Don't Open The Door

Manager Kim burst through the door of the dressing room where YongHwa had finished getting changed into his performance clothes and was playing his guitar in the corner as the makeup unnies fussed over his hair and makeup. At the sudden commotion YongHwa lifted his head and stopped playing, giving his manager an enquiring look. It was as if he had no idea how much trouble he was in. But anybody knew YongHwa wasn't that stupid, he had to be putting on a face of innocence right now.

Out of breath, Manager Kim stood there for a moment clutching at his chest and waiting until he caught it again before going on. "Yong...Hwa..." he gasped breathlessly, "What in the world were you thinking?"

YongHwa didn't answer, he looked back down at his guitar and strummed slowly a new chord progression that his manager had never heard before. Was he really composing songs at a time like this? Unbelievable.

Manager Kim stormed forward and snatched the guitar out of YongHwa's hands.

"Yah!" exclaimed YongHwa, startling the makeup unnies as he sprang to his feet angrily and reached for the guitar back but Manager Kim held it behind his back. The two of them danced around each other, YongHwa trying to get back his guitar, Manager Kim not letting him anywhere near it. The makeup unnies gave up trying to chase around YongHwa's head as it bobbed and ducked this way and that in a frantic attempt to claim his instrument.

"You're not getting this back until you answer me Jung YongHwa!" Manager Kim boomed, and this was the last straw as the makeup unnies fled the room for fright. "Do you have any idea what trouble you have caused for the company by opening your big fat mouth?"

YongHwa felt along his jaw as if his manager really was insulting the physical aspects of his mouth. "I was just saying what I honestly thought," answered YongHwa quietly. "You always told us to be honest and natural with our fans."

Manager Kim's eyes rolled into the back of his head aspiratedly. "You know very well that's not what I meant when I said that! Not in detriment to the company! You should never be disrespectful towards the company!"

"How was what I said detrimental to the company?" YongHwa folded his arms and flopped backwards stroppily into his chair. "Nor was I being disrespectful! I was just voicing my opinion since they asked about it!"

"You know the game by now Jung YongHwa," spat his manager, using YongHwa's full name to further express his seriousness. "You know these shows, you know the media. They will latch onto anything and turn it into something so much bigger! It's best not even to bring up such things at all! Do you think they're going to lightly listen to your thoughts, serve you a cup of tea and pat you on the back saying 'There, there, everything will be okay'?"

YongHwa wrinkled his nose and took his phone out from his back pocket. "It's your fault you never asked me about it first. You just told me after you made the decision. How do you think that makes me feel? It's like all the work I've done for you over the years doesn't even matter anymore."

Manager Kim clicked his tongue in frustration. He moved to the other side of the room and set down YongHwa's guitar in the opposite corner to where the young idol was sitting. YongHwa did not look up, he kept his eyes on his phone, clearly brooding. Manager Kim pulled up a chair alongside his usually level-headed, trustworthy client, a client he had watched bud and bloom through the early years to now, a client he was so very fond of as he had watched him every step of the way to stardom. YongHwa was one of those artists who never lost sight of his goal, never lost sight of what truly mattered and what was really important. The stardom and the adoration of his fans had never got to his head and messed up his attitude towards his career. He could always be depended on to be humble, to continue with his head down and do a good job. In fact, the whole of the band CN BLUE were commendable in this area. They were a group of grounded, well-rounded boys and they had made their manager proud.

 However, he knew only too well about the young idol's inner aspirations of one day becoming a worldwide rock star, but he was always so good as to keep himself relatively under wraps and do as the company told him. It just so happened Manager Kim always found himself stuck in the middle, ordering the boy around, constantly on his back although the two of them had a very good relationship and knew how to joke around and be honest with each other. YongHwa had always understood his manager's role up until now, all of a sudden it seemed something had begun to unravel and the star was beginning to put Manager Kim in the same box as those higher than him. The young star seemed as if he was finally beginning to rebel and he wondered what had caused the sudden change.

"YongHwa, you know that isn't the case," said Manager Kim finally. He watched as the boy flicked carelessly at his phone, not really looking at anything on the screen in particular. "You know I regard your work very highly, I've always appreciated having you as my client. Don't you remember the great times we've had together along the way?"

YongHwa looked up to show he was listening.

"It's just that, in this business, and you know more than anyone: sometimes there are things that we can't control. If it's expressed by the public that they really want something, and if the media gets on board - in this case it was a reversal, the media thought of it first and the public carried it on - but it's the same deal. The industry has to deliver, in the end, it's all about making money. And how do we keep making money?"

"By pleasing the masses," replied YongHwa listlessly. He threw his phone down beside him and stared moodily past his manager as the truth weighed down on him. He had known this fact throughout his entire career in the industry. It's not like he had suddenly forgotten it now.

"Right." Manager Kim sighed and glanced at his own phone. "We'll have to head down to the Head Office as soon as possible. He wants to see you. We'll have you back in time for your performance."

YongHwa looked back at his manager, his expression changing to something more vulnerable. "Is it really bad?"

"Nothing we can't twist around," said his manager. "Just be apologetic and say you didn't realise how things would turn out. We'll probably just discuss some strategies. It's not like he's going to pull you over the coals. You're still a major player YongHwa. The company won't want to lose you."

YongHwa got up to go with his manager, and as soon as the two opened the door to the dressing room they were met with a crowd of people. Cameras flashed, microphones were shoved in their faces, an eruption of voices as a dozen different journalists tried to get their questions across the loudest, trying to be the one to coax YongHwa or his manager into making a statement. They goaded YongHwa with assumptions, rumours, questions that made his eyes burn like fire but still he did not give in to them as his manager pulled him protectively through the hoard and they made slow but deliberate progress down the corridor which lead the way out to the van.

As Manager Kim and YongHwa made their way out into the open, still pushing through the crowd of cameramen and journalists, with a few fans joining the commotion to shout out their own two cents, you ran around the corner and stopped in surprise at the reception before your eyes. You looked on helplessly as YongHwa was pushed hurriedly into the back of the van, Manager Kim getting in after him and shutting the door behind him instantly. The black van drove away and disappeared down the road. At the departure of their victim, the crowd of paparazzi and other media parasites slowly disbanded and headed back to their own means of transport. Thankfully none of them spotted you, and you quickly ducked under your cap you were wearing and trudged back the way you had come. You kicked at a stone on the sidewalk angrily as you made your way back to your apartment on foot.

Walking through your anxiety and frustration made you feel better, even though it was a long walk from here. It gave you time to think. More so, it gave you time to brood over the bad habits of both the media and the industry you had found yourself locked into this journey with. You tried calling YongHwa's mobile several times, but he did not pick up. You didn't expect he would, as he was dealing with some serious business right now, and he was probably in a meeting with the Head of the Company and a few other important people. You hoped they wouldn't go too hard on him. He had made lots of money for them over the years, surely they couldn't do anything serious to him. It was only a small mistake. You knew worse things had been said and done in an industry like this and people had come out the other side. Thinking these comforting thoughts to yourself you finally made your way home and settled yourself into your bed for the night with a bowl of ramen.

Just as you were falling asleep, there was a meek knock at your door. You opened one eye sleepily, wondering if you had really heard it or if it was your dreams calling to you. It knocked again, a little louder this time. You looked at your clock and noted that it was one in the morning. Perhaps you really had been asleep because the last time you looked at the clock it was only nine in the evening. Wondering who it could possibly be so late, you cautiously tiptoed down your small hallway and peeped through the tiny hole in your door. It was hard to see into the dark hallways outside, but you could make out the figure of a guy who was very well dressed and had good hair. Deducing from this he was your age and probably harmless, mostly hoping that it was YongHwa who had come to surprise you, you undid the chains on the back of your door and unsnapped the lock. Cautiously you opened the door and popped your head around to get a better look at your night time visitor.

It was HanJu. He looked up from his feet and turned big innocent eyes on you. "_________."

You went to close your door again but he put his fingers around the door and you didn't want to crush his fingers so you halted. "What do you want, HanJu?"

He took his fingers away slowly and looked back down at his feet again. "I wanted to talk to you. I promise I don't mean any harm. What happened last time... it was a misunderstanding. Actually I came to talk to you then but I didn't know he was with you... and then he attacked me so I ran away."

You let out a deep breath. "Well it looked pretty bad with you lurking in the shadows."

"I know, mianheyo." HanJu hung his head. "When I saw him I actually just wanted to sneak away quietly but he saw me and jumped on me."

You clicked your tongue and looked past the small shivering boy in front of you, thinking whether or not to hear him out. You liked to give people the benefit of the doubt, and HanJu had mostly been a good friend to you, apart from the lying part. Which also made it hard to trust him... But you didn't see him as a dangerous kind of guy, especially not towards you. Turning your eyes on his weak frame and his undeniably cute childlike face, you opened the door wider. "Come in, but make it quick."

"Jincha?" HanJu's eyes were wide with surprise.

"Quickly get in before I change my mind." You went to close the door again but HanJu rushed past you quickly and stood obediently in your hallway as you proceeded to close the door.

"Aren't you going to lock it?" asked HanJu, peering behind you at the door as you turned away from it and walked past him into the sitting area.

"You're not going to be here long enough," you stated coldly. "Now come on, take a seat and explain yourself quick. What are you doing here at this time of the morning? You know, you actually woke me up."

HanJu's face broke into one of ultimate worry and regret. "Oh I am so sorry _______! It's just that... I... If I didn't come now I would never have the guts to confront you again."

"What do you want to confront me about?" you pressed impatiently, sitting on the sofa and gesturing HanJu towards the chair beside you.

He followed your cue and took a seat, but he sat bolt upright like a bag of nerves. "Well... I know it was wrong of me to lie to you. And I wanted to say I'm really sorry about that." He looked at you quickly but you didn't answer so he went on. "I guess by now you know the real story between me and YongHwa-ssi. I'm only working in the company because of his good will. I guess... when I became your Personal Assistant I was just so excited, and I didn't know what YongHwa would say about me so I thought I would get in first and make you distrust him more."

You looked at him incredulously. "Are you serious?"

HanJu gulped and nodded, then went on. "Neh, I'm a bad guy. I just wanted you to trust me... And when I realised what a wonderful person you were... I... Well I really didn't want to lose such a beautiful friend. You are such a beautiful friend to me, ________."

You ignored this statement as you didn't consider HanJu to be your friend anymore.

"It was right of you to remove me as your Personal Assistant," he bowed his head to you. "I just came here to tell you that I understand, and I am very sorry. I won't bother you again just so long as I can give you a hug to say goodbye..."

You turned back to him with a frown. "A hug? Why do we need to hug? You've said your piece, now we can both move on with our lives."

HanJu sniffed and looked up at you with those puppy eyes he could make so easily with his huge eyes and long eyelashes he was blessed with. It was almost impossible to say no. "Just a hug, it would mean so much to me. And then I will never ever bother you again ________. At least if you hug me I know that everything will be okay again, even f you won't be my friend."

You rolled your eyes and got to your feet. It was just a hug, you were a foreigner and hugs to you weren't always as intimate to you as they were to the Koreans. You would hug him and he would leave and then everything will finally be finished and you wouldn't have to worry about this saga anymore. So you opened out your arms and HanJu leapt to his feet gratefully and slowly walked into your hug.

 You only wanted it to be a short one, but HanJu wouldn't let go of you when you moved to release the hug. You patted him uncomfortably on the back to let him know the hug was finished and he should stop now. His hands moved up to your shoulders and he brought his face close to yours and you froze in shock as he planted an unexpected kiss on your lips. You pulled away with more force, angrily pushing at his chest so he would have to step away, and then your heart stopped. Your eyes fell on a figure in your hallway that you had not even seen enter, not even heard.

Staring in fury at what he was seeing before him, YongHwa marched further into your apartment, grabbed HanJu by the shoulder and whirled the confused boy to face him. "What do you think you're doing to my girlfriend?" YongHwa's voice was like sharp ice that had cut through the atmosphere and suddenly set an unbearable chill on the room, a chill that inched down your spine and gave you goose bumps.

HanJu's eyes widened in shock as YongHwa's eyes of fire bore threateningly into his own. He put up his arms in defence, unable to say anything but open his mouth and close it again. "I just-"

He was unable to finish his sentence as YongHwa's fist swung out of nowhere and came across his face. His head turned violently with the impact and you gasped as you heard a cracking sound. HanJu staggered backwards, his eyes darting from side to side as if he was spinning, clutching at his nose and letting out a shocked whimper. YongHwa stepped towards him and brought his arm up to take another shot but you flew in front of him and held out your hand to stop him. "Anduweh!"

YongHwa brought his fist to a sudden surprised halt merely millimetres from your face as you had stupidly placed it directly in his line of aim. He regarded you wildly for a moment as HanJu let out another whimper and fell onto the sofa behind you. You blinked with wide eyes at YongHwa's fist which was right in front of your face where he had almost hit you, the heat from it reaching your skin it was so close. You gulped and straightened as YongHwa slowly lowered his hand, staring at you incredulously. "Why are you defending him?" he asked you hotly. "W-why were you kissing him?" he added, his voice getting louder so he was almost shouting.

Your mouth fell open at his accusation. Had he really seen it that way? Did he really not know you better than that? "How dare you!" you hissed back at him. "I would never kiss another man other than you!"

"Then what was that you just did?" YongHwa bellowed, hot air blowing onto your face and making you wince.

You hesitated. Of course you hadn't kissed HanJu back, you were just in too much shock to move away faster as you saw his face coming closer. Did YongHwa interpret that as you accepting the kiss? Did he not see you fighting him off at all? You didn't know how to go about explaining all that. You didn't want to put any more attention back on HanJu, otherwise you would have simply stated it was HanJu who had kissed you. If you made that obvious statement YongHwa would undoubtedly go for the boy again.

However your silence only did more damage in the eyes of YongHwa. If you hadn't been in the wrong, why weren't you defending yourself? That meant you were guilty. And a wave of hurt flushed through YongHwa's being as he regarded your silence. You saw this hurt pass into his face, show through his eyes and your heart ached. You opened your mouth to say something at least, not wanting him to get the wrong idea, but at that moment HanJu groaned again and made to sneak past the two of you to get out of your apartment. YongHwa noticed the movement and rounded on him again. Before you could react YongHwa dashed in front of HanJu and blocked his way. "Where do you think you're crawling off to, you coward?" YongHwa snapped, pushing HanJu back in the chest so the boy tumbled backwards, tripping over the rug and landing on his back.

YongHwa looked down in disgust at the boy cowering on the floor under him, blood was dripping from under his hand where he was hiding his face. The sight of the weak boy under him, looking so frightened and damaged there on the rug made him stop in his tracks. YongHwa would never kick a man when he was down. And now that his mind was slowly clearing again, that angry flash of red that had momentarily clouded all reasonable thought, he realised HanJu was too much of a weakling to attack properly without feeling like a bully. The scrawny thing didn't have an ounce of muscle on him, it almost seemed unfair to punish him. His anger slowly ebbed away again and he turned away as hurt crept back in to replace it. Hurt and shame at losing himself and lashing out like that, he swore he would never do that in front of you. He wasn't even drunk this time so he had no excuse.

You flew to HanJu's side and tried to help the boy get back up. Terrified that YongHwa had done more damage than he had intended, you tried to pull away HanJu's hand to look at his face but the boy simply would not let you near it. Resolving to get him to hospital as soon as possible, you brought him to his wobbly feet and refused to look YongHwa in the eye as he watched you silently with his mouth hanging open. You quickly grabbed for a tea towel and gave it to HanJu so he could attempt to blot the bleeding. YongHwa watched as you walked straight past him and made your way down to the street, clutching HanJu protectively and calling for a cab. The taxi YongHwa had taken to get here was waiting outside on the road, so you ended the call and dragged HanJu over towards it instead. At the urgency of the situation the taxi driver did not argue that he was waiting for his customer to return, and proceeded to take the two of you to the hospital.

As you were on your way, settled in the back seat with HanJu and attempting to nurse him where you could, you realised you had left everything in your apartment. You hadn't brought your purse, your phone or your keys and your heart started pounding as you realised you hadn't even locked your apartment and just left YongHwa in there on his own. As soon as he left, your apartment would be open for anyone to come in and take what they wanted. You couldn't even call YongHwa to tell him to lock up for you. You then smacked your forehead as you realised he was so mad with you, he probably wouldn't even take your call, even if he did he wouldn't do what you asked him to anyway.

Could the situation have been any worse? With HanJu whimpering in pain into your shoulder you felt your head spinning and put a hand to your head as if to steady it again. After a while things stopped whirring past your vision, and the taxi pulled to a stop outside the hospital so you quickly thanked the driver and made to get out the car. Ah of course, you didn't even have any money to pay the taxi driver. You stuck your head back in to apologise but the taxi driver waved away your apologies in a carefree manner, explaining that the customer before had already pre-paid the double trip and he would simply count it as that. You thanked the driver profusely before assisting HanJu in getting out the back seat and proceeding to the hospital entrance, the whole while worrying over everything that was going wrong right now. At the YongHwa situation, the HanJu situation and your apartment situation, on top of everything else you still didn't even know if the media situation was even resolved yet. You suspected YongHwa had come to the apartment to update you about that, and also because you hadn't seen each other all day. If only HanJu had not appeared tonight... If only you had not opened your door to him tonight.

You took a seat in the corner of the patient's room as the nurses were seeing to HanJu, hurriedly treating him and stopping the blood flow. He had a broken nose and a dislocated jaw, nothing that couldn't be fixed with time and treatment but it was still shocking knowing that it was YongHwa who had caused such injuries. The nurses kept asking over and over again how this had happened but neither you nor HanJu would relay the entire story, merely settling for "something happened." And neither of you would elaborate so the nurses stopped asking.

You looked on as HanJu was laid to rest on the hospital bed and wondered why he did not just tell them exactly what had happened. It wasn't like him not to jump at the chance of a sympathy story that painted YongHwa in a bad light. This time he had a right to, in fact, he even had the right to sue YongHwa for the damages. However as HanJu's eyes fluttered closed, and the activity around the room died down so it was just you alone in the room with the seemingly sleeping HanJu, you realised you couldn't question him about it just yet.

Perhaps HanJu was just being the bigger person for a change, accepting that he had done wrong and YongHwa's lashing out had been the consequences, end of story. You hoped that was truly the case and sighed deeply as you watched the troublesome cutie as he went on in slumber. With all that had happened between you and HanJu, you didn't know what you truly thought of him. While he was a charismatic and adorable character, he had a side to him that you knew you would never want to have to experience again after tonight. Sorry HanJu, but this really was goodbye. You hoped the best for him, that he could finally find someone that would make him happy. Someone he didn't love unrequitedly, which would only again result in more drama. He just needed someone to love him, and then he should be troublesome no more.

______________________________________________________________________________

YONGHWA P.O.V.

YongHwa was pacing up and down your apartment after you had left. He fought within himself whether he should have run after you either to apologise, to stop you, to take HanJu to the hospital with or instead of you but he kept his feet rooted to the spot until he heard his taxi pull away with you and HanJu inside. Too late now, guess he was staying. He looked around your apartment and noticed that you had not only left him here alone with the door wide open, but also that you had left your mobile phone, keys, purse and handbag here. You had left in such a shaken and urgent state that you had simply run off without taking anything but HanJu with you. With such a flighty head on your shoulders, how could he ever trust you to survive on your own? He would have to stay put in your apartment until you came back, just to make sure everything was still safe for your return. Also, how else would you get back inside if he were to leave now and lock the door behind him?

Then he remembered the kiss, the whole reason all of this had happened and he brought his hands to his face and dragged them slowly down as he descended onto the sofa. There he sat like a statue for quite some time, not even thinking at all. He was in a shocked state himself, and it was a while until thoughts slowly came creeping back into his mind.

He had come here to tell you what went on in the meeting with the Head of the Company, and to apologise for not answering your texts or calls. He hadn't first replied to you because he was already up and about tending to his busy schedule since the early hours of the morning, whenever he did stop for a break and go to his phone to reply to you, someone would come along and talk to him and then pull him in to do something else. After lunch passed he had missed the chance to have lunch with you and someone told him you were busy working on your song today with MinHyuk. He became jealous then and that combined with being too late already, he didn't bother to reply at all. Then you sent that angry text but it was already too late and he was in his interview with the talk show. After that, there was no chance of reaching you as he was swept up in the mess he had created for himself.

After the very long and drawn-out meeting, YongHwa was dropped back at the studio for a quick performance, only to be ushered out through swarms of more paparazzi once again. Another equally long and drawn-out meeting followed, and then after a quick strategy discussion with his manager, YongHwa's first port of call was your apartment. He had missed you all day, he felt guilty that he hadn't contacted you all day, and he knew you must be confused about all the publicity and worried for him. Well so he thought anyway...

The taxi service phone line was down so it was a while before he could get one and head to your apartment, making it very late by the time he rocked up on your doorstep only to find the door unlocked and voices inside. He poked open your door cautiously and there he saw you and HanJu embracing in your sitting room. What was HanJu doing in your apartment at this time of night? And the two of you were hugging? He couldn't believe what he was seeing. And when HanJu went in to kiss you, that's when he saw red and lost control over himself. Why did you let him kiss you? Why did you have HanJu in your apartment in secret, at this time of night? It all looked so bad to him... he couldn't understand why any of this was happening. Unable to think up any excuses for you, and too stubborn to believe any that might have fit, he tilted his head back on the couch and closed his eyes, waiting for you to return. He was still furious with you, he didn't particularly want to see you. However, he still worried for you getting back safely to your apartment, and so he waited where he was and eventually drifted into an uneasy slumber there on your sofa.

End Chapter Sixteen