January 18 2013

The boys were backstage at KBS for the recording of Music Bank. It was their comeback stage and they were waiting for their turn. “Hyung, I think it’s a bad idea that you and hyungsoonim dyed your hairs the same colour. People are going to notice” Min Hyuk said worriedly. Seo Hyun and Yong Hwa still went to the same hair salon. Seo Hyun had to dye her hair a bolder colour to fit the concept of SNSD’s new album but she wasn’t too sure she could do it so Yong Hwa said he’d dye the same shade as an encouragement. It didn’t stand out much before because they hadn’t appeared in public together before this but now that they were due to be in close proximity, Min Hyuk was worried fans and anti-fans would notice. “It’s ok Min Hyuk-ah.. I don’t think they’d notice that too much. We dye our hair so often” Yong Hwa tried to reassure Min Hyuk.

“Let’s hope you don’t have to be on stage together” Jung Shin said off handedly. Just then, the Music Bank PD popped his head through the door and announced, “CNBLUE, we have added a backstage interview slot between SNSD and CNBLUE. The scriptwriter will come by with the script later. Please prepare. Thank you” before rushing off. That caught the boys by surprise. That was the one thing they needed to avoid at this moment but it seems that luck is not on their side. Before they recovered from their shock, the scriptwriter lets herself into the room and bows. “Hello boys, I’m the scriptwriter. I hope the PD has informed you that there is an interview segment with SNSD?” she asked quickly while fiddling with the stack of paper she was carrying. “Yes, he just did actually” Jong Hyun replied calmly. “Ok, so four of you will be interviewed by two of SNSD girls” the scriptwriter informed. “Oh.. So just two of the girls.. Not all of them? I see I see” Yong Hwa relaxed considerably. What are the odds that one of the two girls will be Seo Hyun, right?

“Yes, that’s right. Just two of them. Yoona-ssi and… Hang on, let me find it” she said as she paused to search her papers again. At the mention of Yoona’s name, Jong Hyun smiled widely while Yong Hwa, Jung Shin and Min Hyuk sniggered at him. “Ahh.. Here… Yoona-ssi and Seo Hyun-ssi” she said while passing out the script to the boys. Yong Hwa’s expression froze. Crap! The Gods are clearly against him this time! “Okay, so here’s the script. Please memorize it. We will be recording this segment in thirty minutes. See you then” she said as she hurried out the door. Yong Hwa looked down at the paper that was handed to him. It wasn’t difficult, it was just questions that he could answer. But it was the proximity he couldn’t handle. Why was it that whenever he made up his mind to behave well, he would be given impossible tasks to do? “Jung Shin-ah, you stand next to Seo Hyun later. I can’t… I will give myself away too easily if I do” Yong Hwa said finally finding his voice.

Thirty minutes later, a knock came and one of the junior PDs stuck his head through the door and announced “CNBLUE, time to record the backstage segment with SNSD. Please follow me” he said as he held the door ajar for them. “I hope you’ve all prepared well for the backstage segment” the PD tried to make small talk as he led the boys to the backstage recording area. “Yes yes.. We have” Jong Hyun replied hurriedly when Yong Hwa didn’t respond to the question. “Hyung!” Jong Hyun hissed as he nudged Yong Hwa. “Ne?” Yong Hwa asked loudly. He hadn’t been paying attention. He had been far too worried. “Get a grip, hyung! We’re recording soon!” Jung Shin hissed from behind.

“Okay, CNBLUE… Jung Shin-ssi, you stand here, up this step along with Min Hyuk-ssi. Yong Hwa-ssi, you stand here with Jong Hyun-ssi” the PD arranged the boys. “Err… Can I swap places with Jung Shin? He’s too tall to be standing one step above me” Yong Hwa tried to reason. “Ahh… That’s too bad but no. Seo Hyun-ssi will stand next to you as she needs to interview you. Besides, you’re the leader. You need to be in front” the PD rejected. The day was not going well for Yong Hwa. “Hyung, just remember what you said the other day. Don’t look at hyungsoonim and you’ll be fine” Jung Shin whispered. Yong Hwa nodded, not quite sure if he could do it. Don’t smile, don’t smile, don’t smile, Yong Hwa chanted to himself.

“Seo Hyun-ssi! Yoona-ssi!! You’re here! Good.. stand here and here” the PD shouted as Seo Hyun and Yoona arrived. “Ahh.. Hello” Yoona and Seo Hyun said in unison as they acknowledged and bowed to the CNBLUE boys. “Ahhh.. Yes, hello” they bowed in return. Seo Hyun looked at Yong Hwa but he didn’t smile. In fact, he had a really severe look on his face. “Oppa, what’s wrong?” Seo Hyun whispered. “It’s nothing. I’m trying to control my emotions here. And it’s really bad that we’re standing next to each other. Our hair colour is too similar! It’s actually the same shade as your highlights! Remember?” Yong Hwa whispered back. “Okay! We’re going to do a dry run here and then the cameras will roll. Let’s start!” the PD interrupted them.

Throughout the whole segment, Yong Hwa avoided Seo Hyun’s eyes at all cost. He actually avoided looking at her altogether except when she asked him a direct question. It was unusual for Yong Hwa to not smile during interviews as he’s often happy to be able to perform and be on stage and talk about his music. But this time it was different. He was being really awkward and not smiling and having quite a severe look on his face. “And… cut!” the PD yelled. “Thank you guys. You may return to your rooms now” he said as all six of them bowed to thank the crew. “Jung seobang, your facial expression was so weird throughout the whole interview!” Yoona teased as they made their way back towards their own rooms. “Argh.. I couldn’t look at Seo Hyun. I always smile too happily when I see her. So I was trying to hide it!” Yong Hwa whined softly. “Aigoo Jung seobang, you’re too cute” Yoona chuckled as she took a step back to walk with Seo Hyun who had been chatting with Jung Shin.

“Ooohhh!!! Jung seobang looked so awkward!!!” Hyo Yeon screamed. “Acckk!!! It’s so awkward!!!” Soo Young chimed in. “Ahhh!!! Yoona-ya! Why are you and Jong Hyun flirting so openly!!!” Tiffany screamed. “Omo!! Yoona-ya!!!! What’s going on with you and Jong Hyun??!!!” Tae Yeon squealed. They were watching the pre-recorded backstage interview on the TV from their changing room. “Yoona-ya! What’s going on between you and Jong Hyun??” Yuri asked Yoona who was seated next to her. “It’s nothing!” Yoona said, trying to sound innocent. “It’s not nothing! Look at that!” Sunny said as she slid onto the last remaining seat nearby. “Do you like Jong Hyun?” Jessica asked directly. “SNSD! Time for your performance!” the junior PD barged in to inform them. “Phew!!” Yoona sighed..

January 19 2013

CNBLUE was at FNC having just finished a meeting about their Blue Moon concert with their concert organizers and coordinators when they bumped into Han Seung Ho. “Oh Sunbaenim!! Hello! How are you?” the four boys greeted loudly while bowing. “Oh.. CNBLUE! I saw you guys on Music Bank last night. It’s going to be hard to wrestle a win from SNSD but good job guys!” Han Seung Ho praised. “Oh by the way, Yong Hwa-ya,  may I speak to you for a moment?” Han Seung Ho said as he beckoned Yong Hwa to follow him. Yong Hwa knew it would be about Seo Hyun since that was the only sensitive topic that required privacy around here. Once inside the privacy of Han Seung Ho’s office, they spoke freely. “Yong Hwa-ya, I saw the backstage interview with SNSD last night. You looked so awkward!! Already the netizens are speculating why you couldn’t look at Seo Hyun-ssi in the eyes!” Han Seung Ho said honestly. There was no point beating around the bush and they both know it.

“Ahh.. Sunbaenim, I’m sorry. I just panicked. I know I always smile too much whenever I see Seo Hyun so I tried to avoid her gaze and kept telling myself not to smile. I know both you and Lee Soo Man sajangnim have been warning us a lot lately so I was just trying hard to heed your warning” Yong Hwa said apologetically. “Ahh.. Yong Hwa-ya, just be yourself. But that wasn’t what I wanted to talk to you about. It just happened to cross my mind as I was walking just now. You looked like you had constipation!” Han Seung Ho chuckled. “I’m sorry, I will improve” Yong Hwa said, still serious. Han Seung Ho leaned back as he studied Yong Hwa’s face for a long moment. “Yong Hwa-ya, you seem to have put on some weight. Seems like Seo Hyun-ssi is feeding you well!” Han Seung Ho teased. “Ahh yes, Seo Hyun’s mom cooks for us so we almost always have home cooked food” Yong Hwa blushed. “Very good! I have been so worried about your health for so long!” Han Seung Ho admitted. “Sunbaenim, don’t worry anymore. We usually have dinner with Seo Hyun’s family at her place when we’re early. Otherwise, they will leave the food in our dorm for us to eat when we get home” Yong Hwa informed.

Han Seung Ho nodded before resuming his serious tone “Yong Hwa-ya… How serious are you with Seo Hyun-ssi?” asked Han Seung Ho. “Ne? What do you mean?” Yong Hwa said, suddenly worried. He knew he had their support to date Seo Hyun but he also knew they had no power to save him from the wrath of fans and anti-fans should they be exposed. Han Seung Ho looked straight into Yong Hwa’s eyes, as if trying to gauge something. “I mean, do you plan on getting married? Having children? Or maybe you haven’t thought that far yet?” Han Seung Ho clarified, his gaze still fixed on Yong Hwa, almost boring a hole into him. “I’m dead serious about her, sunbaenim. There will be nobody else but Seo Joo Hyun for me. I do want to marry her and have a family with her in the future. Definitely” Yong Hwa said as honest as he could. He knew in every fibre of his being, he meant what he just said. With his gaze still fixed on Yong Hwa, Han Seung Ho began to nod slowly. “Araseo… Well, I thought you’d like to know that Lee Soo Man sajangnim is now agreeable to the idea of both of you getting married” Han Seung Ho announced. “Ne??” Yong Hwa couldn’t believe his ears.

“Well, as you know since SunYe from Wonder Girls announced her wedding plans, there has been quite a lot of support from fans for her. Something that we did not expect. We always thought that fans would be outraged and angry. But we were pleasantly surprised that everyone has been very supportive. Which makes us wonder, maybe it is possible for idols to be married and still continue as idols” Han Seung Ho explained. “Sunbaenim… Does that mean we can go public with our relationship??” Yong Hwa was hopeful. “Well, Lee Soo Man sajangnim wanted me to talk to you, to understand from you, how serious both of you are first. And if you do have plans to get married, we’ll help you with it. Meaning, we’ll help you plan the announcement that you’re dating and then after a certain time, then the wedding. Don’t misunderstand. We are not taking advantage and making this a publicity stunt. But rather, we need to be smart on how we approach this. You are aware of the backlash when SHINEE’s Jong Hyun-ssi and Shin Se Kyung-ssi confirmed they were dating, don’t you? So we need to be careful on how we do this” Han Seung Ho said.

After the private session with Han Seung Ho, Yong Hwa made his way to the practice room to meet up with Jong Hyun, Jung Shin and Min Hyuk. He practically ran the whole way there. He was excited to tell them what just transpired. Bursting through the doors of the practice room, Yong Hwa stood at the doorway, panting profusely from the mad dash he made to reach them. “Hyung!!” Jung Shin panicked as he rushed to help Yong Hwa into the room. Yong Hwa started to speak but no words came out as he was still panting hard. “Breathe hyung! Breathe!!” Jong Hyun yelled as he pat Yong Hwa on the back. Min Hyuk who was rooted to the spot didn’t now what to do. “Min Hyuk-ah!! Bring some water for hyung!” Jung Shin called out to Min Hyuk. By the time Yong Hwa caught his breath, he collapsed on the floor, completely spent of energy.

“Hyung, what did Han sunbaenim say?? Is it over??” Jung Shin asked as he stood over Yong Hwa, looking down at him. Yong Hwa struggled to sit up. “No no… It’s not that. He said… He said…. Lee Soo Man sajangnim..and himself… Will help us get married if we want to!” Yong Hwa shouted excitedly. “Ne??” Jong Hyun, Jung Shin and Min Hyuk exclaimed. “Are you really getting married, hyung??” Min Hyuk asked. “No no… I mean, they said if we want to get married, they are ok with it. And will even help us deal with the announcements and the fans” Yong Hwa explained. “Ahhh… I see… I understand now” Jung Shin replied, smiling. “Wow hyung! Congratulations, I guess!” quipped Jong Hyun. “No wonder you were looking at rings the last time we went shopping! You were already thinking about it then, huh!” Jung Shin exclaimed as he slapped Yong Hwa’s back.

Yong Hwa smiled sheepishly, “Actually, I’ve thought about it for a long time. Since we got back together again in LA last August, I’ve been constantly thinking about it. I know I’m still young. And I know Hyunnie is even younger. But, I can’t help it. I think we’re meant to be and there’s no one I could love more than her” Yong Hwa admitted. It was the first time he admitted how much he loved Seo Hyun to his bandmates. “Does your mother know?” Jong Hyun teased jokingly. “Yes, she does actually. How do you think I survived my breakup with Seo Hyun? How do you think I got the courage to keep trying to get back again with her? I confided in my mom a couple of times when we first broke up. And it made me realize how much Hyunnie means to me and how I couldn’t live without her” Yong Hwa was baring his soul to his bandmates. “Wow.. I had no idea you were so serious” Min Hyuk said softly.