Chapter 3

"Now, I'm still on the road ... Mm, at the office ... for ten hours now ... Yes, eighteen minutes past ten. Whatever." 

So eun walked slowly. Her hand is holding her phone while she attached it to her ear, and her other hand heaving a little red hand bag . She sighed and furrowed her forehead. Currently the last person she talked to was wanted Ha neul Kang, but the man even called her and act like a protective lover. 

"Jae Rim, I have to go. I'm really tired," she interrupted Ha neul and immediately hang up. Once again she sighed, as she stares to her phone in disgust. 

Why it's no fun today? This morning she already got in trouble with one of her client in their company, then chewed her superiors and finally had overtime so she finished late. So eun is upset considering what she has been experienced throughout the day. But she was too tired to get mad. The whole bone in her body ached and her brain could not think anymore. Again and again she sighed. This is not the first time she had to work until late at night, but today she has decided to stop working for the fashion designing. Her work really takes time and effort so she doesn't have power that is left to concentrate on her studies in the morning. She stopped and sighed.

"I'm going crazy," she muttered to herself. 

So eun looks around. Seoul city is still not showing any signs of drowsiness. The buildings along the street illuminates the entire city, persuaded the people to enjoy the beautiful atmosphere of a summer night in the capital of South Korea is stunning. Although it's been many years since she settled in Seoul, So eun is still in awe from the atmosphere of this city. It is already past ten o'clock, but the streets were filled with pedestrians and cars passing by. The aroma of foods wafted in front of a Japanese restaurant, disco sounding murmur faints from the music store next to it, the sound of people talking, yelling, and laughing. So eun suddenly felt dizzy.

Then, her gaze stopped at the store across the street. After a moment's of reflection, she nodded and muttered, "All right." as if she is ready to give in.

So eun crossed the road at a brisk pace, as quickly as possible. A pair of legs that have not been resting for the last eight hours, and going to the store now. Having greeted by the shopkeeper who she had long been known, So eun walked directly to the shelf of chips. 

"Well, So eun, do you need something for the office?" the shopkeeper asked after seeing So eun holding five large packs of potato chips when she got to checkout in the counter. So eun smiled shyly.

"Ah, no. I'm just a little stressed. " she opened her bag and look for her wallet. Where's my wallet? 

"Now, Aunt. I'm sure I already got my wallet today in the office before I left... " So eun rifled through her ​​purse, then pour the entire contents into the counter. Now, in addition to five bags of potato chips, there is a small comb, a small book that is somewhat shabby, pen lid that has been lost, powder compact, lip gloss, keys, three coins, red handkerchief, a phone, two pieces of a shopping receipt was dull, empty candy wrappers, and hair tongs. 

"Why it's not here?" So eun muttered to herself as she continued to look for the wallet. At home? This day means she does not realize she doesn't have her  wallet? Suddenly she heard her phone ringing. So eun glanced at her phone lying on the counter.

Oh, it's not her phone that rang. "You're home? ... Yes, as soon as I get there. " So eun turned to the low-pitched sound. The voice belonged to a man standing behind her. Apparently the sound of the ringtone is the same as her.

Now So eun saw him close the phone and put it into the pocket of his trousers. His hand is holding a small basket containing five bottles of soju. The young man, probably is in his late twenties or early thirties, he has a handsome face and a neat appearance like someone who has an important position in a large company. The man looked at So eun and smiled friendly. O-oh. At first So eun see the smile that is so appealing. Smile that makes your sore body will evaporate quickly. The smile is very charming, ... So eun shook her head to clear her mind and re-focus her attention to the stuff that is scattered on the counter. 

Suddenly So eun felt a hand pat. She looked up and see the shopkeeper was smiling at her and said, "So eun, what if the young man pay his shopping first? "So eun looked at the shopkeeper, then turned towards the man standing behind her.

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry. " So eun off to the side and the man stepped forward. 

"How much?" Asked the man, putting his hand on the table basket. 

Suddenly, she heard a phone rang again. Headache, So eun started tingling. She was very tired and now the sound of the man's phone barely makes it out of control. The man pulled his phone out of his pocket and glanced at it. Then, he put the phone on the counter and reached into his other pocket. He issued different phones, it turns out that the second mobile phone that is being read aloud. 

Gosh, quickly answer it! Why does he even have wo phones?! So eun thought as she massaged her temples. 

The man pay for his groceries while still talking on the phone, then walked to the door. Suddenly he turned around and took another phone that had been placed on the counter. 

"Sorry," he muttered with a smile to the owner of the shopkeeper and So eun. Again the smile, a smile that could warm the frozen heart though. Wait, what words was that? So eun closed her eyes tightly and when she opened her eyes again, she was already running outside and into the white saloon car parked in front of the store. Because So eun still could not find her wallet, the shopkeeper allow her to pay everything tomorrow.

So eun reassemble her stuf that f were scattered on the counter as she repeatedly bowed deeply as a token of thanks at once of an apology. Once she was out of the store, So eun directly open a packet of crisps chips and began to eat. "Now I'll get to go home," she said to herself. After saying so, her phone starts to rang. At that time she also condemned the mobile created. Actually she doesn't want to answer her phone because she felt like she should save her energy as she go home, but the phone keeps on ringing.

So eun finally gave up and rummaged through her ​​bag with malignant to find that damn phone before she herself would go  hysterical in the middle of the road. "Helloo!" So eun wanted to be angry, but her voice sounded desperate even. 

Nobody is talking at the other line. "Hello? Who is this? I can't hear you. Can you please talk? Hellooo? " So eun was about to break up when she heard the voice of a man who was hesitant to ask. "I'm sorry ... can I speak to Junho?" Who is this guy again?

So eun asked herself. "I'm sorry but you got the wrong number. This phone is from So eun Kim." So eun said curtly and directly closes her phone with a bang. So eun looked at her cell phone, biting her lip full of resentment. "Can I just calm down for a bit? " She was about to pull out the phone battery when she felt compelled to call her mother to tell her she would come home soon. Although So eun lives in Seoul and her parents in Jakarta, they often call and check each other's existence. 

She opened her phone number again and press one that will directly connected to her parent's house in Jakarta, but she was surprised when she saw the writing that  shown on the screen of the phone phone after she punched the numbers. Instead of the writing "Home Jakarta"  listed as usual, the name  is "Nam Goong Min". So eun quickly  disconnect and was stunned. 

So eun noticed the phone in his hand. It was his cell phone,  at least exactly the same shape and color with his cell phone. he opened the  list on his mobile phone and gawking at the names are not familiar.  Her brain is already tired of being forced to think.  The aunt was in the store, all the goods scattered on the counter, including  cell phone. When a mobile phone belonging to the man standing behind him was read to  The first time, he thought his own cell phone that reads as ringing their phone same. 

Then the phone rang two men. The man put down the cell phone  first at the table and pulled out a second phone. So, no cell phones at the checkout counter man  So eun and mobile phones.  So eun remembered the shape of the man who placed the phone on the table is the same  to form his own cell phone. Before exiting the store, he turned to  take the first mobile phone left on the table. Now So eun holds the phone with a list of unfamiliar names. 

Her brain began to digest what is going on. It means ... it means ... her phone got switched. The man took her phone.  So eun banging her chest and a groan of despair. "How is this happening in just one day? Ouch,  I could be crazy. Crazy. " She looked to the right and to the left. The man's car is cannot be seen.  So eun felt her body almost collapsed to the ground. She's like crying alone. Where could she possibly find this man?  

Suddenly an idea appeared in her brain that was nearly paralyzed. Her cell phone is on the man, isn't? So eun could mean calling her cell phone and he would reply. Pang power reappears. She contacted her phone by using the man's phone.  So eun pacing nervously on the edge of the road while waiting. "Quick pick it up... faster ... please ... -Hello?" 

* * * 

"Oh, Hyung. Why you took so long? "

Nam Goong Min smiled apologetically to the tall man who opened the door and stepped into the house.  "Sorry, a bit jammed streets," he said as he walked into the spacious living room. "Hey,  Junho. You want a light snack? I've bought a drink. "

Goong Min follow him into the living room. The man ignored his question and asked, "Hyung, have you heard the rumors?" Goong Min watches him flopped onto the couch.  Junho looks dreamy and anxious. As a manager of Junho Lee, Goong Min understands the reason for his concern. 

"What kind of rumor?" Said Junho, as if to ask himself.  Park Hyun Shik only a small smile and held out a bottle of soju to him.  Junho unscrewed the bottle and took a  sipped. "That I'm gay." Junho laughed bitterly. "Why would think that? That I don't like women? Or I never get too close to men. Tell me, Hyung. Don't tell me that you're agreeing on what they're talking about."

Goong Min sits in a chair in front of Junho, taking a sip of his soju straight away from the bottle. "You know I never thought of that," he said calmly. "The problem is, tabloids and magazines do like to look for news. You know them they often writes articles that is not true. You ask me why they can think you're gay? Maybe because you've never been close to a woman. Anywhere in the public."

Junho shrugs. "Then it's up to them to think what they want. If we do not respond, the gossip will certainly subside on its own. "

Goong Min shakes his head. "In two weeks your new album will be released. I'm afraid this rumor can affect your album sales later. One gossip can cause another gossip. Even old problems can also be raised. Your producer will not be happy. Plus, what about the your fans? What would they think? You can lose the market. "

Junho looks up at the ceiling and exhales heavily. "Then, how?"

Goong Min sips his drink again and says, "For gay gossip issues like that, I think it's time for you to introduce a woman to the public."

Junho's head spins fast towards Goong Min. "What?"

"Simple. Why don't you start going out? "Goong Min suggested straight away.

"What?" Junho said once more.

Goong Min doesn't look at Junho and proceeds in a serious tone , "The important thing is not dating an artist. Could be a scandal. It's too risky. We also can not immediately make an official announcement to the reporters that you are in a relationship with a woman because they might get suspicious and will guess it's just a play to escape from the gay gossip. "

Goong Min frowns and sinks into thoughts. Finally, he did turns and finds Junho waiting for his musings.

"All right," he said, smiling. "Let's suppose that you have a lover but your lover is not willing to be exposed, so you have to keep your relationship a secret. That way, no one knows who the woman is and her existence doesn't exist."

Junho frowns in confusion. "So, a girl whom not very popular, and doesn't exist. What's in it? People will not believe in mere words. "

"But we can provide evidence."

"What evidence?"

"A picture with a woman."

"Who?"

"The girl who will become your secret lover."

"Where is she?"

"I can arranged everything if you want to."

"Meaning?"

Goong Min's smile gets bigger. "We're looking for an unknown woman. Anyone can be and we could asked her to be your lover for a while. You just have to show it off in front of the reporters. Isn't a great idea? "

Junho muses, then says, "What if the reporters starts investigating where the girl is from?  Anyway, where are we going to look for a woman who are willing and able to be trusted to work with? Are we doing it randomly? "

Goong Min takes another sip of his soju and looks at Junho. That friend who seemed to consider his proposal has a very anxious expression. His eyebrows wrinkled, occasionally he would bit his lower lip.

After a while, Junho sighs and continues, "What kind of girl should we pick? Am I going to pick the woman? Or we just choose the first girl who would walked through that door? " He pointed to the front door of his house with his chin.

Goong Min's laughter exploded. Junho looks at him with a puzzled look. "What?"

Goong Min pushes Junho's shoulder slowly. "God, Junho. I'm joking. Why are you so serious? "

"What?"

Goong Min shakes his head. "I was just joking about the suggestion. Never mind, don't think about it. There must be another way out. "

Junho snorts, then gives a small laugh. "I'm going out for a walk for a moment. You wanna come, hyung? "Junho said as he rested his head on the back of the sofa and looked at the ceiling of the living room.

Goong Min shrugs. "Okay."

Junho swings the soju bottle that he is holding, then asks, "Oh, Hyung, my phone has been repaired yet?"

Goong Min pulls out his phone and hands it out to Junho. Suddenly, he remembered the phone is not his as he had received on the way to Junho's house just now. The woman who claimed the phone is from a girl named, So Eun, as she said that their phone got swapped. Since he himself can not go back to pick it up, Goong Min asks the girl to come to Junho's house. Maybe his request is a bit outrageous, but what can he do.

Junho is being grumpy now and when he is grumpy, he doesn't like waiting for too long. He will just tell Junho when the doorbell rings.

"Who comes at this time around?" Junho muttered in surprise.

* * * 

So eun really doesn't understand why today she's so unlucky. Maybe so until At home he had to quickly bathe flowers of seven colors as ever Taught his mother, anything to flush up to no trace of misfortune.

Now he stood in front of a big white house door. The man named, Goong Min, told her to come here to get her phone. So eun is annoyed. Why on earth she should come, telling herself that the man was the one who took the wrong phone in the first place. She even had to borrow money from the lady in the shop just so she could get on the bus, plus she have to walk to get on this elite residential area.

So eun sighed again. Never mind, it's okay. The most important thing now is getting my phone back, She told herself. After this she will be able to hurry up and return home. It was getting late.

The door opened and So eun recognized the face of the man who opened the door. He is the man that was in the store earlier. Though a little difficult, So eun forced a polite smile. Her cheeks felt a bit stiff, but she hoped her smile looked normal.

"How are you? I'm So Eun the one who you called earlier. I'm here to return your phone. Here. " So eun stretched out her hand holding the phone.

"Oh, thank you very much," the man said pleasantly. "I am really sorry for my trouble. Please come in. Your phone is inside. "

So eun actually knew she was not allowed to go into the house of a man she doesn't know. Especially at this late hour. But her brain can not work as well. It should be fine and she just wants to quickly solve the problem in order to get back to home and take some rest. Besides, the man looks very good.

So eunstepped inside and let herself be taken to the spacious living room with luxurious furnitures. On the couch that dominates the living room, a man is talking on the phone. His face is handsome, his haircut is nice and neat, although So eun personally doesn't like the color of his hair which is somewhat blond. She thought she had seen the man. But where? She asked herself.

"Maybe you're wrong," So eun heard him say on the phone. "There's no such thing as Sandy or So eun here."

So eun looked at Goong Min with a questioning look as she pointed to the direction of the phone that the handsome guy is holding on the couch. "Yes, it's your phone," Goong Min said with a small smile.

The man sitting on the sofa was still busy, unaware of So eun's existence. He frowned. He said in a slightly angry tone. "Sorry, Kang Ha neul-ssi, I really do not know you. I also do not know So Eun. How can I ask her to answer the phone? You got the wrong number. " As he finished, the man hang up the phone. "What a freak," he muttered to himself.

"Hey ..." So eun heard Goong Min call out to the man. "The phone is for this lady here... " The man on the sofa turned towards Goong Min, then towards So eun.

When their eyes met, So eun realized who the man was. Junho is a bit bewildered by Goong Min's explanation. His view moves from his manager to the girl standing in front of him, then back to his manager again. At first glance, he observes the stranger who is now on the living room: a small girl with pigtails and her hands are full of two plastic bags and her handbag. Her features looks dull, tired, and pale.

The girl is silent while Goong Min explains what happened. "Oh, so this is your phone?" Junho asks as he gets up from the sofa. He holds out the phone that he was holding. "That ... was-what's his name, sorry, I forgot-what the guy calls you. So are you So Eun Or Sandy? "

The girl smiled faintly and replied, "Both are my names."

Suddenly the phone rings and makes Junho startled. "Please, answer it, "he said quickly.

So Eun receives the phone and immediately answers it. "Hello?"

Then, Junho and Goong Min are stunned when they heard  the girl speaking in a foreign language. Junho believes the conversation is not in the language of English or Japanese because he mastered both languages. Either what language is being worn by the girl, she just speaks fluently. Junho turns to his manager's direction to ask and in response Goong Min shakes his head.

The conversation did not last long. After So eun hangs up the phone, she looks at Goong Min and Junho alternately with a miserable attitude. While smiling stiffly she said, "Um, thank you very much. I am going home first."

"Wait," Goong Min interjected. The girl looked at her without expression. "If you don't mind me asking, what language was that?"

"Indonesian," the girl answered straight away.

"Oh, I see." Goong Min smiles and nods at it seems the girl doesn't want to explain further. "You can speak Indonesia apparently. "

"I'll excuse myself now," said the girl again as she went to the door.

"Just a minute," Goong Min back holding the girl. He looks at Junho then, look back at the girl. "You didn't come by car, did you? I saw no cars outside. Let's just say we happen to be going out. How abot you join us? I feel bad because you have to come here just for the phone. "

The girl smiled rigidly and wiggled a hand. "No, you don't have to. I can take the bus. "

"We can take you to the bus stop," Junho said. He was not sure of the girl if she can go home alone because as he look at So eun, the girl seems can faint at any time. "Think of it as a sign of gratitude and a sign of sorry from us. "

The girl looked at them both in turn with her big eyes. So eun's face hesitated. Looks like her brain is turning, looking for ways to decline the offer. Junho can understand if she says no.

"Don't worry. We're not bad guys. Believe me. "Junho said as he smile broadly, though he knew it would not sound too convincing.

"Oh, no. I don't mean it that way, " So eun said, shaking her hand again.

"Come on, let us drop you to the bus stop," Junho interrupted while reaching for the car key of his manager on the table. He turned to Goong Min. "Hyung, we're going to use your car, huh? "

* * * 

Along the way, So eun was silent. When spoken to, she only answer when she has to. Junho glances at his manager who's driving and glances into the rearview mirror to steal a glance into the backseat. So eun is seating back and looked out the window blankly. Junho wants to know what made her look so tired.

Suddenly the girl opened her voice, "I'm down right here."

Junho turns to her to slightly see her. "Just here? Are you sure? We don't mind dropping you off at your home. "

"Right, we don't mind," Goong Min added.

The girl smiled a smile that seemed forced. "It's not necessesary. "

Goong Min stops his car by the side of the road, near the bus stop.

"Thank you," So eun said as she got out of the car. "Good night."

When the girl leaned down to greet them both, Goong Min rolls down the windshield and asks, "Miss So Eun, there's something I wanna ask you. Do you know this friend of mine? "

Junho realizes his manager is pointing at him.

So Eun blinks her eyes once, then nods. "This guy? Junho Lee, isn't he? Junho who is a singer? " Then it seemed as if she just realized something, she looked at Junho and said, "Your song ... your song ... is good."

A/N: The very first chapter is up everyone! I am so happy with all the subscribers. HELLO! ^^ I know there's not a lot of people who ship Junho and So eun together but that doesn't stop me from writing or revamping a story and putting them for the characters. I will try my best to update every week, hopefully. Let me hear what you guys think about the first chapter! ^^