~Chapter Thirty One~

“Hae, come here. Umma is on Skype, and she’s been begging to see you!” I called out to Donghae, who was out in the kitchen. Donghae and I had returned to Miinah Street Apartments, I needed to collect a set of clean clothing. To be frank, I had basically moved in with Super Junior and I spent most nights at their dorm. This was the first time I had returned to my own apartment in the space three weeks. “Your umma? I’m starting to feel nervous…” Donghae said, as he walked into my room with two steaming cups of lemon tea in his hands. I sighed and wrapped my arms around him, “Don’t be like that baby, umma will really like you, I’m sure of it!” I reassured him. He rubbed the tip of his nose against mine, but suddenly cringed in pain. “Ah! Hot hot hot!” he hissed as he quickly moved towards the computer desk and placed down the cups of tea. “Are you ok?!” I asked with concern as he blew on his heated fingers, I took hold of his hand and observed it for any serious burns. Donghae smiled, “I’m fine, yeobo, but if you kiss it better…?” he said cheekily. I gently kissed his finger that hurt the most, “Better?” I asked, smiling up at him. He cringed again, but this time it was obvious he was just putting on an act, “My lips hurt now…” he said, trying to stop himself from smirking. “Yah~ now you’re just playing around!” I exclaimed as I realized what he was trying to do. “Alright, alright! Let’s talk to your umma before she goes offline!” he urged, pulling me back towards the laptop.

“Umma! It’s me, we haven’t talked like this in a long time!” I exclaimed as her face appeared on the screen. She had her hair tied up in a bun and she was wearing her favorite apron, I guessed she was preparing to cook dinner. My mother and I really did look alike, I was always told that I had her eyes and lips. “Honey, umma really misses you! When are you coming home for a visit? Even your brother misses you, he just won’t admit it” she replied with a smile, tugging at my younger brother’s sleeve so that I could see him. “Noona…umma is just exaggerating things, but I hope you can come back soon because you promised me you would buy me that limited edition Starcraft game from Korea!” he reminded me. My brother was sixteen now, and despite being a big gamer, he was a very filial child. We have a very close relationship, because we’ve always been there for each other since we were young. To be honest, my brother and I don’t look similar as such, he takes after our father with his large brown eyes and perfect nose. “All you care about is Starcraft, actually I’ve met a guy here that’s exactly like you! Maybe you will be able to meet him someday” I replied, as Kyuhyun appeared in my thoughts. I could feel Donghae shuffling under the computer desk, he was getting restless. “Just wait a bit more…” I mouthed to him. He pouted but nodded. We had planned to surprise my umma and brother, they had no idea that Super Junior’s Lee Donghae was the one who had proposed to me. “Your appa will be happy to hear from you, he’s off on a business trip but he’s coming back tonight. Anyway…” she began as a smile crept across her face, “I want to see my future son in law, how many times do I have to ask you?!” she continued eagerly. “Yeah noona, is he good at Starcraft too? I want to meet him” my brother added, suddenly showing a lot of interest in this topic, and taking a seat. “Ah ok…but please don’t overreact! He’s nervous meeting you two alright?” I warned them. They both nodded understandingly. I peered under the desk and signaled to Donghae to come out from underneath, “This is Lee Donghae…” I announced, as Donghae appeared in the webcam and smiled warmly. Umma put her hands on her cheeks, attempting to hide her blushing cheeks, “Oh honey~ he really is handsome!” she exclaimed. My brother, on the other hand, looked simply awestruck, he rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t seeing things, “Lee Donghae? Super Junior’s Lee Donghae?! Umma, he’s a Korean idol!” he said, shaking her shoulder. “Yah~ you never told me you were dating a Korean superstar!” she finally responded. “Umma…you’re overreacting again! But don’t you remember? He was HyukJae’s friend back at high school” I said, trying to remind her of the past. “Oh yes, that young boy. He’s always been handsome hasn’t he?!” she exclaimed again. “Umma…” I sighed, embarrassed by her dramatic reaction. “See, honey? Wasn’t I right to warn you before you left that you should to be careful with risky relationships?” she said in relief. Risky relationships that would end up hurting me…it’s impossible to steer clear of those, really…but I just smiled and shrugged. This is where I am now, and this is where I want to be forever, together with the person I love most…Lee Donghae.

“So, now you’ve met my family…when am I going to get the chance to meet yours?” I asked Donghae, as we both lay in bed. We had both decided to stay at my apartment for the night, so we could have some time to ourselves since Donghae had a free schedule the next day. He turned to face me, “How about tomorrow?” he responded with a smile. My eyes grew wide, “Tomorrow?!” I shrieked before sitting up. “Well I called umma and Donghwa a few days ago, they said they’re coming down to visit us by train” he explained as he also sat upright. “Yah~ why didn’t you tell me about this?!” I scolded him, slapping his leg while I was at it. “Ngg…yeobo, you really have a habit of unintentionaly injuring people like this don’t you..?” he groaned in pain, as he rubbed his reddening leg. “Ah~ sorry, sorry, sorry! I didn’t mean to…” I pouted, helping him to ease his pain. But soon enough, his lips curved into a smile, “Oh you’re too cute when you’re like this!” Donghae exclaimed, pinching my cheek. “Lee Donghae, you are one great sweet talker. But let’s sleep now…we’ll have to get up early tomorrow to go pick up your umma and Donghwa, right?” I said, pulling the covers over my head. “Yes, yes. Seoul Central Station is quite far from here so it’ll take us an hour to drive there too” Donghae replied as he laid his head on his pillow. “Yah~our wedding day is less than a week away. So since my family is flying over in a few days time, maybe your umma and Donghwa could stay here at my apartment until the wedding is over. This would save their trip back, right?” I offered, snuggling up closer to Donghae. “Of course, that is a great idea. Oh how did I manage to find a wife as understanding as you?!”

“I’m hungry…” Donghae moaned with his hands firmly on the steering wheel. It was the next morning and we were on our way to pick up Donghae’s umma and brother, Donghwa, who were arriving from Mokpo. “Yah~ I made some kimbap this morning, I’ll feed you. We can’t afford to stop or else we’ll risk being late!” I said as I reached into the backseat to grab the plastic lunch box. Donghae opened his mouth wide and I placed the mini kimbap into his mouth. “Delicious right?” “Mhm…b-but it’s so s-spicy!” Donghae panted as he vigorously fanned his burning mouth with one hand. “Whoops…I might have put too much chili paste in it. Here, drink” I said quickly as I unscrewed the cap off the water bottle. Donghae gulped down all the water he could get, as the rest dribbled down his chin. “Omo~ the water is getting everywhere!” I laughed as I used a tissue to dry up the mess. “Yeobo, remind me to never let you feed me again!” he joked. “Hey isn’t that the station up ahead?” I asked, squinting into the distance. “Yeah it is,” he said before looking at his watch, “and we’re right on time too”.

Donghae held tightly onto my hand as we weaved and dodged through the massive crowd that filled up the station. Every now and then someone would recognize us, namely Donghae, and would stop and stare. “YAH! IT’S THE HAENGEL COUPLE!” a fan girl screamed from behind us. We both gulped. Instantly Donghae and I were surrounded by eager young girls begging for photos and autographs. “Singing Angel! You’re so pretty, even in person!”, “Please take care of oppa well, we’ll be counting on you unnie!”, “Donghae oppa! Please sign this!”, “Oppaaa~ saranghaeyo!” Eventually we managed to satisfy all their wishes and they slowly, one by one, dissolved back into the bustling crowds. “I guess we’ll need to keep an even lower profile next time huh…?” I sighed. “But fans have sharp eyes, so they’ll recognize us regardless!” he replied, as he scanned the sea of commuters and hoped to spot his umma and brother. I put my hands on my hips and turned in all directions, “Yah hyung!” Donghae shouted across the station platform. I turned back around as Donghae took my hand and pulled me towards the two exiting the train carriage. As we got closer I realized how much Donghae looked like his brother, Donghwa. They both had the same pair of deep brown eyes and thin pink lips. Donghwa wa wearing a pair of black framed spectacles that drew even more attention to his eyes. Though, he was indeed slightly taller than Donghae. I guessed that Donghwa probably measured around the same height as Siwon, Super Junior’s tallest member. Standing next to Donghwa was their mother, and I could tell where the two brothers had inherited their perfect features from. To be honest, she reminded me of my own mother. She had silky black hair that was pulled neatly into a bun, and she wore a white woolen cardigan accompanied by a long floral skirt. “Annyeonghaseyo, I’m Singing Angel…oh no I mean-“ I stuttered as I realized I hadn’t introduced myself with my proper name. “Ah what a sweet girl you are, and don’t worry. Donghae has told me all about you, Singing Angel” she said pulling me into a warm embrace while smiling ear to ear. “Yah, Hae, how’d you get so lucky huh? My little dongsaeng really is growing up!” he exclaimed, ruffling Donghae’s hair. He then bent down a little so we were eye level with each other, “So you’re the Singing Angel that Donghae’s been raving about? It’s nice to meet you! I’ll be treating you like my little sister from now on ok?” he said before pinching my cheek. I smiled and nodded, they even pinched people’s cheeks the same way. A pinch that never seemed to hurt. “Let’s go home now. Umma, you must be tired right?” Donghae said, being the filial son he was, and helped her with her bags. I wanted to take Donghwa’s luggage but he gently brushed my hand away, “A pretty girl like you shouldn’t be heaving bags around like this! I can handle it, really” he insisted with a smile, before running to catch up with Donghae. “Come along Singing Angel” Donghae’s mother beckoned as she linked her arms with mine. “And you can just call me your umma, just like Donghae does”

“Wow~ you have a very nice place here!” Donghwa exclaimed as he hauled his suitcase through the door. “Oh it’s nothing really, Top Idol provided this for me. Please make yourself comfortable” I insisted, leading them into the living room. “Do you work from home?” umma asked, as she sat down on the couch. “Well, I have to now because the company thinks it’s best for me. That way I don’t have to travel to and from the office with fans and reporters on my tail” I continued. “I’ll go make some tea for everyone” I offered, “Yes, I’ll come help you” Donghae added, following me into the kitchen.

“They like you a lot don’t they?” Donghae said, wrapping him arms around me from behind. I just smiled and continued brewing the tea. “I wonder what your family will think of me…” he added nervously. “Baby, are you still worrying about that? You saw how happy umma and my brother were to see you, and I’m sure my appa will really like you too” I replied reassuringly. There was a moment of silence. “Only if my appa was here to meet you too…” Donghae said in a shaky voice, I could tell he was on the brink of tears. Everytime he talked about his father, his tears would never hold back. I put down the kettle and turned around to pull him closer, “Your father is watching over us from heaven, and I’m sure he’s very happy right now…he gifted me a miracle and it’s time for me to give back…”, “So, when appa promised to send me a guardian angel from heaven…that angel turned out to be you?

I carefully peeked through the black curtain separating wings from the stage. All I could see was a huge sea of Super Junior fans that stretched all the way down to the main road. Right now everyone was getting ready for Super Junior’s first fan meeting to promote their second album “U”, and it was being held in the spacious plaza outside Seoul’s COEX Mall. The organizers had included me in the album signing part of the event. They insisted I attended because they believed I had gained much public interest through the past weeks, and it would definitely help boost Super Junior’s popularity this way. I sighed and let the curtain drop before heading back to the waiting room, it’s going to be a long day. Suddenly some sort of commotion caught my attention, I peered around the corner and discoivered a security guard trying to persuade three begging fan girls to leave. “No, no! I have told you already you cannot enter here! This is off limits to the public” the security guard repeated to the three young girls. “Ahjussi…we know Singing Angel, and we’re here to see her” the tallest one answered calmly. “Sure sure…but following her on Twitter doesn’t mean you personally know her, now does it?!” the guard smirked, folding his arms and sensing his victory. “Yah ahjussi! Bring Singing Angel here then, we’ll prove it to you!” the middle one bit back. “But…what if she doesn’t remember us at all…? That’s what happens when you become a star, isn’t it?” the quietest girl whispered under her breath. As I approached the four, I squinted and was finally able to make out who the three fans were. “YAH IT’S SINGING ANGEL! Unnie, it’s us!” they screamed as they spotted me walking towards them. “Oh perfect timing, please tell these girls to leave. They keep insisting they know you b-“, “I do know them” I said, breaking him off his sentence. “Y-you do…? Well uh…I’m sorry girls. I will leave you to it then…” the guard responded sheepishly as he bowed his head in embarassment, before walking away again. “Unnie! You really do remember us!” they exclaimed in unison, as they all hugged me in turn. “Of course, how could I forget you three? The concert wasn’t that long ago, and I trust you all are keeping those special hugs from your oppas close to your heart?!” I asked with an amused smile. They giggled and nodded happily. “Unnie, is it ok if you sign our things now? If you do then we can go straight to Super Junior without queuing in line for too long” the shy fan explained. “Sure!” I agreed without hesitation, “But don’t tell anyone else about this entrance ok? We don’t want to bother the security ahjussi again right?” I reminded them. They nodded as they handed me the images of Super Junior and I to autograph. I guess this is going to be part of life now, being Mrs. Lee Donghae and all.

The tune of “U” echoed throughout the plaza, this even garnered attention from the weekend shoppers passing by, and quickly Super Junior formed onto the stage. All thirteen wore purely white outfits with gold buttons running down the sides, similar to the ones they had worn at the concert. The fans instantly welcomed them with high pitched screams, they simply couldn’t comprehend the fact that their idols were only meters away from them. They continued to cheer excitedly for their idols, and many falling faint after witnessing that famous pelvic . As the song drew to a close, the support from the audience was still as alive as ever. The fans wanted more, and they knew it. So soon enough, Marry U was the song on everyones’ lips, many almost moved to tears. The fans sang along and waved their arms in in rhythm, the Sapphire Blue sea had come to life. I stood there alone at the side of the stage, knowing that I was the only one that knew the true meaning behind this song. They didn’t know it, but this song was really a miracle. The miracle brought Donghae back to his senses and so he could be at my side, protecting me and loving me like no other.

“Our first fan meeting is sadly coming to an end…but we’ve had a great time together today haven’t we ELF?” Leeteuk said into the microphone, as his voice projected all the way to the last row of fans. “YES!” they replied in unison. “We’ll be ending today with album signing, this will be starting in fifteen minutes time. But there is no need to hurry, we’ll be here until late this evening, so everyone will get a chance!” he continued reassuringly. “Let’s meet again soon!” Super Junior said into their microphones, as they waved their fans goodbye before heading off the stage. The organizers instantly started preparing the stage for the album signing by wheeling on two long black tables and positioning chairs along them. They all filed off the stage, passing me along the way. “Well done! You’ve all worked hard” I praised as I gave them each a clean towel, which they returned with a thankful smile. Donghae was the last off the stage and he had sweat running down the side of his face, trickling all they way down to his collarbone. He smiled, “So, how was I?” Donghae asked, stopping in front of me. “Naughty, as you always are” I replied with a laugh. “Mwo?! When have I ever been naughty?” he exclaimed, as I dabbed the towel against his face and chest. “You liked it when I did that pelvic during U, didn’t you?!”he added cheekily. I bit my lip but couldn’t help blushing, “Yah~ Lee Donghae! Wipe your own sweat yourself then!” I said, throwing the towel at him before walking away. “No no, yeobo! I didn’t mean it, I’m sorry!” he said quickly, rushing after me. I stopped and smirked, “Beg for it then”. Instantly Donghae pulled me into his arms, “Sure…I like how you think…” he whispered seductively. “Donghae! Hurry up and get your makeup redone!” Manager Taksama called from the waiting room. He sighed and released me from his arms, before walking down the corridor. I shook my head in amusement and playfully kicked his with my foot, “And you said you weren’t naughty!”

“Three hundred and twenty seven…” I murmured to myself, as I signed yet another poster. I handed the autographed item back to its owner, followed by a hand shake and a smile. It had only been half an hour into the album signing and we had already surpassed the three hundred mark. “Singing Angel unnie! You are really pretty, no wonder Donghae oppa chose you!” the next fan exclaimed, as she handed me what she wanted signed. “Oh, why thank you” I said shaking her hand. After the content fan bounded off the stage, I was immediately met with a nervous fanboy. “Can I do anything for you…?” I asked hesitantly, as I noticed he wasn’t holding anything in his hands. “I…can I…” he stuttered. “Go on, what would you like me to do?” I repeated encouragingly. “Could I please have a hug…?” he finally asked, wincing slightly. I smiled and stood up from my seat, “Of course!” I agreed with outstretched arms. It was a slightly awkward embrace as the table acted like a barrier between us, but nevertheless, it was a once in a lifetime experience for this kid. The fan boy released the hug and his cheeks were blushing pink. “Thank you…” he managed to say, “And Donghae hyung, please forgive me for hugging Singing Angel but I really like her…so please be a good husband and take care of her from now on” he added, bowing towards Donghae, who sat on my left. “Please don’t apologize! It was very courageous of you to confess your feelings today” Donghae responded with a smile. The fanboy grinned for the first time, and nodded gratefully before rushing off the stage. Though, before I even had a chance to compose myself again, another poster was slipped under my nose. “Who shall I address this autograph to?” I asked, studying the large image of Donghae and I. The fan laughed, a laugh that was extremely familiar to my ears…I instantly looked up, and realized who it was…”UMMA?!”