Goo Ha Ra

“HIS WHAT?????!!! You have GOT to be KIDDING me!!!”, I screamed inside my van, which made my Manager flinch in the driver seat. We were just parked a few cars behind Yong Hwa Oppa’s van, watching the chaos of reporters and paparazzi circle the van like vultures descending on a carcass—the chaos that I orchestrated. It wasn’t that hard really. While in disguise where the paparazzi usually hang out, my Manager just let it slip that there was a big star hiding a scandalous affair in a hotel nearby. The next thing I knew, it exploded in social networking sites like a plague.

 

“Ha Ra-yah, just let them be.. We already caused them this trouble and look what it did.. It blew up in our faces.. He already told you he doesn’t want to do this anymore and even offered a generous compensation for you.. What more do you want—”

 

“I want HIM. That’s what I want, Oppa.”, I told my Manager firmly.

 

“But he d—”

 

“There they go! Follow them, Oppa! Go!!! HURRY!!!”, I screamed at my Manager’s ear.

 

Nobody treats me like that. Not even you, Jung Yong Hwa!

 

 

 

Jung Yong Hwa

“HIS WHAT?????!!!”, were the first words I heard as soon as I went in the van. I stared at Hyun, reading her reaction as she’s the one who’s affected the most by what I just said to the reporters. But she wasn’t saying anything or even looking at me. I tried to talk to her despite all the words being thrown at me left and right by the other three men in the van, but she said that we’d talk later in private. I agreed and took Cherisse and sat her on my lap. I played with her quietly while our van made its way to Hyun’s clients’ office.

 

I can’t believe I said that she’s my wife and Cherisse is our baby in front of hundreds of reporters without asking her first! What was I thinking?! Arghhh! If I catch whoever told those reporters where we were.. Grrr!!! But I’ve decided.. Hyung is probably going to kill me, but what the hell! I really, really, REALLY want to do this with her.. I’m going to ask Hyun’s approval and drop the bomb later at the conference.. I hope she says YES! Fighting, Jung Yong Hwa!

 

 

 

Seo Joo Hyun

“HIS WHAT?????!!!”, exclaimed the Ice King, Jung Shin and Yong Oppa’s Manager in unison, while I just stayed quiet. Cherisse was looking around surprised at the men’s sudden outburst.

 

Of course, I was shocked, too. Not about the ‘our baby’ part, but the ‘my wife’ part. 

 

Wouldn’t you be, if suddenly you’re someone’s wife without you knowing?! And what would his wife say if she hears that?! Moreover, what would his wife DO?! Aigooo!

 

So many questions went through my mind that I was confused what to ask first.

 

“Go! Go! Drive! Now!”, ordered Yong Oppa’s Manager as soon as Yong Oppa got in the van and shut the door.

 

“Seatbelts, please..”, I said both to Yong Oppa and his Manager, who gave me a puzzled look from the passenger seat where he was seated. He looked at everyone else wearing seatbelts at the back of the van and eventually did the same.

 

On the way to our client’s meeting, everyone was talking at the same time. The loudest voice was Yong Oppa’s Manager demanding for him to retract the answer he just gave to the reporters a few minutes ago and scolding him at the same time. Jung Shin kept pestering Yong Oppa for ‘details’, of what, I don’t know, and the Ice King kept mumbling words in his seat—angry words. Yong Oppa wanted to talk to me, but stayed quiet after I told him that we’ll talk in private later. He just played with Cherisse who was sitting in his lap, while I went through my documents for the meeting.

 

A few minutes more passed and we finally arrived at the client’s office which was near the beach. Yong Oppa’s Manager left with the van, saying something about ‘nipping it in the bud’ and ‘damage control’. Before he left, he reminded us of the press-con at 5pm and instructed Yong Oppa NOT to answer any more questions or talk to anyone AT ALL.

 

Going in, we were led to a conference room that had a spectacular view of the beach.

 

“Whoa.. Daebak!”, I heard Yong Oppa exclaim under his breath, admiring the view before us.

 

 

He placed our bags on the corner, out of everyone’s way and put Cherisse down so he could guide her around the room. Jung Shin and I started to set up for the long discussion about the project we won through bidding, while the Ice King called our London office on his phone for some other details that we might have missed. Later on, we all found ourselves staring at the waves crashing so close to the office perimeter that we didn’t even notice the clients come in.

 

“Ahn-nyeong-ha-se-yo..”, said a small voice slowly but clearly. We all turned and were shocked to find Cherisse bowing and smiling widely at the 5 men standing behind us. We’ve never heard her utter anything other than French, let alone a Korean greeting complete with a bow. She must have heard it from the people around when she was still vacationing in Seoul with her parents before she got lost. Add to that from Yong Oppa, who used it a lot to greet people and picked it up as soon as she understood how to say it. I’m so proud of her that I thought my heart would burst.

 

The 5 men then greeted Cherisse back much to the delight of the little girl. I laughed when she started speaking in French and the 5 men all scratched their heads in confusion.

 

“I’m sorry about that.. She said her name is Cherisse and that she wishes to play ‘horsie’ with you all because she thinks you’re all her ummm handsome Grandpas..”, I translated, feeling sheepish about the ‘grandpa’ part, but I couldn’t lie to them.

 

They all laughed and gave Cherisse a thumbs-up while arguing who was the most handsome among them, which they requested for me to ask Cherisse in their behalf.

 

“Qui pensez-vous est le plus beau?1 (Who do you think is the most handsome?)”, I asked Cherisse.

 

She walked towards the gentleman in the middle with the silver-gray hair and took his hand. The other 4 men started clapping, while the silver-gray-haired gentleman picked Cherisse up. Yong Oppa and I stiffened. No one else has held her yet, other than us two, so we were worried. But Cherisse had a big smile on her face, almost as big as the smile of the man holding her, who she now affectionately calls Grand-père beau (handsome Grandpa).

 

 

The silver-gray haired gentleman introduced himself as Kim Seong Won, the CEO of the company whose project we were handling now. We introduced ourselves after the 4 other men, who came in with the CEO, introduced themselves. We also apologized for bringing Cherisse and Yong Oppa with us in a business meeting and promised that they will not be a problem after explaining to them what has happened since we first saw her in the airport back in Seoul. I noticed the CEO hugged Cherisse closer after hearing her story and thanked me and Yong Oppa for what we did for the little girl and told us that we deserved to be called Mommy and Daddy by her. Yong Oppa and I could only look at each other and feel a little embarrassed about the compliment.

 

After a while, Yong Oppa took Cherisse from her ‘handsome Grandpa’ when she touched her lips. We explained to them that it was her way of telling us that she’s hungry. The CEO looked amused and impressed, then Yong Oppa excused himself and Cherisse and went to the corner of the conference room where her baby bag was and fixed her a bottle of milk. We began the meeting as soon as everyone took a seat. The Ice King started with explaining further his proposal, while I assisted him with the details. While I talk, I could feel both Yong Oppa and Cherisse’s eyes on me. Sometimes I could hear Yong Oppa whispering to Cherisse about something. But all in all, they stayed quiet for the rest of the morning, while we went on with the meeting.

 

 

 

Jung Yong Hwa

As I sat there in the corner of the conference room, feeding Cherisse her baby bottle, I watched Hyun talk amidst 7 other men as if she commands their attention until the time she lets them go. She’s radiating this in-your-face-all-serious-businessy-type aura, which was so impressive. She can handle herself in front of professional men twice her age and she does it effortlessly.

 

Daebak.. She’s really amazing..

 

After Cherisse finished her bottle, we decided to stay on the porch just outside the conference room where she could still see Hyun. As we walked out, I noticed everyone’s attention on us and apologized for disturbing them. They all said it was okay, and reminded us to be careful. Although, I think they were all envious that we get to go out, while they were all stuck inside. I smiled to myself.

 

I brought my guitar outside with me to practice and, also, to entertain Cherisse. We sat on the wooden floor of the porch facing the stairs leading down to the beach and watched the waves crash on the sand below. The sun was up, but the weather wasn’t hot, it was just right because the wind was blowing.

 

 

Once in a while, Cherisse would stand up and wobble her way over to the glass wall and stare at Hyun, while Hyun never missed a chance to wave at the little girl. When she had her fill of Hyun, she’d come back to me or back to playing in the porch. I just watched her.

 

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of watching her just play..

 

When Cherisse got tired of playing, she sat next to me again and pointed at the guitar. I explained to her about how to play it. She seemed fascinated. She would look at me with her big blue eyes as if she understood what I was saying so I continued talking to her. She would smile whenever I would strum the guitar to show her the different chords.

 

I started to play the song that I composed especially for her and Hyun. I already had the melody finished months ago, but for some reason, the lyrics eluded me. Last night, as I stared at her and Hyun sleeping on the sofa, the words suddenly came flooding in, and that’s when I finally finished the song. When I put a blanket over them both and dimmed the lights, they were both glowing as if they were giving me my very own light, so I called the song Love Light.

 

   Geuh del bo myun ul gool ee bbal geh jigo When I look at you my face gets red
Geuh del bo myun ga seum ee doogeun doogeun When I see you my heart goes thump thump
Ah ee chuh lum soo joob geh mal hago I talk with shyness like a kid Geuh del bo myun gwen siri oo seum ee na When I look at you I just smile out of nowhere
Babo chuh rum ja ggoo man geuh leh Like a fool I keep doing that
Ama neh geh sarang ee on gut gatah I think love came to me   Geuh deh neun neh ma eum sok eh president You’re the president of my heart
Neh ga seum eh byul soo noh ji You’re my chests’ star embroider
I’m genie for you girl I’m Genie for you girl
Neh soom eul mut geh haji You make me stop breathing
Geuh deh ga won ha neun gun da Whatever you want
Nuh reul sarang ha ni gga Because I love you
Neh sarang eh ee yoo neun ub jan ah you know There’s no reason for my love, you know   Geuh deh neun darling You’re a darling
Bam ha neuk byul bit boda ah reum da wuh yo You’re more beautiful than the stars above in the night sky
Neh mam sok gip peun got eh suh ban jjak guh li neun The shining thing deep inside my heart
Naman eh sarang beet My own love light   Geuh del reul sarang heyo darling I love you darling
Uhn jena neh gyut hae suh beet cheul neh joyo Give me light next to me whenever
Meh il bam bara bogo And you’re beautiful even when I look at you
Bara bwado ah reum dawuh yo Every night I look at you
Geuh den nah eh sarang beet You’re my love light   Geuh del leul bo myun goo reum eul na neun gi boon When I see you I feel like I’m up on the clouds
Yoo chi heh do ja ggoo man geuh leh It may be immature but I keep doing this Ama neh geh sarang ee on gun ga bwah I think love came to me   Geuh deh neun darling You’re a darling
Bam ha neuk byul bit boda ah reum da wuh yo You’re more beautiful than the stars above in the night sky
Neh mam sok gip peun got eh suh ban jjak guh li neun The shining thing deep inside my hear
Naman eh sarang beet My very own love light   Geuh del reul sarang heyo darling I love you darling
Uhn jena neh gyut hae suh beet cheul neh joyo Give me light next to me whenever
Meh il bam bara bogo Every night I look at you
Bara bwado ah reum dawuh yo And you’re beautiful even when I look at you
Geuh den nah eh sarang beet You’re my love light   Geuh deh neun lovely You’re lovely
Jjuh ha neul het sal boda noon ee boo shuh yo You’re more blinding than the sunlight up in that sky
Neh mam sok uh doon got gga ji bal geh bee choo neun You shine on the dark places inside my heart
Naman eh sarang beet My own love light   Geuh del leul sarang heyo lovely I love you lovely
Doo noon eul gam ah bwado geuh deh bo yuh yo Even if I close my eyes I see you
Eerokeh bara bogo Looking at you like this
Bara bwado noon ee boo shuh yo You’re still blinding even when I see you
Geuh den nah eh sarang beet You’re my love light

 

I heard applause from behind us when I finished playing. I didn’t even notice them come out. Hyun had a look in her face, as if she was proud of me, but I wasn’t sure. Cherisse wobbled up to Hyun to hug her. She must have missed hugging her Mommy as all she could do was stare at her through the glass wall. They announced that it was lunch time and that they ordered in and decided to eat there at the porch. They all settled themselves on the different kinds of chairs scattered around the porch. Hyun chose to sit on a comfy chair with Cherisse. I decided to sit on the floor near them and rest my back against their chair. I felt Cherisse’s hand on my shoulder as soon as I leaned back and heard Hyun whisper that she loved the song I just played. Good thing they were behind me or she would have seen me go red in the cheeks.

 

“Yong Hwa-ssi, I’m sorry for not recognizing you sooner, but I just found out you are an actor who’s now venturing on being a singer.. Is that right?”, apologized Kim Sa Jangnim.

 

“Eihhh, it’s alright, Sa Jangnim.. No need to apologize.. And yes, I just launched my album a few days ago actually.. I got tired of acting and since I’ve always loved music, I decided to give it a try..”, I informed him, smiling.

 

“Judging by your singing to our lovely girl here earlier, you made a great decision.. I hope you sell lots of copies of your album and you get on the top charts or whatever you kids call it nowadays..”, praised the CEO while chuckling.

 

“Hear! Hear!”, agreed the other men.

 

“Thank you!”, was all I could say.

 

“How about singing us a song, while we wait for our lunch, huh?”, asked one of the Gua Jangnims.

 

“Sure, Gua Jangnim.. What would you like? Any requests?”, I asked them.

 

“Whatever you