Chapter Four

song: 我真的受傷了

Kim Jongin sure didn’t waste any time.

With barely any time to register what had just happened, a contract was signed and luggages were packed. Soon, Haneul found herself seated in an expensive car that smelt like fresh leather and was being whisked away from the town she had known all her life.

Go Haneul, for the first time since she could remember, was finally going to Seoul.

To the big city with bursting lights and colourful atmosphere. To the busy place with looming buildings and honking cars. To the place where Byun Baekhyun was residing in right now; and to the place hidden with memories of her parents.

in a breath, Haneul could feel her heartbeat quickening the more they drove away from Jinsari. Whether it was excitement or fear, she couldn’t tell, but she did know that somehow she felt ready for this. There was a buzz in the air that seemed to foretell that her life from now on would change forever – In fact, her life right now was already turning a corner far beyond her imagination.

For the first time in her life, Go Haneul was going somewhere.

Not just literally as she headed for Seoul, but mentally as well.

Go Haneul – the quiet, invisible girl with translucent eyes – was finally heading towards a purpose.

Biting down on her lips, Haneul couldn’t stop the small grin that came to her face. But shaking her head, Haneul cupped her cheeks and pulled herself out of the feeling of satisfaction. She shouldn’t get too ahead of herself just yet, the journey was only starting.

Now that she had snapped out of her thoughts, Haneul suddenly noticed that the car was rather quiet; though it was a comfortable silence that made up the atmosphere. The chauffeur driving the car at the front was focused on the road, whilst Jongin (who sat next to her at the back), had a laptop open on his lap and was diligently working.

Blinking a little, Haneul stared at Jongin openly. Now that they finally weren’t talking about business and the rushed frenzy of getting everything organized had come to a halt, Jongin suddenly seemed so much older than he looked. Though he sat as straight as a gentleman would, and his eyes were intently focused on the screen – but Haneul thought she saw an overwhelming amount of burden weighing down upon his shoulders.

Somehow, he just looked so tired.

Tilting her head, Haneul cleared , bringing Jongin’s attention to her.

“What is it, Haneul?” Jongin gave Haneul a smile, his fingers paused on the keyboard of the laptop, “Are you okay?”

Haneul’s face flushed a little.

“Uhm, yes, I’m fine.” Haneul spoke a little shyly, but still directed her eyes over to the laptop on Jongin’s lap, “But are you okay? Won’t you get a headache if you look at the screen so much whilst in the car?”

 Jongin blinked. “Huh?”

Haneul’s face flushed a deeper colour.

“I-I mean,” Haneul was starting to regret starting this conversation a little, “I-If you’re tired, then, uhm…then, you should rest a bit, you know?”

Blinking a second time, Jongin stared at Haneul for a bit before a smile cracked his blank expression. Before she knew it, Jongin had tilted his head back and was laughing out loud, startling the chauffeur who jolted slightly when the laughter erupted out of Jongin’s lips.

Closing the lid of the laptop, Jongin turned to Haneul, his eyes still crinkled up with laughter.

“You’re right,” Jongin spoke through chuckles, “I should get some rest.”

Haneul awkwardly smiled back at Jongin. “Uhm, yes. Yes, you should.”

Somehow, that activated another set of laughter from Jongin, and now he was laughing so much he was bent over his knee, trying to catch his breath. Haneul, on the other hand, sat confusedly next to Jongin, trying to figure out why he was laughing.

After god knows how long of continuous laughter, Jongin finally calmed down, though he still chuckled softly underneath his breath. Wiping tears away from his eyes, Jongin grinned at Haneul.

“Wow, you’re great,” Jongin shook his head, “I haven’t laughed in such a long time. Thanks.”

A warm tingling sensation spread through Haneul’s body, and she ducked her head bashfully. In her whole life, she had never seen someone laugh so merrily because of her…scratch that. She had never in her life seen someone even laugh because of her.

Go Haneul had always been enveloped in a rigid atmosphere, one that disallowed any sort of jovial cheerfulness to break through the hushed environment that she lived in – whether it be the silent treatment she received from her classmates or whether it be the strict upbringing she received from her grandfather.

Naturally, Haneul then disregarded herself as a funny person, and even more so disregarding the possibility that she could stand in the spotlight one day.

But who knew that one day, someone – much less the CEO of an entertainment agency – would tell her that she was funny?

Upon that thought, Haneul found her lips curling upwards into a shy, happy smile. Lifting her gaze, Haneul peeked up at Jongin but quickly ducked her head again when she saw that he still had his eyes trained on her, that grin still on his face.

Jongin, on the other hand, found it immensely amusing watching the young girl sneak embarrassed glances up at him. Shaking his head and chuckling under his breath, Jongin then decided to turn his head away from her for her sake, and heaved out a relaxed sigh as he leaned his head back against the chair.

A smile tugged at his lips as Haneul’s hesitant reminder for him to rest well echoed in his mind, and letting out a low hum, Jongin crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

She was right. I should rest a little…I’ll just take a quick nap.

When Jongin woke up again, it was due to the awed squeaks coming out of the girl next to him. Squinting his eyes open, Jongin glanced over at Haneul, interested to see what she was so excited about – and a knowing smile immediately dawned his features as he saw what she was looking at.

It was indeed a splendid sight.

Under the setting sun, glows of light seemed to be breathing in soft flickers across the tall, modern buildings that loomed proudly over the splash of iridescent traffic lights and explosion of sound. There was gigantic billboards hanging high above the many heads bustling around in the busy streets, advertising faces of famous personalities and pop idols in their full glory.

A person who grew up in these conditions may not see the wonder in this, but for a country girl like Haneul, her eyes could not leave the burst of colour that confronted her, sending her stuck in a spiral of amazement.

Finding a laugh bubbling at the surface of his lips again, Jongin tried hard to supress it – but just looking over at her rounded eyes and open lips, Jongin couldn’t help but find her oddly resembling to a goldfish.

“Go Haneul,” Jongin couldn’t supress his laughter anymore, and let it bubbled out of his lips as Haneul tore her eyes away from the scene and looked at him, the astonishment still clearly imprinted on her face, “Welcome to Seoul.”

“Go Haneul. Sixteen years old. To be enrolled as a first year senior student at Dream High school…”

The lady with red, triangular glasses glanced away from the information held in her hands and instead peered up at Haneul, her sharp eyes scanning the girl up and down. After a quick judging, the lady made no effort to hide the displeased frown that appeared on her already crossed looking face.

Turning to Jongin, the lady pushed up her glasses and folded the paper in her hands into half before placing it down on the couch. The frown was still on her face.

“Mr. Jongin,” the lady casted Haneul another dissatisfied look, “This is the girl you were telling us about?”

Jongin raised one eyebrow. “Yes she is. Why, what’s wrong Maria?”

Pursing her lips together, the lady – or as Jongin called her, Maria – stood up from the couch and walked over to Haneul. Tilting her head, Maria surveyed the scared, demure looking girl in front of her once again.

This girl – Go Haneul or whatever her name was – did not look an ounce like the shining stars her parents were. Well, it wasn’t like she was ugly to look at (In fact she was quite pretty), but having worked in this field of expertise for quite an amount of time as a manager, this Haneul girl