Chapter 6

            The next day, Serri walked out of her room in a sleepy stupor.  She held her phone lazily in her hand as she made her way into the kitchen.  As she poured herself a glass of water, she knew last night’s memories were waiting patiently to spring into the front of her mind and break her heart even more.  But she was willing to distract herself in any way to keep those memories tucked away in her brain.  She wandered into the living room with her water, sat down on the couch, and began to check her phone.

            Last night, after they came home from the broadcast, Gaeun worked diligently to create her latest blog update.  Even at midnight, as the rest of the members decided to go to sleep, Gaeun remained on her laptop.  Serri was glad to see a blog update notification, eager to see how her hard work paid off.

            She began scrolling through stunning pictures of Gaeun in grassy fields along the sunny coastline.  Her large sunglasses and heavy coat made her nearly unrecognizable, but Serri knew it was never Gaeun’s intention to be recognized by thousands of people wherever she went.  She held a tall coffee cup in her hands as she endured the seemingly chilly breeze.

            As Serri continued to admire the pretty pictures, Gaeun entered the dorm.  Her face was flushed red and sweat dripped from her forehead.  She looked as if she could have come directly from a sports photo shoot.

            “How was your run, Gaeun-ah?”

            “It was fine,” Gaeun told breathlessly, taking off her light jacket.  “It’s getting colder every day.”

            “I love your latest blog update, Gaeun-ah,” Serri smiled, rising from the couch.  “The pictures are so pretty.”

            “Thank you, unnie,” Gaeun grinned gratefully.  “It was a really pretty place.”

            “Who did you go with?”

            Before Serri could even finish her question, Gaeun’s whole body stiffened.  She slowly walked into the kitchen, just out of Serri’s line of sight.  “What do you mean?”

            Serri strolled into the kitchen and eyed Gaeun curiously.  “I was just wondering if you went with Ahyoung.  Or maybe Woohee-ah.”

            “Ah…No, I went alone,” Gaeun said finally, opening the refrigerator. 

            “Who took these pictures then?” Serri laughed, showing her phone to Gaeun.  “Did you ask random strangers to take them for you?  There are a lot of pictures here.  That’s a lot of work for some random ahjussi and kind halmeoni to do.”

            “Well…I had some help, I guess.”

            “Jo Gaeun.”  Serri marched right up to Gaeun, closed the refrigerator, and looked straight into her eyes.  “Who did you go with?”

            “I…I went with…”

            “Yes?”

            “…I went with Taekwoon.”

            Serri let out a loud gasp that nearly sent Gaeun into a panic.  Throwing her hand over , Serri attempted to calm herself down, but a huge smile erupted onto her face.  She smacked Gaeun on the arm and stomped her feet excitedly to expend her sudden burst of energy.

            “Gaeun-ah, you two are soul mates!”

            “Shh, unnie!” Gaeun begged, anxiously looking out into the living room.  “Woohee and Subin are still home.  Besides, this was only our fourth date.”

            “So, you admit it was a date!” Serri beamed.  “And four dates in a month is very impressive for our occupation.”

            “We’ve…made time to see each other,” Gaeun explained reluctantly.

            “If he was with you, where are the pictures of him?”  Serri hastily scrolled through the blog update, searching for Taekwoon’s face.

            “If I uploaded them, it would cause a scandal, unnie.”

            “There are pictures,” Serri noted excitedly.  “Show me, Gaeunnie.”

            “…Okay.”

            Serri watched as Gaeun snuck into her room to get her phone.  She could hear Subin stirring slightly and speaking nonsense in her sleep.  When Gaeun returned, Serri barely resisted the urge to rip her phone out of her hands.

            “Here are a few.”

            Serri finally lost control and took Gaeun’s phone.  She looked down at an adorable selca of Taekwoon and Gaeun in that beautiful, grassy field.  Taekwoon held the phone up to capture both of them as he failed to give an acceptable smile.  Gaeun stood beside him shyly and made a V sign with her free hand.

            “Are there more?”

            “Yes.”

            Serri quickly swiped the screen, causing a new picture to appear.  It seemed much of the same, only Gaeun gave a brighter smile.  Scrolling past another picture, Serri gasped once again as Gaeun wrapped her arms around Taekwoon’s arm and placed her head on his shoulder.  Perhaps the more alarming sight was Taekwoon’s shiny teeth, finally becoming exposed in his bashful smile.

            “Gaeun-ah…this skinship,” Serri began in amazement.  “This smile.  You two must really like each other.”

            Gaeun snatched her phone back and put it in her pocket.  “Well…maybe we do.”

            “Um…Thanks for showing me, Gaeunnie,” Serri grinned, running her fingers through Gaeun’s hair.  “Ah, my Gaeunnie.  She’s growing up so fast.”

            “Ya, unnie, stop it,” Gaeun sighed, returning to the kitchen.  She hastily took some food out of the refrigerator to prepare her breakfast.  Serri gave a mischievous smirk as she headed back into her bedroom to change.

*          *          *

            “He was smiling.”

            “With teeth?”

            “With teeth!”

            Hakyeon leaned back in his chair and stared at Serri in amazement.  For the past five minutes in this cozy downtown coffee shop, the both of them had marveled at Serri’s discovery this morning.  She wished she could show Hakyeon the pictures on Gaeun’s phone, but he already seemed overwhelmed with accomplishment.

            “I knew they were a match,” he smirked, taking a sip of his iced Americano. 

            Hakyeon wore large, dark sunglasses even in this dimly-lit room, which irritated Serri greatly.  She couldn’t see the excitement she assumed was in his eyes, and it robbed the moment of its triumphant glory.  But she casually held her warm coffee cup in her hands and decided to forgive him for a while.

            “You may be all smiles, but I’m feeling a bit nervous,” Serri admitted.  “I don’t even know Taekwoon very well.  What kind of person is he?”

            “He’s one of the most considerate and gentle people you could ever know,” Hakyeon assured with a warm smile.  “He’ll take good care of her.  Hey, maybe I’m a little nervous too.  What kind of girl is Gaeun?”

            “Gaeun is the very same,” Serri informed happily.  “Maybe that’s why they clicked so quickly.”

            “I’m glad you asked me to meet to tell me this.”  His grateful grin slowly morphed into an anxious grimace.  “But…is that all you wanted to talk to me about?”

            Serri took a sip of her coffee and looked down at the table.  For the entire morning, she had concentrated so hard on forgetting Yoohwan’s words.  But as Hakyeon's question arose, so did last night’s painful memories.

            “How have you been since last night?” he continued, leaning forward.  “Are you okay?”

            Though her eyes glimmered with a thin layer of tears, she gave a bright smile.  “You know, the more I think about last night…The more I remember the things you told me.  They seem to drown out the things Yoohwan said.”

            “Which do you believe?” he asked.  “My words or Yoohwan’s?”

            “I…”  Serri looked around the shop, wishing something could distract her from her agonizing thoughts.  She took the top off of her coffee cup and stirred in another packet of sugar, knowing Hakyeon was relentlessly staring at her from behind his dark sunglasses.

            “It’s okay if you don’t know,” he said suddenly. 

            “It’s…okay?” she questioned in confusion.

            “It’s okay because I won’t give up on you any time soon,” he promised with a tender smile.  “I’ll make sure you believe my words.  You just wait and see.”

            Serri placed her hands on her cheeks, knowing they were rapidly turning red.  She laughed bashfully and looked down at the table, hoping he wouldn’t laugh at her coyness.  Her heart felt so warm in just knowing he wanted to protect her and make her feel valued.  He was so different than Yoohwan…But he wasn’t her boyfriend.  She cleared awkwardly as she realized how far her mind had wandered.

            “Ya, oppa, why are you wearing these sunglasses inside?” she asked playfully, reaching across the table.  “It’s rude, you know.”

            “Ah, I just like the look of them so much,” he insisted, leaning away from her outstretched hand.

            Before he could avoid her, Serri took hold of his sunglasses and pulled them from his face.  Her teasing grin suddenly vanished, and she soon jumped up from her chair and rushed to his side.

            “Oppa, what is this bruise?”  She leaned down and examined the dark bruise on the edge of his left eye.  It wasn’t particularly large, but it was dark blue and noticeable.  “When did this happen?  Did you get in a fight with your members?”

            “Ah, that could never happen,” he laughed nervously, blinking excessively as her hands hovered over his bruise.  “I walked into some equipment as I was leaving the stage last night.  It’s no big deal.”

            “No, you didn’t have this when I saw you after your performance,” she noted anxiously.  “My vision may have been blurred by tears, but I definitely would have noticed something like this.”

            “Well, it sort of just…you know…”

            “Why were you so quick to lie to me about it?”  She looked deep into his eyes as her own filled with gloom.  “Oppa…Did Yoohwan do this to you?”

            “What?”  He tried to force out a laugh, but it only became a livid growl at the mention of Yoohwan. 

            “Oppa, tell me the truth.”  Serri’s hands trembled slightly as she rubbed her tired, red eyes.  “Did you fight with Yoohwan last night?”

            “Of course I did,” he told ardently.  He rose from his chair and led Serri back to her seat.  “Serri-yah, please sit down.”

            Wearily, Serri took a seat.  She stared at Hakyeon’s bruise as he made his way back to his seat.  Even as he sat down, her sad eyes continued to watch it.

            “Serri-yah, stop it,” he said.  He took his sunglasses from the table and put them back on again.  “I had to talk to Yoohwan after what he said to you.  Things got a little out of hand, that’s all.”

            “I don’t want anyone to get hurt for me,” she whispered as her eyes finally left Hakyeon’s face.  She grabbed her coffee with both hands and held it tightly.  “Why did you even approach him?”

            “He’s a real creep, Serri-yah.”  Hakyeon tapped the lid of his iced Americano rhythmically as his frustration intensified.  “He follows you around, he insults you.  I can’t stand for something like that to happen to you.”

            Serri clutched her stomach as it began to ache.  “Please don’t do this again.”

            “What?  Serri-yah…I’m sorry, okay?  But I had to do it-”

            “Say you won’t do it again!” she cried, her voice far from the innocent, frail sound it usually became in times like these.

            Hakyeon stared at her in astonishment.  “Serri-yah, why are you so angry?”

            “I’m not angry…”  Her eyes filled with gloom again, and she looked up at him desperately.  “Please…just say it.”

            “Well…okay.”  He knew he couldn’t promise anything, but he couldn’t stand to see her helpless expression any longer.  “I won’t do it again.”

            “Thank you.”  Her eyes darted to her left and right as she held her coffee cup.  “Thank you for the coffee, oppa.  I have to go now.”

            She rose from her seat and quickly headed toward the exit.  Hakyeon stumbled out of his chair and ran after her. 

            “Serri-yah, wait!”

            Though she stopped for a moment, she did not turn to face him.  He wondered what face, what eyes she didn’t want to show him.  Tugging on her arm, he hoped she would turn around, but she was still as stone.

            “Serri-yah…when can we meet again?” he asked with a feeble grin she couldn’t see.  “I know this great Italian bistro we should try this week-”

            “I’m very busy this week,” she informed with a low, monotone voice.  “I don’t think we can meet.”

            “Oh…well, just let me know when you’re free, then.”  He let go of her arm and looked down at the ground.  “My members and I will begin promotions for our new album soon, so try to catch me before I get too busy.”

            “Okay,” she whispered.  “Goodbye, oppa.”

            A faint hint of regret hid within her words.  Her “goodbye” sounded more like a final farewell than the beginning of a temporary parting.  He watched her leave the shop, bewildered by her sudden change in behavior.  Looking back at their table, he noticed his cup, still half full.  But he didn’t care to take it.  He waited for a moment, took a deep breath, and walked outside.

            Tiny drops of rain sprinkled from the grey sky.  It was cold and windy.  He wondered if Serri was warm enough to make it home alright.