A/N: Happy Thanksgiving! This is part two of the reunion outtake. Enjoy your holiday!

Outtake 2: Reunion -Part One

They were back in the karaoke room where Jaehee had begun to realize her feelings for Taejoon. Memories of her jealousy and insecurity towards Hanna flickered through the girl’s mind, as Seungri shoved a microphone into her hand.  For a second, she couldn’t help but drown in her memories, and a look of devastating heartbreak flitted across her face, only to vanish in the next instant. Taejoon was the only one to notice her expression, and being so attuned to her, he knew what was hurting her. As the first song began to play, he couldn’t help but to wince. This was not going to help.

The upbeat tune floated through the air, and after freezing for a second, she pulled herself together in order to hit the first note. Pushing back the memories threatening to swallow her and force her back into her doubting self, she sang, hoping that she could get through the song without stumbling. The sweet voice echoed through the room, causing the others to remember the act she had put on for the Miss Genie High contest. Pausing for the other’s part, she waited, not expecting anyone to pick up where she left off.

“jeongmal useumman nawa,” The light tenor echoed throughout the room, startling all its occupants. All of them had been there for the previous karaoke session, and all of them remembered Taejoon’s silent refusal to be dragged into Hanna’s attempt. It was a surprise that he would be willing to sing this time. They all knew that he absolutely hated singing.

The athlete on the other hand was just counting down the minutes until the song was over. He hated singing, and this song was slightly straining his vocals. But she was about to cry, and after all that they had worked through, he couldn’t help but to comfort her. Whoever had this song popping up (and he had his suspicions) was a jerk, and he would deal with them later. For now, it was force his way through this song, and deal with the upcoming teasing.

Shocked at his input, Jaehee stared uncomprehendingly at her partner. And in response, he offered her a reassuring smile, as if to remind her that he was always there for her, no matter how much he hated what he was putting himself through, the karaoke being a good example. Recovering herself, just in time, she went on with the song, deciding not to question anything until far later. For now, she would just bask in the happiness that he wasn’t letting her make a fool of herself in front of their friends.

Sweeping into the chorus, she smiled, grateful that the high jumper was actually putting effort into singing the song with her. She knew that the song was just barely within his range, and even though she was not the one who chose the song, she couldn’t help but be happy that he was willing to suffer minor discomfort (and perhaps embarrassment from the others) in order to make her happy.

And at last, the song came to a resounding finish, much to the apparent relief of Taejoon. Seungri, noticing the look and wanting to torment the poor teen a bit more, made a quick decision. “And after such an excellent performance, we have to ask for an encore. So here’s your next duet!”

Any attempts at protests were quickly stifled under the looks of sheer anticipation from the other teens, to the point where Taejoon realized that he would basically be tormented by the others if he didn’t give in. “Fine, but this is the absolute last, or I’ll make you guys regret it.” And then he glanced at the song title and blanched. Reluctantly, he turned to look at Jaehee’s face, dreading what he would find and yet somehow expecting it anyways. I have no willpower when it comes to her, do I? he thought to himself in exasperation. A simple nod led to the sole female in the room all but floating in glee and started rearranging the stage to set it up, before the song even began. They’re definitely going to get a show this time. I’ll never live this down.

The beginning sounded, with the two teens moving into position. The second they started moving, the others, who had been watching their actions in confusion realized instantly what was to happen and eagerly awaited what promised to be even more of a performance than the previous song. One thing was for certain though, and that was that Jaehee had the teenage celebrity whipped. Then again, it was really hard to say no to Jaehee, and they were just her friends.

“Hello…” The song played, the steady beat directing the two as they danced. One of Jaehee and Hanna’s favorites, the two had connived Taejoon into learning the dance along with them. And as the song had just so happened to pop up and Jaehee pleaded wordlessly for him to join in, he couldn’t say no. He was starting to sense a conspiracy. Jaehee clearly wasn’t involved, or she would be looking noticeably guilty. The suspects were just taking advantage of Jaehee’s presence in order to force him into things he would have never done otherwise.

“nan geureoke joheun sarami anya…”The room was silent, the only sounds being Jaehee’s lilting soprano and Taejoon’s complimentary tenor accompanied by the music. The others were too entranced by the captivating performance to make a sound. Such a seductive dance was not what they expected from Gu Jaehee, who happened to be what they considered the very personification of innocence and naivety. They were also expecting Taejoon to make a fool of himself dancing along with the song, but as with all things, he was stubborn enough to get the dance down to the last movement. The two made a perfect pair performing. Honestly the two could probably become Kpop stars and not have any difficulty fitting in. They already had the fame and looks down. And they quite clearly sang and danced well together.

And then the rap came along, and the others were blown away by just how easily he sank into the flow of the rap. Seemingly far more comfortable rapping than hitting those high notes, it was a stunning change once he went back to the higher melody. And despite it all, he continued to dance along to the song.

Drawing to a close with Jaehee’s final line, the room remained silent as the last few beats of the song played out. A sudden hush encompassed the room, only to be broken by a simultaneous standing ovation. Suddenly crowded by their friends, the two were overwhelmed with questions, until their sunbae came to the rescue.

“All right, enough crowding the two. You can ask them questions later, but in case you’ve forgotten, we have only one more hour before curfew, so who’s up next?”

And so the rest of the night went on with performances from the others, who were also rather good, but somewhat paled in comparison to the duo that performed first. Taejoon and Jaehee passed on all offers to perform after that, preferring to watch the others. Finally sitting down and glad to be out of the spotlight, they didn’t seem to notice their hands intertwined together. The other boys resisted the urge to tease them, knowing they had tormented the pair far too much that evening. Any more would lead to rather unforgettable vengeance on part from Taejoon. There would be other opportunities for that another day.

And finally, the clock struck eleven, and Seungri stood up, knowing that he had to be the responsible one. “All right guys, it’s time to wrap up. Lights out is in an hour, and they’re going to be checking up on us then.”

Taejoon rose and helped Jaehee up. “I’ll take you home. It shouldn’t take too long.”

She sighed and rolled her eyes. “I’m perfectly capable of going home by myself. It’s not that far anyways. You’ll miss curfew if you do.”

“Yes, I know you’re capable, but you’re looking especially pretty tonight and it’s rather late. You’re a danger magnet, so it’s especially likely that something will happen. Besides, I promised your parents I would watch out for you. And I don’t mind staying home overnight; it’s not like we have school tomorrow.”

Ignoring the blush highlighting her cheeks, she frowned at the teen in displeasure. Compliments or not, he was still insulting her. The others just watched in a mixture of concern (the trouble magnet part was quite true after all) and amusement. Hyunjae finally got fed up with the arguing and cut in, speaking in an exasperated manner. “The solution is simple. Jaehee borrows some of our clothes and a hat. She can pretend to be a pretty guy again on the bus home. And if you’re still worried, just stay on the phone with her until she gets home. Taejoon, you can’t go with her, we have a joint morning practice tomorrow with another school that you can’t miss, or Coach will have your head.”

Everyone frowned at that solution, no one fully happy with it. Things could still go wrong, and they really wanted someone to watch over Jaehee. But it was the best out of all the options, and so they would accept it, although none of them would be comfortable going to sleep until they saw that the girl was safe at home. Because despite the secrets, and the new distance formed by the revelation of her gender, they all did care for her, much like a little sister. If they had more time before curfew, they would have made sure to actually take her home themselves, but unfortunately, if they wanted their weekends free to visit her (and anyone else they liked –like Hanna and Dahae), they had to be present for curfew.

The girl sighed in displeasure, resigned to the solution they found. She would rather make her way by herself, but she knew well that they had to get their way somehow. And secretly, although she would never admit out loud, she knew very well that the comments about her being a trouble magnet were very true indeed. Sighing once again, she turned to Taejoon. “Fine. Taejoon-ah, I still have some clothes in the closet from when we shared the dorm. Can you bring those? All of them actually, it’s all one outfit so I’ll need all the pieces.”

Nodding, he rushed off, noticing the time inching closer towards curfew. Back within minutes, he passed the clothes to his girlfriend letting her rush off to the bathroom to change. She returned quite quickly, all makeup wiped off and hair hidden under a hat. The boys stared at her in a stunned manner. With the baggy shorts and the layered shorts, for a second, it was almost like the boy they thought Jaehee was pretending to be had come back. Jaehee’s words snapped them out of it.

“Thanks for remembering the sneakers, this wouldn’t had worked out if I was still wearing the heels. And now the bus is going to be here in ten minutes. I should get going”

“I’ll at least walk you to the bus stop and wait until you get on. You can set up the phone call on the way.”

Smiling slightly, the girl gave in. She would prefer to make her goodbyes to her boyfriend in private, and this would give them the opportunity to do so. Turning to the other boys, she started hugging them goodbye, ignoring Jongmin’s protests. “I’ll see you all again, and soon. This time, we’ll make plans for a group outing, like the summer trip to sunbae’s mom’s inn.”

With those words, the celebrity couple walked off, ready to spend at least a little time with each other before they had to part ways. The others just looked at the two fading into the darkness, remembering their duets earlier this evening.

“You know,” Hyunjae said in a conversational tone. “I’m beginning to think those two were literally made for each other.”

No one present could find any reason to refute that.

:::

“So,” Taejoon teased. “Was it as bad as you thought it would be?”

“They didn’t hate me. For so long, I thought that I would never be able to speak to them again because they wouldn’t accept that I led to them. But they didn’t. I know that you helped them reach that, so thank you.”

“It didn’t take much effort, you know. All they had to change was to think about you as a girl, but that was it. You’re still just as sweet and caring, maybe even more so now that you’re no longer restraining yourself to avoid being found out.”

“But still, thank you. For everything you’ve done to support me, like today.” She didn’t bother to specify, knowing he would understand what she was trying to say.

“Anything for you,” he told her, his words a solemn vow. One that he would always keep.

Jaehee grew solemn, knowing he meant to keep the promise, and wondering once again how she had managed to gain such loving devotion from the one person she had idolized for so long.

Having arrived at the bus stop, she leaned against the pole of the street light only to suddenly stand straight. “Here’s the bus,” She said. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Manager Jang did arrange for us to do a photo-shoot together next week, so even if this weekend is busy, we’ll see each other then. Don’t forget to call sunbae, once you get on the bus, ok?”

Nodding, she reached up, just enough to give a quick kiss to her boyfriend. She then raced onto the bus, finding a seat near the front. Waving goodbye at a semi-stunned Taejoon (she was never this bold when it came to public affection), she set up her phone, calling Seungri sunbae’s cell phone immediately.

“Hey guys,” She said, smiling slightly. They had obviously put her on speakerphone, judging from the collective calling of her name the second they picked up. “I just got on the bus and Taejoon’s heading back over to the dorm. Now, let’s talk about whether or not you guys are coming shopping with Hanna and me next week when the two of us go take Hyunji out…”

A/N: I hope this went well. The songs introduced in this chapter are IU’s Nagging with 2AM’s Seulong and Jooyoung’s Erase with Sistar’s Hyorin and featuring Iron. I hope you enjoyed it, and as always, do let me know what you think.