Chapter 8: Proof (pt.1)

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“Hello, I’m MBLAQ’s Thunder. It’s really nice to meet you.” the person said. “I’m sorry to disturb you, but after checking on Joon-hyung, I thought you might want to talk to somebody as well.”

His voice was soft, and he let out an uncomfortable laugh at the end of his self-presentation. “I may not be very experienced in the dating field, but I’m a good listener and I usually give good advice.”

I smiled at his words, and said: “Wait a second, I’ll just grab my keys, and then we can head out to talk about it, over some coffee, perhaps? I could really use your advice right now.”  He nodded shyly, and I went inside to grab my stuff.

I would get Joon back. I would give him the proof he wanted, and get him back.

…

“You know, he really cares about you” Thunder said matter-of-factly. We were in a small coffee shop next to my house, slowly taking sips from our hot coffees in front of us, talking about the relationship I had with Joon.

Even if I already knew that, it felt nice having someone say it. Especially if that someone was gentle and considerate Thunder, who was close to Joon and had talked to him about us.

“He was really upset, you know?” he continued. “He rarely feels that… uncomfortable around a girl.” I looked at him in surprise. What did he mean?

“Most girls don’t give him a hard time like you do. See, since we’re idols, most girls are ready to do whatever we want, in order for us to like them.” he started to explain. “You are not like that. You don’t really care about his status, but about him as a person. That’s why he’s having a hard time with this relationship.”

“Did he tell you all that, Thunder-sshi?” I asked tentatively. He smiled at me while answering.

“Well, no, but it’s not very hard to figure that out. However, he did tell me about his feelings for you, and let me assure you that they’re genuine. You know, Joon always gives his best in a relationship, and that’s the thing I admire about him. He isn’t reserved, he says what he’s feeling, and he isn’t hesitant to show his affection. I actually envy him for these traits.”

Thunder’s gaze focused on his cup of coffee, his eyes darkening a bit. From what Joon had said, Thunder seemed to be a very shy person, but with lot of affection to give. I definitely could see that in him now, even though I knew him for such a short time. Looking at how he rushed to help us with our situation, it was pretty obvious that he was a caring person. And, judging from his words right now, it was even more certain that he had trouble with expressing his affection.

 He didn’t let himself space out for a long time though. “But even that is different about him with you. He has a harder time showing his feeling to you, or at least, that’s what he said. He knows you’re analyzing his every move, you know?” A smile made his way to his lips as he said that last phrase, and it got wider with his next sentence. “That’s why he’s hesitant when it comes to having any skinship with you… Because he did tell me that he would certainly want to.”

I didn’t exactly blush, but I had to admit that my cheeks got a bit rosier but that comment. “What does skinship has to do with this situation, Thunder-sshi?” I asked with a slightly high-pitched voice.

He let out a small laugh, his eyes disappearing under a cute eye-smile. “Well, I just think that he’s probably hesitant, when it comes to how you feel about him, or, more importantly, what do you think of him. He seems unsure about whether you truly appreciate him as a person… I believe he told you that earlier…. Didn’t he?”

Yes, he had. He had explained his feelings to me. He had let out all the nervousness he was feeling, letting me know about which actions of mine made him upset. Yet, only now I truly understood what he was really asking of me.

He didn’t want me to prove him that I liked him as a man. Joon had always been very confident about his looks after all. He wanted me to prove that I didn’t mind who he was, that I accepted who he was, that I liked who he was.

He wanted me to prove him that I liked him as a person.

‘You know, Lydia-sshi, between us, I think that you treating Joon as any man –and not as the idol that he is- was awesome. It really makes him try more, and I think that you give him what he’s truly seeking –normality. But still… Don’t you think that you treat him harshly at times? I don’t mean to sound offending; I’m not blaming you or anything… But the fact that he’s an idol should be an aspect of him, not all of him. He’s a lot of things, our Lee Joon. Please don’t stay in the comfort zone of his “idol persona”, because he has so much to offer you… You can’t imagine how much he’s willing to do for you. Joon-hyung really does care about you.”

By the end of Thunder’s speech, I was feeling a lump forming in my throat.

Joon.

Stupid, cute, y, with a weird insight at times Joon. Joon who wanted just a hint that I appreciated him to keep on trying.  Joon, who wanted a bit of proof to offer me the world.

My Joon.      

I had to show him that I accepted who he was –not because of the stupid bet anymore, no. I had to do that because I wanted to. Because I was already missing him to pieces, because when I thought of him I said “my Joon” in the most natural way, because I was willing to do anything to prove him that I cared. Because I truly did.

The problem was… how would I do that?

As if reading my thoughts, Thunder said: “You just have to show him, Lydia-sshi, that being an idol doesn’t condemn him in your eyes.”

An idea formed in my head, and for the first time during the day, my signature playful smile graced my lips.

“Thunder-sshi… I think I have an idea… But I will need your help.”

…

“5, 6, 7, 8!”

Where had cute, sweet and shy Thunder go?

The guy in front of me had nothing to do with the Thunder I had met at the café a while ago. Now, in front of me and the other girls who were willing to help me out (thank God it was Sunday), stood a fearful and strict dance teacher, who had little to no patience and was ready to kill us with every little mistake we made. And, God, did we make mistakes.

I was really beginning to question whether this had been a good idea. I mean, yeah, dancing cutely to a kpop song would probably show my acceptance for it. But in my mind, it seemed much easier than… than this mess. I was never really good at dancing, but I wasn’t totally awful either. But my mediocrity, combined with the one of Myu Ri, Hye Rin and Yong Yee, had definitely managed to drive Thunder crazy.

Well, I couldn’t really blame him: we were a dancing mess. Our movements weren’t accurate, and we definitely were not in synch. It’s not that we didn’t have the sense of the music or anything; we had gone out clubbing on a number of occasions, and I knew that my girls could dance if needed, and it was no secret that my hip movements could make any guy drool. But dancing to a choreography with precise moves was harder. And to manage to have the cute attitude that was required for the song was even worse. Well, at least for me, because Myu Ri had, despite her shyness, enough aegyo to nail it.

The song I’d chosen was awesome, honestly. “I’ll be there”, from girl group Spica, was a cute, typical kpop song, but those girls’ vocals were no joke, and their attitude was badass, even if they were pulling the cute concept alright. Not to mention that I had chosen that song for its lyrics, because, well… they conveyed what I wanted to say to Joon. Aishh… When had I become such a softie?

And don’t let me get started about the teasing I had got. Hye Rin had burst out laughing, clapping her hands like a retard, while Yong Yee had left some snide remarks about how “I was really doing anything to win”. Myu Ri had looked at me in disbelief, wondering if I would really do it, but she hadn’t said anything. She was the most hesitant to participate, but I knew that she was very shy when it came to sing, dance, or doing something of that sort, so I wasn’t really alarmed. They all helped in the end, even though I was pretty sure they were regretting it now.

“Girls, focus! Let’s start again from the chorus part, okay? Hye Rin-sshi, please stop flailing your arms around, the movements aren’t that big anyway. Yong Yee-sshi, you’re always a beat behind. Myu Ri-sshi, the attitude is good, but you need to be a bit more energetic, okay? And Lydia-sshi… Please look a bit more cheerful. The only thing you’re going to prove to Joon with this expression is how willing you are to murder him, not being with him”.

I gave a sickly sweet smile to him, making the others laugh. Even Thunder managed to show a small smile, before he said: “Now, let’s do this. Remember, they are going to be here in the afternoon, which gives us less than 7 hours to master that song.”

Yes, I had thought that it would be so easy, that one single day would be enough to master that song. Stupid me. This must have been why I was dating Joon, in the end. We must share the same IQ.

Squeals were heard from the girls around me, and I looked at them in confusion. Was something wrong?

“They? As in all of MBLAQ?” Yong Yee squealed, suddenly alarmed. Myu Ri’s eyes widened, and Hye Rin started complaining about “how we should have warned her so that she would wear something much shorter and hotter to please G.O oppa”.

I rolled my eyes at them. They had already been through a fit, when Thunder said that he would be our dance teacher (we really didn’t know demonic-Thunder at the time), and now they were having a mental breakdown at the thought of all of MBLAQ being here. “Yes, we needed them all to be here, so that Joon wouldn’t suspect a thing.”

More squealing ensued and I looked at Thunder in despair.

“Don’t worry”, he said. “You’ll be ready by the time they arrive, and Joon will definitely appreciate your efforts. After all, you don’t dance that bad.” he added, obviously back to his sweet mode.

“Thanks, Thunder-sshi.” I replied, feeling grateful for everything he had done for me; I mean, he had come to talk to me, he had given me good advice and he had even sacrificed his day off for my sake. I knew now why Joon said that Thunder was precious. He really was a great person, even if he was strict as a dance teacher.

“Girls, back to work. You know that MBLAQ doesn’t settle for anything less than perfection, right? Let’s do this!” he said, back to his strict teacher mode, as he put on the music again.

We started from the beginning of the chorus once more, and I tried to look bubbly and chirpy during the whole dance.

Aishh, The things I did for Lee Joon.

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Next Chapter: Proof (pt.2)

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A/N: Hii! I'm so sorry for this chapter; firstly for its delay, secondly for its crappy quality. I know that it probably wasn't very well-written, and that it must have not been very entertaining, but things are tough right now, and I have a hard time focusing on the story. I feel kinda... lost? Anyway... How did you find the chapter? Was Thunder okay? I really have no idea -_- 

Do you think Lyd will be able to pull of the dance and make her plan work? How will MBLAQ react to the dance and to Lydia? Will Joon forgive her? You will find out soon enough!

If you read the story feed, then you know that I originally wanted to post the chapter on Wednesday, but I didn't make it. There was a special reason for that, since I turned 18 that day! Yay~ So, I wanted to celebrate with you guys, and I thought "why not make a chapter for the previous ones from Joon's POV?". Please, feel free to suggest the chapter you would most want to see from Joon's POV, and I will happily write it :)

 Also, I wanted to inform you that we're halfway through the story! That means that the clock starts ticking as of now... Hmm...

Oh, and one more thing... I will probably delay my next update even more, since my exams are coming up (it's so sad, other people exams are already over and I'm barely starting...). So, please bear with me during my hiatus time... Don't leave, okay? I'll be back! ^^

Feel free to subscribe, comment and/or upvote this story, or message me if you want to talk to me about something, I don't know XD

I will miss you guys! Love you so much!

Signing off,
SikyGreen.