Chapter 2.

 

"Didn't the kid look like someone we know?"  Key asks curiously.

 

"Who was that anyways?"  I ask Taemin.

 

"Our neighbor, she just moved to Seoul from London this weekend."

 

"I swear his eyes looked so familiar."  Key continues about the little boy.

 

"How old was the kid?"  

 

"I didn't ask, 3 or 4.  He's a cute kid."  Key replies.

 

"They seem like nice neighbors."  Taemin says at the table while we eat.

 

"How old is she?  She seems young to be a mother."  I say.

 

"I am not sure.  But she's pretty right?"  Taemin smiles.  I ruffle his hair. 

 

"Are you crushing on a housewife?"

 

"She is a pretty lady, I can admit that.  And I don't think she is married.  There was no ring on her finger, she said she had a roommate too."

 

"Okay, Sherlock, be careful trying to figure out our neighbors.  They may be psychotic fans."  Dino reminds him.

 

"Psychotic?  No way. She didn't even know who we were."

 

 

The next morning I got ready to go to Star King.  My manager tells me to meet him downstairs as I gather some last minute things.  I enter the elevator and hear the slamming of a door.

 

"Baekhyunnie, wait!"  A woman cries out.  Just then a little boy runs into the elevator and starts pressing the buttons.  

 

"Ya!  Kid, stop that."  He looks up at me with a smile on his face.  I am taken aback by how adorable he is.  He's wearing khakis, little Air Force Ones, a tartan shirt under a yellow sweater vest.  His MCM backpack is as fashionable as his outfit.  Who is this kid?

 

"Stop, please, Baekhyun!"  The woman who cried out the kids name approaches the elevator but the door shuts before she can enter.  I try opening the door using the correct button but it is too late and we head down to the main floor of the building.  

 

"Was that your mom?"

 

"Yup."

 

"How old are you?"  I look down at his pretty fingers.  "4?  5?"  He holds four fingers then switches to five, then switches back to four.  "Well which one is it?  Never mind.  You shouldn't run from your mother, understand?  She'll be worried about you."

 

"Okay, ahjussi."

 

"Ahjussi!?  Ya, kiddo, I am not that old.  Call me hyung, okay?"

 

"Okay, hyung ahjussi."

 

"Ya.  Just 'hyung,' araso?"

 

"Okay, just hyung ahjussi."  I scoff.  Clever kid.  He thinks he's funny.  He must be closer to 5 years old despite his short stature.  The elevator finally opens and the kid's mom is standing in front of the door with her hands on her hips and out of breath.  

 

"Byun Baekhyun, you know how angry mummy is right now?"

 

"Sorry, mum.  This just hyung ahjussi told me that I shouldn't have done that."  She looks at me with an alarmed look on her face.  She grabs Baekhun's hands and drags him outside.  She yells thank you as she and the kid leave the apartment building.  

 

"Geez, you can't even look at me properly when you say it?"

 

"Who was that?" Mananger-hyung asks.  

 

"Our neighbor, her kid ran into the elevator without her."

 

"Cute mom."  I look at my manager.  "I mean, cute kid."

 

As soon as I walk towards the door, my foot hits something.  I look down and see an Avengers bento with the name Baekhyun on it.  Must have been the kids.  "We need to take this to them."

 

"How?  Do you know what school he goes too?"

 

"He was wearing a green and black tartan dress shirt and yellow sweater vest, what school is that?"

 

"How should I know?  Do you know how many schools have uniforms in Seoul, practically all of them?  Plus I don't hang around pre-schools."

 

"You hang around high schools?"  I .  

 

We walk out to the van and we head to the Star King studio.  I already went to the salon this morning so I have a couple hours to kill.  I look out the window and I see Baekhyun and his mom enter the bus.  We end up driving right next to it.  I look through the windows and see Baekhyun sitting on his mom's lap and they are playing a game on an IPad mini.  They are smiling at each other.  The mom looks very familiar, but I can't seem to place a name on it.  Maybe a fan, no, Taemin said she didn't know who we were.  Does she work at the mall or a cafe that we go to frequently?  But she just moved here, right?  Anyways, I am unable to control my happiness of seeing the mother and son enjoying their ride to school.  I look down at the bento and then at Baekhyun.  His lunch.  It's the first day of school for him too since they just moved in this weekend.  I see the bus turn left while we go straight, I insist to Hyung to turn around and follow the bus.  

 

We follow the bus which stops at a pre-school.  We park across the street and I watch the mother and son exit holding hands as they enter the small, colorful school building.  

 

"Minho, what are we doing here?"

 

"I need to give this bento to that kid."

 

"Now?  You don't need to, here let me do it."  He tries to grab it but I take it from him and exit the car.  

 

"Minho, if people notice you-  Come on, let me take it."

 

I wrap my face up with my scarf and insist that I take it to them.  Hyung was going to follow behind me just in case saesang fans arrive.   I am not Jaejoong-hyung, I don't have that many crazy fans.  I enter the building and parents are staring at me with slight smiles and curious eyes.  I bow and try to smile only to remember that my face is covered so they can't see my face.  

 

"Can I help you?"  A petite sized pretty lady asks me.  "Are you dropping your child's lunch?"  She looks at my Avenger bento.

 

"Ah, yes, yes I am.  Not my child, um, my godchild."  I come up with that lie as I look around for Baekhyun and his mom.  

 

"Oh, you're a god parent.  I should have known, you look very young to be a father."  She tries to peek at my face.  I unwrap my scarf realizing that it's rude and it seems safe to do so.  She gasps and notices me right away.  "Oh my.  You are, um, sorry, forgive me, you are just very handsome."  It's the makeup lady.  I ignore her gawking.  She doesn't know who I am.  Good.  "You are Minho from SHINee, right?"  Never mind, she does know who I am.  I smile and nod.

 

"I'm looking for Baekhyun, Byun Baekhyun."  I remember his last name from when his mom scolded him at the elevator.  

 

"Oh, the new kid from London?  Let me show you where they are.  They are getting a tour of the school.  It's their first day here."  Just as I thought.  My poor god child wouldn't have a lunch his first day here.  What the heck am I saying?  The teacher tries to hook her arms through mine as she guides me to the playground area at the center courtyard of the school building.  I spot Baekhyun right away.  His mom spots me too and I wave.   is wide open, shocked to see me, obviously, and she begins looking around for Baekhyun.  She finds him and carries him to the other side of the courtyard and back into the building.  Why is she ignoring me?  "There they are, they are going into the 4-5 year old classroom.  Let's go."  

 

We arrive at the classroom and I hear her saying goodbye to Baekhyun.

 

"Okay, mum has to go now.  I love you, be good.  Jongin and Luhan should be arriving soon.  And don't talk to strangers okay?  Even that hyung ahjussi you met today, okay, Baekhyun, promise me?"

 

"Okay."  Why can't he talk to me?

 

"Where's your bento?"  They look at his cubby and only find his backpack.  "Did you leave it at the house?"

 

"Ani, with hyung ahjussi."

 

"You left it in the elevator?  Baekhyun!"

 

"Jugiyo.  Here's Baekhyunnie's bento."  I interrupt them.

 

"Hyung ahjussi!"  The kid says excitedly and runs to me wrapping his arms around my legs.  His mom doesn't seem so excited to see me.  She collects herself and stands up and bows, takes the bento from me, and places it into his cubby.  

 

"Kamsahamnida."  She keeps avoiding my eyes.  "Baekhyun what do you say?"

 

"Kamsahamnida, hyung ahjussi."  He bows politely and I can't help but smile at his cuteness.  

 

"Your brother here was nice enough to bring it to you."

 

"Thank you."  She says to the teacher, and doesn't catch the brother part.

 

"Do you two live with each other?"  Why are you asking us these questions?

 

"Eh?"  She's confused as to why she's asking these questions also.

 

"May I speak to my, um,"  I look at her.  I told the teacher I was Baekhyun's god parent, so what would she be to me?  "I need to speak to my close friend here."

 

"Oh, you're friends?  You two aren't related?"  She seems disappointed.  Baekhyun's mom just stares at me with a confused and nervous look.  

 

"Just close friends.  Please excuse us."  I take her hand and lead her out the building.  As soon as we leave she lets go of my hand and we stand awkwardly around each other.  She doesn't ask for an explanation on why the teacher asked if we were related, nor does she seem to want to do anything but run away from me.  She bows quickly.  Says thank you once again and rushes down the sidewalk.

 

"Ya!  I don't even know your name."  I yell out to her and she stops with her back facing me.  "I told the teacher I was Baekhyun's god parent so they'd let me in to give him his bento.  Sorry about that."  Her back is still facing me.  

 

"Kamsahamnida!'  She responds.  That's it?  Is that all she can say to me?  She walks forward.

 

"Chakaman!"  She stops again.  I run to stand next to her and she puts her head down.  "Let me take you to where you work?  I have a car."  I honestly don't know why I am doing this, going out of my way to help my neighbor.  This is something Onew or Taemin would do, not me.  But something is drawing me to her.  Maybe Baekhyun, I don't know, but I feel the need to just be around her right now.  

 

"Kenchana, you've done enough, ahjussi."

 

"Wait!  You and your son needs to stop calling me ahjussi.  I am not old enough to be an uncle."  She finally looks at me for a moment.  I see how beautiful her eyes are, round and soft brown, and it has a bit of sadness, I don't know why though.  I grab her hand insisting again for her to follow me and drive her to her work.  She doesn't fight back.  When we reach the car she's looking at our hands clasped together.  And I notice that sadness again.  "Kenchana?"  She looks up and places her hand in her pocket.   "What's your name?"  She opens but nothing comes out.  It's not a hard question.  

 

"S- um, Han, ugh."  She seems to hesitate.  

 

"What is it?"

 

"It's actually, um, Haneul."

 

"Haneul?"

 

"Mhm"

 

"Interesting."  I smile at her and she looks down.  She must be really shy.  How old is she?  She reminds me of some of our fan girls who can't look at us for longer than a second.  But she isn't a fan.  Taemin said she only recently heard of us.  "Where do you work?  I will take you there."

 

"Andewe, kenchana.  I  work just down the street at the cafe."  She bows hurriedly and starts to walk quickly away.  

 

"Minho, let's go!"  I get in the car and I watch Haneul enter the bubble tea shop a few blocks from the school.  The name of the shop is Sky Bar.  Cool.  We arrive at the broadcasting studio and as soon as I enter Bora greets me with a bubble tea.  How ironic.  

 

"Oppa, an-yeong!"  She says cutely.

 

"Anyeong.  Is that for me, again?"  She hands me the mango bubble tea.  I look at the cup, Sky Bar.  I start to smile.

 

"Do you like it?"  I ruffle her hair and thank her for the drink.  She's been bringing me all kinds of snacks lately.  It's very sweet of her.  We are promoting at the same time and it's nice to meet the other colleagues on variety shows.

 

"Hey, Minho, what's that girl's name, our neighbor?"  Manager hyung asks me.

 

"Oh.  It's Haneul."

 

"Haneul?  That's it?  Like SKY?"

 

"Yeah, like the sky.  Why do you ask?"

 

"It's rare finding someone with a name that is the exact name, sky.  Usually it's a variation of the name, like Han Se or Hana.  But never just, Haneul."  

 

"Yeah…okay, hyung."  I look at him weird.  

 

"What is he talking about?"  Bora asks.

 

"Who knows what's he's rambling on about.  Let's go."  

 

"Sky is an odd name.  But in some countries, Sky is a common name.  Maybe in London or Ireland, you know?"

 

"Hmm, yeah, I guess you are right.  She did move from London.  So that makes some sense."

 

"Maybe her real name is Sky?"

 

"She isn't full blooded Korean, that's for sure.  Now that I think of it, she does look a little bit european.  But anyways, let's see who else is going to be on the show."

 

"I heard MBLAQ will."

 

"Yes!  I love those hyungs."

 

I was ready to throw away my finished bubble tea, when I glanced at the cup's logo, Sky Bar.  Sky?  What an odd name for a girl.