“…did you tell her?” I asked.

Yerin paused from cutting the chicken, and slowly looked at me. “I did…just this afternoon.”

“And?”

“She’s shocked, of course,” I answered.

“No, I mean…did you tell her not to tell?” I explained.

“Yes, I did.”

“How did you tell her? Details, please…”

“Well…”

Sunhwa and I are in the middle of a heavy traffic when she started teasing me about telling her my secret.

“I’m living with Kim Heechul…” I whispered, afraid that someone on the other cars around us might hear.

“WHAT!” she shouted. “KIM HEECHUL! OF SUP…” I clasped my hand to , preventing her from blurting out her excitement.

“Will you calm down!” I told her, frustrated still at her attempted shouting.

“How can I calm down when my friend is living…living with…a Super Junior! Oh my God!” she said giddily. “You are so lucky; you get see s everyday!”

“I don’t see them every day; just Heechul.”

“Ah…still! I envy you so much,” she said, overly delighted. “When can I meet him?”

AHA! I knew it, I knew she’ll ask!

“In time…” I said. She’s so eager in meeting anyone from Super Junior. “I thought you dislike Heechul?” I asked, all of a sudden.

“What? When did I say that?” she said, taken aback.

“Come on, when I was asking about Super Junior, you told me that you like Siwon and you hate Heechul because he’s weird.”

She looked at me, stunned. “I didn’t…I didn’t say Heechul was weird, come on…”

All I can do was smile. Maybe she was thinking I will not introduce Heechul to her if she says something bad about him. This is getting hilarious.

“No…” she insisted. “I didn’t,” she said, her eyes getting bigger.

“Fine… you didn’t, then.”

“Of course I didn’t. Why should I say that anyway?”

The traffic is relieving; we are almost at Sunhwa’s apartment when she asked another question.

“Why are you living with him anyway?” she asked.

“He’s…wait, Sunhwa, promise me first that you will not tell ANYBODY about what I am going to tell you, understand?”

I parked the car in front of Sunhwa’s apartment building once we arrived.

“Pinky swear,” she said, holding out her pinky. We did the ‘swear’ while she was looking at me straight in the eyes.

“I’m going to marry him…”

One minute, she was serious. Now, she’s laughing her off. “Seriously,” she said in between laughter, “what’s the secret?”

“That’s it, that’s the secret,” I told her with a straight face.

From the look that I was showing her, she finally stopped from laughing. “You’re serious?” she asked.

“Do I look like I’m going to joke about this kind of stuff?” I returned a question.

“But, how come? He didn’t even court you?”

“Arranged marriage…” I said. With those words, she finally got what I was saying.

“And then I told her I tell her the rest of the details…”

“And what details could this be?” Heechul asked, before taking a sip from his glass of wine.

I don’t know why, but Heechul is at ease listening to my story. It’s like he’s not bothered at all. I thought he’d yell at me again and that I will be swimming in my own tears. But…here we are at the dining table, eating comfortably while exchanging thoughts about my conversation with Sunhwa.

“Well…about how the two of us ended here, how our parents demanded this living-together stuff, and…I don’t know, whatever comes in between, I guess.”

“That’s fine…”

My eyes widened. “Aren’t you going to protest?”

“No…why should I? You told me you trust your friend, right?” he asked.

“Yup…absolutely.” I nodded.

Wow, I didn’t know Heechul was considerate. He’s peeling his layers, one by one. Is this his true self?

My phone rang. I quickly put my fork down and took my phone from my pocket. Leeteuk was calling.

“Ummm…” I answered.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Eating, why?”

“How’s Yerin?” he asked.

“Why are you interested?” I answered, now looking at Yerin who was busy eating.

“Can’t I ask?”

“She’s eating.” Soon as I said that, Yerin looked at me curiously. She mouthed, “Me?”

I shook my head at her and continued my conversation with Leeteuk. “She’s fine.”

“I thought she’s bothered because she told her friend about you guys? How come she’s fine?” Leeteuk asked.

“Again, why are you interested? And besides, I told her its fine. Happy?” I sarcastically said.

Yerin was eyeing me closely, so absorbed at my conversation with Leeteuk. Well, I couldn’t blame her; we are talking about her, aren’t we?

“So what’s the catch?” Leeteuk asked.

“What catch?”

“I mean, what does Yerin’s friend want just to keep silent?”

“Ah really!” I hissed at the phone. I handed the phone to Yerin. “Can you talk to him, please? He’s probably out of his mind.”

Yerin took the phone and said, “Hello? Who’s this?”

“Hello, Yerin-sshi?” the guy over the phone said.

I replied, “Yes…who’s this?” I asked again.

“This is Leeteuk. Are you okay? Did Heechul yelled at you?” he asked.

“Ummm…no.”

“Really? He’s usually the yelling type of person,” he said. “Usually he’d storm out of the place or cause problem when something’s not right.”

“Well, I’ve witnessed it before,” I said.

“He yelled at you? Ah, seriously…” he sighed.

“No worries; I’m fine, anyway.”

“Well, if ever you have problems with Heechul…don’t hesitate to call me, okay?”

“Of course,” I answered.

“Ummm…mind me asking but, what does your friend want to keep your secret?” he asked.

“Oh…nothing really. I’ve already told Heechul that she’s a trusted friend. She’ll never sell the story,” I assured him. “But to tell the truth…she’s an ELF, so she’s hoping to see you guys in person.” Heechul sighed when I said this.

“Well that’s not big of a deal. Why don’t you two come to our performance tomorrow? That way you can meet all the members and your friend will fulfill her dreams,” Leeteuk laughed. “…killing two birds with one stone.”

I laughed as well. “That will be great. Heechul told me about the performance.”

“Oh really?” he asked. “He did?”

“Ummm…yes, he invited me.”

“Okay, that’s great. You two have a nice dinner. I guess I’m spoiling the moment. I’ll hang up now,” Leeteuk said. “Bye…”

“Oh, bye.” He cut the call.

Spoiling the moment? Huh?

“What did Leeteuk tell you?” Heechul asked soon as I put the phone down on the table.

“He asked what my friend wants to keep her silence and he also told me to watch your performance tomorrow.”

“Ah…I forgot about that,” Heechul said. “I will not be able to accompany you there. I’ll go straight to the broadcasting building after the rehearsal at the company. I’ll call you when I get there. You and your friend can go there before hand and I’ll just meet you.”

“Ummm…I don’t think that is a good idea. Your manager might notice me, not to mention the hundreds of fans that will be watching your performance.”

Of course! All I think about is how I will perform brilliantly in front of Yerin that I forgot about everything else. Out manager will know, then the company, then our fans, and then…we’re doomed.

“You’re…right. But…”

“Come on, we’ll just watch at the stands. We’ll be there, I promise.”

Yerin continued eating. I was hesitant about our decision. Urgh, I want to brag Yerin to my members but…I guess it’ll have to wait.

“Okay then. It’s a deal. Just be sure to be there! Alright?!” I demanded.

Yerin smiled. “I know!”

Why am I nervous? Why am I sweating? I’m not usually like this. How do I explain this feeling? It’s like…we’re in our debut days again, nervous to the bones and sweating like hell! KIM HEECHUL, come to your senses! This is not your first performance on stage, what are you so nervous of?

Is it about Yerin? She’s going to watch you…so what? There are others that will watch you. Just calm down!

I continued to bite my lip and rub my hands together at the corner of the waiting room. Sitting alone, I look odd.

“Heechul hyung!” Eunhyuk surprised me.

“Yah! Do you want to die!” I yelled soon as was face to face with him. “Why are you scaring people?”

Eunhyuk was startle. “I just merely called your name. What are you so nervous about?”

“I’m not nervous…” I lied.

“Of course you are,” Leeteuk butted in. Coming closer, he whispered to my ear, “Because Yerin is here to watch you.”

Then like the speed of light, my heart pounded hard at the mention of Yerin’s name. Gosh! I’m sweating like a pig. Leeteuk gave handkerchief and said, “You don’t want to look exhausted before our performance.”

“Are you crazy? I’m fine,” I said, wiping the sweat on my forehead.

Leeteuk just smiled and got back to his seat next to Kangin, who was busy yawning for the last five minutes.

“Super Junior will be up next. Don’t change the channel!” announced the MCs of show.

All Super Junior members are at the backstage, waiting for our turn to perform. Some of the coordinators are busy with retouching the member’s make up, some members are vocalizing, some members are peeking at the stands. The show’s crews are fixing the stage that we will perform on, while the audiences at the stands are on their usual chatter before every performance.

Donghae, who was out peeking at the stands a while ago, came running to my direction.

“Hyung,” he whispered, “Yerin-noona is at the audience,” he said, smiling.

“Really?” I asked. He nodded.

I walked towards the corner of the stage and peeked at the audience. Donghae, who was beside me, pointed at the corner of the stand, just in front of the corner that I am standing right now. Wow! She’s so beautiful. Her hair is tied up to a beautiful pony tail, wearing a grey coat over a white turtle neck. She was examining the whole stage in amazement.

So this is what his comfort zone looks like. It was amazing, I must say.

“Yerin!” Sunhwa almost shouted; everyone who’s next to us is chatting so loud. “Thank you!”

I smiled. “What are you thanking me for?”

“Because you invited me here. Are we going to meet them later?” she asked.

“About that…”

Sunhwa’s expression changed from ecstatic to depressing. “We can’t…”

“Not here. HE said you can meet them some other time. But LEADER already knows about you. He said he’s fine with it.”

“Really?” she said, gaining frenzy. “They said that?”

“Would I lie to you?” I told her.

All of a sudden, Sunhwa hugged me. “Thank you, Yerin.”

What the…who’s that hugging Yerin? Huh, must be her friend…Sun…Sun…what’s her name?

“Hyung, manager’s calling us,” Donghae said, tapping my back.

“Oh…coming.”

The roar of the audience was deafening. At our last pose, the fans in the stand roared in cheers. Every members of my group, though exhausted, still smiled at the adrenaline rush that all of us are feeling. Leeteuk, being the leader of the pack, must feel proud; moments like this make him float in happiness. Every single one of my members has the same contented smile on their faces. This is our spotlight, our stage, our comfort zone, and our life.

At the corner of the stand was Yerin, standing and clapping, with a huge smile on her face. Her smile was different from the rest; it was like she was telling “Good Job, Kim Heechul”. With hundreds of fans cheering in front of me, chanting my name, her claps and smiles are enough, are the best.

Inside my head stirs the uproar of Super Junior’s performance. The audiences made me feel ecstatic that I can’t help but to cheer and shout “Super Junior!” as well. But my eye is stuck to only one person on stage, despite the fact that there’s a whole bunch of good looking guys performing in front of me. Though Heechul didn’t have that many lines to sing, I was proud of him; like a mother is proud of her child.

When the performance stopped and they made their final pose, I had goose bumps. I was thinking “So this is why Sunhwa and this hundreds of fans beside me like them so much.” They performed their best, they performed their hearts; and their fan’s cheers are the evidence that they’ve done a great job. I can’t help but be also happy at Super Junior’s happy faces when they finished their performance.

For a split second, I saw Heechul looking at me. He smirked, like telling me “I told you I’m good.” Yes, Heechul, you were good.

“OH MY GOD!” Sunhwa shrieked, looking at me. “THEY ARE THE BEST!”

“I know!” I shouted, fighting the loud screams of fans beside me.

Sunhwa and I decided to have dinner together first before heading to our homes. At a nearby restaurant from the broadcasting station, we decided to eat. Sunhwa emanates such frenzy that I can’t help myself but to be amused.

“I can’t believe I saw them perform live,” Sunhwa said, still awestruck. “Did you see how Siwon danced so handsomely? Did you see how Leeteuk winked? Did you see…”

“Yes, Sunhwa, I saw it,” I told her, although in truth, my eyes were stuck to Heechul.

“Heechul was great as well,” she said, before taking a bite on her steak. “He’s so handsome…masculine! I can’t believe he’s all 4D in variety shows.”

“Yeah…4D…”

“Oh, by the way, did you tell him about Kyeonghee?” she suddenly asked.

“Oh,” I nodded. “We even have a party last night,” I smiled as I recalled last night.

Sunhwa’s eyes turned to slits. “What type of celebration?”

With the look on her face, I totally got what is inside her head. “NOT THAT KIND…” I almost yelled. “We had dinner last night; wine and roast chicken.”

“Roast chicken…your specialty? Wow, you must be in a really good mood. And what happened after that?” she asked.

“Slept…”I simply said.

“Oh!” she blurted out, giddy.

“On separate beds! Are you insane?”

“I was hoping there’s more to it,” she said, continuing her meal.

AH SERIOUSLY!

My phone rang. The caller ID showed ‘Cinderella’.

“Hello?” I answered the phone.

“Where are you?”

“I’m having dinner with Sunhwa,” I answered.

“Be home early, okay?” he said.

“Okay…” I said. He hung up immediately.

______________________________________________________________________

Sorry to cut the story here. But nevertheless, I hope you guys liked reading my updates.

Comments are welcome here. Thank you for reading. (7-25, 10:30 AM)

~Crina