11 | The Secret
My Perfect Stranger
✗ Kim Rima ✗
I walk back and forth impatiently. Once in a while I take a glance to the door, hoping that I will see Yujin walks in the bookstore.
Where is she?
I've been waiting for her for at least thirty minutes since our appointment and she is nowhere to be found. I'm starting to think that she can't make it today due to her low chance to sneak out from my father's sight.
I sigh in relief when I see her walks inside with her white coat. I rush to her and grab her to the corner of the bookstore, handing over a magazine for her to pretend as if we're busy with the magazines.
"I-I'm sorry I'm late, Rima...," she whispers behind the magazine. "Your father asked me to check the place where the engagement party will be held-"
"That!" I hiss furiously. "Why in the world did my father suddenly arrange an engagement party? Why didn't you tell me beforehand? The news are everywhere since three days ago!"
"Okay, calm down, Rima. Calm down," Yujin looks around to make sure my loud voice doesn't attract attention. "I'm sorry I just replied your text message yesterday night. I really am but I had many tasks since I need to hide your where about."
I purse my lips, waiting for her to give me some explanations. For the last three days since I heard the news about the engagement between who-supposed-to-be-me and that Eric Hazelwine, my mind has been wandering around.
Yujin didn't reply my text message until yesterday night; she agreed to meet me so I told her to meet me at a bookstore because I don't want to risk a chance that a member of BEAST will see me at a cafe or coffee shop.
"Yoorin offered the idea to your father," Yujin starts to explain. My jaw drops open but she continues again, "He said that he had waited for two weeks but there was nothing assured him that you could do something good for him. Yoorin thought that this idea might motivate you somehow..."
"Motivate me?!" I groan with disbelief. "It's more like shocking me! Even though she is the one who acts as me right now, it's me! Kim Rima is me!"
"I know, I know," Yujin quickly mutters to calm me down. "I've tried to assure your father too but he said that it was a good idea since actually he wants you to marry a good businessman too in reality."
My father and his old-fashion mindset.
"I'm not going to marry whoever he want me to," I state with serious expression. It's enough how he blocked my life from music; I will not let him to control who I love. "If he insists to do it, I will never return to home."
Yujin drops her gaze and sighs, "He told me that you would say that..."
I blink in confusion as Yujin explains, "Your father said if you're still being as stubborn as ever, without giving him any progress about your dream of music, he will try to find you and drag you back."
I close the magazine I'm holding and put it back on the shelf. I take a really deep breath and turn to Yujin, "Unnie, you better control Yoorin. Tell father that if she doesn't want me to disgrace Kim family's name, he better think twice about using Yoorin as my impostor."
I walk pass her and murmur, "I'll see you later, Unnie."
"Unbelievable," I sigh and look at the afternoon sky, feeling like a complete idiot. How could my father give me a threat like that? How could he think that I would give up easily?
"I will never give up...," I clench my fists tight, determine myself about my objective.
"So you are the real Kim Rima?"
✗ Lee Gikwang ✗
"I'm going to buy something to drink," Yoseob points to the tea cafe at the corner of the street. "Do you want me to buy you something?
"No. I need to go to the bookstore to check our new photobook," I tell him and wave to him. We head to different destinations.
Both Yoseob and I are taking a walk in the middle of our free time together after our schedule this morning for photoshoot. Since he is bored because Sora has a schedule to accompany CN Blue, he asked me to come along with him.
I walk to the magazine shelf and try to find our photobook at one side. That's when two persons walk pass me and stop abruptly behind me. I don't bother to turn around since I don't want my fans to recognize my presence in a bookstore.
"I-I'm sorry I'm late, Rima...," one of them whispers loud enough. I stop all of a sudden and try to focus my hearing. Did she just say 'Rima'? "Your father asked me to check the place where the engagement party will be held-"
"That!" the other one responds and I recognize that it's Rima's voice. "Why in the world did my father suddenly arrange an engagement party? Why didn't you tell me beforehand? The news are everywhere since three days ago!"
Engagement party?
I did heard about an engagement party between Kim Rima, the daughter of prestigious Kim family, and Eric-whoever-is-that three days ago.
"Yoorin offered the idea to your father," the person next to Rima explains slowly. "He said that he had waited for two weeks but there was nothing assured him that you could do something good for him. Yoorin thought that this idea might motivate you somehow..."
"Motivate me?!" the one with Rima's voice interrupts while I am thinking about who Yoorin is. "It's more like shocking me! Even though she is the one who acts as me right now, it's me! Kim Rima is me!"
I hold the urge to turn back and face them so I can know whether it's really Rima who introduced herself as Junhyung's cousin or just a girl with the same name.
I hear that Rima's father actually wants his daughter to marry the businessman but Rima replies quickly that if her father insists to do it, she doesn't want to return home. However her father will try to find her if she keeps being stubborn and drag her back home.
"Unnie, you better control Yoorin. Tell father that if she doesn't want me to disgrace Kim family's name, he better think twice about using Yoorin as my impostor," she walks away and I watch her back, stepping out from the bookstore.
I take a glance at the woman who talked to Rima just now. She sighs and then takes out her phone to call someone. I follow Rima outside where she is gazing at the sky, "Unbelievable. I will never give up..."
"So you are the real Kim Rima?" I mumble and she turns out to see me with obvious surprise on her face.
She is not Yong Rima, or at least that's what she said to us. She is the daughter of Kim family.
She is not Junhyung's cousin, isn't she?
"G-Gikwang...," she gasps in surprise, taking a step backward. She looks around and suddenly grabs my wrist, dragging me inside a music store nearby.
We stop at the corner of the shop where she finally lets go of my hand. She clasps her hands together and bows slightly, "Can you please keep this as secret?"
"Depends," I answer her calmly. "Depends on what your reason is."
✗ Kim Rima ✗
I swear if it's possible, my heart could have jumped out from inside of me when I saw Gikwang. I had no option other than told him the truth about the reason I lied about my identity to them.
With hesitation, I told him how I met Junhyung for the first time and the deal between us. I also told him about President Hong has accepted me to be their personal music composer for this new album while hiding my identity.
"Junhyung doesn't know about your real identity?" Gikwang asks when I have finished my explanation. I shake my head and he frowns, "When will you tell him then?"
"Never?" I murmur reluctantly and he raises his eyebrow. I roll my eyes, "Look, I don't have any choice. I need a proof to show my father that my love for music is something that can support me in life. I don't think Junhyung needs to know about my real identity anyway. I don't want my father to find me, remember?"
Gikwang sighs and rubs the back of his neck, "Sora knows about you, doesn't she?"
I nod, not knowing what to do or say. Gikwang looks deep in his thought before speaks, "Fine, I'll keep this as secret..."
My lips form into a wide smile but he quickly adds, "...but you need to agree with my terms here."
What? Another deal for me?
Since when was life all about deal here and there?
"First...," Gikwang takes off my black thick-rimmed glasses, "...you will not wear this glasses in front of us."
Before I can even complaint, he takes off the ribbon I used to tie my long hair in a ponytail, letting my hair to fall down, "Second, don't tie your hair. Girls look better when they let their hair down."
"And the third...," he says, putting my glasses on him and smiles to me, "...you're going to create beautiful songs for us."
I blush madly, realizing that my heart is beating out of control when I see his smile. I quickly cover my mouth with the back of my hand, feeling that I can explode if I don't control my heartbeat.
"Deal," he grins to me, patting my head gently. "Let's go back now. Yoseob must be looking for me now."
I follow him outside, feeling uncomfortable without my glasses but I can't say a word to him. I see Yoseob is waiting with a glass of tea in his hand, standing in front of the bookstore.
"Ah, Rima," Yoseob notices my presence. "What a coincidence to see you here. What are you doing?"
"I met a friend," I answer him as calm as possible. "I'm going back to the apartment now."
"Ah!" Gikwang looks as if he just remembers something. "I need to buy a magazine for Dongwoon. Wait a minute."
He walks in the bookstore, leaving me with Yoseob. Yoseob looks at me but I don't bother to start a conversation with him.
"It's the first time I see you without your glasses," he decides to talk first. He smiles politely to me, "I think you look better without glasses."
"Thank you?" I reply with hesitation. Why does he say the same thing with Gikwang? Are they trained to compliment girls everytime, everywhere?
For my surprise he laughs happily and then ruffles my hair with a wide smile, "You're really Junhyung's cousin."
When he said Junhyung's name, the guilty feeling strikes me.
"When will you tell him then?"
Gikwang's question crosses my mind again. Why do I even need to think about it? I mean, both Junhyung and I have agreed not to know more about each other's personal life.
I'm not going to tell Junhyung anything and I have believed Gikwang with this secret.
Now all I need to think is how I can prove to my father that I can do better without him blocking my way to music.
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