Chapter Two: Heartbeat, Heartbreak
Your MajestyChapter Two: Heartbeat, Heartbreak
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Xiao Luhan was not fond of the situation at all.
Here he was sitting outside with his girlfriend's sister who apparently is his fianceé and they were in complete silence. He glared at her coldy and leaned back in his seat, just begging for their 'meeting' to be over. It may seem harsh, but Luhan didn't want anything to do with her.
Song Jieun did not feel too comfortable.
Here she was sitting outside with her fiancé in complete silence as he glared at her. Of course, her fiancé probably thought she couldn't see it through her veil. A sorrowful smile spread from under the beautiful material as she fiddled with her fingers sheepishly under the table they were sitting at. She... did not know what to think of her future husband at the moment, but the thoughts will come in time. For now, she would really like for the silence to vanquish.
"Umm..." Jieun started softly and peered at him through the curtain of her veil.
"What is it?" Luhan asked bluntly as he continued to stare her down.
"T-The weather is nice today." She blurted impulsively. From under her veil, she silently winced at her statement. Even Luhan raised a brow at her, oh dear, he must think she's a total weirdo! "U-Umm, what type of w-weather do you like most?" She asked nervously.
"Sunny weather," Luhan answered blatantly without another word.
"Oh, m-me too." Jieun smiled a little from under her veil. There was a bit more silence as the chocolate haired young woman swam through her mind for more conversation topics. That's when an idea popped like bubble wrap in her head. "Umm, do you l-like music?" She inquired further with newfound curiosity. Jieun herself loved music personally as it was practically her entire life. From singing to composing, it was her greatest passion and talent.
"Yeah." He replied in a simple manner; no more, no less. Luhan was quite fond of music and it was one of his greatest interests.
"O-Oh, me too!" Jieun smiled excitedly with a bit more relief. "D-Do you attend the arts academy?" She asked with a bit of hope in her now somewhat bubbly tone.
When his fianceé started speaking, Luhan couldn't care less. Although he was a bit taken aback when she pressed on, most girls would stop trying to get him to speak due to his indifferent demeanor which, of course, makes everything awkward afterwards. Well, except for Seorin that is, but it could be a family thing. Then, when she asked him if he liked music, she seemed to be rather happy that he did. For some reason, her shy tone escalated to something more chatty and bubbly.
Luhan wasn't too fond of her type. He preferred girls to be quiet like Seorin, but somewhat talkative in their own way.
Then all of a sudden, she asked if he attended the arts academy. His future wife could've elaborated and been specific about which academy, but the only one nearby was Seoul Academy of the Arts. Why would she ask him in the first place anyway? Wasn't she tutored at her own home like her sister? Luhan pushed these thoughts to the side to answer.
"Yeah, why?"
"O-Oh, really? Umm, well, I-I attend the s-same academy. Seoul Academy o-of the Arts, right?" Jieun stammered awkwardly with nervousness laced in her voice. Luhan nodded slightly in response with a bit of hesitation like he was a little dumbfounded.
So, his fianceé went to the same academy? How could he have not noticed her then? She was wearing a veil, so she shouldn't be too hard to find, right? Now that Luhan thought about it, were they in the same class too?
After about ten minutes of awkward silence and Jieun's (failed) attempts to start a real converstation, the future couple was ushered in before it was time for dinner to begin. The two split ways and headed in different directions. Jieun, in her white-clad glory, sped off to her room where her caretaker was waiting for her.
"So, how did it go?" Key interrogated as he lounged on the couch in Jieun's bedroom. Said young woman removed her veil and plopped down on the seat opposite to her caretaker.
"It was..." Jieun scrunched up her face in wonder as if it would bring her the answer she sought. "Awkward, but he seemed really nice." She finished with a bit of uncertainty in her tone to which her caretaker immediately caught.
"Lies," Key instantly stated and poked her forehead in emphasis.
"No~!" The chocolate haired young woman protested with a small pout and swatted his hand away. "Anyway, as I was saying, Luhan-ssi isn't really much of talker and it was a little hard to get him to talk a little..." She murmured and fiddled with her discarded veil.
"Sooo, was he handsome?" Key slyly grinned.
"Ahh why are you asking~!" Jieun exclaimed in embarassment and smacked him with the veil in her hands.
"I'm just kidding!" He chuckled and she pouted at him. As she slumped in her seat in newfound silence, he just had to ask. "So, did he at least fit your ideal type?"
"Seorin..."
"I... wasn't expecting that you and my sister-"
"Neither did I, but-"
"What do you think of my sister?"
Luhan didn't know what to reply. The question was out of nowhere and Seorin stared at him expectantly. What did he think about Jieun? His thoughts carried him to what happened earlier in the courtyard with his fianceé. She was wearing a veil at that time and a white dress if he remembered, Luhan thought to himself, as much as he loathed the little thought that trespassed his imagination it swirled around his head. His favorite color was white and his future wife wore the color well. Out of nowhere, his mind replaced the adjective with a more flattering term that he absolutely did not want to think about.
She was beautiful.
Immediately, he effectively burned that sentence in his mind... only to come up with even more thoughts about his future wife. Secretly, Luhan had always been the type to... glance (*cough*checkout*cough*) at legs subconsciously and... she definitely did not disappoint.
Of course, he violently shoved that thought into his mental incinerator and hoped to never think of such again.
Too bad such a thought turned out to be mentally fireproof...
Knowing that his girlfriend (or perhaps ex-girlfriend since he's engaged?) was waiting for him to answer, Luhan decided to evade the question.
"Why does it matter? You're the one I love, Seorin." He smiled and brushed her light caramel brown locks behind her ear. She glanced away, a blush illuminating her cheeks, and smiled back uncertainly.
The next day...
"Attention to all those performing in the upcoming showcase, you must please report to your practice rooms to meet with your managers regarding the preparations for your performances. Again, all those performing in the upcoming showcase, you must report to your practice rooms to meet with your managers regarding the preparations for your performances. Thank you,"
When she entered the practice room, her members were bouncing with excitement and she couldn't help but join in as well. Before, they had been unofficially practicing but now... now it's the real deal! This was going to be their first official performance too. Groups in the academy record their songs without releasing them until they perform so now they can officiallly... they can officially share their music with the world! The showcase was going to be open to all kinds of audiences which range from guests and the entire student body.
"Alright, have you decided which songs you will perform?" The manager inquired.
"We were thinking about doing 'Poison' as the main event." Hyosung explained. "Before that, we were thinking that 'Going Crazy' should be the opening."
"Have you already started practicing 'Poison'?" He asked despite already knowing the answer. They nodded vigorously in response and he grinned proudly. "Good, now for some things that need to be mentioned..." The manager grew serious at this moment and continued. "First is that collaborations for the first official performances aren't allowed in the academy." The member's faces fell and they nodded with drastically less vigor than before. "Second is that Jieun has been granted permission to take off her mask and glasses only for performances." With that single sentence, their faces were lifted again with happiness for their main vocal.
"How is that possible?" Jieun had to question. It was just too good to be true after all this time...
"Well, it's only going to be for performances and it'd be hard to sing with a mask wouldn't it?" He pointed out. "Anyway, last thing is that one member needs to perform the opening- and only one member."
The members of Secret glanced at each other.
"The board recommended that Jieun would open with her solo song, 'Hope Torture'," The manager added as well. "I also believe it would be a great move too. If that is alright with everyone..."
Jieun pursed her lips and fiddled with her long ebony skirt. She would like to do the opening, but her members...
"It's alright, I think it's best that Jieun does the opening too." Hyosung agreed and shot the main vocalist a 'you-better-do-it' look.
"Then it's settled!"
Class was dismissed for the day and Jieun was currently packing her school materials into her bag. She glanced around the classroom from the corners of her eyes to make sure that those girls were coming to bother her and if they did- she needed to walk quickly (since the academy did not permit running in the halls). Fortunately for the chocolate haired young woman, the trio weren't in the classroom at the moment. Jieun exhaled in relief under her mask and slung her messenger bag over her shoulder before making her way to the door.
As Jieun walked through the somewhat-empty halls towards the recording room, she decided to flip through some notes that were taken from her last recording session.
She was quite absorbed in the notes of her vocal coach that included praises as well as criticisms that she didn't notice someone walking right towards her. Before she knew it, they both collided and her papers flew along with the other party's.
Luhan wasn't able to find his fianceé.
Not that he was hoping to find her of course, but...
He sighed and stuffed his school materials in his bag. Why did he care anyway? Luhan slung his backpack over his shoulder and analyzed the papers he was currently holding. It was the dance routine that Lay, Kai, Sehun and he himself had created for the upcoming showcase.
Now that he thought about it, would his fiancé be performing in the showcase too?
Luhan shook his head mentally, that's not really possible is it- for his fianceé to perform in a veil? She probably couldn't see what's in front of her let alone dance. Then again, how could she have been able to navigate through the halls and her home's courtyard without sight? Luhan pushed those thoughts out of the way; he needed to focus on the routine at this moment.
As he refreshed his memory with the routine, he headed for the practice room at the same time through the somewhat-empty halls.
He furrowed his eyebrows, this part was rather difficult to comprehend and Korean wasn't exactly his first language-
-Papers then flew everywhere.
Sparkly dark brown eyes met elegant light brown-
Time seemed to stop.
Jieun couldn't breathe.
Her fiancé was right in front of her as they both sat on the ground; papers around them and all.
That's when she realized, she wasn't wearing her veil.
Her eyes widened from behind her glasses and immediately ducked her head as she shuffled to gather her papers. Jieun didn't want him to see her- not like this!
Luhan froze.
The young woman's light brown eyes were captivating.
Not only that, but her chocolate brown hair was so familiar that he could've sworn he had seen it before.
He watched as the young woman ducked her head down and immediately gathered her scattered papers that were mixed in with his own. A spark set off in his chest and his hands automatically reached for the rest of the scattered papers. Sorting them carefully, Luhan handed the mask wearing young woman her own papers as she handed him his.
For whatever reason he didn't know, Luhan smiled at her.
Ba-dump! Ba-dump!
Her heart pounded against her chest faster than you can sing 'Sorry Sorry'.
Blood rushed towards her face as a bright red glow started to spread through her cheeks. Fortunately, she was wearing a mask and large glasses at the moment- oh how even more embarassed she would've been!
Ba-dump! Ba-dump!
Then there was a flutter in her stomach and she couldn't speak.
Ba-dump! Ba-dump!
Her fiancé's smile... it was so...
Ba-dump! Ba-dump!
Jieun couldn't take it anymore.
She ran.
Why did he do it?
Luhan sighed as he re-straightened his papers and stared in the direction the young woman ran towards.
Ba-dump! Ba-dump!
If he could, Luhan would've glared at his heart at the very moment. It thudded wildly against his chest and he struggled to breathe when he thought of the mysterious young woman again. What was happening? He loved Seorin!
Ba-dump! Ba-dump!
He frowned, clutching his papers, and stood from the floor. His heartbeat then slowed back to its average speed and he exhaled. At the moment, there was no use to keep thinking or else he'd be late for dance practice. Luhan was about to walk from the scene of the incident, but his phone vibrated in his pocket.
From: Yixing
To: Luhan
13:09 PM
Lu-ge, dance practice has been cancelled for today. Manager-hyung wants you to head to the recording room to redo your recording for the routine's song. Jia-Yo!
"Good of you to make it Ssongji," The vocal coach grinned and ruffled the Song child's chocolate brown hair.
"You're right on time too." Secret's manager gestured towards the studio with his hand. "After you warm-up, go right in and we'll start the new recording of 'Hope Torture'."
Xiao Luhan ran a hand through his orange-auburn hair and sighed. He spent quite a bit of time trying to memorize the dance routine and instead he has to redo his recording. It's a good thing his legs were long; it made backtracking a lot easier in his opinion.
Stuffing his hands in his uniform pant's pockets, the sparkly eyed young man scanned the various doors that led to many recording rooms, but he was looking for a specific one- Room 5590. The specific room was where EXO always did their recordings in and it was rare that they used another.
He let out a small relieved smile when he spotted the room and immediately opened the door.
Luhan didn't expect the unexpected.
Neoneun nareul saranghaji anha
(You don't love me)
da algo isseo nan
(I know everything)
doraseodo milchyeonaedo dasi tto chajawa
(I turn away, I push you away but you come to me again)
geureon nuneuro baraboji ma
(Don't look at me with those eyes)
geu ppheonhan geojitmal haji ma geuroji ma
(Don't say those obvious lies, don't do that)
ijeuneun naeboraedo nareul chatji ma
(Leave me alone now, don't come to me)
Her eyes were closed, lashes brushing against her cheekbones, and her small lips moving to form the heartbroken lyrics.
Did Xiao Luhan die and go to Heaven?
The young woman's sweet voice enchanted him like a siren's song and he stood there as the door closed behind him, unable to move. Her eyes opened to reveal the oh-so familiar light brown irises that made his heart beat eratically.
"You must be Xiao Luhan, right?" Asked the man on the black leather couch. Luhan snapped out of his trance and faced the man.
"Y-Yes." The orange-auburn haired young man answered politely, but sneaking a couple of glances towards the mysterious natural beauty in the recording box.
"You're recording in Room 42090 since as you can see, this room is currently being used. I hope you don't mind." The man smiled apologetically before turning his head towards the singing young woman. "She's beautiful isn't she?" He grinned proudly.
"Yeah, she is..." Luhan answered without thinking, but froze immediately after the statement. What was he saying? Why was his heart beating so fast?
Ba-dump! Ba-dump!
"I-I need to get to my recording session now. Thank you for informing me, Hyung." The orange-auburn haired bowed deeply before rushing out the door.
Ba-dump! Ba-dump!
From: Key Oppa
To: Jieun
13:45
Jieunnie, it's time for another meeting with your fiancé~!
I'm waiting in the parking lot right now. Hurry, hurry!
Jieun shuffled in her outfit as she waited for her fiancé to arrive. She wore a simple white chiffon top with bell sleeves and a navy blue pencil skirt. The two articles of clothing were accompanied by simple white flats that had cute little ribbons and of course, her white veil.
"How are you?" Her sister, Seorin, asked politely as they waited.
"Good." Jieun answered from under her veil. "How about you?"
"Fine." She replied back. There was an awkward silence before Seorin spoke up. "Your fiancé... what do you think of him?"
"Huh?" The betrothed wasn't ready for such a question, but her heart thought otherwise.
Ba-dump! Ba-dump!
His smile...
Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump!
"H-He is nice..." Jieun trailed off, unable to finish the sentence as she tried to calm her beating heart. What was wrong with her? After that incident, whenever she thought of him her heart would start beating so fast.
"And?" Seorin pressed on, a miniscule frown starting to appear on her face.
"Umm..." Before Jieun answered, the door to the common room opened. Immediately, the twins stood and bowed in greeting.
There he was, Xiao Luhan, wearing a simple black button-up with matching dress pants and shoes. He politely bowed in greeting as well, albeit a bit stiffly, but bowed nevertheless. His gaze lingered on the light caramel haired twin before switching to the other, his fianceé.
"Shall we leave?" Luhan asked the veil-clad young woman.
"Y-Yes, of course..." Jieun stammered in response. The orange-auburn haired young man turned and walked out the room while his fianceé followed.
It was awkward- so awkward that Jieun wanted to run as far as her legs could take her. She opened to speak, but the words wouldn't come out no matter how hard she tried.
"Do you want to order anything?"
"H-Huh?" Jieun snapped out of her thoughts. Her future husband stared at her- no- stared at her veil, waiting for an answer as a bored look was plastered on his handsome face.
"I said, do you want to order anything?" Luhan repeated.
"O-Oh, no..." She murmured as she fiddled with her bell sleeves.
"Alright..." He sat back in his seat. The two of them were in a private area of the café that their families reserved just for the two of them to... 'converse'. Luhan mentally sighed, his electronics were off-limits at the moment and there was nothing to do except... 'converse'. He really did not want to do such a thing, but if he wanted out of here then he had to.
"What-"/ "Do-"
The two stared at each other.
"Y-You first."/ "Go ahead."
There was a silence.
"What is your favorite color?" Luhan asked with an uninterested tone.
"I-It's white..." The chocolate haired girl answered.
"Okay then," The Xiao child nodded slowly with a bit of surprise- they shared a favorite color unlike he and Seorin who was fond of pink. "What's your question?" The light brown eyed vocalist hesitated, unsure if she should ask, but went on.
"Do.. do you know Seorin?" After Jieun had asked, there was no answer. She opened to apologize-
"Yeah, she's my girlfriend, why?"
"O-Oh... no reason..." She mumbled, ignoring the piercing sensation in her chest. There was another silence and this time, Jieun didn't like it, but she couldn't do anything about it. This silence wasn't awkward, but...
"I don't like you."
It was like it was building up to a point.
"I want nothing to do with you, understand?"
For once, Jieun was glad she was wearing her veil.
"I'm sorry, I just wanted to be honest."
The truth hurts...
"It's okay..." Jieun murmured softly, her voice's stability unlike her heart's contraction. "H-How long do we have?" She wanted this to be over. The pain- the pain was starting to get worse each time she compared to the cold look he had on now-
-to the sunny smile he had given her before.
"About thirty minutes,"
"Okay..."
Within every passing second, it brought her pain- one she never experienced- and one she never wanted to experience. Her heart that had beat at her past memory was now clenching oh-so painfully like it was being lit on fire. His words seemed to repeat over and over in her mind- her pain repeating over and over again and again-
girlfriendgirlfriendSeorinSeorinpainpainpain!
JieunSeorinnotgoodenoughgirlfriendwaste!
trashleftoveroutcastpainpainpian!
Over and over and over....
painpainpainpainpainpainpain!
...
Did Song Jieun die and go to Hell?
"I'll do my best!"
"It was stupid..."
"What is love?"
"Why are you asking me?
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