Chapter 5

            “Big baby baby!”

            Dal Shabet happily waved from the Music Bank stage as they finished their performance.  They were ecstatic to be invited to a special broadcast featuring the best released songs of 2014.  Artists like Girls’ Generation, 2NE1, Super Junior, T-ara, Exo, and many others were esteemed guests along with Dal Shabet.  And backstage, waiting excitedly, were VIXX.

            “Good job, Gaeun-ssi.”

            Gaeun smiled bashfully as she walked past Taekwoon and s.  She didn’t make eye contact with him, and he barely looked up from the ground.  But they both shared a timid grin.

            “Good luck, oppa!” Serri shouted enthusiastically, tapping him on the shoulder as she passed him.  “You’ll do great.”

            “I know we will,” he smirked.  “You did great, Serri.”

            “Thank you!”

            The Dal Shabet members rushed to their dressing room, which they shared with T-ara.  Hairdressers and makeup artists filled the room along with the members, and various smells of perfumes and hair products filled the air.  The always social Subin flocked around the room, admiring T-ara’s outfits and makeup.  Jiyul wandered over to Jiyeon to discuss the scene of Time Will Tell that they filmed yesterday. 

            “Serri-yah,” Hyomin called, her short hair already styled for their performance.  “How was your stage?”

            “The crowd is really lively!” Serri told cheerily, undoing her ponytail. 

            “Did you pass by VIXX backstage?”

            “Yeah…why?”

            Hyomin blushed as she glanced back at Jiyul.  “Don’t judge me, but ever since I started watching Time Will Tell, I imagine that Hongbin and Jiyul are a real couple.”

            “Oh, really…”  Serri chuckled knowing that Hyomin was focused on the wrong couple.  She looked over at Gaeun and noticed her still vibrant grin.  “They’re a beautiful couple, aren’t they?”

            “Are they really together?” Hyomin questioned suddenly, leaning closer to Serri.

            “No, unnie,” Serri laughed. 

            “Ah, that’s what Jiyeon tells me,” Hyomin frowned.

            Hyomin quickly composed herself as Ahyoung walked up to them.  “Unnie, do you know if we’re still leaving right away?”

            “Manager Jung never cleared things up with me,” Serri informed.  “I could go ask him now.”

            “Ah, unnie, you don’t have to,” Ahyoung insisted.  “Didn’t he text our phones?”

            “He took our phones to keep them safe,” Serri sighed.  “I’ll just go and find him.  We need to know if we can relax or not.”

            Before Ahyoung could protest, Serri hurried out of the dressing room to find Manager Jung.  She could hear the chorus of VIXX’s song “Eternity” as she walked through the halls.  Manager Jung could have been anywhere in the building, but he was most likely in the company van in the private parking lot outside.

            As she exited into the dark parking lot, cigarette smoke immediately filled her lungs.  It wasn’t uncommon for managers and various employees to be constantly smoking in the parking lot.  No matter what venue she visited, there were always clouds of smoke to greet her outside.  It was a smell she had grown accustomed to, but she knew it wasn’t good for her voice, and she urgently looked for their company van.

            “Serri-yah.”

            Serri felt all her energy leave her as she heard that cold, raspy voice.  A puff of smoke blew from behind her and engulfed her.  She gave a couple small coughs as she turned around to face Yoohwan.

            “Yah!” she yelled, waving the smoke away from her face.  “Stop it!”

            “Alright, alright,” he snickered, throwing his cigarette onto the ground and stepping on it.  “How are you, Serri?”

            “Well, I may be battling lung cancer after what you just did,” she said with gritted teeth.  “What are you doing here, Yoohwan?”

            “I’ve been doing sound work all night,” he told casually, adjusting the shimmering snapback on his head.  “I loved your performance tonight.”

            “…Thanks.”  Serri craned her neck to look for the company van, but she couldn’t bring herself to walk away from Yoohwan.

            “Your boyfriend is performing now,” he began crossly.  “Don’t you want to watch him?”

            “Hakyeon isn’t my boyfriend,” Serri assured with a sigh.

            “You were having lunch with him.”

            “You were going to have lunch with your ape-ish friend before you saw us.  Is he your boyfriend?”

            Yoohwan chuckled quietly and looked down at the ground.  “You know…I miss you, Serri.”

            “Yoohwan, stop…”  Even as she rejected him with her words, she felt his hand take hers, and she couldn’t bring herself to pull it away.  She looked down at the ground regretfully, wishing she could simply walk away from him. 

            He leaned his head close to hers and smiled.  “I know you’ve missed me too.”

            It was true.  She had missed him.  And she hated herself for it.  Mixed in with the pain and betrayal were beautiful memories she couldn’t bear to forget.  She finally looked up at his smug smirk, and the fond recollections quickly faded.

            “How can a ‘pretty toy’ be capable of missing someone?” she asked callously, jerking her hand away.  “Do you think I’d forgive you so easily?”

            His gaze suddenly darkened as she spoke.  He scowled down at her unrelenting stare before giving a sly sneer.

            “Serri-yah…Have you heard the term ‘butter-face’ before?”

            She furrowed her eyebrows and stared at him in confusion.  “What?  I don’t think so.”

            “It’s a word to describe a certain type of girl.”  She trembled as his fingers suddenly brushed over the exposed part of her stomach.  “Everything about her is beautiful…but her face.”

            He looked straight into her eyes and gave a disappointed frown just before he walked away.  Serri felt sick to her stomach.  Pulling her jacket closed to cover her outfit, she tried to push his words to the very back of her mind.  But they increasingly ached inside her heart as she understood just what he meant.  She took a deep, shaky breath as tears filled her eyes, and soon she was weeping quietly in the middle of the dark parking lot.

            A group of employees near the edge of the parking lot began watching her anxiously, and she desperately wanted to escape their curious stares.  She rushed back into the building and stood in the empty hall.  The audience cheered loudly as she stood there covering her teary face.

            Suddenly a door in the middle of the hall opened, and the members of VIXX and their stage staff poured out of it.  Serri turned away from them, hoping to avoid their attention.  She held her breath as she heard footsteps coming up behind her.

            “Serri-yah!”

            Reluctantly she turned to face Hakyeon.  His bright smile turned to a deeply concerned frown when he saw her mascara-stained face.

            “Serri-yah, what’s wrong?  What happened?”

            “It’s…It’s nothing,” she insisted between loud sobs. 

            “Tell me what’s going on, Serri-yah,” he begged, gently placing his hands on her shoulders.  “I want to help.”

            “Yoo…Yoohwan was in the parking lot,” she explained dejectedly.  “He just makes me feel so stupid, oppa.  I don’t know what to do.”

            “You’re not stupid, Serri-yah,” he told sternly. 

Both of them looked down the hall warily as Apink walked toward the stage door.  The six members gave anxious glances at the two of them, and Hakyeon finally took Serri’s hand and led her into an empty hall.

            Taking a deep breath, he attempted to give a soft grin.  “I’m sorry, Serri-yah.  I don’t mean to sound so frustrated.”  He cupped her face in his hands and wiped her tears away with his thumbs.  “I just can’t have you thinking like this.  It’s not right.”

            “What he said to me…”

            “What did he say?” he asked urgently.  Anger began to overwhelm him, and he tenderly patted Serri’s head before quickly taking his hands away from her face.  “Please tell me,” he requested in a forcibly soft voice.

            “He called me a…”  Serri felt her heart thump violently in her chest, and she leaned onto Hakyeon’s chest and sobbed harder.

            Hakyeon wrapped his arms around her as his hate for Yoohwan hastily grew.  “Serri-yah, what did he call you?”

            “He…He called me a butter-face.”

            “A butter-face?  What does that even mean?”

            She stepped back from him and pushed her hair back from her face, as if to let him see for himself.  “It means everything about me is beautiful…except my face.”

            “What?”  Hakyeon stared at her in shock.  “Does that mean…?”

            “It means I’m ugly.  That’s what he meant!”  Serri turned away and faced the bright, white wall of the hallway.

            “Serri, you’re not ugly!” he exclaimed frantically.  “You know that, right?”

            “I guess…I don’t know,” she sighed, putting her trembling hand on the wall.  “He’s not the first one to say something like that.”

            “Serri.”  He reached for her hand and forced her to face him.  “I know we don’t know each other very well, but you have to trust me.  You’re not ugly.  You’re not stupid.  Yoohwan is a real jerk, and he doesn’t deserve even an ounce of your time or thoughts.  Please…trust me.”

            “I…I should get back to my members,” Serri said quietly, looking down at the floor.  “I’ll see you later, oppa.”

            “Serri…alright.”  He hesitantly let go of her hand and watched helplessly as she began to walk down the hall.

            She stopped after a few steps, standing still for a moment before turning back to him.  “Oppa…could we meet again?  Soon?”

            “I’ll be free tomorrow,” he smiled.  “Please call me, okay?”

            “…Okay.”  She gave a cheerless grin before turning back and walking out of sight. 

            Hakyeon’s blood began to boil as he thought of Yoohwan.  He seemed to lurk everywhere, always ready to hurt anyone he could.  With no delay, Hakyeon immediately rushed out to the parking lot, hoping Yoohwan was still there.

            As soon as he stepped out into the night, Hakyeon saw him.  Yoohwan leaned against the side of the building, carelessly checking his cell phone.  Wasting not another moment, Hakyeon dashed up to him and grabbed his arm.

            “Ya!” he cried, violently pulling him from the wall.  “How could you say those things to Serri?”

            “Don’t touch me!” Yoohwan growled, whipping his arm away from Hakyeon’s grasp.  He slid his cell phone into his pocket and glared at Hakyeon.  “What did I say that wasn’t true?”

            “Everything!”  Hakyeon’s heart pumped scorching blood throughout his entire body.  “Everything you say is a lie!”

            “N-ssi, are you blind?” Yoohwan cackled.  “Okay, maybe Serri isn’t the ugliest girl out there, but she sure isn’t the greatest thing to look at above her neck.”

            “Shut up!”  Hakyeon suddenly pushed Yoohwan up against the wall.  “And leave her alone!”

            “Ya!” 

Shaking loose of Hakyeon’s grip, Yoohwan pushed him back and threw a powerful punch at his face.  The shock of the impact sent Hakyeon onto the ground, and he clutched his throbbing cheek.

“Hyung!”  Footsteps came from the door of the building, and someone picked Hakyeon up from the floor.  Hakyeon could hear thunderous arguing between Yoohwan and Taekwoon.  Hyuk and Jaehwan dragged him back into the building and observed his cheek.

            “What were you doing out there, hyung?” Hyuk asked anxiously.

            “That’s going to leave a mark,” Jaehwan insisted grimly.

            “Is Taekwoon out there by himself?” Hakyeon questioned, his vision still blurred by Yoohwan’s punch.

            “Wonshik and Hongbin are with him,” Jaehwan explain.  “What’s going on, hyung?  Was that Serri’s ex-boyfriend?”

            “Yeah…”  Hakyeon let s help him stand up on his own.  He shook his head slightly and rubbed his eyes.  “He’s a real creep.”

            “Hyung, you have to be careful,” Hyuk urged.  “You’re lucky we showed up.”

            “Next time he’ll be the one on the ground,” Hakyeon glared.

            “What is this all about, hyung?” Jaehwan inquired curiously.

            “Don’t worry about it,” Hakyeon insisted gravely.  “I’ll take care of it.  I won’t let this continue.”

Author's Note: I've actually seen a person call Serri a butter-face online, so I dedicate this chapter to them. Hopefully they'll stop being so mean. Serri is beautiful, both inside and out. Let me know what you think of the story so far! :D