38

Kyuhyun

Manager's Verdict

“Sungmin-ah, I told you over and over again he was right, Will you come back now?” I heard Leeteuk on the phone in our room. I’d just woken up from a rather quiet 3 hour sleep without dreams, or so I thought. A human dreams almost 7 to 9 times in the night so I probably dreamed something but forgot about it. At least it wasn’t a dream where someone killed me over and over again.

“Sungmin-ah, he is going to need you more than ever, you know that.” I turned around and opened my eyes slowly only to see a hyung pacing up and down in the room on the phone.

“jeezz, you both are so stubborn, just come back and admit you were wrong……..Fine, stay there……I get it he’s hard to look after, I admit I really don’t know how to make him listen sometimes, but he’s having a hard time. And those nightmares he’s been having it’s not normal. Go to doctor Shim with him. ….. YAH I can’t go, I have schedules with Yesung. Is he there? Can you pass him please, he had to be here like 5 minutes ago….. Yesung-ah, where the hell are you?”

I shifted and Leeteuk finally noticed I was awake. He looked kind of embarrassed. Was it because he was begging Sungmin to come back and that he just admitted that he sometimes didn’t know what to do with me. He gave me a firm nod and went outside, probably to lecture Yesung for being late. It has only been three days since Illiana was awake and I didn’t have the chance to see her. Let alone, take her soft hands in mine.

Hearing Kibum and Suzy talk a lot about her wasn’t an option and Lucas I didn’t see either. I had a feeling he was avoiding me. But than again that was just me. He was constantly with Illiana I guess. He did send me text, and his mother already left for Africa. Mrs Jung was keeping her eye on him and finally he got back to eating and becoming his old bubbly self again.

Everyone should be happy now, Why wasn’t I than? In those three days the urge of seeing Illiana became bigger and bigger. But I couldn’t. I rolled on my back and looked at the ceiling. I sighed out of frustration and I didn’t really wanted to come out of bed. It wasn’t necessary since I didn’t have schedules this morning. We had a group thing in the afternoon but that was it. Maybe it would distract me a bit. Sungmin didn’t want to talk to me. I didn’t want to talk to myself after everything I pulled.

What should I do today. I tried to figure something out but yet nothing crossed my mind. Kibum came running in the room.

“The manager wants to have a word with us before the show and since we don’t have a schedule he said to come down now.”

“Why?”

“Kyu, you know why, Illiana is awake and the manager already heard about it. He probably called doctor Shim or something.”

“Greaaat, just what I needed today” I sighed again.

“yeah, just let me do talking now, maybe we don’t have to move than.”

“Like that is going to help”

“yah” he threw a cushion to my head “behave”

“Did you have to do that?”

“Yes, that was absolutely necessary” He smiled, then he went serious again “just be ready in like a half an hour, Ok?”

“Do we have coffee?”

“No, we don’t, Hyukie made last one yesterday.”

“I want coffee, the good one.”

“Illiana isn’t back home yet and you want her coffee, that’s ten times better than the coffee of Suzy. Yeah, I miss Illiana’s coffee too.” I was ready to throw the cushion back.

“YAH, I heard that” A somewhat hurt Suzy with two cups of coffee was standing in my bedroom door opening.

“Suzy?!?” We both said in surprise.

“Who let you in?” Kibum asked.

“Leeteuk-oppa, he said Yesung-oppa was here and he had to go to his schedule and said you two were here. So you both like Illiana’s Coffee better? Well, than these cups will go to Eunhyuk-oppa and Donghae-oppa”

“Stop calling everyone Oppa” Kibum wasn’t pleased by Suzy calling everyone oppa.

“But you’re all older than me so I have to.”

“SUUUZZZYYY-YYAAH, I’m your oppa.”

“You’re a friend” she smirked “YAH, EUNHYUK, DONGHAE, Coffee is here.” She turned around and walked away.

“SUZ, come back here, I want my cup” Kibum shot as a rocket out of my room after Suzy.

“Nope, you like Li’s coffee better, didn’t you just say that?” I watched the display from in the door opening.

“I didn’t mean it”

“Sure you did, now this coffee is going to people who appreciate it. Eunhyuk, Donghae, Where are you?”

“Here” I heard from the kitchen. While Kibum pouted that he didn’t get a cup. I went to the bathroom to get ready for the meet with the manager.

We were standing in front of the manager’s office. This was it. We were so nervous of what he was about to say. But we already guessed what he was going to imply on us. We had to move.

“And you know it, right? Let me do the talking maybe just maybe I can talk him into it to let us stay. “ Kibum whispered before we heard the manager calling us in.

“Fine” I would be like a plant, quiet not speaking nor moving.

We greeted the manager and waited to the point he gestured to sit down. Once we did he just stared at us.

It freaked me out, he just kept staring at us. Nothing more than that. Did we have to talk first? Kibum started to show his nerves. His hand began to shiver and he was looking down instead of looking at the manager. I tried to hide them and it took all my courage to keep looking at him. Why wasn’t he saying anything and you couldn’t read anything of his face.

“So” He said after a few minutes and we were so surprised to hear something in the dead silence room that we jumped out of our chairs, figurly. “You both know what is coming?”

We stayed still.

“Sir, …” Kibum started but shut it when the manager put his hand up to keep quiet.

“I don’t tolerate disrespect and disobedience right now, you both were warned when the girl wakes up you two would move.”

"Sir …"

“Kibum-ah what did I tell you, I don’t bear contradiction right now. I just need you two to listen. Kibum, you are going to stay away from Mrs Jung’s Daughter and You “ he pointed at me “you are going to stay away from the other girl. What Leeteuk did before wasn’t really tolerated and went down the wrong pipe with the company, but they still let you do it anyway otherwise you couldn’t work.”

“We are going to put Heechul and Hangeng in your places. Sungmin will have to share a room with Leeteuk and those two will get the other room. As decided from us all.”

“Hyung ..?”

“Kibum, just listen.”

“You two are not allowed to tell the girls where you are going, if we notice you did there will be serious consequences. We don’t want those girls to find you.”

Suddenly I knew what was happening they were stating we never see them again, they forbade us from ever seeing them again. I clenched my fist and tried to hold in the sudden anger that had welled up. No, they couldn’t just do that, could they?

“you can’t make us to something that drastic” Kibum suddenly let out a full sentence. I lifted my head up again.

“We can and we already did. As of today, you (watching the both of us) are going to pack and trade places. And not say a word. Ooh and more think, the little boy,”

Not Lu too. He needed us. Although now his sister was back, his first priority would be Illiana. But still they couldn’t Lucas was too fragile to just cut any communication with him. “is never to come with you, talk to you nor see you guys. Is that understood?”

I shifted uncomfortably in the chair. This was not happening. I looked at Kibum, he couldn’t bring out a word. So I started to talk.

“Sir, aren’t you going over the top with this, he’s 10. He’s too fragile at the moment he needs us. How could you do that?”

“Simple, we see him as a distraction and a source of information and communication to the girls.”

“But he’s a little boy, he won’t understand.”

“Kyuhyun, it’s enough you took him almost everywhere with you in the last months, it has been going on since they arrived and if not sooner. The little one will have to come here and sign an agreement to never talk to you anymore.”

“WAIT, WHAT, no, this is crazy. He’s 10, for crying out loud and you are going to force him to sign something.”

“From what I’ve seen of the little boy, he’s smart enough to understand.” I stood up and placed my hands on the manager’s desk.

“He won’t, Illiana and Suzy will understand. Although you will have to wait until her memory is back otherwise she is going to freak. But Lucas no. This is madness. How will he understand?”

Before the manager could say something, the door to his office flew open. We saw a very angry Mrs Jung.

“WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO PULL HERE?” She shouted and yelled with some kind of papers in her hand. “WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THIS? CONTRACTS TO FORBID SOMEONE TO SOMEONE ELSE. WHAT COMPANY ARE YOU”

“Mrs Jung,” Manager calmly said. I sat down in my chair again. “Calm yourself.”

“CALM MYSELF, I have three contracts of somekind of restriction, are you people crazy.”

She waved the papers when she came closer, not even carring to shut the door.

“Mrs Jung, sit down, please” He gestured to the empty chair next to Kibum. “Listen, We….”

“NO, YOU aRE GOING TO LISTEN, I don’t want to push my daughter to do this again. Now Illiana too and Lucas. Lucas is a child, you can’t force him to do anything. I won’t let them sign this. None of them.”

I looked at the manager he looked fairly calm but he wasn’t. He was mad also but constrained himself for Mrs Jung even though he got winced. The left uppercorner of is his mouth twitched and he only did that when he was mad. With a calm grimace he tried to be as polite as he could.

“Mrs Jung, I understand your concern. We are just trying to protect our idols.”

“Sure protect them. What about little Lucas, he’s fragile as it is and he needs those idols. He only opens up to Kyuhyun when Illiana isn’t there.” She pointed at me without looking. “Do you even know how hard it has been?”

“We can imagine, but we only do this for our idols, to protect them from whatever bad thing in the world.”

“Are you hearing yourself. Protect them from outside. AND HOW IN THE WORLD CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW THEY FEEL.” I began to feel a little uncomfortable and looked at Kibum who was feeling the same. We shouldn’t even be in here right now.

“Mrs Jung, what right do you have to speak for the girl and the boy. I understand you can’t help but feel protective.”

“Really, we are going that way. Have you met their mother. I don’t think so. In fact, I am more of a mother to them than their own. I am not letting these contract sign. They have to have a way to communicate, no one can take that away. No one is a robot, we all have feelings and breaking the contact in between is declaring them that for each other.”

“Where are you to going?” We sneakishly stood up and headed for the door during Mrs Jung’s speech, we didn’t want to be there. We turned around. “Sit down, I wasn’t done with you two.”

We obediently went back to our chairs and sat down.

“Are you ignoring me?’

"Yes"

‘Well you have to learn some manners. I was in the middle.”

“Mrs Jung, honestly I don’t have time for this, I just need you to get those contracts signed as soon as possible.”

“Didn’t you listen to anything I said.” She paused “Apparantly not. I’m not doing this to my daughter again and I’m not going to do this to Illiana and Lucas. Are you guys even human?”

I looked at Kibum who thought the same thing as me. The way she said it was funny. No one ever dared to say this to the manager. We had to hold our laugh at some point. Actually why would we leave this was becoming very interesting. Although I had my anger to let out too. Maybe Mrs Jung could achieve more than us.

“Mrs Jung, I can declare the contracts as cancelled.” Was our manager giving in? “I don’t appreciate you to call us not human. We care about our idols and their relationship with others. We just need those contracts signed.”

“HA” Mrs Jung said sarcastically. “Maybe not enough. I don’t want them to sign something. Not Suzy, not Illiana and certainly not Lucas. Illiana hasn’t got her memory back, how will you legally bound her to contract and she doesn’t know what she has done. Suzy already signed something in the past because I pushed her to do it. I don’t want that again. And lastly Lucas, the boy is 10 and is so shaking about everything that’s happened that the only one who can break the shell is Kyuhyun and you’re taking the boys’ happiness away? Tell me how is that human. Do you even know why I bought that apartment in the first place.”

This was interesting.

“I bought because, they would feel at home with someone they knew next to them. Suzy was always scared to move somewhere alone. But I know she would be ok if Kibum-ah was besides her and when Suzy’s ok, Illiana would be. Lucas too cause Illiana was ok. I had a feeling Illiana would be at home here.” Suddenly she gave a quick glance to me. I didn’t think the manager noticed. “That apartment was really expensive.” She continued.

“And there’s a reason why it is so expensive. It’s because of the idols and their savety. Second there’s those flinter thin walls they forgot to make sound prove. So they would easily disturb their neighbours.”

“That is so not the point. The point is you are taking away their home and the connection they build up, to feel more at home.” She continued.

“Mrs Jung, Can I ask you something?” You could see how mad he was and trying to keep it inside because loosing your cool was giving in your defeat. I thought he was one the verge to break down.

“Sure.” She rolled her eyes. What was he trying to pull, he seemed to have thought of something.

“How old is Suzy?”

“22-23 in Korean age” She said blankly.

“Are you the legal guardian of the girl and the boy?” This was not good, he couldn’t just have played the card of the guardian. Suzy was old enough to sign without her mothers consent; Illiana and Lucas’ mom was in Africa. So they had to sign to.

“They have a name, Illiana and Lucas and no I’m not their legal guardian.” She said quietly.

“Then you have no say in what those three do or not do here, have you?”

Mrs Jung flew open. For a moment there she was totally speechless. She got played. It was going so well and there was the turning point. If Mrs Jung couldn’t go around our chances of seeing Suzy, Li and Lucas were minimum.

“Maybe I can’t tell them or force them what to do.” She started a little less confident. “But be reasonable. No communication at all, both sides will suffer.”

“Please do explain.”

“Ok, Kibum.” She turned to Kibum. Kibum was surprised at the sudden attention to him. “how did you feel last time when you left. I think 2 years ago. I know for a fact Suzy sulking for the whole week, without a word from you. She hated doing things she loved.”

Kibum didn’t really know what to answer, so I jumped in.

“He was the same, until we pushed him to call her.” For the manager this was new. He didn’t know what we did in that week, he just knew Kibum hated doing every single thing in that week.

“My point exactly, Kyuhyun how did you feel when Lucas knocked on the wrong door that day when you were grounded, and he kept coming back. He was like a little brother to you. How did you feel leaving him?” The eyes of the manager were just pure horror. He didn’t know. He didn’t know anything and I know Mrs Jung didn’t only mean Lucas, I knew she knew everything about anything. Suzy always told her. She knew about my feelings towards Illiana.

“I felt like, leaving a piece behind” She probably knew about the airport scene too.

“Both parts will be miserable.” She said directly to the manager. “Without communication towards the other”

“What does this Illiana girl have to with all of this?”

“She’s Lucas’ sister.” Some bell began to rang in the manager’s head.

“Kyuhyun, she’s the girl? She’s the one who gave you trouble.”

“Well it’s more the other way around but yeah.” It was better to be honest now. “She’s that girl.”

“So you see, both sides will cause more trouble if you don’t let them communicate at all.”

The manager had a look you didn’t see very often. Reconsideration. Kibum could see it too. Did Mrs Jung just break the manager?