Chapter 7 / Getting Inspired
Chorong's POV

WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENED LAST NIGHT?

Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh.
Did I just freaking tell Lee Changsub about Jinyoung? And my mom? Like a freaking storyteller? . I hate alcohol. It makes me more talkative.

I was almost dead- worried when I remembered he told me a lot of things tooㅡhis ex and a bit of his mom.

So I smirked. OK, it's a fair game then.

My head throbbed as I sat up on bed. How old am I again and why am I this careless? I'm twenty-six, and never growing older inside. Sometimes it still feels like I'm seventeen.

I grabbed my phone and texted Bomi.

Hey, I won't go to work today. Please take care of the shop. Thank you

She replied in a heartbeat.

SURE THING

And then she typed,

Was everything OK yesterday? Changsub oppa won't come out of his room...

I raised an eyebrow and typed a message: Time to get inspired. 2pm today at Moonlight's.

I sent this to Changsub and then I opened the conversation with Bomi again. I typed. Everything was OK, I think.

I got up from bed and made coffee when my phone buzzed, I almost jumped from the counter across the dining table to get it.

Lee Changsub:
dont u work?

I frowned and replied, dont YOU work?

➡ I don't right now, but I still have enough to survive.

➡ The point is, aren't you busy?

⬅ Stop trying to avoid music. I'll see you at 2pm. SHARP.

➡ Jeez.

⬅ HA.

The exchange stopped there and I finally focused on my morning coffee. After that, I took a long shower and then I received a call from Namjoo at eleven o'clock.

"Sup?" I asked.

"Ohmygosh! Let me breathe first!" She said excitedly. She's already out of breath.

A small smile formed my lips. "So I guess something good happened, huh?"

"Jeez! Have you been living under a rock? Haven't you been on SNS?"

Now, I'm curious. "Nope, I was busy. Why?" There was a tug at my heart. I was busy pretending to be someone's girlfriend.

She took a deep breath. "You know what, go on Naver right now and call me later."

Before I could even speak, she hung up. There was the loud beat of my heart because, really, I don't know what to expect on Naver. There are just so many possibilitiesㅡso I went there and at first, I had no idea where to look.

And then I saw it.

Among the HOT VIDEO category was Apinkㅡtheir music video for To Us and a variety show where they appeared (that I haven't seen yet). My brain is buzzing. I covered my mouth in astonishment.

And then I saw another.

On the trending topic, there's Apink at number three!

Holy .

I called Namjoo as fast as I could and as soon as she answered, we squealed together along with Eunji in the background.

The squealing went on for about a minute before we all stopped to catch our breaths. "Ohmygosh!" I said, then swallowed. "OK, that was insane! I'm so happy for you guys!!! What the hell happened?"

Suddenly, they're requesting a video call. I clicked accept.

And they're already wearing makeup at this time of the day.

"Chorong eonni!" They both said so adorably.

I grinned. "My kids!" I said and we laughed.

"So we were guests on this popular variety showㅡeonni, we thought it was once in a lifetime chance, you know. Only popular idols get to be there! Our agency just used its connections so we could be there, so we made the most of it. OK, it was quite embarrassing to be a dork but it was worth it." Namjoo said. She's unstoppable. They are.

"And they made us sing our song, so we did because DUH it's promotion! Suddenly, we're getting praised on the internet after the episode aired!" Eunji chimed in.

I'm so happy for them that I almost cried. Actually, my eyes were teary.

"It's so unexpected, eonni! This is our chance, our beginning!" Namjoo said with a dreamy sigh. "But you know what's the most amazing thing ever?"

"What could be more amazing than that?" I asked.

"Eonniㅡ" Eunji was cut off when they were called by someone else. "Ohmygosh! Chorong eonni, we'll call you later. We're in MBC radio right now! Tune in."

"Alright, alright."

And they hung up.

I still have a smile on my face when I received a text from Namjoo.

GO TO MELON CHART. NOW.

My heart drummed.
No way! Could it be...

I took a deep breath and then I the radio to tune into MBC. I grabbed my coffee and sat on my bed while my hand busied itself on my phone.

My heart was thumping so hard as I open the app. And then the chart.

I screamed.

I squealed.

I am breathless.

Oh. My. God.

'To Us' is at number three on the realtime chart! When did this happen? Ohmygosh.

I took my moment and set the phone aside. Here's the moment: I was sitting on my bed with a cup of warm coffee in my hand and for the first time in a long time, I'm happy again. I hope this isn't a dream.

And then for some reason, I remembered last night with Changsub and what he told me on my way back here.

"I listened a lot to the song you wrote while I was in the army. Straight to the core of my heart."

A smile crept on my lips and the next thing I know, I was grabbing my phone again and I was texting him.

⬅ GO TO MELON. TO THE CHART. NOW.

#

Changsub's POV

I AM THE STUPIDEST HUMAN BEING ALIVE.

The more the memories of last night rush through my brain, the more I want to stay in bed and sulk. I think I might have told Chorong more than I would have wanted to.

Bomi left for work and I felt that guilty punch inside me again for being such a bummer. I need to set my life straight. I can't sulk forever.

And so I got up with a throbbing headache and I realized there's something lighter in the way I feel. As I was just getting off bed, my phone beeped and sent me back there.

So I'm sulking again, but not quite.

I opened the text message from Park Chorong. "What is it this time?" I muttered.

➡ GO TO MELON. TO THE CHART. NOW.

"What! Why?" I asked as if she could hear me.

I went to the Melon app with a curious frown on my face and then to the chart. "Now what am I gonna do hereㅡ"

And then I realized why she made me come here.

The song she wrote is there at the shining (not literally) third spot! As if automatically, I took a screenshot of it and then I replied to her text.

⬅HOLY .

She replied in a heartbeat.

➡'S HOLY. With a grinning emoji.

I grinned unknowingly and typed, ⬅CONGRATULATIONS.

And then another:
⬅I guess it'll be your treat at Moonlight's today then. And for the first time in a long time, I used an emoji. The same grinning one.

➡DUH. Royalties haven't come in. But you get a milkshake. Do you like milkshake?

⬅Milkshake, it is.

➡2pm shaaaaarp

⬅you didn't have to remind me. again.

She didn't reply anymore, but for some reason, I kept on staring at my phone.

Except that I have to get up and be alive, so I did and I took a shower and then I dressed up and ate ramen at the convenience store.

When I got a text, I almost rushed to it and then a pang of disappointment came when I saw Sungjae's name.

SUNGJAE:

Who was the girl you were with last night! 👀

⬅ Why

➡ is that why you borrowed my car! heol 👀

⬅ yes. heol.

➡ HEOL. WHERE U AT RIGHT NOW

⬅ somewhere nice and fancy

➡ HEOL.

I grinned.

➡ HEOL.

Is that double sent?

➡ damn fancy. is that u hyung?
➡ i can see u by the window of the fancy convenience store

I looked up and Sungjae was crossing the road towards the store. I sighed.

When he came closer, he lifted two fingers and pointed them to his eyes then to mine. The I-See-You gesture.

He came inside and grinned at me. "Heol. Very nice and fancy." He said, not hiding the sarcasm.

"Shut up."

He chuckled. "Where were you yesterday with some gorgeous girl?"

"Wedding."

His eyes widened, his hand on his mouth. "Heol..."

"Stop saying that."

"Why did you get married so suddenly, hyung! Marriage is not a joke! You weren't over Son Naeun the day before yesterday!"

I couldn't help it. I hit his head with my hand slightly. "I didn't get married, ."

"Hey! I'm not dumb!"

"Says who?"

He ignored this. "Who's the girl? And what's this weddingㅡ" And then he gasped in realization of something. "Heol." He said again.

"I swear, Sungjae, if you say that one more timeㅡ"

"Did Son Naeun get married? Al...ready?" He asked the last word slowly.

It still hurt to hear that, but Chorong was right, at least I don't hope for something impossible anymore.

I nodded quietly.

Sungjae sighed and sat at the chair beside me. "That girl is just too much."

And then he started a conversation with himself while I ate quietly.

"I can't believe she invited you to the wedding!"

"I'm fuming!"

"I can't believe this!"

"I'm sorry, hyung, but she is really just too much!"

"If she wasn't a girl, I would have thrown her to the Han river!"

Then finally he said, "Okay, maybe I won'tㅡbut I'm really sorry, hyung."

I looked at him and asked, "Aren't you supposed to be busy for college?"

He frowned. "We have a short spring break." And then he turned to me with a renewed grin. He's moved on from Naeun. "You don't need Naeun, hyung. You have Park Chorong-ssi."

It felt weird to hear her name coming out from someone I've known for so long. "Shut up." I told him, my mouth full of ramen.

"Woah, but she's seriously really pretty, hyung! Where did you meet her? I think she's even prettier than Son Naeun." He said dreamily.

"If you find her so pretty then ask her out!" I said frowning.

Sungjae chuckled. "Does she even like younger boys?"

I didn't answer because I don't know. I can't imagine Sungjae and Chorong together, dating. I swallowed hard.

"But hyung, you didn't answer my first question! Who is she? And I don't mean what's her nameㅡwho is she?"

"A songwriter who wants to work with me."

His jaw dropped. "Heol."

I acted like I was going to stab him with my chopsticks so he retreated to the seat across mine immediately.

He was grinning from ear to ear as if he saw a bright future for himself. I wondered what he's thinking. Sungjae is quite unpredictable.

"So you're doing music again."

"I don't know yet."

"Come to think of it, hyung. Why don't you just open your music shop again? You don't have a job anyway."

"Aren't you gonna leave me alone?"

"Nope."

"Fine, then I'm gonna leave you alone." I got up and finished my ramen.

"Ahhhh, hyung! Don't leave me!"

#

Two o'clock. Sharp. At Moonlight's.

I wore a red hoodie (note: washed one) and faded blue jeans. I looked around the shop and I immediately found Chorong on our usual tableㅡexcept, her attire is totally different from last night. She's wearing a black baseball cap, a gray half-sleeved shirt and ripped blue jeans.

When she saw me, she smiled and I felt like stopping for a minute.

"You're on time! Good!" She said. There's something happy in her voice. Must be because of the chart.

I frowned. "You're having an iced tea?"

"Don't worry! You'll get your milkshake. Let's order."

We went to the cashier and she got the usual slice of cheesecake and a strawberry milkshake for me. When we settled to our table, there was an awkward silence between us.

She cleared .

I cleared my throat.

"So, get inspiredㅡ"

"Am I supposed to do that here while looking at you and having milkshake?" I didn't know why I said that but my mind is quite cloudy at the moment.

Her cheeks warmed up and since she's not wearing makeup, I knew the pinkish shade was because of what I said. I sipped on the strawberry milkshake and smiled just slightly to myself.

She frowned. "I'm not even done yet!"

"Oh, alright."

She frowned even more. "I don't understand. What do you mean you're not inspired? There's so much going on in the world that you could write about."

"The words don't come."

"Will you be honest with me again?" She asked. "What kind of song are you trying to write?"

"A meaningful song? Happy one, I guess. Like, lively."

"Changsub," she called, staring hard at me. It was kind of giving me strange feelings inside. Is this awkwardness again?

"What?"

"You can't write happy if you don't feel that way."

I sighed. "I know."

"So?"

"So, what?"

"Hello? Haven't you heard about breakup songs and sad songs?"

"What?"

She rolled her eyes. "If you're sad, you write sad. Maybe the reason that words don't come is you're trying to write a happy song even when your world is probably falling apart."

"Are you trying to say I should write a sad song?"

"Yup. You got it."

"Music is supposed to make you feel alive." I said stubbornly.

"Pain is part of being alive. Write about how you really feel. Maybe it'll be a little easier."

"I don't know."

"You do." She said as if she really believed it. "Also, let's get you signed up in an agency."

"Waitㅡ" I said. "We're going too fast."

"It's alright. Whenever you're ready."

And then she gave me this reassuring smile againㅡwhich, I think, is one of the prettiest of her smiles because it makes you feel warm and better inside.

I nodded.

Chorong finished her cheesecake before saying, "And you really need to get out to the world. Wake up before the sunrise and see the sunset, see the beach, see the way people live. That's the way writers get inspired. They live."

"I don't know. I feel like I have more important things to do."

"Like sulking?"

"Hey! I'm not sulking!"

She grinned and I tried to think it's not cute. Not that cute. "Alright, Mr. Defensive." OK, maybe she's really cute.

"Like opening up my music shop again."

Her eyes widened. "You have a music shop?"

I shrugged.

"Awesome!" She said excitedly.

And then I suddenly wish I could take that back because now, she would really want me to open the shopㅡwhich I haven't really given much thought about until Sungjae mentioned it again.

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A/N: Thanks for reading guys! I really hope you're enjoying this story.