Chapter 22

            In a large, dimly lit studio on the edge of Seoul, Kim Jaejoong sat at a grand piano, casually running his fingers over the keys, playing notes with no rhythm or pattern.  With dark circles around his tired eyes, he looked down at his favorite instrument, wondering why no melody came to him.  He angrily pressed down on a group of keys, making a loud, unpleasant sound, and he reached for a bottle of expensive wine on the side of his seat.

            “Jaejoong oppa?”

            He leisurely turned his head to see this new visitor.  A faint light came from the open door where the visitor entered, and it made his head hurt.  Closing his eyes, he took a sip of his wine.

            “Who is it?” he asked gruffly.

            “Oppa, it’s Sunny,” she called, gently closing the studio door.  She approached him warily and observed the wine bottle in his hand.  “Are you okay?”

            “Sunny, why are you here?”  His voice was cold and slurred.  The small light on the ceiling of the studio gave him a very murky view of Sunny’s worried face.  “You know that it’s dangerous for you to be here.”

            “Well…I heard you may not be doing all that well,” she admitted sheepishly.  Taking an empty wine bottle from the floor near the piano, she stared at him anxiously.  “Oppa, have you been in here all night drinking alcohol?”

            “I’ve been working,” he insisted with a dark chuckle.  His amusement quickly became frustration as he hit his hand upon the keys again.  “I haven’t been able to write anything though.  My band was here too, but they abandoned me.  What’s new about that, though?”

            Sunny carefully placed the empty wine bottle on the top of the piano and slowly reached for the one Jaejoong was holding.  When he pulled it away from her and took a big swig, she gave a weary sigh.  Tonight Way had called her from a restricted number, asking her to check on Jaejoong for no given reason.  What could have happened to make him this way?

            “Oppa, it’s no good for you to just sit here and drink like this,” Sunny suggested.  “Let me take you home.”

            “Sunny, please go,” he begged, softly playing trills on the piano.  A sad melody flowed from his fingers as his rage faded.  “I heard that SM found out about Taeyeon and Jessica coming to my birthday party.  I’m sure they had no light punishment.”

            “The managers only yelled at them,” Sunny explained in irritation.  “They had no right.  We should be able to interact.  It’s as simple as that.”

            “Until that day comes, you ought to leave.”

            “Why are you so down, oppa?” Sunny questioned.  Jaejoong had put his wine bottle on the edge of his seat, and she slyly stole it away without him knowing.  “Is this about a girl?”

            “You know me too well.” 

His grin was forced and heartbroken.  Though Sunny was eager to lighten up the atmosphere, she couldn’t even utter a laugh after looking at his cheerless expression.  She ran her fingers over the high notes gently and tried to think of a way to raise his spirits.

            “Did she break up with you?”

            “I…I suppose so,” he said as worry filled his eyes.  “But…I don’t think she wanted to do it.  I think she’s in a difficult situation.  I’m afraid for her, and now I can’t even check on her.”

            “You’ve tried calling her?”

            “Her phone has been disconnected.”

            “Oh…”  Sunny’s own piano playing became irksome to her, and she abruptly stopped.  “How long did you know this girl, oppa?”

            “Today I would have known her two months.”

            “Two months?” she exclaimed.  “Were you dating for the entire two months?”

            “We were close friends most of the time,” he told as he stared thoughtfully down at the keys.  “It was only a week before we broke up that we made it official.”

            “Then, oppa, why are you so sad?” Sunny beamed happily.  “You hardly knew each other!  And you were only dating for a week!”

            “You don’t know Gummi!”

            Sunny gasped as she stared into Jaejoong’s furious eyes.  “Did you just say ‘Gummi’?  As in…Gummi from Crayon Pop?”

            His anger turned to misery again as Sunny repeated her name.  He looked down at the piano and spoke quietly.  “Yes.  And you don’t know her.  You don’t know how kind she is, how thoughtful she is.  She wasn’t like any girl I’ve ever met.  She actually cared about me and the people I love.  Her heart is bigger than any heart I’ve ever held, and now that it’s gone from me…I don’t know how to feel.”

            Shaking her head helplessly, Sunny didn’t know how to react.  She definitely knew Gummi.  She had heard every good thing Way had ever told her about her.  Deep in her heart, she felt a grateful affection for her, even though they had never actually spoken.  And though Way had organized this meeting with Jaejoong, Sunny never anticipated that Gummi or any of the other Crayon Pop members would be involved.

            “Oppa…I’m sorry,” she whispered.  “I didn’t know you liked her so much.”

            “I don’t…like her,” he breathed.  “I…I love her.  And if she has her way, I’ll never see her again.”

            Sunny and Way had discussed dating before.  Way had insisted that dating was forbidden by her mysterious Captain because it would complicate their dangerous mission.  It didn’t make sense for Gummi to be dating Jaejoong in the first place, and the fact that she broke up with him so suddenly made Sunny nervous.  Had Gummi simply been scolded by the Captain?  Or had the mission been compromised in some way?

            “Why did you say she was in a difficult situation?” she asked urgently.

            “That’s what’s bothering me,” he sighed.  “On the day she broke up with me, I went to visit her at her company.  I remember something about her being…held captive.  It sound so silly, and the memories are so blurry, but every time I think back on that day, I get this anger that I can’t control.  How could that happen from simple imagination?”

            “Held captive?”

            “I do remember clearly the very moment she broke up with me, though.”  He stared out into the dark room in confusion.  “I was lying in my bed, holding her.  We were both crying.  And she said that I have to act as if I’ve never known her.  Who says things like that?”

            Sunny’s heart raced inside her chest.  “Oppa, can’t you remember that day clearly?”

            “I’m not sure what happened,” he said heatedly.  “And I’d like to find out, but if I tried to…I would be disobeying Gummi.”

            “Oppa, try to remember-”

            “I think you should go,” he interrupted, standing up from the piano bench.  “I have to write a song.  Please leave me alone.”

            “Oppa, it’s past midnight,” Sunny reminded.  “If you’re going to be this way, at least let me take you home.”

            “I’ll go home when I’m done with this song,” he growled.  “Go!”

            “Fine!” she cried crossly.  “If that’s what you want, I’ll leave you alone.  But I’m going to ask a cab to stay outside the studio all night to take you home when you’re ready.  You shouldn’t be driving in this state.”

            “Sunny, that’s ridiculous.  You’ll have to pay him for the entire night in order to do that.”

            “That’s completely fine.”  She reached under the piano and took the wine bottle she hid.  “And I’ll be taking this.  You’ll have cirrhosis at this young age.  Stop drinking!”

            As Sunny stomped out of the studio, Jaejoong sat down at the piano again and threw his arms down on the keys.  A loud, agonizing sound filled the room.  He began to play slow, haunting melodies that he’d written in his most depressed states.  Words of desolation and frustration swirled around in his head, but nothing was right.  Nothing could be sad, or furious, or beautiful, or tender enough to manifest the feelings he had for Gummi at that moment.

            “Gummi-ah!” he roared.  “Why did you do this?  Why won’t you answer my calls?  Are you okay?  I just want to know if you’re okay…”

            Suddenly, the studio door opened, and light flooded the room.  Jaejoong stared at the blurry silhouette that stood in the doorway.  He rose from his seat and took a few stumbling steps towards it.

            “Sunny, I told you to leave.  Go away!  Go away and never come back!”

            The silhouette didn’t utter a word or make a move.  Jaejoong became even angrier, swiftly rushing towards it.

            “Leave me alone!” he cried.  “Leave me-”

            His phrase was short as the silhouette swung a bat up at Jaejoong’s head.  Jaejoong fell to the floor, immediately unconscious.  The shadowy figure leaned down towards him, patting his bleeding head gently.

            “You’ll be okay, Jaejoong-ssi,” spoke a frigid, foreign voice.  “Or will you?  It is a decision for Gummi to make.  Does she really love you?”