A/N: Since the last chapter was a ChoMi centric one, I made this chapter a 2Eun centric. I'm glad that you liked the previous chapter, and I hope that you'll like this one as much as how you did with the last one ^^ Thank you for waiting, reading, commenting, and subscribing! ^^

CHAPTER 7: REASON

Eunji squint her eyes as the ray of morning light started to enter through the open balcony beside the bed, waking her up from her slumber. At first she was lazy to even move an inch, but when she saw emptiness beside her, it bolted her up like she just took a shot of freshly brewed coffee. With anxiety and a still unclear vision she hurriedly looked through the place, only to be disappointed to find out that Naeun left already. She rubbed her eyes for a clearer sight as she sat back down on the bed and recalled what happened last night.

“Where are you going?” Naeun, whom Eunji just tucked in the bed, asked.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.” The latter reassured and smiled. “Please rest.” Eunji stood up, only to be pulled down again. “Why…”

“Just stay here.” She requested and tried pulling Eunji closer. “Sleep here…” she whined.

Knowing that refusing isn’t an option for an intoxicated Son Naeun, Eunji just nodded and lied down beside the overly sensitive woman. She was just going to check on her friend whom she left outside but considering how delicate the person beside her is, Eunji thought that maybe she could do that after the latter falls asleep so she closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.

She then felt something warm secure her waist, but it didn’t bother her a bit as she still thought that she can leave without waking the girl up. 

She sighed, but with a smile on her face. I guess I really fell asleep.

Eunji let out a loud yawn before standing up once again to do her morning routine, grabbing the opportunity to use the resources available so that she’ll look presentable outside like she didn’t even drink last night. Afterwards, she went out of the bedroom and surprisingly found the whole place cleaned already. She didn’t see anyone, except for the old lady who approached her.

“Am I the only one left?” the chestnut colored hair sober asked as she turned her head left and right; scanning the visible areas.

“Yes. They asked me not to lock the place until you two wake up.” The cleaning lady gave a motherly smile. She then led Eunji towards the room where Chorong was apparently still sleeping.

“You must have waited for long, I’m sorry.” Eunji bowed, which earned her a pat on the back telling that it’s alright. “Thank you.” She bowed again.

“By the way…” the older woman called the younger one’s attention who was about to wake Chorong up. “Miss Yoon left this for you.” She said and handed her a piece of paper before leaving Eunji behind. She then read the fancy writing on the piece of hard paper as she walked inside the bedroom to wake her best friend up. 

Premiere Night: The Miracle August 14, 2014 Wednesday at Times Square CGV Cinema 7PM

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Eunji was so excited that she totally forgot that she hated large crowds the most until she finally arrived inside the cinema. Her enthusiasm was instantly replaced with frustration as she thought about ways on how to go through that combined battalion of fans of Naeun and the other actors that she starred with. As she was thinking, the crowd suddenly erupted with cheers and went closer to the stage like a herd going to their pastor. The stars entered the stage one at a time and the fans screamed their names as they waved and posed for the audience. 

She then decided to not come closer and instead, sat at the upper level of the cinema to watch from afar. Eunji wore her glasses to somehow help her vision.

“Hello, I’m Kim Tan. Thank you all for coming today.” The first actor introduced himself. Apparently he was a solo artist who entered the acting industry just a year ago. She didn’t hear the rest of what he said because of all the fangirls that were screaming their lungs out.

“I’m Cha EunSang. It’s nice to see you all here.” The next one was a young lady, and it was the men’s turn to cheer. Eunji made a disgusted face as she heard all the whistles and cheers from the guys of all ages. 

“My name is Joo JongWon, nice to meet you all. Thank you for supporting our movie.” Another man introduced himself which made the girls cry as well. The venue started to look like a cheering contest between Adam and Eve. The cheers were louder than the first guy since she heard that the guy is also a member of a popular boy group, which obviously she doesn’t have any interest in.

Eunji then stood up from her seat, forgetting how to breathe, as she saw from above a celebrity who was walking her way on the red carpet. Even though there were a lot of people surrounding the area where she was walking, Eunji knew that it was her. It was Son Naeun. The celebrities before her were famous as well, but for her she just directly outshined them. Eunji cannot see clearly even with glasses, but this time she can see Naeun that clear that it’s like the latter just passed by in front of her. She then sighed in awe; with a smile on her face as she heard the once divided crowd scream at the same time for a single person. 

That was when she realized how famous the girl was. Naeun seemed so different on stage, but she was sure that it was the same person who her bleeding finger and slept beside her last night.

Naeun waved at the chaotic crowd and posed at the media with her best smile. She didn’t have to face each area, but she decided to; not because of the fans, but because she was looking for someone. She knew that it would be hard for her to locate that certain person, so her eyes wandered and scanned through the crowd as fast as she can until something from afar caught her attention.

How interesting she thought. 

“I’m Son Naeun, and I am sincerely happy to see you here.” Naeun smiled at the fans before she looked at the person standing alone at the upper level, who was holding a blue umbrella over her head inside a perfectly dry cinema. The crowd cried once again as they expressed their undying love towards her.

Eunji was so sure that she would’ve fallen asleep if Naeun wasn’t in event. She wondered how these fans could tolerate such a boring, talk show like event but nevertheless, somehow she enjoyed since it was her first time to attend such thing, and also her first time to see doing her work live. Her eyes were only focused on her friend, fascinated on how she can wear all-black attire and still blind other people’s eyes with her beauty. Afterwards, the movie was played for everyone to watch and at the same time, she received a message from Bomi.

“Get out of there.” The sender said, making her raise her eyebrows in confusion. She thought Naeun gave her a ticket so that she could watch her movie, but why is Bomi asking her to come out? And why exactly at the time when the movie is starting? Eunji was about to reply, but she got lost in her thoughts until she felt her phone vibrate again. “Come on.”

“What is this?” Eunji muttered under her breath the moment she saw a familiar figure waiting for her, wearing a familiar outfit. The woman who was wearing a face mask saw her and waved with the phone on her hand, making her realize that it wasn’t Bomi who texted her at all. She immediately approached the younger one, repeating her question out loud. “What is this? Aren’t I supposed to watch…?”

Naeun then held Eunji’s hand as she started leading the way. “Let’s have dinner.” 

“But…there are a lot of people here.” Eunji expressed her concern at the latter who doesn’t seem bothered at the place they were in. “A group of paparazzi follows you all the time, right? Are you sure about this? Bomi knows about this, right?” She whispered as she caught up with Naeun’s pace, without letting go of the latter’s grip.

“She will know.” Naeun replied coolly, implying that her manager doesn’t know but she will find out not long after. “And don’t worry. I know a place where we can eat peacefully.”

They then arrived into this fancy restaurant, which Eunji isn’t sure if she could afford or not. The two of them sat down in a private area which was covered by an elegant divider. Her eyes widened when Naeun told her that only reserved VIP customers use the area. The younger one asked her to order anything that she wanted, in which she worriedly complied.

“It’s my treat.” Naeun gave a reassuring smile after sensing the hesitation from Eunji. “This is the only way I know…”

“Why, all of a sudden…”

“I...” The latter paused, waiting for the waiter to leave before continuing her response. “I wanted to thank you for last night for not…leaving me.”

Eunji then smiled. For some reason, she felt like she succeeded in breaking a part of that barrier that kept Naeun from opening up. It made her feel relieved that somehow, she can probably say that they’re already friends. “It’s not in my nature to break promises.”

“I’m sorry too. Because of me you got hurt…” Naeun added as she stared at the bandage on the older one’s finger. “Does it still hurt?”

“A-ah…it’s fine…now.” She stuttered in reply, suddenly remembering the unexpected thing that Naeun did last night. “May I ask why you asked me out for dinner just right when your movie is starting?” Eunji fixed her speech as she tried to change the topic.

“Well, I don’t want you to watch that film.” She said in a wobbly voice. “It’s not something that I can brag about.”

“Are you saying that you did a movie that you didn’t even like?” Her faced suddenly became peering. “Is that even possible?” 

“Everything is possible in our industry.” Naeun answered with an unimpressed smile on her face. When you only hear the sentence, you’d think that it’s something to be proud about but once you see the look on the one who said it, you’d immediately think the otherwise. “I would have rejected it on the spot if I had a choice. Oh, by the way…”

“Hmm?” 

“You looked stupid a while ago.” Naeun chuckled as she pointed out what Eunji did back in the theater. “But I admit that it was clever.” She continued, stifling her laugh.

“Wow…now you can comfortably call me stupid?” Eunji playfully commented at how Naeun changed from being a woman of few words to someone who now freely mocks her. “You’ve really grown.” The older one continued to tease as her accent suddenly became stronger once again.

Just then, the waiter went back in and served them their orders. Both of them stayed silent and smiled at each other as they both waited for him to leave once again before they could continue. After he started grilling the pieces of meat that he delivered, Eunji told him that they could carry on from here which made the server leave the area.

“But did you really do that on purpose?” Naeun continued the halted conversation as picked up her chopsticks and started grilling the remaining pieces of meat. 

“No. I just hate crowded areas. That’s all.” Eunji responded as she started tasting the soup that she ordered. “If you didn’t want me to watch the movie, why give me a ticket?”

“…So that I have a reason to see you again.”

No words can describe how happy she felt when she heard those words from Naeun. To be honest, she thought that the younger one would avoid her after what happened last night since she was already gone when she woke up. Eunji wasn’t able to contain her happiness, that’s why she beamed a smile at Naeun who was busy putting meat and garlic on her Perilla leaf. Ever since then, the atmosphere became so light that they were able to talk about random things comfortably as they enjoyed the food. 

That was, until they overheard a drunken conversation from the other side of the divider.

“Have you seen this generation’s actresses? Wow, what a downfall to be honest.”

“None of them can even compare to Ha JiWon or Kim TaeHee. Beauty-wise, they aren’t any competition at all. They’re cute though.”

“Cute? Come on, dude. We all know how they got into the industry…”

While hearing all of these, Eunji observed how Naeun’s facial expression switched from being uninterested to being depressed. She sighed and unknowingly gripped tightly on the metal chopsticks that she was using. Naeun on the other hand, noticed how the latter’s patience got shorter so she held her hand and told that it was alright, which Eunji didn’t buy. Both of them didn’t want to listen, but they couldn’t help but hear every word.

“You’re right. Have you seen that new movie with Son Naeun?”

“Yes! I personally think that she’s quite pretty and cute, but it didn’t save the movie for me. I fell asleep.”

“I prefer the other girl that she was with. What was her name? Cha…something…”

“Ah, Cha EunSang!”

“I like her more. At least she doesn’t pretend like some innocent, untouched young girl.”

“What do you mean?”

“Cha EunSang is the direct type. She emits the word ‘’ throughout her body. Son Naeun on the other hand, is the type who would lure you with her cute and pure image but deep inside…I bet you she’s a beast on the sheets.”

“Okay, that’s it. I’m sorry.” Eunji slammed her chopsticks and stood up. 

“Wait. Let’s just ignore –“Naeun whispered as she tried to stop her friend but to no avail. Eunji went out of their room and went to the neighboring one where the source of laughter was coming from. She just hung her head down as she finally heard Eunji butting in their conversation.

“I’m sorry to disturb you…” Eunji tried to sound as calm as possible, trying to tone down her temper.

“Who are you?” the intoxicated man pointed his chopsticks at her as he gulped a shot of soju.

“You see, I’m eating on the other side of that wall and I accidentally overheard your conversation which I wished I didn’t because it was really disgusting, but I did. So I thought that I might share my own opinion and I think the person you’re all talking about is actually a real person, who has feelings, unlike you. I think she probably deserves a little bit more consideration rather than having you es erting over her.”

“I came here to have fun and get drunk, not to get scolded by some random girl who doesn’t have anything to do but eavesdrop. off, will you? Are you her sister or something?” They all laughed.

“Come on.” Naeun whispered as she pulled Eunji out of the room to avoid a fight to develop. She was already done paying the bills, so she smoothly dragged her frustrated friend out of the restaurant. “Let’s just go somewhere else.”

“I’m sorry.” Eunji apologized for her behavior. “It was really just…unfair!”

“No, it’s okay. I’m thankful that you tried. It’s nothing new, so I’m used to it. No need to worry.”

They both stayed silent as they walked around for a while, trying to ease the tension that they felt a few minutes ago. Eunji still feels sorry for her behavior since it was the cause why the atmosphere went down again. She just can’t help it but sigh, which Naeun immediately picked up so she tugged the shorter woman’s arm.

“Please don’t feel bad anymore. I’m fine, do not worry.” She tried her best to smile just to make the latter relieved. “Where do you want to go?” Naeun tried to change the topic and uplift the atmosphere. “I want to go somewhere that I haven’t visited yet.” She raised her voice, trying to sound excited.

Eunji then pulled out her phone the moment she heard it rang. It was an unregistered number, but she answered it anyway. “Hello?”

“It’s me, Bomi. I hope I am right that Naeun is there with you?”

“She is. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you sooner.” Eunji scratched her head. “I didn’t know that this would happen…”

“I already figured out that she was going to do something again, so it’s fine. And I am always thankful that she always end up being with you but the problem is the press people are going nuts because she disappeared so…”

“So…?”

“Please keep her for the mean time while we think of an escape.” 

Eunji cannot help but laugh. She knows that it’s inappropriate, but the whole situation is entertaining for her. Ah, so this is how celebrities do it. She thought to herself. “I’m really sorry.”

After the call, she saw Naeun looking at her with a puzzled face. “Who was that?”

“So you ditched the event?” Eunji replied with a question as well. “I thought it was over?” She looked at Naeun; her face was a mix of amazement and disbelief. She lowered her head and laughed at the younger girl’s antics. “You’re really something. Or maybe this is just a first for me since you’re the only celebrity whom I know personally.” 

“What happened?” The latter changed her question upon realizing that it was Bomi who called Eunji. “Is it something bad?” Naeun’s voice went from being excited to nervous and worried. She was always the impulsive type, and it’s always at the end where she realizes the consequences of her actions.

“Oh! I know a place where you haven’t visited yet.” Eunji suddenly exclaimed with a tremulous voice as she looked at Naeun with an enlivened face. “Well, I don’t know if it’ll be interesting for you but…”

“Wait, can you tell me what happened first?” Her voice quavered. Eunji isn’t telling her the current situation back in the cinema, but the older one seemed not bothered at all. “And where are we going anyway?” She asked as Eunji pulled her towards a cab nearby. Eunji then paused and looked at her with a blithe face and with her soft lips stretched into a warm smile: the one that always make Naeun feel at ease.

“We’re going home."

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A/N: By the way, if ever you guys want to ask me something, I've linked my askfm in my profile so you can go there and ask away ^^ or just drop me a message in my profile :)