As soon as they came out of the bar, apparent disdain was visible on people's faces. Sungjoon was almost carrying Kini, who had partly lost her consciousness. It wasn't the most decent scene outside the bar. He had almost got home when the thought of Kini at the bar, without Suri or Heechul disrupted his mind, leaving her with the Super Junior members including Kim Kibum. That bastard! So, he decided to follow them, his intuition led him to the bar, where he first met her. And for the second time, he was carrying her out without consciousness.
"Sungjoon ssi..." Kini murmured in between heavy breathing.
"Yes?"
"Can you help me unbutton my shirt?" Kini said, her voice was low.
"What?!" This caught Sungjoon off guard, he looked to his left and right. There were throng of people in every corner. "There are people here..."
"I can't breathe..." Kini said. Then, she resigned from the rest of the world.
"Jang Kini!?! Kini ssi?!" He was tapping her cheeks lightly, noticing how pale it had become and sweaty. He knew there was something wrong. "Help?!"
----------------------------
"Kai?! Wha--what are you doing here?" The lights blinded her eyes again but they were nailed on Kai, who was standing before her. Ara felt as if she was lost in the middle of the sea, with no swimming background. She couldn't move. She was afraid to move. Soon, the dance floor awash with waves of people, pushing him to Kai's arms again.
"I come here often. Why are you here?" Kai answered, trying to be formal. He must have sensed Ara's uneasiness, he tried to create distance. However, the music had changed to a crazy beat that an inch free space was an utopia.
Why am I here? Heechul called us for Suri's welcome party, then Kibum invited us for a drink, Yesung asked me to dance with him. Yesung asked me to dance with him? Ara smirked at the last thought. "Yesung brought me here."
"Yesung?"
"My boyfriend." Ara said smugly. She saw disappointment on Kai's face. Probably, he wouldn't have thought of her being in a relationship that fast. Well, you almost got me noona killer. Her inner self reached the zenith of happiness with a vengeance.
"Since when?" A chill touched Ara's spine. It wasn't Kai's voice. It was Yesung.
Oh no? Not this time!
-----------------------------
Like a vine, the girl's arms were clinging to Siwon, never let him go. On the other hand, Siwon was like a tree, he was not moving, indeed tolerated her dallying. That tree wanted to move across the table, sit beside Helen and talk to her. However, he could not move. He did not have the power to do so. Two things: he was a tree or Donghae was the other tree.
He remembered the first time he saw her. She was very shy, taciturn but she never bored him. He felt happy whenever he would catch her looking at him, then she would avoid eye contact after. She was very eager to listen if he had anything to say. She had never missed a Sunday worship before she confessed her feelings. Why did I dump her? This was the question Siwon always asked himself, especially when he first learned that Helen was dating his best friend, Donghae. And when Donghae asked him if he was happy for him. He said yes. Why I have become a liar?
Then his phone beeped. Distracting him from his inopportune visit from the past. It was his manager. Siwon ssi, you have a scheduled interview with the Times tomorrow for your upcoming drama with Helen. When his eyes caught the letters that formed her name, he stopped to look at her, who was checking her phone at the same time.
"Donghae ssi, Manager Kim texted, I have an interview for the drama tomorrow morning. I have to go." said Helen, her peripheral vision confirmed that Siwon received the same message.
"Me too." Siwon said, he suddenly stood up, freeing himself from the girl.
"I'll let Kibum know first." Donghae said, he was on his feet to look for Kibum. And like mushroom, Kibum made himself available in an instant.
"Where are you going?"
"Kibum ssi, we have to go. Gongju has an interview tomorrow morning. Same goes with Siwon for their drama." Donghae explained.
"Aigoo, this is the first time in three years that we go out for a drink. But since, Gongju and Siwon have an interview, I'll let them slide. You stay here, hyung." Kibum said, flashing his perfect smile.
"But I have to send her home."
"Siwon can do that, right hyung?" Kibum winked at Siwon, putting his arm on Donghae's shoulder and led him to the dance floor. Donghae's eyes were glued on Helen while he was trailed behind Kibum, helplessly.
"Lets go." Siwon said, as soon as Donghae was nowhere in sight. Helen just nodded. They left the bar, including the girl who was clinging to Sungmin now.
The car was cloaked by their silence. No one would utter a single word. Helen viewed the never sleeping Seoul as they passed by. People partied all night, drunk men stumbling down the sidewalks, girls in gaudy dresses puffing their cigarettes. This reminded her of the girl who was with Siwon earlier. She turned her head away from that sight and heaved a sigh.
"Do you like some music?" Siwon broke the silence. Helen aimlessly moved her head in agreement. The silence might give them an excitement for music when they found their fingers touching the button of the CD player. Helen took away hers first. They remained silent until the music filled the car. It was Jason Castro's Lets Just Fall In Love Again.
Let's pretend baby that you've just met me. And I've never seen you before
Helen developed a sudden like for the song. It was very catchy, and Jason's voice was smooth. But more to it, the first line transported her to a not so distant memory.
Siwon was holding her hand, apologizing and asking her if they could start all over again.
And I wanna fall in love with you again. I don't have to try, its so easy. Who needs to pretend?
They played Throwing Lines. Siwon kissed her and she kissed him back. She kissed her in a way she never kissed Donghae before. Donghae...
Her hand must have a life on its own, putting an end to the music. Siwon looked at her, startled and confused. She closed her eyes to avoid his, not expecting to fall asleep.
Twenty minutes passed, Siwon stopped the car. They finally arrived at Helen's house. No one was in the house, it was very peaceful like Helen, who was slumbering in his car. He was about to wake her, but the urge to observe her innocent face won him over. He scrutinized every feature of Helen's face; her jaw line, her long lashes, her nose and her lips. That soft and sweet lips that he had tasted this morning. The memory brought him to a trance, he found himself moving closer and closer to her, tucking behind her ears the little strands of hair that covered her face. His lips was longing for hers. He pulled himself closer to touch her lips with his. Until she opened her eyes, and his eyes widened.
"Siwon ssi?" Helen said, her eyes were asking for explanation for the proximity. Siwon, who was caught in the act, pretended to yawn, moved his body away from Helen.
"We're here!" He said in overly excited manner.
"Ah yes, thanks for the ride. See you later." Before Siwon could reply, Helen hurriedly clambered out of the car and went inside her house. She closed the door and leaned against it. Finding herself smiling. Looked like Siwon was not the only one who mastered the art of pretending.
----------------------------
It had been a long ride to reach the place where Heechul's last surprise for Suri awaited her. Suri fell asleep, Heechul looked at her for a moment and kissed her. It woke her up.
"We're here." He said after parting his lips from hers. Suri looked around, her mind still sleeping. "Ya, get off! Palli!"
A marriage of traditional and modern architecture greeted them. The two storey house, Heechul had drawn three years ago became real before Suri's eyes. It was daubed with sienna paint, the hanging plants complemented it, so it wouldn't look plain. The garden was vast and complete from lettuces to roses. Suri stood gawping. Three years ago, she told Heechul about her dream house and he drew it. It was no longer a dream house.
"Kim Heechul, what's this?" Suri said, groping for words.
"Apparently its a house?" He replied teasingly. She rolled her eyes at him. "Our house." He smiled and took her hand, leading her to the house. They passed by splendid garden, Suri couldn't believe they would cross a small bridge above the artificial lake. It was almost paradise. Then, they reached the door. It was locked.
"The key is under the mat." Heechul said, implying her to stoop over to get the key. She couldn't afford to complain because of the overwhelming feeling the house had brought to her. For the first time, she submissively obeyed him. She saw the key but other than that, she touched something. Something like a ring. And it was a ring, indeed. She stood up, examining the ring, looking at Heechul from moment to moment.
"Omo! My ring!" Heechul took it away from her, cleaning it with his shirt. Suri remained speechless and motionless, waiting for what would happen next. Then, Heechul took her hand, slid the ring on her finger. "You. Will. Marry. Me." And to that, she replied with a kiss that left them panting.
"Jang Suri, we already have a bed upstairs." Heechul whispered to her ear, in a low and trying to be sexy voice.
"Kim Heechul.. I would love to..." Suri whispered back and kicked Heechul on the shin. "I would love to kick you!" She said laughing, and opened the door.
The house was still empty, but the architectural design had given Suri many ideas of the furniture it needed. She wandered around the house with Heechul behind her.
"I'm still looking for the best interior designer for our house." Heechul told her after showing her around the first floor. Suri looked at him askance, and broke to a smile.
"I know someone. She might not be the best in Korea, but I'm sure she'll be in the future."
"Who?"
"Kini. Remember, she is an interior design student? She will graduate next semester." Then, Suri's phone rang. The screen displayed Kini's name. "Oh, speaking! Hello?" The other line delivered news to Suri, which left her frozen.
"Jang Suri, what happened?" Heechul asked
"Heechul, we need to go to the hospital now. Sungjoon called, Kini has suffered from a heart attack!"
