nineteen

  “…That is unbelievable.”

  Seohyun had been rendered speechless, after hearing Yoona’s words. The both of them were in Yoona and Luhan’s apartment preparing for Jun’s birthday party, which would take place that night. Jun was a little too young for fancy parties, and he did not have much requests either, thus they settled for just a simple dinner amongst friends. Seohyun had graciously offered her help, and Yoona chose that moment to relay to her friend what she had observed the week before.

  “I’m serious – I swear it was Mi-oppa and Luna.” Yoona insisted.

  Seohyun was still half-gaping. “The thought itself is absolutely ridiculous. I have never heard a more ridiculous piece of gossip, really. If you weren’t a group member I knew for practically my entire life, I would probably ask you to leave my house.” She was completely flabbergasted. “Are you completely sure you didn’t see someone else who happened to look like them?”

  “No.” Yoona was firm, clear about what she had witnessed that day. “It was definitely Mi-oppa and Luna, I could clearly see their facial features and all. Plus, Mi-oppa was wearing that trademark watch that SuJu-M had bought him for his birthday several years ago.”

  “…No matter how I consider it, it’s just ridiculous.” Seohyun attempted to contain her shock and surprise. “Mi-oppa would never run to Luna, I mean, he hardly ever talked to her. An affair with her? That’s absurd! Ryeowook-oppa would probably be on his knees, crying, if he were to perceive that such an affair was going on.”

  “And plus it’s so public! A supermarket? Seriously? The whole world goes to the supermarket, and there are reporters lurking at every corner!” Yoona vented out her displeasure as well. “If a picture of them went to the tabloids, if a single snapshot-“

  “…It’s going to be the end for Mi-oppa and Victoria.” Seohyun became immensely concerned. “And there’s Huiling, gosh, poor Huiling… She doesn’t deserve that sort of thing. What has Huiling done wrong? The poor child is upset, but she controls her feelings so much, just for the sake of her stubborn and irrational parents.”

  Yoona heaved a deep sigh. “I cannot imagine Huiling eventually becoming inflicted by hurt, eternally shamed, if her father’s affair picture truly gets to the press.”

  Seohyun inhaled slowly, setting her hands on the table. “Yoong-unnie, we’ve got to make sure that this little gossip just stays in between the both of us – I trust you’ve told no one else.” Seohyun said decisively. “I will go to both Mi-oppa and Luna; I’ll make sure that things are clarified before even we jump to conclusions.”

  “…You’re right.” Yoona complied, frowning as she thought about it once more. “Everything’s such a huge wreck right now. It seems as though problems keep rising from every corner – Mi-oppa and Vic-unnie are having a dispute, Taemin and Sulli’s wedding has been postponed, and I haven’t even had much time for Jun nowadays because there’s so much to worry about.”

  “Well, it is stressful, and autumn’s starting off rather roughly, but…” Seohyun took a deep breath. “We’ll have to go through it. I’ve got to send Yeonjung to nursery school soon, and Seonjung’s been ranting about going for a picnic. I’ve got to make sure to keep that in mind, or else Seonjung will be turning up her nose at me once more…” Seohyun quickly made a mental note.

  Yoona could only give her a bitter smile. “When did our lives become so tense and difficult? …I mean, life as an idol was strenuous and exhausting, but still… I guess emotional hurt, especially with children and relationships involved… It becomes even more nerve-wracking.”

  “We reap what we sow.” Seohyun said, a-matter-of-factly. “We should be more positive about all of this! And you, unnie, you’re the one who should be taking care of your health as well – you’re carrying a child.”

  Yoona patted her stomach absentmindedly, nodding. “…I guess I’ll do my best.”

  “It’s been one week – you need to stick your head out of the window and get the wind to smack you in the face.” Minho said comically, at the same time having a serious intent, saying his words whilst he fixed his tie. “Staying cooped up at my place isn’t going to do you any good, Taem.”

  Taemin frowned, not willing to move from his rather comfortable position on the couch. “Going outside isn’t going to do me any good either.”

  “Well, it’s Jun’s birthday today.” Minho exhaled, rummaging through one of the drawers for his cellphone. “You can miss it, but I’m not going to.”

  Taemin hesitated, pausing for a moment as he caught a glimpse of Minho still frantically searching for the cellphone. “…Do you still like Yoona, Minho?”

  Minho flinched distinctively, smiling awkwardly as he turned to Taemin, immediately forgetting about his phone. “That was ages, truly ages ago. We were trainees at that time, and so many things changed.”

  “I know.” Taemin nodded his head in agreement. “For you, hyung, so many things changed. For more than five years, you had cherished a secret crush on Yoona-noona, and you let her go because you couldn’t pop out the words. And then, at least you were braver with Krystal, but she’s the one who let you go.”

  “My relationship issues are sickening.” Minho tried to brush it off by laughing bitterly. “…I even put up a whole façade pretending to like Yuri, and in the end I couldn’t even pull out my guts to grovel in front of Yoona. I wasn’t good enough for Krystal either. Two girls I loved – it’s my own fault that I got neither.” He jolted back to reality. “…But still, that’s all the past now. Though he’s not my godson nor my son, Jun’s a good kid.”

  Taemin contemplated the overall issue in his mind slowly, wondering what he should do for himself, his own life. “…Hyung, should I go and apologize to Sulli again?”

  “Shouldn’t you be deciding that for yourself?”

  “I know, I know…” Taemin admitted. “…I love Ssul, I really do. But we are stable in some ways, and completely unstable in others. We used to have this really strong bond and now, even after our reconciliation after the big dispute, things have just gone downhill.” He breathed deeply. “Sulli’s got a mind of her own, and it seems that now she’s truly changed.”

  “Maybe there’s just some things that’s on her mind, that’s all.” Minho tried to mediate the situation. “…I don’t think she’ll like Sehun, given his character. Sulli’s not strong enough to stand next to that sort of person. Sehun’s stable and unstable in the wrong ways, and she’s not Krystal, the girl who can withstand almost anything.”

  “But I don’t think I’m being Sulli’s pillar of support either, you know, hyung?” Taemin was slightly vexed. “I used to be able to lend her my shoulder, and up until now she still makes an effort to reminisce