Chapter 8-We Finally Meet

                Jay led her back to the car, and opened the door on her side so she could get in. he smiled as he slid into the driver’s seat.

                “So, what next, oppa?” he blushed as she asked him. She usually called him by his name, but for some reason, he didn’t really mind what she called him now. He had butterflies in his stomach as they drove off.

                “Oh, it’s a surprise. You’ll love it, I’m sure.” He smiled at her, watching her blush and look away. He turned his face towards the road and kept going. Soon, they pulled up to a road and passed the Pacific Hotel. She smiled. She had a feeling where they were going.

                They pulled into a parking lot, and walked towards the flight of stairs. He looked at her.

                “This might take a while.” He said, she nodded. She was quite familiar with the procedure. As silly as it sounded, she had watched EatYourKimchi’s video on this, and felt quite confident. She knew it might be a 3 hour wait, and that they had to walk up the building, get into a gondola, ride that, go into the tower, and climb up that and then they would be at the top. It seemed like a lot of work, but she was up for the challenge.

                “That’s ok; I think I can handle it.” And so, they waited. The line wasn’t as long as Kate had suspected, so they only ended up waiting in line for about 45 minutes. Jay bought the tickets for the gondola, and they proceeded to once again climb the stairs. As they approached the front of the line, Kate became nervous. Jay could see the apprehension on her face. He held her hand.

                “괜찮아, I’ll make sure you don’t get lost in the crowd.” He squeezed her hand, and she softly squeezed it back as they made their way up the stairs.

                Min Ho frantically paced his room; phone in hand, as Jonghyun walked in.

                “뭐해, Min Ho, you look worried.” He said as he walked over and sat on Min Ho’s bed. Min Ho shook his head.

                “This girl I met once dropped her phone, so I picked it up and gave it back to her. But, I haven’t been able to get her off my mind. Then last night, I saw her again. And again,” he chuckled to himself and held up the phone. “She seems to have dropped her phone.” Jonghyun smiled.

                “Looks like my friend’s phone, let me see it.” He took it out of Min Ho’s hand and looked it over. It was a bit scuffed from being dropped so many times. He smiled.

                “This looks like my friend Kate’s cell phone. I’d return it to her, but I don’t know where she lives, and of course” he said holding it up. “I can’t call her either to ask.” He said with a smile. Min Ho looked puzzled.

                “When did you meet her?” he asked.

                “Oh, a week or so ago, I went for that walk, remember? I met her at the park. We went to a café and chatted for a while, and then I walked her to the bus stop. I met her one other time; she was at the park again. We talked for a little bit and exchanged numbers. She goes to college at YoungHwa University.” Min Ho could not believe what he was hearing. He could have met her sooner, he felt overcome with embarrassment.

                “You like her, don’t you Min Ho?” he asked, looking at him coyly. Min Ho blushed.

                “I-I-I, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jonghyun gave him back the phone and patted him on the back.

                “Yea, I would have asked her out too, if I wasn’t already taken. Well, see you later; I have to go meet Gaeyon.” He gave him one last pat on the back, and left. Min Ho sat on his bed, contemplating his next move.

                They had finally made it to the top of Nam San Tower. They moved over to a remote corner in the tower, away from the crowd of strangers. The view was the most exquisite sight that Kate had ever seen. The lights of the city were ablaze against the night sky. A seemingly endless ocean of lights spread before her, twinkling like stars. It seemed as if the city were trying to emulate the glow of the heavens. Cars sped up and down the road, ribbons of color were flashing before her eyes. The towers and edifices rose up against the sky like titans, overlooking the landscape. The sight was so beautiful, she was absolutely awestruck. She let out an audible sigh as she placed her hand on the window, feeling the cold chill of the glass made her realize that was she was seeing was real. She turned to jay.

                “It’s beautiful, oppa.” She smiled at him, and he warmly smiled back, putting his arm around her and pulling her closer.

                “Be mine, Kate.” He said. She looked up into his eyes. She could feel her face getting hot, went dry.

                “무엇을?” she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Not that she didn’t want to believe it, but this kind of stuff only happened in dramas and fanfics. This couldn’t possibly be happening to her.

                “Would you be my girlfriend, Kate? 좋아요. 정말 좋아요, I know we haven’t known each other that long, but I want to be more to you than just a friend.” He grabbed her by her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. He looked into her eyes and softly her hair. “Will you let me love you, Kate?” It took everything in her power to not faint. She swallowed hard to prevent the hot tears from welling up in her eyes.

                “Of course, I would love to be your girlfriend.” He smiled at her. He placed his hands on her face, and brought her close to him. She closed her eyes and felt his soft lips press into hers. She wrapped her arms around him and placed her hands on his back and neck. His hands moved slowly down her neck, past her arms and rested at her hips. She felt hot all over as she felt him press his lips harder into her own. He finally released her from his grip, leaving her gasping for air. After a moment, he went back for more. She moved her hand along his arms. They were muscular and smooth. She could feel him flexing beneath his shirt. They pressed into each other, unaware of anything else that might be happening. He released his grip on her once more. He wanted to kiss her again, but could see her shift uncomfortably as they heard people approaching. For now, he would settle with holding her hand.

                Jonghyun and Gaeyon walked down the street, hand in hand as the night breeze went through her long shimmering hair. This was their six month anniversary.  Jonghyun had met her when they were modeling for Etude House. She was the only female model available that day. His heart melted at her sweet smile and the way she laughed. She was a bit of a ditz, but he found that cute. She wasn’t like any girl he had ever met, save for Kate, but he met her after he had met Gaeyon.

On their first date she had suggested going roller skating through the park. She went off and smashed through a cotton candy and popcorn stand, through the bushes, hit a tree, and landed in a small pond. She was so embarrassed that she wouldn’t look at him. He came back with a towel and walked her to the nearest fountain. As she rinsed out her hair, he brought her a flower. She smiled at him with that innocent look he loved. She kissed him on the cheek as he helped her up. That was the beginning of their wonderful relationship.

                Gaeyon had never felt the way she did unless she was with Jonghyun. He made her feel like she needed to be a better person. The day she met him she was on the verge of being fired from her agency. Her agency told her the company thought she had no grace, no personality, and no reason to be there; she was bad at interacting with other models, so much so everyone she had ever worked with had refused to work with her a second time. They said she was a bitter person. This job was her last chance to prove herself. If she prevailed, she would be kept on, and slowly build back up her repertoire, but if she failed, she would be fired, which would mark her career for life. She couldn’t mess up.

                As she walked in on the first day of the shoot, she was flabbergasted. SHINee. This was her big chance? Why not set her in the middle of the woods blindfolded and tell her to start a fire! She had never worked with high profile people before, let alone idol singers.  Her manager walked up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder.

                “Remember,” he reminded her. “If you fail, this is it. You can kiss your career goodbye.” She nodded, and went forward. The boys were very understanding and sweet. They were all so kind to her, especially Jonghyun. She felt butterflies in her stomach whenever she looked at him. He had approached her after the shoot had wrapped up.

                “Hey there.” He walked up to her and smiled. Her heart melted instantaneously. She kept her composure, not wanting to seem too vulnerable.

                “Hi.” She felt that that response was a bit too cold.

                “So, what is your name? I don’t believe we were properly introduced.” She had to keep calm.

                ‘Oh, , what’s my name again?’ this was the second time that day she had forgotten. She had to think before the silence became awkward.

                “Uh, Chonun, uh, Kim. Kim Gaeyon.” She let out a sweet sigh of relief.

                “Ah, what a pretty name.” he commented, playfully batting his eyelashes.

                ‘Oh, my heart!’ she stopped herself before her hand reached her chest, so she extended it.

                “It’s nice to meet you, and you are?” she felt like smacking herself.

                ‘You already know who he is you moron!’ she screamed at herself on the inside. ‘True, but I just thought it would be polite! You know, instead of assuming, or something like that.’ he smiled at her, unaware of the civil war going on inside her head.

                “Well, it’s nice to meet you too. My name is Kim Jonghyun. I was wondering if you would come out to dinner to celebrate with us tonight, since we have finally finished the photo shoot.” She nodded.

                “I would be honored.” She answered. She heard her manager calling her, so she said her goodbyes, and left. Later that night, she went to dinner with SHINee. All the members were as sweet to her as they were before, no false pretenses, no acting, nothing. Her eonnies back at the agency weren’t even that honest.  After dinner, they went to the limo, except Jonghyun. He grabbed Gaeyon’s arm.

                “Kim Gaeyon,” he grabbed her. She looked back at him. This had never happened to her before. She was on the verge of panic.

                “Ne?” she swallowed hard. She hoped he didn’t see her do it.

                “Would you, um…that is…what I would like to ask you if you could…would you go out with me Gaeyon?” swung open in awe.

                “Sure!” she blurted out. She was having an internal panic attack.

                ‘What the hell, are you crazy, you just met him!’

                ‘I know, I didn’t mean it, I panicked!’

                “Great,” he said, patting her on the shoulder. “I’ll let you pick since it’s our first date today, I figure it will be a great way to get to know you better.” He took out a pen and wrote on her hand. “This is my number, text me when you think of something, and I’ll plan it out for you. 괜찮아,” he assured her. “I’ll make sure everything is perfect.” He kissed her hand, and walked back to his group’s limo, and then it sped off.

                They walked down the street until they came to the park. Jonghyun put his arm around her shoulders, and she put her head on his neck as they watched the water lap the shore of the river off to the left.

                “Do you remember when I took you here for our second date?” he asked, turning to her. She nodded.

                “Yeah, a bird attacked my head, and you beat it with the baguette until it flew away. There was bread everywhere!” they laughed as they sat down on the grass, laid back and watched the stars. “Jonghyun, you like me, right?” she asked, doubt creeping into her subconscious. He turned to her.

                “Of course I do, Gaeyon, you’re the only one I like, why would you ask me something like that?” she looked down at the grass as she twisted blades of it in her fingers.

                “Is this about Kate?” he had seen her in the park the night he met Kate, ever since then she had been so defensive and distant, not to mention possessive. He sighed. “I told you, she is just a friend, nothing more, like I’ve told you plenty of times, you have nothing to worry about. Neoul saranghae, Gaeyon. But if you can’t handle my friendship with another woman, then maybe we aren’t that great for each other. I don’t think I can handle a woman who gets jealous over a friendship. Don’t you trust me, Gaeyon, don’t you?” he asked, searching her eyes for an answer. But he would not find one there, Gaeyon had entered her defensive mode. Her face was empty of any emotion.

                ‘He said he would leave me,’ she did all she could to keep herself from crying. She needed to contain herself. She was going to be her own demise if she couldn’t control her emotions.

                “Gaeyon, answer me!” he demanded, she snapped back to reality as he grabbed her arm.

                “I do oppa. 미안해.” He her face.

                “괜찮아, I just want you to know you can trust me, just like how I know that I can trust you. Ok?” she nodded and held his hand.

                Min ho was out walking past the studio. It was almost three in the morning. He kept grasping at the phone in his pocket. Her name is Kate. Kate dropped her phone. Kate had been on his mind all this time. Kate is friends with Jonghyun. He looked up at the sky and sighed.

                “Why couldn’t I have taken my head out of my for a moment to just look at her for a moment?” he said out loud. Just then he heard footsteps. He turned around. He stared in awe. It was her.

                Kate had realized after Jay had dropped her off at home that she had dropped her phone. She last remembered handling it outside of the studio. She figured she would go back and find it.  She had gotten lost twice on her way there, but finally had stopped and asked somebody for directions. She knew she was on the right path now, she could recognize some of the buildings. As she came upon the studio itself, she stopped.

                ‘Choi Min Ho.’ He was just standing there, tossing something in his hand. She stepped forward to take a closer look, and gasped. ‘My phone!’ she slapped her forehead. She remembered the first time she had met him. She had dropped her phone then too. He had also been the one to find it back there at the airport. She stepped on a twig, and it snapped loudly. Min Ho turned his head sharply and saw her before she could run. He walked forward.

                “Kate?” he asked. She looked at him confused. How did he know her name?

                “Ne?” he smiled.

                “We finally meet then, my name is Min Ho, I believe that this is yours,” he held out her phone, and she went to grab it.

                “What are you doing here?” she turned and saw Jonghyun.

                “Gaeyon?” she and Gaeyon looked at each other.

                “Kate?”

END OF CHAPTER 8