Chapter 13: And It's Still A Dream

We stood there in silence for awhile; him at the balcony, enjoying the breeze, and me, 5 feet behind him, staring at his back.

“Jae Joong-shi,” I finally called out. “Did you want to talk to me?”

“Ani,” he said. “You’re supposed to continue your story.”

“Story?”

“The one you were about to tell me at the beach, before Jun Su came and called me away,” he said as he turned and smiled.

“Oh… that story,” I said nervously. “It’s nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“Opseumnida,” I smiled.

“And here I thought I was on to something,” he sighed.

I laughed softly at his faked disappointment.

“Anything I can do to make you feel better?” I asked him.

“Hmm…” he contemplated for a moment. “I think I need a drink,” he said as he walked over and sat on the bed.

“I’ll get us some drinks,” I smiled, and I left the room.

I walked out of the room, and immediately bumped into a tall figure.

“Choesonghamnida,” he said, and I looked up.

“It’s alright, Yun Ho-shi,” I smiled.

“Hello Sierra-shi. Nice to see you here,” he said.

“Same here,” I replied.

“Have you by any chance seen Jae Joong?” he asked me as he scanned the crowd.

“He’s in the room,” I said.

“The room?” he repeated after me.

“Yes. He was in the room with me. I’m going to get him and me a drink. Do you want one?”

“Yes, please. Komawoyo,” he smiled, and disappeared into the room before I could ask him what drink he wanted.

I went to the chiller and picked up 2 cans of beer for them and a can of Coke for myself. As I opened the door, I could hear a heated argument between Jae Joong and Yun Ho. I couldn’t help but stand there, and try to pick up what they were debating about, and I didn’t want to barge in since I didn’t want to interrupt.

“You just met her today,” Yun Ho said.

“Are you telling me all this because you like her yourself?” Jae Joong said.

“Don’t be mad. I don’t pick up reporters.”

“So what is your problem?”

“I don’t think it’s wise for you to get involved, even if it’s just one night,” Yun Ho said. “She might feature the whole escapade on the next issue of her magazine.”

“Look at her, Yun Ho,” Jae Joong said. “She’s so obviously a fan, and even if she isn’t, she should be aware of the consequences of kissing and telling after an affair with a member of TVXQ.”

“Fine… since you’re so adamant,” he replied, and walked towards the door.

Before I could pretend I was just walking in, Yun Ho had swung the door open and caught me standing there.

“How long have you been listening?” he asked me.

“Just for awhile,” I said.

“How much did you understand?” he asked.

“Just some,” I lied.

“Come with me,” he said, and this time, it was his turn to drag me across the room.

Here I was, in my blue sundress and white wedges, being dragged across a suite towards the door by U-Know Yun Ho. Was he going to kick me out?

He opened the door, and instead of shoving me out and shutting the door, like I’d expected, he walked out himself, still dragging me along.

“Yun Ho-shi,” I voiced out. “Where are you taking me?”

“We need to talk,” he said.

If you’re wondering, he sounded very curt when talking to me, but he was using polite speech in Korean all the time, indicating respect for me since we hardly knew each other.

We got into the elevator, and he hit the button for the top floor. We rode the lift in silence, and as we neared the top, he realized that I had been carrying the 3 cans of drinks all this time.

“Choesonghaeyo,” he said, and took the 2 cans of beer from me. “Your hands must have been freezing.

“Anieyo,” I smiled. “Kwaench’anayo.”

We got to the top floor, but it wasn’t the end of the journey. He opened the fire escape door and we walked up a flight of stairs before we came to the top of the building. Yun Ho walked towards the edge, and put the 2 cans on beer on the parapet. I walked towards him and put my can of drink beside the beers.

“Yun Ho-shi,” I said, and he cut me off.

“Jae Joong invited you tonight?” he said; his hands on the parapet, but his head turned to look at me.

“He said that it was TVXQ and Eru-shi who invited me,” I said.

“Hah… he probably convinced Eru hyung himself,” he said softly, as he turned away. “That boy needs to grow up.”

“He’s older than you,” I said.

“1 month is a very small difference,” he said. “He should’ve consulted me before he invited you, since I am the leader.”

“I guess,” I said.

“So are you a fan? Or are you here for a scoop?”

“I’m definitely not here for a scoop,” I said.

“Then you’re a fan?” he asked; looking at me expectantly

I kept silent for awhile; contemplating if it were wise to reveal that me, a 24 year old woman, no longer a girl, was infatuated with a Korean boy band whose members were the same age as my younger sister.

“I…” I hesitated.

“It’s okay,” he sighed. “As long as you’re not here for a scoop, I don’t care why you’re here. I just don’t want any harm to come to our band.”

“I have no such intentions,” I said.

“Good,” he said.

He picked up a beer and opened it.

“Beer?” he asked me, as he held it out to me.

“No thanks,” I said. “I don’t drink.”

I picked up the can of Coke and opened it, then took a sip as he took a sip from his beer.

“So… Sierra-shi,” he said. “Who are you?”

“Huh?”

“Who are you?” he repeated.

“A reporter?”

“I don’t mean your profession. I was asking about you, as a person. What is your purpose here tonight? What role did you expect to play when you came here tonight? I know I said I didn’t care, but I’m still curious.”

“Nothing,” I said. “I was just here to get to know people.”

“That simple, huh?” he said. “How old are you?”

“24,” I said.

“3 years older than me?”

“Technically, since I was born in December, and you’re born in February, we’re more like 2 years apart instead of 3,” I said.

“So you’re a fan,” he smiled, as he took another sip of his beer.

“Why do you say that?” I asked; blinking at him.

“Only a fan would remember my birthday like that, and usually reporters tend to assume I’m the oldest in the band since I’m the leader,” he said.

He sounded a little smug, having made the discovery, and yet there was lightness in his tone, indicating that he found the situation amusing.

“Okay…” I sighed. “You got me.”

“Is it so hard to admit?” he asked.

“It hurts my credibility as a journalist,” I smiled.

“I see,” he smiled back. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell a soul that you’ve got a crush on us.”

“Well,” I said. “It’s not so serious with the whole band. I’ve got it worse for Jae Joong,” I admitted.

“He’s popular with the overseas fans,” Yun Ho smiled.

“You’re my 2nd choice,” I said, as I pat his back lightly, in an effort to console him.

“Am I never?” he laughed.

“I’m sorry I hurt you,” I joked, and we laughed together at my little joke.

“So…” he asked me. “Why am I always 2nd choice?”

“I don’t know,” I shrugged.

“Is it because I don’t act cute as often as Jae Joong does?”

“Maybe it’s the man boobs,” I joked, and he winced.

“You’re definitely a fan. How do I know you’re not the stalker kind,” he said.

“You don’t,” I winked.

“Aishii…” he said, then laughed. “Your Korean is pretty good.”

“I doubled up my studying time the moment I realized that I would be covering this event. I took a crash course as well,” I smiled.

“Not bad…” he laughed.

“So does Jae Joong do this often?” I asked.

“What?”

“Pick up fan girls,” I said.

“Not really. Just the ones he really likes,” he said.

“I’m flattered,” I said.

“And he had to pick a reporter this time,” he sighed.

“I’m not here to write an exposé,” I said.

“I didn’t know that until I spoke to you,” he said.

“So now you know?”

“Yes,” he said.

We stayed there for a long time, chatting and joking. An hour soon passed, and we decided to make our way back to the party in case people starting wondering where we are and possibly gossiping about our disappearance.

When we got back to the suite, I approached Jae Joong to inform him I was leaving.

“So soon?” he said, looking a teensy bit disappointed.

“I need to prepare to cover the concert tomorrow. I’ll see you on the site,” I said. “Thank you for inviting me tonight.”

“No problem,” he said.

“I’ll leave now,” I said. “Annyeonghikyeseyo,” I added with a small bow before turning to leave.

“I’ll walk you back,” he said, suddenly.

Chapter 12: It's A Dream

“Jae Joong-shi,” I said; my voice quivered.

“Annyeong,” he smiled briefly, then turned to face the sea.

“Your band,” I said. “They’re not with you?”

“Ani… they’re having drinks at the bar. I wanted to take a quiet stroll.”

“I see.”

“So do you feel better now?”

“Huh?”

“You were screaming. People usually want to scream when they’re stressed.”

“Haha…” I laughed nervously.

“Something private?” he said.

“Not so,” I replied.

“But you’re not willing to tell me.”

“Anieyo…” I said. “I just…”

“If it’s too embarrassing, you don’t need to tell me.”

He was speaking slowly in Korean, with a smattering of English. It was actually nice of him for making the effort to ensure that I could understand what he was saying.

“Ani… it’s not a big deal,” I said.

“Really? So I’m gonna get to hear the story?”

This was Kim Jae Joong I was talking to. The Hero Jae Joong that every Jae Joong fan had ever drooled about. Here I was, having this odd conversation with him, when any self-respecting fan would’ve gotten an autograph and groped him a little by now.

“Hyung!” I heard a Jun Su call out. You can’t mistake that voice.

Jae Joong turned and waited for Jun Su to amble close enough to speak.

“We’re leaving,” he said. “Come on…” then he noticed me, “Hello Sierra-shi!”

“Hi,” I smiled.

“Ppalli…” he reminded Jae Joong, who waved him off. “Bye Sierra-shi!” he called out and waved as he walked off towards the group that was waiting at the entrance of the bar, some distance away.

“I’ll see you tonight?” Jae Joong said.

“Tonight?”

“There’s a small party at our apartment. We’d like you to come,” he said.

“We?”

“TVXQ and Eru hyung,” he said.

“Am I the only reporter invited?”

“Ne…” he said.

“Really? Why?”

“Cos we like you?” he smiled.

“Ah…” I smiled back.

“I trust it’ll be off the record?”

“Of course,” I smiled.

“Choa. Our assistant will send the address to your room. See you then,” he said, and started walking off.

I often heard of and seen Jae Joong being silly and shooting his mouth off on shows, but never once did he act like that today. Perhaps it was because he was on foreign soil. Then again, it was refreshing to see that he actually had a serious side to him.

I’d been so engrossed with talking to Jae Joong that I hadn’t even noticed that the sun had set.

“Shit…” I muttered to myself as I rush to the restaurant I was meeting Jeong Hoon for dinner.

“Right on time,” Jeong Hoon teased, as soon as I sat down.

“I got caught up…” I explained.

“By TVXQ?” he said, and obviously meant it as a joke.

“Erm… yea…” I replied, and he stared at me.

“You’re joking…” he said.

“Nope,” I said smugly as the waiter laid the napkin on my lap for me.

“How were you caught up by TVXQ?” he asked.

“I was talking to Jae Joong,” I started.

“Jae Joong!” he said, his voice went one pitch higher than the norm.

“He came to me after the interviews and asked me to join them at their private party tonight,” I elaborated as I read the menu.

“You don’t even know them,” he pointed out.

“Erm… I know them, they don’t know me,” I said.

“Your order, madam?” the waiter prompted.

“I’ll have the grilled salmon,” I informed the waiter and he nodded before leaving.

“You know their TV personalities. Not their real personalities,” Jeong Hoon said, continuing the debate.

“Is there a problem with that?”

“You’re going to attend a party at the room of a whole bunch of guys you hardly know,” he attempted to reason.

“I’m sure there are girls there… like the assistants, or even Bada.”

“And if there aren’t?” he asked. “You’re taking me with you.”

“I can’t do that,” I said.

“Wae?”

“They didn’t say I could bring a partner, and I have no way of asking.”

“I don’t think 1 person extra will make a difference,” he argued.

“No… it’s rude.”

“So you’re going to run off to a private party and chuck me at the hotel room for the rest of the night?”

“No… how can you say that? I’ll just pop by, linger, then leave.”

“Hah!” he exclaimed. “You speak as if you’re visiting your relatives or something. This is TVXQ, remember? Your loves… you’re hardly going to spend 15 minutes there and run.”

“You’re being paranoid, Kim Jeong Hoon.”

“No, I’m not,” he said.

Just then, my salmon arrived.

“I’d like to eat now. Can we continue this conversation after I’ve refueled?” I said, as I looked at him expectantly.

He sighed, looked at me, looked at his plate, then back at me, and finally, he just shut up and ate.

15 minutes of silence later, I’d finished eating. Jeong Hoon had finished eating awhile ago and was nursing a glass of wine as he sulked.

“Ya…” I said affectionately as I reached across the table to hold his free hand. “Waegeurae?”

“Waegeurae?!” he exclaimed as he stared at me. “You asked me to shut up and leave you alone, and you’re asking me this?”

“I was in a good mood, and you were nagging and nagging and nagging…” I said.

“That’s because you’re about to do something idiotic,” he said.

“What is so idiotic about going to a party?”

“You don’t know them!” he said in exasperation.

“I’ll get to know them,” I said.

“You know… this is so typical of you,” he said, wiping his mouth with his napkin and throwing it on the table. “I take the day off for you, and end up spending the entire day alone.”

“I won’t be long…”

“Sure… keep telling yourself that,” he said, then he stood up and left the table.

I was shocked speechless by Jeong Hoon’s sudden outburst. I didn’t know what to do, and I couldn’t find my voice to call him back. I can’t imagine why he’d been so unreasonable lately; first with Min Woo, and now with TVXQ.

I went back to the hotel room after dinner. Good thing Jeong Hoon had requested to leave an extra key at the counter for me when he’d checked in earlier. I got up to the room, and I wasn’t surprised to find it empty. He knew I would come to the room to shower, and made sure he wasn’t there when I came back.

I stripped off cardigan and tank top, and walked into the bathroom. I stared at the mirror for a moment. My makeup was almost melting off from the tropical heat, and my hair was a little out of place. I sighed and started removing my makeup. After I was done, I went into the shower.

It was almost 9pm when I’d finished putting on my makeup. I surveyed myself in the mirror. The blue summer dress I wore complemented my fair skin, and I had a pair of white 2-inch high wedges to complement the whole outfit. I wrote Jeong Hoon a short note, picked up my white clutch, and left the room.

By the time I got there, the party was already in full swing. As I had expected, it was a mix of men and women, unlike what Jeong Hoon had imagined. Chang Min opened the door for me, and grinned broadly as I walked in.

“Shoes,” he said, and I was almost fooled into taking off my shoes had I not first looked at his feet.

“Nice try,” I smiled.

“Haha… been trying this the whole night,” he laughed.

“So this is the most happening spot on Sentosa tonight?” I asked as he lead me into the spacious suite.

“Could be,” he shrugged.

“Everyone’s here,” I said.

“Yea…” he said.

“Over here,” Eru waved us over as we neared the group.

“Annyeong,” I greeted as I got near them.

“Sierra-shi,” Yoo Chun said. “Are you sure you’re not Korean?”

“Yoo Chun-shi… stop buttering me up,” I giggled.

“Yea…” Jun Su said. “She’s much better than most of the Korean girls we’ve met around here.”

“I heard that!” Bada said as she walked up to our little group which consisted of Eru, Jun Su, Yoo Chun and Chang Min.

Jun Su and Yoo Chun pretended to be afraid and hid behind me when Bada came.

“You two…” she said as she pointed at the both of them. “You’d bad mouth your countrymen just to score with a foreigner?”

“Ani… we’re just telling the truth,” Yoo Chun said.

“Are you saying I’m no better then?” she asked.

“Nuna… we simply can’t compare you with any girl around here… you are the Princess of the Sea… how can we compare you to any earthling,” Chang Min said.

“Really…” she raised an eyebrow at him.

“The only one comparable to you is the Prince of the Sea,” Jun Su chuckled, and then he and Chang Min high-fived.

“You brats…” she said, pretending to be livid.

I stood there, trying very hard not to laugh at their exchange.

“And who might your lady friend here be?” she asked.

“Sierra-imnida,” I said, and held out my hand.

“Bada-imnida,” she said and shook my hand. “Didn’t you interview me this afternoon?”

“Yes I did,” I said.

“Nice to see you again. I didn’t think anyone from the press would be here tonight.”

“We invited her,” Eru said.

“I see,” she smiled.

“There you are,” someone suddenly said, and grabbed my arm. “I’m borrowing Sierra-shi,” he added as he dragged me off.

I was hauled a good 10 feet away from the group before I realized who it was.

“Jae Joong-shi,” I called out his name. “Where are you taking me?”

“Don’t you feel it’s noisy in here?” he said as he brought me into one of the rooms, and then opened the door to its balcony.

“Ah… chot’a…” he said as he inhaled the sea breeze.

It was 2nd time today, alone with Jae Joong. Why does it seem as if he has some profound interest in me?