A/N: 

Ok, here's the 3rd chapter of this fic. This hasn't been edited or anything (none of them has been edited). Finishing this, I feel horribly stump. Like seriously. I mean, I know what I would like to do in this fic but as to the 'how' to go there, well, that got me stump. So expect more delays in this because I really need to think this through somehow. Other than that, I'd be busy again these couple of weeks (work and stuff, *sigh*). 

Anyway, here are some pointers? Legends? Whatever...

Italics - in Filipino or English (but mostly Filipino)

/Italics/ - definitely in English

Ate - means 'older sister' in the Filipino (Tagalog) language. Something like noona/unnie in Korean.

Anyway, hope you enjoy reading. Cheers~! ^_^

***

 

The hustle and bustle of the event were like any other fan meet they had in the past. Only right now, they were seeing people with different eyes and hair colors, varying skin tones and height, facial features and, most importantly, language.

 

It was a good thing though that they have staff and managers who were skilled in English, some in other languages. Cheondoong could understand English; but he was lacking a little in the speaking department. There would be times when it would take him a long while to construct a simple English sentence; though his pronunciation was more decent than the average Korean.

 

Mir was worried the whole morning. But looking at him now that they were already at the venue of the fan meet, one wouldn't suspect he was basically driving people up the wall with his incessant worrying mere minutes ago. Since that morning, Cheondoong automatically blocked him out from his hearing; otherwise, Mir would have gotten on his nerves and stressed him out. He was excitedly waving and laughing beside him, calling out 'hellos' like it was the answer to every question. Predictably enough, Cheondoong thought, Mir got along pretty well with the fans.

 

For the others, they were excited too. Joon was making visuals for the cheering fans. Seungho and GO were busy waving at them. They were all cheerful and sparkly eyes, charming in their fashionably casual attire as well as handsome. As for Cheondoong, he was smiling and silently signing some autographs to more than willing fans. But he knew his reaction wasn't as vigorous or excited as the others. One coordi asked him if he was alright. That was definitely a sign for him that he wasn't showing much excitement as he should be. However, they should know him by now. Cheondoong wasn't one to express feelings that he didn't feel. There were times when he could act; but that was only when the situation asked him to consciously act. He couldn't lie to people in such a deceiving manner. He was happy seeing his international fans; but he wasn't feeling that happy about it.

 

On the other hand, he knew that the fan meet was important one way or the other. If his intuitions were correct, he knew he should expect something to happen in this event; which was why he was feeling weird inside, nervous even. There were fleeting moments that felt like a hoard of butterflies was stuck in his stomach, and moments when he would feel utterly calm and patient.

 

Cheondoong felt a hand on the small of his back and realized that Seungho was beside him. He didn't notice him there before.

 

"Are you alright?" the leader whispered to him, while waiving at an enthusiastic fan.

 

Cheondoong forced a smile. It was embarrassing that their leader was asking him about this. It only meant that he was again the odd ball in the group. He hoped he wasn't killing the mood of the others, or worst, their fans. Sometimes, being honest can be disadvantagious. He was quite sure that the smile on his face right now looked obviously fake.

 

"Did you sleep well?" Seungho continued asking him surrepticiously. Cheondoong barely caught his words when a fan screamed Joon's name.

 

"I'm ok, hyung. No worries," he replied while smiling at some random direction. He tried to move away from Seungho; but the leader held him by the waist.

 

Seungho was such a motherhen at times that it embarrassed Cheondoong. Not that he was ashamed of Seungho acting up like that; it was just that Cheondoong felt indebted and ashamed that he couldn't respond equally to his hyung's kindness. He felt that whatever he did could not measure up to Seungho's kindness. The same could be said with Jihoon-hyung and the others. He also didn't like the leader worrying about him; Seungho had more important things to think about than worry about him.

 

"I'm ok, hyung." Cheondoong tried to move away; yet Seungho held him firmly by the waist, dragging him to their spot on the stage.

 

He felt awkward beside Seungho. Unconsciously, he touched the nape of his neck where a funny heat was coursing through down to the small of his back and waist that was in contact with Seungho. The weird sensation felt funny and ticklish; and every now and then, Cheondoong would experience it whenever someone would touch him, sometimes Seungho, sometimes the other members, sometimes some other person, a guy or a girl. There would also be times when the weird sensation would make him feel scared and strangely violated to the point that he would want to immediately move away from the person touching him. Seungho's touches, though often warm and tended to give him that weird sensation, were not uncomfortable to say the least. If anything, they were sometimes weirdly pleasant. But Seungho rarely touches him; and Cheondoong was the one who frequently clings to their leader.

 

Cheondoong waved randomly for a couple of times, before he decided that he had done enough waving and proceeded to watch the crowd silently. Seungho, beside him, greeted the small crowd of more than a hundred fans. For a relatively small crowd, they were very enthusiastic and responsive; even Cheondoong noticed that while he was busy scanning the room, a ready smile plastered on his face.

 

Cheondoong felt slightly disappointed. He scanned the room, expecting something, someone, whatever to catch his attention; but there was none. He silently swallowed the growing disappointment in him and felt his smile falter. Though he tried to conjure all remaining happy feelings in him, he knew as they readied to dance that his face returned to its blank unsmiling state. He hoped that his mood wouldn't dampen the fun of their fans and his teammates. He dearly hoped Seungho wouldn't worry himself about him.

 

And MBLAQ danced a wonderful set. The crowd went wild.

 

 

Sweat was dripping down his nose. He waited for a drop of sweat to run down the tip of his nose, before he swiped it with his fingertips in a curious gesture. He danced his disappointment away. He knew he was still feeling it; but at least it settled down to a more bearable state. Cheondoong was calmer now, though a little sad. He was really sure about this day; but maybe he was expecting too much. There were times when he expected too much and it did not appear or happen immediately as he expected it to.

 

Cheondoong breathed calmly. He needed to stop expecting too much. Based from experience, things don't go his way when he expected too much. If something will happen today, then it will happen. If not, then there's none. That's just how life goes and he needed to learn that. With these thoughts in mind, Cheondoong started to calm down and smile more easily. He turned to his left where he caught Seungho looking at him. He conveyed his gratitude for Seungho's kindness by smiling at him sincerely. Their leader smiled back at him; yet Cheondoong noticed an emotion that quickly flickered through Seungho's eyes when he smiled. He couldn't understand it; but he guessed it was relief or something. In any case, Cheondoong resolved to calm himself and enjoy the event. 

 

They waited for the crowd to settle down on their seats before the MBLAQ members were lead to their tables and given microphones. As the usual proceeding, this was the point where they would be interacting with their fans. Cheondoong was only feeling a little interested to be honest. Most of his excitement disappeared together with his disappointment; it felt like there wasn't much to look forward to in this event. He only half heard the emcee's greeting as she began reading the names of the countries from where the participants came from.

 

After a while, Cheondoong felt a tap on his shoulder. Seungho held a bottle of cold fruit tea in his hand. "Yours," was the leader's short explanation.

 

Cheondoong frowned and clicked his tongue in discomfort. He didn't feel like drinking anything artificially sweet today; he hadn't drunk anything artificially sweet the past couple of weeks. It made him squirm just thinking about how it would taste in his mouth. Strange. He wasn't like this before. "Do they have water, hyung?" he pleaded. He wouldn't drink that fruit tea even if they give him a box of it. Without a word, Seungho grabbed a bottled water from beside him and gave it to Cheondoong.

 

"Thanks." Cheondoong was genuinely grateful. He was a little afraid their leader would scold him for being picky, but Seungho didn't even say a word to him and just continued listening to the emcee.

 

They gave him a bottled water with a tighly sealed cap. He was basically struggling to open it when Seungho turned excitedly on him. Cheondoong didn't catch Seungho's words at first; but his hyung repeated it for him. "It's Philippines," he said beaming at him.

 

However, the emcee was already calling Poland. Cheondoong scanned the room, looking closely at the little flaglets that the participants were holding which indicated the countries where they came from. He searched for the familiar emblem; but couldn't find it since the fans were waving their flags here and there, and cheering in unison that it was almost impossible for the delegates being called to standout.

 

"They were there," Seungho assured him.

 

He smiled at their leader for his thoughtfulness. "Yes, I'll look later." Cheondoong felt a little excited. At least, there was something to look forward to now.

 

Eventually, the roll call was over; and they were surprised to hear that the delegates where from as far as Zimbabwe.

 

Next in their program was the question and answer portion in which Cheondoong was pretty sure he wasn't going to participate much. He was quite fine with it actually, preferring to just listen and watch as the other members interact with the fans.

 

"The first question goes to," the emceee announced. "Cheondoong!" He wasn't really surprised. Usually, the first and the second questions would be for him. Predictably enough, it was a question about his song compositions. Afterall, aside from GO, he was the most active among the members in composing songs; and it was one of the relatively unexciting questions asked as it should be the first to go before the exciting ones. Cheondoong answered them promptly as he had ready answers for such questions.  Afterwards, he sat quietly and scanned the crowd while half listening to the other questions given to the other members. It was nice to hear the crowd laugh at something funny that Mir said. The maknae was really out to entertain which was good for them since they won't have a hard time pleasing the crowd. Cheondoong was extremely grateful for Mir's antics, since it would mean less work for him considering he was the most awkward among the MBLAQ members. All Doongie needed to do was nod and smile at the appropriate moment while scanning the room for something interesting.

 

It was nice watching the colors in the room, the many different faces and figures. In all honesty, Cheondoong liked the variety as styles in Korea tend to be, well, homogenous. For a while, he watched the crowd with something akin to fascination. Until he saw a small red figure nearly trip on the sideline near the entrance door. He watched in amusement as the little girl wearing eyeglasses and red hooded jacket stood up and maneouvered her way among the frenzied crowd that got more frenzied when Joon decided to flash his abs for some reason Cheondoong didn't catch. The little girl nearly got elbowed; but she got to her seat on the front right side most, frowning at the hyper girls who almost injured her. Doongie could see the annoyance on her face and chuckled on how cute she looked, huffing and glaring at the other girls who were a lot taller than her. Eventually, the girl sat down silently and ignored the fans screaming all around her. For Cheondoong, she was notably the epitome of calmness in the middle of chaos.

 

The girl seemed to be looking at the stage watching them. More specifically, she seemed to be looking at Cheondoong's general direction. Hoping that she was looking his way, Cheondoong flashed her a smile. He wasn't sure if she noticed because she was wearing her hood on and he couldn't see if there was any reaction (he could have sworn he saw her give a tiny smile though); but it seemed that the girls near her did as they cheered for him and chanted his name. Regardless, Cheondoong felt quite happy; he was feeling better now, more so than a few minutes ago.

 

He turned to his companions just in time to watch an embarrassed Mir do aegyo as requested by the fans, and a scary Seungho who made sure the maknae actually did it. From then on, Cheondoong didn't stop smiling and laughing at Mir's facial expressions, GO's funny antics, Seungho's bullying and Joon's histrionics. Watching the other members, he felt himself to be a part of the crowd, admiring the carefree and smooth personalities of the other MBLAQ members. There were times like this when he would feel like an outsider, particularly during his first days, weeks, and months of joining the group. During those days, he would feel the sorrow and isolation choking him, burning a hole through his chest. Gradually, the negative feeling disappeared. There would still be times when he would feel like an outsider, being naturally the odd ball of MBLAQ; but rather than sorrow, admiration and pride would swell in him whenever he would look at his teammates.

 

The Q&A portion was over after an hour when it seemed like it happened for a very short while. But nonetheless, the event was going successfully. The fans were all smiles and cheers, listening attentively to what they were saying. Cheondoong was able to interact with the others every now and then. Once or twice he had glanced on the right most side of the front seat to check on the girl in red; so far he had caught her casually looking at her phone and calmly clapping her hand when he was asked to sing a part of a ballad. Somehow, he was happy that she was paying attention to them, even though not as enthusiastically as the others around her.

 

The emcee announced that it was time for album signing. The fans all moved around quickly, some running to be first in line as they only have limited time for signing. Cheondoong craned his neck to the right side of the audience. He couldn't see the little girl in red. He was a little worried since the crowd, at some point, got a little disorganized, with some pushing and pulling and loosing random things on the floor (Is that a shoe on the sideline?). Despite the seemingly controlled atmosphere of the venue, fan events could be quite chaotic. Because the girl was small, she might get crushed in the crowd. Cheondoong was a little worried for her safety, as well as those others in the crowd who seemed to be lost.

 

He scanned the crowd quickly, but didn't see any little red hooded girl. Cheondoong called a passing coordi and asked her awkwardly, "Hey, did you see a little girl in red hood over there?" He pointed the direction to the right side of the venue to show the coordi, only for the said coordi to shove a pen his way and hastily answered that they were about to start signing before she quickly darted off.

 

"Are you alright?" Seungho suddenly asked him. Cheondoong was feeling slightly disoriented due to the flurry of movements around him; and he was still a bit concerned about the little girl whom he couldn't see in the crowd.

 

"I'm fine, hyung. Don't worry." He gave Seungho the best reassuring smile he could offer that moment which wasn't much. He could feel Seungho's eyes on him as he tried to ignore him and focus on the fans who have started to trickle in for autographs. Either the girl went somewhere away from the mob or she got in line safely and held her own amongst the crowd. The former seemed more logical since the girl didn't show much interest in them. But in any case, if it were the later then he would know it when she appears before them. However, he didn't have much time to think about it as fans approached him for signature. They were all busy signing, smiling and interacting with some of them. For Cheondoong, he politely thanked them in English after he signed their stuff, or kindly accommodated their requests for dedication if they told him.

 

At some point, it felt like he had signed a million CDs and items. The fans just seemed to come non-stop. Some were demanding, asking for attention or conversation, or a thread of his hair; some did not really want his signature but were politely going through the motion of having him sign their stuff for completion or just because they were in front of him in the line. Regardless, from the look of the remaining line, the flow of fans won't be stopping anytime soon.         

 

It was after sometime when the ink on his pen was slowly fading. Cheondoong frowned at his pen; they were supposedly new. The last CD he signed, he had to retrace his signature again since the ink was barely visible. The CD of the next fan was already in front of him. After testing the pen on a scrap of paper and finding the ink to be fading, he tried shaking the pen to make it work.

 

"Wala nang tinta?" No more ink?

 

Cheondoong froze and abruptly turned his head up to look at the person in front of him (he thought he heard his neck snap at the speed). He was so busy trying to work his pen for the past minute that he didn't notice the people around him. The little red hooded girl was infront of him, a curious look on her face as she eyed his pen. Their eyes met and Cheondoong was struck with the realization that the little girl infront of him wasn't a little girl per se.

 

Without thinking, his mouth moved to speak in a language which he thought he had almost forgotten. "Wala e. Walang tinta." None. No ink. 

 

The girl ped her jacket just a little to rummage her inside pockets. Cheondoong, on the other hand, felt a rush of déjà vu and a memory of a similar scenario when he was younger flashed in his mind. He was slightly surprised when the girl handed him a pen which he took a little hesitantly. He smiled at the girl and studied her for a quick while.  

 

The girl was wearing a red jacket with the hood on, a blue shirt underneath, dark fitted pants, and a pair of black rimmed eye glasses. Both her hands were on her jacket pockets and she was clutching her clothes as if her life depended on it (because she came from a tropical country; Cheondoong could understand). She was short and could easily be mistaken as a junior high schooler with her round face, chubby cheeks, and big brown eyes. But there was something in her eyes, in the way she looked at him with a dominant and seemingly wise aura that told him she wasn't as young as she looked. He even bet she was older than him.

 

"Do you want a message?" He was happy at how easily he could speak the language. It seemed that despite the lack of practice, he could still naturally converse with it. Also, this was the first time he voluntarily asked a fan if they wanted a message.

 

The girl chuckled; her voice has a nice and joyful ring to it which was a little contrary to the serious and uptight demeanour she was giving since the first time he saw her. "Ok, sure," she replied in a carefree manner.

 

"What do I write?"

 

"Please write 'To Elissa'. That's single l and double s."

 

"Ah," Cheondoong nodded to himself. "Your name."

 

She chuckled again and smiled brightly at him. Cheondoong liked her laughter; he was feeling more relaxed with her. "Ah, no. That's my sister's name."

 

"Eh? Then what's your name?" Cheondoong actually wanted to know her name.

 

"/Secret!/," she said in English. Her eyes twinkled in glee. It was only then Cheondoong noted that her voice sounded really sweet and friendly. He couldn't help but smile with her.

 

"Ok. What else do I write?"

 

"Write this 'Study hard. Don't be lazy. You're getting fat. Get on diet. Love, Sanghyun'. Then sign it."

 

Cheondoong tried hard not to burst in laughter. "Seriously?"

 

"Seriously." She looked at him without doubt in her eyes. Cheondoong was silently giggling as he wrote down the words in neat printed Roman alphabets.

 

"Anything else?" he asked her after signing the CD.

 

"Nothing else. Thanks."

 

He handed the signed CD to her and asked, "Hold on. Who are you really?" He wanted to ask for her name; but he didn't want to impose on her if she didn't want her name to be known so he tried to be playful about it.

 

The girl smiled a wicked smile. "Do you really want to know?"

 

Cheondoong nodded like a child.

 

"/Actually, I'm your fairy god-stalker/," she said with a wink and in fluent English, with a hint of British accent.

 

"/Fairy god-stalker?/" Cheondoong repeated; and both of them laughed.

 

"Thank you very much for attending," Cheondoong said. He was immensely glad to have met her and silently wished he could talk longer with her.

 

"Thank you as well," the girl said and was readying to move away. Before going though, she said something to Cheondoong, "By the way, I have a package for you. I'll just give it to your manager later. Thanks again, Sanghyun." She was gone before Cheondoong could even ask her about what she said. She didn't even stop by Seungho who was next in line, as well as the others. It seemed that she only wanted his autograph which somehow made Cheondoong happy, as well as the fact that she said his real name.

 

"You know her?" Seungho suddenly asked from beside him. He was surprised Seungho noticed his interaction with the girl.

 

"She's from the Philippines," was his simple reply. Seungho nodded; but he noticed again an emotion that flickered in their leader's eyes.

 

Cheondoong continued signing autographs to his now slightly long line of fans. He was feeling immensely happy after speaking with that girl. He hoped he'd be able to  have the chance to meet with her again. He was also excited about the package she has for him. He smiled more genuinely and talked cheerfully with his fans as he signed autographs. After a while, another delegate, a boy from the Philippines talked with him and had him sign three CDs and a shirt with cute caricatures of MBLAQ members. The boy also gave him a copy of the shirt for him to wear. The boy was probably the only male delegate in the room, which intrigued the other MBLAQ members and staff. Cheondoong was the only member who didn't care or notice the oddity and rarity of having a fan boy in an MBLAQ fan event; he only cared about the fact that the boy was from the Philippines.

 

The signing lasted about 2 hours (or more actually); and Cheondoong was starting to feel the crick in his wrist. Since he was one of those who can communicate more effectively in English, he was one of the members who was constantly being asked for a dedication or message. He also didn't expect the number of fans who flocked his station. He was quite sure in the beginning that he would  have less people around him and he'd have little breaks every now and then; but he wasn't even able to decently drink a sip of water as the fans came to him one after the other without stopping. However, he really didn't mind that much. His energy picked up after having that conversation with the red hooded girl; he was feeling altogether cheery and wonderful, smiling more naturally and laughing with his fans. He could have signed more despite the pain in his wrist. He realized that he was using the pen the girl gave him (and it was a Hello Kitty pen to boot). Cheondoong thought he should give it back to her (but a part of him didn't want to because it was a Soonja pen); it would be a legit reason to look for and talk with her again.

 

The fans were still active and moving around; even though the emcee announced the closing of the event. For their finale, they performed their latest hit. Cheondoong was on fire. He soaked in the cheers and energy coming from the fans. It was only then that he truly appreaciated the wonder of the event; how the fans toiled and gave their efforts just to come and see them. He felt guilty and ashamed that he didn't noticed it immediately. He promised to himself never to disregard their efforts and always give them the best he could offer. It was the least he could do given his usual disposition to not react much to most things.     

 

They waved their last goodbyes, watching with sadness as some of the fans were left in tears. Cheondoong eyed the crowd to look for the familiar red hooded girl; but with all the flurry of the crowd and the hasty ushering of their manager and coordi, he wasn't able to pin her. Immediately, he scanned for other 'escape routes' where he could possibly take off to search freely without being blocked by the staff. He knew it in his gut that he'd be able to find her. He just had to find a way to search for her without people blocking him along the way. They would be immediately leaving the venue once ushered out; he'd have to think quickly. Besides, they wouldn't be able to leave without him. Or if they left without him, it wasn't like he wouldn't be able to find his way home.

 

Cheondoong spotted Manager Kim and thought of the possibility that the girl had already given him her package. He suavely turned around and placed himself beside him.

 

"Hyung, I want to ask you. Did you receive anything, a package, from a girl wearing a red jacket?"

 

Their manager just looked surprised at him. "Ah, sorry, Doongie, I don't remember. I received a lot of things, and so did the others. We wouldn't be able to remember who gave them at all. You just look into the gifts when we get back home, ok?."

 

Cheondoong pressed his lips in thought. "Ah, thank you. Are we leaving already?" he suddenly asked.

 

"We'll just wait for the van at the back and then we'll leave."

 

The said van though couldn't be found in the parking lot outside. One of the staff explained that they had the van take an errand for them since they had so much stuff to take back to the dorm (particularly gifts). The van would be arriving in a few minutes so they'd just have to take a break in their dressing room for now. This was basically the reason why Cheondoong found himself half-sneaking the back corridors of the event hall, hoping to find the girl he talked with earlier. He didn't know why he was doing this really. And realistically, the chances of finding that girl in the event hall with hundreds of people around, and also without him being detected and chased by fans, seemed near impossible. The girl could have left already, leaving his package with some of the staff; or she could be staying in the front of the venue and it would be impossible for him to go there without being mobbed. But his feet were sure in their steps and he wasn't sure why. It was with surprise that he realized he just got out of the venue via the back door and was now in the parking lot. There were only a few people in the parking lot, only some vans and trucks. This was also the same parking lot they arrived this morning. Cheondoong heaved a huge sigh and stared at the dark evening sky and the lot in front of him.

 

What was he doing? It seemed futile but he was feeling happy. He walked a few steps in the empty parking lot until he heard somebody shout.

 

"Aray!" Ouch!

 

"I told you to be careful."

 

Cheondoong sharply turned around a vehicle to where the voices were. Near the parking lot fence trying to put a shoe on was the only fan boy from the recent MBLAQ event. There were some bags shattered around him and he picked them up after he had put on his shoe. The red hooded girl was sitting on the cemented sidelines, smiling at the boy. The girl spotted Cheondoong almost immediately and she smiled at him knowingly.

 

"Oi, what are you doing here?"

 

"Huh? What are you talking about?" the boy asked in confusing.

 

"Not you," the girl said then pointed at Cheondoong with her lips.

 

"Oh, my god! Thunder!" the boy squealled in delight. The girl just laughed at her companions antics.

 

"Hi," he greeted almost awkwardly. "You're still here?"

 

The boy looked as if he didn't know what to do; he looked as if he wanted to drop his things and go over to Cheondoong.

 

"Jessie," the girl calmly called the boy and patted the spot on the cemented floor beside her. "Here."  Jessie, the boy, calmed down and moved to her to place his items on the floor.

 

"Sanghyun," the girl called him and patted the other spot beside her. Cheondoong responded without hesistation and followed her. He sat beside her smiling and feeling accomplished.

 

"/Oh, my god. This is so surreal,/" Jessie squatted beside him, giving him that funny, awed look. "/Like surreal, surreal./"

 

The girl laughed out loud; it made Cheondoong laugh as well. Unlike Jessie, she was very relaxed. "Jess, stop being a creeper. You're scaring him."

 

"But, Ate Rin! Sorry, Thunder, like, I don't know what to do right now. I'm really sorry. Don't be scared." Jessie was doing funny gestures with his hands while apologizing. Cheondoong was particularly amused with his lively expressions; it  reminded him of Joon.

 

"It's ok," he assured Jessie.

 

"Would you like to have some hot tea?" It was such a sudden question from the girl that both he and Jessie turned to her. "I'd rather have coffee but since it's already evening, I would like to get some shut eye tonight. So, would you like to have some?" Then she turned to Jessie. "Oi, buy us some tea." Then to Cheondoong. "What do you want?"

 

"Eh? Why me?" Jessie protested.

 

"Because my feet hurt from all the running and you still have my money. So, what do you want? I think they have lemon, jasmine and green tea on the cafe across." She looked at Cheondoong expectantly.

 

"Ate!" Jessie whined.

 

"Now's your chance to buy Thunder some drink. You should go now before he leaves."

 

"Ah!" Jessie exclaimed, sounding excited and comically fluttering his eyes at him. "I see. Yes, what would you like to have? Latte? Macchiato?" 

 

Cheondoong had no choice but to answer. "Um, jasmine tea."

 

"Hot?" the girl asked.

 

Cheondoong nodded.

 

"Buy me lemon," she said to Jessie.

 

Jessie took off across the parking lot. "Jasmine and lemon tea, coming right up! Don't leave Thunder!"

 

"Be careful!" the girl shouted, chuckling to herself as Jessie's figure disappeared on the bend.

 

"Just wait for Jessie, ok?" The girl told him after, to which Cheondoong nodded.

 

"Ate... what's your name?" He was positive the girl was older than him.

 

"Aira. But just call me Rin."

 

Cheondoong nodded, smiling softly. "Ate Rin."

 

"Why are you still here?"

 

"We're waiting for the van. How 'bout you? Why are you guys here?"

 

"Speaking of that," Rin groaned, took of her sneakers, and stretched her short legs. "I'm tired and I want somewhere peaceful and without people around. Been running all day, chaperoning Jessie, and trying to stay alive with all that deadly fangirl enthusiasm around. I don't know how you guys could survive that; but I'm glad I'm not you."

 

Cheondoong laughed. "It's fine. We could manage."

 

The girl chuckled while she stretched her whole body, hands at her back on the cement as she leaned on them, staring at the evening sky. "Nice night sky. Wonderful evening. My first time looking at Korean night sky."

 

Cheondoong followed suit and stared up at the sky. Come to think of it, this was probably the first time he studied the sky in Korea. When he was younger, they had a trip in the countryside; and they, his sisters and a friend, laid on the ground and stared at the dark sky. It was very dark and they saw many many stars. They were very beautiful and he could still remember them vividly. But he wasn't able to see any stars now. It was just darkness, like somebody covered black clothing above them. However, it was quiet and the temperature was fine. For several moments, they just stared at the sky. He loved the silence between them; it was very comfortable and peaceful. There was no awkwardness and he felt quite safe with her.

 

After a while, his hands moved to his pocket. "Ate."

 

"Hm?"

 

"You forgot this." He showed her the pen she gave him.

 

"Oh." She looked at it for a moment. "You want it?"

 

"Actually..."

 

She chuckled. "Just take it."

 

He smiled cheekily, then placed the pen back on his pocket. "You told me you have a package for me."

 

"Ah!" Rin exclaimed. "Good thing you reminded me." She grabbed the backpack sitting beside her and rummaged through it. "Actually, I wasn't able to give it to your manager because Jessie forgot to  place it in my bag. So I had to run back to our hotel to get it." She took out a light brown envelope with colorful stickers that served to seal the slightly bulky package. "I was thinking of having Jessie drop it at the JTune office; but I'm a little scared of his clumsiness and his lack of sense of direction. Good thing I didn't have to send Jessie by himself." She handed him the package which Cheondoong took a little hesitantly.

 

"This is from A+ Philippines?"

 

"Oh, no. We've already given those to the staff. This one," she pointed at the package. "Is something especially for you. Have a look."

 

Cheondoong knew that. He recognized the familiar neat handwriting at the front which said 'To Sangs'. He had always admired that person's handwriting; he thought it was one of the most beautiful handwriting he had seen for a guy. His hands were warm and sweaty as he carefully opened the envelope. He got several letters, one big card, and a bunch of pictures from people he was intimate with. There were rare pictures from his elementary and high school days, even from his workshop class. Those were the happiest and saddest days in his life. Those were the days he actually felt alive. He opened one letter with the same familiar handwriting and scanned it.

 

Sangs, .... How are you? ... How's your sister Durami?... Sorry, I hope you understand... We miss you, pretty boy. Hehe... Your greatest fanboy.... Gino...  

 

"They love you a lot," Rin spoke suddenly beside him while handing him a piece of tissue paper. She motioned for him to take the tissue, which he did (after she glared at him) and used.

 

"I miss them."

 

"You're a good boy." She patted his head in the way his mom used to when he was little.

 

"I'm not very nice to them at times. I haven't even talk with them recently."

 

"Well, yeah, you're an . But they still love you nonetheless because they know you're really nice."

 

"Thanks a lot."

 

"It was a pleasure."

 

He placed back the letters and cards inside the envelope; he'd read it in his room after.

 

"Hoy," Rin nudged him on the shoulder. "This may sound weird but I've been wanting to tell you this. Didn't think I'd have a chance though but since you're already here. I think you're a really kind boy and I hope you'd be good always. Always do good and great things will happen. Well, at least, that's what Conan O'Brien said. But I do believe great things will happen if you stay good and kind. Always be kind to people around you even if they're mean. Always be understanding to people and be strong. Never let hatred rule you. There are people out there who love you sincerely. Don't forget that, Sanghyun."

 

Cheondoong looked at her, then at the envelope in his arms; he was grateful for the tissue given to him.

 

"/Ah! That was good. Random, but good,/" Rin exclaimed happily beside him. He giggled, dabbing his eyes with the tissue for the last time.

 

"Thanks," he said quietly.

 

"Hey, can you cook?" Cheondoong noticed that he was strangely getting used to her randomnes pretty quickly.

 

"Um, no."

 

"You should learn how to. It's basic survival skill. You might need it in the future."

 

"Can you cook?"

 

"No."

 

He sighed, "Thought so."

 

"But seriously, learn cooking."

 

"Why can't you cook?"

 

"Might kill someone."

 

"Do you have a piece of paper... that's not tissue?"

 

"Yup." She gave him a pocket sized ticker and he scribbled on it with his newly acquired Soonja pen. He handed the ticker back to her after.

 

She frowned while looking at his scribbles. "Email? Mobile?"

 

Cheondoong nodded. Rin whistled appreciately. "/Sweet./"

 

"Call me, Ate."

 

She gave him a deadpan expression. "I have never even called my own father in his mobile phone and you expect me to call you? You have any idea how expensive overseas calls are?"

 

"Well, email!" Cheondoong was pouting.

 

"/Ugh, tedious./" Rin frowned at the idea.

 

"Ate!" He whined.

 

"Hey, guys!" Jessie called them from across the parking lot. He came with a hot lemon tea, a jasmine tea, a choco latte (for himself), and some cookies. "Here are your orders and some nice peanut butter cookies."

 

They each took their orders and shared the cookies.

 

"Hey, Sanghyun. They might be looking for you right now," Rin reminded him. It was only then that Cheondoong realized that he was out for long.

 

"Oh, that's so sad. Can I have a picture with you?" Jessie asked.

 

Cheondoong agreed. Rin got Jessie's camera and took a picture of the two together.

 

"Ate Rin, aren't you having one?" Jessie asked after several snaps.

 

"No need. Sanghyun, I placed your stuff here in this paper bag. And also, I want to give you something." She fished out a necklace from her pants pocket. "It's a simple necklace, made with baked clay by a tribe in the mountains back home. I thought you like accesories, so I bought you one."

 

Rin helped him adjust the necklace on his neck. He liked the design, sun and moon. "Thanks."

 

"Eat your cookies quickly before you go. Now, remember what I told you."

 

Cheondoong nodded and tried to speak in between bites. "I'll be good."

 

"No! About learning how to cook!" Rin laughed out loud. "Take care. Now, shoo!"

 

"What?" Jessie gave them a confused look.

 

After finishing his cookies, Cheondoong waved goodbye and went to the direction of the building.  Jessie was shouting things like 'More power', 'We love you', 'You're the best', 'Take care', and 'What's up with cooking'. 

 

He glanced back at them before turning the corner and saw Jessie waving enthusiastically at him while Rin just stared back with a smile on her face and arms across her chest.

 

His intuition was right all along. This day turned out to be eventful. Like he just opened a new door, a new path for him. Strangely, he remembered the black and beautiful starry night of his childhood. That night was one of the most breathtaking he had ever seen.

 

He neared the back door entrance and saw their van parked nearby. Manager Kim spotted him immediately.

 

"Doongie-ya!" he called. Their leader Seungho appeared abruptly beside their manager. "Where have you been?"

 

Cheondoong bowed apologetically. "Sorry, I bought... tea." And showed them his cup of jasmine tea. He looked at Seungho who was quiet beside their manager. He couldn't read their leader's expression but it was slightly worrying Cheondoong. Maybe he got impatient waiting for him? He hoped he'd be forgiven.

 

"Get inside Doongie," their manager opened the van. He got in and was greeted with questions of his whereabout from the other members. Cheondoong could only show them his tea.

 

"And you didn't buy us some," Mir whined.

 

"Um, sorry. I was sidetracked."

 

"You got mobbed by fans?" Joon asked.

 

"No, hyung," Cheondoong laughed. "I don't get mob."

 

"You should tell us where you're going the next time," GO said from the back seat. "Otherwise, your hyung will get worried." He saw the way GO's eyes flickered in the direction of the still silent Seungho.

 

"I'm very sorry, everyone," he told them as sincerely as he could. He didn't want to cause any discomfort to anyone, particularly his teammates. Seungho must have gotten pissed with him. Or maybe he's hungry. 

 

"Next time, hyung, you should also buy us all drinks," Mir quipped from the back seat.

 

"You're being abusive, Mir," Joon scolded the maknae.

 

"Ok, you just buy me drinks, hyung. Don't buy the others," Mir said at which Cheondoong cheerfully laughed and agreed.

 

"Ok, enough with that," their manager said from the front passanger seat. "I think it's time for us to celebrate for the event today. We will eat a feast tonight."

 

The inside of the van burst in cheers as they headed to celebrate the success of the fan event. It took them about 20 minutes before they got into the restaurant. They stepped out of the parking lot to walk the few blocks to where they would be eating. It was then that Cheondoong noticed a shop right across the street.

 

"Hyung," he called his manager. "I'll just stop by across the street. I need to buy something." Without waiting for a word from their manager, he took off. He barely heard Seungho shouting at him.

 

It would be an understatement to say that it was unusual for him to be doing this. It was outrageous already for him to be considering the idea. But that really didn't explain why all of a sudden he was buying several cookbooks in a second hand book shop at 9 in the evening.

 

If anyone dies from his cooking, he'd blame it on Rin.

***

The scene with the first Filipino words is in reference to the (possibly) very first Cheondoong fan account when he was 13 or 14 years old. I also couldn't help but insert some bits and pieces of personal info I heard about Sanghyunie which maybe true, slightly convoluted, or wildly inaccurate. Regardless, they were fun to write and speculate on.

I could have split this into two chapters, but no! I was an idiot so now I suffer from lack of ideas. Ugh, hopefully I'd be able to upload the next chapter by December. Quite a long time, but then, I've office work to do. Hehehehe...  

Anyway, hoped you enjoyed this. Until next!