Ren’s POV

I stood in front of my closet inside of my room, staring blankly at all of my clothes. Today was the return of classes; summer vacation was finally over and it was time to go back to teaching. I’d be lying if I said a small part of me was disappointed. With the start of classes, it left me with little time to be around 2DREAM and Baekho, leaving me out of the loop as far as comeback preparations were concerned. It also meant less time spent with Baekho. But Baekho was a busy man himself now; he’d be practically living at the dance studio that JB and Jason had rented out for him as well as attending vocal lessons with one of the vocal instructors I had managed to borrow from Pledis who had happily agreed to coach him in secret. Baekho would be busy trying to make his dream become a reality. In the meantime, I had to return to teaching. I was almost done with my internship with Pledis. For now, I would have to go back to my hectic schedule of trying to balance both while being in a newfound relationship.

I picked out an outfit worthy of a first day’s appearance back to school. I wore a white button down dress shirt, grey slacks and grey shoes. I walked over to my vanity mirror and glanced at my reflection before looking over at my black square framed glasses. I placed them over the bridge of my nose. Normally I didn’t wear them out in public, but today I felt like a change. I pinned my front bangs up and grabbed my leather satchel with today’s lessons and made my way out into the hallway. As I entered the living room I was met and stopped by Jason who approached me.

“Can I borrow you for a sec?” He suddenly asked. I glanced down at the silver watch on my wrist.

“Make it fast. I’m in a bit of a hurry.”

“You know how everyone did something for me on my birthday, but not for Aron?” He asked, referring to the birthday celebration the other day in which Jason received all of the attention but not Aron, despite sharing the same birthdate. I nodded, waiting for him to get to his point. “I’ve been thinking… Is there something I can do for him?”

I smiled, placing my hand on his left shoulder. “Jason, trust me, you’ve already done enough for everyone in this house.”

He shook his head. “Aron was my first friend when I came to Korea. I feel like I owe him one.”

“Jason, please. We’re already thankful for all that you’ve done.”

He narrowed his eyes at me in frustration. “There has to be something…” His voice trailed off as he rubbed his chin with his thumb. I thought for a moment. Since Jason seemed intent on ignoring me, I might as well just give him what he wants, which was help. What could Jason possibly do for Aron, the person who was content with what he had and never asked nor wanted anything? He was still always on that phone of his. It wasn’t as much as he had been in the past, but he still spent a considerable amount of time on it.

“Well…” My voice trailed off. “There’s the mystery of the phone.”

Jason gave me a questioning look. “Phone?”

I nodded. “Supposedly he’s been waiting for a call.” I replied. Jason tilted his head to the side.

“Is that so?” He asked, lost in thought.

“You’re better off asking Min more about it. I don’t know any of the details. Anyways, I need to get going or else I’ll be late. See you later.” I said, waving as I walked past him and opening the front door. Jason slightly waved back at me.

“Will do. Thanks for the info.”

I nodded then hurried out the door, making my way back to the school that I had spent the entire summer away from. As expected from the faculty, I arrived earlier than when classes started to make sure to greet each of my students as they walked in. I stood by the doorway as the familiar faces poured in one by one. They each smiled and waved at me as they entered the classroom and signed amongst their friends. It wasn’t long until every student of mine had arrived, all except one. I peered out into the hallway to look for Suri, my student who had skipped a lot of classes the previous semester due to personal issues. As more time went by, my heart sank. Would she not be coming after all? I worried about her. Out of all of my students, she seemed to have the most trouble adjusting to her surroundings. Though, it was never her fault. For some reason she was always made the target of the hearing kids at the neighboring school, which I thought I had put a stop to last time. Did they start up again?

Just as my mind was about to become carried away with thoughts of paranoia, to my surprise and relief Suri came running in carrying her backpack in her arms. She skidded to a stop in front of me and bowed, beginning to sign an apology for being late when I simply smiled and urged her inside of the classroom. I didn’t need an apology or an excuse; I was just glad that she was alright. She hurried inside and took a seat at her desk while I took my place at the front of the classroom.

“Welcome back, class. Did anyone do anything fun over summer break?” I signed.

A student raised his hand before signing. “It was boring.”

I laughed. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It wasn’t long enough!” Another girl signed.

“I agree with you.” I signed back to her. She smiled.

“Teacher Choi, what did you do during summer break?” Another student signed.

I thought for a moment. My students knew that I was working on an internship, but due to the terms of the contract I had signed with Pledis, none of them knew for who it was for. I had to word my words carefully. “I worked!”

“That’s right! The internship! Did you style anyone famous?”

I smiled. “Of course I did. Who do you think I am?”

“Teacher Choi, you look different.” Another girl signed to me, catching my attention. I gave her a questioning glance.

“I do?” I paused. “Oh, the glasses-”

“Not that! You look… happy.”

Her words made me pause. “I do?” She smiled back at me in response. The student sitting next to her joined in the conversation.

“Teacher Choi must have fallen in love!” She teased. “Who is it? Someone famous that you styled???”

I turned red. “Okay, enough of this ridiculousness. Let’s begin class.”

“It was, wasn’t it?”

“I’m giving you extra homework tonight.” I playfully scolded. The girl pouted. I grinned as I shifted my gaze down into my lesson book. It was amazing how easily they picked up on my new relationship. Was it really that obvious? Baekho did make me happy… but I had no idea to this extent. It wasn’t like it was a bad thing. I was enjoying the hell out of our time together. But it was amusing to see that my happiness was so evident that my middle schoolers picked up on it. I would have to tell Baekho later. I wondered what he would think. Knowing him, he’d probably scold me and tell me to stop being so obvious and lame. I continued on with the day’s lessons. The first day of school seemed to pass rather quickly. When it came time for dismissal everyone bolted out the door, all except for Suri who purposely waited for the room to empty before timidly approaching me at the front of the room as I wiped the dry-erase board clean. She tapped me on my shoulder to get my attention. I slowly glanced over my shoulder, surprised to see that she was still here.

“Teacher Choi, can I tell you something?” She signed.

I placed the eraser down on the board. “You can tell me anything.”

“Well…” She paused, hesitatingly shifting her gaze down to the ground. I tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention as I signed.

“Is something wrong?”

She remained silent, glancing back down. “Over the summer my parents got a divorce.”

I paused. “I’m sorry to hear that. Are you okay?”

She shook her head. “My mom… she found someone new.”

“New? Isn’t that a good thing for her?”

Suri shook her head again. “He’s not…” She stopped herself, forcing a smile over her lips. “Never mind. It’s nothing, teacher Choi. Sorry for bugging you.” She quickly signed. I silently stared at her for a moment. Her words didn’t sit right with me. A major red flag was raised by what little information she had told me just now. Her parents divorcing was one thing; kids oftentimes had a difficult time adjusting to the break of their parents’ relationship. Divorce tears families apart and it’s the children involved that suffer. But the fact that Suri had a difficult time telling me about the man and didn’t agree with the fact that her mother moving on was something good alarmed me. It made me worry; was the man her mom picked up not treating Suri right?

“Never think you’re bugging me. Come to me any time; I encourage it. Confide in me. If there’s something going on, please don’t be afraid to tell me, Suri.”

She forcibly smiled. “Its fine, teacher Choi.”

“But are you?”

She paused briefly before nodding. “I’ll be fine, teacher Choi. I’ll see you tomorrow!” She waved goodbye and quickly ran out of the classroom, leaving me alone to my thoughts. Although she said she would be fine, for some reason I had a difficult time believing her. Of course I wanted to believe that she was fine, but something deep down in my gut told me otherwise. But there was nothing I could do. I was nothing but her homeroom teacher. I had no right to interfere in her home life unless she was being physically threatened and it disrupted her school work. As a teacher, this killed me. I hated to see my students suffering silently on the inside. I wasn’t sure of what was going on with Suri, but I made a mental note to make an effort each day to check on her. Something was wrong and I needed to monitor the situation.

Jason’s POV

After Ren had left for school earlier this morning, I was scheduled to meet with Mr. Kang Baekho down at the studio that I had personally rented out along with JB for his use. Well, JB might have signed for it but it was me who had put down the money for it. Spending my money on Shnookums was worth it to me; why not? I actually had plenty of it. I had always been good with investing and saving, so I was set for life. I didn’t have to work, but I chose to. Dancing was my passion. I couldn’t just sit around and do nothing for the rest of my life, now could I? Teaching others to dance made me happy. And the fact that I would be training Kang Baekho and helping him return to the stage in all his y glory, I was ecstatic. I would do anything to get him back to his former self because he was a living legend in the music industry. To help him wouldn’t be an honor, but a thrill.

Before meeting up with Baekho, I sat at the dining table with Minhyun as he drank his morning cup of coffee in silence. Minhyun had this set schedule about him that I learned the hard way; you don’t talk to Minhyun in the mornings before he talks to you, or else he’ll bite your head off. He was a good hearted guy, but he was a fire breathing dragon in the morning. I sat on the opposite end of the table and leaned my elbows on the edge, resting my chin in my palms and staring at him with a smile. Minhyun took another sip of his coffee before heavily sighing out loud.

“What do you want?”

I pouted. “Why do you assume I want something?”

“Because you’re you.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You’re annoying.”

I gasped dramatically. “How can you speak to your hyung in such a way?”

“You’re not my-” Minhyun paused then sighed again. “Fine, hyung, what do you want?”

“Just my bestie’s unconditional love…”

“I will throw this coffee mug at you; how’s that for love?” Minhyun asked, raising his mug in his right hand and acting like he was about to throw it at me. I held my hands in front of my face.

“I wanted to ask you something about Aron.”

He set his mug back down on the table. “What do you want to know?”

“What’s his deal with the phone?” I asked, thinking back to how Ren was right. He did always have it by his side. However, I never really thought much of it. I always assumed he was just a phone addict. I didn’t there was some cause to it. But now that Ren had brought it up, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I wanted to know. If there was a mystery to his phone, I wanted to solve it. Minhyun gave me a surprised look.

“How do you know about the phone?”

“So there is something to it then.” I replied, ignoring Min’s question. Minhyun pursed his lips together and shifted his gaze down to the table’s surface.

“All this time Aron has been waiting for a call from his first love that disappeared on the night he was supposed to propose to her.” He sadly replied. My eyes grew wide. Aron had loved someone else before Minhyun? Well, I supposed it was plausible. He wasn’t much younger than I was and I had slept around quite a bit in my time. But Aron’s personality… he seemed like the inexperienced type of lover. I had really just assumed that he had been single for much of his life until he met Min. It was shocking to hear that he had planned on proposing to his first love. Poor Min.

“Wow. I had no idea.”

“Yeah, Aron doesn’t like to talk about it.”

“So what happened to her?”

Minhyun heavily shrugged. “No one knows. She just disappeared into thin air. For years he’s been waiting by his phone, waiting for her call. He says he even became an idol in hopes that she would see him on TV and try to contact him.”

“Well that’s a bummer. Sorry, Min.”

“He says he’s over her, but still… there’s a small part of me that believes otherwise.”

I laughed. “Naw, he’s over her. One look at him and you can tell he’s so into you.”

Minhyun slightly smiled. “I suppose. Why did you want to know?”

“Well… because I want to do something for him.” I replied. “I owe Aron.”

Minhyun rolled his eyes. “You owe a lot of us after all the hell you put us through. What are you planning to do? Hire a private investigator?”

“Yeah.” I abruptly replied. Minhyun gave me a crazy look.

“What? Don’t be absurd.” He said, staring intently at me to see if I was joking or not. I kept my face stern and placid. He furrowed his brows. “Oh my god, you are serious… Jason, private investigators cost thousands of dollars. She disappeared in New York! That means you’d be sending him overseas and-”

“Price isn’t an object.”

Minhyun paused. “Why? Why would you go through such lengths for Aron?”

“He was my first friend here. And if it means finally being able to give him a peace of mind, finding out what happened to her, I don’t mind the price.”

“I see…” Minhyun’s voice trailed off.

“Do you not want Aron to find out?” I asked, sensing his disappointment. I knew this news was shocking to Min. I was basically asking him if it was alright to find Aron’s first love, despite the fact that they were in a happy relationship. “If it would make you feel uncomfortable, maybe I shouldn’t do it.”

Minhyun shook his head. “That guy… he might say otherwise, but he needs closure. Waiting by his phone… that’s no way to live. Do it, Jason.”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“If you would have asked me this a long time ago, I would have said no. My relationship with Aron has always been a rocky one and I was never sure of my status: was I his friend, or boyfriend? But I’m sure of it now. Aron has my heart and I have his. I’m certain that nothing will change between us if she is found. But I think Aron deserves to know after so long.”

“How come he never thought of hiring a private investigator himself?” I asked.

Minhyun smiled. “I’m sure he has. But Pledis controls our money. Everything we have is bought by the company. We don’t get rich until after our contract expires. Pledis will not fork over the money for a private investigator.”

“I see… so it’s up to me then!” I replied, sticking out my chest. Minhyun rolled his eyes at me as I stood up and made my way towards the door. “I’ll be back later, bestie!” I said then kicked on my shoes and left the mansion. Next stop, dance studio.

I arrived at the dance studio to find Baekho already waiting for me inside. He was sitting in the middle of the floor, staring at his reflection in the mirror. A big grin swept across my face as I stood behind him. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit star struck, being here like this in a room with Kang Baekho. He was gorgeous. Not usually the kind of guy I went after because of his muscles, but I could look past that… Oh, drats. That’s right. I promised my heart to JR, didn’t I? Speaking of the little guy, I wondered how well he was doing on learning the routine. Seeing as he was a professional, he should have it down in no time. I glanced down as I suddenly heard a nervous Baekho humming.

“Umm….” He replied, staring at me in the mirror and giving me a strange look. Now that I thought of it, I must have looked like a madman just standing behind him and grinning silently. Darn it, Jason. Tone it down. You’re scaring him.

“Shnookums!” I exclaimed.

“Can you not?” Baekho asked uncomfortably.

“Not be so loveable?” I sighed. “I can try, but I make no guarantees about the outcome!” I laughed. Baekho slowly stood up and easily towered over me with his big, muscular shoulders. He narrowed his eyes at me, trying to intimidate me but it wasn’t working. “Come any closer and I’ll kiss you.” I puckered my lips out. Baekho’s narrowed eyes grew larger as he quickly took several steps backwards and away from me.

“What in the world is wrong with you?”

“Probably many things, but I don’t have time to see a shrink. Alright, let’s get to this! Kang Baekho, we’ve got ourselves a comeback to work on! Lucky you, I’ve already arranged the background demo so all you need to do is provide me with your lovely voice and your dancing little booty.”

“Excuse me?”

I leaned over to get a better look at his behind. “Oh, I’m sorry. It’s not small but rather large, isn’t it? So firm and round-”

“I’m leaving.” He replied and spun around.

“Now I get to watch it in action as you walk away from me; who’s lucky? I’m lucky!” Baekho immediately placed his hands on his rear and spun around uncomfortably, giving me an uneasy look.

“Cut it out or else-”

I spread my arms in a welcoming motion. “You can have your way with me, you know.”

“I’m done here!”

“Ugh, but Shnookums! We haven’t even started learning the routine yet!” I snickered. “I was just playing, man. Settle down. I’ll stop being weird, I promise.” I walked over to the stereo and hooked up my iPod. Baekho watched me as I shifted through my playlist. After I found the track I was looking for I curiously glanced up at him. “How’s your hearing? Is it ?”

Baekho gave me a surprised look. “Ren told you?”

I nodded. “I heard about your accident. , man. But hey, all things happen for a reason, right? Losing your hearing isn’t the end of the world. We’ll get you back on stage though.” I started playing the music. “Take a listen. Do you hear it?”

Baekho paused for a moment. “I hear it.”

I smirked. “Can you feel it?” I asked, referring to the vibrating walls as I turned up the volume. Baekho nodded.

“I feel it.”

“Good. Because we’re not going to use your ears today.” I replied, throwing him off guard. He gave me a questioning look. “We’re going to focus on learning the routine through feeling the beat and rhythm. Believe it or not, you’re not the only hearing impaired person I’ve come across through dance. Back when I was in university there was a deaf dancer I had the honor of studying with. He was the best, better than any of us hearing students. Since he had no use of his ears, he made use through the rest of his body and was able to dance beautifully just by feeling the music. Although you can hear through the assistance of your hearing aid, I don’t want you to rely on that, reason being that technology doesn’t always agree with us. You can be on stage and the battery can die on you and then what? You’re stuck. I’m going to train you so that if something like that does happen, a disastrous performance can be avoided. What do you say, Kang Baekho?”

Baekho looked at me, slightly impressed. “I say let’s do it.”

I smiled. “Excellent.” I replied then restarted the music. I stood him in the center of the dance studio and had him turn his back to me before I began explaining the routine. “You have five counts to turn around. On count six you raise your right arm and wave it in front of you like this.” I said then demonstrated with the music. “Bring both hands in front of you, step forward with your left foot, bring your right arm up and stretch your left arm out. Do a body wave, outstretch your right arm, flip your wrists quickly before placing your hands on your hips where you’ll then shift your shoulders.”

Baekho watched me intently as I demonstrated each of the moves I had just listed to him. After I finished relaying what I had just told him I stopped the music, quickly restarting it. Baekho went straight to work, copying my every movement. Although it wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t bad. Amateurs wouldn’t have been able to keep up, but based on how well he followed my instructions I could tell that this was definitely the legend I had heard about and watched countless performances of on YouTube. Kang Baekho might have been away for a while, but he didn’t forget how to move that beautiful body of his. I made Baekho repeat the opening set several more times to ingrain it into his memory. Once we had perfected it, we moved on to the next set and so on. The time seemed to fly as I was working with Baekho. I had been so caught up in enjoying instructing him that I hadn’t even known that the entire day had escaped from us. Apparently I wasn’t the only one either. Although there were several times where he became frustrated, Baekho thoroughly enjoyed today. Of course, why wouldn’t he? He was back to doing what he loved and was born to do: perform.

Several hours later I was now teaching him the choreography 3/4ths into the song. I was surprised by how fast a learner he was, but I knew he was just excited and determined to get back on stage. And I was overjoyed that I would be the one responsible for helping him get there. We were both dripping with sweat to the point where it wasn’t even y but just plain gross and unbearable. I threw my hands up. “Okay, okay, let’s call it a day.” I replied, stepping away from him and wiping the sweat from off my forehead.

Baekho shook his head. “No, let’s keep going.”

I paused before slowly glancing back at him with a smile spread across my lips. “I understand that determination of yours, Shnookums, but we can only get so far on the first day. Relax. We’ll get there.”

Baekho pursed his lips as if he didn’t like my response. “I can do it. I can keep going.”

I laughed. “You might. But I can’t. Besides, don’t take this the wrong way, but I have somewhere else I’d rather be.”

Baekho narrowed his eyes at me. “How can I possibly take that the wrong way?”

I smirked. “I know, right? Ahh, I have to get back home before he goes to bed.” I randomly thought out loud, forgetting that Baekho was listening. I had originally planned to get back to the mansion before dark so that I could speak with Aron about the mysterious girl related to his phone addiction. I couldn’t get anywhere without a name. If I could just get the name from him, I’d take over from there.

Baekho gave me a suspicious look. “Who?” He asked curiously. “Ren?”

I smirked, suddenly picking up on his jealousy. “Perhaps.”

“Why do you need to get back before he goes to bed?”

I placed my hands on my hips. “Didn’t I tell you? There’s a game I like to play. It’s called -”

“I’ll kill you.”

“Yay!”

“Yay?”

“Promise not to go easy on me.” I teased, walking away to collect my mp3 player. I could hear Baekho laughing in the background.

“God, I actually feel sorry for those guys. I don’t know how they learned to put up with you for so long. I thought we were childish, but you bring it to another level.” Baekho replied, removing his beanie and running his fingers through his sweat soaked hair. At that moment I happened to glance up at his reflection in the mirror where I instantaneously spotted his hearing aid. It wasn’t as if it were big, but it definitely was noticeable. That’s when the reality of everything suddenly sank in. Kang Baekho really did get involved in an accident. He really did lose a substantial amount of his hearing.

I smiled as I started packing my belongings into my gym bag. “It’s how I cope with my situation.”

“Huh?” Baekho gave me a surprised look.

“I lost everything once too, y’know?” I replied. “It … but, you have to move on, right?”

Baekho nodded. “Definitely.”

I turned to face him. “I can’t say I know which experience is worse: being kicked out because of disability, or because of a false rumor. In either case, neither one of us was protected by the company we devoted our very souls to. And it hurt.” I said, turning red from embarrassment. I hardly ever talked about my true feelings. I always locked them up on the inside and put on a happy face on the outside because I didn’t want people worrying or feeling sorry for me. However, being in a room with Baekho, I felt like he was just someone… someone I could relate to.

“I don’t think of it as a disability so much as an opportunity to experience a side of life I ordinarily never would have.” Baekho replied. “I used to be such a jerk. I had a sense of entitlement longer than the Great Wall, I walked over everyone and their feelings; I simply thought I was invincible and the best. But I was wrong. What is that it took an accident like this to make me realize that. When I lost my hearing, I was literally knocked off my pedestal. I realized that I was just like everyone else: human. I wasn’t a god. Singing didn’t transform me into some indestructible human being. But with the loss of a sense, I felt like I was beneath even an ordinary citizen. If it weren’t for Ren, I would have stayed kicked down after Pledis abandoned me. I could either mope or move on. But he taught me how to adjust and learn to live with my hearing loss. He introduced me into a whole new world. After being introduced to this new world, I learned not to take even the smallest things for granted. I want to face the world again… I want to face the world with a smile despite being kicked down. I wanted to come back.”

I stared at him briefly before taking my right hand and scratching behind my head. “That sounds a lot like myself, actually. I didn’t want to mope. People told me to die, but for what? A false rumor the company probably spread just to kick me out? I didn’t want to die. I had no purpose to. I wanted to live earnestly while doing the things I love. Those two things are music and dance. I don’t care about being famous; I just want to be happy. I’m kind of envious of you. It’s fortunate you had Ren, but during that time I was alone and had no one to fall onto. I had no one to rely on but myself to pull me up out of that slump. And thank god I was strong enough… Coming here, by helping all of you guys I’ve been able to help myself. I went through a shock during my time in China… it was so painful. Even to this day I can’t forget and am still reminded. That’s why… that’s why I’m ‘childish.’ I figure if I laugh and joke, I’ll be okay. Besides, it makes the others laugh too, right? When they laugh with me or at me, I feel like I’m not alone anymore. I finally have people to lean on.”

Baekho walked forward and placed at hand on my shoulder. “You’re a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for.”

I smirked. “You too, Kang Baekho.” I replied. “Together, let’s make a comeback that’ll have everyone talking for months.”

“You bet.”

After leaving the dance studio I hurried back home to the mansion in hopes of catching Aron before he went to sleep. When I arrived I literally darted out of my shoes and went on a scavenger hunt for the short brunette in the house. To my luck I found Aron sitting in his room playing with that evil puppy of his on the floor. I knocked before I entered, catching both of their attention. Aron glanced up at me from the floor, a slight smile spread across his lips. I took this as approval to enter and I walked inside, sitting on the edge of his bed while he remained seated with Mel. I nervously began playing with my fingers, not sure how to bring up the subject about his missing first love. I knew I had a famous way with words, but I really didn’t want to screw this up. I didn’t want to intentionally offend or anger him. After all, my purpose was to help him.

“What’s up?” Aron finally asked. Mel climbed into his lap and laid on his back with his four paws sticking up in the air. Aron smiled then began to play with his two bottom paws, waving them back and forth.

“Does Min ever get jealous of that thing?”

“Thing?” Aron asked.

“I mean… ‘Mel’?”

Aron laughed. “Sometimes. Why?”

“Just curious. Those two have never gotten along.” I replied.

“Mel’s just overprotective of me. And Min nags a lot, so… you put two and two together.” He said. I laughed. Well, yeah, it was true. Sometimes I would purposely put my headphones on just to escape from Minhyun’s constant complaining aimed towards Aron. Their relationship simply amazed me, but I suppose there’s someone out there for everyone, isn’t there? After all, I found someone like JR, who I actually developed a sort of crush on after that dynamic night in the club. JR didn’t strike me as the crazy or childish type. It kind of made me wonder how well he was going to be able to put up with me, but that was another problem for another day. Right now I needed to get what I came for, which was that girl’s name.

“Hey, Aron… can I ask you something?”

“Hmm?”

“Your phone…” My voice trailed off. “Why do you always have it with you?” I asked. I had already heard the story from Minhyun, but I wanted to hear it from him if he was willing. Aron gave me a surprised look.

“Why do you ask?”

“I just noticed it’s always with you. It’s as if you’re waiting for something.”

A sad smile swept across Aron’s lips as he shifted his gaze down into his lap at Mel. “For years I’ve been waiting for a call from a girl that’s probably even forgotten I exist.”

“Really? Why do you care? You have Min-” I cut myself off. Jason, control yourself. You’re being rude.

“I just… want to know what happened between us. You see, she was a girl I met back when I was attending New York University. We dated for several years. After graduation, it was my intent to propose to her. We arranged to meet one night, on the night I planned to propose, but… she never showed up. Police found her car abandoned on the side of the road with all of her belongings still inside. I just… I know I have Min. I’m grateful for Min; I love him. But I need to know what happened that night. Did she disappear because she knew what I was planning on doing and got a case of the nerves and left? Or did something worse happen to her?”

“But you said it yourself. It’s been years…”

Aron nodded. “Truthfully, I’d rather she got tired of me and ran away rather than something terrible happen to her.”

“What if she’s still alive?”

A painful smile spread across his lips. “Then it’s a relief.”

“What if you found her?”

Aron paused, giving me a questioning glance. “Why all the questions about my past lately?”

I ignored his question. “Would anything change?”

I shook his head. “No. Other than the fact that I’d finally have some closure.”

“And what if you don’t find her?”

“I’m happy with where I’m at right now. I feel like I’m exactly where I’m meant to be. To know what happened would be great, but at the same time, even if I never find out, I’ll be alright. The phone… I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but Min has. I haven’t been on it as much as I have in the past. I’ve moved on. I’ve allowed myself to be happy and love again. And I’m content.”

“Can I find her then?” I blurted out. Aron stared at me with wide eyes.

“What?”

“Would you mind if I searched for her then? In your stead?”

“W-why?” Aron asked, utterly confused. He brushed Mel out of his lap and rolled him onto the floor. Mel plopped onto his stomach and lazily remained laying there by Aron’s legs. “Why would you look for her? I don’t understand.”

“Because you want to look for her, only you can’t.” I replied. Aron paused.

“How do you know I can’t?”

“Pledis isn’t paying you, are they? You don’t have the money to search for her.”

Aron scoffed, raising a brow. “And you do?”

“Yes.”

He scoffed again. “Forgive me if I find it hard to believe that you have money, but you were a total cheapskate during our date. You made me pay for everything and when I stood you up at dinner you made a complete fuss out of me owing you money.”

I smirked, leaning down and closer towards him. “Maybe you don’t know this, but I’m a bit of an .”

“A bit? Tcht.” Aron folded his arms across his chest and looked away from me.

“Will you let me help you find her?” I asked.

“Why?”

“Because you’re my friend.”

Aron paused as if touched by my words. He shifted his gaze downwards. “You don’t… have to.” He mumbled, as if embarrassed. I climbed down off the bed and threw my arms around his shoulders, tightly embracing him.

“I want to. You guys have each done something special for me, so I want to make sure I repay everyone their favor.”

“I’ve done something special for you?” He curiously asked, lost in thought.

“You accepted me into this house first even though all I wanted to do at the time was get inside your pants.” I chuckled, tightening my grip on him. Aron uncomfortably shifted in my arms, trying to pry me off of him. “Actually, I still do, but Min probably wouldn’t like that-”

“You’re damn right I wouldn’t.” Minhyun said and entered the room in perfect timing. “Don’t make me get the broom. Move.” He warned. I laughed then slowly released Aron and carefully stood back up, keeping my hands in the air beside me. Minhyun gave me a stern look before it quickly melted away and he smiled and laughed back at me.

“You’re crazy.” Minhyun replied. “But you’re a good guy.”

“Awwh…”

“No one told you that you had to do any of these things for us, but you have… Thanks, hyung.” Aron replied, slowly standing up and placing his right hand on my left shoulder.

“Heh. I told you guys when I first came here, it would only be a matter of time before you’d be calling ‘hyung’ or ‘everyone’s favorite little rascal.’”

“I prefer ‘rascal.’” Minhyun quickly replied.

“Me too.” Aron responded.

“Hey…” I pouted.

“Kim Young Soo.” Aron suddenly said, catching me off guard. Both Minhyun and I glanced back at him. Aron smiled at me. “Her name. If you would find her for me… it’d mean a lot.”

I smiled back at him. “I’ll do my best.”

Ren’s POV

After I had finished up at school the sky was dark and I went back to 2DREAM’s mansion even though I had desperately wanted to go to Baekho’s house first thing after getting out. But I knew he was busy and that he wouldn’t be there, so it would be of no use to go to his empty home and wait for who knew how long. When I returned back home I sullenly dragged myself into my room and placed my briefcase on my desk, slowly about to get changed when suddenly my phone rang. I turned back to my phone laying on my desk and realized that it was a video call from my mother. I immediately stood my phone up on my desk surface and took a seat before hitting ‘accept.’ The image of my mother’s beyond upset face filled the screen, alarming me. I rose my hands to sign.

“Mom, is something wrong-”

“Get him out of this house.” She quickly signed, ignoring the message I was trying to send her. I paused and looked at her with wide, confused eyes. What was she talking about?

“Mom?”

“Take your brother and get him out of this house!” She signed hastily, full of energy. I was stunned. I had never seen her this mad before. Minseok… what did you do?

“What happened? What’s going on?”

“He won’t leave on his own so you come and get him.” She signed before reaching over and abruptly ending the call, leaving me shocked. I didn’t know what to think. There had been several times in the past where my mother had been upset with Minseok, but never to this extreme. I shot to my feet and hurriedly ran out of my room. As I exited the house I received a text message from Baekho.

‘Practice with the weirdo just ended. What R U doing?’

I cringed at his sloppy texting grammar. But now wasn’t the time to try to correct his ways. I needed to get down to my parents’ house before my mother possibly strangled Minseok. I quickly texted Baekho back.

‘Can you give me a ride? It’s an emergency.’ I texted him. He immediately texted back.

‘On my way.’

I waited at the front gate for about fifteen minutes before I spotted the familiar headlights to Baekho’s car come pulling up alongside of the road. He stopped in front of me and propped open the door. I quickly climbed inside and fastened my seatbelt before I gave him directions to my parents’ house and he speedily took me there. After about twenty minutes of driving, we finally pulled up in front of the house to see my mother angrily tossing Minseok’s belongings outside of the window and into the front yard. I stared at the sight in horror before clumsily climbing out. I paid no attention as Baekho climbed out with me and followed me into the yard. I began to frantically wave my hands in the air to catch my mother’s attention. Either she was too distracted to see me or she was purposely ignoring me. She turned her back to the window to grab more of his belongings. Inside the house I could hear my father and Minseok having another one of their famous yelling matches. I bit my bottom lip and quickly burst through the front door, immediately grabbing Minseok by his upper right arm and throwing him backwards and away from our dad.

“What in the world is going on?!?!” I exclaimed.

“Minki, stay out of this!” Minseok shoved me off to the side. Baekho, who had been standing behind me after following me inside, caught me before I ran into the wall.

“What did you do to her now?!”

Minseok paused and glanced behind him and over his shoulder with a hurt look in his eyes. “Now?” Pain was evident in his voice. His eyes suddenly grew wide as he noticed Baekho was in the room. A look of horror washed over his face. “What is he doing here…?”

I paused. Oh … Baekho had followed me inside, hadn’t he? Oh no… my whole façade was over now, wasn’t it? My parents were going to recognize him and wonder how we knew each other and I would finally have to tell them, wouldn’t I? My heart dropped down to my stomach. This wasn’t the way I had pictured them finding out…

Minseok scoffed. “Good. It’s about time they found out too. I shouldn’t be the only one in the doghouse.”

“Minseok, what did you do?”

“What else is new? I offered to help her and she spat in my face again!” Minseok angrily exclaimed, brushing past me and out of the house. I glanced at my dad who had a solemn look across his face. I waited for him to explain Minseok’s words just now.

“You know how sensitive your mother is. She’s proud of her deafness and your brother… he just doesn’t understand that.”

“What happened?”

“Same story, same result. He brought up the new advances in assistive hearing technology and how he had recently helped a famous client regain his hearing. I think your brother was expecting to be congratulated, but you know how she is… She ended up not saying anything. A battle of words was exchanged and Minseok ultimately ended up telling her that she didn’t understand how great an accomplishment this was because she refused to let him help her and well, feelings were hurt on both sides…”

I nodded then quickly walked outside to see Minseok gathering his belongings out on the front lawn. As he knelt down to pick up a shirt I grabbed him by his arm again, stopping him. “Don’t you know when to stop?”

Minseok paused. “Is this my fault? Is it my fault that no matter what I do, she’ll never be proud of me?!?! it, Minki! Everything I’ve ever done, my whole life is meaningless!”

“It’s not meaningless! Think of all the people you’ve helped!”

“It doesn’t matter!”

“To hell it doesn’t matter!” I screamed back at him.

“Don’t you get it? She’s the reason why I did all of this. She’s the only person that matters… I just… I just wanted her to be proud of what I did for him and what I’m doing for the deaf community…” Minseok, probably the strongest person in my life that I had always looked up to, suddenly sounded so defeated and lost. His voice trembled as if he were suppressing the urge to cry. If he did, it would be a completely new sight to me. Not once had I ever seen my hyung shed a tear. I knelt down with him and placed my hands on both of his shoulders.

“There’s plenty of people that are proud of you, hyung… I’m proud of you…” I replied, trying to comfort and console him. Minseok released the shirt in his hands and silently began to sob, his entire body shaking. “Mom has always been this way, Minseok. She’ll never change. Hyung, I’ve told you this before. There are two definitions of the word deaf: ‘deaf’ and ‘Deaf.’ ‘deaf’ is being unable to hear. ‘Deaf’ is considered a culture. It’s like a society built only for themselves where it is generally agreed upon to dislike assistive hearing technology, audiologists, and anything that threatens the lifestyle that they are a part of. Mom is a part of that culture. She’s proud of her deafness. She always has been and always will be.”

“Why does she hate me so much…?” He brought his hands over his eyes and cried into his palms. I rubbed my hand on his back.

“She doesn’t hate you. Minseok, her oldest son became an audiologist, a profession that is looked down upon in the Deaf community. Even still, she asked for me to bring you home, didn’t she? She missed you when you went to study abroad. Mom doesn’t hate you; she hates it when you threaten what makes her who she is.”

“All my life, all I’ve ever wanted to do was help her.”

“Minseok, mom isn’t some weak individual. Her deafness does not make her any different from you and I and you know that. She’s the strongest woman I’ve ever met. She’s not some damsel in distress. She’s aware that she cannot hear and she’s at peace with it. She’s accepted it. Now all she’s waiting on is for you to accept it too.”

“I do accept it, Minki.” Minseok replied, trying to calm himself down.

“Then tell her that. Because in her mind, you’re still trying to fix her. Every time you offer to ‘help’ her, even though your intentions are good, you’re hurting her. Like she’s said several times before: ‘You can’t fix me-’”

“‘I’m not broken.’” Minseok finished off my sentence. It was a line our mother had said countless times. I tightened my hold on Minseok’s shoulders and helped him stand up.

“Come on, we need to make things right with both of them.” I said, silently trying to gather up the courage to confess to my parents about the things I had been doing behind their backs for the past year. Minseok nodded and together we re-entered the house where we found Baekho sitting on one of the couches in front of both our mother and father. My mother had been busy signing away while my father quickly translated out loud her message. As soon as she noticed we had come back inside the house she stared blankly at me.

“What is a pop star doing in my living room?” She signed at me. I took a seat beside Baekho on the couch while Minseok silently sat beside me on my left. I took a deep breath before shakily raising my hands to speak with her.

“Mom, this is idol singer Kang Baekho.”

“I know who he is. What is he doing here with you?”

I paused. It was either now or never. “For the past few years, I’ve been going back to university.”

She raised a brow. “Why would you go back…?”

“Mom… I’m happy being a deaf education teacher, but it wasn’t the life that I had imagined for myself. I love… fashion.”

“Fashion?” She asked, confused.

“Yes, fashion. I went back to pursue a fashion degree. This past year I’ve been secretly working on completing an internship in order to finally graduate and receive that degree. My internship was with his band. That’s how I met Kang Baekho-”

“You lied to us…? Minki, why?” She asked, a flash of hurt swept over her face.

“I knew how much me being a deaf education teacher meant to you. I didn’t want to pursue this dream path, but I didn’t mind it, that’s why I never told you ‘no.’ But it wasn’t my dream… this is my dream. I didn’t want you to be disappointed in me.”

“You still should have told us. Did we try to stop your brother when he told us he wanted to pursue his audiology doctorate? Of course not.”

Minseok sat forward. “You never supported it; not once!” He signed back to her. She glanced over at him.

“But I never stopped you.” She replied. Minseok froze. “Both of your dreams have always been important to us. It makes me feel ashamed that you felt that you couldn’t tell me ‘no’ to the deaf education plan and tell me what you really wanted to do, Minki. And Minseok, I might not agree with your profession, but I’ll never stop you. Go out there and change the world, but only help those that ask for it.”

“You’re not… mad?” I asked in disbelief.

“It’s your life. Do what you want with it.”

“Mother… I know you might not want to know this, but the reason I became an audiologist was because of you. You inspired me. Hearing is the greatest gift one can ever receive and I wanted to give it to you because I love you…” Minseok suddenly glanced over at Baekho. “Baekho, can you tell her what I did for you?”

Baekho gave Minseok a surprised look. “Tell her?”

“She can read lips.” My father chimed in. Baekho nervously nodded then turned to face my mother.

“I was in an accident about six months ago that cost me my hearing. As an idol, you can imagine how devastating this was for me.” Baekho said slowly. My mother nodded, having understood his words. Baekho continued. “I gave up hope. I wanted to die but I was too much of a coward to do so. My company kicked me out and I had nothing left. That’s when both of your sons came along. Ren introduced me to another world, another culture and helped me to adjust with my hearing loss. Minseok gave me another chance.”

“Another chance?” My mother signed. My father translated.

Baekho slowly removed his beanie, revealing the hearing aid that was attached to the side of his skull and startling my mother. She placed her right hand over . Baekho continued. “Through this hearing aid, I’ve been able to hear again. I’ve been able to hear the sounds that I had missed for so long and receiving them back… it was breathtaking. Because of both of your sons, I am able to dream again. Before I had received the hearing aid, I didn’t dare think that I could grace the stage ever again. But now that I have it, it’s all I ever think about. And I’m working hard to make that dream a reality again.”

My mother glanced over at Minseok with surprised eyes. “He’s the famous client…?”

Minseok nodded quietly.

“You helped him?” Our mother signed almost in disbelief.

“Minseok is good at what he does, mom. He cares about people. It was me who asked for him to help Baekho. When I asked him, he was ecstatic. Although hyung portrays himself as someone confident, he’s not. He works to seek your approval… both of us have. Only Minseok was more courageous than me when it came to following his dream.”

“Is that true, Minseok?”

“I just wanted you to be proud of me. I wasn’t trying to fix you or hurt you… Mom, I just wanted your acceptance.” Minseok signed before he glanced away from her, refusing to listen any further to her. I nudged him in his arm; what he was doing was rude. Our mother didn’t talk. The only way she could communicate was through sign language, and to look away from her as she was signing… it was comparable to refusing to make eye contact during a regular conversation. Minseok ignored my nudge and brushed me off of him, continuing to keep his gaze focused in his lap. He held his head down low and his behavior was reminiscent of a child being scolded. This was my first time ever seeing him this down before. Minseok looked defeated and helpless. Seeing him this way made my heart ache with dull pain. This wasn’t the strong, independent and invincible hyung I had grown up with. Growing up, I had always looked up to him. Hell, to this day I still admired him and strove to be more like him. But right now, for the first time ever, I felt as if he were down at my level, and it was strange. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like seeing him this way.

Our mother stood up and stopped in front of Minseok, tapping him on the shoulder. Minseok still refused to look at her as if he were ashamed. She tapped him again and attempted to sign to him but it was no use. Minseok just couldn’t bring himself to look at her. She stomped her foot on the ground to get his attention. Minseok slightly jumped but he kept his gaze down into his lap. She froze for a moment before sighing loudly in frustration.

“I’m… proud… of… you.” She slowly and hesitantly spoke out loud, signing along with her hands to support her words which were heavily distorted by several misarticulations. My eyes grew wide as both Minseok and I froze in complete and utter shock as our mother’s words reached our ears for the first time. Minseok immediately glanced up and looked at her, tears forming in the corner of his eyes. I placed both of my hands over my mouth and began to sob loudly into my palms while Baekho reached over and wrapped his left arm around me, pulling me into his chest. I couldn’t believe it… she… she spoke…

Minseok finally broke down and began sobbing, holding his head down low and his body shaking. Baekho glanced over at my father who also had tears in his eyes. As they exchanged glances my father spoke out to him. “It’s the first time they’ve ever heard her voice…”

Baekho’s eyes went wide with shock before he glanced back down at me and rubbed me on my back as I continued to sob into his chest. My mother crouched down and took both of Minseok’s hands in her own. Minseok, still fighting back the tears, began to sniffle quietly. She released his hands and tapped his knee before signing again.

“You help people. I can never be ashamed of that. You’re my son and I’ll always be proud of everything you do. You have no idea how happy it makes me to know that I inspired you, but Minseok, I’m happy the way I am. This is the only life I’ve ever known.”

“But it can get so much better if you just let me-”

She smiled and shook her head. “You can’t miss what you never had. I’m content with everything that life has given me and not once did I ever need my ears to get me where I’m at. I’m blessed to have had it all just like a hearing person would: a career, a family. I’m grateful for it all. I didn’t need my ears then and I don’t think I’ll need them anytime soon. I appreciate all that you want to do for me, but please respect my decision, ok?”

Minseok nodded in defeat. “I understand…”

“I’m sorry your mother got mad. I overreacted when I threw your stuff out. Please, Minseok. Stay. Don’t go. You don’t know how happy I am to finally have you back after all these years.”

“I’ll stay.”

She turned to me and tapped my knee. I pulled out of Baekho’s chest and faced her. “And you, stop crying. Why are you crying?”

“Because y-you v-voice… it’s so beautiful, mom.” I replied, still in tears. She smirked.

“Crybaby. You definitely always were the more sensitive of the two. Stop crying, Ren. I want to tell you something.” I nodded, wiping the tears from my eyes. “You do whatever it is you want. You want to be a designer or stylist, do it.”

“Is it really ok?” I asked.

“I feel terrible for having wasted years of your life pushing you towards a degree you didn’t want. I don’t want you to live the rest of your life in regret or in wonder of what could have been because you didn’t want to disappoint me. You’ve done enough for us, son. Do something for yourself now.”

I shook my head. “I don’t regret it. I love those kids and I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world.”

She smiled sadly. “Then leave them with a good and lasting impression. Leave them with a wise view on the world around them; it’s up to you. You’re their teacher. It’s your responsibility to prepare them for the future. Guide them in the right direction because no one else will. Growing up different… it’s not easy. Not everyone will stand up for them. But if there can be just one person that will, it will make an everlasting difference in their life. Be the change you want to see in the world…” She glanced over at Baekho quickly before shifting her gaze back to me. “I’m sure the two of you can accomplish great things together. You can quit teaching, but please don’t quit on people like him and I.”

I smiled back at her and nodded. “I won’t. I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all I ask of you and your brother.” She replied. I looked over at Minseok who was slowly starting to put himself together again. We shared a glance and smiled at one another. All this time, I couldn’t believe how foolish I had been. For the past three years I had been secretly working on a degree behind my parents backs because I was afraid they wouldn’t accept me when it turned out I had absolutely nothing to worry about or fear. She didn’t scold me or try to belittle me. She heard me out and accepted my choice in life. Meanwhile, I’m sure Minseok felt the same as I did, only slightly different. He had chosen a career path that my mother did not agree with personally, but she never tried to stop him from reaching his own dreams. All this time Minseok thought she hated him because they hardly got along and there was a noticeable gap of distance between them, but nonetheless she was still proud of him. Minseok and I, we were nothing but a couple of fools, weren’t we? I was scared of my mother while Minseok just wanted to be loved by her. In our heads, we painted her as some sort of cruel, judgmental, unforgiving woman but she was the exact opposite. Sure, she could be intimidating, but she cared for us as a mother should.

Minseok suddenly stood. I glanced up at him. “Where are you going?”

He slightly laughed. “To get the rest of my things from the yard.”

I stood up with him. “I’ll help.” I replied then followed him out. Baekho decided to stay behind to talk more with my mother and father, giving Minseok and I alone time. As we entered the yard Minseok knelt down and began gathering more of his belongings while I helped him, grabbing a few pairs of his designer dress shoes that she had thrown out of the window. The two of us were quiet for a while until Minseok finally spoke up.

“How does it feel? To finally get everything off your chest, I mean. How does it feel?”

I smiled. “It’s such a relief.”

“That’s good. I didn’t know how much longer I’d be able to keep it a secret.”

“I’m sorry I made you lie to them too.” I apologized, feeling bad for always involving Minseok in my drama.

Minseok paused then shook his head. “That’s what big brothers are for, aren’t they?”

“Still, thanks for always saving my .” I replied. Minseok chuckled then continued to pick up his belongings, gathering them into a smile pile. The two of us went silent once again for quite a while until I broke the silence. “Minseok, are you okay?” I asked, still worried about him. I had never seen him as emotional as he was today. I knew his moment of truth with our mother probably wasn’t easy on him and truthfully, he was still acting a bit strange and awkward.

Minseok forced a smile on his face. “You’re right; mom is mom. I can’t change her. She’s about as stubborn as you are, which is probably where you get it from. It frustrates me that she’s missing out and doesn’t to hear, but she’s right. I have to respect her decision.”

“Besides, there are several more people in this world that would love for you to help them. At least she acknowledges that and wants for you to help them.”

“True.”

“And there are tons more who will appreciate you too. You can’t just focus on one person without forgetting the rest of them. Baekho’s beyond grateful for what you did for him. Didn’t you hear what he said? Because of you, he’s able to dream again.”

Minseok shook his head. “No, I think that credit goes to you. You gave him his fighting spirit back. I just enabled him to hear.”

I shook my head. “It was both of us.”

Minseok laughed. “Stubborn kid.” He replied then lifted his pile of belongings in his arms as he slowly stood. “I hope…” His voice trailed off as he was lost in thought. “I hope he’s successful in his endeavors. And you too.”

I smiled. “Thanks, hyung.”

JR’S POV

I took my seat on the train early in the morning as I was making my daily commute to practice. I rested my head back against the window and stared out of the opposite one across the aisle on the other side of the train, watching as we passed by several blurred buildings. Although my body was stuck inside New York, my thoughts were still back in Seoul. I was thinking about everyone that I had left behind to pursue my dream here and I started to wonder if everything that I had here was worth it. I was utterly alone. Although my crew members back at Broadway had tried to make friends with me, it was difficult because of the language barrier. My English had slightly improved, but it was hard on me. I had a hard enough time trying to tell a taxi driver where to take me, let alone ordering food at a restaurant. Needless to say, if I wasn’t at the stage, I was locked up inside my flat, avoiding the outside world around me. It was lonely, but what else could I do? I didn’t know how to talk to people and oftentimes whenever I tried, they would become frustrated with me and just walk off.

I thought back to my job that I had with Pledis. It was a steady, sturdy job. I was teaching DREAM and then a few other solo artists under the label. I found myself missing it. But I knew there was no going back to teaching at Pledis; I had already been replaced by someone that I was actually somewhat romantically interested in. I scoffed as I thought about Jason; how in the world did that come about? That guy was certifiably insane. How could someone like me come to like someone like him? It didn’t make sense. Not to mention he was so much older than I was. It just felt… strange. But still, whenever I was around him those short few times, the attraction was there. We just moved closer together as if we were being pushed by gravity. His dance skills were impressive. His style was his own and he was confident in every aspect about himself. He just… drew me in. It didn’t help that the last time I saw him in person, he literally threw his arms around me and boldly declared his feelings to me, much like a child would.

I smirked as I remembered that childish idiot. After hearing his story about leaving China, I was certain that childish attitude of his was a front that he used to protect his true emotions and inner feelings. Everyone had a way of protecting themselves from the harsh reality around them. Mine was locking myself in my room. Somehow, Jason’s method seemed to work much better for him than mine did for me. But I couldn’t picture myself acting in such a way that he did. I sighed. I missed Seoul. I missed home and all the people I left behind. I wanted to see all of them again, even Ren. Although we had broken up, I still wanted him in my company, even if that meant as a friend. We had promised each other that we would.

I started to think back on my life here in New York City. Was I happy here? Not exactly. I was lonely. The people here were cruel, harsh and rude. I had split my crew members up into three categories: those who wanted to screw me, those that wanted to use me, and those who wanted to backstab me. If they didn’t want , they wanted my connections in the industry. Then there were those that tried to befriend me, but only in hopes of watching me crash and burn. I was good. I had talent and people weren’t blind to it. It was only natural that jealousy would arise, but I wanted no part of it. I sighed. Maybe it was time to pack up and leave… It had always been my dream to perform on Broadway and I had made it. I had performed several times. Was it okay to leave now? I had already lived out my dream and it was great, but only for a short while.

I jumped in my seat as my cellphone suddenly rang. I glanced down at my phone in my hand and realized that it was a video call from that crazy new dance choreographer down at Pledis. I rolled my eyes and then accepted his call. The image of the red head filled the entire screen.

“Yo!” He saluted me.

“Yo.”

“How goes it?” He asked.

“Oh, it’s going.”

“Heh. I was referring to the dance choreography. Do you have it memorized yet?”

I scoffed. “I could perform it in my sleep.”

“Awesome! But I need you awake for it when you’re performing it on stage with DREAM.” Jason innocently replied. I couldn’t tell if he was joking or if he was just that stupid.

“I was joking.”

“About having it memorized?”

I slapped my hand over my face. This guy was frustrating. Just what was it that I liked about him again? “Anyways, I have it memorized, okay?”

Jason smiled then pouted, rotating his shoulders back and forth. “When are you coming back?”

I smirked. “Probably soon. Why?” I asked in amusement.

Jason sighed. “Being around so many beautiful boys is so tempting…” He seductively placed his index finger on his lip and glanced off to the side. “I might just have to unleash my ual frustrations out on Minseok.”

I scoffed. “Then do it.” Jason narrowed his eyes.

“You don’t think I will?”

“You punched him in the nose when he tried to kiss you. Lord only knows what would happen if he touched you down there.”

Jason paused, glancing up at the ceiling.

“Stop thinking about it.” I quickly scolded, not liking how Jason actually took the time to mentally picture himself with Ren’s older brother. Jason smirked.

“You got jealous, didn’t you?” He teased.

“Jealous of that punk? Never.”

Jason finally grew serious. “The performance will be here in one month. JB has been talking around with music stage producers about getting us a stage for DREAM and a solo performance by Baekho. So far the producer of Inkigayo seems interested.”

“How is JB affording this?” I asked, curiosity getting the best of me. JB made quite a bit from managing DREAM and 2DREAM, however, it wasn’t enough to actually be able to fork up the total sum of money it took to pay a venue for renting its stage. If the money wasn’t coming from Pledis, that could only mean one other thing…

“Consider me DREAM’s ‘fairy godmother.’” Jason smirked.

“You? You’re helping pay for this? But how?” I asked, stunned.

“I swear, everyone finds it so shocking that I have money. Yes, I have money. Everything I wear is designer. Ever notice that? Besides, I used to be a famous singer in China! Although the others might say different, I’m not an idiot. I’ve played my hand in the stock market and have made wise investments with my earnings. My grandkids’ grandchildren are set for life, ok?”

“Wow…” I replied, shocked.

Jason gave me a quizzing look. “Why? Am I suddenly more attractive in your eyes, now that you know I’m loaded?”

I laughed. This guy was so ridiculous. “Are you hoping I do?”

Jason sheepishly glanced off to the side. “Maybe.”

“I wouldn’t date you for your money, but for that outrageous personality of yours.”

A big smile flashed across Jason’s face. “Yay-” He immediately slapped his hand across his mouth as if he regretted his last outburst. He coughed, clearing his throat and awkwardly glanced back at the camera. “Sorry. I’m working on toning it down.”

I laughed. “Toning it down might not be so bad. Question, though. Why are you doing this for DREAM? What are they to you?”

A small smile spread across Jason’s lips. “Family.” He replied. “To me, they’re like family. Yeah, I know it sounds outrageous that I’d spend so much of my time, effort and money to help these guys out, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I see so much potential in all of them.”

“Aren’t you worried about losing all that money if DREAM’s comeback is a flop?” I asked.

He shook his head. “I don’t think they’ll be a flop. If I lose money, it’s cool. There’s more of where that came from. If they’re successful, well, then I get more of it since I’m an investor. But it’s not about the money. I know good music when I see and hear it. I believe in DREAM.”

“You must have formed strong connections with them, living inside that house with them.”

“It was always my plan to help them. Before Seoul, I actually did live in Jeju for a while. Truthfully, I knew about DREAM and their situation. I had been following their music for quite a while. When news broke out that they disbanded, I came running to Seoul in hopes of securing a contract with Pledis either producing, songwriting, or choreographing; anything to get close to 2DREAM. Pledis set me up with my own apartment like they gave you after I signed my contract with them. But I didn’t want it. I was tired of being alone. I was alone in China and Jeju and I didn’t want to be alone here in Seoul. So then bossman set me up inside 2DREAM’s mansion, where I forced my way in and made it my goal to personally befriend each and every one of them. I ended up falling in love with each of them, even Ren. Through Ren, I was able to reach out to Kang Baekho.”

“So you moved into that house with the intention of getting DREAM back together again… Clever little sneak.” I replied, surprised to hear Jason confess everything. It was shocking. A plan like that was so crazy and time consuming, but it was working. “Who would have thought you were a hardcore DREAM fan.” I joked.

“I’d do the same for G-dragon, but I’m pretty sure he’s working on a restraining order right now.”

I laughed. “Wow. And all of this is for them and not yourself?”

Jason smirked. “Well, I’d be lying if I said no.”

“What do you get out of this then?”

“The chance to stay together with them.”

Jason’s POV

The next morning I was torn out of bed and awoken by a hysteric JB who had burst into my room and grabbed me by my shoulders, shaking me until I was conscious. I groggily opened my eyes and gave him a ‘what the hell’ look. He better have a good reason for waking me up this early. I was normally an early riser because I usually went out for a morning jog, but even this was much earlier than what I was used to. JB threw my covers off of me. I furrowed my brows and glared up at him. Before I could curse at him he cut me off.

“Get dressed. I just got a call from Pledis.”

I groaned. “And?” I asked, still annoyed that he had woken me up because of a stupid phone call. JB reached forward and grabbed me by my left arm, trying to pull me out of bed. I angrily shoved his hand away. JB narrowed his eyes at me.

“Get up. We’re going.”

I scoffed. “Why should I?” I asked.

“Because it was the CEO.”

I paused then glanced up at him. “What?”

JB placed both of his hands on his forehead. “I made a mistake by going to Inkigayo and now we’re all going to regret it!”

My heart started to race. “JB, what’s going on…?” I slowly and carefully asked.

“I directly asked the producer of Inkigayo to contact my personal cell phone, but he didn’t listen. Instead he ended up calling the head office at Pledis.”

. “A-And?”

“He knows. You and I working on the DREAM comeback, working with Kang Baekho; they know everything!”

I couldn’t believe my ears. “Everything…?”

JB solemnly nodded. “Everything… He wants both of us down at his office now.”

I leapt out of bed and immediately tore into my closet, pulling on a white t-shirt before placing each arm into a crisp white button down dress shirt. I grabbed a pair of black pants and quickly stepped inside and pulled them up, lacing a black leather belt around my waist. I hurriedly approached my mirror and grabbed my comb off my desk, running it through my hair. As I fixed my hair, JB stood waiting behind me.

“Jason.” He called out to me.

“Yeah?” I asked, running a glob of hair wax through my bangs.

“You should be prepared to turn in your letter of resignation.” JB replied. I paused briefly for a moment before I approached my desk and opened one of the drawers, pulling out a long white envelope that I had written quite some time ago in preparation for this day. I had always known that I would be forced to quit, however, I didn’t picture it happening quite so early. I slammed the drawer shut and turned to face JB with my resignation in my hand.

“Got it. Let’s go.”