It was a few weeks after Soomin and Kai ended their virtual marriage. They haven't contacted each other since. They thought about each other often and how they contacted each other daily but now they had no proper reason to do so any longer. 

Soomin continued to wonder why Kai confessed to her. She didn't feel his sincerity at all. After the few months together, was he still the same person? She thought he changed for the better and matured over the years but instead it seemed like he was still the same - he was still doing everything just for the sake of the show. 

She frequently thought of texting him and asking him if he meant it but she would back out even before typing anything. She should go back to leading her life before filming and before becoming acquainted with Kai again. It was over between them a long time ago. She put all her energy into preparing for her comeback. She wanted to become successful. It was the promise she made to herself when she left Kai and the company. 

Kai constantly waited by his phone. He wondered why Soomin hadn't contacted him even after his confession. At first, he thought she needed time to think and absorb the information. But as time went by, he began to doubt her ever contacting him again. Was he missing out on something? It was as though they were returning to how things were before the show and everything that happened during the filming period was just for the show, nothing more. Kai shook his head. He shouldn’t be thinking negatively of Soomin. He knew she was busy with her comeback preparation and he should be fair. 

“Soomin, you should take a break! I know you’ve been practicing late into the night weeks now.” Soomin’s manager was stern. 

She paused to catch her breath. “My comeback is in a few days. I need to get it right.” 

“You’re doing fine! Your choreography isn’t very difficult and you’ve perfected it after the first few practices. Why are you pushing yourself so hard? It’s not the way to go.” He sighed. 

She shook her head and started the music again. She didn’t want to listen to her manager nagging anymore. He didn’t know her expectations for herself. She had to work hard and make sure that there was no room left for mistakes or regret. But truth be told, she had to keep working because every time she took a break, her mind would be flooded with thoughts of Kai. To her, that was a huge distraction. 

Before she knew it, the day of her comeback came. “Soomin, are you alright?” Her stylist asked as she was doing her makeup. “You look pale.” 

Soomin forced a smile. “I guess I just haven’t been eating well.” She lied. She wasn’t just not eating well, she wasn’t sleeping well and all her waking hours were spent in the studio practicing. She had a terrible headache but she thought it would go away, like it always did. She barely had time to sit down after getting changed and she was pulled to the stage for her rehearsal. Her manager monitored her performance from the empty hall and gave her two thumbs up when she was done. As expected, she didn’t make a mistake. 

Kai had Soomin’s comeback date marked down on his calendar. He was looking forward to watching her especially since he knew how hard she worked for this comeback. He paced the dorms, checking the clock occasionally to make sure he didn’t miss her live broadcast on television. 

“Kai? What are you doing at home?” Chanyeol asked cheerfully as he stopped to take off his shoes at the door. 

Kai shrugged. “Should I be somewhere? I’ve no schedule today. There’s no where for me to go.” 

Chanyeol chuckled. “I honestly thought you would be at the broadcast station cheering Soomin on. I thought you liked her.” Chanyeol loved teasing s. But the more Kai thought about it, it didn’t sound like a bad idea. He quickly put on a dark coloured coat and cap and headed out. She didn’t have to know he was there. He just wanted to see her and make sure everything was going well. 

It wasn’t difficult getting into the broadcast station since he was a singer too. The difficult part was watching her performance without getting discovered by the fans. If fans took photos of him, that would be a problem. He managed to find a corner backstage where he could stand and watch without being noticed and getting in anyone’s way. Although a few staff members from the music show saw him, they were too busy to greet him or point him out. After waiting patiently for about 15 minutes, it was finally Soomin’s turn to perform. He watched her walk from the backstage waiting area onto stage. He smiled to himself as he thought about how pretty she looked but then frowning realising she lost quite a bit of weight. 

Soomin took her place on stage with her dancers. Kai watched in awe as though it was his first time watching her perform. She looked so professional and confident, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. In the middle of her performance, he notices her expression changing and her face going pale. The next thing he knew, he was watching her fall to the floor.

Soomin wasn’t aware of anything. At first, her vision blurred and the cheers of the audience got softer and softer. She tried to complete her stage but her limbs went weak and everything went black. She regained consciousness when she felt like she was being lifted into air. Opening her eyes slightly, she managed to get a quick glimpse of who was carrying her. “Jongin…?” 

Posted 28th June 2014