CHAPTER 27

ShinHye stayed still for a moment and kept her eyes off far to the distance. YongHwa was nervous and his heart was beating. Was he being selfish? Was he only thinking about himself?  He bit his lower lip. The beach breeze ran through them that relieved the awkward atmosphere. ShinHye let go of his hand that he had held onto tightly. His eyes widened. She gulped, and in these few minutes she had not looked at him. She took a step forward and faced him. At this point, YongHwa didn’t know what to expect. He would tell himself to keep calm and stay strong.  Her hands were slowly going to is face.ShinHye tiptoed and cupped her hands around his face.

“YongHwa..” she said smoothly but with no expression on her face. He slightly nodded his head. “Make me proud. Ok?” Shin Hye said with determination. YongHwa let out a sigh of relief and began to smile. He wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her into his embrace. “You scared me…” he said while hugging her. Shin Hye returned the hug. “Hehe,  you’re so silly.” She let go of his embrace and looked at him. “I’m really happy for you. You get to fulfill your dream eh?” They held hands as they walked through the sand.

“Yes, I get to pay the bills. Haha.”

“So will you be able to still go to college? Or you’re going to take a hiatus?” ShinHye was curious.

“I don’t know it depends.”

“Haha, I guess we were both going to be in that industry..you see if none of that happened to me. I bet we would have met through a music event haha. Or a party you would have thrown..” ShinHye smiled to herself.

“Why do you say that?”

“Well considering that you liked me since my debut, and let's say you gained lots of popularity. So that fame would get to your head and believe you can get the girl you’ve always liked to notice you.”  YongHwa chuckled at her response.

“What if I gave up on you? And gotten myself one of those idols?” YongHwa smirked.

“You wouldn’t have forgotten about me..” ShinHye said with confidence.

“You’re right. Haha. Anyways, I couldn’t help but notice you said “we were”. Are you going to continue to be a pianist?” YongHwa looked at her with sincere and innocent eyes.

“I think this competition will be my last. I want it to be my last. I found out the prize would be  having to perform through Europe. Sounds awesome right?” YongHwa nodded his head. He didn’t know what to say. “I’m not doing this competition to win that prize instead it was another reason for me to stay alive. When Jong Suk challenged me, I thought not everything is over. He still sees me as a rival which made me feel good. Haha. I’m not a masochist. I promise.” ShinHye looked at the sand with her grinning face. YongHwa loved how she opened up to him. He can go on forever listening to her. “Instead of always doing competitions, I want to compose my own music so that people can enjoy it. I hope to be the pianist people are looking for when they are sad, angry, happy, excited etc. They will listen to my compositions and feel like somebody understands them.”

“I really admire you, ShinHye. I really do.” YongHwa tighten the grip of their hands that were interlocked.

“YongHwa?”

“Yes?” They stood by the calm ocean feeling the water go in between their toes. “I hope the fame doesn’t get to us.  I really hope fame doesn’t destroy us and our sincerness. Let’s stay pure. No drugs and immoral acts. Promise?” She said with such gentleness. “I promise.” YongHwa said with determination. ShinHye is right. There are always pros and cons to things. They both don’t want to be molded to what society wants.  “Let’s go back to the hotel.” YongHwa kindly suggested. ShinHye nodded.

YongHwa and Shin Hye entered the room they were staying at. They found his mom and Kahi on the same bed. His mom had fallen asleep with open and Kahi has an open book on top of her face, also asleep. The tv was still on and the lights were still bright.  YongHwa began to take pictures of his mother’s ridiculous pose. YongHwa tiptoed to his mother to get an upclose picture of her. Instinctively, she raised her leg and kicked him in the stomach.

“Oh my …” he touched his stomach. “She had to be a detective..” ShinHye stands behind him surprised at the sight. Hye Jung opened her eyes.

“Oh hi YongHwa!” She smiled at him innocently.

“Hmph, you’re so fake.” He left to the bathroom.

“Aish, that kid is so rude ShinHye. Do something about him.” She sat up.

“Did you sleep well?” ShinHye smiled.

“Of course. These beds are wonderful! How did it go?”

“It was nice! I’m going to put on my pjs. Excuse me.”

“Oh ShinHye, me and Kahi put your clothes in the drawer so its easier to find an outfit.”

“Oh okay.”She bowed.

“I’ll help her find it!” YongHwa suggested from the bathroom.

“Yonghwa!” Hye Jung scolded him. “Mind your own business.”  YongHwa just snickered in the bathroom.

ShinHye laid on the bed thinking about the day. She began to think if her mom was here to enjoy the day with Hye Jung, Kahi and her precious boyfriend. Her mom would have gotten along with them, everything would have be awesome. But she was not, not there. Won’t be coming back for a long time. Her mom was right, if you forgive life is so much better. Maybe not what you expect, but you become a better person. Being a better person helps other people redeem themselves and begin to improve on themselves. It's a chain effect.  Now another person will be separated from her. ‘Why?’ she thought. But it's okay. She reminded herself the time when his mom asked her if  YongHwa ever became famous,what would she do. ShinHye said that she would cheer him on. Yes, cheer him on is the only thing she can do.

The next day was filled with happiness and laughter. YongHwa promised to jump the waves with her, and he fulfilled the promise. They had watermelon on the beach and drank from coconuts. They were enjoying each other’s company. YongHwa was happy to see his mother relaxed, not having to worry about their lives. They went on the boardwalk and played some games. Hye Jung forced YongHwa to go on the roller coaster. Hilarious, it was. He was terrified while his mother was laughing in joy. “You’re just like your father.” She would scoff and playfully hit his arm.

-

“Hello?” ShinHye was so happy to finally receive a call from the busy YongHwa. She has not seen him for a month. He’s been busy making appointments with the company and doing some college paperwork to go on a hiatus. She has been updating herself from his mother.They last texted two weeks ago. But it was just a short conversation. She herself has been busy too. Preparing for the competition and making sure she doesn’t have an unknowingly relapse. She was eating enough.

“Shin Hye, it's been so long that I have heard your voice. It feels nice…” He sounds tired. Shinhye became a bit worried but what can you do. She was grateful that he found time to call her.

“Mhm. It's great to hear you again. How are you?” She sat on the couch.

“I’ve been missing you so much.  Do you think we can meet up now?”

“What it's nine at night? I’m going to go to sleep.” She smiled at the thought of seeing his face again.

“Awe, I really need to talk to you. What if I said I was outside of your house?”

“What?” ShinHye quickly got up from her seat and opened the door. There he was, the tall and handsome YongHwa standing before her. She gasped in awe.

“ShinHye, hey.” He smiled.

“Come in..”

He sat on the couch. “Do you want something to drink?”

“Um, no it's okay. I have to make this quick. Sorry. I have wake up really early tomorrow.”

“Oh okay..” ShinHye was a bit disappointed but it's better than nothing. She sat beside him.

“How are you, Shin Hye?” His eyes look worn out and his complexion was a bit pale. “You look really healthy.”

“Thank you..” she smiled. “I’m good practicing a lot and just making some compositions here and there.”

“When you’re done, I have to be the first one to listen.” He smiled but she could tell that he was forcing it.

“How are you?” she asked.

“I’m good. Got all the paperwork done. Tomorrow we start our training. It’s going to be for a few months and we will be doing some live performances around the country to gain some recognition, apparently.”

“Oh that sounds fun! I’m happy for you!” Something feels off for ShinHye.

“Shin Hye…”he gulped.

“Tell me. Don’t worry just say it.” ShinHye observed that he was troubled.

“So the Ceo had a discussion with me the other day about you and I..” Shin Hye’s heart sank. “He told me that I can’t continue the relationship with you. I need to focus on my work. I can’t take care of two things at once.... It was actually when I was signing the contract. It’s part of the contract. So I today I actually had time to see you. I didn’t want to do it through text.”

“Thank you for telling me.” Her face became emotionless and her words were dry.

“I really hope you can wait for me…” He placed his hands on top of her.  ShinHye nodded her head.  She didn’t want to speak because she trying so hard to hold back her tears. YongHwa leaned in his head and gently touched her lips. ShinHye followed as her tears began to roll down her cheek.

“Good bye, Shin Hye. I will make you proud.” He whispered as he pulled back from the kiss. YongHwa looked at the ground, he didn’t want to see Shin Hye’s tears. He stood up and left the house. ShinHye stayed seated on the couch as her tears rained upon her.  Will she be able to wait for him? Will he keep his promise? Everything seems to be a blur. The only thing she can do now is to cheer him on. Yes, cheer him on.

A/n: The final days of this fic is coming :-: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for sticking around! :D If you want follow me on twitter! So we can fangirl about kpop together, ahah. Its @breathelivekpop, and tell me you come from here!