[Author's corner]

Holla ^_^ Sorry for taking soooooooooo long to reveal this new chapter, but just so that you know, i plan to complete the story in 2 more chapters. So please, bear with my laziness, okay? O w O

PLEASE LEAVE YOUR COMMENT BELOW SO THAT I HAVE THE URGE TO UPDATE FASTER. THANKS ^_^

AND NOW, ENJOY~

CHAP 7

Amber wishes that the way from Hangang to her apartment could be longer just so that she can be comfortably sleepy and lay her head on Henry’s back. Before she knows it, they are already on her doorstep where the boy knowingly gets the spare key under the flower-pot as if he were the apartment owner.

People are likely to make that mistake though, especially when seeing how crazily Jacjack and Gongju waving their tails to welcome him back. He was away for over 3 months and the kids are supposed to be distant to him aren’t they?

Oblivious to the complicated girl’s internal confusion, Henry goes back and forth to get first-aid box with perfectly no problem, and Amber just sits as obediently as a kid, watching him silently. Does Henry always know her arrangement so thoroughly?

And does the image of him in her house always that endearing?

“It’s so good to have you here again.”

The tomboy is startle by what’ve just slipped off her tongue. Never does she get used to saying her true feelings. Everything is transfered through funny jokes, because Amber Liu the tomboy just…shouldn’t be honestly fragile. Ironically, isn’t she being fragile in front of Henry right now?

She watches his back jump a little, and a small wave rises in her head about how the feeling may not be mutual and he would despise her self-respect. Before she can have the second stupid though, the lean guy is already down on his knees, treating her ankle as gently as ever, with an unknowing smile never leaving his lips.

Just like the old days.

And just like the old foolish Snoppy, he manages to crush the romantic nostalgia in a blink of eyes, by the grumble of his stomach. And the smell of his fart. And the stupid guilty grin he throws at her.

“EWW HENRY LAU GO AWAY”

The over-neat girl shrieks in her laughters. Ruffling his hair into a bird-nest, she slightly pushes it to the direction of toilet. And Snoopy is just being Snoopy, obediently following her order and doesn’t even bother to wipe the bigass grin off his face.

As if the apartment owner’s scream is not enough, he even dares to shout out from his cubicle:

“STICHT ARE YOU HUNGRYYYYY???”

“GODDAMNYOU IMMA CALL PIZZA SO PLEASE SHUT UP AND DO YOUR BUSINESS”

Amber remembers how pizza is always her weakness from which Henry can get her forgiveness all the times, because come on, who can ever reject its heavenly taste and his white puffy cheeks when stuffing pizza ? Maybe that’s why Henry chose to tell his “talk” with Key this morning right when Amber was so deep in the feel of Seafood favour.

“So…the mess comes from Jin, again.”

“Again?”

“You know why I got this wound? Not because of my combativeness, but because of Jin! SHE TRIPPED ME. And act like the victim. Funny, right?” A bitter smirk forms on her beautiful lips.

“…she has no reason to do so.” After a silent consideration, Henry states.

“Right? I don’t know wh…” Amber stops in the middle of her nonchalant shrug – the image of Henry and Jin kissing flash through her mind – “Maybe I do.”

“Hmmm…” Replying to her is his unintelligible nod.

Seconds of observing her best friend’s silence is enough for her to conclude.

“Henry, you don’t believe me, do you?” Her words sound like breezes.

“Nononono I DO. Just…everyone can be wrong, right? And Jin…I’ve known her for years. She’d never do such nonsense things like that! Not to mention that she likes you a lot! She even praised you numerous times in our talk before I met you…again.”

“Maybe that was just an accident that her leg hooked with yours. You know, that’s how sports rule. Remember once you fell because of Minho’s shove?” Seeing his best friend’s dangerous silence, Henry silently adds.

After God-know-how-long time, the girl finally speaks:

“I’m tired. Just go home, Henry.”

“What? Uh…yeah. I will come to pick you tomorrow.”

That promise is the last thing to be heard after she gently but determinedly pushed him out of the door.

===========

Much as Amber hates that Henry chose to believe Jin over her judgement, to be 101% objective, she can’t deny that the boy may be true somehow. Collision in games is always an inevitable fact (she lost count how many times she shoves the boys down to their feet mercilessly). Even if Jin did it as a way to eliminate the LA girl in the “war” to get Henry’s heart, Amber has never been into it in the first place, not to mention she’s been giving Henry cold shoulder treatment ever since Jin appears in her life. And last but not least, Jin has always been treating Amber well…right?

Maybe the whole thing last afternoon was merely an accident.

Maybe not.

Pondering about how to think and treat her manager onwards, the blonde fails to notice the stolen glances from her “chauffer” every now and then. The guy seems to disagree with that ignorance though, because he gets 1000% her attention when insisting on piggy-back her into SM building.

“Noooooooo…why should I be that embarrassing?” She whines while struggling between his back and the car door.

“You are the patient! Oppa has to treat you well!” The Canadian doesn’t give in.

“But people are looking!!!!!”

“So if people are not looking, you’ll let me do that?” Henry looks suspiciously happy to face her with that familiar stupid huge grin whenever he gets what he wants.

Seconds later, Amber is wearing a beanie, face buried on Henry’s shoulder, and let he piggy back her all the way to practice room (note her continuous curses at how she can’t oppose the Snoopy’s logic).

Suddenly he stops his steps, and Amber turns up wondering why.

“Hi Jin…and hello, James.”

Henry’s voice sounds awkward at the end, taking note how Jin is linking her arm with James’s. Parallel on the other side is James’s frown at Amber being on the white guy’s back.

Only Jin, with her perfect obliviousness, breaks into a sunshine smile after greeting two best friends.

“Holla! I met James when I was just out of the door, and this guy is such a gentleman to give me a ride knowing my injury. He even helped me to walk here.”

Eyeing Amber with an obvious implication, she cheers:

“You are sooooooooo lucky to have him! How envious!

Oh by the way, come here Amber, I got something for you.”

She just stands there, waiting for Amber to come closer. Seeing the confusion in the singer’s eyes, James smiles:

“Even when she might be late for work, Jin asked me to stop at a pharmacy to buy this tonic for you. She seems to take good care of you, doesn’t she?”

So Amber has no choice but to get off Henry’s back to wobble to Jin, who gives her a phial of calcium tonic.

“Remember to take enough dope and recover your ankle fast, okay? I wanna see my girl’s powerful dance again.” With a hand on Amber’s shoulder, Jin advises her like an older sister she is.

How warm, right?

Yeah, that must be what’s running on the two guys’ minds.

But the uncomfortable feelings keep stinging in Amber’s heart and she doesn’t really know why.

She is confused about this manager as heck!

==============

After a long vocal training session comes the heaven time of resting. At times like this, Amber and Jin often chat about a huge variety of stuff, be it politics, sports or even climate change. Hardly does the LA girl feel that comfortable to gossip with a girl in South Korea, but Jin is so different, because just like her, she is also a tomboy.

But lately things have changed.

And right now the American feels absurd to sit here listening to her manager’s story.

“You don’t get mad at the SHINee boys, do you?” The Korean girl nudges her.

Amber replies with a silence.

“They are just being over-protective brothers they always are to me. No bad intention, you know? The boys are such sweethearts.”

Is she teaching me how to feel about the close brothers that Amber has known for 5 years?

“Ever since my mother passed away when I newly came here, they are like family to me. Same to Henry. Ah no, Henry is much more than that. Because my father is far away, Henry becomes a guardian, a shelter for me to come and lean on whenever I meet something bad.

He is like a part of me.

I was so stupid to lose him once.

Because I know I can’t live without him.”

The last sentence stabs straight to Amber’s heart. Can she live without him? Or was she the one to shoo him away? Has she ever considered Henry a part of her life? Does she treasure Henry as much as Jin does?

What is this uncomfortableness in her heart? Guilty? Or annoyed?

“So why did you cheat on him if you treasured him that much?” Amber can hear annoyance echoing in her voice.

“He was drunk and threw up at our closet, ruining all my and my mother’s clothes which my family was too poor to buy again. Worse still, he had this terrible habit to swing all things in his hand away once he was drunk, which was why most of our household appliances were broken at that night. That threw my family to cul-de-sac, and made me angry enough to cut off with him.

But now I can exchange anything to have him back.”

Amber never imagine Henry’s love story can be this lame, If just his vomiting is enough to gross Jin out and make her throw away all her clothes, how much more she’d be grossed out if she were in the situation happening at Amber’s house yesterday? The drunk Henry in his adulthood…she’s not sure if that sabotaging habit still exists, but he sure does have another terrible habit, in a much more mental-damaging way.

“Oh I forgot to inform you that later today we’ll have a party to celebrate Mr.CEO’s birthday. Make sure not to be drunk, you bad kid! I’ll make sure to stay away from Henry if he’s drunk, too. Haha.”

=======================

The blonde girl can’t stop gasping at how her manager drinks wine like drinking pure water.

Just oh-my-God.

As if it’s not embarrassing enough, Jin, in a seemingly heavily drunk state, brings a full bottle of alcohol to invite Henry.

And before Amber can wobble to the two Canadians, Henry’s already gulped down half the bottle.

H.e.r.e.c.o.m.e.s.t.r.o.u.b.l.e.

The poor LA girl didn’t remember how Jin manages to persuade her to court Henry back to his apartment. But here she is at hers, panting heavily after throwing an unconsciously drunkard to the sofa.

Seriously, if Jin wants to stay away from intoxicated Snoopy, why does she make her do so?

Oh and may God bless her furniture tonight. AMEN.

========================

[At the Lius’ mansion, Los Angeles]

The coldness is sneaking its way into the Liu parents’ relationship.

The woman convinces herself to forgive her husband, because forgiveness is the valuable trait that God always hopes human can learn. However, much as she tries, whenever looking at her husband, the happy picture of him with another woman blinds her eyes and blows up the furious flame in her heart.

But again, she is wise enough not to risk her family happiness just basing on vague proof. Mr.Liu still doesn’t know anything, or at least that’s what she thinks.

Through a detective, she finally has the number of the suspicious woman receiving money from Mr.Liu years ago, as known as the Kwon lady in the picture with him.

With the old heart beating like a crazy horse, she dials the number. A Canadian number.

“The number temporarily does not exist…”

What?

Even after hundreds times of dialing, replying to her is still the annoying monotone.

It was not until her calling to Canadian switchboard does she know why.

“The owner of that number unfortunately passed away one month ago.”

Dead?

That woman is dead?

Then who can give her the proper answer now?

Wait. In the picture there is another one exept for Mr.Liu and that Kwon woman. There’s a girl.