CHAPTER 15: MISHAPS

“Let’s have lunch together.”

The fear that she felt last night came back once again as she recognized the voice of the person that she wanted to hear the least. Although she knew to herself that she shouldn’t be surprised that Ilhoon got her number already, it still baffled her on how he got it fast. Jung Ilhoon is a very powerful man, and thinking about that just makes her feel unease on a whole different level. It’s more than how her hardcore fans and stalkers make her feel. It’s not only her safety that’s at stake, but also the people that she cared about.

If only she knew that it would be like this, she shouldn’t have asked for his help a few years back.

“Answer me!” Ilhoon shouted as she tried to call her attention after the latter didn’t reply.

“I-I can’t. I’m filming today.” Naeun replied, waking her back into her senses.

Even if she gave her a valid reason, he wasn’t fazed and didn’t give up. “Then let’s grab dinner afterwards.”

“I don’t know what ti--

“Stop running away from me, Son Naeun! You can’t escape me, and you know that.” He cut her off, raising his voice as he fumed in anger. Ilhoon took a deep breath for a few times to calm himself down. “I love you, Naeun-ah. I just wanted to be with you, like before.”

“If you can get my number that easily, then you should probably know by now that I am telling you the truth.” Naeun expressed her frustration as well as she continued to reject him. She doesn’t really like being disturbed, let alone by someone like Ilhoon. Whenever she’s in the set, it doesn’t matter if she’s having a break or acting a scene. Naeun hates being distracted, and everyone knew about it.

He snickered. “Fine.”

Naeun just heaved a sigh after the Ilhoon abruptly hung up. Her head was hurting ever since this morning because of all the crying she did last night, and what just happened didn’t help her at all. If anything, it made her headache worse and she even lost her appetite. Because of that, she took it as a sign of a long and tough day ahead. She then threw her phone on the car seat as she stepped out of the van and was about to close the vehicle when her phone suddenly rang again.

Thinking that it was Ilhoon, she just ignored it and completely slid the door close.

“Naeun-ah, you’re about to do a take in a few minutes. Are you done eating?” Bomi asked as she approached her friend.

“He called, and he wanted to have a meal with me.” Naeun replied with an irrelevant answer. “I’m going back now.”

Bomi turned and looked at Naeun with a worried face as she watched the younger one walk away before going inside the van. She can only shake her head and sigh in disappointment after seeing Naeun’s untouched food and one missed call that was actually from their friend, Jung Eunji. With the phone ringing again, this time in her hands, Bomi rushed out of the van and tried chasing Naeun but then she realized that she was a few seconds late after hearing the word “Action!” echoing through the filming set.

The older one decided to answer the call. “Hello, Eunji?”

“Is Naeun there?” she asked after recognizing the voice that didn’t belong to Naeun. “I’m…well, I just want to check if she’s fine.”

This is the choice that Eunji made: to stay by Naeun’s side, like what she promised almost a year ago. Well, she doesn’t really have an option since what Chorong said was right. Not only her heart, but also her mind speaks of the younger girl. Even though she’s still clueless about what happened last night, and even though she felt that the path she would be taking will be rough from now on, Eunji still thought of Naeun. That’s when she realized how deep she has fallen in love with the girl and it doesn’t matter to her now if she’s the only one doing so.

“I’m sorry but she’s actually filming right now.” Bomi explained as she observed Naeun who was busy performing her craft. “Her break just ended a few minutes ago, and I don’t think she’ll be having another one again anytime soon…” her voice faded away as she delivered the bad news.

“Ah, I see…” Eunji responded; trying her best not to sound disappointed. “I hope she’s feeling better now.”

“Wait!” she prevented the latter from hanging up.

“Hmm…?”

Bomi exhaled deeply before she continued. “Are you fine, Eunji-ya?”

“I…” Eunji wanted to outright tell her friend that even though she’s feeling better compared to last night; she’s still far from being alright. Everything that happened repeatedly played inside her head like a nightmare, most especially the part where Ilhoon gave Naeun a peck on her cheek. But then again, she thought that she doesn’t have the right to be jealous. “Of course I am fine, Bomi-ah. Anyway, see you sometime soon, I guess.”

With a tight-lipped smile plastered on her face, Bomi slid Naeun’s phone in her pocket after the call ended. A corner of her lips went up, knowing that her friend is almost a hundred percent lying and probably just putting up a strong façade so that she won’t be worried. Besides, Eunji is the type who would consider other people’s feelings first before her own. Bomi just can’t help but shake her head, both amused and worried at her friend.

This is how transparent Eunji is, but she hasn’t realized it herself.

---

“So Mr. Hwang, is everything ready?”

“Yes, Mr. Jung. All we need is your go signal.”

“Good…that’s very good to hear.” The young man grinned and sniggered. He was talking to the man who sent the sample pictures that he just finished checking on, and was very delighted that it came out just like how he wanted it to be. Even so, he felt like these weren’t enough. “But…I think we need more. What can you say?”

“Well sir, if you really want an explosive one then yes, we do really need more of those.”

“Right, right…okay, I’ll call you again if I need your service.”

“Okay, sir. We’ll be waiting.”

And just like that, Ilhoon managed to put up the first domino; the tile that will cause the chain reaction once he pushes it down. He knew that getting Naeun back in his life, permanently, is something that cannot be achieved that easily and direct so he wanted this chain reaction that will eventually lead to his goal. Just like a pile of dominos stacked inside its container, his plans are just contained behind the walls of his head and all he needed to do is to strategically and carefully arrange it one after the other; slowly but surely.

All he wanted is for Naeun to be his once again, and he would be more than willing to eliminate anything, or anyone, that would ruin his plans.

“Ms. Yoo, can you come in for a while?” he called on his secretary immediately after the phone call. It didn’t take too long before his office door opened right in front of him.

She bowed and gave a warm smile at her boss. “Is there anything you need, sir?”

“Just take care of everything that’s in this folder.” Ilhoon just smiled as he handed his secretary a folder full of documents. “Inform me as soon as you get it done, is that clear?”

“Yes, Mr. Jung.” She bowed and was about to leave the president’s office when her attention was called again. The secretary turned around, only to see a smirk and a spine-chilling gaze from her executive.

“This is a secret, Ms. Yoo. Understood?”

The young woman avoided the stare as she gave a nod at her employer before finally leaving his room.

On the other hand, Ilhoon reached for a picture frame that was on his desk and lovingly smiled at it as he swiveled his chair, facing towards the window. She caressed the object like he was actually touching the person in the picture and lightly pressed his lips on it.

You belong to me, Son Naeun. You’re only mine.

---

A few more weeks have passed, and Naeun just got herself engrossed in her work. It was a good thing for her since her schedule kept her busy, hence repelling away Ilhoon who kept on contacting her on a daily basis. Albeit quite inhumane, she would rather be stressed from work than spending a second with him. Although, she really find it quite odd that Ilhoon just accepts her rejection to his offers. It felt like something wasn’t right, knowing that he won’t take no for an answer.

On the other hand, the one whom she misses the most was the one who rarely calls her. Well, she didn’t really expect that she would miss Eunji that much, not until she discovered how she gets all positive whenever she receives a message from the latter, and how she gets annoyed throughout the day when she doesn’t. But even so, she knew that those are nothing compared to hearing the actual person saying what’s written in the messages.

Her hopes skyrocketed when she saw a familiar person walking around the filming area, seemingly looking for someone.

“Chorong…?” Naeun approached the older one who was holding a couple of hefty paper bags. “What brings you here and…how did you know our filming location?” Her eyes immediately wandered around as she peeked behind Chorong, looking for that certain someone.

“Ah well, your manager…” The latter was about to explain when she observed that Naeun’s attention wasn’t really on hers. “I tried bringing Eunji along, but she said she was too busy to help me carry these.” Chorong raised her arms, showing the paper bags that were filled with food that some of which she personally prepared. Upon mentioning her best friend’s name, she finally got the younger one’s interest.

“H-huh…?” Naeun blurted as she focused back on the latter.

“I said, these are for you and Bomi.” She shook her hands, making the paper bags sway left and right in front of Naeun.

She then took the bags from Chorong and took a glimpse of what’s inside. Her eyes twinkled at the sight of her favorite foods, namely pastries and chicken. There were also a couple of seaweed and rice rolls and some randomly flavored triangle rice balls, which were Bomi’s favorites. Chorong also bought her dearest and most beloved chicken feet.

“Wow…” That was the only thing that Naeun was able to say after seeing all the delicious food inside the bags but not long after, she suddenly got confused as to why Chorong needed to make an effort and bring food for them. “But wait, what are these for?”

“Even though she’s not here, Eunji was actually the one who asked me to do these.” Chorong lied. “She’s really worried about you.” She added, but that statement wasn’t false in any way.

“Naeun-ah!” a voice resonated, which made Chorong’s heart skip a beat. Footsteps slowly got louder as the person that she was waiting for approached the two of them. “Have you eaten?”

Chorong was about to turn around and greet the younger one when she suddenly heard another pair of footsteps coming towards them. She knew because the latter preferred wearing sneakers than high heels. Suddenly, her mood went from up high to down low the moment she heard Naeun mention another person’s name besides Bomi’s. She inwardly sighed; Chorong thought that she’ll be able to spend her birthday solely with the younger one, but the gods of luck must not be on her side for today.

“Bomi-ah, we got food!” she ran towards the two, bringing all of the paper bags that Chorong was carrying a while ago. “Ms. Ahn, it’s nice to see you again.” Naeun bowed as she greeted her manager’s friend.

“You can just call me Hani.” She warmly smiled as she allowed the younger one to drop the formalities. They have met a couple of times already, and Hani was naturally friendly as well. She’s someone who was socially capable that she can befriend anyone whom she just met that day to the point of even drinking together until their sanity died. “Besides, I treat Bomi’s friends as mine too so you’re not an exception.” Hani s her arm around Bomi’s arm and pulled her closer.

“Wait…Chorong?” Bomi finally noticed the familiar one who had been standing unnoticed for quite a while already. Like an involuntary muscle, she immediately pulled her arm away from Hani’s warmth. Her heart started beating in a complicated manner and droplets of sweat started forming and sliding down her neck. “W-what are you doing here…?” she stuttered.

Chorong was definitely pissed off and dumbfounded on how the taller one was completely unaware of her presence despite of being right there in front of her. It only made her feel worse knowing that it was only possible if Hani got Bomi’s full attention on hers. Without any choice, she buried her frustration deep inside her and gave the best smile as she turned around and faced Bomi to answer her questions.

“Can’t I visit the two of you? Besides, I brought some of your favorites. You know, rice balls –“

Even before she can finish her explanation, Bomi already took the bags and led Chorong inside Naeun’s personal tent. Upon reaching inside, she instantly took the food out of the bag one by one and placed it on the table. Chorong just can’t help but adore the cute ball of fluff whose eyes continued to sparkle at the sight of the mouth-watering meals that she brought. Once she was done preparing the table for them to eat, Bomi sat down on the nearest chair and randomly picked a triangle rice ball from its pile.

“Every flavor is a surprise, Bbom-ah.” Chorong informed Bomi who was currently in heaven as she took the seat beside the younger one. “Eat well.”

Indeed, it was a surprise for Bomi after biting a portion of the rice ball that she picked. Her excitement flew out of the window as she started chewing slowly, until she wasn’t able to move her jaw at all. Her chest heaved heavily and her breathing went faster, while her face started to paint red. Bomi coughed and spat the food on the table.

Who knew that in just a blink of an eye, everything would turn into a disaster?

“B-Bomi-ah…Are you okay?”  Chorong started to panic. “Yoon Bomi!” she shouted at the younger one, but the latter continued to breathe heavily and became totally unresponsive as she was almost unconscious already.

“What the…? “ Hani, who just came inside the tent, paused for a millisecond before promptly rushing towards the sick girl. With intense fear obviously seen in her eyes, she gave a questioning gaze at Chorong. She sat beside and held Bomi in her arms as she tried to soothe the younger one.

“S-she just…she just suddenly became like that after biting…” The older one’s voice trailed off. “I didn’t know—“

“Get some ice, quick!” the latter shouted, commanding Chorong. “And look for some antihistamine too!” she added before trying to calm Bomi once again.

Just then Naeun went inside the tent as well and was shocked with the situation that she arrived upon. Her manager was breathing heavily while Hani was just rubbing her back with a worried expression plastered on her face.  On the other hand, Chorong was pacing around the tent, restless, as she continued looking for something with tears b in her eyes.

“Naeun-ah, do you have some antihistamine? How about ice? Do you have those? I’m really, really sorry…” Chorong’s hands were trembling as she approached Naeun and asked for her help. This was something she never intended to happen, especially when all she wanted was to see Bomi eat to her heart’s content.

Fortunately, Bomi was always carrying medicines to counter this kind of situation. Naeun also managed to get some ice from her co-actors who were eating inside the neighboring tent. It was a good thing that Hani was actually a Nursing student, hence skilled in handling situations like this. She made her drink the medicine while wrapped some ice cubes using her handkerchief and gently applied it on Bomi’s swollen face. The medications worked like a charm and after everything went back to normal, they laid her down on the couch and let her rest.

“Dried pollack? You made her eat something with dried pollacks?!” Hani confronted the older one after the both of them got out of the area to let the latter relax peacefully. Even though Bomi was already fine, the worry didn’t leave her immediately, making her raise the tone of her voice. “Are you out of your mind?!”

Chorong’s defenses finally fell as tears streamed down her cheeks. “I really didn’t know…I’m sorry…” she apologized for the nth time. She would never let Bomi eat that stuff if only she knew about her allergies. “I just randomly –“

“You like Bomi, right? I know you do, because I like her too. We give her anything that we can offer, even if she didn’t ask for it. But what is this? You like her and yet you didn’t know about her allergy? Did you even try to get to know Bomi that well? Wow…you’re really something.” Hani was fuming; exploding as she wasn’t able to control the mixed feelings of anger and fear.

She was right. How can she not know such basic information about Bomi? Chorong was so confident about making Bomi fall for her, up until this very moment. Every word that shot out of Hani’s mouth landed like a punch on her vital points, and it made her very weak. Just thinking about what happened to Bomi a while ago made her stomach turn upside down as she felt guilty about everything.

“Please...stop fighting...” a weak voice interrupted the heated conversation. “I’m fine now, don’t worry.”

“Go back inside and rest, Yoon Bomi.” Hani instructed, only to be ignored.

“I…I didn’t mean it, Bomi-ah.” Chorong's voice came out as a whisper, but Bomi was still able to hear it.

“Please don’t blame yourself.” The younger one slowly went in front of Chorong whose head remained hanging down the whole time. “You didn’t know –“she paused after noticing some clear liquid dropping on the floor.

“I’m sorry.” Chorong said before running away from the two.

---

“I messaged you the address, just in case you change your mind.”

As expected, Eunji did change her mind and is now standing on the other side of the street from the filming location. There were only two simple reasons as to why she revoked her decision of not tagging along: it was her best friend’s birthday, and she just wanted to see Naeun again. She wondered why she even bothered refusing the birthday girl’s request earlier if she’s just going to change her mind in the end. Eunji just heaved a sigh and mentally scolded herself.

Holding a paper bag that contained the gift for her best friend, she finally crossed the street after the light switched from green to red. She was about to enter the premises when her peripheral vision caught sight of something familiar. Eunji turned her head, and there she saw the familiar back of her best friend slowly fading away as she ran further.

Eunji was about to run after her when her vision caught another recognizable figure from the corner of her eyes.

“What are you doing here?” Naeun asked as she yanked away the hand of the person who tried to grab her wrist. “I told you I was busy.”

“Where are you going? And why are you wearing a mask and a cap?” Ilhoon didn’t give up and chased after Naeun who started walking back to her tent. “Are you going to have a date with someone? You always rejected me because you’re busy and yet you have the nerve to cheat on me?!” His voice became louder as he lost his temper. He roughly held on Naeun’s arm and pulled her back.

“What did you say?!” Naeun raised the tone of her voice. Ilhoon’s delusions are definitely on a different level already. She found it unthinkable that such person can still believe on something that you kept on disproving. “I don’t have anything to explain to you, Ilhoon. We’re long gone.”

“Shut up…” Naeun’s statement fueled the young man’s anger more. His grip on Naeun’s arm tightened uncontrollably as he gave an inimical gaze at her so-called girlfriend. “Just shut up and tell me who it is!”

“Let me go!” Feeling the sting of pain creeping on her arm, she used all of her efforts to squirm out of his grasp but she was just simply overpowered.  Ilhoon’s rage further intensified, and Naeun could only raise her other arm as a shield the moment that she saw his free hand aiming a slap on her. She then kept her eyes shut as she already anticipated the pain that she was going to receive but then suddenly her arm became free from the agonizing hold of the latter.

Naeun suddenly heard a thud, making her slowly open her eyes. Her eyes popped out of her head as she saw Ilhoon down on the floor and wincing in pain. At the same time, she finally heard the voice of the person she was longing for these past few weeks.

“Y-you…Stop meddling with other people’s business.” Ilhoon said after, burning holes on Eunji’s body with his deadly glares. Eunji on the other hand, just went a step closer and looked down on him with disgusted eyes.

“You don’t have any right to hurt a woman, regardless of who you are in her life.”

-----

A/N: I’m really, really sorry for the delayed update. I’ve been really busy because of schoolwork, so I hope you understand. I also hope didn’t get tired of waiting… Anyway, I purposely made the chapter longer because I don’t know when I’ll be able to update again. :( I actually don’t know how to describe this one…I just wish somehow it gave you feels. Like what I always say, thank you for reading, subscribing, commenting and liking this story. Thank you for those who patiently waited. ^^ <3