Twenty-seven
Pretending
“WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU GUYS DOING HERE?” Amber burst out in Korean. “Are you freaking stalking me?!” She stood up and walked to the guys who were still surprised and paralyzed at the fact that she was there too. “Who told you I was here?!”
“AMBER!” Key finally exclaimed with wide eyes. He ran up to hug his friend, completely forgetting to take his shoes off. “I haven`t seen you in so long!” He pulled off and grasped her shoulders. “How have you been?! Where have you been?!” He paused for a while, looked at her, and gasped. “..Why are you here..?”
“I asked you that first!”
“What are you doing here..?” Jonghyun almost whispered with his eyes still wide open.
“She`s a neighborhood friend,” Mrs. Park explained as she closed the front door. “Miyun didn`t mention you boys visiting toda-”
“UMMA!” Key, not processing anything she just said, suddenly burst out and ran to hug Mrs. Park.
“OH! Kibum ah, you haven`t changed!” she said, surprised with the hug. “Except for your hair!” She laughed while ruffling his hair like he was her own son.
Jonghyun, who was behind Key, slightly bowed and waved. “Annyeong haseyo, umma.”
“Aigo, Jonghyun ah,” she said. She sighed with a smile as she walked to him. She gestured to give him a hug, which he immediately accepted. “Omo, you grew up so handsome!”
Key intentionally coughed. “He didn`t grow.”
Jonghyun shot him a quick glare. “We`re really sorry for intruding, umma. We got forced by your daughter.” He laughed.
“It`s fine, dear.” Mrs. Park smiled. “I`m really surprised, but it really is fine!” Mrs. Park reassured and moved on to Taemin, who has been speculating the whole scene. “Taemin, right? I remember you visiting once or twice.”
Taemin smiled and nodded. “Annyeong haseyo,” he greeted and bowed.
“Such a beautiful boy!” Mrs. Park laughed. She grinned, looking at the guys. “It`s so nice seeing you boys again. It`s been years since you last disturbed our house!” She laughed again. “I can`t believe how far you`ve all gone!”
“You know us!” Key said. “Always welcoming ourselves in the Park residence, no matter what country you`re in~”
“Sorry.” Jonghyun rubbed the back of his head. “He`s still rude as always.”
“Oh don`t worry about it!” Mrs. Park reassured. “You know you`re all always welcome.”
The three boys bowed to show their gratitude.
“Now, feel at home as always, ok?” she said, gesturing to the rest of the house. “If you need anything, you know who to ask.” She snatched her handbag from the kitchen counter and headed for the door leading to the garage. “Just don`t break any doors again. Arasso?” she quickly lectured. “Anyway, I`m off to work.” She then entered the garage, leaving everyone else in the living room.
Once the door shut, the room stayed quiet.
Amber took a couple of breaths, looking at all the people in the room. “Confused.. I-I`m confused.. w-w-what just happened?”
“What do you mean what just happened?” Key raised a brow, and proceeded to sit on the main couch. “You`re the one invading our house.”
Lauren abruptly stood up and looked at the SHINee boys. “A-A-Annyeong haseyo!” She shakily bowed.
The three politely bowed back. “Annyeong haseyo!”
“Don`t mind her. She`s weird,” Amber said, causing Lauren to gasp.
“Uhm..” Jonghyun took a step forward. “Amber, how exactly do you know the Parks?”
“Like Mrs. Park said, we`re neighbors.” Amber leaned forward. “How about I ask you that?” he interrogated the boys.
“Miyun noona`s my sunbae,” Taemin explained with a shrug.
“..S-Sunbae?” Lauren stuttered to herself.
“Miyun`s my girlfriend,” Key blurted out with a smirk on his face.
“WHAT?” Lauren and Amber exclaimed.
Taemin laughed loudly while Jonghyun mindlessly took off his shoe and threw it at Key.
Key just laughed after getting hit by the shoe. “I`m just kidding, I`m just kidding,” he said towards the two girls.
“How long have you known them?” Jonghyun continued to ask Amber, ignoring what just happened.
“Two, three years ago? I don`t know!” Amber answered in panic. “Back when they first moved here. Whenever that was! Ugh. I need an explanation from you guys, please!” She looked at each of the boys.
“T-That, I agree with.” Lauren pointed to Amber. “A-An explanation would definitely be good.”
“’Park Miyun,’ Amber,” Key said. “Doesn`t that ring a bell?”
Lauren gasped, falling down on the single couch.
“B-But s-she`s not the same o-one!” Amber panicked.
“Miyun hates SHINee!” Lauren blurted out, taken over by her own panic.
Key gasped.
“..I`m confused.” Taemin tilted his head.
“So are you telling me.. you knew them before moving to Korea.. or..?” Jonghyun asked, still ignoring the others.
Amber nodded reluctantly. “Remember that girl I told you about who had the same name? I d-didn`t know it was her! She told me she never trained!”
“What are you talking about? She`s our ace dancer.” Key stood up and stomped his foot down. “Of course she trained!”
“Miyun doesn`t dance!” Lauren blurted out, yet again.
Key and Jonghyun both gasped.
“H-Hyung! Are we in the right house?!” Taemin violently shook Jonghyun by the shoulder.
“Yah! Didn`t you see umma?” Key assured.
Amber scoffed. “And how come you call her ‘umma’ like that?!”
“If anything, Miyun`s a sister to me!” Key explained. “And Jonghyun-”
“Where`s noona?” Taemin suddenly asked. He looked around, and he couldn`t seem to spot her from the living room. “I could`ve sworn I saw her when we came in..”
Everyone suddenly stood silent.
Amber and Lauren shrugged after looking around themselves.
“That girl..” Amber said to herself.
“Do you happen to know where her bedroom is?” Key asked all of a sudden.
Lauren felt herself snap back to reality. “What?” She stood up. “Her bedroom?” She scoffed at him.
“It`s ok.” Key took a few steps forward. “I`ll look for it.”
“NO!” Both Taemin and Jonghyun ran and took a grasp at his shoulders to stop him.
“Hyung! Stop!” Taemin said in panic. “At least spare this door!”
“It`s not my fault she has faulty doors!” Key stopped and turned around. “I mean, how does a door even fall down like that?!”
“You broke Miyun`s door??” Amber jumped in.
“It fell down by itself!”
“I heard you thought it was locked,” Taemin said with a chuckle. “And her appa almost killed you when he saw it fall down.”
“Noooo,” Key denied. “I opened it and it fell!”
While Lauren was still a bit dazed, and the others occupied with the door incident, Jonghyun found his way behind the living room sofa. He sat down on the floor, his back leaning on the frame. “Should I even ask?”
“I told you to call before getting here!” Miyun half-whispered and half-screamed.
“My phone died before I could!” he replied in the same manner.
Miyun scrunched up her face and violently pushed Jonghyun to the side.
“AHA!” Key jumped out behind the sofa after seeing him sway to the side. “You!” He pointed at Miyun.
Miyun sulked and took a deep breath.
Key took her by the arm and forced her to stand up.
“I was looking for something!” she defended.
Jonghyun stood up from his position from the floor. “’Looking for something’ my face!” He laughed accusingly.
Miyun turned around and kicked his leg. “DO YOU WANT TO DIE?!” she suddenly burst out in anger.
“Whoa.” Key crossed his arms. “Looks like someone hasn`t had her share of sleep.”
“KIBUM, DO YOU WANT TO DIE TOO?” She turned to give him an evil glare.
“Yah! I was just kidding `Yun!” Key quickly withdrew, seeing that she was actually upset. He took a step forward and placed his hands on her shoulders.
Lauren and Amber couldn`t help but just glance at each other in surprise and confusion from the current happenings.
Jonghyun walked up next to Key, concealing Miyun from the other people in the room. “Are you ok?” he said, enough for only the three of them to hear.
Miyun shrugged Key`s hands off of her shoulders. She sighed. Her eyes looked like they were slightly moist.
“You know you can always tell us what`s going on.” Key reassured.
Miyun sighed one more time before walking to the center of the living room. She looked at everyone in the room. “I think it`s about time I fix this mess.”
----------
“Miyun-ah..” Hyunae whispered to her dozed off seatmate.
Mr. Bak, the math teacher, cleared his throat.
Miyun shot her head up, causing laughter from her classmates. She silently chuckled while rubbing her eyes. She slightly bowed her head. “I`m sorry.”
“Yah!” Hyunae stood in front of Miyun`s desk. “Are you ok? You seem really tired lately.”
Miyun yawned while straightening her back. “I think it`s been training,” she explained. She gestured for her to lean closer. She slightly stood up and whispered, “They`re looking for a new batch of people to debut.”
Hyunae`s face lit up. “Omo! Hwaiting, Miyun-ah!”
Miyun pumped her fist up before shoving her head back down her desk.
“Unnie, I`m so scared!”
“Aish, Luna..” Miyun consoled the young girl holding onto her arm. She took a deep breath and gave in to the same mood. “I`m am too!” She gave her an almost-sobbing hug.
“What if we don`t get chosen this time around?!” Luna dropped down on the practice room floor.
Miyun sat down on the floor and buried her face on her hands. “I know. This is so difficult..”
Kibum, who just came in the room a few seconds before, stood in between the defeated trainees. “How about you two just keep practicing? Because you know, they might give you a chance.”
Miyun stood up and raised a brow at him. “Someone seems so confident.”
“My dear,” he said while putting his hands over her shoulders. “We all know an amazing person like me cannot be taken for granted.”
Suddenly, Miyun burst into an abrupt flood of tears.
“Yah, unnie!” Luna stood up and pushed Kibum away.
“`Yun, are you okay?!” Kibum took a step back closer. “I was just kidding!”
Miyun continued sobbing, managing to show a smile on her face. “Oh my gosh, I`m so sorry!” She cried and laughed at the same time. “I d-didn`t think this would happen. I-It`s just that, I`m legitimately scared.” She took stuttered breaths. “This means everything to me.”
Luna gave her a partial hug. “It`s ok unnie. Everything works for the best.”
“Aww!” Kibum embraced the two girls. “Everything`s gonna be fine, you two. Everything`s gonna be fine.”
Miyun sniffled over his shoulder. “Stop Kibum,” she said. “You`re still competition.”
The two girls simultaneously pushed him away.
“We`re gonna beat you, oppa!” Luna stuck her tongue out at him.
“Girl power!” Miyun gave her a high five.
Kibum rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “Puh-lease, peasants! This game is on.”
Every time the “news” was released for the trainees, life became harder for them. Stress heightened, and friends became temporary enemies. Debut. That was the one thing they all have been working hard for. It literally took years until a new group or individual was tailored for stardom.
“Kibum told me about earlier,” Jonghyun said. He sniffled, pretending to cry.
Miyun slapped his shoulder. “Shut up.” She pouted. “You know this means a lot to me.”
Jonghyun covered the piano before standing up and picking up his backpack. “It does to me too.”
Miyun sighed as she stood up. “It would really if one of us didn`t get to go on, you know?”
“Don`t say that.”
“Debut has always been the ultimate goal for me.” Miyun took a step closer to Jonghyun, gently taking hold of both his hands. “But now that I`ve met you—”
Jonghyun cut her off with a kiss on her forehead. “You`re so cute.” He chuckled as he looked straight into her eyes. “It would be amazing for both of us to debut and continue on this journey together,” he said. “But if only one of us goes on, that doesn`t mean anything has to change. The spotlight won`t tear us apart.” He playfully pinched her nose.
“Pabo.” Miyun smiled. “You`re so amazing, you know?”
Jonghyun took Miyun`s shoulder bag from the ground and headed for the door. “I know.”
“Aish..”
So I swore to myself that I would update both past and present for every single chapter. But since I have present updates waiting and I`m suffering from severe writer`s block for the past, I just went ahead and put this up. :/
So yeah, that being said, I really need suggestions for the past. Just filler stuff. The breakup and all the good stuff will come, but I need stuff for before they happen. ~__~ Help me prz. ;____;
And I didn`t proofread this chapter.. so I apologize for any ugly mistakes. ;3;
One more week until school. Sigh. .__.
Comment/subscribe juseyo! :3
Gawsh. This chapter seems so dead without that chunk of gray text. D:
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