Chapter Six – Days of the Railways

Lightly, Renee caressed the door knob. Even before entering, she could feel her tears prevailing. She sniffed softly, hoping her tears would roll back into her eyelids. Then again, why was she trying so hard? She was no super hero; she was simply a girl – a weak one. Yet responsibilities as well as burdens seemed to pile endlessly on her shoulders.

She gathered up all her courage before she had the strength to unlock the door. When the door welcomed her into the room, her heart sunk. It felt as if her heart dropped 236km below ground level. Reluctantly, she slid across the floor, advancing only 3 centimetres each time. A trail of her tears was produced once she finally reached the frail body of her mother.

She sat on the chair which was beside her beloved mother as she gently her face.

“Umma,” she called between her sobs. She reached out for her hands and held them tightly in hers. “It’s all going to be over soon. Just wait a little longer. I-I’m sorry; I know you will not agree with what I’m doing or planning to do from now. But I have no choice. You know, in fact you know very well. I can’t and I won’t ever abandon you. I would rather become the world’s greatest sinner than to lose you. Once I complete this assignment, daddy will cure you. It’s going to be alright.” She inhaled a breath of air so her words would be clearer from all her crying. “Once you’re better, I’ll take you far away from here and we can start a new life together. Wouldn’t that be great?” She smiled weakly at the thought of their own paradise; a place where they could live together without the interference of anyone’s threats.

Her head then dropped onto the bed as she cried the tears which she didn’t allow to show in front of other people. She wanted to hide, she wanted to escape. Yet every time she hid herself away, her mother’s words would remind her of the reason why she was tolerating the daily threats. Every time she tried to run away, she could imagine the poignant scene of her mother begging her to go back. Renee lived for her mother, so how could she possibly leave her?

“I will save you! No matter what, I will save you! Umma, please don’t leave me, don’t! Wait for me, you have to hang on! Umma! Your eyes will be able to open soon, so hang on. Umma, hang on!” She screamed recklessly as the shade of scarlet crept to her nose and cheeks.

She prayed that her mother would miraculously wake from her deep slumber, wiping her tears away with her gentle, loving hand. Like what usually happened in movies and dramas, good always win because God would be looking after them, protecting the people they love as well. Unfortunately, it seemed like God was unable to hear her prayers as her mother remained stationary.

---

“So that’s how it is.” Lee So Man sighed in agony as he heard the news from Leeteuk, who also happened to suffer from the story.

“Yes sir. What should we do now? Shall I do some research on this disease?” Leeteuk suggested solemnly.

“I can’t believe he would do that to his own family just to go against me,” he heaved a sigh before continuing. “Research would be the best option for now, but keep it at a low profile. I’m sure this disease is one the Headquarters created, so you have to be careful.”

“I still don’t understand. If you already knew, why did you let those girls in? Why don’t you tell them? I even heard a rumour; you’re going to announce Steph as your adopted daughter. Wouldn’t that cause more problems? You’re just making it easier for them to kill you.” He stared profoundly into his eyes with his puzzled expression. Concern was written all over, darkening his complexion.

“What they do may be wrong, but they’re good people.”

“Killing means they’re good people?” Leeteuk argued in disbelief as he clenched his fists. “I too, was a part of that organisation. They say they kill for justice, even a blind pig would know better than to kill for justice!”

“If I said you have to kill someone in the Headquarters, or else I’ll kill your sister and all the Super Junior members, what would you do?” He spoke calmly which shocked the younger one. “They’re in the same situation. They believe we’re bad so it’s ok to kill us in order to save those who they recognise as ‘good’. Park Jungsu, you’re exactly the same as them. Are you a bad person then?” He laughed triumphantly using his old, wise voice.

---

After talking to Sungmin the other day, Anna couldn’t help but miss the days when he wasn’t a Super Junior member. The thought lingered at the back of her brain, even though she didn’t allow it to show.

She never believed that Sungmin loved her. She had low self esteem and most importantly, she lacked self confidence even when everyone adored her. In her mind, it wasn’t possible for Sungmin to like her, especially since she worked for him when they were young because her mother worked as a maid in their household. Therefore, he shouldn’t have even regarded her as a friend in the first place.

----------------

FLASHBACK

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“Oppa, what are those?” Anna yanked Sungmin’s shirt so he would pay attention to her. He turned to notice where she was pointing at and couldn’t help but smile benevolently.

“That is a train.” He answered as he pulled her arm so she wouldn’t get lost amongst the other people.

“Can we go on one?” Her eyes lowered disappointedly, since she already knew the answer herself, causing his eyes to land on the little girl who was unwilling to follow him.

“One day. I promise you. We’ll go on a train.” He ruffled her hair playfully.

Pouting a little, she nodded her little head obediently.

---

Later on that night, crash, bang, bash. Those sounds were audible from above. Running down hectically was Sungmin. Anna stared at him, noticing how his hair was messed up and how his clothes were torn. Before she could ask, he dragged her out the door and she followed without questioning. She didn’t know where they were heading, but when they arrived, guilt summoned itself and poured over her little body, making her discontent.

“Oppa, why are we here? It’s late.” She tried to persuade him to go home, but failed since he refused to listen to her.

-

Once they entered the underground, all the shops were closed and only a few people were there.

Digging into his pockets, he managed to find a few coins which were able to get them two tickets for the train. Anna was excited once his hands made contact with the tickets, yet the feeling of guilt refused to disappear. She wanted to console him, but she didn’t know how because she didn’t even know what happened.

-

They went onto the first train which arrived at 8:49pm. Hand in hand, they entered the train. Sungmin noticed the empty seats around them, but even though they were empty, it made him feel insecure. It was as if people were constantly staring at him, laughing at him.

He swallowed hard as he rubbed his sweaty hands against his trousers. Once the doors behind them were shut comfortably, the train began to move.

“Anna, come with me.” He jerked her hand before she could even respond. Without knowing where they were going, they kept running forward as if someone was chasing them from behind. With every step he took, a tear strolled down his face. The faster he ran, the faster they fell. The echoing of their footsteps was tormenting his mind until they reached the end of the train, where he finally found peace.

There were no lights visible in the area, beside the frequent glimpse of brightness from the outside now and again. Sungmin slid against the wall of the train and silently wept his eyes out as the darkness confined him.

He felt slightly comforted that someone was in front of him, someone who wasn’t commenting how weak he was, someone who wouldn’t force him to do things he didn’t want to do. She just stood there, witnessing his tears for the first time. In Anna’s eyes, Sungmin was an optimistic guy. It had always been him comforting her and never the other way around.

---

When he told people that he wanted to be an artist, everyone laughed at him. No one was willing to support him apart from Anna. She was determined to support him until the end. However, what wasn’t in her plan was that she would fall in love with him in the process.

---

When the morning finally came, a little girl entered the compartment with a broomstick.

“Hey! What do you two think you’re doing in here?” She asked sternly as she pointed her index finger towards them. Sungmin was about to say something, but stopped as he heard loud footsteps approaching their way. It was only for a moment, but Anna could see the terror on the girl’s face.

“You two have to leave now before they come. There’s another door at the side.” The little girl quickly opened the door and pushed them out before they could even say ‘thanks’.

Then, the adults arrived, questioning if anyone was on the train. The little girl lied as she said it was only some rats running around the compartment.

And that little girl…was none other than Lee Kira.

END FLASHBACK

Anna and Sungmin had gone so far together. He had done so much to get into Super Junior, and she wasn’t willing to let his popularity fall because of her. Since Sunny was Lee So Man’s niece, maybe he would try to promote Sungmin more. Maybe, it was a good thing that the Sungmin and Sunny pairing was created. But what was the despicable feeling that tightened her heart?

Just as she was in the midst of thoughts, she felt a hand pulling her arm forcefully. Then, a gush of wind blew in front of her face at the speed of light. Streaks of colours blurred her vision, making her slightly confused. She could feel her heart pounding against her chest as if it wants to break free from its cage.

When Anna finally snapped out of it, she realised that the train had passed and she nearly fell onto the tracks.

“What. Do. You think. YOU’RE DOING?!” Kira screamed furiously. “What were you thinking?” She flung her arms around, demonstrating how frustrated she was. Anna simply stared at her with her speechless expression. As reality hit her, her breathing became heavier after acknowledging that she would’ve been squashed by the train if it wasn’t for Kira.

“I…I-I d-didn’t…” She mumbled incomprehensively as she was too shocked for her brain to function properly. Kira just sighed as she noticed how frightened she was.

“Just…Just don’t do it again, ok?” Kira tried to speak with a softer tone of voice. Anna was like a fragile relic. Everyone treasured her, yet they’re always afraid of breaking her.

“I’m sorry.” She nodded as she whimpered quietly. Kira could literally feel her head hurting, since she knew that no matter how much she nagged, she would never change. Without further ado, she embraced Anna in her arms.

“It’s not ‘I’m sorry’, it’s ‘thank you.’ I’m your friend remember? I’m here to protect you.” She rubbed her back gently to soothe her emotions.

“Thank you. Thank you, Kira.” She repeated those words over and over again, as she clung onto her firend. To her, Kira was a gift from God. She was someone who was always there when she needed her, someone who understood her. She realised that not everybody could find their ‘true best friend’ and she was grateful that she found hers.

---

After SHINee’s performance on Music Bank, they were being congratulated by all the staffs for the performance they gave. Not only did they work hard, but their determination was simply remarkable. Renee stood at the far end, admiring each and every one of them as they giggled away.

“Thank you.” Jonghyun shook one of the staff’s hands before bowing earnestly to them. Suddenly, he froze when his eyes landed on someone which caused his lips to quiver.

“G-grandma? What are you doing here?” He gulped timidly. The other members started to snigger as they observed his reaction.

“Aish! You promised me you would come over for dinner with a pretty girl.” She pouted. “You got me all excited for nothing.” She nagged as if she wanted to throw a tantrum at him.

“Grandma, pretty girls are hard to find these days. Not a lot of them are as pretty as you, you know.” Key smiled respectfully, which just caused Jonghyun to roll his eyes.

“I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you. I promise.” Jonghyun sighed in a weary manner, trying to get his grandma to go as soon as possible.

“You don’t even keep your promises.” She whined again which made him feel like he was talking to a five-year-old instead of a sixty-five year old. “You have to come in two hours, or I’ll never make kimchi for you.” She threatened cutely before exiting the backstage.

Jonghyun stood still whilst the other members laughed at him. Finding a girl in two hours was simply not possible, unless one just happened to fall from the sky.

Then, someone caught his eye. Immediately, I put his irresistible puppy eyes on.

“Renee. Save me.” He sung playfully as he crawled over to beg for her help. “You’re my bodyguard…right?”

“Err…Right.” She crossed her arms, not wanting to know why he was trying to coax her and not one of those pretty designers who were sitting on the other side.

“Please come with me to my grandma’s. It doesn’t mean anything, I swear. She just wants a meal with a girl.” He pleaded sincerely.

“Of course, I believe you.” She nodded sarcastically. “No.”

“Oh come on. What kind of bodyguard are you?! Your job is to protect me! If I die, you’ll be fired for sure! Please Renee, just once.” He continued his plea, even though he hated her sarcasm.

“Would your manager give me a higher pay?”

“I’ll give you a higher pay.” He immediately responded.

“Deal!”

---

Meanwhile, Karen had just entered the dorm, laughing as if she was drunk.

“Are you…okay?” Kira asked in a baffled manner.

“I’m happy.” She sung her reply. Steph on the other hand, understood what she meant completely since Renee had told her about her ‘plan’. However, it left the other two confused.

“What’s going on?” Anna questioned as she noticed that Steph knew something that they didn’t.

“She’s back in love.” Steph replied with a smirk that instantly caused Karen to pout at her.

“Who?” Kira enquired with her head tilted slightly to her left. Karen simply blushed in embarrassment before running to her room.

“It’s Key.” Steph sniggered once she heard Karen’s door slam.

Instantly, another thought sprung to Kira’s mind. Even fate appeared to be on her side.

-

A few hours later, Anna went out because she got a call from Sungmin, Steph went to sleep whilst Renee was reading in her room. Kira presumed that Karen would be sleeping as well since it was already 1:48am.

Slickly, she slipped into Karen’s room and rampaged through her stuff until she found something worthy of exposing; her pictures with Key on her digital camera. She hastily transferred the images to her laptop before making her exit.

Finally, she gathered everything together; Karen’s pictures with Key and her pictures with Kyuhyun.

Just like that, she uploaded them all to the internet. With just a few short sentences, the scandals were sure to great chaos. However, since there would only be two scandals, things would be a lot easier for the entertainment to control.

---

Jonghyun and Renee had finally arrived at his grandma’s house. Both of them glanced at the house before looking at each other.

“Thanks. Thanks a lot.” He smiled warmly whilst he unbuckled his seat belt.

“Your welcome.” She spoke half-heartedly.

“I’m sorry I dragged you into this. It’ll be over soon.” He sighed as he got out of the car.

“No, I’m the one who should be sorry.” She whispered to herself, knowing he wouldn’t be able to hear her.

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