By Your Side

Fear Itself

Hey there! Miss me? hehe ;p Well, I would like to thank you guys for all your concern and support for my upcoming exam :D And for those who having their exam too, fighting! A great SONE always do their best, right? ;)) Anyway, here you go the 20th chapter! Enjoy~

 

Sooyoung's POV

I let Tiffany lead me by the hand into the club. Her soft skin felt wonderful against my own and I never wanted to let her go. Once we got inside Jonghyun took Tiffany's bass from me, took it out of its case and plugged it in and then did the same with her violin. We all exchanged warm greetings and voiced our excitement about the coming performance.

I caught Jonghyun's eyes as he subtly pointed at Tiffany's and my joined hands. I just smiled a little unsurely over at him. I wasn't entirely sure what it meant, but I was grateful for the contact all the same. Tiffany gave my hand a squeeze before she dropped it and walked over to her bass. "Ok so should we get to work?" Tiffany asked.

"Yeah we should, let's do a run through," Yuri agreed as she played chop sticks on her keyboard, which made us all giggle. I picked up my guitar and slung the strap over my shoulder. I strummed a few cords to check if it was tuned and nodded at Jonghyun.

"Ok ladies and Minhyuk, let's do a little warm up!" We ran through some scales and cords on our instruments. Tiffany, Jonghyun and I also rang through some vocal scales to get our voiced warmed up. Even just singing simple scales Tiffany's voice was absolutely angelic.

Once we were all warmed up we jumped right into a rehearsal of the songs we'd be performing that night. The set was basically the same as the one we'd done the night before at Seoul Pub with one or two of the song's positions being changed in the lineup.

We were just finishing our last song, when the sound of enthusiastic applause caught our attention. We all turned to see this tall, well dressed man leaning against the bar. He had to have been at least 6 foot 5 and his body had not an ounce of fat on it. His head was completely bald and his warm chocolate eyes shone brightly at us, almost the same color as his skin. For want of a better word the guy was beautiful.

He walked forward flashing us a blinding smile, "Hello there, my name's Park Jae Hyun-ssi. That was really very good. I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes tonight in front of a crowd."

I looked over at Tiffany and caught her eye. She looked as confused as I felt. Jonghyun put down his guitar and jumped down off the stage, "Mr. Park, it's a pleasure to meet you. Guys this is the manager I told you was coming to see us play tonight."

I guess Jonghyun forgot to mention the guy's name when he was filling us in. Note to self, Jonghyun is not so good with the details. We all stepped away from our instruments and hopped down from the stage to go and stand beside Jonghyun.

"You must be Jonghyun, it's great to meet you too, oh and call me Jae Hyun. My friend, who owns this fine establishment, saw you play at Seoul Pub a few weeks ago and then called me. Now he has a great eye for new talent and knows I'm always on the lookout so I told him to book you guys to play here and I'd come and take a look. So Jonghyun can you introduce me to the rest of the band?" Jae Hyun-ssi said kindly. I was getting a really good vibe off this guy.

"Sorry Jae Hyun-ssi, this is Minhyuk who plays drums, Yuri who plays the keyboard, Tiffany who plays the bass and violin and Sooyoung our lead guitarist." Jonghyun introduced. We each shook hands with Jae Hyun, who had a firm, but not aggressive handshake. My father always used to tell me that you could tell a lot about a man by the way he shakes your hand. Jae Hyun's was confident but not cocky, I had a feeling I was going to like him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. And I have to ask, where did you come up with the name Fear Itself?" Jae Hyun asked with a beaming smile.

We all chuckled and looked to Tiffany, it was her story to tell, "Well the name actually comes from my tattoo. I was at my first ever jam session with the band, I wasn't officially in the band yet, but Jonghyun was working to get me in there, despite my reservations as I was working as a classical violinist in an orchestra. Sooyoung, if I recall also wasn't that keen to bring in a new band member," Tiffany flashed me a grin and continued, "After we'd played for a while I was lying on a sofa and Sooyoung caught sight of my tattoo. She announced that it would be a good name for the band. We all agreed and I officially joined the band." I noticed how she left out the part where I'd traced my fingers over the ink on her hip. I could still feel the sensation of her skin under my fingers.

Jae Hyun chuckled, "That is a great story, can I ask where the tat is?"

Tiffany smiled and raised her tank top a bit so expose the tattoo on her right hip. My fingers itched to reach out and trace the ink with my fingertips like I'd done at that first jam session. In a word that tattoo is hot.

"That's one great tat Tiffany and that story is one of those little tidbits that are great to put out there when selling a band or artist. Look at Pink, the story behind her stage name is great!" Jae Hyun said excitedly.

We all grinned at him and kept sneaking excited glances at each other. This was looking promising. Jae Hyun chatted to us for a bit longer and then excused himself to make some calls before the show.

Once he was gone we all turned to each other and beamed. Tiffany jumped into Jonghyun's arms and he spun her around. I hadn't seen her like this in a damn long time. " this is brilliant! My God guys, this could be it!" Jonghyun shrieked (oh yes he shrieked) as he spun Tiffany around. She laughed in the most beautiful carefree way, which made the rest of us laugh too.

We headed back stage to the room they set aside for us to prepare in and sat around talking excitedly. It seemed we'd all gotten the same positive vibe off the guy. This could be huge for us! This could be out much sort after 'big break'.

Jonghyun regaled us with all the info he'd managed to find out about Jae Hyun and let me say he has a rather impressive resume. If this guy liked us and wanted to manage us, we could really go places and get our music out there.

We spent the next few hours relaxing and getting ready for the show. With about half an hour to go we all got changed into our rocker disguises and got ready to head on stage. As usual Tiffany was looking gorgeous. She pulled of the rock look really well. That night she was wearing dark blue, ripped jeans which sat low on her hips, with a tight black tank top which showed off her toned abs and tattoo. On her feet she wore her Converses, black and white check ones this time, and her wrists were adorned with black leather cuffs. Her long red hair was back in a ponytail and her eyes were lined in black with smoky eye shadow making her hazel eyes all the more intense.

Tiffany looked up and caught me staring at her. An adorable blush coated her cheeks and she smiled shyly over at me. I just grinned back and waited to be called out to the stage.

The owner of the club stepped out onto the stage and to the microphone, "Ok ladies and gentlemen, it's my sincere pleasure to introduce Fear Itself!"

We strode out on stage to applause and some cheers. We grinned out at the audience and after Jonghyun introduced us all we jumped into the first song.

We played hard, we poured everything into that performance we had. The songs were full of emotion and had the audience on their feet dancing and even singing with us. It was such a powerful experience. I found myself watching Tiffany whenever I could, she was so free on stage and it made me fall even more in love with her.

As we neared the end of our set we played what Tiffany thought was our last song. I smiled at her confusion when Jonghyun stepped up to the microphone and said, "Just before we run off this stage I wanted to thank you all for coming out tonight, you have been amazing. For a rare treat we have one last song to play for you tonight. This was written by our very own Choi Sooyoung and she is going to perform it acoustically for you tonight. Take it away Soo!"

I stepped up to Jonghyun and took a seat on a chair in the middle of the stage. I settled my guitar on my lap and beamed out at the audience, "Thanks you guys. This song is called By Your Side and it's for a very special woman. This is my way of saying that I'll always be here and I want to tell you that you're not broken, just a little damaged right now and it's all going to be alright."

I strummed the intro and saw Jonghyun steer Tiffany to the side of the stage where she would have a clear view of me. I smiled tenderly at her and began to sing.

"You think I'd leave your side baby
You know me better than that
You think I'd leave you down when you're down on your knees
I wouldn't do that

I'll tell you you're right when you want
And if only you could see into me

Oh when you're cold, I'll be there
Hold you tight to me

When you're on the outside baby and you can't get in
I will show you, you're so much better than you know
When you're lost and you're alone and you cant get back again
I will find you darling and I will bring you home

And if you want to cry
I am here to dry your eyes
And in no time, you'll be fine"

I felt Tiffany's eyes burning into me from the side of that stage. I wanted so badly to look at her but was scared of what I was going to find. I knew I was pushing it by singing this song, but I was sick of the circles we were going in and I had to get this out there.

"You think I'd leave your side baby
You know me better than that
You think id leave you down when you're down on your knees
I wouldn't do that

I'll tell you you're right when you want
And if only you could see into me

Oh when you're cold, I'll be there
Hold you tight to me
Oh when you're low
I'll be there by your side baby

Oh when you're cold, I'll be there
Hold you tight to me
Oh when you're low
I'll be there by your side baby"

I sung the last line and strummed the last cord. The audience went crazy, much like they did after out performance at Seoul Pub the night before. I beamed out at the audience, "Thank you. Have a great night guys!" I got up and started to walk off stage.

I caught Tiffany's eyes and saw her cheeks were damp with tears. She held out her hand to me, which I took instantly, which just made the crowd go even crazier. She led me back stage after the others and murmured, "You really think I'm not broken? After everything you can honestly say that I'm not?"

"I know you're not Tiff, just a little damaged and I know that you'll be ok," I said softly to her.

"That song was incredible Soo…" Tiffany was interrupted by Jae Hyun popping up beside her.

"On that I agree, actually all your songs are great and very marketable. How about we talk?" Jae Hyun said with a huge grin.

We nodded and followed him back to what I assumed was the owner of the clubs office. As excited as I was I really wanted to finish my conversation with Tiffany too, I needed to find out where her head was at, not to mention I was eager to finish the conversation we'd started at her car that afternoon. I really wanted to know where her head was at. She seemed different today, freer somehow.

Oh well, there would be time for that. We all took a seat in the office, Tiffany sat squashed between Jonghyun and I on the sofa. Jae Hyun smiled at us and began, "Ok guys I'm interested in representing you guys and getting your music out there. I have a few contacts at a few different labels that I think would really like your sound. What I want to do is get you guys into a recording studio so that we can lay down a demo so I can send it out and try and get you guys signed. How does that sound?"

We all started talking excitedly at once, a din of excitement. "Ok guys I'll take that as you guys being interested. How about we meet early next week and get some paperwork done and get the ball rolling?" Jae Hyun suggested.

"Thanks Jae Hyun-ssi, that's amazing. We can't tell you how great this is," Jonghyun said as he stood up to shake Jae Hyun's hand. We all followed suit and thanked Jae Hyun profusely as he left. Once he was gone we just looked at each other and then the squeals of excitement and groups hugs began.

We headed back to our makeshift dressing room to find our friends and family waiting for us. We all stood in front of our waiting loved ones and Jonghyun bellowed out, "We got ourselves a manager!" The room broke up into cheers and we each ran to our respective loved ones. I grabbed Sulli and Nichkhun in a huge hug and then dragged them over to meet Tiffany who was being hugged, or suffocated, by Kris and his rather pregnant girlfriend.

"Tiffany I wanted to introduce you to my baby sister Sulli and her fiancé Nichkhun," I introduced.

Tiffany detangled herself from her big brother and shook hands with them as she smiled warmly, "It's a pleasure to meet you both."

"You too Tiffany Unnie, Sooyoung has told us a lot about you," Sulli said. I blushed and glared at her, which just made Tiffany laugh.

"Oh ok now I'm scared, all good I hope?" Tiffany asked with a teasing smile. I hadn't seen a teasing Tiffany in far too long.

"Yeah it was all pretty good," Sulli teased, Tiffany laughed again and then introduced them to her family. I got a warm hug from both Mr. Hwang and Kris which was nice, and was officially introduced to Kris's girlfriend Nana who told me she like how Tiffany was when she was with me. They were good people and I knew they loved Tiffany very much, so their approval of me was pretty damn important.

After a few minutes of chatting we got separated as the rest of the band came over to introduce their loved ones and to meet ours. Soon the champagne was being poured as we celebrated the latest development in out band's life. Jonghyun toasted us and our future while we all grinned and laughed like a bunch of hyenas on meth.

I caught up with Tiffany after the toasts and celebrations had started to die down, she was standing with her father, brothers, Nana and BoA and she looked genuinely happy. She caught my eye and said something softly to her family before making her way over to join me.

"I didn't get to tell you how much that song meant to me Soo. Your words are, as always, beautiful and even when I may not want to hear them I always need to," Tiffany murmured as she smiled gently at me.

"Thank you, I just wanted you to know how I feel," I said earnestly.

Tiffany nodded and then locked her eyes on mine. "You asked me a question earlier, you asked me to let you help me and I never got to give you an answer," Tiffany murmured standing close to me in the crowded back room of Soliloquy.

I swallowed nervously and whispered, "So what's your answer?"

She smiled and murmured, "Ok." I hung my head, there she went pushing me away ag…hold up! She said what?

"Wait, hang on! Did you just say ok?" I asked incredulously, my mouth hanging open comically.

"Yeah I did. Yesterday was a turning point for me. I don't want to keep going in circles either Soo and I definitely don't want to go back. I don't want to push you away anymore, it's time to move forward. I'm not saying that I'm ready to jump into a relationship or anything and I still think you deserve more than this drama with me, but I'm selfish Sooyoung and I need you," she murmured as she stepped even closer to me.

I was silent for a moment, taking it all in. I had been waiting to hear those words from her since the attack and now that she had said them I was speechless and had no idea what to say, which was a really rare occurrence for me. Tiffany looked down at the ground and bit her lower lip, a sure sign that she was nervous.

I swallowed around the soccer ball sized lump in my throat and reached out to tilt her face up so that I could look into her remarkable hazel eyes. "Tiffany, I told you I'd always be here and I meant it. I won't push you. You are so not selfish Hazel, not at all. Thank you for letting me in."

Tiffany gave me a tiny smile and murmured, "I guess it's about time isn't it," then she wrapped her arms around me. I sunk into her embrace and held her close. We stood like that for what felt like ages, but what was probably only a few minutes, before Tiffany pulled away.

She fixed her eyes on mine and said with a hint of pride, "I went to the police last night Sooyoung. I went to BoA's after the show at Seoul Pub and she took me, well made me go. Her Uncle is a detective there and he was really great. I told them what Siwon did to me. Um the detective asked me to give you this," she pulled a card out of her pocket and passed it to me, "he wants to get a witness statement off you if that's ok."

I grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently, "Of course that's ok, I'll call him and set up a time. God I am so proud of you for going to the police, it must have been so hard."

She smiled dryly, "Well it wasn't easy, but I know it was the right thing to do. I can't let him win, and I can't risk him hurting anyone else. I can't let him or Eunjung or my mother ruin my life anymore. I owe it to the people that love me to not give up, my Dad always raised me to be a fighter so that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to fight like hell to move past this."

I beamed at her, "I always knew that you were a fighter Tiffany, you just had to believe it."

"I also told my Dad and Kris what happened to me," Tiffany announced with a little smile on her lips.

Ok now I was speechless again, she had told her father and brother? That I was not expecting. "Wow Tiffany, that's great. How'd they take it?"

"Probably exactly how you'd expect them to take it. My Dad cried and got really upset. He stayed with me last night and he's insisting I get some counseling, which I think is a good idea. Kris got angry and had to be physically restrained to stop him going to hunt Siwon down and then he got all protective and announced that he's gonna fit my place with a security chain and a peep hole. He also wanted to get me a body guard but I thought that might be a little over the top," Tiffany said with a smile. I had missed her smile.

"Maybe you should have let Kris hunt Siwon down and I know a body guard for you would give me peace of mind." I suggested dryly.

"No I think I'll be ok without the muscle. And Siwon will get what's coming to him, I don't want anyone else getting hurt over what he did to me. Let's just let the police handle it and focus on the massive performance we just had tonight," Tiffany said with a warm smile.

I couldn't help but smile back. She was fighting back. My girl was fighting back (ofuq yeah Soo, YOUR girl xDDD). There was a way to go yet, she was far from being completely ok and I knew that there was no way we could be together until she was.

Tiffany had taken a huge step forward and I was so proud of her. I was in awe of her strength and resilience. Tiffany Hwang was an inspirational woman and I had a feeling that she would eventually be ok, she was not giving up and I was not giving up on her.

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Ok so who is a little less frustrated and angry at me now? C'mon now let's see those hands! Lol

till then!

love yaaa~~ xD

 

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gotta post an early update in a few minutes! XD

Comments

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maikimause123 #1
Chapter 26: This story is absolutely amazing. Please continue
far_awaySONE
#2
Chapter 26: author-nim...~
where are you???
its been years.well since the last update sam...are you alright?
jaekwons
#3
Chapter 26: i hope you don't abandon this fic as it's developed quite nicely :-)
Va_asianloverz
#4
Chapter 12: Please update soon
Bluesky235
#5
Chapter 26: author when you will update this story again??
i will waiting author ^^
jungbanhap
#6
Chapter 26: I miss this fic T.T
I missed you too~
poly_pala #7
Chapter 26: Continue!!!!
Sammy1020
#8
WHERE ARE YOU, AUTHOR????????? TT.TT
SooFany10113979
#9
Chapter 26: Continue AUTHOR-SSI
soosicfany33
#10
Chapter 26: LET'S CONTINUE THIS AUTHOR-SSI!!!

we're all here..hwaiting!!