Seo Joo Hyun

Where is he..? – Are you really going to go in there?! – I’m not just gonna BARGE in! Of course, I’m going to knock first! Cham! – Good idea.. Just in case, they’re— – Ahhhhhhhhh-I’m-not-hearing-you-ahhhhhhhhh!!!!

 

I was on my way to Yoo Na Eonni and Seung Gi Hyungbu’s former bedroom, determined to see if Yong Oppa was with Park Shin Hye-ssi when I heard the tinkle of the piano downstairs. It was faint, but I was sure it was a piano, having played one almost all my life.

 

As I neared the Pink Room, a sad song was being played by someone. I didn’t recognize the song, but it relayed sadness to me for some reason. I looked at my watch, it was past 3 in the morning.

 

Who could still be up at this hour..?

 

I rounded the corner and a man, whose back is to me, was playing the last bars of a sad song on the piano.

 

 

I was amazed at how he was conveying his feelings to me when I don’t even know the lyrics of the song he’s playing. I finally understood the difference between playing the piano because you just know how versus playing the piano because you want to express something.

 

Yong Oppa.. I didn’t know he can play the piano..

 

When he was done, he released a heavy sigh, stood up and exited a side door to the gardens outside. I went to the coatroom by the main door and took out my and Yong Oppa’s jackets and followed him out. I kept a distance between us as I followed him along a well-lit staircase winding down towards the beach.

 

I descended the stairs as quietly as I could, taking time to inhale the fresh air or look at the moon or the stars whenever I get too close to Yong Oppa. For a few minutes, I lost sight of him as the stairs curved. When I reached the beach, I saw him silhouetted by the moonlight, just quietly watching the waves crash on the sand.

 

 

I just stood there, watching him, wondering if he realized yet the consequences his scandals could bring us if the right ears were listening, how he’d react if they threaten to take Cherisse away from us, and what he’d do to prevent it.

 

“Hyu~un..”, he suddenly called-out without even looking back at me.

 

Huh?! How did he KNOW I was here?! WHEN did he know I was here?!

 

“Yo~ong..”, I finally answered back, walking up to him.

 

I really think this man has super powers.. Seriously! I know I’ve been quiet all this time, but he still knew I was here.. Cham!

 

When I drew level with him, he was still looking ahead with deep, sad eyes as if he was watching a sad movie projected on the waves of the sea, unable to look away.

 

“Oppa, please wear this..”, I whispered, putting his jacket around him when I realized he was shivering. He only moved when the back of my hand accidentally brushed the side of his neck as though a current went through him, reviving him from a trance.

 

He shook his head as if to clear it and then thanked me without looking at me. I couldn’t help but think that somehow he was thanking me for something else and not for bringing him his jacket. Silence ensued next. We just stood there side by side in the glow of the moonlight. After a few minutes, we both sighed.

 

“Hyun/Oppa, I’m sorry..” , “What are you saying sorry for?” , “I should be the one apologizing..”, we both simultaneously said in succession, making us chuckle.

 

“Stop copying me, Seo Joo Hyun—”

 

“I’m not copying you, Oppa..”, I protested.

 

“Arasseo.. Be careful, your nostrils—”

 

“Aishhh! Cham!”, I huffed, sitting on the sand in protest as he laughed. He sat down beside me afterwards, crossing his ankles and hugging his knees just as I was doing. I looked at him to tell him off, but he beat me to it.

 

“Arasseo, arasseo.. I’ll stop..”, he conceded as another bout of silence came between us.

 

“Oppa, are you okay?”, I asked him, breaking the silence after a while. He nodded, fiddling with the sand near his feet.

 

“I’m sorry I left you earlier.. I told my family I shou—I tried to g—anyway, I’m sorry I left—”

 

“I’m just glad you’re here now..”, he said quietly, still playing with the sand.

 

“I am, too..”, I admitted, making him look up at me.

 

“You ar—yah, Hyun, did you cry?”, he suddenly asked when our eyes finally met. But for some reason his eyes looked dull as if it’s missing something—something I couldn’t quite figure out at the moment.

 

“No..”, I lied as I looked away, pretending to see something interesting in the sea.

 

“Seo Joo Hyun, you do know that I know you’re lying, right—”

 

Huh?! How did he—this man is seriously freaking me out!

 

“I’m not lying, Oppa—”

 

“Then stop fiddling with your hair—”

 

“Aishhh—”

 

“—and just tell me the truth.. Come on, out with it..”, he countered, making me realize too late that I was touching my hair unnecessarily.

 

“Was it me..? Did I do something again? Was it because of the other news?”, he quietly added, bowing his head as he looked at his hands clasped in front of him.

 

“No, Oppa.. Honest.”, I answered sincerely, this time it was my turn to look down at my clasped hands.

 

“I’m sorry, Hyun—”

 

“For what, Oppa—”

 

“For dragging you into my mess.. For disappointing your family.. For letting you and Cherisse believe that you can count on me when I can’t even solve my own problems..”, he said sadly.

 

“It’s not entirely your fault, Oppa.. I shouldn’t have accepted your offer to be your partner in WGM.. I should have let you be with—”

 

“Please stop. It’s okay if you don’t want to be with me, just please don’t give me away..”, he softly cut in.

 

Give him—AWAY..? But he’s not even MINE to give away..

 

“It’s not that I— I don’t want to— I just—I just thought you wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place if I just—if I just stayed out of your business..”, I reasoned out, finally finding the right words to say without embarrassing myself.

 

“But you are my business—you and Cherisse.. You’re the most important thing to me..”, he countered, not meeting my eyes.

 

“We are..?”, I asked, surprised at his sudden admission.

 

“Yes.”, he said simply. We both fell silent afterwards, each contemplating what a simple “yes” meant to us individually.

 

I’m important to someone else aside from my family? So this is how it feels..

 

“Hyun.. You don’t believe that last news Manager Hyung said earlier, do you?”, he suddenly asked, breaking the repetitive sound of the waves hitting the shore.

 

“Because I don’t think I can bear it if yo—”

 

“I don’t believe you’re capable of abandoning her if it were true, Oppa—”

 

“Really?”, he asked, looking at me as hope filled his eyes.

 

That’s what’s missing in his beautiful eyes—hope..

 

“Yes.. I’ve seen you with Cherisse, Oppa.. I know how much you care for her.. What more if it’s your own..”, I replied matter-of-factly.

 

“You’re going to be a great father someday, Yong Oppa.. I’m sure of it.. And I’m glad Cherisse get to experience it bef-ore—”, my voice cracked and I wavered, remembering what made my eyes so swollen that Yong Oppa noticed it even after a few hours have passed.

 

Oh, God, please don’t make me lose it like I did earlier.. Please God..

 

“It’s okay, Hyun.. It’s okay.. We’ll survive this.. We will..”, he told me, his eyes full of compassion, as I realized that I’m not going to go through losing Cherisse alone—that Yong Oppa is going through the same thing as me even now.

 

I keep forgetting that we’re in this together.. And it’s going to be even harder for him because me, I have an outlet—I can cry whenever, wherever, but he can’t.. He has to be the strong one for the both of us.. And he has to continue his life, smiling for everyone because that’s what everyone expects from him even though his heart is broken..

 

I looked at him and found a kindred spirit in him and somehow I knew that what he said was true, that we will survive losing our daughter because we had each other for support.

 

Now, if we can only hold off losing Cherisse from child services..

 

“That’s why you cried, isn’t it—”

 

Did I just say that out loud? I don’t think so.. Don’t tell me he read my mind again?!

 

“—you’re dreading the day we have to give her back to her real parents..”, he concluded, looking at me expectantly.

 

“Ye-Yes..”, I stammered, realizing that he got a part of the real reason why I cried so hard. I remembered I started worrying when Mi Young Eonni confirmed that there’s a possibility Cherisse can be taken away from us if they deem Yong Oppa as unsuitable to be a parent because of the scandals. Then my sisters suggested Cherisse and I distance ourselves from Yong Oppa so, at least, one of us could be with her, making me envision Cherisse mutely crying for Yong Oppa—something I don’t want Cherisse to go through again. Then finally the knowledge that we can’t keep Cherisse for good sunk in which is the one that hurts the most.

 

“There’s more.. You’re worried about something else..”, I heard him say, breaking into my thoughts, as I composed myself.

 

He shouldn’t find out.. Knowing him, if it means, at least, one of us gets to have Cherisse, he’d willingly distance himself.. I can’t handle that.. I can’t—calm down, Seo Joo Hyun.. Say something, quick! Before he figures it out!

 

“Oppa, why won’t you let Park Shin Hye-ssi—Shin Hye Eonni—help you..?”, I asked him, distracting him from his thoughts.

 

“Hmmm? Oh, uhhh—”

 

“What evidence does she have that could help you?”, I added, making sure he’s completely distracted.

 

He sighed heavily. And for the second time in a row, I saw him looking like he’s at war with himself again, making me sit up and pay attention as the last time he did that, we were all shocked at his revelation.

 

“Hyun, I trust you.. And because I trust you, I know you’ll understand my reasons for not telling our whole family earlier..”, he began, looking me straight in the eyes. I nodded, signaling him that he has my complete and utter attention.

 

“The day that that video was taken was Shin Hye-ah’s birthday.. And to celebrate, we went to that private restaurant to eat—”

 

So it is HER he’s protecting..

 

“Ha Ra-ssi wanted to come, but of course it wasn’t up to me since it wasn’t my birthday—”

 

Then, would he have invited HER if it was HIS birthday?!

 

“—and Shin Hye-ah and Ha Ra-ssi weren’t uhhh exactly friends so..”, Yong Oppa added, shrugging his shoulders and then continued, “That’s why she was just a few blocks from where we were.. And that’s also how it all started because the next year, I refused to take her to be my ummm plus one—arasseo, cham—DATE to Soo Jung-ie’s wedding—”

 

“Wow, she really likes you, Oppa—”

 

“Cough! Anyway, on that day, Shin Hye-ah took a video inside the restaurant—”

 

“So that’s the evidence she’s talking about?”, I clarified.

 

“Yes—”

 

“That’s great, Oppa! They can verify the date it was taken, right? So what’s the problem? Didn’t Shin Hye Eonni already said you can use it?”, I asked again, not sure why Yong Oppa was so against using it as his alibi.

 

“Yes, she did—”

 

“And—”

 

“In the video, I’m uhhh dancing—”

 

“Oh—”

 

So that’s why Shin Hye Eonni knows he can’t dance..

 

“—while Shin Hye-ah is being kissed by—”

 

“You?!”, I exclaimed in surprise.

 

“—Jong Hyun-ah..”, he said at the same time.

 

Huh?!

 

“Yah! Why would I—”

 

“What?! JONG HYUN OPPA?! Eihhh..”, I countered, not believing him.

 

“Honest! But just on the cheek.. I was there so they can’t exactly uhhh you know..”, Yong Oppa added, cheeks reddening, clearly remembering what happened.

 

“Oppa, are you saying Shin Hye Eonni and Jong Hyun Oppa used to date?! What about you, then?”, I asked in disbelief.

 

“Yes, they did.. A few years ag—wait, what do you mean what about me?”, he asked, frowning at me in confusion.

 

“You know.. What about you dating—”

 

“Eihhh! I wasn’t dating anybody, Hyun—”

 

“—Shin Hye Eonni?”, I managed to finish asking after he cut me off.

 

“YAH! You think I was dating—or want to date Park Shin Hye?!”, he asked in surprise, looking at me with big eyes as if I just asked him to drink the sea in one gulp.

 

“What? She’s beautiful, Oppa.. She cares about you and you clearly care about her..”, I reasoned out.

 

So much so that you forgot I existed when she arrived.. – Seo Joo Hyun, are you jea— – Yah! Who woke you up?! Go back to sleep!

 

“Well, aside from the fact that she was dating my cousin—”

 

“Did Jong Hyun Oppa beat you to it, then? He did, didn’t he—”

 

“Yah, Seo Joo Hyun! Nobody beat me anywhere with anything because—”

 

“You’re not her type?”, I finished for him.

 

“Aishhh! Would you stop cutting me off, Seo Joo Hyun! Park Shin Hye and I never dated and never will because I have always seen her as just a younger sister.. Arasseo? Cham!”, he asserted standing up in a huff, crossing his arms in the process.

 

“You’re not just saying that because you ummm got turned down by her, are you?”, I asked him cheekily after a few seconds of silence while Yong Oppa walked a few steps towards the sea.

 

Ummm I don’t think you should have said that, Seo Joo Hyun.. – Yah, I told you to go back to sleep! – Arasseo, it’s your funeral..

 

Yong Oppa’s head whipped around to look at me. He started marching towards me and as soon as he was close enough, I saw a mischievous glint in his eyes like he always have when Cherisse is either being cute or going to be reprimanded.

 

I’m hoping it’s being cute! – Think again!

 

The next thing I knew I was up in the air as Yong Oppa scooped me off the sand.

 

 

“Oppaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! Nooooooooo!!!!!”, I shrieked in protest as he ran towards the sea at full speed. I was trying to decide if I should hold on for dear life or start wriggling so he’d drop me, when I felt the gentle spray of seawater against me.

 

“Yah, Seo Joo Hyun! Are you going to behave or do you want us to watch the sunrise while swimming?!”, he asked me, almost yelling so I can hear him against the sound of the sea.

 

“I’ll behave, Oppa! I’ll behave! Mamaaaaaaa!!! Please save me!”, I cried out, as Yong Oppa waded through the shallow part, kicking water everywhere.

 

“Oppaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!! Stop it!!!!”, I screamed, deciding to hold on for dear life instead as he continued to spray cold sea water everywhere.

 

After a while, he turned around and walked to the spot where we dropped our sandals. When he set me down on the sand, I waited for my heart to calm down first before I rounded on him and started thumping his arm for threatening to dump me on the sea.

 

“Oppa! That was too much—”

 

“I’m sorry, Hyun—”

 

“If you’re sorry, then stop LAUGHING! Cham—”

 

“Arasseo, arasseo, arasseo..”, he said laughing still, as he tried to catch my hands so I’d stop hitting him.

 

We spent a few minutes writing our names on the sand as we ran around, drying off our clothes in the wind. We spent half the time trying to outdo each other and the other half bickering and erasing each other’s work only to apologize but do it again after a while, laughing. We acted like we were kids without a care in the world, back in our elementary days.

 

“Oppa, what are we gonna do about your situation?”, I asked after we got tired from playing and sat down again, waiting for the sun to rise.

 

“I don’t know yet, Hyun.. But you do understand why I can’t use Shin Hye-ah’s video right?”, he asked, looking at me hopefully.

 

“Yes.. I finally understand what you said before about adding another person to the problem, well, actually 2 people.. They can verify that you weren’t that man on Ha Ra-ssi’s video, but then Shin Hye Eonni will be in trouble instead, even more than Jong Hyun Oppa..”, I surmised.

 

“Thank you, Hyun.. You don’t how much I wanted to tell everyone about it, but then I don’t want to stir up the past and hurt 2 people I love just to save myself..”, Yong Oppa related, sighing.

 

Love?

 

“So they really were a couple, huh..”, I commented distractedly, still unable to believe that it was Jong Hyun Oppa that had a relationship with Shin Hye Eonni instead of Yong Oppa.

 

At this, Yong Oppa took his cell-phone from his pocket and showed me a picture of the three of them having coffee together. Jong Hyun Oppa and Shin Hye Eonni were sitting together while Yong Oppa was on the opposite side.

 

 

“Hyun, why won’t you believe that Jong Hyun-ah and Shin Hye-ah were once a couple?”, he suddenly asked while I was still looking at their picture.

 

“Because I thought you and Shin Hye Eonni are, or at least, were together at some point..”, I admitted, while he kept shaking his head.

 

“You don’t see her as a potential uhhh future wife, Oppa? Even just a little bit? I mean she’s beautiful, she obviously cares a lot about you because she flew all the way here to help you AND she’s willing to sacrifice herself just to clear your name..”, I added, confused as to why they never got together.

 

Maybe Eommonim is right.. Maybe he’s—nahhhhh..

 

“Shin Hye-ah was my very first leading lady, well, at least she could have been if my character had actually gotten her in the drama.. Anyway, we grew closer as we filmed day in and day out.. Then we ventured into different things, but we never lost contact with each other.. And eventually, we found ourselves filming another drama, this time, my character ended up with her—”

 

“That was the drama that used that song you performed in the Gala last night, right?”, I asked, interrupting his monologue.

 

“Yes—”

 

“Because I Miss You.. I love that song..”, I murmured distractedly. When Yong Oppa didn’t say anything after, I looked at him. He was staring at me as if I said something extraordinary.

 

“Is there—Is there something wrong, Oppa?”, I asked consciously as I dusted my face from stray sands.

 

“Oh, uhhh no.. No.. Nothing, Hyun.. I’m just—I’m just happy you even know the title of that song, let alone, loved it..”, he mumbled, smiling.

 

“Of course.. Although it’s a little sad, isn’t it? So I thought you wrote that for uhhh an unrequited love like say, maybe uhhh Shin Hye Eonni—”

 

 Yah, Seo Joo Hyun, are you actually fishing for information?! – I am not!

 

“No.. No, Hyun.. I told you, Shin Hye-ah and I are just friends, nothing more, nothing less.. She’ll always be special to me that’s why I threatened my very own cousin when I found about his intentions.. I told him he’ll answer to me if he ever hurts her.. Good thing, they separated amicably and are still friends now despite breaking up.. They weren’t meant for each other..”, he concluded, frowning as if something important was deluding him.

 

It’s for Baby Sue, then.. – Don’t forget the alien.. – Aishhh!

 

“Wait, wait a minute, Hyun.. You said I wrote this song—”

 

Uh-oh.. – Way to go, Seo Joo Hyun! – Yah!

 

“Didn’t you? I—I thought you usually wr-write your songs, so I just—I just assumed you wrote that song, too..”, I fibbed, hoping against hope he’d believe me.

 

“How would you know, though? I only started with my music career just a few months ago.. Before we met, you didn’t even know I’m an actor or name any of my dramas, yet you know that song was used as an original soundtrack.. Hmmm.. But you know what, Hyun? I believe you—”

 

YES!!!!

 

“—I’d believe you if you hadn’t been touching your hair like crazy! Wow, you’re really bad at lying, huh..”, he observed, not sure whether to smile or look disappointed at me.

 

Aigoo! Stupid hands!

 

“That’s a good thing, right? I mean lying is bad anyw—”

 

“Yah, Seo Joo Hyun! Stop changing the su