Chapter 16 – I’m Your Biggest Fan

Hyomin heard the story from Jiyeon about Eunjung’s outburst at Danee during their visit.

Eunjung’s mother opened the door for Hyomin and went back into her room for the two girls to talk. Hyomin walked into the kitchen and saw Eunjung staring at the blueberry cheesecake Danee brought for her.

Hyomin took a seat beside Eunjung, also setting her eyes at the cake. The two was silent for a long time.

“Did you tell her I liked blueberry cheesecake?” Eunjung finally talked.

“No. What made you think like that?” Hyomin answered. Both of them are looking straight ahead, taking their eyes off the cake.

“You are the closest to her,” Eunjung said. Hyomin smirked.

“You know what made me close to her?” Hyomin asked. Eunjung asked why.

“Because she was your biggest fan,” Hyomin turned and look at Eunjung. Eunjung took a moment to digest and looked at Hyomin too.

“You don’t even know how much she likes you, Unnie. Do you know she once waited for you all day in front of the practice room, just to say hi to you and feel satisfaction for it? She even made you this..” Hyomin handed Eunjung the ring Danee asked her to give.

“She asked me to give this to you because she is too scared to give it to you, why? Because she felt you are too close to her to be true. She felt being this close to you is a dream, do you know that?” Hyomin said to Eunjung.

“It was dream come true..” Hyomin said again.

Eunjung looked at the ring with the initial ‘E’ on it. Eunjung shed a tear and pull the plate in front of her. She took the knive and carefully slice the cake and put it on her plate.

“She once told me when she got the offer to become a member of T-ARA, the first thing that was on her mind was you. Becoming a part of us was a dream come true for her,” Hyomin said, watching Eunjung eating one at a time of the blueberry cheesecake.

“I asked her why did she like you so much, and she answered that you are the embodiment of  strength and she wishes to be like you. I laughed because her answer was so poetic and I asked her again why did she like you so much, asking her to answer with the millennium type of answer, she said to me ‘because I am her biggest fan’,” Hyomin said again.

Eunjung continues to eat the cake.

“How do you think she knows this was your favourite cake?” Hyomin took a bite of the cake on Eunjung’s plate.

Areum went to school for the first time after the controversy hit the Korea. Areum is in her final year in high school, she still have a few months before the big exam and graduation.

Right when Areum took a seat, the whole class stormed to her for information.

“Did they really bully her?”

“Did Jiyeon really slapped Hwayoung?”

“Who started the bullying first?”

When Areum didn’t answer any of it.

“I bet they bullied her too!”

“Areum ah, you okay? Did they slap you too?”

“Did they bully you? Oh my God, stupid es!”

“STOP IT!” Areum snapped and the whole class went quiet.

“NO! THEY DIDN’T BULLY HWAYOUNG UNNIE! THEY DIDN’T BULLY ME TOO! AND YOU! ARE YOU FRIENDS WITH THEM! WHY ARE YOU USING BANMAL AND CALLING THEM BY NAMES! YOU! WHO ARE YOU TO CALL THEM ES!” Areum yelled at the whole class.

“Ah, you stupid too!” one of the girls slapped her.

“Who are you? Why are you protecting them?!” The girl slapped her again.

Areum slapped the girl back but the whole class was against her. She was pushed at the corner of the class and continuously slapped by her classmates.

“They are pieces of trash, why are you taking their side?!”

“They are bullies, they bullied our Hwayoung!”

“You stupid girl!” The girls in her class screamed and yelled at Areum.

The discipling teacher came in and shoo-ed everyone away.

The whole class got a scolding from the principle and the girls who slapped Areum was punished to run 80 laps on the school field and some of them was ordered to clean the girls toilet.

Areum was called into the principle’s office.

“I think it is advisable for you to not come to school for now..” the principle said.

“But..but I need to, how about my studies?” Areum defended herself.

“Your idol group is a very popular one and the controversy surrounding it will only harm yourself so don’t come to school for now..” the principle said and Areum was granted permission to go home early.

Areum went back home to change and headed to CCM Headquarters to explain the situation to CEO Kim Kwang Soo as the school already contacted him about her fight with her classmates.

Areum entered CEO Kim Kwang Soo’s room with a bruised cheek and a chipped lip.

“You shouldn’t go to school for now,” Kim Kwang Soo.

Eventhough Areum wanted to decline his wish but she was scare and felt Kim Kwang Soo’s authority over her so she decided to agree.

When she went out of the room, she saw Soyeon waiting.

“Unnie...” Areum’s heartbeat was beating faster as she could feel Soyeon’s inferiority.

The two members headed to the practice room.

“Did you put ointment already?” Soyeone asked Areum while opening the emergency kit.

“Not yet...” Areum answered.

Soyeon put a little bit ointment on Areum’s chipped lip and Areum hissed a little bit.

“You’re an idol, you shouldn’t fight,” Soyeon said. Areum was expectiong Soyeon to scold her a little bit harder as she heard from Hwayoung that Soyeon is a little bit feisty.

“They were talking about...” Areum tried to explain.

“I know, but you have to take care about your image too...” Soyeon proceeded to tend Areum’s bruised cheek.

“Everybody is already messed up and I don’t want you to get messed up too...” Soyeon looked at Areum.

“I don’t want you to go to school,” Soyeon got up.

“I’m a senior in high school now, I have missed school for so many days already, Unnie,” Areum gathered the courage to talk back to Soyeon.

“You want to go to school? Do you see your face right now?” Soyeon turned Areum’s face to the mirror in the practice room.

“Do you still want to get beaten up like this?” Soyeon lightly slapped Areum’s bruised cheek and Areum sighed in pain.

“You can study on the road, we are having showcase everywhere after this and we need to practice,” Soyeon got up again and walked.

“I want to study too..” Areum said.

“Areum, you chose this life. You don’t get to study that much, if you wanted to study so much, you shouldn’t have join,” Soyeon said to Areum and left the room with the emergency kit.

Areum sighed in disappointment, dissapointed that no one supported her.