CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Realigning The Lost Stars.Birthday Month Surprises.
MAY 2012
CHANGMIN'S POV.
A small smile toyed on my lips as I gently my fingers against the black velvet box resting on my lap, humming along to a random tune under my breath, watching as the city lights flashed past me in a blur.
"Home at long last." I thought ruefully.
I've missed Seoul. I missed the food, the hustle and bustle and the company here. As much as Japan could be considered to be my second home, it's just not the same without your loved ones near. Home is where your heart is, and my heart is in Seoul...
Yunho's manager, whom coincidentally was our driver for the night, made a particularly sharp turn at a traffic junction and I cradled the black box to my chest instinctively, shielding the fragile content of the box from any potential harm.
"Over-protective much?" teased Yunho cheekily from the side.
In return to the older man's teasing, I merely stuck my tongue out childishly before turning my attention to the scenery outside, dutifully ignoring Yunho's boisterous laugh. Inside the velvet box lies an exquisite Swarovski doe figurine; one which I've gotten at the airport in the Japan a couple of hours earlier. I knew I had to get the figurine the moment I laid my eyes on it. Resting in the transparent glass casing, the crystal stood in its elegant grace under the spotlight, tiny rainbows bouncing off its body as the light refracted against it. Upon closer inspection, I realized that there were little pink crusted crystals embedded into its neck, adding a touch of life to the crystal figurine. Beauty and class; just like another deer that I know.
My ride dropped me off back at the dorms first prior heading to where Yunho was supposed to meet his friends. With a merry goodbye to Yunho, I shut the door of the car before trodding my way up to the dorms, excited for another impromptu Kyu line gathering.
The delicious scent of kimchi jjigae assaulted my nose the moment I entered the dorm. Grinning, I gave a double thumbs up to Victoria and her assistant, Jonghyun before joining Kyuhyun and Minho on the couch; the duo were engaged in some video game dual battle. Peering my head around, I tried to catch sight of a particular female whom was absent.
"Maybe she's just running late tonight."
Feeling uncharacteristically kind, I aided Jonghyun in setting up the dinner table only to frown and question the guitarist as to why we were preparing a dinner for five instead of the usual six.
"Oh, Victoria says Yoona won't be joining us for dinner tonight." came the nonchalant reply, as Jonghyun filled the empty cups with a pitcher of iced water.
I hummed in acknowledgement to Jonghyun's answer. It was out of character for shikshin to give Victoria's cooking a miss, but I figured that Yoona might opt for some quality dinner time with Soshi before heading over.
Dinner was good, courtesy of Victoria's superb cooking skills and as repayment, Kyuhyun and Minho offered to wash the dishes whereas I took the initiative to slice some apples as deserts. I kept my silence as I continued to peel the apple's skin, darting glances to the door every now and then from where I stood in the kitchen. Victoria and Jonghyun perched themselves on the kitchen island counter stools, chatting animatedly about Jonghyun's life in Japan while Kyuhyun and Minho were in the midst of their mini water fight when I asked the question that has been plaguing my mind the entire night, "Hey guys, where's Yoona?"
It was almost comical how the chatting stopped instantly; Kyuhyun and Victoria gave matching sympathic looks (Wait, why are they looking at me like that? ), Jonghyun simply looked surprised at my question while Minho just frowned in confusion,"Changmin hyung, don't you know? Noona has plans with G Dragon tonight."
This time round, it was my turn to frown in confusion, "GDragon as in Kwon Ji Yong? But why--"
"Minho, don't!"
"Coz noona is dating GDragon now!"
I saw Kyuhyun tugging on Minho's arms in bid to get him to stop talking but it was too late, the words had flew out of Minho's mouth and the damaged was already done. My hands stilled, my heart thumping into a slow rhythm as I processed Minho's words, "Wait. What...?"
I was trapped within my own little bubble, unaware of the little exchange between the other four; Victoria exchanged a worried glance with Kyuhyun before gazing at me sympathically once more, pity swirling distinctively in her eyes. Jonghyun's surprised look was replaced with a slight frown as he tried to make sense of what just happened before settling into a compassionate one when realization dawned onto him. Kyuhyun, on the other hand, was hitting a bewildered Minho repeatedly on the arm, the former's soft hissing mantra of "Pabo! Pabo! Pabo!" was greeted by the latter's "Oww! Hyung, what was that for?! Ow! What did I do?!" until the flaming charisma finally realized his error, "Oh. Changmin hyung didn't know? But why? Noona and hyung are practically... Crap, does hyung like...? Oh snap."
"When?" I questioned softly, diverting my gaze to my best friend whom I knew kept this piece of news from me deliberately.
"Erm... from what I overheard from Teuk hyung and Heechul, Feb." stammered Kyuhyun.
"When." I asked again, more forcefully this time, knowing that Kyuhyun was playing dumb. I wanted to know when he knew.
Kyuhyun gulped nervously before whispering his reply, shame and guilt lacing his tone, "March. Early March."
I quirked an eyebrow to Victoria, watching as the leader of Fx gave a resigned sigh, "Found out in March as well. Jessica told Krystal and in turn Krystal asked if I knew. I questioned Yoona about it and she confessed but asked to keep it a secret since she doesn't want the news to spread."
"Erm, April for me. I stumbled upon her and GD in Japan and I promised her that I'll keep my mouth shut. confessed Jonghyun in a rush and I would have been amused by the fact the Jonghyun gave his confession up like a guilty little kid if I wasn't so overwhelmed at the moment.
"Minho?"
Our youngest member gave a startled yelp, knowing that he was the cause of trouble for tonight. "I-I, erm... a couple of weeks back? I overheard her phone conversation and bugged her till she confessed but I swear I thought everyone else knew too! I didn't talk about it because it seems wrong to gossip about noona behind her back."
Words seemed to fail me the more I recognized the various emotions that were playing out in their eyes; pity and the knowing look being the dominant two. Unable to hold their gazes any longer, I resumed skinning the apple after giving Minho a curt nod as I tried to hide the tremor of my hand.
"Min, drop the knife. You'll end up slicing your fingers at this rate."
I should have stopped, knowing how true Kyuhyun's statement was but I couldn't. Stopping means I've to look at all of them and I don't think I can bear for any of them to read the look in my eyes nor did I want to see the pity reflecting in their gazes. Instead, I chose to the easy way out; ignoring Kyuhyun.
"Hyung, I believe noona would have told you herself soon. It's because you guys haven't had time to talk all these while, I'm sure that Yunho hyung doesn't know about it either."
Slice.
It was easier to block out the worry in Minho's voice by focusing entirely on the apple in my hand.
Slice.
Focus. Cut harder. Ignore their silence.
"Changmin..."
Slice.
Why are they so worried, I'm perfectly fine. I'm just slightly upset that my girl best friend didn't tell me about being in a relationship, that's all. No biggie.
Slice.
Shoots, I need another apple, I'm about done with this.
"She wouldn't want you to hurt yourself Changmin-ah."
I inhaled a particularly sharp breath the moment Victoria's words broke through the barrier barricading myself, the abrupt still in movement resulting the blade to deliver a gash across my thumb.
"Sh*t." cursed Kyuhyun under his breath.
I watched as both the apple and the knife fell onto the kitchen floor with a clank, oblivious to the fact that Victoria and Jonghyun had sprung off their seats nor did I notice Kyuhyun frantically opening the kitchen cabinets for paper towels as Minho flew to get the first aid kit.
The first tear fell in sync with the first drop of blood that landed onto the kitchen floor.
What on earth is wrong with me?
I almost chuckled humorlessly at how quick the answer surfaced itself into my mind. Of course, what other answer are you expecting, Shim.
Shutting my eyes, the second tear made its way down my cheeks as I finally allowed my obstinate self to embrace the one forbidden thought that I've been painstakingly trying to fight against these past several months,
"I'm in love with Yoona... and now, I'm too late."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
THAT SAME NIGHT
YOONA'S POV.
"Phone. Phone. Phone." muttering under my breath as I flew around the practice room in a whirl, bidding goodbye to the girls absentmindedly, preoccupied in my search.
"God dammit, where is my phone?!" Frustrated, I stomped my feet as I let out a huff. I had been so sure that I left it on the table before we made the quick trip to the longue downstairs. I shot a worried look at the clock resting on the wall, growing increasingly desperate with every move of the second hand. I was to meet Jiyong at our designated area in ten minutes, the latter had insisted in picking me up for our date tonight and if I couldn't find my phone anytime soon...
"Looking for this, Yoona-ssi?"
I froze at the sound of his voice, a sudden paralyzing chill creeping down my spine. I groaned inwardly, "Please tell me it isn't who I think it is."
Turning to the door, I was greeted by a man whom I had the displeasure of knowing. Donning his infamous evil smile on his ugly balding face, the CEO of SM Entertainment, Kim Young Min, stood leaning against the door and in his hand lies my missing iPhone. Oh, this can't be good.
"I believe this is yours Yoona-ssi."
With a nervous gulp, I walked over to the man responsible for the unnecessary misery the lot of us went through in the past couple of years. With a hasty but polite thanks, I was a second away from fleeing the scene when the CEO disrupted my plans with a strange question.
"Have you been watching the news for this past few months, Yoona-ssi?"
I frowned a little at his question, unsure of what the CEO could possibly gain by asking this. "I... Yeah, I have sajang-nim."
"A pity isn't it? Such an untimely time for a massive scandal to hit them when things have finally gotten better for them."
I kept my brows furrowed, trying to comprehend the CEO's words, "Them? Massive scandal? The only remotely massive scandal that happened recently was... Oh. God. The JYJ saseang scandal in March."
I stared wide-eyed, my mouth ajar at the smiling man in front of me who appeared to take pleasure in seeing my horrified face, as the very realization dawned on me, "He was the one responsible for the scandal wasn't he? The audio files... some were dated back in 2009 he must be the one who had given the news agency..."
"Say, send my regards to Jae and Junsu for me, they must have had a tough time dealing with the aftermath of such scandal. If possible, send it to Yoochun as well, I can't imagine how upset he must have been, dealing with such monstrosity of a scandal when his father had just passed away. He must not have much time to grieve."
"He knows." I thought in horror, "He knows about Jaejoong and Junsu oppa."
"Dear Lord, look at the time! Run along now Yoona, you wouldn't want to be late for your date with GDragon now, would you?" said the CEO in a cheery manner, looking nothing like a man whom had drop a bomb on someone in the past minute as he gestured for me to leave.
Mindlessly, I nodded and proceeded to leave not before the CEO had the last word, "Oh Yoona~" he called out casually after I had taken a few steps to the direction of the elevator.
"Yes sajang-nim?" I whispered, still reliving in the shock of the CEO's subtle confession.
"Let this be a warning Yoona. I've been kind enough to permit you lot contact in private but I wish things would remain the status quo to the eyes of the public, is that clear? No funny business. Don't try keeping any secrets because I'll find out eventually, just like how I know about you and GDragon and I would hate it so if any more scandals involving either JYJ or... maybe even HoMin arises."
Translation: Think about reuniting the five of them or helping JYJ's image and I'll make sure I make their lives hell all over again, including destroying HoMin if that is what it takes.
By this point of time, I had lost my ability to speak and could only muster a shaky nod to manipulative and unscrupulous fox whom was giving me a calculative look. Seemingly satisfied that he had got his message across, the CEO beamed as he waved goodbye not before wishing me a happy birthday in advance.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Propelled by fear, I'd somehow managed to make it to Jiyong's Bentley on my wobbly jellylike legs in one piece, flinging myself onto a bewildered Jiyong the moment I saw him leaning against his car. Inwardly, I was near hysterical. The guilt crippling my soul as I realized that I was to be blamed for the recent misfortune bestowed upon JYJ. How could Kim Young Min be so... so merciless? All this just to give me a warning?
I wanted to scream, to confide into Jiyong but I couldn't, the words just wouldn't leave my mouth. Instead, I pulled a brave front, masking my inner turmoil as I pulled away from the hug, reassuring the worried Jiyong that it had been a long day at work, thankful that my voice didn't betray anything.
My heart was still thundering even as I was now safely within the confines of the Bentley, only feeling slightly calmer as Jiyong sped away. The knowledge that I was getting further away from that terrible man soothed a little of my anxiety, even if it was only temporary.
Buying into the excuse I'd spewed earlier, Jiyong was undisturbed by the lack of my usual enthusiastic self; contributing only appropriate hums and small comments as he chatted away during our ride to the restaurant. All I wanted to do was to finish dinner as soon as possible so that I could crawl back to the comforts of my bed where I could finally succumb to my torturing thoughts.
I gave the restaurant a quick lookover as we entered via the private side entrance. The restaurant was a tad too fancy for my liking but at Jiyong's expectant face, I couldn't help but to give a smile in return. Escorted by a professional looking restaurant server, we walked hand-in-hand to the back for privacy. Knowing Jiyong, I was half-expecting to be greeted by a table littered with petals of red roses, after all, this was the first celebration of one of our birthdays as a couple. True enough, Jiyong did not disappoint; a bouquet of expensive looking red roses laid on the ivory silk table cloth... along with two ladies wearing matching devious smiles as they saw us nearing their our table.
Eyes bulging, I turned to Jiyong with every intention of whisper-screaming at him for not informing me beforehand about this arrangement, I was not prepared to meet his pesudo-sisters! Only to groan inwardly at the former's astounded face, "Great, just great, this is an ambush attack. Are there other more shocks I've to prepare myself for tonight?"
The middle-aged woman whom escorted gave Jiyong and I an amused but sympathetic smile, bowing before leaving us to our devices. Positioning himself between me and the (still deviously smiling) sitting duo, Jiyong half-whined and half-groaned as he face-palmed himself, "Yahhhhhh. Chaerin-ah, Bommie-ah, how did you girls even--- OOOF!"
Elbowing Jiyong to shove him out of the way, the vocalist of 2NE1 stood to grab my right hand for an extremely long handshake, "Annyeong!! I'm Park Bom! I've heard so much about you! Hehehehe, you're really really reallyyyyyy pretty!"
I couldn't help it, I chuckled at Bom's antics despite being thrown off guard by the singer's unusual style of greeting. Using my free hand to still the handshake (yes, she was still shaking my hand), I held Bom's hands between mine as I gave what I hope to be most award-winning smile, "Annyeonghaseyo, I like your voice very much, Bom-ssi."
Bom squealed, bouncing a little on the spot, "Omo omo omo, I like you already! Hehehe, now if you would excuse me, I would like to borrow your boyfriend for a while. Ppyong!" With that, Bom unceremoniously dragged a shocked and semi-shouting Jiyong out of my sight as I stood gaping, torn between amusement and shock. Who knew someone so petite had so much strength and I vaguely wondered if Him Yoona would stand a chance against the infamous 'Bominator'...
"So, you're the girl that my best friend is in love with huh."
Snapping out of my reverie, I blushed slightly at Chaerin's words before focusing on the blonde whom was still seated, sporting a smirk that would have done both Changmin and Heechul proud. Chaerin was oozing with bad -ery charisma; a vision of intimidating feminine power... but was that girlish amusement I see twinkling in her eyes?
"I, er... neh. Annyeonghaseyo Chaerin-ssi."
Pulling a chair for myself, I sat across the leader of 2NE1, watching the girl with a mix of curiosity and wariness, debating inwardly if I would ever be comfortable enough around her for a potential friendship.
Still silent, we watched the other for a good minute, communicating solely with our eyes. Can I trust you? Will we get along?
We were treading on thin ice now, any form of hostility or discomfort would place Jiyong in an awkward position. The best friend or the girl friend, the ultimate dilemma any man would fervently wish to avoid. Something flashed within Chaerin's eyes, reminding me of the girlish amusement I had seen earlier... Maybe, just maybe that the real Chaerin is hiding behind this stoic mask. I'm seeing CL now, not Lee Chaerin. Convinced in my judgment, I relaxed my posture and gave a genuine smile; a smile offering nothing but sincerity and friendship.
The surprise in her eyes were brief before swirling into a slight cautiousness once more and finally, the fierce mask fell, revealing a youthful dongseang giving a sweet smile. The kind of smile a dongseang would only reserve for their favourite respected unnie.
Beaming at each other, the tension earlier melted away as warm comforting sensation enveloped us. Little did I know, this day would mark the start of a promising unlikely friendship.
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Annyeong Yoroboon!
So, I've been really busy these past two weeks (uni admission application) hence the lack of update last week. Sorry!
And it seems that I'm having a lil trouble writing recently, the words just won't come to me. *sigh*
Which basically means I'll go: Type. Delete. Type. Delete. And the cycle repeats.
Thank you for alvialhyo subscribing! :) And to those lovelies who left comments, xxx. kumawo ^^
I'm in serious need of a dose of Changyoon. Gahhh. Alright, that's about it.
Have a great day... or night... or whatever, Hehehehe.
xoxo, againhello.
08/12/17: Yes, it’s a legitimate chapter update. Trust me, I’m as surprised as you are. Enjoy!! :))
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