Chapter 17 (Part III)

            When Gummi opened her eyes, she couldn’t remember falling asleep.  She hardly remembered where she was last.  Ruthlessly fighting her lack of energy, she moved her arms to help her sit up.  She was lying in an exceptionally comfortable bed with a soft blanket draping over her.  The room around her, lit only by the dim moonlight pouring in from a window, was very warm and pleasant.  She reached up to her head and tried to recall where she was.

            “Jaejoong?” she called quietly, her drowsiness slowly leaving her. 

            Her purse rested on the bedside table, and she quickly reached inside for her phone.  There where no missed calls or texts, but she was shocked by the time.  It was already midnight.

            Moving slowly, she rose from the bed and looked for her shoes.  They were placed very carefully and precisely on the floor next to the bed.  She put them on and grabbed her purse before walking out of the room.

            “Oppa?”  Gummi felt helpless as she wandered through the halls.  Had she really fallen asleep at his birthday party?

            “Gummi-ah, I’m in the kitchen.”

            She followed his voice into the kitchen and found him washing silverware in the sink.  He looked up at her and gave a comical smirk.

            “Oppa, what happened?”

            “Gummi-ah, you still look so tired,” he sighed, taking a clean glass and filling it with water.  “Here.  Have some water.”

            She bashfully took the glass from him and drank a few sips.  “Oppa, did I fall asleep?”

            “It was around 9PM,” he explained, smoothing out her messy hair.  “Bom let me know that you were sleeping in the library.  I carried you into the guest room so you could sleep.  You’ve been so tired lately.  I should have noticed your exhaustion.”

            “Oh, oppa, I’m so sorry,” she cried, ing her purse onto the kitchen counter.  “I missed your whole birthday party.  Aigoo, I’m so sorry.”

            “Gummi-ah, don’t worry about it,” he laughed.  “I’m not hurt by it.  What are you doing?”

            Gummi quickly began to dry off silverware Jaejoong had already washed.  Her frustration overwhelmed her.  How could she have done such a horrible thing?

            “Gummi-ah, please stop that.”

            “It’s the least I can do,” she sighed.  “Ah, I’m terrible.”

            “Please,” he begged gently, taking the silverware from her hands.  He gestured towards the living room.  “I saved some birthday cake for you.  Let’s eat some, okay?”

            “And I missed the cake.  Aish.”

            He led her into the living room and took a plate of cake from the coffee table.  The slice of chocolate cake was cut so accurately, as if it was a piece of art.  As she sat down on the couch, he handed her the cake and grinned.

            “I hope you like it.”  He took a very fancy fork from the coffee table and held it out to her.  “It’s from the bakery we like.”

            Still in a state of shock and disappointment, she could barely utter a “thank you”.  She nodded gratefully and took the fork from him.  He sat beside her and took his own plate from the coffee table.

            Just as she attempted to forgive herself, Gummi noticed a small pile of opened gifts in the corner of the room.  “Ah!  And you opened your gifts.  I can’t believe I missed it.”

            “Please, Gummi-ah, don’t get worked up over it,” he insisted.  “I wasn’t even going to open them during the party.  But Junsu- ah, that kid.  You know how he is.”

            Her heart leapt slightly as she remembered her recent conversation with Junsu.  “Yes, I know how he is.”

            Jaejoong took one bite, put his plate down, and rose from the couch.  Wandering towards the presents, he gave a weak smile.  “Everyone was very thoughtful.  I have truly wonderful friends.”

            The cake was truly delicious, but Jaejoong’s heartbroken eyes were too distracting.  After taking one last bite, she placed her plate on the table.  “Oppa, what did he get you?”

            “A bottle of shampoo,” he chuckled.  “It’s for women’s hair.  He thought it would be funny.  It’s actually very good for men to use it.”

            Failing to hold in a bout of laughter, Gummi moved from the couch to be closer to the presents.  She spotted the bottle of shampoo and beamed gleefully. 

“Do you use woman’s shampoo often?”

            “Honestly…yes.”

            Amusedly she looked through all of the presents.  There were boxes of candy as well as different collections of music and scores from every genre.  She noticed a bright pink box of paper and envelopes within the pile.

            “Is that a stationary set?”

            “Yes,” Jaejoong smirked.  “Junsu gave me that as well.  He tried to be very funny about it, but I think he…almost cried.”

            “Almost cried?”  She picked up the stationary set and grinned.  “Why?  Does he miss you often when you’re touring on your own?  Did he give you this so you could write to one another while you’re traveling?”

            His eyebrows furrowed as he watched her carefully.  He let out a sigh and began to frown.  “I thought…I thought you may have heard somehow.”

            An awful pain filled her stomach as the joy slowly left his eyes.  “Heard what?  What happened?”

            “He gave me that stationary set so I could write to him while I’m away.”

            “Away?  Where are you going?”

            “I recently…applied for my military service.”

            “Military service?”  She felt her heart sink into her stomach as the stationary set fell from her hands.  Her body was suddenly numb.  Even the crash of that bright pink box on the floor sounded like a gentle echo.  “What?  You can’t leave.  You can’t!”

            “Gummi-ah.”  He pulled her into his arms as she threw her hands up to her face.  “Don’t cry.  I’m not leaving for another month at the earliest.  Please don’t cry.”

            She peeked through her hands at his gentle, pleading eyes.  The face she’d grown to love so dearly flickered between light and shadow in the glow of the fireplace.  A tear began to fall from her eye, and she quickly wiped it away.

            “Oppa, you can’t go to the military right now.  It’s not safe.”

            “Not safe?” he asked in surprise.  He conjured up a comforting smile.  “Of course it’s safe.  Even with the political tension, nothing serious has happened in so many years.  I mean, soldier life must be so dull.  They have to appear on reality shows in order to pass the time.”

            The break in her heart grew deeper at the sound of his naïve words.   No one knew just how great the tension was.  No one understood that the security and economy of so many countries rested on the shoulders of nine oblivious pop singers.  And no one could ever comprehend how much he meant to her.  The reality of his inevitable absence overwhelmed her, and she sobbed unreservedly in his arms.

            “I don’t want you to go.”

            “Please-”

            “I need you to stay,” she cried.  “I’ll miss you too much.  I don’t know how I’ve survived so long without you here with me.”

            “Gummi-ah,” he whispered shakily.  “Please don’t cry.  I…I have something to ask you.”

            She could feel him tremble as he held her.  Her heart quaked as she looked up into his shining eyes.

            “Gummi-ah…you have to do something for me.  I don’t know if you even planned to do this.  Maybe I’m being silly.  But…I’ll be gone for two years.  Please.  Please don’t wait for me.”

            “What?” she gasped.  “Why would you say that?”

            “Two years is a long time,” he reminded quietly.  “During that time, I won’t be able to take care of you like I promised.  If you wait for me, you might miss out on a man who will love you…”  He closed his eyes and swallowed his tears.  “…who will care for you like I try to.  I don’t want you to suffer for two years.”

            “Oppa…I will wait for you,” she assured fervently, placing her hand on his cheek.  “Nothing could make me stop waiting for you.  I would do anything for you.”

            “Don’t say that now-”

            “I’ll say whatever I want to.”  She buried her face into his shoulder and tried to stop her crying.  “I will take care of you while you’re away.  I won’t break my promise.  I’ll never break my promise, oppa.”

            “I’m so sorry, Gummi-ah,” he breathed, holding her closely.  “I applied before I met you.  Now…”  He gave a hopeless, broken laugh.  “I wish I could just run away with you.”

            “That would be reckless,” she sniffled, the idea so sweet to her ears.  “Oppa...”

            “Even if you choose to forget me,” he began gently.  “I’ll never forget you, Gummi-ah.  You mean so much to me.  You’ll never know.”

*          *          *

            Thirty minutes later, Jaejoong and Gummi drove up to Chrome Headquarters.  Gummi sat motionless in the passenger seat, wondering how she could ever willfully leave Jaejoong’s presence.  She felt him staring at her, but she couldn’t make herself look him in the eyes.  If she did, she was sure she would cry again.

            He quietly got out of the car and walked to her side.  After he opened her door, he took her hand.

            “You ought to go in now,” he whispered.  “Your manager is probably worried.”

            She gazed down at her lap and tried to steady her quivering breaths.  With Mr. Mr. promotions beginning so soon, as well as Crayon Pop’s comeback activities, she wasn’t sure when she would see him again.  Would this be the last time?  The question sounded like a horrifying scream in her mind.  Without another thought, she jumped out of the car and wrapped her arms around his neck.

            “Oppa, please take care of yourself,” she begged desperately, her voice barely audible.  “I’ll wait for you.  And I’ll write you every day.”  Her eyes started to fill with tears, and she choked on her words.  “I…I love you.”

            His eyes filled with wonder, as if he had never heard those words before.  He pulled her close and kissed her forehead.  “I love you too.”

            Their embrace seemed to last only a fraction of a second.  He finally beckoned her towards the Headquarters, claiming he didn’t want to get her in any trouble.  Before she left him, she spotted a single tear running down his face, and she tenderly wiped it away.  He gave a grateful smile and waved goodbye, standing in silence as he watched her walk away. 

            As she entered the Headquarters, her heart felt heavy in her chest.  The most irrational thing she could ever do was walk away from someone who she loved so much.  She felt absurd, as if she should turn around at that very moment and truly run away with him.  But before she could do it, Soyul entered the reception hall.”

            “Unnie?” she called anxiously, rushing up to Gummi.  “Unnie, are you okay?”

            “Soyuli,” Gummi cried, quickly wrapping Soyul in her arms.  “Soyuli…”

            “Unnie, what happened?” Soyul asked urgently, gently moving out of Gummi’s hold.  She took Gummi’s purse and put it on the front desk.  “Did something happen at the party?”

            Gummi forced a bright smile as she held Soyul’s face in her hands.  “Soyul-ah, I’m so proud of you.  You’ve always done such a good job protecting The Nine.”

            “Thank…you?”  Soyul watched Gummi carefully.  “Unnie, what’s wrong?”

            “Nothing is wrong, Soyul-ah,” Gummi grinned.  “It’s just…Let’s continue to protect The Nine.  Let’s give it all we have.  There are lives at stake.  Do you understand me?”

            “Okay,” Soyul replied slowly.  She took Gummi’s hand and began to lead her down the hall.  “Hey, why don’t you take my sleep shift?  You seem very tired, unnie.”

            “Oh, no,” Gummi refused, shaking her head.  “You’ve been working all night.  You need your rest.”

            “I’ll be fine.”

            “No, Soyul-ah.  You need to sleep.”

            “Fine.  Take half of my sleep shift.  Please!”

            Gummi tried as hard as she could to resist her body’s own craving for sleep.  Her tired, stinging eyes were already closed when Soyul placed her into her bed.  She attempted to argue further, but wouldn’t move when she told it to.  The last thing she felt as she drifted into her deep sleep was the memory of Jaejoong’s arms holding her tightly.  Though Soyul placed a blanket over her, nothing felt warmer than the thought of his embrace.

            “I hope you feel better, unnie.  Please sleep well.  He'll be okay.”