15

Illiana

Paparazzi Attack!

I heard the doorbell ring, just as I thought I was asleep. I was wide-awake on my bed with bits and pieces of my portfolio around me.

I looked at my clock on my bed stand and it was 1pm. I had like 3 hours and less to finish this. I heard someone knocking on my bedroom door. It was like a scared little knock. Lucas came in.

“euh sis, there’s someone here to see you.” Kyuhyun? Could it be? I beamed up.

As soon as I heard that someone was here for me, I couldn’t be fast enough, like lightning I jumped out of my bed, looked in my closet mirror to see if I looked the part. I kind of pushed Lucas aside and ran downstairs. ​When I was in our living room and saw who it was.

“Li, I looked everywhere for you. I thought you needed help with your portfolio.” I was dissapointed as I realized I was giving myself false hope.

“Suzy! Right, I still need your help. Come with me”

“YAH, has World War 3 arrived?” I guess she saw my messy bedroom. "Did I miss a random hurricane?"

“Suz, yes, it has and yes, you missed Hurricane Illiana. So if you would be so kind and could manage putting those pieces together than I can run to the printer shop and print my posters and other stuff.”

“Okaay.” Suzy said a bit confussed.

I was already running downstairs. I had my keys in my hand and yelled “Suz, and look after Lu for a while, I don’t know when I will be back. I hope 3pm.” I didn’t wait for an answer I just ran out, maybe I should’ve taken my old bike. It would’ve been faster. But running is good too, and the print shop was not far. It was near by the concert hall where all the shops were

All the way down to the printing shop, I had this feeling. A creepy feeling, that someone was watching me and following me. Before I entered the printing shop, I spun around like a 360° kind of spin. I couldn’t see anyone. Still I had the feeling, and it didn’t go away. I entered the printing shop. The keeper of the shop was really friendly. He helped me choose the right printer so my designs were printed in no time. It only took like an hour and a half.

I managed to print it all and cut it all in the right sizes to. I looked outside the window when the shopkeeper was calculating my price. I saw a flash of a man. I was probably making myself scared due to my previous feeling. I looked outside again, he was gone. Weird, wasn’t it?

I hadn’t really had the time to pay that much attention too it. I needed to hand in my portfolio.

I paid the bill and went outside with my stuff carefully put in a protected box for the smaller prints as folders, flyers, namecards, logo presentations, etc. The posters were rolled up in a protective roll. The moment I stepped outside, the street was empty aside from passing car, there was no one. Shoot! it was 2:45 already. I had to move and I had to move fast. I never had problems because I did have a large amount of stamina and I ran a marathon like 3 times before. I passed this like dark alley, I heard whispers coming out of the alley. With the feeling I got from before I entered the shop, as much as it scared me than, it gave me chills now.

“Is that her?”

“Is she?”

“Yes, I think she is.”

“We’ve been following her, for like an hour and 15 minutes. If it’s not her we’re screwed”

I really got creeped out. They really meant me, didn’t they?, their whispers kept whispering and more chills crept upon me.

“Let’s have a closer look”

A closer look, no way, I’m going to run if they come out. But I reacted to late, they jumped in front of me, flashing lights hit my eyes.

“Ya, what’s your name and what’s your relationship with Super Junior’s Kyuhyun?”

“Are you dating Kyuhyun?”

Wait what?, great paparazzi. I had to run, I didn’t want to ruin his reputation. It already was ruined.

“Tell us, what is your relationship?” What relationship? I couldn’t pass them, there were so many of them. 

HOW IN THE HELL COULD I PASS THEM.

“How long are you dating?”

“What do the other members say, about you dating him.”

“I’m not DATING anyone, let me through, I have an important meeting.” Why did I tell them that?

“The pictures of you and him are very clear.”

“What pictures?” I asked them. Whoops, wrong thing to say. I just should’ve told them I was the wrong girl, sh** why did I always get myself in trouble?

“The pictures of you and him in the hat shop, the pictures of him carrying you to the backstage at the concert.”

“You must be mistaken” I fake smiled at the reporter lady. “I’ve never been to a concert of them.”

Good turn around. Or so I thought.

“So this isn’t you?” A man asked. He showed me a picture of Kyuhyun holding me in his arms when I out at the concert.

“No, that’s not me.”

“Than why did you looked surprised, he showed you that picture?” another one yelled. Now there were twenty people that surrounded me, making it hard for me to be able to move, were asking questions about all kinds of things.

“YAH” I yelled, every single one of them went quiet. Okay, what was I going to say to them so I could go away. “Okay, good now that I have everyone’s attention..” Before I finished that sentence I saw a van passing by, blinded windows. I looked at it. Could it be? Was it them? When the van was gone I looked back at the quiet reporters. They luckily didn’t notice anything so I went on “I’m a nobody. I’m not that girl in the pictures, you have to believe me. I don’t know this Kyuhyun who you are talking about. So why would I date someone who I don’t know. I was with my friend that night.”

“Whose your friend?” Before I noticed it I had said Jung Suzy.

“Jung Suzy of the Jung Agency was also spotted at the concert, so you were there?”

WTH, how did they know so much?

“So if your friend was there, and you said you were with your friend, logically it would mean you were there too. So why lie?”

“Did the agency put you up to this? To Lie?”

“How much did they pay you to keep your mouth shut and lie?”

OOO please, I needed to go for something to happen right now. So I could run.

“They didn’t pay me anything, I’m not the girl” I said desperately.

“Why are you getting anxious?” The woman from before asked. “You seem anxious. If there is something going on with Kyuhyun and you, you could just say it.”

“There is nothing going on, he hates my guts right now.” OOO great me and my big stupid mouth.

“So there is something? And you are the girl. So why lie about it? Why does he hold you in his arms? He seemed very concerned in that moment according to the fans.”

This was going horribly wrong, I was shading his reputation more and more. Yeah what did I even care about that? Ok, I cared because I hated how these people treated celebrities and now I was treated in the same way. The van I saw earlier, stood still at the end of street, It must've returned. For a split second I had the feeling someone was keeping an eye on me. It was like watching me my every step although it felt diffirent, not hostile but more in the helpful way.

“There really is nothing between me and Super Junior’s Kyuhyun.”

“There are rumours flying around that you are playing his love interest in a CF, what do you have to say about that?” How would they even know about that? That was this morning. There was no one there that was not prohibited to speak about it.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“For a moment there, you looked really shocked. Wasn’t the CF filmed at ZERA-University? We got a picture of you wearing that uniform. You go there right?”

“I go to that University. I’m new at that University so how would I even know anything that? I don't know what was going on there.”

“So really didn’t notice anything? The blog says otherwise.” She showed me Ethans personal blog, the pictures of me and Kyuhyun were on it. Damn, he didn’t manage to catch Ethan in time. How would I explain this? I just wanted to go so I yelled and pointed in the direction of the alley.

“LOOK”

I was so relieved when they all looked and gave me a gap to run. So I did. And they ran after me. Unfortunately.

A pink and black sports car stopped in front of me.

“Li, get in quick.”

So as fast as I could I jumped in the car, leaving the reporters behind me. Suzy was my guardian angel right now.

“Thanks”

“I hope you didn’t say anything wrong.”

“I tried too.” We raced through the street, passed the van. The van started moving again, when we passed it.

“Was that the SUJU van?” Suzy asked me

“I don’t know, maybe”

“It is, it is. They were keeping an eye on you? I hope you kept quiet.”

“Suzy I think I might be in big trouble. The photos that Ethan took, are all over the blog right now.”

“How could that be? Donghae told me they caught him and deleted it all.”

“How would I know, but they are there.”

“Li, here take my phone and send a message to them.”

“Why me?”

“Because I’m driving, PABO”

I wrote a quick message, the first number I passed was Donghae’s number. So I pressed sent and hoped there would be some kind of miracle.