[SIX YEARS LATER]

[Ren's POV]

                The feeling of standing on my lonesome on stage was something I thought I was prepared for. I had been doing some on-off solo work since I first debuted with Crescere. But I had no idea I would be twice as nervous each time I stepped on stage.

                I managed, after many months of fighting my way past senior singers and much difficulty, to land myself a guest spot on Yu Huiyeol's Sketchbook.

                As an official debut of being a solo artist, everyone, including the company wondered why I requested to be on this show so much. I could only say that all their questions would be answered after the episode aired.

                "How does it look?" I asked my manager.

                "Quite promising, actually," she replied, in her usual gentle tone. "You'll be fine. This is what you've worked for. Online charts are soaring, and it's a great album. Your parents would have been proud."

                I was a little guilty with how little I actually think of my biological parents. But then again, I'm sure the reason I survived this long was because of their blessing combined with the blessing of Kris' mother.

                "Did you call Kris yet?" my manager asked.

                I nodded happily. "According to him, he's about to take a leap of faith. But he'll be fine."

                "And you will be too. Go kill' em."

*

[Kris' POV]

                When I told Ren about that 'leap of faith', I was sure she was assuming something to do with music, or my career. As always, she just gave me her love and support. But to avoid burdening her on one of her biggest shots in the industry, I had to see this particular thing out myself.

                Juxtaposed to being on stage, sitting in a prison had me freezing all nerves in my body. Sure, being on stage is nerve-wracking to, but this place...I was only in the visitors' seat and it was scaring the outta me!

                 But he came out. I knew he would.

                The last time I saw his face, I was ten years old. I refused to see him again when he got his second trail. But for whatever reason...Ma convinced me to try.

                When the two cops sat him down opposite me, I wanted to run for it. But something made me stay.

                He looked much older than I thought he would have. He aged a lot faster than most men his age. Then again, he never took care of himself well, and he attempted to make me and Ma look the same.

                "Jiaheng..." he breathed.

                I felt my pits sweat. I said goodbye to that name the last time I saw him. And if he paid attention to the media at all, he should know better than to call me that. But then again, I'm not sure how much they are allowed to see in prison, so I let him go with hatred building in my guts.

                "You look horrible," I said.

                "Yeah..." he sighed. "The years no doubt have changed me."

                "Yeah, blame the years," I snapped.

                I wasn't going to let him off easily. The tension may have been awkward for him, but it was a necessity for me to get him to understand how far he brought himself.

                I could be rushing back to Korea with the members right this moment to catch up on Ren's solo debut. But I chose to fulfil Ma's wish and close this chapter.

                "Your mother said that she'd try to get you to visit me at least once," he said. "I really do appreciate it."

                "I didn't do it for you. I did it for her."

                "I know, but I thank you. I know...I know I have no right to call you my son."

                "No, you don't," I spat bitterly.

                "But you have to know...your mother knows. The last time it happened...I didn't mean for it. I hurt her, and I hurt you. I blew my last chance. I'm not asking for another one. But before I die...I just want you to know I'm sorry. You need to know how much I bitterly regret my life. And...how proud I am of you. You became everything I could never be. Hold onto that."

                "I do," I spat again, coldly. "Every...single...day."

                "Good," he said. "Take care of your mother. At least...I did one good deed in my pathetic life."

                "It is pathetic. What good could you have possibly done?"

                "I gave her a son..."

                I stopped, with my mouth hanging open in preparation to say something back. But I was stuck.

                "She did well. She did very well."

                He wasn't wrong there. I owed everything to her. And in return, she shared her love with Ren and welcomed her like a real daughter.

                "I'm sure your brothers are thankful for her too. How are they anyway?"

                "They're good," I answered bluntly.

                "And your wife? I hear she's releasing her first album in Korea. She's very beautiful."

                "Don't bring her up. You don't get to talk about her," I snapped. "Stay away from her, or I swear to God..."

                "Jiaheng...please!" he choked. "I'm behind bars until I hit the pine box. What could I possibly do?"

                "Don't joke about it when I'm being serious."

                He just sighed simply. "Well...I guess I don't deserve your trust. But I did my best."

                "Just live long enough to know your life was a waste," I snapped again, coldly.

                Just in time, the two cops came back and stood behind him. Time was up.

                "Take care of your mother and wife. You and your brothers will do well as well."

                He stood up and walked out the same way he came in, with the two cops following him.

                For some reason, Ren appeared in my mind vividly. Whenever I think about Ren, I think about what she told me about moving forward. I didn't think this man deserved my forgiveness, but with Ren appearing in my mind, I managed to realise that even criminals want to die with a bit of dignity.

                "Wait," I called, after them.

                The two cops turned around. He turned too.

                "She's pregnant," I said, suddenly. "We think it's a girl. Do you want to meet her once she grows up?"

                He smiled. "Only when you're all ready. I'm not going anywhere..."

                They continued walking again. Just then, another cop approached me as an out. Until I actually reached the exit of the hell hole, I couldn't really breathe. Prison was serious business; I thought I should have known that, but it's a completely different feeling than what I was expecting.

                Once I actually breathed a sigh of relief, the taxi that was waiting for me pulled up in front of me.

                "Airport?" the driver asked.

                "Yes, please," I said.

                I pulled out my phone. It turned out that Ren had emailed me while my belongings were being held collateral.

From: Empress

     Sorry you couldn't be here. But your cause is just as big as mine. I hope it all worked out, because it sure worked for me. I love you! Have a safe flight! 

P.S. She enjoyed it too =)

                I smiled happily. Within the time it was going to take for me to pull her back into my embrace, anything could happen. But I didn't think about that.

                Nothing anyone said or did could stop us anymore. It was a long road to get to that point. But I was happy, and so was Ren. That was all I needed.

*

[Ren's POV]

                "Annyeonghaseyo, my name is Ren, nice to see everyone again!" I greeted happily.

                The crowd a little more modest, but it was a great turn out for me. The show, itself, is pretty modest too because it's aimed at people of all ages. That's partly the reason I chose this show.

                "Ahhh, congratulations on your first official album," said Yu Huiyeol Sunbaenim. "Really...two years...it's been a little while. Two years..."

                "Ne, I've missed everyone so much," I said. "But I'm really happy to finally give everyone good music again. Thank you so much for your support."

                "Ah, ye. So, you look like you've prepared a lot for this album. Can you tell us about it?"

                "Oh, the album is called Compliments of Black, and it's my interpretation of how much one person can make a difference. Through all ten tracks, I worked through the nights with my team to try and portray each feeling of heartbreak and love. Hopefully, everyone can enjoy listening to them."

                "I also read something peculiar in the 'Thank you' column," said Yu Huiyeol. "Is there another Yu Huiyeol that you know of?"

                I laughed softly. "Aniyo, I meant you, Sunbaenim."

                "Oh, really? Why? This is the first time we've met and you thanked me in your album's column? Of all the people?"

                The laughter spread across the audience rapidly. But I had to regather myself quickly to move on.

                "There is a reason. A long time ago, I watched this program where MBLAQ Sunbaes appeared. You mentioned something about their group name having the word 'black' in it, and that it brings out the beauty of each colour. That meant a lot to me because I love wearing black. I also love the idea of bringing out the best of people...and the worst..."

                I had to throw humour in there somewhere, because the atmosphere got serious too quickly for me. But even Yu Huiyeol laughed.

                "Oh, is that right?"

                "Ne, so I thought to myself, 'well, being a foreigner in a country I probably still don't understand, maybe I should find the beauty of myself to stop being so misunderstood'. So even though I plan to make more music in the future, I don't think any of them will be more important than this album here. So along with everyone else I mentioned in the thank you column, I really was sincere when I mentioned your name too."

                "Ohhhh; so touching...So this song you just performed; 'Clean and Serene'. I really didn't expect it to be a ballad song, but..."

                "Ne, a lot of people told me that. But because 'Compliments of Black' itself is a performance piece, I wanted to incorporate different genres in the album. I want to express myself as an all-rounder performer. So some songs are ballad songs, and some songs are dance songs."

                "Oh, I understand now. Now, a lot of idols do solo work nowadays. And when most of them release their albums, they talk about how different they feel without their groups. Do you feel different now that you're officially solo?"

                A number of questions surrounding my hiatus was building in everyone's minds and heart. I had all the answers ready. I was either about to set off a million haters, or settle a million other hearts.

                "To a point, of course you feel different. Being solo requires a lot more energy and in many cases is much more stressful because everything is your own responsibility. I spent a lot of time in the past worrying about my members that I neglected myself. Finding love helped me realise my mistake. To be honest, I had it incredibly easy; moving from group to solo. But at the end of the day, there is always a place in my heart for Crescere, and I still think back to our days together."

                "Do you still keep contact with the members?"

                "We're all actually meeting with each other after the shoot."

                "Oh, really?!"

                "It's the maknae's 20th birthday, so it's my job to shout the drinks."

                "Omona! How time flies! Speaking of time...we can't stop it. You're now approaching your thirties. And I find this a little odd because...a lot of young soloist tend to talk about finding love. But you've already past that point! I don't suppose you have any concerns with your love life?"

                I smiled warmly at the thought of Kris.

                "With love itself, I have no concerns," I admitted. "But with being able to embrace it wholeheartedly...that's a little difficult for us. EXO-M left for promotions in China last week. So...we haven't been able to hear from each other for a few days."

                "Oh..."

                "But if anything, the distance is the reason we can still love each other as much as we do now."

                "Since EXO are actively performing and managing their company well, you do see Crescere doing anything similar in future?"

                "Um...honestly, there are no set plans. But we do talk a lot about it. Whenever I meet up with our members, we always talk about making unit groups and creating music together. But nothing is set in stone yet. But definitely, we all hope for a big collaboration. Recently, Kimi-yang and D.O.-ssi appeared together on Immortal Songs for the 'Lovers Special'. When I watched that episode, I was so envious, because I haven't even gotten the chance to sing on stage together with Kris yet!"

                "Haven't you? I thought you would have already."

                "Aniyo, we've been so busy with everything! But there is a song on the album that he helped write and feature in."

                "Oh, which song is that?"

                "It's called 'Now If Not Forever'."

                "That already sounds like a romantic song."

                "It is, in a way. But there's a uniqueness to it that we both love."

                "Ahhh, I see. So it sounds like your future plans are not set in stone, but it all does involve music."

                "Ne, essentially."

                "Do you have any other concerns?"

                Personally, I thought I was done with my concerns. But it seemed like it was everyone else's concerns that I had to address. Did I have anything more to say?

                "I suppose I do have one," I said. "Like I said, I can't make any promises; but I can stand strong. The only reason I can stand strong is because I found love and I found a family. I finally made a home for myself here in Korea. I guess my only concern is how much more my fans can put up with me and my incompetence. I know we should leave the past in the past, but I never entirely said out right that I am bitterly sorry for everything I caused. No doubt, I lost many fans because of those past conflicts, but through this album, and the love of my members, I hope everyone can support me once again."

                "Well, then; just like your album, you really do bring out the beauty of yourself both in and out. The colour black works in mysterious ways, and no doubt, your career in the business has been a blessing in disguise."

                "Oh, kamsahabnida."

                "Now, lastly, you'll be leaving us with a live performance. What song are you going to perform?"

                "I'll be performing my lead single that was released online yesterday; the title track 'Compliments of Black'."

                As the set cleared in preparation of the performance, a little swirl flipped inside my stomach. Kris came immediately into my mind. I stood there in the dark, with the PD waiting for my cue. I had to lose myself in the moment before I started.

                I smiled to myself with the mic firmly clutched in my left hand. The Little One was already on my side. She was barely a sea monkey form, but I could already feel her pumping excitement around my body.

                I turned my head to the PD and nodded. I still had about ten seconds left of thought.

                "Your time will come, Little One," I whispered, patting my tummy gently. "We're all good now..."

                3...2...1...