Chapter 32

“Just thinking about you satisfies me; Multiple times a day, I find myself laughing by myself, so funny; Hold onto me – My Day”

“I never did ask you how you got the idea for Every Day6.”

They were slowly talking again. More so in private, up on the JYPE roof most of the time, but mainly they talk freely when the others were around as well.

After her talk with Dowoon and Wonpil, she could now guess why Young K behaved the way he did.

And in a way it warmed her heart knowing he acted that way for her own good.

“I just thought it would be cool to watch you guys in an MV on a monthly basis. Especially when I thought I had to leave soon. 6 months to a year is just too long for me.”

“You mean, you suggested it based on you personal fangirl whim.”

“Uhuh,” Momo grinned.

“That’s so sly,” Young K laughed.

“Gomen.”

“No need to be,” Young K shook his head, smiling openly. “It was brilliant.”

“You guys deserve it,” Momo said. “The support and attention. Day6 is brilliant.”

“You know us so well.”

“I was sasaeng through out the months you left. No wonder you didn’t want to tell me your full name.”

Young K gave a soft laugh at her lame joke.

“I’m really sorry I left the way I did. Something happened, and I had to leave right away.”

Momo shook her head, indicating she somewhat understood his actions and have since accepted it.

“I was really upset before, but I guess I understand now why you did what you did.”

“I don’t think you do,” Young K looked at her seriously. “I got an email that morning. On the day I left you.”

“An email?”

“Pictures of you and me at the centre and in town.”

“Chincha?” Momo’s eyes went wide. “From the Love Motel guy?”

“Uhuh. I would guess so.”

“So that’s why you left so abruptly.”

“Uhuh.”

“And that’s why you insisted I stay with you now.”

“Amongst other reasons,” he shrugged.

Young K grew pensive and stared out in front of him.

“I wanted to get as far away from you as possible, back then. I didn’t want him to use you, to get to me. Didn’t want you, or your family, to get hurt in any way.”

He smiled sadly then.

“But I was selfish. I left you a hook, with my chain. I know you’ll guess that I would want it back; and I hoped that by leaving my name, you would find out who I was.”

Young K paused to look at her.

“And you really did,” he smiled in wonder. “And when I saw you at the bookstore, I guess all my reasoning flew out the window. I just had to bring you back home with me.”

Momo could only stare at him, now finally fully understading his  actions.

“Mian,” she could only say. “For not trusting you, for not talking to you earlier, for always thinking the worst of you.”

“I guess that was expected,” Young K said. “But we’re ok now, right?”

Momo nodded with a smile.

Young K sighed with relief. Glad he did not need to tiptoe around Momo any more.

“I am still worried, though,” he said.

“Has the person contacted you again since then?” Momo asked, knowing he meant the Love Motel guy.

“No, weirdly enough. The person has been quiet.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know. I’m hoping that whatever prompted the person… well, that he, or she, has given up or something.”

“I hope so too, then,” Momo said hoping for the best.

“Hey, Mo, chill. Don’t worry too much, ok?”

“Ok.”

They stayed in a comfortable silence.

“I’m glad we’re talking again,” Young K nudged her.

“I’m a weakling,” she smiled, even though she stood her ground for almost 6 months.

He laughed.

“I guess that makes the two of us,” he looked at her with all the love in his eyes. “Thank you for being here with us. You don’t know how happy we are to have you.”

“I love being here,” she smiled wistfully, “but I still need to go home one day.”

“I know,” Young K felt sad automatically, “but not just yet, ok. Stay here longer with me.”

***

“Mochi, grab some spoons on your way over, will ya.”

“Neh…”

“What did you call her?”

And both Young K and Momo froze in their tracks.

“Uhh… Mo-chan.”

“No, you didn’t. You called her Mochi,” Jae pointed out.

“As in the rice cakes?” Dowoon grinned. “I like Mochi. I’ll call her Mochi too.”

“No you won’t. You call her Mo-chan, that’s what I called her just now.”

Weird Brian is up again, Jae thought.

“Are you in love, man?”

“Whaat..? Whatever gave you that idea,” Young K grief-strickenly asked.

Momo went pale as well.

“I got your lyrics this morning.”

“So?”

“I mean for the past months, you’ve been giving us sad depressing lyrics. Even to our catchy melodies,” Jae explained. “Now, you’re doing a complete turn around.”

Jae paused, before started to sing a line from I’m Serious.

“‘I can’t stop loving you’. I mean, what gives?”

“Hey, you guys were the ones who told me to stop with the sad lyrics,” Young K replied English to English. “I’m just giving you what you asked for.”

Jae cannot argue with that statement, nor does he want to press on the matter further.

He did not think he was prepared to listen to Young K’s real answers.

***

It was as ages since they went busking.

So with their growing repertoire, they planned an hour session at the crowd-popular COEX Mall.

The boys were apprehensive because the last time they performed at COEX Mall a year ago, the floor space were virtually empty.

Their apprehension was quickly swept away this time.

Because as they were ushered into the Central Court, they were overwhelmed by the screaming fest that greeted them.

Every space imaginable at the court, from the ground floor where their stage was, right up to the topmost floor, were packed to the brim.

It took all their self control not to break down with their flooded feelings. Obviously their hard work the past months were paying through.

And could be attributed to this overwhelming response.

So, the boys could only grin and waved in appreciation to their awaiting audience, as they quickly set their instruments up.

They could feel it was going to be a blast today.

As Young K helped the others with their acoustics, he suddenly noticed that apart from the cameras clicking on him and his brothers, the crowd was also snapping away at Momo.

Though she was not a celebrity and they could tell she was just a crew member, her pretty face and petite frame somehow caught the audience interest as well.

Frowning, Young K went to his knapsack and rummaged for his black skeleton face mask.

And going up to Momo, he put it on her without preamble.

***

Manager Choi and Young K were summoned to the president’s office that morning.

“You have to stop these PDA, Younghyun,” JYP instructed. “Elst I have to send her away.”

JYP threw a tabloid towards them on the table.

The busking outing was covered in a glowing report.

But the face-mask incident was captured as well.

Of how sweet a certain Day6 member was to his support crew.

In full high resolution.

“I’m sorry, I was just concerned that people were looking at her, and taking her pictures.”

“You could have just given her the mask, and told her to put it on herself.”

“Mian, I wasn’t thinking,” Young K apologised, his head bowed down.

“The boy is in love, Hyung,” Manager Choi tried to placate the upset moghul, “so, he won’t be rational about these things.”

“Well, he’d better be, if he knows what’s good for him,” the President warned.

In love? Me? Young K asked himself later, as he walked out of JYP's office.

With Mochi?