Chapter 9

 “Today on Infinite’s Sesame Player, we will have a team scavenger hunt mission,” addressed one of the scriptwriter Noonas of the M-net Sesame Player staff, to the six Infinite members who sat on the hardwood floor of their living room. Soon after the TVN-Star News Interview that morning, L had flown out to Japan for his drama filming, leaving only six members available for the Sesame Player shooting.

To their newly assigned mission, the members replied with various witty comments directed to the rolling cameras. Sunggyu complained, “You can’t divide us! We’re one team!” But the staff carelessly split the Infinite members into the Sung team and the Ho-Woo-Dong team. The members got up and moved to the opposite sides of the room, loudly complaining. Dongwoo, mind happily wandering off to thoughts of seeing Yeseul again, remained on his spot, oblivious to his surroundings and happenings.

“Hyung, what are you doing?” Hoya asked, as he tried to push Dongwoo over from his sitting position. Startled by the measure, Dongwoo fell on his arm with an “ouch!”. Laughing with disorientation, he got up and sat with Woohyun and Hoya on the left side of the room, which seemed to be the right move to take.

The two teams were given a simple list of ten items from the Sesame Player staff and given one hour to purchase as many items as possible on the list. A hollering, crazy team consisting of Sunggyu, Sungyeol, and Sungjong rushed out of the house and disappeared through the streets, cameras and cameramen trailing behind them. Woohyun and Hoya grabbed Dongwoo and followed behind.

“Wait, what’s going on?” Dongwoo asked, sincerely puzzled. Had he been wandering off in his mind, this whole time?

“Hyung! Pay attention!” yelled Hoya, as the team stormed off into the street.

Without much thought, Dongwoo just ran with his two teammates.

Woohyun lead his team to a large shopping store where the Infinite members usually bought their food. They didn’t see any of the other Infinite members around.

In about fifty minutes, Dongwoo, Woohyun, and Hoya had gathered six items from the list, leaving them ten minutes to pay and return to their house. As the three got in line at the register, a newly displayed item caught Dongwoo’s eye. Leaving the line, Dongwoo headed toward the display shelf. What Dongwoo had spotted was a pair of white, fluffy teddy bears. The two each held half of a plastic, blue heart, which clicked together when the two bears were put beside each other, making a whole heart. Dongwoo was known to be an avid collector of stuffed animals, but this pair of bears seemed to call to him especially. Unable to resist the temptation, Dongwoo snagged them.

 

“Thanks for doing this, hyung,” said Dongwoo to Jungryeol hyung, his manager.

“Don’t worry Dongwoo. A lot of idols do this, behind people’s backs. It’s when they get caught that things go bad,” Retorted Jungryeol coolly, bringing the van to a stop in front of a smallish house in a quiet neighborhood street.

“I’ll be back in about an hour,” called Jungryeol, as Dongwoo got off the van.

The van pulled away from the house and disappeared. Dongwoo stood alone in the front yard of the house. It was a low, one-story building with a dimly lit porch. On the porch were various pots of plants and flowers as well as a small wooden bench. In a few moments, the front door of the house opened slightly, and a figure slipped out. A smile instantly stretched on Dongwoo’s face.

Yeseul greeted Dongwoo with a silent wave, took his arm, and came to the bench, where the two sat side by side. Dongwoo reached in his pocket and showed Yeseul the objects he had pulled out. Two pieces of hard candy; one banana, the other, melon.

“Haha, wow, these bring back memories,” said Yeseul, as she picked the melon flavored candy from Dongwoo’s hand.

“You sent them to me!” responded Dongwoo, unwrapping and sticking the banana in his mouth. The two rolled the candy in their mouths, caught up in a moment’s recollection of the night they both remembered so well.

“Are your parents home?” Asked Dongwoo, breaking the silence.

“Yes. I told them I was going out for a bit, so they won’t look out.”

“Haha, do they still remember me?” said Dongwoo with a laugh.

“Course! They were almost as excited as I was, when I showed them what a star you’ve become,” Yeseul answered with a grin. The thought lingered in Yeseul’s mind. Dongwoo was a star, and that’s why they had to meet in secret, in a private, reserved place, late in the evening when everyone else in the world was asleep. In this case, at 1:00AM, in her front yard.  

“That’s good,” said Dongwoo, “Hey, I brought something else!” He showed Yeseul a shopping bag he had brought with him. Reaching inside, Dongwoo pulled out the two stuffed teddy bears he had purchased at the store that afternoon. Two identical bears who completed one whole heart.

Yeseul laughed out loud, taking the two bears in her hands. “You and your love of stuffed animals!” She exclaimed.

“One is for you, and one is for me,” said Dongwoo, pointing to the bears and then to Yeseul and himself. He took the right side bear, leaving Yeseul with the left.

“Dongwoo, only couples share things like this,” replied Yeseul quietly, staring at the bear in her hand.

“Exactly,” answered Dongwoo.

Yeseul raised her head to meet his gaze. Without his stage makeup or his fancy clothes, he looked like the Dongwoo she had known before, except that he was much older. He was well taller than her now, and carried himself with even more determination than before, also with an added aura of maturity and strength.

“I can’t let you go like this,” said Dongwoo, his voice deepening with the gravity of his tone.

“You have to,” said Yeseul, her heart cringing as Dongwoo kept staring at her.

Dongwoo sat back on the bench then leaned his head on Yeseul’s shoulder comfortably. Sitting back as well, Yeseul placed her head against Dongwoo's reaching one of her hands to ruffle his hair lightly. The two looked up into the dark sky, where a few lonely stars attempted to light the darkness in vain.

“Noona, what do I have to do to keep you here with me?” Dongwoo whispered into the silent, impassive night.