The restless night marked by restless crowd in the club continued until dawn in a much calmer and serene place. Face to face, they were seated again in the corner leaning against the glass windows of Handel and Gretel. His eyes never leaving her, hers continued to be elusive. Ara gorged herself with the carrot cake, Jongjin had served them to avoid Yesung's stare. That deadly stare. So deadly that adding eyeliner onto it would kill her instantly. Her appetite must have gone completely, but she needed to eat, in order to survive, literally.
And now she was down to her last bite. She had to savor that moment. She feasted upon it in the slowest motion.
"Done?" Yesung interluded. His voice was cold, as cold as his frappe. Ara gradually raised her head, finding his eyes to meet hers, begging. Yesung moved closer to her, with his arm on the table supporting his weight. "So, what's with the boyfriend thing?"
"That? Ahm... I didn't mean to lie about that... Yesung ssi, that's the only way I can redeem myself. Sorry." Her face creased in apology.
"Redeem yourself? You redeem yourself with a lie. And you used my name. Arasseo, you must be desperate." His pitch reached C6 octave, that the few people in the cafe turned their heads on them, not in amazement but in annoyance.
"Yes. I must be desperate." Ara said, her eyes warning with tears. It alarmed Yesung.
"Ara ssi, I didn't mean to offend you. But if you were in my shoes, when someone claim that you're his girlfriend, without you knowing it, you'll feel the same way."
"I know. But you're the next Suju member closest to me. Heechul oppa is now engaged. Believe me, that lie is only for Kai, I won't lie about that to anyone."
"Seo Ara, why does it have to be a Super Junior member?" Yesung asked. He was more relaxed now.
"7 out of 10 Korean women would feel like they have won the lottery if they got an idol boyfriend." Ara said in her as-a-matter-of-fact tone, her rather petty statistics amused Yesung. He raised both his arms and for the first time again, broke into a smile.
"Point well made Director Seo, just make sure no one will know about it." Ara sighed in relief. She was saved by the impromptu statistics. She did not even notice Jongjin approached Yesung to hand him a newspaper. Yesung had his eyes scanned the headline first, Ara just observed him. She remembered how she met him, at the same place, he was playing the piano. Then, Yesung turned its pages and stayed in the middle section for a while, looking for something.
"Wa! There's a blind item!" He exclaimed, sounding very excited. It surprised Ara to know he would check the showbiz blind item first before the sports. Weird. "Idol is dating a concert director. According to our reliable source, this idol was seen in his coffee shop, romantically holding the hand of a concert director. After that, they were spotted in a nightclub together. Your guess is as good as mine." Yesung read it aloud. He froze for a moment, and inch by inch lowered the newspaper, showing his blank face. "Seo Ara, could it be.. could it be us?!"
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The car scurried away in the street lights, surpassing other cars in speed. It did not stop until it reached the hospital. Suri stepped out first, rushed her way to emergency room, where Sungjoon was waiting for her outside.
"Noona!" Sungjoon called, he rose the moment he saw her coming.
"What happened?" Suri asked, seizing his arms and catching her breath.
"She just collapsed, I came to the bar to collect her. She had drunk a lot."
Heechul appeared behind Suri at the same time, the doctor emerged from the room. Suri approached him immediately.
"Are you a relative?" asked the doctor in which Suri just nodded. "She is stable now. We are doing some tests on her,including the electrocardiogram testing to see if she suffered from mild heart attack or typical heart attack. I'm looking on her medical history, I found out that she's anemic.
"Yes, she's anemic but she's taking medication."
"That's good to know, I still need to further study her records. You can wait here until she wakes up." said the doctor and left.
"Aigoo..." Suri felt her knees becoming so weak that she almost fell. Heechul held her and made her sit. They remained silent for an hour, only their breath was audible. Until Suri's phone beeped. "Omo, I have an interview with Siwon and Helen this morning." she started to look panicky and distressed.
"We can stay here for Kini. It's okay." Heechul's smile reassured her. She was very reluctant to leave but she couldn't re-schedule the interview with them, and her editor would bug her if she postponed it.
"Thank you." she replied, preventing her tears from coming. Heechul hugged her, patting her back. She took a look at her watch, it was already 5:00am. "I have to go, their photo shoot will be held in Daejeon." She turned to face Sungjoon. "Sungjoon-a, thank you." Suri sprang to her feet and left them, she was about to ride the elevator when Sungjoon called her.
"Noona?!"
"Yes?"
"Fighting!" Sungjoon said smiling, with his right hand, closed fist in the air, in which Suri gratefully received with a thank you smile.
-------------------------------
Suri arrived in Daejeon by train and greeted by the warm sun. She had to get her things back in her apartment in Itaewon and took a quick shower. This was the scenario she almost faced in New York every single day. She arrived at the photo shoot location at exactly 9am. Siwon was already there, she heard that Helen would be late. Good thing, she would be doing a separate interview.
Siwon was wearing a flannel shirt and jeans. It was very simple but he pulled it off in the nicest way, that it could equate to a tuxedo. Siwon's manager noticed Suri and summoned her to a couch, where Siwon followed them.
"Please be kind to my talent." The manager kidded and left them. Suri,without wasting time, set the recorder on the table.
"Nice ring." Siwon commended, seeing her engagement ring. It made Suri's face flushed.
"Thank you. Let's start?"
Suri: Siwon ssi, the main role was offered to you first but you declined, so it was given to Geunsuk, who unfortunately met an accident recently. What made you decide to accept this project?
Siwon: Director Park is really looking forward to this project, she also happened to be one of our producers. Ever since, they were brainstorming, she said she had me in her mind as Taekbo. Then, it was announced that Helen would play the role of Taekbo's love interest. So, I declined. (laughs)
Suri: Don't you like working with Helen?
Siwon: No. I really like her. I like to work with her. However, I have been in hiatus from drama for a year. I'm not that comfortable to act again, especially with a great actress like Helen. Geunsuk accepted the role, which is okay for me. He met an accident, and Director Park called me. I appreciate that kind of tenacity. So I said yes.
Suri: You will play the role of Taekbo in Finding You Again. The character went back to Korea to find a lost love. Is there any similarity between you and Taekbo?
Siwon: I think yes.
Suri: In what way?
Siwon: Taekbo is fainthearted. He is scared to let her know that he loves her. He would even lie about it, he is too scared to love.
Suri: You're saying that you are both fainthearted. Have you loved someone and too scared to let her know it?
Siwon: Yes.
Suri: Can you tell me more about it?
Siwon: I met her through a friend. Sort of a double date, she's very shy, gentle and simple. She gave me a very mysterious impression that I found myself calling her to ask her out for a coffee. I wasn't sure that time if I like her, but in my heart there was an urge that I like to see this person often. So, I invited her to our church.
Suri: Did she come?
Siwon: Yes. She became an active member.
Suri: When you say 'became,' does it mean she stop coming there?
Siwon: Unfortunately. It was my fault I have hurt her.
Suri: I won't delve into that, that's too personal (smiles) So far, what have you learned about this drama?
Siwon: I've learned that if you love someone you say it.
Suri: Short but sweet. Anyways, I have asked people what questions they like me to ask you. And I got this, 'you are one of Korea's Most Eligible Bachelors,' how long do you plan to stay being a bachelor?
Siwon: (laughs) Until I find her.
Suri: So you're still looking for that someone.
Siwon: I'm talking about the girl I met five years ago. I've found her again but I'm not sure if I should let her know about how I feel for her.
Suri: Why?
Siwon: Her simplicity made me fall for her. She made me feel so special, she would come to church, she even joined Unicef and I think that's because of me. What surprised me was, she auditioned to be a trainee. I was really happy to see her almost everyday training, but as day goes by, she's becoming different. She has changed. I'm afraid she's not the person I've met before. One day, she confessed her feelings. I wanted to hold her and tell her that I love her but my fear got the better of me. I'm afraid she's not the same person, the person that I have loved. And now, I'm still afraid
Suri: I think she loves you too, and I guess your fear doesn't come from rejection. So, what's holding you back?
Siwon: I'm afraid how will my best friend react to that.
Suri had finally connected the dots. She turned off the recorder, moved her head closer to Siwon. "Siwon ssi, don't tell me its..." she trailed off. The sound of a broken glass stopped her. It was Helen.
