Chapter 1
The Liar(s): Cognitive Dissonance [HIATUS]
She had never been here before nor she thought she would be. It was not her place at all. It was never her lifestyle to come to a night club. Not that it was illegal for her. She was 21 years old after all. She was an adult. There was nothing wrong for her to come here. She just wanted to escape from her routine. From the life she had been forced to live.
Im Yoona. That was her name. It was as beautiful as the holder was. Long black hair with some curly ends. Perfect skin. Captivating eyes. Doll-like figure. She was everything a guy could ask for. Those sounded so simple though. In fact, her life was complicated. Her life was manufactured. It was like a product produced by her father. Her father was a politician. Her father’s words were such non-negotiable laws. She had to comply to them no matter what. She had to even when she did not want to. She had to even when it went against what she valued in her life.
Her mother, she never knew who she was. Her mother died when she was only two years old. She could not remember a thing about her but she missed her. She wished that her mother was still alive. She knew it was selfish. And she knew it was impossible.
Tonight, for once in her life, she had an argument with her father. Just an hour ago. It was very intense to the point where her father could not stop himself from slapping her. She was upset. Really upset that she decided to run away. To escape from her manufactured life. To momentarily forget everything that pained her. To rebel. That was how she ended up here, in this crowded night club.
“Hey sweetheart... are you alone?”
A stranger voice could be heard. Being a little bit drunk, Yoona turned her head to face the owner of that voice. It came from a tall and unfamiliar guy. He was not alone. There were two other guys behind him. Yoona just gave a blank expression. She turned her head away from the three guys. Her cocky action excited the guys even more. Clearly, they were not some good guys.
“Is it ok if we accompany you?” The first guy asked Yoona again only to get no answer.
“Sorry... she isn’t alone. She is with me.” Another stranger joined them. Yoona once again turned her head to see who it is. A very good looking guy. That was what crossed Yoona’s mind when her eyes fell upon the new guy.
Lu Han. Or Luhan. It was the new guy’s name. He was Chinese, but spoke fluent Korean. He was also lost tonight. No place to go. Going into a night club was not his lifestyle as well. He was 21 years old. An age which a young man desired a thing called independence. He was at the age already. He was in the period when he wanted to stand alone. And he was capable of being an independent young man. He was smart. Above average. His brain was made of liquid. He was a hardworking person. He had a clear vision of his future. A Lawyer. That was what he wanted to be. And once again, Luhan was capable of achieving it.
His father was his role model. His father was a lawyer too. But he lost his father ten years ago. Since then, her mother was his only family. Her mother was a designer. A famous one. A Chinese lady who was in love with Korean’s culture and clothing. This explained why they moved from China to Korea. For her hardworks and passions, Luhan could live a prosperous life. Luhan was always thankful for being her mother’s son.
Five years ago, her mother married a Korean. He was a very great man. Luhan was very happy for his mother. But then, life started to be harder. Luhan used to live a laidback and relaxed life. He never imagined that having a new father who was a politician would affect the way he lived. His new father was very strict. Luhan was not easy to be controlled though. He didn’t like the formality in his new life. And just like that, he ended up here. He wanted to temporarily escape from that formal life.
He knew his stepfather hired some bodyguards to keep their eyes on him. He knew he was always being followed. He hated it. He wanted to own his life. Thus he came here. This place was too crowded that it would be easy to trick his bodyguards and hide from them.
Luhan was on his way to leave the night club through another exit door when he saw something that he could not leave. There was a girl who was sitting alone in the bar. It was really amazing that Luhan thought he understood why the girl was there even though this was the first time he saw her. Just by looking at her expression, Luhan knew that the girl wanted what he wanted as well. Freedom.
Therefore, it annoyed Luhan when he saw three random guys approaching that girl. One of the unknown guys talked to the girl. Luhan walked to that direction. He now could hear what the guy said to the girl.
“Is it ok if we accompany you?”
He did not know where he got his courage but it happened so fast. He did not let the girl answered as he found himself answering that question.
“Sorry... she isn’t alone. She is with me.”
The girl turned her head to see Luhan. Their eyes met. Luhan was mermerized by every feature that the girl possessed.
“There you are...” The girl broke the short silence. She was smiling at Luhan. Luhan was relieved. Frankly, it was awkward but it seemed like the three guys bought the lie. They apologized and left the two alone in that bar.
“I’m Lu Han. Lu is actually my surname but just call me Luhan.” Luhan introduced himself after making sure that those guys were nowhere close to them. He bowed a little. He lifted his right hand, asking for a handshake. He became nervous.
“Yoona. That’s how people usually call me.” Yoona shook Luhan’s hand and she also bowed a little after that. “Thank you for your concern.” She continued and smiled again.
Luhan knew that Yoona was a little bit drunk. “You are welcome.” He said and sat beside her.
“You look worried.” Since he was closer to her now, Yoona could notice Luhan’s worried face.
“I’m hiding actually. Some people are following me. So yeah...” Luhan tried to explain. “But I’m not a criminal or something.” Luhan quickly explained when he saw Yoona started to look uncomfortable. “You know... it’s just...”
“Then I think you should go.” Yoona suggested Luhan to leave.
“But I’m worried about you.” It sounded so affectionate. It was unintentionally slipped out from Luhan’s mouth. He was just too spontaneous. He knew his cheeks are turning red right now.
“I’m sorry... I didn’t mean it that way. I just... you know... those guys can come again when you are alone.” Luhan explained and he was kinda stuttering.
Yoona chuckled and she admitted there was a warm feeling inside her heart. An idea came to her mind. An idea to rebel to be exact. An idea that she knew she would probably regret. However, she had decided to rebel tonight. She observed Luhan. “I’m about to finish my drink and after this I’m free.” Yoona told Luhan and she finished her drink.
Luhan did not really understand what Yoona meant with being free. In the end, he could only ask Yoona about her address. “Where do you live by the way? Is it far from here?”
“Not that far.” Yoona answered and waited for Luhan’s initiative.
“You know... I can take you home if you want.” Luhan offered another help.
“I don’t want to go home.” Yoona said hopelessly, trying to provoke Luhan who just saved her.
“You don’t want to go home?” Surprised by the answer he got from Yoona, Luhan was more curious to get to know this girl better. “Well I bet you don’t have a curfew!”
“I do have.” Yoona replied immediately. “I just don’t want to go home. So... I wonder if you can take me somewhere else where...” Yoona paused for merely two seconds. “Don’t you have a place where we can spend this night?” She knew where she was leading the conversation to.
He also knew where she was leading the conversation to. Luhan was not that type who would take this kind of advantage. He was absolutely a guy with good manner. However, his answer contradicted his real attitude. “Sure... should we leave now?”
The two of them, who just met several minutes ago, who barely knew each other, left the night club.
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“Is this person very important to you?” Soojung asked Sehun. They were in the lift of an apartment building.
“Yes, he is.” Sehun looked very excited. “He was my childhood friend. He moved to London when we were about to graduate from elementary school. I haven’t seen him for 5 years now. I wonder why he decided to move back to Seoul alone.”
“What makes him important? I mean... a childhood friend? Is that all?” If she could be honest, Soojung was actually annoyed. They were supposed to have a dinner date. Only the two of them or so she assumed until Sehun broke the truth when he revealed they were invited to a dinner by this very important person.
Sehun did not answer. Soojung’s annoyed face was noticeable enough that he opted to keep silent. It was best to avoid arguments with his girlfriend when she was in this kind of state.
The lift stopped at 8th floor. Both of them stepped out from that lift and walked to the room number 805.
Before ringing the bell, Sehun decided to apologize.
“Soojung-ah.... I’m sorry that you don’t like being here but I hope you can understand. I miss him. Besides, I want you to know him too. We have plenty of time for our dinner date later. We can plan it again with only the two of us. Ok?!” Sehun made a promise.
Soojung nodded her head in defeat and smiled. Sehun patted her head and mouthed “Thank you...” before ringing the bell. Little did they know, the promise Sehun just made would be hard to fulfill.
The door was opened by the room’s owner.
“Jongin-ah...” Sehun could not hide his excitement. He hugged his childhood friend. Jongin hugged him back.
“Yah! Look at you! Since when you became this handsome?!” Jongin commented about Sehun’s physical appearance.
“By the way, this is Soojung. My girlfriend.” Sehun finally introduced Soojung. If Soojung had ever taken an acting class then she really proved it at this time. There was no trace of annoyance on her face. She was smiling gracefully. She bowed to Jongin. Jongin bowed to her as well.
“Just call me Soojung.” Soojung said and offered a handshake.
“And this is Jongin.” Sehun introduced Jongin to Soojung while both of them were shaking each other’s hand.
“Hi, I’m Jongin.” Jongin smiled and the moment he saw Soojung, he felt like she was familiar. Soojung’s face reminded Jongin of someone. Someone whom was the reason he came back to Seoul.
“Come in and make yourself comfortable. I’m sorry if it’s still messy.” Jongin pulled himself back to reality. “This is just my second day in here, so yeah... not all the things have been settled.”
“You should have asked me to help.” Sehun remarked, observing the living room that looked pretty spacious for someone who lived alone. Sehun and Soojung sat on the newly bought couch side by side. Jongin went straightly to the kitchen and started bringing their dinner to the living room.
“I’m sorry that my invitation was quite sudden. I wanted to make a surprise actually but everything is so hectic you know. I need to arrange many things, take care of my shool administration, fix this and that so... I don’t have other options anymore.” Jongin revealed his reason of this sudden invitation while placing the foods and beverages on the table in front of Sehun and Soojung. Jongin then went back to the kitchen.
“That’s ok. We are glad you invite us tonight. Do you need help there?!” Sehun asked Jongin.
“Nope. This is the last one.” Jongin came back to the living room with a big box full of spicy chicken wings, drums, and thighs. “I didn’t cook them by the way. I ordered them. I hope you don’t mind.” He explained to his guests before they started eating.
Sehun and Jongin pretty much talked about the past, particularly about their good old memories. It was raining when they started their friendship. It was 10 years ago. They were seven years old at that time. They were classmates. Jongin was playing alone with his gameboy. He was waiting to be picked up by his mother inside the classroom when he heard a crying voice. He looked for the source and it turned out to be Sehun’s voice.
Sehun just entered the class. He was crying. He was also waiting to be picked up outside the classroom. He was crying because he just heard the sound of thunder. It shocked little Sehun and he cried. Being a caring person since he was just a little boy, Jongin tried to soothe Sehun. That was how they started their precious friendship. Soojung laughed so hard at Sehun’s soft side. She actually enjoyed the dinner and stories. She did not know exactly what made her happy but all the bitter feelings she had before had vanished.
Being 17 years old, Soojung was in the period when being moody was normal. She sometimes scolded herself because Sehun always be the one who suffered from her unstable emotion. She was not a spoiled girl actually. In fact, she was mature enough for her age. She was not that blunt but she was transparent. Her facial expression told everything that she felt. Thus it was easy to tell when she lied. She could be harsh with her words but she always tried to compromise. She did not like conflict.
While Soojung was moody, Sehun was very patient when dealing with his girlfriend’s swinging emotion. He was really understanding and a good listener. Coming from a very wealthy family, he acted like a real gentleman. He was very stubborn, though. Sehun was very persistent. Perhaps, because he practically could have anything that he wanted, he was very confident about what he believed. Soojung was the only person who could persuade him.
In short, Sehun and Soojung were very compatible for each other. They met for the first time when they became classmates in their first year of high school. They went out together several times and they really clicked. It just happened so naturally that they ended up being a couple until now. Nevertheless, both Sehun and Soojung could feel a threat to their relationship. Being moody, Soojung was currently questioning herself whether she loved Sehun or she just simply loved being with him. For her, these were completely two different things. As for Sehun, ever since he knew that Jongin would come back to Seoul, he was questioning himself about something that scared him the most. Something that he should find the answer very soon. Sehun and Soojung obviously did not want to talk about it and they had no plan to bring this matter up to the surface.
“I know I was a crybaby back then but that was then Soojung-ah.” Sehun defended himself after telling the story about how he knew Jongin. He wanted to convince his girlfriend that he was not a crybaby anymore.
“But even now, you are still afraid of thunder, aren’t you?!” Soojung boyfriend. Sehun could not answer which sounded like a yes to Jongin and Soojung. Jongin and Soojung laughed. Sehun pouted. “You look even more silly with that face now.” Soojung continued to tease Sehun. The three of them spent the rest of the night with some more nostalgic stories.
They had no clue that what Soojung and Sehun were questioning would slowly be answered starting from tonight. The answers, in the end, would involve Jongin.
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Taeyeon got off from the car. She was in a hurry. She was late for her weekly date with his closest friends. It sounded weird to have a weekly date with your closest friends but for Taeyeon, it had become a tradition.
Her closest friends were comprised by five unique individuals. All of them, including her, were a group of young hedonist socialites who liked to mingle and share some gossips or facts about whatever happened around their lifes.
First was Stephanie Hwang Miyoung or Tiffany. Tiffany was a bubbly and optimistic girl. She actually came from The United States. When she moved to Taeyeon’s high school, she quickly became close with everyone, especially Taeyeon and Jessica, due to her good personality. She was lovable and friendly and her smile could melt any guy’s heart.
Second was Jessica Jung Sooyeon or Jessica. She was also from The United States. However, she moved back to South Korea when she was four years old. She had been Taeyeon’s friend since elementary school. She was cold towards new people but actually had a very warm heart. She seemed like the type who would not talk that much but she was actually very caring.
Third was Lee Donghae. Donghae was Jessica’s boyfriend since her last year of high school. They got introduced by their parents and they were a good match for each other. They were a product of arranged marriage and that did not bother them at all. Donghae was a very romantic guy. He was selfless. He was also loyal to his friends and of course his girlfriend.
Fourth was Lee Hyukjae and fifth was Choi Siwon. Hyukjae and Siwon were Donghae’s best friends. Their parents were close friends as well and thus it was no wonder that they became close. Hyukjae was very humorous and funny while Siwon was the serious type. They had one common thing though. Both, Hyukjae and Siwon, were in love with Tiffany.
From where she stood, Taeyeon could see her friends were already chatting and joking around at the corner of this Starbucks cafe located in the middle of Seoul.
“Taenggooo!!! There you are!” Tiffany shouted and waved her hand.
“What took you so long?” Hyukjae asked Taeyeon when the latter finally sat on the empty chair that had been prepared for her. Siwon, Donghae, and Jessica also waited for Taeyeon’s answer.
“I got something to do at home. Sorry for making you wait.” Taeyeon gave an apologetic smile.
“You are not usually late, Taeyeon-ah...” Jessica commented after sipping her caramel chocolate.
“Do you, by any chance, have another date behind our backs?” Siwon stared at Taeyeon.
“Yahhh! What are you talking about, Choi Siwon?! What kind of ears do you have? I just told you I got something to do before at home and it wasn’t dating.” Taeyeon tried to defend herself. She then jokingly continued her defense. “It’s because I have to date you all once a week that I got no boyfriend until now.” The others laughed after hearing Taeyeon’s joke. However, Siwon actually made somewhat a perfect guess. She was lying to her friends.
“Aishhhh, stop it! Enough with Taeyeon’s lateness. Let’s get back to the main topic. Is there any interesting news?” Donghae made a sound, reminding his friends about the purpose of their weekly meeting.
“Well, speaking of which, I heard Kim Jongin is back.” Siwon revealed what he knew.
“Yeah... I heard about that too.” Hyukjae confirmed what he just heard.
“Kim Jongin? Who is he? I can’t recall this name.” Jessica asked her friends, hoping that someone would tell her about this Kim Jongin.
“Me too... I don’t know him.” Tiffany exclaimed and stated that she had the same problem.
“He left Seoul before you came here, Fany-ah.” Taeyeon explained while trying to find a picture of Jongin from her mobile phone.
“He wasn’t that popular back then and he was actually younger than us.” Siwon tried to sound not too mean. “He was the same age with your sister.” He added while directing his gaze at Jessica.
Jessica put some thoughts about it. She forced her brain to remember whether or not Soojung, her younger sister, had mentioned something about Kim Jongin before. Her brain failed for she was sure she never heard that name. “I think my sister doesn’t know him as well. She never mentioned his name before.”
“This is him. I don’t realize that I actually follow his twitter.” Taeyeon gave her mobile phone to Tiffany so the latter could see how Jongin looked. Jessica and Hyukjae, who was sitting beside Tiffany, tilted their bodies to get to see the picture as well. Taeyeon’s mobile phone was being handed to Donghae and Siwon after that.
“I wonder why he came back to Seoul.” Hyukjae ended the silence.
“I think it’s quite obvious.” Taeyeon commented and everyone looked at her, waiting for her to continue. “Im Yoona... isn’t it? It should be related to her.” Taeyeon suggested an idea and it only made the others more curious.
“Yahhh! Kim Taeyeon, it seems like you know something that we don’t know. It’s getting more interesting. Spill it now!” Siwon straightened his body. He was ready to listen to Taeyeon.
At the same time, Donghae handed Taeyeon’s mobile phone back to Taeyeon. “I think I also know about it.” He said to his friends. “There was a rumour saying that Yoona once rejected him.” Donghae lowered his volume.
“Really? But when did they meet? I mean, how did they know each other? Taeyeon said he left Seoul before Fany came...” Jessica asked her boyfriend. Curiousity filled her even when she did not know who Kim Jongin was.
“Actually, they already knew each other even before he moved to London. Jongin’s dad is a close colleague of Yoona’s dad.” Donghae responded to Jessica’s question. “Don’t you guys remember that Yoona went to London last year to spend the summer break?! I think it was during that time when Yoona rejected him. Well, this is just my guess, though.” Donghae concluded while Taeyeon chuckled and the other four could only nod in wonder.
If only she knew that it would not be the last time she lied and came late, Taeyeon would love to admit that she hid something from her friends. Unfortunately, nobody was perfect and Taeyeon could not ever imagine that she would have to lie to cover her first lie. It went that way pretty continuously until she could not count how many times she had lied to her friends.
When she realized that she needed to be honest, would it be too late?! No one knew!
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To be continued...
A/N
Here is the first chapter. I know it is quite boring. I will try to make a more interesting chapter for the next update. Thank you everyone! :)
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