Chapter 64:

Jihye’s P.O.V

I am sitting in a private booth, away from the prying eyes of others, waiting for Haeri, her manager and lawyer to come. I need to settle this issue once and for all. It has to stop before my life becomes chaotic again. And this is the only way for me to have the quiet life I want, even if I have to keep to the whole world naïve about the death of my little angel. His or her innocent soul shall not be talk by gossipers.

The door opens. I look up and see only two people coming in, Haeri and her manager.

“We are sorry we are late,” Haeri’s manager says politely and bows.

I smile and offer them to have a seat. “It’s alright. I just arrived too. And I like to keep the meeting short and fast since both of our schedule is too tight.”

“If you may, please do so,” Haeri’s manager speaks again.

I nod my head in acknowledgement. “My only request is for Haeri to say that the whole matter is a misunderstanding. I want to keep everything privately and I don’t want people to keep on prying on my life. So as sooner as possible, I want Haeri to tell everyone that it is a misunderstanding.”

“Why are you doing this?” Haeri says in contempt. “I killed your child. I took the child from you.”

I close my eyes and have a deep breath. “Yes, you killed my child but even if you admit your crime, you can’t bring back his or her life to me. Haeri, I already lived in peace, accepting the death of my child. But in what you are doing now, you are shattering the peace I had built for two years. And I think you are being selfish again by putting all the blame in you. But it’s not only your fault, it is also mine and Jiyong, we never knew about the baby in my womb and in the end we didn’t take a good care of it.”

“That’s why I think, God took the soul back because we are not ready to be parents. Haeri, please, I don’t want any more hatred from the fans of Jiyong and the boys. I’m already fed up with their baseless hatred. So, I’m begging you, until the news is just smoke, I want you to put it out before it turns into fire.”

“Why are you not blaming me? I am ashamed of what I had become because of my love for Jiyong. The past two years are the worst in my life. I’ve regretted everything I’d done, including ruining your relationship. I should have seen the radiant face of Jiyong when he’s with you. But it only struck me when I saw how devastated he is in the television even if he’s trying to fake his happiness.” Haeri cries painfully. “I am sorry for what I have done.”

I stand up and hug Haeri. I hush her up and rub her back in comfort. “You are already forgiven, Haeri. Jiyong may be acting cold towards you but I am sure in time, the wound will heal and everything is nothing but a scar that can be erased.”

“Why do you understand me so much?”

I smile sadly. “Because, I knew you since we are little and I know that I am at fault for what you’ve been doing to yourself. I’m sorry for getting your parents attention from you and I’m sorry for letting you think that, because you know, every time your parents talk to me, all they talk about is you. The loving eyes you saw in them were when they are talking about you to me.”

“I’m sorry for not telling you completely that my friends are my friends and they tend to hang out to everyone in their room especially someone who is always alone. I should have told you that I told them to watch over you because you are shy in approaching people. I should have cleared up everything.”

“Aniyo, I should have known that because you are a true friend to me through thick and thin when we are kids. I should have trusted you when you are with my parents. I should have not been selfish,” Haeri mutters warmly. “And one last thing, I should have been happy even if you are together with a guy I like because a true friend will give up everything for the sake of her friendship.”

“It’s alright. Giving up isn’t the only thing friendship has but also the courage to cheer them up even if they are with someone you like. But it doesn’t also mean that you will give up on everything because friendship is always give and take.”

“No wonder, Kiko likes you.”

“And I like Kiko too. She may be infuriating sometimes but she’s always there when I needed her,” I answer back.

“I will tell you one thing she did for you. It was in a Chanel runway show, and people are gossiping about you being an irresponsible friend, not showing up again in supporting Monsieur Karl Lagerfeld show. She told them to shut their mouths for they didn’t know anything about you and how supportive you are of Monsieur Karl. She even told them to keep their opinions to themselves for all they know are the up lies about you.” Haeri laughs.

I chuckle as I remember seeing that article in the internet but I didn’t know that it was about me. I should have known that the freaking woman will not shut when she doesn’t like what’s being talked about. Well, I am sure Karl will keep those girls out of the list if he found out about it.

“She’s a hardcore fan of mine after all. Are you okay now?” I push her back at arm’s length and check if she’s okay. “Well, you better redo your make up then you are good to go.” I then heard a sniff. I turn my head towards the direction of the crying manager. I gasp then chuckle at the tear streaked face.

“I’m sorry. I just got touched by you, two,” she says in between breaths.

“It’s alright,” I say and give her the table napkin box. “I better go. I’m still needed elsewhere after all.”

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Jiyong’s P.O.V

I tap my fingers in nervousness. I am wondering what happened to their talk and Jihye still hasn’t called me about it and I’m worried about her.

“Calm down, Jiyong,” Top says as he looks at my hand.

“Mianhe,” I utter.

“The girls would have called us if the talk didn’t go well,” Youngbae assures me. “You have to focus in our concert and I am sure, Jihye will also like that.”

“Boys, we’ll begin in fifteen minutes, get to your positions already,” the stage director says and leaves again.

I sigh and shake my head to free my mind of worries about Jihye. I am sure she’s fine in Korea but I’m not there, which is why I am worried as hell. “Let’s go,” I say as the leader of the group.

“That’s more like it,” Seungri mutters in glee.

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Jihye’s P.O.V

“Appa, when will you schedule the interview? I think I am ready to talk.” I say. I am in the office of YG, lounging as I try to calm myself from all the crying I have done. The moment I step foot in my car, all I did was cry my heart’s content. I call YG-appa and he barely understands what I was saying to him over the phone.

“Are you sure, you’re okay with it? You don’t look alright when you called me.” YG looks up, away from the papers he is studying.

“Well, that is a spur of the moment,” I reply mischievously. “I am letting go of my little angel already after all. I need to do that for me to move forward to everything.”

YG-appa sighs and closes the folder. “Jihye, I know how hard it is for you since I saw how you suffer because of your decision to leave and I appreciate what you have done for Jiyong. You shouldered everything and I’m sorry I didn’t do anything about it.”

“Aniyo,” I shake my head. “Seeing me cry a river is like a slap in your face, appa.”

YG-appalaughs. “Yes, that’s a great slap in my face. Two years of you making me see yourself cry is like slapping me a million times. Seeing you cry today is like making me feel how useless I am when it comes to my artists.”

“You are not useless, appa. You tried to stop the relationship of me and Jiyong, but we are fool enough to take the risk,” I remark and smile warmly. “It’s our fault that’s why this is a problem we should solve on our own.”

“Jihye, for one last time, are you sure about this interview?”

“Yes, Jiyong and I are prepared for this and as much as possible deny the relationship with our mouths and deny the baby with our mouths. This maybe a lie interview but for the peace of the company, Jiyong and I, we have to do this. I am just waiting for Haeri after all,” I utter, sitting upright from the couch.

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Jiyong’s P.O.V

“I saw the news,” I say to Jihye over the phone. “Would they really believe what Haeri said?”

“I don’t know. It will depend on how they perceive it. But at least, we can keep the death of our baby on our own. I don’t want to have our little angel’s death to be public. As long as I can keep it secret I will. Or do you prefer to tell the truth?”

“I’ll be happy in whatever you want and I want to have our lives private as much as possible. But are you sure about the interview?” I am really worried about her.

“I am fine with it but you better make sure not to falter or else, I will skin you alive.” She then giggles.

“As long as they stay gentle about questioning you but if they are rude, I think you and I know what my temper is when it comes to you. It is thin as a thread.”

She sighs. “That’s what I’m afraid of. Should I do this interview alone?”

“No,” I exclaim. “I am super against that. You are like being thrown into a pool of hungry crocodiles.” That’s like super-duper dangerous for me. I can stop myself more if I know what’s happening. “We’ll be back in Korea after this concert. I’ll see you in the coffee shop tomorrow night. Will that be okay with you?”

“That will be fine. I’ll be at the other side of the coffee shop if I arrive early than you but if not wait for me there. The girls and I are busy after all.”

“Are you going to open it at the end of the year?” The girls and Jihye are going to open a restaurant in Hongdae. It is another business venture for them aside from the bars around Seoul. That’s why Jihye came back after two years because of this. And because of that, I have met her again.

“I don’t know yet. The construction is not yet done and it will depends on the time frame of the girls and Dahee is still coming up with new recipes for her dessert, while Eunjae is trying many wines and cocktails for the drinks, Chaewon is looking for the furniture and fixtures. It will all depend if those three have the go signal by the end of the year.”

“Are you not part of anything?” I inquire curiously.

Jihye chuckles. “I am doing the taste test for the meals. The girls want to cater people from all ranges without having a large menu. They have given me the hardest. It is a fine dining restaurant that doesn’t have to break a wallet.”

“Do you want me to help you?”

“The 2ne1 girls’ including Bom to help me, even CL is flying back to Korea just to help me. Just focus on your tour. Anyway, I need to sleep. Eunjae already told me that it is time for me to rest. Good night, Cheri. Saranghaeyo.”

“Good night, Cherie. Saranghaeyo,” I reply with a smile.