CHAPTER VI

BREATHE

Kwon Yuri's mansion, nighttime.
The private room.

The rest of the day passed in a whirlwind of activity. Kwon Yuri struggled to get through Yoona and Hye Sun out of her mind by setting herself super busy, but when the night came, it was a total different story.

“Prepare my flight to New York for tomorrow.”

There was a faint bitterness underlying the tone, Sooyoung thought. She looked at her boss enquiringly but the boss’ face betrayed nothing more than the usual stoic face.

“What is it, Choi Sooyoung? Why do you stare at me like I stole your milk?”

Just then the boss was having second thoughts about going to New York, and suddenly in the nighttime she decided to go with such certainty?

Noticing the meaning behind the stare, the boss shook her head. “You hear me,” Kwon Yuri tried to sound as polite as she could, Sooyoung noticed that.

“Boss. Aren’t you going to visit Yoona idol on her first day filming tomorrow?”

The Kwon ignored the secretary's eyes, and stared at the huge window beside the desk.

“No need to.”

The eyes lifted; Sooyoung saw her boss come back, slowly, to whatever unhappy place she had been visiting.

Kwon Yuri stood up from her seat, and ordered in a slow, deep voice. “Please turn off my laptop.”

So this wasn’t her own imagination- her boss was really going to New York.

Sooyoung’s eyes trailed the figure as she walked slowly, with an unusual expression toward the door. She watched the back of the Kwon disappearing by the seconds.

“What happened with boss?” She asked herself. “Why so gloomy?”

Behind her boss’ big desk, on the largest expanse of the wall in the private room, hung an enormous, framed photograph of Im Yoona, smiling beautifully. Sooyoung stared at the big-framed picture before she turned her gaze down to the screen, to observe it. She recognized that it was Win Win show, paused. She nodded to herself.

The paused section was at some part when someone said, “Unnie, I would feel the same way.” with the hands entwined.

She sank down into the grand chair and took the white mouse, randomly placing the cursor in the middle of the remaining time, and clicked the PLAY button. The camera focused on Yoona.

“OH MY GOSH DO THEY HAVE TO ZOOM THOSE ENTWINED HANDS?“ She screamed, frustrated.

The camera focused on Go Hye Sun.

“If I was a guy, I think I would really like her.”

Then to Yoona's angle.

“Unnie I would feel the same way.”

She quickly paused the show, and covered her face with both her hands. She gasped silently. Her heart ache by the view of the idol with the other girl, holding hands.

“Oh no… Yoona idol, I think you just broke my boss’ heart.“

So this was why boss looked so sad? This was the reason behind the enormous sad aura?
Sooyoung exhaled heavily, and felt like crying all the sudden.

She started to think.
If she-who was only a shipper of BoNa- could be saddened intensely so much by this scene, then how it would effect on her boss, who ship the idol way more than her life? She felt like a knife had just been stabbed repeatedly to her heart. It hurts, seeing the scene.
It hurts even more to imagine how'd her boss felt at the moment.

“Boss, I know how you feel now…” Sooyoung’s voice drifted off as she stopped herself from saying aloud.

Sooyoung felt that all her energy was drown out.
But she told herself that she had to watch the show, from the start till the end of it. She locked her gaze on the screen again, rejecting all the unwanted feeling in her heart.

http://youtu.be/zeKVh4Pmo2o

‘PAUSED’

“So boss stopped watching after this… Gah this is too much for my weak heart.”

‘PLAY’

Camera on Yoona and Goo Hye Sun holding each other hands.

“And Yoona, let me ask you some final questions before we end the show.” The attendants stared at the MC- Kim Seung Woo-, expecting the question, as Yoona and Hye Sun part their hands. “This is a hot topic we found in a random poll,” he stated.

All of the attendants replied with “oh…” at the same time.

Yoona start asking herself.

The camera focused on Yoona’s waiting expression, while Goo Hye sun stared at her and later to the MC.

The man smiled. “What do you think of Cold Kwon?”

Yoona placed her right hand to cover , and then dropped it in a second. “Eh?” She said, eyes wide.

Kim Shinyoung intervened, “You know Cold Kwon, Yoona?”

“Yes I do.” Yoona answered, puzzled expression.

“Right. Who didn’t know cold Kwon, yaahh!” Wooyoung joined, and Shinyoung laughed together with the rest of them. The idol cracked her brain. Why do they suddenly ask about Yuri? Did they see me with Yuri before this? Those paparazzi?

Yoona snapped back after receiving another question. “Are you guys acquaintance?” Came Wooyoung’s question.

“Ummm…” Yoona rolled her eyes.

[Address Yul as unnie, or sunbae, Yoona] Kim Taeyeon spoke from the tiny earphone. Yoona made a mental note of Taeyeon’s words.

“Yuri unnie and I… We’re kind of…” She paused to think. “Good friends…?”

Good friends, Yoona, right, when you stared at her all the way like that.

Yoona shivered by her own thoughts, but she managed to keep her expression at the moment. Actress Im on action.

“Whoa, even address her as unnie!” Wooyoung’s head titled to Yoona-Shinyoung and Seung Woo.

“Eh? Is that wrong?” Yoona breathed, trying to look normal and cool.

“No, but you guys seems close enough to be addressing as unnie and dongsaeng.”

Yoona smiled at the comment.
Didn’t I say we’re good friends? She smirked triumphantly inside.

She remembered the time when she was caught staring inside the car. She remembered Yuri’s lopsided smile. Yuri’s puppy-defeated look.

“Did you just blushed now?”

“Eh? No…” Yoona waved, not admitting her hot cheeks.

Shinyoung clapped her hands, “You did, really!” then she laughed again.

Yoona fanned her face; the cheeks were obviously warm. I guess I did blush.

Handsome MC Seung Woo continued again. “So what do you think of the Cold Kwon?”

“Ah really, you guys shouldn’t call her that,” Yoona complained, and went on. “She is not like that at all.”

The MCs were a bit taken aback by this.

“If you look at her…” Yoona tried to explain her best, looking into the eyes of the MCs. “She might seemed a bit too cool, and…” and the thought of Yuri who whined cutely at her just then appeared into her mind, making the idol smile widely all the sudden again, way too obviously.

Shinyoung blurted out, “Ahh yahh what was that smile about, Yoona!” She curiously peeked the girl.

Yoona laughed and shook her head. “Yuri unnie is one of the sweetest people I’ve ever known,”

“Sweetest?!” The three MCs spoke in unison. They clearly couldn’t believe what they just heard- Cold Kwon being the sweetest person.

“You guys make Yuri unnie looks that bad!”The idol whined, frowned, hands waving in disagreement.
Clearly she couldn’t brag to them about how sweet Yuri has been to her, all this time. But Yoona couldn’t help but to share her happiness from the recent ‘date’ they had at Starbucks.

“We were- I mean Yuri unnie and I, went to a coffee shop some hours ago.”

Wooyoung was bewildered. “Ahh…?” And glanced to Goo Hye Sun who was now smiling silently.

All of the audience fell silent, waiting for Yoona’s story.

Somehow Goo Hye Sun felt like she was the guest star- while in fact, Yoona was the guest. Everyone was so captivated by Yoona and the cold Kwon’s story. It wasn’t like the story was very interesting or something like that, no, not like that at all.

It was the way Yoona told the story that caught their whole attention.
It was how happy she was when she talked about them. How her eyes sparked.

“I really enjoyed my time with her. And people should stop saying that Yuri unnie is a cold one, reallllly.” Yoona said cutely.

Wooyoung elbowed Shinyoung, and Shinyoung elbowed Seung Woo. “Don’t look at me!” he said, “You guys were calling Miss Kwon Cold Kwon too!”

Yoona chuckled, her eyes beaming with excitement.

“To be honest, there are lots of things that we wanted to ask about, but look at the time!” MC Seung Woo gasped.

Both Wooyoung and Shinyoung nodded in agreement.

“Then we should just invite both Yoona and Miss Yuri next time.” Shinyoung teased deliberately, showing her funny smirk. Wooyoung clapped his hands.

“But that would be hard, don’t you guys know how busy Miss Yuri is?” Seung Woo said to the other MCs.

Wooyoung replied. “I think if Yoona’s the one who invited her, she’d gladly come.”

Yoona showed her teeth. Yuri and me on Win Win?

[Oh yeah YoonYul on Win Win? Pure win.] Yoona pretended not to hear her manager's comment.

Her brain brings back Yuri's words. “Then I should register myself at Win Win too, then.”
She stiffed the urge to giggle.

Finally, Wooyoung said again, “So let’s see the picture we’re talking about!”

Camera moves to the big screen, revealing Yuri, holding Yoona’s hand with a flustered look at SME Party.

“I think you two looked good together in that picture” Shinyoung stated.

AH- She was flustered? I didn’t know about that!

Yoona wondered, how was this picture even taken from.

“Thank you for coming here, Yoona.” Wooyoung’s greeting snapped the idol back. She quickly turned around and said thank you to the MCs, and to Goo Hye Sun. She bowed to the older person, and waved good bye.

Yoona grinned happily, and went to exit the filming room, off to the dressing room to meet with her manager.

It was now 2 AM, and ridiculously, somehow, the image of Yuri kept appearing again.

Taeyeon welcomed her with a smile inside the room.

“Good job, Yoona!.” She said, as she packed the things to the bag. The only thing that Taeyeon passed to the idol was the iPhone. She knew what the dongsaeng would like to do.

Yoona took the iPhone from Taeyeon, and they shared a grin. She typed happily, while Taeyeon remind her, “Filming tomorrow starts around 8 AM. Be ready, okay.”

The idol nodded.

She heard her manager said again, “This is Love Rain script.”
She reached over to take the thick paper of the script, and continued with her first plan.

To: YR
The Win Win filming ended just now.
Thank you for the ride :)
Good night.

“Yah, you really can’t stop smiling, can you?” Taeyeon muttered. “Oh and check out the script. You’ll find something interesting.”

Yoona looked at her manager before she began flipping the paper.

Love Rain

Staring:

Im YoonA as
Kim Yu Ri / (Kim Yoon Hee)

________________________
Love Rain Filming, Day#1

“What do you think?”

Yoona looked across the location in the distance. It was still early morning; in the air she could smell the morning refreshing scents. And it felt good to be here with a close friend, the trusted manager- Kim Taeyeon.

“I think its perfect for the scene,” Yoona said. She turned around to find Taeyeon setting up chairs for both of them.

Yoona went to Taeyeon, and later both of them engaged in their own activity before the filming start.

Suddenly Taeyeon clapped her hands.

“Yoona, did you know that Yul just got into a head accident some days ago?”

They were in the filming location, early morning, and Yoona was practicing some lines before the shoot began. The filming was supposed to be at 8 AM, but Yoona and Taeyeon already got there since 06.30 AM.

“What?” Yoona stopped reading her lines on the paper, turning her head to her manager. She frowned, “Why do I feel like she gets into a lot of accident after knowing me?”

Taeyeon laughed. “Well, Sooyoung told me that it bulged, her head.”

Yoona looked at her manager blankly for a moment, lost in her own anxiety. She was sure she’d read somewhere that people
often seemed fine after a head injury but then hemorrhaged and died hours later.

“Yoona?” Taeyeon looked puzzled.

Yoona hurriedly took her iPhone out, and dialed the newly registered number some days ago.

Calling…
YR

________________
At the same time,
Incheon Airport.

Kwon Yuri adjusted her new Dolce & Gabbana aviators and arranged her long hair into tousled, chick perfection mode.

Incheon airport was her favorite airport since her favorite idol-Yoona- always come and goes here. The thought about Yoona and Goo Hye Sun increased her gloomy mood, but watching Yoona and Hye Sun holding hands was more than she could stomach.

There was always a scrum of paparazzi waiting for her when she walked through the electric double doors at the terminal, reminding her that she was still the famous cold Kwon, still relevant, still feared, and envied.

Still, Yuri was sure that they-the media- certainly would be delighted in seeing the mighty fallen.

Write anything you want about me, but you’re not getting a bad picture. 

“Got everything?”

Sooyoung, the secretary of the past years, nodded from behind a trolley piled with Louis Vuitton suitcases.

Kwon Yuri had brought two persons with her for the New York trip: Hyoyeon, who was really more than the mansion’s head assistant of a friend and had been so faithful and amusing since Yuri’s return to Seoul from Chicago some years ago, and also Lee Joon- the handsome, snobby personal stylist. While the secretary- Sooyoung- was assigned to do on her instead for the meantime.

“All set, boss.” Hyoyeon’s answer was reassuring. “Do you want us to go in front?”

“No,” Yuri answered, her dark eyes glinting with combination of coldness and a hint of hesitation.

For all her tantrums and spoiled-greedy behavior, she knew that she was being childish to act like this- she never had any right to hold an ill feeling such like this.

Yoona was a star, Yoona was everyone’s, not hers. She might get closer to the idol recently- and it was like a dream came true- but what could that mean? Getting to know, or even getting closer didn’t mean you could get all obsessive toward the person.

Yuri knew it-but she was so shaken off by the scene of Yoona and Go Hye Sun yesterday night.

She knew better than to make decisions in anger.
But, her weak heart just couldn’t bear with it.

As they walked their way, she began to think again.

I wont be able to see Yoona with my own eyes for more than 24 hours. 
I wont be able to see her filming her first shot.
I wont be able to see her smile.
I wont be able to see her.
I will go crazy and I will absolutely regret this decision when I reached New York.

And by the time I start regretting things up, Yoona’s first filming would end.

Yuri was afraid about those thought becoming real.
And she was afraid for not being there, for not being able to see Yoona.

She was afraid that when she went there- she’d found her idol with the lovely unnie of her holding hands sweetly.
Will she able to endure it? Who was she to begin with? You're just a fan, Yuri. A fan. Just a lucky fan.

The sweet words of Yoona and that girl kept ricocheting, and that didn’t help to ease her mixed emotions.
She frowned, she frowned.

The way to departure hall was complete insanity. A zoo of photographers and reporters literally trampled people underfoot, knocking their cameras into commoners and elderly people in their desperation to get the cold Kwon. From all sides reporters screamed out various questions, desperate to get a reaction that they could spin into a story.

“Is it true that you’re coming to New York to fix issues about LakeWood?”
“Is it true that you and the superstar Im Yoona are friends?”
“Was her fame she gained up until now had something to do with you?”
“Please tell us a little about your friendship with the superstar Im Yoona?”
“Miss Kwon, look here! What do you think of Im Yoona and her latest statement?”
“Are you and Yoona good friends? Or do you deny it, Miss?”
“Do you have anything you wanted to say to Yoona right now?”

Yeah let me say ‘go marry your lovely unnie Hye Sun’ she said inside her mind, but soon she regret that. Her heart rate quickened and her palms began to sweat by the imagination of her own words. I’m just kidding Yoona, please don’t do it.

The press was moving closer, while Sooyoung and Hyoyeon were the only things standing between her and being torn to sheds. While Lee Joon, being as ignorant as he always been, received the paparazzi with a welcoming hand.
All the cameras whirred in action: click click click.

Noticing their boss’ mood, both Sooyoung and Hyoyeon moved forward, using the luggage trolley as a defensive shield. “Give our boss some space, please.”

They knew that firm politeness worked better than aggression in this circumstance. Sooyoung frowned a bit. She was about to console, to persuade her boss to not go to New York yesterday night, after watching Win Win, but it was imposible since her boss locked the door, and even turned off all her devices. Even in the early morning, the lugagge were all set, and she was so determined to leave Seoul.

She tried to bring back to topic inside the car, but the sad aura around her boss was too much to bear- Sooyoung hesitated to speak about it, she didn't want to hurt the boss. She told herself, everything happens for a reason.

Finally, they made it inside the check-in lobby in the building, where no more paparazzi could attack them. Three of them successfully checked in, and head toward the waiting room, while Sooyoung has to go back to the office to run the company, after she said "I'm gonna miss you boss" to Kwon Yuri. She would have to meet and swim in the ocean of paparazzi once again.

They waited inside the executive lounge, having 30 more minutes before the flight.
That was when Hyoyeon start to bug her boss.

“Boss”

“Hm?” the boss flipped through the pages of COSMOPOLITAN magazine. Lee Hyori was the cover model.

“You sure you going to New York?”

“Why shouldn’t I, Hyo?” she answered, still looking at the cover.

“Yoona idol starts filming today”

Lee Joon- the stylist- smirked upon the debating session. He took sip of his tea cheerily.

“The filming will start in one hour, boss.”

“Why should I be there,” the boss groaned.

“Aren’t you Yoona idol’s biggest fans?”

The boss inhaled deeply.

“Come on boss, you’re deerSUGAR, after all!”

Kwon Yuri exhaled heavily. No one understands her pain.

“She doesn’t need me, Hyo. Why should I bother going.”

Hyoyeon was crestfallen to hear and watch such scene from her one true pairing. “How come you say that? Since when did you start asking whether Yoona idol needed you or not to go over there and support her, boss?” Hyo was surprised.

Kwon Yuri ruffled her perfect hair in frustration. “She can have her unnie Hye Sun to come over there and support her while holding her hands. Just like in Win Win.”

“BOSS ARE YOU JEALOUS?!” The head-assistant asked wide-eyed.

The Kwon shot back at Hyoyeon. “I am not jealous.”

Hyoyeon rolled her eyes. Lee Joon listened with excitement. “Oh boss you’re jealous, admit it.”

“I...Am not.” She said defensively, frowning.

It was silent before the boss continued.

“…I am just-” she halted, “Being impure.”

Now Lee Joon choked his cookies. He had never heard word of ‘impure’ in so many years since he was born to earth. This cold Kwon sure was something.

Nevertheless, Hyoyeon was as much shocked as the guy.
They listened to their boss’ words.

“Jealous is a kind of feeling that occurred when you’re afraid of losing someone or something precious being snatched away by someone who’s better than you. And the half of jealousy is the lack of confidence in one’s self.”

Hyoyeon tried to understand the meaning in 4 seconds but she failed.

“However I’m not like that. I’m just impure. And that Hye Sun isn’t any better in any way-than me. Why should I- be jealous of her.”

Hyoyeon decided to follow along. “…So boss you’re being impure now by greedy-ing over Yoona idol.”

“Yes. I’m not pure. That is.”

Hyoyeon breathed heavily. “Okay. No use in debating with you” She mumbled.

Lee Joon laughed. “Impure is the new trend now.”

They saw their boss switched her focus on the magazine again- but they could see that the boss failed. But a true BoNa shipper never stop, and that's Hyoyeon.

“She will be hardly there, though, boss.” Hyoyeon said suddenly. She wore that stoic expression as she gulped the delicious coffee, still trying to change her boss's mindset- and it wasn't easy.

Cold Kwon turned to her trusted person, seeking another interesting speculations. “Why?”

“Because she doesn’t love Yoona idol that much, boss. Not that much, not yet that much to come in her busy schedule- like how you've always been.” Hyoyeon had to built up her boss' confidence once again.

Kwon Yuri fell silent.

“You’re the one who loves and adores her the best! That’s why you should pay her a visit instead of lurking in some meetings because of being jea-impure.” Something popped inside her mind, and she was sure that she could win this game.

The boss stared at Hyoyeon who was now unlocking her white iPad 2-hastily from the handbag.

“Boss, you have to see this.” Hyoyeon scrolled at the screen for some time before she showed the bright screen to her boss, revealing something that soon Yuri realized as UFO.

“Boss. You have to see this before you really made up your mind into going to New York- Today.” Hyoyeon’s stern expression was successful in persuading the boss to peek on it. "New York can be anyday, anytime- but Yoona idol's first filming will end today." She had to make the boss depressed by the outcome result of the bad decision.

Kwon Yuri shifted her neck for a better position to read.
 

“YoonYul is something that I start to like”

“SEE? Yoona idol’s the one saying that she LIKES YOONYUL!!” Hyoyeon really wanted her boss to open up her eyes –widely- to see the chances on her grasp. Why being such stubborn impure kid?!

Kwon Yuri glanced at her watch, her face flustered. 13 minutes left before the flight.

“It’s okay boss, I will take care on thing in NY. You should go see Yoona idol now.” Hyoyeon crossed her arms.

Lee Joon poked Hyoyeon’s shoulder, with a stoic expression. “You act like you know how to do the business.”

Kim Hyoyeon glared at him, and quickly turned to her boss. She could see her boss’ eyes sparks differently after seeing the UFO. There's hope. OF COURSE, IT’S YUL BEHIND YOON, NO SPACE, FOR GOODNESS SAKE. NAME THERE. IF JESSICA EVER WRITE HYOSIC TO HER UFO REPLY THEN I'D SWEAR I'D GO AND KIDNAP HER. 
Hyoyeon panted heavily. Ranting was one of her specialty.

And then suddenly the iPhone on the desk vibrated, catching their attention.
There was an incoming call from the boss’ phone.

She picked it up. “Hello.”

“Yuri yah, are you okay?” Kwon Yuri jolted up by the sound of the voice.

“…Yoona?” She asked with a disbelief tone. Hyoyeon and Lee Joon quickly eavesdropping.

“Yes, this is me. You okay there?”

Kwon Yuri was tongue-tied. “Yah I heard that you got a head injury!” 

Dang. Her voice. 
Yuri couldn’t stop the butterflies effect once again.

Yoona’s voice.

She’s going crazy.

Please log in to read the full chapter