30 | The Nightmare
My Perfect Stranger
✗ Kim Rima ✗
I open my eyes reluctantly as my hand reaches my phone on the table. I take a quick glance at the phone screen and then put it on my bed carelessly.
It's only three in the morning and I'm still feeling sleepy. Looks like I'm still living with random time zone at the moment. It's supposed to be around ten in the morning at Seattle right now.
I just arrived at Seoul around five hours ago. It's almost midnight when I reached my house and finally met the one I never expected.
"Welcome back, cousin," Yoorin greeted me with a smirk. "How's Seattle?"
I stopped dragging my luggage and blinked in confusion. I turned to look at Yujin who gasped in surprise and I knew it's because she forgot to tell me about Yoorin's presence in the house.
Yujin was the one who picked me at the airport, accompanying me on the way back to the house. My father just left to London in the morning for business trip.
"Aren't you supposed to be at New York?" I asked her with curiosity. I was trying to find her yet I had no chance and now here she was, standing right in front of me; she was in my house.
"Long story," she leaned to the wall, looking at me with a mysterious smile. "I'll make it short to you. Your father has stopped giving my family money for living."
I frowned at her answer. I remembered that she wanted me to reveal my identity so my father would fulfill whatever her wanted as I returned to my house. Listening to her words, looked like she didn't get what she wanted from her plan.
"He said that I need to be more independent," Yoorin straightened her body and stepped closer to me. "He told me to get a work to do and prove that I can do something for myself."
"Yoorin, you don-" Yujin tried to stop the conversation but Yoorin didn't want it to happen so she just blurted out whatever she wanted to.
"Can we talk in private, cousin?" Yoorin gave me a serious expression. She turned around and walked downstairs, leaving me and Yujin to stand in silence. I asked Yujin to help me with the luggage while I talked with Yoorin.
"I don't have any plan to work," Yoorin started the conversation, crossing her hands together. "I think you need to talk with your father, Rima."
"And why do I need to do that?" I raised my eyebrow. "It's your life, Yoorin. You need to work for it to live it."
"Don't you remember that I still have your pictures with that idol from BEAST?" she gave me a sly smirk which made me need to surpress my emotion. "You just need to talk with your father. Is it that difficult?"
"You know, Yoorin, you really sound like Eric," I said coldly to her. "I think you and him will make a really good couple."
I didn't want any unnecessary news to be happened between me and anyone but I was not the one who wanted to be threatened here and there as well. I didn't like the position of being the one who must did this and that.
Yoorin's eyes widened in surprise because of my words. I sighed heavily and then looked at her, "Yoorin, you're not a little kid anymore. Grow up. Be mature."
She gave me a disbelief look before scoffed and walked away. She went straight to her room, slamming the door and I knew that she's really mad at me.
Without even bothering to continue and talk with her, I headed to my room and talked with Yujin who only told me that my father told Yoorin to try and find a job in Seoul for a month.
After that Yujin demanded me to take a good sleep so she left me alone.
I close my eyes again and then bury my face in the pillow.
I don't want to think about anything for now but both Gikwang and Junhyung's faces keep appearing in mind. Why do they have their ways to get into my head so easily?
Maybe I must try to sleep again.
✗ Lee Gikwang ✗
"Good morning, Gikwang," a voice greets me when I just finished showering. I look at Sora who is preparing breakfast with Hyunseung. "Do you want something to eat?"
"Anything will be fine," I answer her with a smile and then take a seat next to Yoseob. He is browsing with his notebook while his playlist is playing his favorite songs.
We have returned from Tokyo yesterday and we have another meeting for our upcoming album this afternoon. Since all tracks are already composed by Junhyung and Rima, we have discussed about the further details and now we are going to plan for the recording which will be started this week.
I wonder what Rima is doing right now.
After the performance at the guerilla concert, Rima excused herself without giving me a chance to talk with her. I was trapped with the dozens fans who went hysteric, thanks to Junhyung's surprise appearance.
I was really grateful that he appeared though because I wasn't really sure with my rapping skill for the song.
All of us were trapped and finally the staffs who were responsible for the event helped us, telling the audiences to stay calm. Doojoon spoke for a moment before we took our leaves.
I was disappointed because I didn't have a chance to ask Rima about her conversation with Eric yet I was really happy because I could sing with her on a stage.
I liked how my voice synced with hers.
As if my prayer was answered, I met Rima again that night. I went out to buy some snacks for the others as well when I saw her walking to a park alone; her hands were inside her pockets and she was listening to her iPod.
I followed her until she sat on a park bench, gazing at the night sky. I saw her lips form into a curve and, I didn't know why, my heart skipped a beat.
All of a sudden, she noticed my presence and stood up with wide eyes, "G-Gikwang?"
"Rima," I smiled to her and approached her. She turned off her iPod and looked at me with confused look. "I was buying stuff for the others. I saw you walking here so..."
She nodded randomly and I noticed that she was trying to avoid my gaze. I was going to ask her about her meeting with Eric when I felt something in my jacket pocket.
It's the box with the cherry blossom hairpin I bought for her before she met Eric. My eyes found the butterfly necklace I gave to her on her birthday, as behalf of her father, circling around her neck. She didn't wear a hairpin though tonight.
"That necklace is from your father, you know," I told her with a smile. "I'm glad you still wear it."
She didn't say a thing, still staring at the ground in silence. I took out the hairpin from the box and cupped her cheek with one of my hands so my eyes could meet hers.
With the other hand, I put the hairpin on her hair. She blinked and touched the cherry blossom with her fingers while I pulled my hand away, "It looks more beautiful when you wear it."
Rima covered with the back of her hand, a sign that she was blushing. I chuckled and patted her head, a gesture that I really missed ever since she left us.
"We can meet again in Seoul, right?" I asked her, making sure that this was not our last meeting. "You're not going anywhere again, aren't you?"
"Does it matter?" she replies with another question, still not looking at me. "I'm not anyone for BEAST now."
I felt somehow offended by her answer for an unknown reason. I didn't like it when she said it because it sounded like she didn't want to be involved with our lives anymore.
"Maybe you're not Junhyung's cousin anymore. Maybe you're not a composer for BEAST anymore...," I touched her cheeks gently, "...but you're still someone for me."
No matter who her father was, no matter who her real identity was, she was Kim Rima, the girl who loved music with all her heart. She was a good friend of mine and I didn't think a friend could become a stranger for any kind of cases.
Once a friend would always be a friend.
The conversation went to nowhere else because both of our phones rang at the same time. Doojoon called me, asking about where I was since they wanted their snacks.
"I...," Rima murmured suddenly after she was done with the one on phone. "I will stay permanently in Seoul starting from tomorrow."
A smile blossomed on my face as I patted her head, "I'll see you at Seoul then."
"What is this?" Yoseob mumbles out loud, staring at the screen of his notebook with wide eyes. I stop remembering what happened that night and pay attention to him.
He gasps in surprise and groans with frustration, "Aish!"
Something bad is up on the internet; that's my first thought that comes to mind.
✗ Yong Junhyung ✗
I knocked the door after I checked my phone to make sure that there was no new notification. It meant I still had times before leaving Tokyo.
Doojoon let me go when I told him I wanted to buy something. I lied though because I planned to meet with Rima. Our flight was in four hours and we would leave to the airport in an hour.
Before I returned to Seoul, I wanted to talk with Rima once again. I wanted to apologize to her; frankly because of my blunt action when I actually had no right to do it towards her.
I also wanted to make sure that we still could maintain a good relationship. I didn't want her to ignore me as if we never met each other before.
I didn't want to be strangers with her.
Yesterday night, after the performance of her with Yoseob and Gikwang at the guerilla concert, I called her and, fortunately, she picked it up. I thought it was impossible for her to agree meeting up with me but, unlike my assumption, she told me where her hotel was.
She would take a night flight, around six hours after ours. She told me that I could come over and we could talk in her room.
Rima opened the door and looked at me with questioning look. She opened the door wider and let me to step inside.
She kept a distance with me as if she was afraid that I was going to do anything to her. I felt more awkward now than before, feeling that I was actually too aggressive.
"I'm sorry," I bowed to her in ninety degrees. "I'm sorry for my bluntnes, Rima."
I straightened my body and we looked at each other for seconds before she asked me a question, "I still don't get it, Junhyung. Why did you break up with Hara?"
This girl was really unbelievable. I just apologized to her and she brought up my past once again to the surface. I guessed she would never be satisfied unless I told her the answer.
"She turned down my proposal," I finally told her the truth. "I've told you now. My story with her has ended, Rima. Can't you give me second chance to love someone else?"
"Wow, hang on there," she mumbled with confused expression. "You broke up with her just because she didn't accept your proposal?"
She must had a really different perspective of 'just-because' with me here. I didn't think rejecting a proposal of your lover was a just-because reason.
"Junhyung, she-" Rima was going to talk about Hara again so I quickly stopped her with a firm statement.
"Look, Rima, I don't know what she told you or what you're thinking about me and her," I looked at her eyes directly. "I just know one thing for sure: I love you."
My heart was beating really fast; even faster when I saw her blushed cheeks. She didn't reply me but I knew she was listening to me.
"I'm going back to Seoul," I told her calmly, taking a step closer to her. "Don't treat me as a stranger when we meet again, Rima."
I reached out my hand and tucked her long hair behind her ear, "I can't go on as strangers with you."
"Yah! Yong Junhyung!" Doojoon's voice wakes me up from my deep slumber. I was dreaming about what happened between me and Rima yesterday at Tokyo before the dream popped to nowhere because of Doojoon.
After the short conversation, which Rima didn't reply about whether she agreed to treat me more than a stranger or not, I returned back to meet the others and take the flight back to Seoul.
Everything went as usual as if nothing happened at Tokyo except Yoseob found some fancams of the guerilla concert but there is none clear enough. Probably because the fans didn't prepare to have a real idol group's performance that day.
"What?" I groan but he doesn't stop shaking me so I quickly sit up with annoyed expression. "Our meeting is not this early..."
"You!" Doojoon pulls me until I stand up on my feet. He drags me out from my bedroom with frustrated tone. "You better have a good explanation."
I see my other groupmates and Sora are sitting in circle in the main room. They look up at me with various expressions. I only notice Hyunseung's awkward face and Gikwang's disappointed expression.
What happened?
"Tell me what this is," Doojoon points to Yoseob's notebook screen. "Tell me that this is an edited picture."
My sleepiness vanishes as my eyes widen in shock. I can't believe my eyes.
At the moment I really hope that this is all just a dream; a really bad nightmare.
Because if it's the reality, I'm doomed.
"Tell me that this. Is. Not. True," Doojoon emphasizes each word with great concern while I'm speechless. "Tell me it's not you, Junhyung."
What can I explain to them when I don't even know why there is a picture of me kissing Rima?
This is my worst nightmare come true.
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