Chapter 4: Explanations

Silence reigned in the room.

The atmosphere in the room was a bit awkward after such a dramatic turn of events. Ha Ni had transformed from furious to joyful in a split second. After embracing Woo Young, Ha Ni had proceeded to kick Shin Woo out of the house, before promptly dragging Woo Young to the couch and setting him down. Now, Woo Young was faced with questioning stares from all of Ha Ni’s family, except for Ha Ni’s father while Ha Ni busied herself with getting him a drink. Woo Young finally cleared his throat and spoke up.

“Good evening. Nice to meet you all, my name is Jang Woo Young.”

As if suddenly remembering his manners, he quickly turned to Ha Ni’s father and bowed deeply. “Ahjushi. It’s good to see you again after so long.”

Ki Dong, Ha Ni’s father, stood up and embraced Woo Young warmly. “Ah, why are you being so formal?  I was actually wondering when you would turn up. How have you been all this while Woo Young?”

Woo Young immediately replied, “I have been fine all this while Ahjusshi, though I have missed your cooking.” Woo Young added, smiling cheekily to Ki Dong after he pulled back from the embrace.

“And you don’t miss mine?” Ha Ni commented jokingly, as she walked out of the kitchen with a cup of green tea.

“We both know that you can’t cook to save your life. You probably won’t be able to get married unless you find a rich man. ” Woo Young teased back.

Despite the truth of the statement, at least it used to be true that she was hopeless at cooking, Ha Ni still felt a bit indignant that Woo Young had used her cooking skills to determine her chances of getting married. “Yah, I can actually cook now alright! Besides, if all a guy cares about is my cooking skills, I won’t marry him either! Besides, I already have the most perfect husband I can ask for.” Ha Ni declared proudly.

“Yeah ri­­­ – wait. Did you just say you are married?! And you never thought to invite me? You ungrateful –” ­­­Woo Young huffed, crossing his arms. 

“Well, I did promise I will cut off all contact with you guys till I was ready to return to the Elite. I couldn’t exactly invite you all to my wedding could I? I would have caused a riot about how I suddenly became on such good terms with so many celebrities.” Ha Ni lamented while rolling her eyes. “Anyway, since you are so interested to know, this is my husband Baek Seung Jo.”  Ha Ni said, gesturing with a flourish at Seung Jo.

Seung Jo and Woo Young bowed to each other at the same time instinctively. “Hi, I am Jang Woo Young, Ha Ni’s pair and one of her best friends. Woo Young said, immediately reintroducing himself to Ha Ni’s husband.

As Woo Young lifted his head up, he saw the confusion written on Seung Jo’s face. “Ha Ni, why does your husband look so confused?” Woo Young said, chuckling.

At Ha Ni’s hesitant smile, something suddenly dawned on him. “Wait a minute. You never told your husband about how I’m you pair? You never told him about the Elite??”

“I… there was never a need to. So far, I have never had plans to return and I have spent the past 8 years constructing a new life for myself. There…there wasn’t a need to.” Ha Ni’s eyes were downcast, looking at anywhere but Woo Young.

“Wasn’t a need to? What.” Woo Young sputtered, unable to believe what he was hearing. He was momentarily devastated at the thought that Ha Ni had not considered even returning once, when all he had been doing was waiting for her. However, he was almost immediately distracted by a new thought. What did she mean by constructing a new life for herself? Sure, Ha Ni is no longer carrying out the duties of a Elite currently but …surely she was still doing music? Still singing and dancing and playing? A sudden uneasy feeling attacked Woo Young deep in the gut. Something was wrong.

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Woo Young approached Ha Ni and placed his hands on her shoulders.

“Ha Ni, look at me – and tell me what you mean. “ Woo Young made sure to enunciate his every word so Ha Ni could hear him clearly and more importantly, understand how serious he was being.

Ha Ni took a deep breath and prepared herself to tell Woo Young everything. To tell her family everything.

She looked up into the brown pools that were gazing intently at her. “I... I haven’t touched music for the past 8 years. I have listened and enjoyed music like any other person our age but I haven’t sang or danced or even played a instrument properly. It was just a promise that I made to myself when I left the Elite. To start out on a fresh page. I just never expected to be away for so long…” Ha Ni finished off hesitantly, her voice trailing off.

Woo Young stared at Ha Ni in shock. Music was the dream that bounded the both of them, something that kept them both going, something that allowed them to breathe. It was…simply unbelievable that Ha Ni had stopped doing all that, in favour of – of what?

“Okay.” Woo Young released the breath that he hasn’t realized he’s been holding. “Ha Ni…then, what are you doing now?”

“I, I am working as a nurse now.” Ha Ni smiled up at Woo Young, trying to convince him that all was going well for her.

Woo Young wondered how many times one could get shocked in a day. Working as a nurse, right. Woo Young may have missed out something, but the last time he checked, a nurse had to be able to do injections right? He had never in his life met anyone as frightened of injections as Ha Ni. So… she’s still a nurse. Right.

“Okay. So you are not afraid of injections anymore. What else did I miss?” Woo Young put on a brave face and looked at Ha Ni expectantly, despite the fact that he was freaking out inside. He had no idea whom he was talking to right now. He didn’t recognize this new version of Ha Ni, whom seemed to know how to cook, possess a non-existent passion for music and actually can be a nurse without turning green at the thought of it. Ah, Ha Ni seemed to have lost all sense of fashion as well.

“Erm… I think everybody else in the room is as confused as you now, with the exception of Dad. Maybe we should all sit down. I will start at the beginning, then if you still have any questions, you can ask me later okay?” Ha Ni glanced around the room, looking at the nods of consent.

Ha Ni, Woo Young and Seung Jo resumed their previous seats. Ha Ni then began telling her story.

“Ever since young, I was very musically inclined. I was mediocre at studies, yet once I started singing or dancing or playing, I conquered the stage. I was offered numerous government scholarships that paid for my singing, dancing and piano lessons. Naturally, I got admitted to the top school in Korea that excelled in the arts. All these time, besides Dad, there was someone who stayed by my side, supporting me and encouraging me. That person was Shin Woo oppa.”

Ha Ni could vividly recall all the times she hung out with Shin Woo, all the fun they had together, everything that they had done together. How he used to pick her up after her lessons whenever he could, how he always cared for her, how they shared their first kiss.

“When I entered middle school at 13 years old, I reached the eligible age to be recruited into a secret governmental organization that selects the best musical talent in the country and recruits and grooms them. It is a highly secretive organization, one that few knew about. It wasn’t simply the best talent that got recruited; they have a few pre-requisites in place as well. They will select a small group of people, train them and test them at the end before allowing a select few into the Elite. As you all have probably already guessed, Woo Young and I got in.”

Taking a deep breath, Ha Ni forged on.

“As we were the only ones whom got pass that round of auditions, we naturally got paired together and were trained to work as pairs.”   

“We entered the Elite and all was good. Even within the Elite, we shone for our talent and how well we worked with each other. There was this steadfast rule that only family members and those that you are the closest to are allowed to know about the Elite. That plus whatever future company you choose to debut in, with the exception of SM. At that time, the only person whom fit those criteria was my Dad and Shin Woo oppa, whom I had grew up with and had already become my boyfriend at that time. I told them and everything was fine, too fine in fact. This continued on for another 2 years, till I was fifteen. It was then that I started getting offers to audition at major record companies…and also when the time came for Shin Woo oppa to go overseas to further his studies. I was supposed to go with him but my commitment to the Elite prevented me from doing that. Shin Woo oppa was prepared to delay his studies, to wait for me, yet his parents did not approve. Shin Woo oppa was from a very well to do family and he was expected to take over the business someday. I didn’t blame his parents. So he went. After he left, well…I got bullied by someone I had once regarded as my best friend and I.” Ha Ni closed her eyes, breathing in and out evenly, trying to calm herself down.

“I was very deeply affected by it and it was also at that time that I discovered that Shin Woo oppa was cheating on me in America. I…couldn’t bear everything that was bearing down on me at the moment and I was starting to lose myself. I went into depression and the best way for me at that moment was to get out of the Elite. There were too many responsibilities that were weighing down on me in the Elite that I couldn’t handle and everybody I knew were just a reminder to what I had gone through. So… I decided to start over anew. I appealed to the Elite and after hearing my case, they allowed me to take temporary leave from the Elite, for as long as I needed. I cut off all contact I had ever had with the exception of my family and moved to a new place and changed schools. I put down my passion for music and changed myself completely. I changed my character, the way I dressed and acted. I hid my talent at music and pretended to be a stupid kid that never got anything, in the hope that trouble won’t come looking for me again. It worked. No one tried to harm me as they weren’t jealous of whom I was. There was nothing to be jealous of.  And this is what led to me… leading this life that I am currently living now.  

Turning to Woo Young, she met his eyes with a steady gaze. “I met Seung Jo and fell in love again. I chased him around and eventually got married to him. I…still wasn’t sure whether I was ready to pick up music again so I decided to follow him into the medical field and overcame whatever obstacles I had to become a nurse. I have been living a rather blissful life so far, although I agree that I still miss performing sometimes. And that…is how I got to where I am now.” Ha Ni finished off her long speech and looked back at everybody. Everybody still seemed to be in a state of shock and Ha Ni could tell that they all had their own questions to ask. Ha Ni bit back a sigh and squared her shoulders, preparing herself for the barrage of questions that were sure to come. Despite that, she felt really good. All these things that she had been keeping to herself, she could finally share it with her family. She felt as if a big burden had finally been lifted off her chest and no matter what came her way now, she would be able to face it.

A/N: Hi guys! Sorry for making you all wait so long~ This is the promised update after my exams! I hope you all are satisfied with this chapter(: Please subscribe, comment and upvote^^ Its what motivates me to write haha :D

By the way, to anybody wondering why Jaejoong hasn’t appeared yet when I clearly stated that he will be one of the main characters in this story, you all can expect his appearance in the next 2 chapters!:D I have been taking so long because I needed to lay the foundation first xD anyone can guess what kind of role he plays in the story?:p

Thank you and lots of love to all my subscribers, commenters, upvoters and my silent readers as well!<3