGM"
"Yes we are" he grit his teeth when he heard him addressing GuiGui informally as if they knew each other for a long time
"She probably told you that we will be working again,right?" he paused and stared at him "I'm really happy to work with her, she's a nice girl"
His face became expressionless upon hearing Hyun Joong's words, he didn't want him to see how irritated he feels in that moment "I'm also happy that Hyung says that she's a nice girl. Then i'm lucky to have her as my wife" he joked, trying to vent out his anger by forcing himself to laugh
"Just for the show" he sarcatiscally added
"Is there something wrong about it?" he was now feeling annoyed by his attitude, he wanted to respect him because he's much older than him but he was crossing the line.
"I have nothing against you Taecyeon, but I think I need to say this for respect to both of us" he paused for a while then looked straight at him "I like GuiGui"
Last night and also that early morning he was so happy that even if they slap him he thinks that he'll still smile like an idiot. He thought that no one can ruin that day but what Hyun Joong's said were the last words he wanted to hear, his sudden confession totally ruined his happiness.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Here's Taecyeon's sleeping face..hope you enjoyed reading my fanfic ^_^ the next chapter will be the decisive one! Please do keep looking forward to it, comments are really appreciated ^O^
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