[ONESHOT] La Vie En Rose
Seohyun stood unflinchingly under the glaring media lights.
“When was the decision made?” A reporter cried from the stands.
“It was a mutual decision.” She replied evenly, her hands folded calmly in her lap. “We decided it would be prudent, in light of our schedules, to end our participation with We Got Married.”
“But when was the decision made?” The reporter was persistent.
She maintained her calm. “That is a matter between Mr. Jung Yonghwa and myself.”
“I don’t understand why it has to be so secret.”
Seohyun’s manager cut him off. “Enough. Any other questions?”
She scanned the crowd. One person raised his hand. “Yes?”
“Will the relationship between Jung Yonghwa and yourself continue?”
“We will remain friends.” She replied. “We will still see each other often.”
---
Yonghwa held his ring up to the sunshine, where it caught the light and shone brilliantly. The river sparkled beneath him under the afternoon rays of the sun; he was standing somewhere inside the riverside park, in a secluded corner shaded by trees.
His phone vibrated. He flipped it open. “Hello?”
“Yonghwa oppa.”
“Seo Joohyun. How did the press conference go?”
“Very well, considering the circumstances. You should’ve been here.”
“I wasn’t sure if I was needed.”
“You weren’t.”
“Ah.”
An uncomfortable silence descended between them.
“Oppa.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you think we’ve made the right decision?”
Yonghwa put the ring back on his finger. “I’m sure we did.”
“You know the truth will come out eventually.”
“Perhaps. But by then, it might’ve died down a little bit.”
He could hear her sighing on the other line. “Are you all right? Tired?”
“Tired, a bit. Yeah. We just released our Japanese single, you know.”
“I know.” He chuckled. “You told me about a thousand times.”
She laughed. “Manager oppa still doesn’t approve. He thinks we should’ve just announced it to the world.”
“And get ourselves murdered in the process? No, thanks.”
“Hey, not my idea.”
“Joohyun.” He said carefully.
“Hmm?”
“I think…it’s time we deleted each other from our contacts list.”
“Mmm…I agree.”
He was surprised. “You do?”
“Of course. It’s only logical. What better way to announce our end than to reveal that we deleted each others’ phone numbers?”
“You know that we won’t be seeing each other very often.”
“…I know. Don’t worry, I can always borrow manager oppa’s cell phone.”
“Okay, if you’re sure.”
“I’m sure.”
“Okay.”
Now that he was sure, he never wanted to hang up on her.
“I don’t want to hang up on you now.” He said with a tinge of sadness and amusement.
Her voice was quieter than usual. “I know. Me, neither. I just get the feeling like…I’m cutting you off or something.”
“You trust me, right?”
“To the end of the world.”
“Then trust me now. I promise I’ll always be by your side.”
“You promise?”
“Hyun.” He said in a businesslike tone. “Have I ever gone back on a promise I had made to you?”
“Well…”
“On second thought, don’t answer that question.”
He could hear her stifling a giggle. “Okay.”
Yonghwa took his cell phone away from his ear for a second to wipe the sweat off the side of his face. “I’ll see you soon.”
“You have to promise to never forget about me. No running away with exotic girls from…Singapore, or Thailand, or whatever.”
“I promise.” A smile crept across his lips. “You have to promise me to stay away from the Japanese fanboys.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Okay.”
He could hear noises in the background, and knew what was coming.
“Hey, Yonghwa oppa.” She said hesitantly.
“I’m here.”
“I…I have to go.”
“Do you?”
“We’re at the studio, and we’re late…we have to go in…”
“Can’t you just talk while you’re recording?”
“That would defeat the whole purpose behind deleting our numbers, wouldn’t it?”
He sighed. “I suppose.”
They remained silent for a few seconds.
“I’ll miss you.” He blurted out.
She exhaled. “I’ll miss you too. Perhaps our schedules will meet someday.”
“Hopefully.”
“Well.” She cleared her throat. “Nice doing business with you.”
“And with you.”
“Goodbye, Mr. Jung Yong - ”
“Seo Joohyun.”
“What?”
“I love you.”
Yonghwa quickly closed his cell phone, terminating the call. His cheeks started burning. He had just deleted her information when the phone vibrated with a new message.
From: Unknown Sender
I love you too.
He let the message soak into his brain for a few minutes.
Delete Message?
Yes
Message has been deleted.
Closing his phone, he placed it gently into his coat pocket.
Feeling the weight of the silver ring on his left ring finger, he turned around and slowly walked away.