Song suggestion: 공허해(Empty)- Winner

Hyuna rubbed her eyes and groaned as she awoke to the sound of her ringtone. 

Who the is calling me so early when it's a Sunday?

Her eyes widened at the caller ID and she scrambled to answer the cellphone.

"Hello?"

"Hyuna?"

"Appa?"

"You're surprised right? I feel bad for never calling, I barely have any time to ever come home dealing with all of this stuff in the office." Her father's voice sounded guilty, almost regretful.

Why won't you introduce our family to the public? Why am I not good enough for you? The questions harrassed the back of her head.

The man on the line chuckled. "Why don't you come downstairs."

Hyuna threw her phone onto her bed and ran down the steps, almost tripping as soon as she noticed an old man in a suit. Her eyes began to glisten with wet tears and for a moment, she looked like a lost child.

"Appa! You're actually here for once." She wrapped her slender arms around her father and nestled her head into his chest.

The man chuckled. "You make it sound as if I neglect the family. Then again, I somewhat do." He sheepishly scratched his head. Although he had a cold, strict image as a congressman, he was actually loving and a admittedly clumsy.

"Oh, yeobo." Hyuna's mother nervously laughed. "Your visit was unexpected, you haven't been back home in so long. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Someone doesn't sound very welcome, and why would this be a visit? This is my house and my family after all. I have to come home. Besides, my daughter's going to graduate soon and I heard that Seoul, KAIST, and Yonsei accepted her! Even Stanford?"

"So you're not ashamed that I've been second? I mean... it didn't matter? And Harvard rejected me." Hyuna's eyes widened.

Hyuna's father gave an odd glance to his wife then he stared at his daughter again. "Why would I be? You've been working hard... I guess I should've praised you more so you wouldn't have misunderstood. You got into the top three universities in the end with your own achievements and I'm so proud of you for that. You don't know how nervous I was since your mom insisted I should contact the colleges. I'm sure your mother was joking though."

Hyuna clenched her fists and narrowed her eyes at her apprehensive mother. "So why won't you introduce our family to the public? I mean, if you're so proud of me and the family history..."

"Huh? I never knew you were so hungry for fame my princess." He joked while patting her head. "I know how the media works, and it's a jungle out there. They constantly twist their articles, creating nonsense titles for the purpose of drawing in an audience for sales. In fact, this old man right here is always misinterpreted or they write false statements that have never come out of my mouth. Unless you're sure you're ready to face a huge amount of pressure and have security guard you everywhere, I want to keep you shielded and safe from the world for as long as I possibly can."

This ... 

A 'beep' filled the silence of the room and her father sighed as the sound came from his phone. "I've got to go now guys. I'll definitely try to make more time for my two ladies." He winked at the two and gave Hyuna a peck on the cheek before dashing out of the door.

As the crash of the door echoed throughout the room, Hyuna interrupted her mom.

"I-"

"Don't you ing dare utter a word to me. Are you happy mom, are you happy for crushing me with that injection-filled mouth of yours? You know what emotional and mental hell  I've been through because of your games?! You must have been laughing at how pathetic I was, stepping on your daughter and breaking her heart to pieces. How I was so stupid into believing your lies, I'll never know. God, . Why did I never ask dad for an explanation?" Hyuna's eyes were filled with rage, but they were hidden underneath the tears streaming down her delicate face.

"How would you like to know that the girl standing in front of you had to work her off and did some nasty to people. I was a to so many people, I beat people up and deeds a whole lot worse. I emotionally scarred them practically for life. I've viciously hurt people, just like how you've hurt me."

Hyuna's mother had a poker face. No noticeable reactions had been triggered throughout the speech.

"And for the record, I've been taking pills in order to stay awake and study. Mix that in with caffeine and sugar. I took sleeping pills too, because I couldn't force myself to fall asleep on my own account anymore. That one time you thought I had run away? I was at the hospital.

"By the way mom, if you didn't know it already, you're a manipulative, crazy psycho ."

The thoughts of the longer-than-24-hour days clouded her head, and she stormed off to her room when she heard a thud on the floor. Her mom had collapsed on the floor, a crying wreck, but Hyuna could care less about anyone else but herself at that point.

So, all of this was my fault. Well curse the devil, I am a just like mom. Like mother, like daughter as they say. Hyuna grumbled as she rolled on her bed in irritation.

If I hadn't been such a dumb, I would have realized that appa would never hate me no matter what.

She reluctantly opened the drawer of her nightstand to reveal a polaroid. It had been ripped into shreds, but they were all taped neatly back together.

All three girls had such bright smiles on their faces.

And her sense of longing began to grow for the past times.

It was time, and he knew it. No more running away from the memories, it was time to confront his father.

And apologize.

For being an in his father's most desperate times. For not noticing that he practically sent all of his monthly paychecks to his mother to spend. That the white roses that were always by her bedside were in fact ordered fresh by him. Those red roses were actually the flowers mom would give to dad because of his passion and love for her. Joon Myun's father wasn't physically there for his mom and did leave her alone, but he was always with her in spirit. It was almost as if they weren't separated by an ocean. Almost.

As he placed the family portrait back onto his nightstand, he accidentally knocked over the glass jar Chorong gifted him in Christmas. Joon Myun never did figure out what she meant by "there's more to it than meets the eye". 

Until now.

The contents of the jar had spilled over, and all of the colorful stars were scattered on the nightstand. He caught a noticeble twinkle through the corner of his eye.

He held the angel wing necklace in surprise and stared at the tag Chorong had attached to the chain of the necklace.

Surprise! You finally found it! I know necklaces aren't super manly so I got something that looks a little more edgy (and cheap...). The gender symbol for males is there too, so the necklace represents "Angel Boy"  BUT, this isn't the end. You have to dig down deeper, on the inside. ^^

Joon Myun dangled the necklace and stared at the charm in wonder. It was simple and sharp.

"Why did you have to put so many surprises in your Christmas gift?" He asked out loud.

He picked up a star and fiddled with it while deliberating what the last part of the gift was. As he was doing so, the tucked end of the paper star came undone. Before Joon Myun folded the end back to place, he did a double-take and read the word "I". 

Joon Myun's jaw dropped at the discovery and he unraveled every single star that was in the jar. The stars actually contained short handwritten sentences, thoughts that Chorong could never properly convey to Joon Myun in person. 

"I never say this enough, but thank you."

"I like the name Joon Myun better than Suho, but Suho's 100% cooler."

"If you need someone to lean on... I'm here."

"Don't hide by yourself."

"I hope I'll be of encouragement to you one day."

"Don't think too much and just do what you need to!"

"If there's something that needs to be done, never hesitate. Hesitation leads to prolonged situations."

"Happiness isn't written by anyone but you."

There were so many more messages that Joon Myun couldn't even count. But the fact that she had handwritten them one by one while thinking about him made the gift priceless. It was worth more than anyone could ever imagine.

His jitters were gone, and he was ready to finally confront his dad a year after his mother's death. All he needed was that little push of encouragement.

"Dad!" Joon Myun yelled from his room.

Startled at the shout and the very fact that his son called for him first in a long time, he walked up to Joon Myun's room.

Expecting a cold, set apart teenager, he was instead met with the warmth of a little boy. 

His little boy.

Chorong clutched onto the pillow tightly and watched as the male lead leaned in closer and closer to the female lead. Gahhhh! What's gonna happen?

She watched as the of the episode began, but the doorbell rang unexpectedly.

Aish Eunji, you're making me skip the possible kiss scene! I'm so going to kill you...

She opened the door and nearly stumbled over when she was pushed over by a strong force.

Chorong struggled for dominance before recognizing his scent. She stopped wriggling around in his grasp and instead, gradually inched her arms around his waist. Joon Myun had a sense of urgency in his hug, like he was searching for security in her embrace. 

She calmly began to pat his back although her face was practically being buried by the warmth of his chest. He rested his head on her shoulder, and the wet droplets did not go unnoticed by the female.

Joon Myun took his time to recover, and hoarsely whispered, "Thank you."

Chorong broke away from the hug in order to write on her notepad. "For what?" 

He pulled the necklace underneath his shirt and smiled. "And the star notes too."

Her lips pressed into a thin line. She neither looked happy nor upset, but rather concerned. "But what happened... your dad?"

"I did it. I apologized for being a and we ended up doing some unmanly things that shall not be mentioned. It's still a bit awkward, but I know we'll grow to be close again with time. We both want mom to be proud of us."

Chorong's pearly whites were unveiled from her lips and she wrapped her arms around Joon Myun's neck for a quick hug, excited at the news.

"The stars saved me from chickening out last minute honestly." 

The girl bit her lip at her sudden affectionate action and shot back an awkward smile in response.

Eunji walked home after having gone grocery shopping for her mom. Little did she know that a character would drop by and run into her.

She felt a tug on one of her recyclable bags and in an instant, Eunji pulled the bag towards her body with all her strength. Then, she threw the weight of the groceries against the person's arm and a couple of veggies ended up dropping out of the bag.

"OWW!"

"YAH, BYUN BAEKHYUN. WHY IS IT ALWAYS YOU, YOU LITTLE TROUBLEMAKER! Aish, you almost gave me a heart attack."

Baekhyun began to hum to a song titled "Heart Attack" as an attempt to recover from Eunji's bad side but that only made things worse.

"YAH, is it the time for you to sing right now?" She threw an apple at the side of his head and began to pick up the vegetables that had fallen out of the bag.

"What a waste of a perfectly good apple. Don't you think you abuse me too much?" He rubbed the side of his head before throwing the vegetables back into the bag.

Eunji made a puppy face. "Aww, my poor Baekhyunnie, did I hurt you a lot? Is it painful?" She began to rub the side of his head for him instead.

Baekhyun broke into a wide smile. "Ah, actually, I think I feel a lot better now. But you should keep rubbing, just in case."

Eunji's cute pouty face quickly dissipated. "Ha! No." 

"Where are you going anyways? Buying more food for that stomach of yours?"

"No, all of this is for my mom, and-"

"For the record, your mom cooks and you eat the food."

With an unamused face, Eunji got up and left. 

As she walked, Baekhyun continued to follow her. Eventually he lifted the weight of the groceries from arms and carried them in her stead. Baekhyun expected Eunji to object or hit him with the leek, but she naturally obliged to his help.

"And we're here!" Eunji smiled happily and stared at the shop as if it were made of pure gold. 

They entered the quiet little bubble tea shop, but the shop would be quiet no more. After ordering and arguing over the bill, Baekhyun slipped his credit card to the cashier while holding onto Eunji's flailing arms. "Charge the card please."

The girls at the shop swooned the sweet gesture, and he even winked, but Eunji gagged at the greasy action.

"Are you going to let go?" She eyed his hands that still held her.

"As you wish." He chuckled.

Eunji easily sipped her strawberry bubble tea while Baekhyun grumbled along the streets, complaining that he couldn't enjoy his drink and instead had to carry groceries.

"Here." She held out her right hand which carried Baekhyun's taro milk tea. "Since I'm holding your bubble tea for you, might as well let you drink out of it too."

Baekhyun grinned and aimed for the straw, but Eunji pulled the drink away last minute and . 

I knew she would trick me. Like always.

He walked on ahead of her, disappointed and feeling a tad irritated. Noticing his grouchy behavior, Eunji smiled to herself as she walked behind him. A total choding. [korean word used to describe someone who is childish, also means elementary school kid] She quickened her pace and placed the drink right in front of his face, placing the straw right underneath his mouth. 

"I won't do it again, I promise." She made a pleading face.

Baekhyun continued to walk, but Eunji was persistent and continued to keep up her speed, always keeping the drink under his mouth.

"Just trust me." She smiled brightly. "I'm not always a terrible person you know."

"Agh, whatever." Baekhyun caught onto the straw easily and began to drink the refreshing beverage, chewing on the boba all the while. "You actually didn't troll me for once."

He easily finished his drink as they approached her apartment complex, and Eunji took the groceries from his hands.

"Thanks for the help." She fidgeted left and right.

"What's up with you today? You've been kind of, I don't know... bipolar?" Baekhyun raised an eyebrow. 

"Yah Jung Eunji, this is suicide." She muttered out loud as she bit her lip. Then she began to hit herself in the head.

"Wait WHAT?! SUICIDE? Eunji-ah, don't you-"

In an instant, Baekhyun shut up and his eyes widened.

Her lips abruptly landed on his cheek, but the peck was quick yet gentle. 

His mouth formed an 'o' shape and he blinked rapidly. Is this a dream. Am I high on bubble tea? Is that even possible?

"Y-y-yah..." 

Before he could even call her name, she ran into the apartment complex in embarassment.

Baekhyun kicked the ground and bitterly made his way home. "Jung Eunji."

He sighed and muttered, "You didn't even give me a chance to confess."

A/N: GAH the cheeze of the ending. 

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1/10/15 update: for those who have been subscribed and have patiently waited for me to edit this story, THANK YOU SO MUCH! it was a bit disheartening to see quite a few unsubscribe since i put editing in the title, but that's okay. new chapter coming soon ^^ i promise to end this the right way, with a bang. i'm estimating around 30 chapters. Please comment!