Chapter 14: Longing For

          After the battle, he went directly out of the club without turning back, and I followed him until he stopped and sat down the building’s steps. He wasn’t talking, or answering my queries as to what the two of them exactly talked about earlier, but I could see through his tired eyes that there were a lot of things bothering him that time.

          “L, please talk to me,” I said before I moved closer and sat beside him. “I know it is useless to ask, but still… Are you… mad at Jun-hyung?” L didn’t speak so I continued. “You’re my friend, and so is Jun-hyung. You might think he’s a messy, uncharismatic, antisocial person, but deep inside, he’s a warm, caring and friendly person. ”

          “To tell you the truth, I think you have a lot in common,” I said. L had his head bowed down, but I knew he was listening to me. “Just like when we visited the instrument shop. Jun-hyung was acting like a very amused child while looking at the displays, and so are you.” I stopped for a second when I realized something. “Ah, I’m sorry, I didn’t tell you about it,” I said.

          “It’s okay, please continue,” L told me.

          “What I only wanted to say is that he’s really a nice person and I’m sure you’ll like him too once you got to know him,” I said, “so please, don’t hate him.”

          “Jun-hyung is a really nice person and I’m not mad at him,” L said. “I’m mad at what he knows and with the person who told him what he knows.”

          “What do you mean?”

          “Mae sshi,” he said, “have you ever thought why I always go with the name L? And not by my real name?”

          “I thought you use that name because it’s cool,” I said, but L chuckled.

          “You think I’m cool?” L said. “Maybe if you’ve known my past, you won’t say that.”

          “Your past? What do you mean?” I said, “Please tell me.” L took a deep breath before telling me his life story. At first I thought he was joking, but he was so serious that it even came to the point that tears almost welled up from his eyes.

          “You’re right. Jun-hyung and I were similar at some aspects, but he’s a better person that I am.” L said.

          “Don’t say that,” I said, trying to calm the guy in front of me, “You’re strong too. It’s alright. It’s not that you killed someone, right? So… who else knew about it?”

          “Until before Jun-hyung, only two people who weren’t members of my family knew about it, and that includes Sung-jong.”

          “So you think, it was Sung-jong who told him about it?” I said and L nodded. 

          “But I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt,” L said. “He is, after all, my best friend.”

          “How about the other person?” I asked.

          “She won’t tell,” L said. “I know that she won’t tell. I’m sure of it.”

          She? “Who is she?” I asked.

          “If you have Jun-hyung, then I have her,” L said. “She’s the girl I’ve been loving for the past three years.” I took the liberty of analyzing his analogy before replying. L to the mysterious girl is to me and Jun-hyung?

          “What? When did I say that I love Jun-hyung?” I said while trying to remember the exact time I said that I love Yong Jun-hyung.

          “You didn’t have to say the exact words,” L said. “It’s obvious actually.”

          “I don’t,” I said.

          “But you like him?” L said.

          “Well… yeah, I guess so,” I replied which made L chuckle. “If you don’t like him, you wouldn’t kiss him just to get a free guitar,” L said.

          “H-how did you...?”

          “I saw the picture at the music store,” L said. I thought back at the time we went to the instrument shop. “So you were hurt, that’s why you left and followed me to the subway after that?” L shrugged his shoulder. “But why did you tell me to like you and only you?”

          “Because that is what she would have wanted me to do,” L said.

          “So you weren’t hurt? How rude!” I said. L chuckled and said, “Why? Were you hurt when I told you about the girl I’ve been loving?” L looked at me as if waiting for an answer. I came to think of it…

          “No, right?” L said, “Because even before the moment you beat me in the guitar battle, your heart had been and would always be with Jun-hyung. You wouldn’t humiliate your friend in front of us if Jun-hyung was nothing to you.”

          “I’m… I’m sorry,” I said. It was my turn to bow down, but after a few moments, I felt L’s gentle tap on my head.

          “It’s okay, most of the times people tend to do stupid things for the people they love,” L said. “That also happened to me, so cheer up.”

“Let me guess,” I said, “the stupid thing you are pertaining about is dating me when you are in love with someone else.” L suddenly broke a wide smile.

          “Bad boy!” I said before giving him a smack on the back of his arm.

          “It’s okay if I make you smile again,” L said. I didn’t even realize that I was smiling. “You still haven’t told me why the two of you were fighting,” I told him.

           “Go in and ask him,” L said. “I know that you’ve been longing to hear from him.”

---o0o---

          After I told L to go first, I went back inside the club but this time through the back door. I went to the back stage, and found nobody but a few guys with headsets.

          “Uh, excuse me,” I said, “Where’s B2ST?”

          “Oh, they left after what happened earlier,” one of the guys said. “They left in a van and probably brought Jun-hyung home.” I thanked the guys and proceeded to my next destination: Yong Jun-hyung’s house.

There was light inside Jun-hyung’s house, so I grabbed the opportunity to knock on his door, but instead of him, the leader opened it.

          “Is Jun-hyung around? I’m here to talk to him,” I said.

          “He’s not here,” he said.

          “But this is his house.”

          “Yes, but he’s not here.”

          “Then please tell me where is he!” I said.

          “Why?” Doo-joon said. “Why should I tell you?”

          “Because,” I paused to find the right words to say, and in the end, like what we ought to do always, I decided to tell them what I truly felt. “Because I’m concerned. I care for him… as a friend,” I said, emphasizing the last three words of my statement. It must had made it through Doo-joon’s heart as he opened the door wider. I expected to see Jun-hyung, but he was not there. Instead, what I saw shocked me even more.

          The other members had either open wounds on their lips and swollen cheeks, as if they just got into a recent fight. “What happened?” I asked Doo-joon.

          “Some guys–” the member with the incredibly pretty face started but Doo-joon stopped him.

          “Don’t stop him! She has to know!” Yo-seob shouted before turning to me. He had a huge cut on his right eye. “Armed guys came here and took Jun-hyung. We fought to take him back, but one of them got the opportunity to get a gun and point it to Doo-joon’s head.”

          “Do you know who this guys are?” I managed to ask despite of the sudden outburst.

          “No, but they said Boss wanted to see Jun-hyung,” the member with messy red hair and petite built said.

          “We should call the police –” I said, but I was cut by the guy with thick lips whom I remember to be their main vocalist.

          “We can’t risk calling the police!” he said. “What if they do something to Jun-hyung? What if they kill him?” Suddenly, a phone went off. It was Yo-seob’s.

          “Hyung! Where are you? We’ve been dead worried about you!” he said. “Really? Wait, where are you? Hyung?”

          “What did he say?” Doo-joon asked.

“He said he’s fine and that… medics will be coming to help us,” Yo-seob said. After a few moments, sirens were heard outside the house, and a knock sounded from the front door.

          That night, I went home with lots of thoughts inside my head. Who was Boss? Why did he wanted to see Jun-hyung? Why did armed guys came and took him? What was his connection to these armed guys, which by description, totally sounded like gangsters?