Bipolar -- Synopsis/Prolouge
Bipolar / A story by Nikka (2010)
This is a story about four very different people living in the same apartment on the 26th floor: Choi Siwon is a young and successful businessman whose heart is married to his job. Hwang Tiffany is a bubbly school teacher who wants nothing more than to be in love. Lee Donghae is a freelance musician, working only for the sake of it and whose songs have no soul. And finally, Im Yoona is a no-nonsense fashion editor who has given up on the very idea of human relationships.
Their lives revolve around their own little worlds, completely ignorant of each other -- until one night they meet -- conveniently enough, after being stuck inside the elevator.
How their lives are changed after that one night -- well, it could get only more interesting from there.
At exactly six o'clock, a man awakened. With a tired expression on his face, he stood up and wearily walked towards a mirror. He stared at himself as he quickly calculated his schedule for the day. He had a board meeting at 9am; a lunch with a business associate from the US; then a dinner with business associates and classmates at the restaurant, Barlot. There were a number of other things in between (reports to go over, people to reconsider for downsizing and etc.), and already he felt exhausted.
He quickly took a shower, washing his face and body, in hopes of wakening his spirit. And it did -- in a way. Making himself a hot cup of coffee, he studied the view from outside his rich apartment. The sun was streaming down the Metropolis, highlighting the beauty of the city. That is if he saw it.
He grimaced. No, he doesn't see the beauty. All he saw was a business deal to close and another venture to pursue. There was no beauty -- that didn't exist.
Glancing at his watch, he set his cup down and grabbed his keys. He walked purposefully towards the door, locking it with a quick swish and flick, and then started down to the elevator. It opened a few moments later and he let out a sigh. His reflection in elevator wall showed an attractive young man who had everything in the world (except for passion. That was for fools and he wasn't one. And he thought -- no, he didn't need it either). He looked up slowly as the doors began to close, and pulled out a pair of sunglasses.
He put them on.
This man was Choi Siwon.
There was a comfortable feeling inside a woman's place that morning, albeit the coldness inside the room. She was sleeping soundly, breathing in slow and even breaths as her alarm clock went off for the second time. Barely awake, she tried to stop it -- opening one eye to catch it and shut it off, and stopped when she could read the time.
"Omo!" She sat up quickly, hitting her head on the headboard. "I'm going to be late!"
Jumping into a cold shower, she frantically woke herself, quickly calculating how many minutes she had left for breakfast. If I want to get to class on time, I'd have to take a cab and that would take ten to twenty minutes -- if I ate along the way, then I won't be so grumpy to the kids today, she thought happily -- momentarily forgetting that the time was moving faster than she was. Drying herself with a towel, she glanced at the clock above her bed. Her eyes widened.
She dressed so quickly, she almost slipped and fell on her face. Fortunately she regained her balance as she sprinted to the door (grabbing a piece of bread from the breadbox first, of course).
"Wait! Don't close the elevator yet!" she cried, putting her hand through the elevator doors to prevent it from closing. Inside, the man wearing sunglasses tilted his head, looking at her wearily and she blushed in embarrassment as she mumbled an apology.
She took a bite on her piece of bread.
This woman was Hwang Tiffany.
At six o'clock, she was already dressed for the day. Wearing a sleek pair of form-fitting slacks, a modestly flirtatious blouse and sensible heels, this woman studied herself in the mirror. Her eyes looked over her face, checking if anything was out of place. And they weren't, it was perfect. Just as she had expected it would be.
She reached over her jewelry box, pulling out a silver pendant necklace and a pair of earrings and put them on. Touching the pendant with her hand softly, she almost smiled.
Almost. She didn't in the end, and rose from her seat.
Quickly skimming her schedule for the day, she dialed her assistant's number and reminded her that she would be coming in early that day before calmly giving her instructions. Grabbing her bag, she strode out towards the door. Glancing at herself one last, her reflection -- a beautiful woman in her 20's, looking successful and independent -- looked back at her with a shadowed expression on her attractive face.
"Hello. Yoona... I don't know if you received the invitation, but the wedding is on the 30th--" Her phone's voicemail surprised her out of her thoughts. "I know I'm not your favorite person right now, but I am still your best friend and I want you to be there. Please?" She sighed, glaring silently at her phone. Regardless of the ill feelings she had for the person calling, her heart fluttered otherwise.
The person on the other end sighed. "Okay. You're busy, I understand -- but please think about it. This is Changmin by the way."
The line clicked off and so did her heart. She headed out the door. The woman from the apartment beside hers ran towards the elevator frantically, opening the elevator doors just as they began to close. She followed, brushing the hair off her face and sighed as she stepped inside.
She was beautiful -- but her eyes were guarded and so was her heart.
This woman was Im Yoona.
"Get your lazy ass up--"
He lay immobile in his bed, in between waking and sleeping, as his voicemail raged on. He grumbled, pulling a pillow over his head to shut out the noise it was making. The clock on the desk beside him ticked on -- it was 6:30 now -- and he was still in bed. A guitar lay next to him, under wads of music sheets piled on top of one another.
"Don't forget we have a meeting with your producer at eight and we still have to go over those lyrics you wrote. Are you even awake? Wake up! It's half past six o'clock!"
Alright, he thought grumpily, and he stood up. Inside the bathroom, he washed his face and sighed wearily as the voice on the phone went on. "If I don't see in thirty minutes, the deal's off. I'm your friend, man, but I can't work with you when you're like this."
He pulled out a non-descript shirt from his closet and a pair of pants and put them on, hastily. He didn't bother taking a shower and combed his hand through his hair instead. Grabbing a bottle of water from the refrigerator, he gulped down half its content in one go -- wiping his mouth with the back of his hand before picking up his guitar and piling the music sheets into a bag. He lifted them sleepily and walked out the door -- locking it without an afterthought.
A flash of white went by and he looked up, his breath stopping at the sight of a beautiful woman walking past him. His neighbor from 26B. He gulped, steadying his heart (Huh, that's never happened before, he thought) and walked behind her towards the elevator. He bowed slightly at her (and to the two other people inside. The beauty didn't seem to see him, but the pretty woman munching on a piece of bread smiled in response) and pushed the elevator doors closed.
His guitar lay protectively on his one arm as he glanced once again at the beauty beside him.
This man was Lee Donghae.
This is a story about four very different people living in the same apartment on the 26th floor. Their lives revolve around their own little worlds, completely ignorant of each other until -- well, it could get only more interesting from here.
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- - - Author's Notes:
You may be wondering why I'm posting this fic here in LJ when I'm already posting chapters in Soshified. The answer is quite simple: It's easier for me to bookmark stuff in LJ than in forums. I have a much more organized list of links here than anywhere else, so I opted to saving this fic here too as it progresses. :) Another reason is it'll be easier for people who are lazy to enter the forum to be updated.
Anyway, some notes you should know:
1) I promise you this: Shim Changmin will pop out everywhere in my fics with Yoona in it. Just in case you don't know, they are my ultimate SNSK het pairing (and my favorite het pairing for SNSD ever). I realize they have zero moments (except for that extremely cute bit behind the scenes in Mirotic con), but I love them too much together to care. So yeah.
2) My writing varies in every fic, I think. So if you have any questions as to why this is written this way and that - do not hesitate to send me a pm. I would love to answer any questions if it's needed.
3) I got a question from Voxivoxi (my inquisitive little darling of a reader) of Soshified asking why all four characters were in the same building. If you read the synopsis, I wrote there that the couples all live in one apartment in the same floor. They are neighbors who are completely ignorant of each other because they always just lived never having contact with each other until - well, now. It's very much like how the gang of Love Shuffle met but the progression/plot of the story is different. Anyway, the next chapter will reveal how they all actually meet.
4) Another question, of which I am sure most of you are wondering: Who is the main couple in this story? The answer is, SURPRISE, both SiFany and YoonHae are main couples in this story. It revolves around their relationships with each other, no matter if it is romantic or platonic.
That's it. I'll post the next chapters now~