“You’re slipping.”

Taewoon looked up from the notebook he held in his hands. Lyrics were written, scratched out, rewritten, and scratched out again. Different colored inks marked his progress, the notes on the margins had been written in pencil then written over with in red.

“What?”

“I said ‘You’re slipping,’” his rap coach repeated.

Taewoon looked at him blankly. It took him several moments to realize that he wore a very deep, very unpleasant, very angry frown on his face and that no music played. He gripped his notebook tightly, bowing his head. The weight of his thoughts overwhelmed him.

It had been nearly two weeks since Hanoi. Taewoon had not managed to see Eun Mi as of yet. He’d heard of the incident with the reporter during the press conference. Heck, he’d even read the article the man had put out. It had been nothing more than disgusting slander. Netizens had taken care of him, but it didn’t seem like he would be apologizing any time soon.

His concern for Eun Mi, deeper, darker, more prominent than anything he’d felt before, was added to the never ending list of worries.

“Do you think it’s the right time for you to be doing this?”

Taewoon didn’t reply.

“Hey! Woo Taewoon! I’m talking to you!” He pushed him on the shoulder, trying to get him to look him in the eye. “Do you seriously think that it’s the right time for you to be dazing off and slacking? Aren’t you serious about this? Weren’t you the one that wanted to pursue a solo career? Huh?!”

He snatched his notebook away. He flipped through the pages, scoffing. He threw it back at Taewoon.

“You think those are good enough to get you in on Show Me The Money? Don’t make me laugh. They’re absolute crap. What have you been doing lately, huh? Nothing! You don’t even have to worry about the kids anymore, so why are you ing around like this?

“Look at me when I’m speaking to you!”

Taewoon raised his head.

“Listen to me, Taewoon,” his coach said. “You go into this competition with that kind of mindset and the only thing you will do is prove to the entire nation why your younger brother is better than you. You’ll make a fool of yourself.”

Rage exploded in Taewoon’s stomach. He raised to his feet, startling his coach. The ferocity in his glare made the man cower. For a few seconds, he remained frozen in his seat, looking up at the young man that looked very much like a pissed off bear.

“What do you know?”

Taewoon gathered his things and stormed out of the room.

“Hey! Woo Taewoon! Get your back in here!”

Taewoon resisted the urge to flip him off as he sped down the stairs.

No one stopped him as he ran out the door. The sight of a handful of fans made him slow down. They cheered for him, but all Taewoon could do was send them a stiff wave. One of them followed him as far as the main road, where he hailed a taxi.

“Go home, it’s too late for you to be out here.”

Charmed speechless the girl got in the car. “Oppa, you’re the only one for me. You know that, right?”

Another time, Taewoon would’ve smiled at her words; this time, he simply gave a large bill to the driver. “Get her home safely, please.”

The sound of the front door unlocking made Zico look up from his dinner. Taewoon stormed in in a rage.

“Hyung? Hyung!”

Zico followed him down the hallway into his room. Drawers were jerked opened and slammed shut as Taewoon changed his clothes.

“Hyung, what’s going on? What’s wrong?”

Taewoon ignored him. He pulled his track suit on, slipping into the hoodie that had long ago lost the scent of spring rain. He zipped it up, taking his running shoes in his hands.

“I’m going for a run.” He tapped Zico on the chest as he walked by. “Tell mom I’ll be out late.”

“Hey, hyung!”

Zico caught up to him at the front door. Taewoon sat on the floor, tying his shoelaces with fast, angry fingers.

“What the hell happened?”

“Later, Zico.”

Zico winced.

He was left staring at a shut door, its heavy slam ringing in his ears, and the knowledge that it had somehow, indirectly, been he that had upset his brother driving nails into his heart.

Running. Running. Running.

No matter how fast, how hard, how far he ran, Taewoon could not escape the shadow that was Zico.

He had talent too. He had potential. He had just as much passion. More than that, Taewoon had more desperation in he that Zico had ever had.

So why? Why wasn’t he the one climbing to the top? Why wasn’t he the one people recognized on the streets? Why wasn’t Zico Taewoon’s dongsaeng?

He hadn’t managed to break away from his little brother’s shadow as SPEED’s leader Woo Taewoon, so he’d given that up. He’d given up his teammates for a selfish desire. He’d dared leave SPEED behind to chase after his own dreams. He’d given up the name Taewoon and taken on a new one.

Wuno was supposed to indicate his rebirth, mark the beginning of a new phase in his life. Instead, all it did was ring empty.

There was nothing in it. No accomplishments. No recognitions. All the name had brought him was a greater sense of responsibility. There had been no liberation, no fresh start. Instead, now he had to rid himself of two ghosts: Zico’s brother and SPEED’s Taewoon.

Would he be able? Would the world let him?

As he reached the top of the hill, Taewoon’s legs shook, his ankles ached, his lungs burned. He stopped, feeling like he had escaped nothing at all.

He released a frustrated, angry growl as he leaned against St. Cecilia’s stone hedge. Slowly, he sunk down until he sat on the cold pavement. He banged his head rhythmically on the stones, squeezing his eyes shut as his sweat ran down his face.

He drew his knees up, resting his elbows on them, clasping his hands. He bowed his head between them, not bothering to catch his breath.

Everything burned. Everything hurt.

“Oh! It’s Taewoon!”

Surprised at the shimmering voice coming from above him, Taewoon raised his head. The shock of seeing Eun Mi leaning over the top of the hedge nearly stopped his heart.

“What the hell?”

He jumped to his feet, whirling around. Eun Mi, still a full head taller than him up on the hedge, smiled her trademark smile at him.

“So this is what I look like to tall people?”

“What on earth are you doing, Eun Mi-ah?”

“What am I doing? What are you doing? I heard an inhuman sound just now and it scared me half to death! Was that you?”

“What sound was it?”

“Something like an angry bear.”

Taewoon’s cheeks suddenly became extra hot. Eun Mi’s smile broadened. She pulled herself up fully onto the hedge, her legs dangling between them.

“Hey, be careful.” Taewoon raised his arms, worried that she might fall.

“Catch me!”

Alarmed, Taewoon stepped forward, catching Eun Mi and holding her tightly. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Are you insane?!”

“Crazy trust exercise,” she mumbled, holding him tighter.

Taewoon became acutely aware of how sweaty he was. Though he’d been dying to see Eun Mi, to hold her, this had not been the manner in which he’d pictured their reunion.

He didn’t care.

Eun Mi had literally fallen out of the sky into his arms. He wasn’t about to let her go anytime soon. Especially tonight.

Riding a car with Eun Mi at the wheel was one of the most fun things Taewoon had ever done in his life.

She had this thing in which she would play her iPod on shuffle and sing along to every song. The ease in which she switched from one language to another astounded him. She knew every song, even singing the instrumental breaks. Taewoon had never met anyone that could use their car as a karaoke room.

“Sing with me! Sing with me!”

“I don’t know the song.”

“Then rap! Do that freestyle thing rappers like to do.”

“Freestyle thing?”

Eun Mi bounced in her seat; they were waiting at a stop light. “Yeah, you know, when you just start rapping.”

Taewoon found her adorably cute. He could tell she didn’t really know anything about what it meant to be a rapper.

“Su Jong always starts with the same sentence as a warm up. How does it go again? Ah!”

Someone seemed to have taken over Eun Mi, that had to be it, because her gentle personality was replaced by a fierce creature that spat out powerful rhymes. She even mimicked a rapper’s posture as she released a fury of words. Taewoon stared at her in shock.

“Oh, the light’s green!”

And just like that she returned to her usual self.

“Hey, who taught you how to rap?”

Eun Mi glanced at him briefly as she pulled into the parking lot of a supermarket. “I don’t really know how to rap, I just copy Su Jong. He used to be in…is it underground rapping? Underground? Anyway, he really likes rapping.”

“How did you end up imitating him?”

“When we were trainees, we were trying to figure out what ‘talent’ we could show on TV. Su Jong is good at speaking in different dialects, so he was trying to teach me. I didn’t feel comfortable with it, though, so we gave that up. One day, he was being extremely dramatic while practicing, so I made fun of him. By that point, I guess I had grown used to imitating him, I ended up sounding exactly like him. Tae Jun oppa couldn’t stop laughing.”

Eun Mi found an empty parking spot, sliding into it with ease. Taewoon opened the door for her, handing her her bag.

“So your talent is to imitate L6’s Su Jong?”

“No, silly, I imitate rappers!”

The sparkle in her eye gave him pause. He stopped walking, taking her arm gently.

“What? Are you serious?”

Eun Mi smiled, winking. “Look it up when you have the chance. They tell me I’m especially good at imitating Verbal. Someone once said I did a good job with Zion. T, but I’m not too sure.”

Taewoon made a mental note to look into it later as he hurried after her.

Shopping with Eun Mi was more fun than driving with Eun Mi. She navigated the supermarket so easily, Taewoon had a hard time believing she wasn’t Korean.

“Are you sure you’re Mexican-American?”

“Of course I am!”

She found the ingredient she was looking for on the topmost shelf of aisle ten. She didn’t say anything, she simply looked at Taewoon. Her it’s-not-going-to-get-itself face made it impossible for him to resist the urge to kiss her right then and there.

He reached for the ingredient, looking around briefly. As Eun Mi took it from his hands, he placed a quick, soft peck on her lips.

Her cheeks flushed red, her eyes widened. In that moment, she could not articulate a single word in Korean. The broken words that left her lips were in Spanish, beautiful, lovely Spanish. She ended up smacking his arm with more force than he’d believe her capable of. He flinched, dramatically rubbing his stinging arm.

“You can’t do that here,” she hissed. “People could recognize us.”

Taewoon pinched her cheeks. “You’re not wearing any make up, I doubt they’ll recognize you.”

A pair of middle-aged women walked by them, sending them smiles and teasing looks.

“Oh my, what’s it’s like to be young!”

Eun Mi pulled herself free. She bowed to them apologetically, but they merely giggled, congratulating them. Taewoon threw his arms around her shoulders, resting his head on her head, pulling her against his chest.

“So, does that mean that we’re together now?”

Eun Mi elbowed him in the ribs. He grunted as he released her.

“We’re in public. Now help me find the pastas.”

Taewoon didn’t miss the way in which she stuttered, or how she hid her face behind her hair by bowing her head gently. He slid his hand into hers, twining their fingers together.

“It’s this way.”

When Eun Mi hid her face against his arm, he knew it was because she was embarrassed over what he’d done and not because she feared someone might recognize them; her firm grip on his hand told him so.

With Eun Mi, life didn’t hurt.

Every concern that had plagued him before became so minute, so irrelevant. If he needed any kind of proof he could just look around him.

They were in a supermarket, buying ingredients for some sort of pasta that Eun Mi was learning how to make. She didn’t look up the ingredients on her phone, instead, she carried a small notebook around with her, checking it and cross referencing the names of the ingredients.

She compared prices, read the Nutrition Facts, muttered in Spanish, English, and Korean. She fought with her hair, twisting it this way and that, throwing it over her shoulders then pulling it back. And, of course, she would sing.

There really was nothing normal about their situation. Taewoon hadn’t gone grocery shopping in a long time; the managers always did that for them. He especially hadn’t done so with a girl, much less a very distinct girl.

Everything about them screamed to be noticed. Eun Mi’s ethnicity. Taewoon’s height. Their very apparent relationship and the fact that they were idols. Two idols grocery shopping together without attempting to conceal their identities.

Eun Mi moved about so effortlessly that Taewoon couldn’t help but get caught up in her momentum. She drew him into conversations that began with a subject entirely unrelated to the one she continued with.

“Do you like spicy food?” she’d ask.

“Yeah.”

“I went to the bookstore the other day. I found a book on Cleopatra that my aunt had been looking for. She likes to read biographies, but I think I’m going to read it before I give it to her.”

“Didn’t you buy it for her?”

“Yes, but since she’s not done with the one I let her borrow, I’ll crack this one’s spine first.”

“Taken out of context, that would sound very threatening,” he laughed.

And so went their trip to the grocery store.

Nothing and everything about it was special to Taewoon. Her presence, her unique way of being, so aloof and involved at the same time. By the time they’d reached the cash registers, Taewoon had forgotten the haunting thoughts he’d been trying to run away from earlier.

Until someone recognized him. Sort of.

A girl on the register across from theirs pointed at him while they were finishing up. “Oh! Zico’s hyung! It’s Zico’s hyung!”

He tried to keep his smile, tried to hide just how much he hated being addressed as Zico’s hyung. Taewoon tried to hide Eun Mi, tried to protect her from any misunderstandings or scandals. But Eun Mi wasn’t having it.

She looked the girl full in the face, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“Zico’s hyung! Oh my goodness! It’s Zico’s hyung! He’s standing next to you!”

Eun Mi turned around as if she didn’t see whom the girl was speaking about. She even moved Taewoon out of the way, looking behind him to the bewildered woman that stood next in line.

“How can you not recognize him? He’s standing right next to you!”

Eun Mi smiled a very cold smile.

“Woo. Tae. Woon.” She enunciated his name slowly, clearly, defiantly.

The girl seemed to swallow her excitement, choking on it. “I—I’m s—sorry?”

“You should be.” Eun Mi took the bags the stunned cashier offered her. “If you don’t know his name, don’t bother addressing him so comfortably. He’s Woo Taewoon. Remember that.”

Taewoon thanked the cashier for her hard work, rushing after Eun Mi. He caught up to her outside the supermarket, took the bags from her, stealing yet another kiss in the process.

“Hey! Woo Taewoon!”

He couldn’t help laughing as something bitter shattered within him, crumpling into a pile of dust that was blown away.

“Say it again.”

“What?”

“Say it again.”

Eun Mi shoved him, trying not to smile. “Shut up. Let’s get out of here before someone realizes what happened.”

He blocked her path, keeping her from reaching the driver’s seat.

“Woo Taewoon!”

Taewoon laughed. “Was that so hard?”

“You’re so annoying.” She tried to move him out of the way, rolling her eyes, smiling. “You’re one of the most annoying men I know, Woo Taewoon.”

What did it matter? What did it matter if the rest of the world had no idea who he was? As long as Song Eun Mi knew of his existence, relied on him, and called him by his name, nothing else mattered.

At least in this moment, swept up in her hurricane-like personality, nothing else mattered.