As we were leaving, with plans for the next two days neatly ironed out, my phone rang. It was Heechul.

Heechul: I know I promised to keep him out of your hair for a week, but I’m truly, truly worried about Siwon!

Oh, no! What now?

I had to lean against the wall to support myself.

Me: (~Worried that something has happened~) What…is he okay? Is everyone okay?

Heechul: (~Sarcasm in his voice~)Obviously, he’s not, or I wouldn’t be calling you, would I? Everyone’s been complaining about him. And this is Church-Boy Siwon we’re talking about. He’s always late for schedules, he’s got all is lines jumbled and he’s getting impolite to people. Even Manager Park is complaining!

Me: Heechul….

Heechul: Aisssshhhh!!! NO! I promised to keep him out of your hair, but not to get him back in shape! It’s all you and your hang-ups. So, what if you guys want to be together? So what if he’s a bit possessive? So? You guys should just enjoy it!

Me: (~Concerned that the others can hear, thankfully, Jorge is keeping Leeteuk busy with a list of shopping places and Ruth and Janine are busy teaching Donghae some Filipino words~) HEECHUL!!!!

Heechul: Yeah, I know, I’m rambling again! So, what happens now? What are you gonna do about him?

Me: Can’t you just…

Heechul: NO! You caused this mess, you fix it!

Me: (~Resigned that I have to speak with Siwon~) Fine…I’ll call him tonight after his schedule.

Heechul: Call him now.

Me: I don’t want to interrupt his work.

Heechul: What work? They sent him home for not memorizing his lines and losing his temper.

Me: He LOST his temper?!?

Heechul: Yes, and they called me, hoping I can bully him into submission. I can’t handle this Siwon, Rain, it’s a stubborn, spoiled brat version of the gentle Choi Siwon. What have you done?

Me: Who? Me? This is MY fault?

Heechul: In part, yes. It’s both of you. Do something, since you seem to be the more lucid one of the pair. Call him, he’s in his room, pretending to sleep.

Me: Fine, just let me get these two back in the ho….

Heechul: (~Screaming like a banshee~) Call him now before I lose my mind!!!

Me: Okay, I will! Get off the phone so I can dial his number…bully!

Heechul: and don’t you try to get away from it… I’ll know if you called or not, and I swear….!!

Me: yeah, yeah, I know.

And I pushed DISCONNECT.

I looked around and everyone seems to be busy still. I signalled to Jorge to keep everyone occupied while I make a quick phone call, then I rushed inside and into Dianna’s guest bedroom.

I took a deep breath and dialled Siwon’s mobile number. It rang once…twice…seven times. I was about to hang up when he picked it up.

Siwon: (~Sounding very annoyed~) What?!?

Me: You’re asking me? What stupid things have you been up to?

Siwon: (~Surprised~) Rain?!?!

Me: Yes. It’s me. Now, tell me, do I have a public relations crisis on my hand when I get back?

Siwon: (~Still sounding confuse~) So, you are coming back?

Me: I have a job to do.

Siwon: Why were you hiding from me? Why did you leave town without a word.

Me: I have a job to do.

Siwon: (~Almost wailing~) You were nowhere to be found during the weekend!

Me: I.Have.A.Job.To.Do! You sound drunk…have you been drinking?

Siwon: I snuck in and stole a couple of bottles of soju from Kyuhyun…these bottles are quite easy to finish…and I thought at first they were BIG!

Me: ! He keeps liter-bottles! You’ve already finished two?!?! Are you out of your friggin’ mind?

Siwon: You’re fault for hiding from me, it makes me feel cold inside, soju makes me warm.

Me: I wasn’t hiding from you..I was working. Are we going to have trouble over this again? This is what started the whole crap in the first place!

Siwon: No. Donghae started it. He’s taking you away from me.

Me: I’m working right now. Hae, Teuk, Kyuhyun, Shindong, Sungmin, Yesung, Hyuk, Heechul, Wookie and Siwon…I’m doing my best to divide my time equally. It’s not easy, don’t make it any harder, please.

Siwon: (~Slurring his words now~) Siwon deserves more time..Siwon never asked for anything before, but Siwon needs you now. (~I hear the door opening at his end~) Ah, Heechul-hyung! There you are, explain to her why I need more time…

Heechul: (~From the background~) Stop making a fool of yourself, Siwon. You’re drunk! Say goodbye to Rain, she’ll call you again later after you’ve rested…(~Picks up the phone~) See the damage?

Me: Yeah, sorry. Get him cleaned up, please, I’ll call again soon.

Heechul: Call really soon and call regularly, I can’t be a mother hen to this horse, he’s too big! And if anyone finds out what I’ve been doing, it’ll ruin my flawless image, so, keep your mouth shut!

Me: Yes, you don’t want the world to know you’re a closet softie, I know.

Heechul: Who? Me? The only thing soft about me is my beautiful skin! Now call back in a few hours.

Me: I promise. And, Heechul…

Heechul: What now?!?!

Me: God bless you!

And I hung up the phone.

More of the crazy chingus and the manila trip next chapter!