A/N:  This chapter is like the prologue, a sudden insert that isn’t necessary for the story, and wasn’t included in Please Forget Me, but it gives the reader a much better image of the main characters.  It’s a good chapter for a deeper understanding of the character, thus why I included it into the story this time around.  I’m really trying to work on indirect characterization and use of motifs for UHA (ahaha, UHA, what a funny acronym ^^ ).  I think my English teacher is starting to rub off on me with her constant mention of literary devices and whatnot.  

Some things will be different from the original, as you see from the build up on this chapter.  It seems that Reina knows what the TVXQ members look like.

“To have your heart in pieces while every other aspect of your life couldn’t go better is a traumatic experience. In appearance, life is fine. But as you put your day in focus, everything turns grey. What happened made me realize that complete, absolute happiness doesn’t exist” -Matthew Bellamy, Muse. 
(My friend is rather obsessed with Muse-- Matthew Bellamy in particular.  I dedicate this chapter to her in hopes that when she goes to the Muse gig tomorrow, she'll be in high spirits the entire day, just like I would be if I were to go to a TVXQ concert).

Chapter 2

    The country was much different than the city, as Reina soon found out.  She had left Seoul the same night she left JaeJoong the note in hopes of avoiding any contact with him.  It was, no doubt, the quickest she had ever packed her bags.  She took the first train out of the city and got off at the first stop.  Her cell phone off and her whereabouts unknown to herself even, she began her new life as a single mother of an unborn child.

    When she arrived in the village, she first asked directions to a local hotel.  The man, who later introduced himself as Hyun Soo, informed her that there was no hotel in the surrounding area.  The idea seemed absurd to her- a place with no hotel but a train station?

    Hyun Soo explained to her that the train station had to pass through this small village to go to another, larger city further north.  After years of noise pollution from the train with no use to the villagers, the citizens demanded for a train station to be built for the train company to continue using the route.  Thus, the train station was built which made it easier for those with relatives in the cities surrounding. 

    Even with a stop at this village, very few people got off the train.  The place was no tourist site.  Nothing interesting occurred in this area with a feeble population of less than three hundred.

    Hyun Soo then offered a place for her to stay for the night.  Though Reina was suspicious, she very well couldn’t stay outside in November with a baby in her stomach.  So she accepted, and the stranger took her to his house.

    That single night turned into several nights, which ended up becoming a month.  After finding out that she was pregnant, thanks to her morning sickness, Hyun Soo insisted for her to stay until she had the child.

    “You can’t work in this condition,” he told her.  Not leaving room for argument, she stayed home most of the time.

    Months passed by.  Reina, the curious human that she was, would turn on the TV to watch news for TVXQ, and most importantly, JaeJoong.  Yet, she never allowed herself to find out too much.  It would hurt her, to be able to know, but not be able to see.

    It was the ninth month of her pregnancy now, and her stomach had turned rather large.  Hyun Soo, now Reina’s best friend in the village, was cooking dinner in the kitchen.  She was, once again, surfing the channels of the television from her seat on the couch.  A rather chubby woman now, she planned to exercise off the weight after the birth of her child.  However, for now, she didn’t mind being a lazy potato couch.  It had been a painful day.

    Reina flipped the channel to the news, the drama that she was watching over for the day.

    “We are here at the music stores in Seoul.  You can see the fans that have lined up for Dong Bang Shin Ki’s new single that is supposed to be released in just a few hours from now, ‘The Way U Are’.”  Reina’s eyes widened at the reporter’s statement.  “Dong Bang Shin Ki, a five member a capella dance group under SM Entertainment, debuted back in December with the song ‘Hug’.  Since then, they’ve gone under extreme popularity, the girls of Korea turning heads over heels for these five men.  Jung U-Know Yunho, Kim Xiah Junsu, Shim Choikang Changmin, Park Micky Yoochun, and Kim Yoongwoong JaeJoong, you are five very handsome and lucky guys!”

    The camera then panned over to a promotion poster for the single.  At once, Reina’s eyes found JaeJoong’s.  They lingered there for a split second, just a single second, before a sharp pain diverted Reina’s attention away.

    The baby.

    “Hyun Soo!”

    Another push, much more intense than the one before it.

    “Hyun Soo!” she repeated frantically.  The man ran into the room, the spoon he had been holding in the kitchen still in his hand.

    “Reina?  Oh my god, what’s wrong?”  Hyun Soo dropped the spoon onto the ground and ran towards her.

    “The doctor-- Get the doctor.”  Reina squeezed her eyes shut.  The pain was overwhelming in comparison to anything she had ever felt in the entire period of her pregnancy.

    “You saw your daddy, didn’t you honey?”  she thought, picturing her baby in her mind.

~

    “Well?”  Hyun Soo asked when the doctor left the room.

    “It was a false alarm,” the doctor replied.  Hyun Soo sighed in relief. 

    “I suggest that she stays here overnight though.  It’s probably been quite a shock for her, seeing how she’s this young and has to go through this without the child’s father.”  Hyun Soo nodded and thanked the doctor, who told him in return to call him again if there’s trouble.

    Opening the door to the room Reina was in, Hyun Soo watched the young woman sleep, her black hair sticking to her face.  A gentle smile landed on his face.

    When he had first met Reina and offered her a place to stay, he had pitied her.  She seemed so young, yet so lost in the large world.  As if she were a baby that had entered the world much too soon, and was asked to go back into it’s mother’s womb.  When Hyun Soo had found out about her pregnancy, he promised to himself to make her his first priority.  It was no long pity that led him in his actions but friendship.

    Then, he found out about her past.  Her mother and father had died when she was young, leaving her to survive on her own.  She had left Seoul in order to give her boyfriend a better life and knew that she would have to raise her child on her own.  Though he wasn’t happy with her decision when he found out, he understood. 

    And so they led the simple village life together for eight months.  Now, a new human was to enter the world with them.  While he knew that this lifestyle wouldn’t last, he knew to cherish it.  He would give the unborn child the fatherly love that would be missing from the child’s life until one day, the parents were ready to kiss and make up.
    When that time came, he’d be more than happy to step aside as Uncle Hyun Soo.

~

    “Come on, Reina, you can do it!!” Hyun Soo whispered encouragingly as Reina laid there, on the hospital bed, sweating and panting with exhaustion.

    “Just one more push, Reina, one more!” the doctor shouted above Reina’s sobs.

    Reina squeezed Hyun Soo’s hand tightly as she let out a final effort.  Finally, she could hear a soft cry echo throughout the room.

    “Is that…” she whispered, her face stained with tears and voice hoarse from the screaming.

    “Yes, Reina… it’s your daughter.  Your baby girl.”

    “My… child…” she smiled weakly at the words.  “Can I hold her?”

    Slowly, the doctor passed over the crying newborn infant over to the mother.  Reina reached for her daughter shakily, as if she didn’t believe it was finally over.  The nine months were finally over.

    “My daughter,” she whispered as she held the infant girl.  It was everything she had dreamed it to be-- ever since she had been a young child and told her now-deceased mother that she wanted her first child to be a girl.  It was just like her description… she was elated with happiness… her daughter was crying to her heart’s content, not giving a care in the world…

    Only something was missing.

    “And… there’s one more thing!” she had exclaimed to her mother while sitting on the swings in the park.  Her mother raised her eyebrows at her.

    “What is it?”

    “When I’m holding the baby, next to me, there will be Prince Charming!”

    “Prince Charming?”

    “The daddy of my baby, Mommy!” the little girl rolled her eyes, her voice having an underlying tone of ‘duh!’.  “My husband!”

    Yes… that was what was absent from the scene before her.

    There was no Prince Charming.

    There was no new father, no husband.

    There was no JaeJoong.

~

    “Dong Bang Shin Ki, how does it feel to be able to debut in Japan?”

    “There are rumors that SM Entertainment feels that there’s a need to push you five aside in order to successfully debut the new group, Super Junior, is that true?”

    “The Korean fans are upset with this news, do you have anything to say to that?”

    “How long will you be in Japan?”

    “Do you expect Japanese fans to welcome you with open arms?”

    “Is it true that one of you already has a Japanese girlfriend, and that’s why you’re moving into the Japanese industry?”

    “Are you going to neglect your Korean activities with the Japanese activities as top priority?”

    Questions were thrown at them left and right as the five members of TVXQ exited the SM building.  The news that they were going to go into the Japanese industry had been released just yesterday.  This was just the beginning of the reaction, all of SM knew that.

    As for the five members, they just kept their eyes to the ground and walked towards the van, the bodyguards surrounding them like steel walls.  When they had safely entered the vehicle, sighs were sounded in unison.

    “Why couldn’t we have just told them that we’re just going to Japan for our debut and we’ll be back after that?” Yunho asked their manager, who shrugged and shook his head.

    “Lee Soo Man wants to keep your second album a secret for now… He wants to promote Super Junior first before the news gets out, I guess.”

    JaeJoong looked up in surprise.  “So they’re really sending us to Japan so they can bring Super Junior up?”

    “No, JaeJoong, don’t misunderstand!  The plan to send you all to Japan has been in place for quite a while now.”

    “It doesn’t seem like it,” he muttered, sitting back into his seat and looking out the window.  “We don’t even know Japanese, and you expect us to go to Japan and start talking to everyone fluently.”

    “Of course not, you’ll be taking lessons when you arrive there.”

    JaeJoong’s lips tightened but he didn’t respond.  Instead, he just continued staring out the window.  The reporters were still chasing the van, though the amount of aggression had simmered down greatly.  It seemed that carrying large microphones and cameras would put a weight on anyone’s shoulders.

    Out of the few parts of his career that JaeJoong disliked were the van rides.  They offered him the peace that he usually never had, but with that peace came unwanted thoughts.  Thoughts that he wished to block out of his mind.

    Reina… I wonder what she’s doing right now… No!  Don’t think about her.  Kim JaeJoong, don’t you dare think about her!  he reprimanded himself in his mind, his eyes never leaving the roadside scenery that was passing by with every second.  He had had time to get over it-- yes-- but there was no way to calm that feeling of utmost betrayal from just three last words on paper.  He still had the note.  That same note from the night he had found out about his debut.  It was at home, in his drawer, right under the picture of his and Reina’s first anniversary.  Had he not had to return the key to the landlord when he moved out, he’d have that as well.

    He still had a keychain from their first anniversary though.  They had chosen two pictures at the photo-printing shop and put them on a keychain… one picture was of them just leaning against each other, smiling for the camera.  The other… the other, it hurt too much to look at.  It was them kissing.

    There was no doubt that he still loved her.  No, that, anyone would know.  Any expert on love could point him out in a crowd of five hundred and say, “That man is heartbroken.”

    But was it love if he no longer trusted Reina?  He didn’t know.

    And perhaps he never would.  After all, Lee Reina had left him no clue.  Disappeared, vanished. 

    Maybe it’d be better for them both if he didn’t try to find her… it was what she wanted, after all… right?

    Yet what about what he wanted?

~

    Reina watched as her three year-old play in the backyard of Hyun Soo’s house happily, the young toddler occasionally bending down to pick up a flower and sniff it.  It was summertime and Hyun Soo was inside, making lemonade for the . 

    “Mommy, look!” the girl squealed gleefully, holding out a small pink flower.

    “For me?” Reina questioned, her voice turning high.  Her daughter nodded before running over to her mother, the arm holding the flower still stretched towards her.  Reina bent down and took the small plant out of her daughter’s hand gently.

    “Thank you, honey!  It looks so cute, just like Jin Ri!”  The child giggled before plopping herself onto the chair next to Reina.

    “Where’s Hyun Soo oppa?” she asked, looking around her surroundings.  Reina motioned towards to open back door.

    “He’s inside, making lemonade for us!  Isn’t that nice of him?”

    The child nodded.  “I like lemonade a lot!”

    Reina laughed.  At times like this, she forgot about all her worries, her mind only focusing on her adorable daughter.  The girl held an uncanny resemblance to her mother, physical features-wise.  However, her habits were purely JaeJoong.  When Jin Ri laughed, her hand would fly to her face, covering .  When she smiled, for Reina, it was just like sitting next to the child’s father all over again.  These little bits and pieces of JaeJoong in their child kept Reina sane, this she believed with all her heart.

    “Mommy?”  Jin Ri spoke up from beside her.  Reina looked down and found her daughter standing at the side of her chair.

    “What is it, darling?” she asked, reaching over to play with the child’s long, black hair.  The girl shifted under her touch.

    “Why do I not have a daddy?  Doesn’t everyone have a daddy?”  Reina’s eyes widened in shock.

    “W- why so sudden, Jin Ri?” she asked, her voice having a slight edge to it.  She saw Jin Ri flinch and she softened. 

    Stop scaring her, Reina, she thought, reprimanding herself.  She’s just a child, my God.

    “Is there any specific reason you’re asking me this honey?” she tried again, her voice much more relaxed this time.  Jin Ri sensed the change in mood and hesitated before continuing.

    “I was jus’ wondering…  Everyone else has a daddy.”

    Reina knew better than to say, “What did I tell you about saying ‘everyone else’.”  It was a genuine question, and a very good one.  How was she to tell her daughter about the real world at such a fragile age?  Taking in a deep breath, she spoke, in the gentlest tone possible,

    “It’s not that you don’t have a daddy, honey…  You do.  It’s just that… you’re daddy is very busy right now so he can’t take care of you.”  It was true.  JaeJoong was busy.  But chances were, if he knew about Jin Ri, that would never hold him back from spending time with his own child.  So technically it was a half-lie… at least that was what Reina kept telling herself.

    “Oh.”  The dejected tone in Jin Ri’s voice did not pass undetected.  “When will daddy be not busy then?  I want to meet him!”

    At the words ‘meet him,’ Reina’s heart shattered.  How terrible was she to separate Jin Ri from her father, for the child to not even know his face, his name, his love?  She felt horrible. 

    “One day, honey, one day.”  A lie.

    Oh Jin Ri… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry.

    Sometimes though, sorry doesn’t cover it.

    No… it never does.  It never did.  And it never will.

~

    JaeJoong was out buying the groceries for dinner one night at a local supermarket when he ran into a person and sent everything the both of them were carrying.  Quickly fixing his hat, he bent down to help pick up things.

    Though when his hands touched the pair of sunglasses that he had been wearing up until just a few seconds ago, his eyes widened.  He looked up and saw the other person-- a woman-- picking up her own belongings quickly.  He returned to his messy task of picking up his things before the female caught sight of who he was.

    “Um…” the woman said slowly, as if she were afraid he’d bite.  JaeJoong groaned internally.  Had he been discovered?

    Instead, when he looked up, he found the woman holding his carrots and cucumbers.  Or rather, the carrots and cucumbers for what Changmin wanted to eat for dinner.  JaeJoong’s eyes widened as he saw the ever-constant reddening of the stranger’s face and realized what it seemed to look like.

    Oh, he was going to murder that kid.

    “T-Thank you,” he muttered, quickly taking the vegetables from the woman’s hands and throwing them into his checkout basket, his face blushing furiously.  Take the kitchen knife and stick it through Changmin’s head… he planned in his head angrily.  Luckily, the stranger hadn’t noticed who he was.

    The woman was about to leave when, as he realized it’d be bad if she found out who he was all of a sudden and told all their fans how he was interested in that type of fun in the bedroom (which would probably end up with him receiving carrots and cucumbers with his fan-mail), he threw on his sunglasses and shouted, “Wait!”

    The girl turned around, the shopping basket swinging with her.

    “It isn’t like you think it is.  The… vegetables… are purely for cooking use.”  He could not believe he was saying this in a public supermarket.

    The woman laughed.  “Thanks for clarifying, sir.  I assure you that you didn’t have to do that though.  We probably won’t ever meet again, right?”

    So she didn’t know who he was…

    “Yeah, I guess,” he chuckled nervously.  “Or…” he hesitated.  “Or we could meet up again sometime.”

    Did I just say that? he questioned himself in his mind.

    The stranger’s eyebrows raised.  “Sure.  I don’t even know your name though.”

    “What’s your number?” he asked without thinking once more.  What.  The.  Hell.

    She gave it to him, as well as her name.  Cheong Sung Hee.

    When he finally left the supermarket, he realized something.  He was finally changing.  Finally leaving that antisocial shell that Reina’s departure from his life had forced him into back before debut. 

    He was happy to have made a new friend, even if she was someone he had bumped into at the supermarket.  He was ready for that.

    So why couldn’t he be ready to let go of Reina?  Why did it feel like there was something pulling at his heart that refused to let go?

-----End of Chapter.

Finished Chapter 3/16/10-
    Today was rather interesting.  I had a cavity filling (ugh), did a fifth of my spring break homework, played Neopets for some old time’s sake (ahaha), listened to TVXQ all day long, and finally finished this.  Accomplished feeling?  I do think so!

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