Jung Yong Hwa

Hooookaaaayyyy! So no reaction, whatsoever?! I guess she understands that I still have to do my work.. Hey, if it’s the other way around, I’d support her work too..

 

“Ummm Hyun? Where are you going?”, I asked when she suddenly got up and turned to leave.

 

“To get the little miss here something to wear that will keep her warm for when we go downstairs..”, she answered, touching Cherisse on the nose.

 

“Oh.. Uhhh Okay.. That’s a good idea..”, I agreed.

 

Wow! She’s really very supportive about this! Daebak!

 

A minute later, my Manager came back to our room to walk with us to the lobby. I was going to introduce Hyun to him, but she was faster than me.

 

“Hello, Sir.. We haven’t been properly introduced and I apologize for that.. My name is Seo Joo Hyun.. Please call me Seohyun..”, she said with a smile.

 

“Hello, Seohyun-ssi.. My name is Jo Han Chul.. I’m Yong Hwa-ssi’s Manager.. It’s nice to finally meet you..”, my Manager said with a smile, clearly impressed with her good manners.

 

 

“And this little miss here is Cherisse Angelli Levesque..”, she added. “Say hello, ma chérie..”, she continued, addressing Cherisse.

 

“Allô..1 (Hello..)”, Cherisse said shyly, trying to hide her face in Hyun’s hair.

 

 

“Hello there, missy.. Wow, you have such blue eyes..”, said my Manager to Cherisse, no doubt mesmerized by her eyes just like we were the first time we saw them up close. He was about to say something more, which made me nervous, fortunately, his cell phone rang. He looked grim after hanging up.

 

“She’s here. Let’s go.”, my Manager declared as he headed for the elevator, gesturing for us to follow him. I let Hyun walk in front of me. I offered to carry Cherisse for a while, but she refused to give her to me. The ride down the elevator was so quiet that I thought I had gone deaf.

 

I wonder what she’s thinking..

 

 

 

Seo Joo Hyun

His wife.. His wife..? His wife?! His WIFE???!!! He’s married???!!! Since when? And wouldn’t that come up at some point in the conversation between Seoul and Jeju?!

‘Ah, now that this little girl thinks I’m her father, I should tell my wife! Oh, by the way Hyun, I’m MARRIED! And I’m actually on my way to meet her in Jeju! You wouldn’t believe how GORGEOUS, POPULAR, and RICH she is! She’s actually the QUEEN OF THE WORLD!’

Haikkks! What do I do now? How am I supposed to explain this to Cherisse?! And is this why he wouldn’t let his Manager use the other bed in his room? Maybe I should have let him have the one with the big bed.. – Don’t go there, Seo Joo Hyun! Don’t you go there! – THIS is so messed up! I wished it was Jung Shin-ie or even the Ice King who helped me back in the airport.. No, I take it back, just Jung Shin-ie, NOT the Ice King! I am not THAT crazy!

 

This has been going through my mind over and over again since he told me he was going to meet his wife in the lobby 10 minutes ago. Now we’re on our way downstairs to meet the ‘Queen of the World’ and to top it off, I think I have temporarily gone deaf in the elevator. Yong Oppa wanted to carry Cherisse since we went out of our hotel room, but I couldn’t give her to him. I needed someone to hold. For some reason, I felt alone and lost all of a sudden and Cherisse was the only one anchoring me down. A few floors before we arrived at the lobby, someone finally broke the silence.

 

“They’ve already set up downstairs.. I wish you changed first, but I guess that will have to do, since we have no more time..”, Yong Oppa’s Manager said, eyeing Yong Oppa up and down.

 

Set up downstairs? So they have a surprise for her? Oiii.. This is going to be so awkward.. Aaack! I need my invisibility powers right now.. Would they get scared if they see a baby floating in the air..?

 

“I don’t think I can do this, Hyung.. It will be difficult and unfair.. For her.. And them..”, I heard Yong Oppa say to his Manager softly.

 

“Yong Hwa-yah! You can’t back out now! We’re already here!”, his Manager scolded him.

 

“Ummm Seohyun-ssi, when we get to the lobby, I’ll get off first.. I’ll call Yong Hwa-yah out, so let him go off the elevator alone.. Then count to 10 before you come out, okay? Don’t worry, I’ll be there when you get off and then we’ll follow him in a distance so Cherisse can still see him.. She’ll be okay with that, right? She won’t make a fuss? Can you make her stay qui—”

 

“Hyung!”, Yong Oppa said, cutting his Manager off while giving me an apologetic look.

 

“Arasseo! Arasseo! I just want to make sure everything goes perfect!”, clarified Yong Oppa’s Manager.

 

“It’s okay, she’ll be quiet.. She’s getting sleepy now..”, I said quietly, hugging Cherisse closer.

 

“She’s a good girl.. She’ll be quiet.. Right, babycakes..?”, Yong Oppa said, kissing Cherisse’s hand.

 

When we arrived at the lobby, Yong Oppa’s Manager pushed the emergency button that held the elevator doors temporarily open. He got off first, but reminded Yong Oppa that he’ll call him when it’s time for him to get out and for me to count to 10 first before I alighted.

 

“I’m really sorry about this, Hyun.. You and Cherisse should be taking a rest now if it wasn’t for me.. And also, for my Manager’s behavior.. The only female he knows is his mother, and even SHE doesn’t like him much.. But he means well.. Really..”, Yong Oppa apologized again.

 

“No, I’m the one who’s sorry, Oppa.. I feel like I’m—WE’re intruding in your personal life.. When Cherisse falls completely asleep I’ll take her upstairs and you take your time here.. Also, please extend my apologies to your Manager, too.. We are burdening him with our presence.. And if you need me to explain anything to your wife, please don’t hesitate to ask me.. I’m sorry, Oppa..”, I told him and sincerely meant it. I really felt like I am interfering in his private life.

 

“No, Hyun, it’s n—”

 

“Yong Hwa-yah, come on out..”, we heard Yong Oppa's Manager whisper from somewhere outside.

 

“Hyun, it’s not lik—”

 

“Jung Yong Hwa! Come out!”, his Manager hissed.

 

“Aishhh! Let me handle this first, I’ll explain later! Please stay..”, he said before disappearing from my view.

 

As soon as he got out, I counted to 10. When I got to 10, I pushed the button that closes the door and punched the 12th floor.

 

I don’t want to burden them with my—our presence anymore.. – Is that how you really feel, Seo Joo Hyun? Or you just don’t want to meet his WIFE and see them together enjoying his surprise for her? – Shut up.

 

When I got inside our room, I suddenly felt I didn’t want to use the big bed. I didn’t want any space between Cherisse and me, so I laid the little girl on the sofa and settled on my side next to her and immediately fell asleep, finally feeling exhaustion from the day's event.

 

After a few hours, I woke up from dreaming about a big-headed queen with big teeth trying to bite my head off. I was confused as to why Cherisse and I were covered with a blanket and the room a little dim. I noticed the drapes were all closed, the overhead lights were off and only the yellow glow of the floor and table lamp flooding the room. It was too late to remember that I opted to sleep on the sofa instead of the bed when I tried to lie on my back and only caught air. I landed on something soft but sturdy.

 

“Ooof!”

 

I was about to scream in surprise when one hand clamped on my mouth and another held my arms against my body and whispered my name.

 

“Hyun—”

 

Huh?!

 

“—I’m going to let you go, but please don’t scream or you'll wake up Cherisse.. Understood?”, I could only nod when I heard Yong Oppa’s voice so close to my ear that I felt his breath brush against it.

 

I could almost swear he held me tighter before he let me go, but then it all came back to me. I remembered he has a wife.

 

Who he met last night.. In the lobby.. For a surprise.. So why was he here..? Where is she..? Strange..

 

I don’t know how we disentangled ourselves from each other without making any noise, but I was very aware that he was so close to me. We ended up sitting on the floor against the sofa, with Cherisse still sleeping soundly behind us, both still dressed in our traveling clothes which, unfortunately, are in the same color, navy blue. We were probably thinking along the same lines because we both looked at each other’s clothes and laughed quietly.

 

 

 

Jung Yong Hwa

“Why were you and Cherisse sleeping on the sofa?”, talking quietly, I asked while at the very same time Hyun asked me, “Why were you on the floor?”. We laughed, trying to keep it down.

 

“Go ahead.. Ladies first..”, I said, but jokingly proceeded with another question before she could speak.

 

“Just kidding.. Go ahead, Hyun..”, I told her while she laughed.

 

I really love hearing her laughter.. She’s so beautiful even in this early morning with her mussed-up hair just falling in the right place and her wrinkled, slept-in hoodie that looks so cute on her.. Yah! Jung Yong Hwa! Get a hold of yourself!

 

“Why were you on the floor, Oppa?”, she asked, inevitably ending my surreptitious scrutiny of her.

 

“Why were YOU on the sofa?”, I asked her back.

 

“Eihhh! I asked first!”, she protested, air blowing through her nose.

 

“Arasseo.. Because you were on the sofa..”, I answered nonchalantly.

 

“Cham!”, she exclaimed, flustered.

 

“My turn! Why did you sleep on the sofa when you have a perfectly good bed here? Heck, you even have 2 perfectly good beds in the other room! So why did you pick the sofa?”, I asked her again, determined to get an answer.

 

“Is that my phone ringing? It must be Jung Shin-ie makin