CHAPTER TWENTY
Realigning The Lost Stars.When It All Comes Down.
THAT SAME NIGHT
NO ONE'S POV.
Sooyoung eyed the sleeping doe on her lap worryingly, having witnessed one of the doe's worst emotional outburst in the recent years. Her slender fingers never once ceased in brushing Yoona's silken locks throughout the past hour that the deer spent crying her heart out till exhaustion took over, hoping that her little gesture could provide the slightest bit of comfort, to take away some of the deer's sadness with every brush of her hair.
"Come on, let's get her to bed." whispered Taeyeon, sounding nothing like the bubbly kiddy SNSD leader that the public knows of; to watch helplessly her beloved sister grieve for her lost friend had taken its toll on her own mental state.
Sunny sniffled as she nodded from where she sat for the past hour; on the floor, crouching over Yoona in a protective stance as if she was a lioness shielding her cub. The eight other Soshi members never once left the living room as the SNSD visual sobbed herself into the state of oblivion, be it taking turns to offer comforting words and gestures or to offer silent support by leaning against the other as they huddled quietly in the hall, wiping their own tears as the eight of them shared the doe's sorrow, feeling every hurt that wrecked through their weeping sister.
Adhering to Taeyeon’s command, the girls started to disperse; Seohyun went with Yuri to prepare the bed for their sleeping sister while Sunny and Jessica spoke in hushed tones as they made their way to the kitchen, no doubt to whip up a little something should Yoona wake up feeling hungry better. Tiffany scurried to her room in search for her lavender scented candles to help induce a better sleep for Yoona whereas Hyoyeon stayed to help Sooyoung to carry the sleeping doe, careful to not jostle the latter awake as Taeyeon shadowed the trio silently.
By the time Yoona had been tucked under the duvet covers, the curtains had been drawn and with one last worried look, Yuri and Seohyun left the room, leaving only an edgy Hyoyeon who was pacing at the foot of the end while both Sooyoung and Taeyeon made themselves comfortable on Yoona’s bed.
Perched on the left edge, Taeyeon tenderly brushed a strayed tendril back from the sleeping doe’s forehead, in awe of the serenity that the sleeping doe exude, as the SNSD leader waited patiently for the verbal rant that was undoubtedly on its way from a particular agitated member. True to her predictions, Hyoyeon exploded within a matter of seconds, “What the heck? Can someone explain to me how the fight could have gotten so out of hand?! This is just so… out of character from the both of them! What on earth could have caused them to go for each other’s throat in such a manner?!”
Sooyoung sighed, the weariness laced within was impossible to miss. “The fight was the result of pent up emotions that were allowed to fester.”
Resting both her hands on her hips, the Soshi dancer glared pointedly at her sister, “Stop being so cryptic, if you know something, spill. I get that Yoong would have probably made you swear not to tell a single soul but don’t you think it’s high time for us to know what was going on?! I demand answers! I mean, look at her! Clearly two shoulders aren’t enough to shoulder the stress and don’t think none of us realized Changmin had been avoiding Yoona for awhile.”
And when Sooyoung chewed on her lower lip in hesitation, Taeyeon felt a queer sense of dread stir within the deepest pit of her gut.
“Choi Soo Young!”
“Alright, alright!” exclaimed Sooyoung as she threw both her hands up in surrender.
Casting one last apologetic look to Yoona, the tallest SNSD member began narrating everything; from the dinner that November night, to Changmin’s feelings, to the fight Jiyong and Yoona had, the drunk confession… every thought that Yoona had confided into her. Hyoyeon was right, it was time for someone else to know.
With every word spilt from Sooyoung, Taeyeon felt her dread spread within her slowly but surely. It moved like molassess, weighing her down as the foreboding sensation grew and Taeyeon questioned what could possibly worse than the trouble Sooyoung and Yoona will get from sitting in a DB5K dinner scene… only to still in her breathing when Sooyoung mentioned a particular Seunghyun.
Taeyeon could almost swore that her heart fell to her foot. “Not Choi Seunghyun.” She thought, “Anyone but him.” It wasn’t as if Taeyeon made this statement because she was hopelessly in love with mentioned idol, hell no, it was worse; Tiffany was the one.
For several months now, Tiffany had kept her feelings for the rapper from the rest of Soshi, no one suspected, no one knew… no one but Taeyeon. The SNSD leader couldn’t count the number of times she watched as the former cried and pined over a man who barely gave her a second glance, a guy whom somewhat revoked his friendship when Tiffany persistently expressed that she wanted them to move on to a step further; to be more than friends, albeit that the SNSD singer might have been a tad too aggressive for the famously awkward Bingu…
With a silent curse, Taeyeon shut her eyes in defeat, knowing that nothing good would come out of this. The potential damage to the sisterhood between the two aside, her best friend would be utterly devastated when she learnt that her rival was none other than her very own beloved sister while the guilt would cripple Yoona, given the sensitive and gentle nature of the doe… This was just a nightmare waiting to happen, Taeyeon could feel it in her bones.
“Hyoyeon, Sooyoung, you are not to say a word to the other members.” said Taeyeon in a steadier voice than she would have thought possible. This was the only way the Soshi leader could think of to protect her sisters best out of all the possible alternatives.
“You can’t be serious, Taeyeon! The girls should all know!” protested Hyoyeon, incredulous at what her leader was suggesting while Sooyoung gaped silently.
“Yoona had her reasons wanting to keep things quiet, we should respect her wishes. The few of us can help now that we understand what is going on, but it would be wrong to circulate what Yoona deemed as private behind her back. The others can find out when Yoona decide to tell them herself.”
“But…!”
“Not a word.” reiterated Taeyeon, the stern look had Hyoyeon swallowing the remaining of her protest.
“It’s for the best.” whispered the Soshi leader, and at the point of time, Taeyeon didn’t know who was she trying to convince more; herself or the now quiet duo.
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Little did Taeyeon knew that the person she wished to keep this piece of news from the most had overheard the entire exchange. Tears lining her eyes, Tiffany stepped away from the ajar door, the lavender scented candle clenched tightly within her fists, horrified with she had just eavesdropped on.
“Why Yoona?” questioned Tiffany silently, “Why is it always Yoona?”
Placing a palm over her parted lips, the SNSD singer bit back a sob. Tiffany wanted nothing more than to retreat to her room (which she shared with Taeyeon) but her legs refused to cooperate, leaving the singer no choice but to rest her back against the wall, a couple of meters away, as she struggled to come to terms with what she had just learnt. The devil whispered enticingly, summoning the hidden ugly jealously and envy she buried so deep. Poor, neglected Tiffany, always a second place to SNSD visual, always in the shadows as the limelight sought for the beautiful doe. Yoona; the goddess who had been able to command the entire room’s attention effortlessly since their trainee days, the angel whom was often favored by the seniors of the company, the darling princess in the eyes of many… Who would bother searching for the unnoticeable Stephanie Hwang when Im Yoona was around? Even her best bud, and former crush, Ok Taecyeon had been once heads over heels over the mentioned idol.
Tiffany flinched at the bitterness dripping from her venomous thoughts. Surely it wasn’t right to be so bitter against someone she held so dear to her heart? Shaking her head to banish her vicious inner demons, Tiffany made a move to head into her room, only to bump into Sunny whom was preoccupied in using her phone.
“Oh, hey Tiff! Some of the girls and I decided to bake some chocolate chip cookies for Yoong, I’m searching for the recipe right now, wanna join us?” offered Sunny innocently, dismissing the former’s teary rimmed eyes as unshed tears for the hurting doe, oblivious to the little choking noise Tiffany made in return to her invitation.
Spouting a flimsy excuse of needing her sleep for an early schedule, Tiffany bolted into her room with a hasty goodnight, not daring to spare a second glance to her member. Was it too much to ask for someone to pay more attention to her than Yoona just this once?
And with that thought, the singer surrendered herself to the monsters residing in her head, leaving only the shadows and the silence of the night to bear witness to her muffled cries, for the person that she thought she could always count on; her best friend, Kim Taeyeon, too, chose to stay by Yoona’s side.
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FIVE MONTHS LATER.
(EARLY AUGUST 2013)
The days passed flew by faster than what Yoona had expected. It wasn’t easy to deal with the loss of Changmin’s friendship but she had blocked the brunt of it by focusing on work or to simply spend some of her free time doing volunteer work overseas; something which a few of her celebrity friends, like Junsu, had recommended. God knows that she tried, tried so hard to set things right with her AWOL best friend but who was she to persist when the latter had made his stand, or lack of, clear enough. Yoona had pitied those caught in between the battle of pride of her and Changmin (the two notorious stubborn mules, as Heechul had kindly put it), particularly Kyuhyun who had shuffled back and forth endlessly between the duo, fighting relentlessly for the two best friends whom had pretty much called it quits.
And as for the GYoon couple, the fighting hadn’t stopped. In fact, they had gotten to the point of brewing cold wars after almost every fight. At times, Yoona wondered if there was any point in keeping this relationship going, for occasionally, it almost felt that one of them was just waiting for the other to break things off instead of having to do it themselves. But then, the selfish part of Yoona would whisper that she needed this normalcy, even if it was clear that her feelings had waned. Her pride refused to give Changmin the satisfaction of proving him right, this was her way of validating her statement of being fully capable of thinking for herself. Her heart hadn’t wanted to let go either. Despite the fact that their relationship had entered into some sort of stalemate state, Jiyong was a man she spent a year and a half with, it wasn’t easy for someone as sentimental as Yoona to simply turn her back on that. And so, Yoona figured she owed it to them to salvage whatever left between them, to see if they could get the spark back, albeit Jiyong had been rather skittish of late…
The Kwon leader had risen to be a recognized international star in 2013. Proud as she was of her boyfriend’s achievement, the doe admitted that she hadn’t exactly been the most supporting girlfriend, taking into account of the substantial amount of fights they had in the past couple of months… Which was why Yoona chose to call it truce by planning a surprise advance birthday party for Jiyong. Nothing like a good party to release the mounting pressure, eh? She had hoped that this gesture would show her sincerity in wanting to fix things, to let bygones be bygones, to have a fresh start, as well as to let the latter know how apologetic she felt for not being a better girlfriend… not that the man himself had been the candidate for boyfriend of the year.
“Jiyong oppa is so lucky to have you as a girlfriend, unnie!”
Yoona gave a gentle smile to the beaming Minzy who was leaning across the island counter in the kitchen of Chaerin’s apartment, as the former finished the last of decorations for her freshly baked cake.
“You bet he is!” screamed Yuri and Hyoyeon simultaneously from the couch, only to dissolve in a feat of girly giggles after a chirpy “Jinx!”, drawing amusement from Taeyang who had been sitting close by.
Deciding to keep the party small and private, Yoona had only invited close mutual friends of them both. Adhering to the element of surprise, the attendees had agreed to keep the party strictly hush-hush, not even the whole of SNSD knew of Yoona’s plans for Jiyong, and after nights of elaborate planning, tonight was finally the night of the party.
“Oh, Jiyong is one lucky dude alright.” commented Xin, an incredibly close friend of Jiyong’s, as he stole a piece of seasoned meat from one of the Tupperware that Chaerin was packing, ignoring the latter’s huff of irritation. “Say, ever considered ditching the colored hair freak to date me instead?”
Yoona laughed at the sight of the YG stylist wriggling his eyebrows teasingly, used to the rowdy but completely harmless behavior GDragon’s Hip Hop friend.
“Behave! No hitting on Yoona, oppa.” chastised CL, rolling her eyes as she hit the back of Xin’s head.
“Yeah! Yoona’s off limits, Xin!” hollered Hyoyeon from the living room.
Chuckling, Taeyang strolled over to island counter, his voice placating, “Alright alright, break it off kids. Now that we’re all set, about time to head over to Ji’s place and save that hopeless workaholic from another dull night in his studio, don’t you think?”
“Yea! Time to bring the party over to the Kwon Jiyong, man! Time to partayeeee!” shouted Xin gleefully, pumping his fists mid-air.
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It was only when they were standing right outside Jiyong’s apartment that Yoona began having second thoughts. Maybe she could have texted her boyfriend first before coming over with the lot of their friends…
But yet, the matching mischievous grins and infectious buzz of enthusiasm surrounding the deer had her convinced that she did indeed made a right choice in keeping the advance birthday party a secret.
“Don’t worry, he’s going to love the surprise. I promise.” whispered Chaerin, not missing the nervous vibes oozing from the still idol beside her.
“Thanks.” whispered Yoona, the small grateful smile morphing into a chuckle as the 2NE1 leader winked playfully back at her.
“You guys ready?” asked Taeyang from the front of the door, a playful twinkle in his eyes, his fingers resting on the electronic keypad lock.
With a quick nod from Yoona, Taeyang unlocked the door masterfully, barely making any noises as the latter held the door open. Stifling their laugh at the sight of the beaming Big Bang singer whom very much resembled a young kid, the crew entered along with their various props in hand; party horns, confetti poppers and balloons, with the impish ninja-like Xin leading the way.
Concentrating on nothing but balancing the cake, as well as keeping an eye on the melting candles, Yoona gestured for the others to walk ahead of her, only Chaerin remained by her side while carrying one of the bulky bundles holding their party food.
Yoona grinned at her company when they reached the door of Jiyong’s bedroom, delighting in the thought of how ecstatic her boyfriend would be to see them when the door swings open. “Please, please, please let the surprise go well”, she prayed.
“On the count of three.” mouthed Xin whom was gripping onto the knob of the wooden door.
One.
The air cackled with excitement as everyone held their breaths in anticipation.
The air cackled with excitement as everyone held their breaths in anticipation.
Two.
A brief giggle escaped Minzy, Yoona smiled indulgently to their youngest while the others tighten their grip around the confetti poppers, with Taeyang being the exception by bringing his party horn to his lips.
A brief giggle escaped Minzy, Yoona smiled indulgently to their youngest while the others tighten their grip around the confetti poppers, with Taeyang being the exception by bringing his party horn to his lips.
Three.
This was it, thought Yoona. Taking a collective deep breath, the lot of them exchanged beaming smiles as they prepared to barge into the bedroom of the famous GDragon. Winking, Xin turned the knob with deliberate force to announce their arrival.
This was it, thought Yoona. Taking a collective deep breath, the lot of them exchanged beaming smiles as they prepared to barge into the bedroom of the famous GDragon. Winking, Xin turned the knob with deliberate force to announce their arrival.
“SURPRI--”
Only to have the joyful screams and laughter die off immediately at the sight that greeted them, leaving nothing but the sound of confetti pops and blaring party horns to linger in the growing still air.
For a few seconds, there was nothing but silence and gaping mouths. Slacking her hold, the cake fell onto the marble floor with a dull thud, and at that very moment, Yoona felt as though her heart had followed the route in which her cake took. The idol knew what her eyes were witnessing but yet, her brain just couldn’t comprehend the ongoing situation. Recovering from the initial shock, Xin boomed in the loudest voice Yoona had ever heard from the YG stylist, “DUDE, WHAT THE ACTUAL ?!”
“Bloody hell.” gasped Hyoyeon in disbelief, while CL cursed explicitly in French.
And suddenly, it all made sense to Yoona. Like a veil that had been lifted, the Soshi visual could finally see the multiple blaring red flags that she chose to ignore subconsciously; choosing to trust blindly in a man whom she thought loved her… in a sister that she believed would never betray her.
Snippets of various random memories came rushing at Yoona. Jiyong’s skittish, jumpy behavior for the past month. The secret texts and calls. Tiffany’s cooler-than-normal attitude, the occasional guilty looks that Yoona had chanced upon when the latter caught the former off guard… How could she have been such a fool? How could she have not seen this coming?
It hurts, Yoona realized, feeling oddly detached from her body. Like a moth drawn to the flame, the idol refused to draw her gaze away from the sight before her, an image that was branding itself deeper into Yoona’s head with every millisecond passed as she stood paralyzed, a shrill agonized scream lost within her jumbled vocal cords.
Yoona was aware of her surroundings with an amazing clarity. The horrified looks, the tangled sheets, the pieces of clothing that were thrown haphazardly on the floor, the faint smell of a sickening sweet wine… Yoona took it all in, fighting the urge to gag as bile rose swiftly in .
Did you ever think things through?!
Obviously not, answered Yoona when Changmin’s words from the fight months ago sliced through her trance like a sharp sword. And the idol would have snorted if her nerves hadn’t felt as if they were all over the place. Trust Changmin to make his appearance at the most opportune timing, she thought.
Ironically, Changmin had been right after all, concluded Yoona. Clearly, she must have lacked some sort of thinking ability. Because if she could think, she wouldn’t have been standing stonily at the door of Jiyong’s bedroom like a humiliated fool, frozen in time as she watched a shell-shocked, Tiffany straddled an equally shell-shocked and Jiyong.
Hyoyeon was right. Bloody hell, indeed.
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Annyeong Yoroboon,
EEEK! /Dodges rotten tomatoes/
Heh heh... surprise? And there goes the GYoon ship for this story. Don't be mistaken, it's not as though I dislike Tiffany or GD so as to portray them as the cheating pair. I'm actually a fan of GD's but well... I suppose some things just have to be done. >.<
A merry hello and gratitude to the newest subscribers; Semibiased, QueChill, esseyong, leeyoonhae, Nasyiq & loner91 ,
as well as my lovely commenters ^^
Hehehe, on an utterly random note,
MY JYJ BABIES ARE HAVING THEIR COMEBACK!!! :D
Ah~ /TREMBLING IN EXCITMENT/ I can't wait!! ♥♥♥ #Backseat
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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