Close Your Eyes, Count to Ten: Chapter 8
안녕 여러분!~~
Heyyy guys! Guess what? I finally updated this one! ^___^ My SuJu fic inspired me. Isn't that great? I sure think so :) I was reading through this before I began continuing typing it up to see what it was like and I was like...wow! This is so not like Yoochun at all. I apologize guys. :/ I didn't intend on that happening. But anyways, I also want to apologize about Junsu getting drunk. I kind of forgot about him never drinking...:/ Ooppss! Well, have fun reading this one! P.S. I finally hit my 100 page (on word) mark! It's the first time I've had something typed up have 100 pages! I mean everything I write is handwritten first. And I get bored of typing after 50 pages or so...which explains why it takes me a while to update this one. (I have 1 more complete chapter handwritten, so I'll work on typing that!) Oh! And we're almost 1/3 of the way through! Just 2 more chapters! Woohoo! ^__^ Love you guys with all of my heart! Here's part 1 of Chapter 8 :)
사랑해요!~~ <3
( Chapter List)
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Chapter 8
“How dare you!” Man Young’s voice boomed throughout the large house. “How could you be so careless? Idols aren’t supposed to let themselves get hurt!” he barked, eyes flaring. “Let alone allow their face to get hurt! Did you not block?” he snapped as I cowered behind my uncle. The three of us had barely stepped inside and slipped into our house shoes when Hyun Ae had stepped out into the foyer to inform me that she had friends over for dinner. When she had seen me, a choking noise had formed in her throat seemingly intriguing my nosy manager. From the man’s yelling, Dong Joo and the other friends that belonged to Hyun Ae peeked out of her room to watch the intense scene.
“Why are you yelling at her of all people? You don’t even know whether or not it’s her fault!” Hyun Ae yelled back. When the man’s attention finally tore away from me and settled on her, Yoochun plucked me away from my uncle and shielded me until I was in the kitchen.
“This is why it would have been better to go to the hospital,” he hissed once we were safe from the prying eyes.
“Who would have known that there would be a big crowd here?” I hissed back as I hurried around the room, yanking ingredients out of the cupboards. The two of us were silent for a minute until I stopped what I was doing to place a hand on my forehead. At that point, the pain had spread from just my nose to my entire head, making the world feel as if it was spinning wildly out of control.
“Let me look at it,” he whispered before taking my hand away without my permission and peered closely at my nose. “I still think that you should go. How are we going to be sure that you will be okay?” he added. When he straightened, my world went reeling once more, forcing me to bend over and place my hands on both sides of my head. At once, the man awkwardly pulled me to rest my head against his chest. “Stop. Rest a little bit until you’re sure you can stand up straight,” he ordered when I tried to resist against his gesture.
“Sorry,” I muttered once I had gathered enough strength to fake the fact that I was alright. Maybe I actually should have listened and gone to the hospital when it was first suggested. The way I was feeling made me believe that the pain was only going to gradually grow worse. Forcing the thought away, I began to cook in silence and the idol started to watch over me as I worked. When my hands grew shaky, he immediately stepped in, stilling my hands. Looking up at him in frustration, I backed away from my work and let him take over. For a little while, he was doing quite well until he had to slice certain vegetables and measuring the right ingredients. Leaning against the counter and knowing it was a mistake to let the man cook, I began to relay my directions to him. In no time, we were finished with the huge batch of food that was needed to feed everyone.
“Mi Kyoung! I’m hungry!” my younger cousin’s whiney voice rose above the new argument that was happening between Man Young and Hyun Ae. Wincing, I glanced at Yoochun who nodded in return, knowing that it was best if I didn’t leave the room for the time being. The man then picked up the bowls of food and headed out. Supposedly seeing the food as it was set on the table, the kid called for people to go to the table. Once the sound of people congregating to the dining room filled my ears in rushed waves, I slipped to the ground and rested my head against the cabinet. Right as I had closed my eyes, my ears picked up on two sets of footsteps entering the kitchen instead of one.
“Mi Kyoung!” Dong Joo exclaimed and fell at my side, causing me to grimace internally. The idol’s footsteps paused, making it seem as if he was possibly watching. “Are you alright? Do I need to get someone?” the man beside me questioned worriedly.
“I’m fine, just resting,” I whispered. Making him worry was one of the few things I didn’t want to do. “Go eat,” I added half-heartedly. I was only met with silence for a minute or two. When I was about to pry my eyes open to see what the troublesome man was going to do, I felt lips brush against my forehead. Heart stopping, I opened my eyes in shock to find an embarrassed Dong Joo. Stiffening, I shot him a look as if to say that he would have been dead if I was feeling better. “What was that for?” I snapped. The man glanced down in guilt and finally stood up. Once he had grabbed as many dishes as he could possibly carry and left the room, I furiously rubbed at my forehead. Although a small thought at the back of my mind was warning me that I was being rude, I continued to rub at it until Yoochun’s hand closed over mine.
“He’s just worried,” he whispered to me.
“Does being worried mean he can kiss me?” I snapped in reply. Catching myself, I blinked and looked away. “Just go eat…” I muttered, yet the man chose not to listen to me. Instead, he sat in front of me. “Yah…” I mumbled with very little energy.
“Let’s go to the hospital.”
“Not until you eat,” I replied.
“I can’t, the sight of your nose made me lose my appetite. And I came to eat your food, not mine.”
“Then stop looking at me, it’s not my fault,” I snapped, turning away. The man took a deep breath and slowly let it out before standing up, making me smile in triumph. However, my victory was short-lived, for he bent down once more, pulled my arms around his neck, and lifted me up into his arms like a princess. When I was up in the air, I began to hit at him in frustration. “Let go,” I hissed. From such a command, Yoochun then pretended to drop me only to laugh when I yelped and tightened my hold on him.
“Will you let me take you?” he asked. Begrudgingly, I nodded and watched as he carried me out of the kitchen. The idol didn’t even change my shoes; instead, he slipped into his own and went to open the door.
“Noona…” I heard my younger cousin start to say something only to trail off. It hadn’t been that long since the two of us had finally grown to like each other, yet he was quick to call me by that name with ease. “Noona! Where are you taking her? What’s wrong with her?” the little boy cried out when he caught sight of us.
“Hyo Sook-ah!” I hissed in warning as Yoochun quickly set me down, embarrassed to be caught carrying me. Making a face at the man beside me, I instantly began to change my shoes. “I’ll be going to the hospital to get a check up on my face, and Yoochun is only going to go with me so that I won’t get lost. When we get back, I’ll definitely make you some sweets alright? But that will only happen if you don’t let anyone else know, alright?” I whispered, brushing my clothes off and looking my younger cousin in the eye. The little boy slowly nodded, the prospect of sweets quieting him. “I’ll be back soon then,” I said waving before slipping out of the house with Yoochun following closely.
“Are you always that disgustingly sweet?” he questioned once we were safe in the car we had arrived in. Thankfully, the couple had been brought in during the time we were cooking, which meant that we didn’t need to have two unconscious people in the backseat as we went to the hospital.
“Excuse me?” I scoffed, not being able to believe that he would say something like that.
“The way you talked to your cousin, is that your normal self?”
“Don’t worry about it,” I replied, furrowing my brow and turning towards the window. The man beside me shook his head and pulled out of the driveway. From the time it took to go from the house to the parking lot of the hospital, neither of my uncles contacted us. However, when we were finally parked, Yoochun received a couple of calls. Ignoring those calls, he stepped out of the car and made his way towards the building. His quick movements forced me to run after him just like the last time we were alone together. Inside, he stopped at the front desk, not looking my way. It took a mere second before the nurse realized who he was and abruptly stood up.
“Yoochun-ssi,” she respectfully addressed him with a bow. Although she wanted to look professional and catch the man’s eye that way, she was beaming from head to toe in excitement to be able to assist him.
“Can a doctor see my friend?” he asked while politely motioning to me. The woman stared in my direction for a second or two, her eyes growing at the sight of my face.
“R-right now?” she stuttered, apparently not ready to take care of a girl a famous idol had brought in. “Ah, I’ll go find one right away!” she finally gasped when Yoochun gave her a pleading look. Finding this ridiculous, I turned away and glanced around the slightly empty room.
“She must be new,” the man grunted and grabbed my hand to pull me away from the desk. When we sat in the row of empty seats closest to the desk, the man’s grip tightened which forced me to look his way. His features that normally showed either happiness or frustration towards me were now masked with such worry that it was frightening. It wasn’t like I was going to die due to a soccer ball hitting me in the face, so why was he acting in such a way? It wasn’t that trivial to worry about. “Do you remember that car crash that my group was involved in?” he whispered. I had to think hard for a second until the memory of headlines came rushing into my mind. Multiple car crashes littered the newspaper headlines for days until the idols were back to full health. However, each time I recalled such memories, fear struck hard against my heart as if someone was ruthlessly banging on a gong. “Well, I’m always afraid that I’ll come back to that specific hospital and remember in great detail. Each time our members ended up in the hospital were the most frightening times I ever dealt with. Sometimes, I wondered if ending up in the hospital would become the end of our group. I even thought this way over silly trips to the hospitals because of stys in the eye,” he said slowly, his voice deeper than normal. “Although I’ve been in the hospital quite a bit due to my asthma, becoming an idol has worsened my view towards such trips.”
“If you were so afraid, then why did you insist on bringing me?”
“Because, a broken nose could possibly prove to be the end of your singing career,” he retorted, shooting me a glare.
“How are you sure?”
“I’m not, but I’d believe that it could mess with your breathing. And people learning that you messed up your face before debut might not be the smartest idea,” he answered, looking me straight in the eye. I found the fact that he was worrying about ridiculous things funny, which made it hard to return his gaze. When I worked at the miniature clinic, I saw multiple clients who came in with their noses smashed. If they received the right care, then it wouldn’t mess with their breathing.
“It’ll be alright,” I insisted. “Having a bruise on my face won’t harm my publicity either, since I can quickly respond with the fact that it was an accident when playing with you guys,” I added, attempting a smile. All the while, I patted his hand that continued to hold onto my own. Finally noticing what he was doing, the man pulled his hand away as quickly as he could, glancing around to make sure that those few people in the room weren’t watching.
“Yoochun-ssi,” the nurse called out as she ran up to the two of us. Forcing himself to focus once more, Yoochun stood up and peered at the girl whose face was brighter than the sun. “The doctor will see you now,” she beamed with a bow. The idol nodded and bowed in return. I then followed the man’s actions only to add an extra bow of thanks afterwards. Unconsciously, the man grabbed a hold of my hand once more. Knowing that I would be pulled yet again, I tugged my hand away at once.
“I can follow,” I whispered when he glanced back at me. “Go,” I insisted when he refused to move forward, not wanting to explain further. The man sneered at me and headed on, leading the way toward the doctor. Around the corner, a few nurses were huddled together in a tight cluster, gushing about the fact that there was an idol at their hospital. Annoyed at the fact that the appearance of famous people made professionals into children, I ducked my head and barreled on. Why did we even have to run into fans every place we reached? It was extremely embarrassing to walk around with a top idol looking the way I did.
“Yoochun-ssi,” the doctor greeted upon arrival. The man who had been greeted gave a polite bow in return before the doctor turned towards me. I quickly gave an awkward bow as my greeting and stared up at the man who was decked out in a long white lab coat. The doctor definitely fit the typical picture of a Korean doctor. He was tall, young, with short black hair and complete with glasses. Truthfully, the man looked like he could be the twin of the doctor in the drama Scent of a Woman.
“Hello, I’m Mi Kyoung, Cha Mi Kyoung,” I politely said and bowed once again.
“Is she your Chairman’s…?”
“Niece,” the idol concluded the odd question. “Anyway, we’d like to see if her nose is actually broken.” The doctor before me took a closer look at my face only to pull away with a look in his eyes that equated with the need to laugh.
“How did this happen?” he questioned as he gestured to a bed. Not knowing what else to do, I peeked out of the corner of my eye at Yoochun while I passed him so that I could sit on the hospital bed.
“She got hit by Junsu’s soccer ball,” Yoochun replied, taking over the answering as if I wasn’t capable of doing it myself.
“Who kicked it?”
“Junsu,” the man answered right away. At such words, the doctor’s eyes snapped back to my face.
“Alright, we’ll run a test to see what’s wrong,” he replied, putting his back to us so that he could hide the smile that was breaking out across his lips. Meanwhile, Yoochun moved over to sit next to me on the hospital bed.
“Are you scared?”
“What? No,” I whispered glancing up at him. Was he still scared like he mentioned a little bit ago? The doctor instantly snapped my attention back to what was happening then and there by telling the idol to wait in the room while I went through the tests. He then described what we needed to do, which wasn’t much. Although, leaving the idol alone was slightly worrisome since he gained such a look in his eyes that said that he was definitely afraid for the outcome. All I wanted to do was shake some sense into his head to show him that I would be alright. During the x-rays, I thought of the many ways I could relay the news to him that even a broken nose wouldn’t be that bad. When the doctor and I were done with the tests, I quickly stopped him in his tracks. “I want to apologize for making you go through with this trouble. I actually knew my nose wasn’t broken. I just wanted to appease Yoochun’s worries, and find out a way to ease the pain to where it’s bearable,” I muttered, not daring to look up at him.
“I could see that you knew the entire time, and I know how hard is to dissuade an idol like him,” the man replied with a kind smile before leading me back into the room. Once the door opened, Yoochun shot up, worry written all over his face. “I have both good and bad news,” the doctor informed as I joined the idol’s side. “The good news is that her nose isn’t broken, but I’d suggest that she should stay away from public activity until the bruise heals. The bad news is that refraining from public activity will put everything on her schedule on hold for a little bit, which means that the company might suffer slight repercussions. No matter what, it’s all for the best. I don’t understand what the Chairman is doing with putting you through so much stress when you’ve barely arrived,” he said, strangely knowing more than one should probably know. Maybe he was a close friend of the company?
“Wait, the rest is the bad thing?” I asked, not understanding clearly.
“Yes, because once I give the okay, they’ll put you under worse treatment,” he replied. With that, he turned around to pull out random items from the cabinets. “You’ll be required by the company to cover up at least most of your bruise. They might even make you wear a disguise so that most people won’t know about your injury,” he instructed while shoving the items he had gathered into a bag. “You’ll also get a big scolding, since it is you and your group’s fault for doing this, so stick close to her during the scolding,” he told Yoochun as he pulled out a bandage about half the size of my face. Wondering about how it would fit onto my face, I silently watched as the doctor pulled up a chair and began getting the bandage ready.
“So it’s not broken?” Yoochun asked as the man gently placed the bandage over my hurt nose. Wincing as the doctor’s fingers gingerly pressed the bandage against my skin, I waited for this tedious task to be over with.
“I already stated that it wasn’t,” the doctor reassured. In reply, the idol slowly nodded, relief swarming across his face. After I was handed the bagful of bandages, the doctor grabbed a couple of packets of medicine to help the pain go away. “Take this if the pain grows unbearable,” he instructed when I gratefully accepted them. With that, he examined my face once more before nodding and dismissing us.
Extracting a sigh of relief, I hopped up, this time grabbing the idol’s hand and pulling him outside. Once we passed through the sliding doors, the man yanked his hand back, eyes darting to the shadows. Confused, I tried to look in the same direction only to end up with more shadows filling my sight. Were there anti-fans following him? When I opened my mouth to question his actions, the man pulled off the light track jacket he had been wearing and threw it over my head. He then immediately began to rush me to the car. Thinking that it was paparazzi, I complied with his actions. However, even when we were safe in the confinements of the car, there were no flashes. It was only continual darkness. Instead of taking measures to get out of the place as fast as he possibly could, Yoochun locked the car and took a breather before turning it on. At once, the headlights blinked on, illuminating the path that had once been cast over by shadows. Gasping at the sight of a small group of girls who had darted to two taxis parked nearby, I turned to Yoochun, my eyes demanding for him to answer the questions that kept forming in my head. When he remained silent and merely began to drive, I grunted in annoyance.
“Does your nose hurt?” he asked, his voice cracking on the first word as if his throat had gone completely dry. Although I wanted to exclaim that it was obvious that it did, I shook my head in reply. He nodded and reached over to ruffle my hair before settling into silence once more. “When we get to your uncles’ house, we’re going to shut off the car stay in it for a little bit before we go inside, alright?” he stated after about five minutes of complete silence.
“What’s going on? Were those crazed anti-fans?” I asked, my heart gradually building up in its pumping speed. Yet, I was met with silence. “Are they fans?” Again, the man refused to answer. “Why won’t you tell me?” I huffed after a little bit.
“Because you don’t need to know,” he coldly replied.
“Then I don’t need to be riding in this car,” I snapped, actually recognizing the area we were passing through. “If you won’t tell me, then you can let me out,” I insisted. The man snorted and continued driving, not uttering a single word. Knowing that I was fighting a useless battle, I sighed and turned away. The silence drug on until he flipped on the radio so that music and people babbling in Korean filled the empty space. Close to five songs later, we pulled up into my uncles’ driveway. Yoochun then flipped off the headlights and turned the car off. Like he had instructed not that long ago, we sat still, our breath caught in our throats. Noticing that his eyes were glued to the rearview mirror, I looked through the side-view mirror although it was useless. In a matter of seconds, a cab slowly crept down the street. Although it was long gone, the idol refused to move until another passed by.
“Now, we run,” he whispered before dashing out of the car. Not sure what else to do, I grabbed my bag of bandages and medicine, and rushed after him. Right when I got inside, I wasn’t allowed a chance to catch my breath since both of my uncles were standing in front of Yoochun, keeping him in the outside part of the house.
“What do you think you were doing?” the Chairman inquired, his voice melded together with invisible daggers.
“A-at the hospital,” I stuttered.
“Is your nose broken?”
“N-no, just bruised.”
“You should have come home with it broken for what it’s worth. Either way, we’ll have to hide you for a little while,” he grunted in return. At that, he turned around and headed further into the house. The man beside me drew a sharp intake of breath and then stumbled to put his house slippers onto his feet. Once the task was complete, he dashed off after my uncle. Shaking my head, I looked up at my other uncle who opened his arms. Not sure what to do, I changed into my slippers and stepped inside the house. At once, his arms wrapped around me, enveloping me in warmth.
“My poor baby,” he whispered, stroking my hair. After a moment or two, he pulled away and then stared at me with a loving look. “Let’s go eat, okay?” he asked and guided me to the dining room. However, the large meal that I had Yoochun prepare was wiped clean from the table. “Yah! Who ate all of the food?”
“Man Young ate the rest!” Hyun Ae’s voice sounded from her room. My uncle made a few angry faces before moving to go find the perpetrator’s room.
“Stop!” I insisted, grabbing hold of his arm. “He was hungry, and he won’t be eating this house’s food for a while,” I said softly. “In fact, I’ll make you your favorite food,” I added when I received a look of dissatisfaction.
“He is going to have to fend for himself after tonight…” my uncle reasoned, the fire in his eyes slowly subsiding.
“By the way, why didn’t you eat earlier?”
“Because…I had dancing lessons,” he sighed.
“Dancing…lessons?”
“Yes, the woman I’m married to has decided that she wants to learn salsa! After watching that darned drama to support Junsu, she fell in love with the thought of it,” he grumbled.
“And they lasted only half an hour?”
“No, she got bored of it,” he sighed. “The woman has two left feet, I’m telling you. How she’s a director of a dance school, I have no idea,” he added, his voice growing a bit quieter. Trying not to laugh, I slipped away and skittered to the kitchen. Wondering if Jaejoong and his goat were awake, I peeked around the corner where the two had been lying. Finding their places empty, I concluded that they were up and about, needing something for their stomachs that had been emptied before they passed out. Pulling out two pans, I then worked on making two sets of food. One was food specifically for Jaejoong and Junsu, and the other was for those who weren’t able to eat. When I found a chance, I took one of the pills that the doctor had given to me so that I could deal with the pain pulsing through my head. In the end once everything was finished, the three idols and the Chairman sullenly traveled down the hall. Poking my head out in confusion, I watched as they slumped into chairs at the table in the dining room. Making a small face, I picked up Jaejoong’s and Junsu’s plates and headed towards the dining room.
“What will we do about our things?” Junsu mumbled, not fully awake.
“And my Jiji? We need to go now!” Jaejoong added, sloppily standing back up. The time when all four noticed my presence was when the drunken man turned around to leave.
“Mi Kyoung-ah,” my uncle exclaimed, glad that I was there to distract the two from completing insane actions. I gave a small smile and moved around Jaejoong so that I could set the plates down. “Western style tonight?” the Chairman asked peering at what I had prepared for the drunken couple.
“It’s the best dish I know how to make for those who are drunk,” I softly said and backed away to grab the food for the rest of the unfed group. For years, not only was I to look after my drunkard of a mother, but I was also required to look after her friends that she would bring home. Drunken people always had different kinds of tastes. However, when my mother was wasted, she always wanted Western food of all sorts. Nonetheless, each dish I tried in the past would upset her stomach too much, which forced me to try fusions of Korean and Western dishes. After many failed attempts, I eventually found a solution that would suit her tastes and stomach.
“It looks odd,” Junsu mumbled when I finished setting the food down.
“It’s not a popular dish, just eat it,” I sighed while slumping into a chair. All of the energy I had during the entire day escaped from my being as quickly as a puff of air extracting from a sighing mouth. When I had settled, my younger uncle entered with his wife and the two sat across the table from me.
“Thank you for the food, we will eat well!” the younger muttered and began grabbing at the food before him with his chopsticks.
“I have important news concerning the members of this household,” my older uncle stated, forcing his brother to stop from getting food. “And since Hyun Ae is busy with entertaining her guests, I’ll tell her later. But some issues have come up. Those issues revolve around these three idols, this means that they cannot return to their dorms. With that being said, I have come to a decision to let them stay here for a while until everything has cleared up. Since Man Young is leaving after tonight, it will be easier to place them in his old room. Mi Kyoung, you will have to continue in Hyun Ae’s room until we make one suitable for you,” he went on to say. My other uncle resituated himself in his chair and glanced at his wife to figure out her thoughts.
“That room is too small though,” she spoke up after thinking heavily. “But I guess that isn’t a problem because one of them can share with Hyo Sook.” Right as those words left her mouth, the drunken Jaejoong shot Yoochun a glare which forced the poor man to offer up himself. Knowing that it might not bode well for either my cousin or the idol, I turned away to hide my reaction. Not only was I worried about those two sharing a room, I also really didn’t like the fact that I would have to live next to him for a little while. Of all the people in the world, why did I have to live right next door to an idol that got on my nerves the most? He was also going to live with my mischievous younger cousin who knew how to find all the dirt on me, which might not be the greatest situation since he could possibly use that to torture me if I ever stepped on the wrong button of his. Realizing that I needed to talk to my cousin first, I excused myself and ran to Hyo Sook’s room.
“Mi Kyoung, come back here!” my uncle yelled. In the midst of hearing the news about the idols living in the house, I had easily forgotten how strict my uncles were about staying at the table while the others were eating. Supposedly, if one did so, their digestion was immediately messed up. Wincing and whispering a useless apology, I slipped inside my cousin’s room.
Heyyy guys! Guess what? I finally updated this one! ^___^ My SuJu fic inspired me. Isn't that great? I sure think so :) I was reading through this before I began continuing typing it up to see what it was like and I was like...wow! This is so not like Yoochun at all. I apologize guys. :/ I didn't intend on that happening. But anyways, I also want to apologize about Junsu getting drunk. I kind of forgot about him never drinking...:/ Ooppss! Well, have fun reading this one! P.S. I finally hit my 100 page (on word) mark! It's the first time I've had something typed up have 100 pages! I mean everything I write is handwritten first. And I get bored of typing after 50 pages or so...which explains why it takes me a while to update this one. (I have 1 more complete chapter handwritten, so I'll work on typing that!) Oh! And we're almost 1/3 of the way through! Just 2 more chapters! Woohoo! ^__^ Love you guys with all of my heart! Here's part 1 of Chapter 8 :)
사랑해요!~~ <3
( Chapter List)
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Chapter 8
“How dare you!” Man Young’s voice boomed throughout the large house. “How could you be so careless? Idols aren’t supposed to let themselves get hurt!” he barked, eyes flaring. “Let alone allow their face to get hurt! Did you not block?” he snapped as I cowered behind my uncle. The three of us had barely stepped inside and slipped into our house shoes when Hyun Ae had stepped out into the foyer to inform me that she had friends over for dinner. When she had seen me, a choking noise had formed in her throat seemingly intriguing my nosy manager. From the man’s yelling, Dong Joo and the other friends that belonged to Hyun Ae peeked out of her room to watch the intense scene.
“Why are you yelling at her of all people? You don’t even know whether or not it’s her fault!” Hyun Ae yelled back. When the man’s attention finally tore away from me and settled on her, Yoochun plucked me away from my uncle and shielded me until I was in the kitchen.
“This is why it would have been better to go to the hospital,” he hissed once we were safe from the prying eyes.
“Who would have known that there would be a big crowd here?” I hissed back as I hurried around the room, yanking ingredients out of the cupboards. The two of us were silent for a minute until I stopped what I was doing to place a hand on my forehead. At that point, the pain had spread from just my nose to my entire head, making the world feel as if it was spinning wildly out of control.
“Let me look at it,” he whispered before taking my hand away without my permission and peered closely at my nose. “I still think that you should go. How are we going to be sure that you will be okay?” he added. When he straightened, my world went reeling once more, forcing me to bend over and place my hands on both sides of my head. At once, the man awkwardly pulled me to rest my head against his chest. “Stop. Rest a little bit until you’re sure you can stand up straight,” he ordered when I tried to resist against his gesture.
“Sorry,” I muttered once I had gathered enough strength to fake the fact that I was alright. Maybe I actually should have listened and gone to the hospital when it was first suggested. The way I was feeling made me believe that the pain was only going to gradually grow worse. Forcing the thought away, I began to cook in silence and the idol started to watch over me as I worked. When my hands grew shaky, he immediately stepped in, stilling my hands. Looking up at him in frustration, I backed away from my work and let him take over. For a little while, he was doing quite well until he had to slice certain vegetables and measuring the right ingredients. Leaning against the counter and knowing it was a mistake to let the man cook, I began to relay my directions to him. In no time, we were finished with the huge batch of food that was needed to feed everyone.
“Mi Kyoung! I’m hungry!” my younger cousin’s whiney voice rose above the new argument that was happening between Man Young and Hyun Ae. Wincing, I glanced at Yoochun who nodded in return, knowing that it was best if I didn’t leave the room for the time being. The man then picked up the bowls of food and headed out. Supposedly seeing the food as it was set on the table, the kid called for people to go to the table. Once the sound of people congregating to the dining room filled my ears in rushed waves, I slipped to the ground and rested my head against the cabinet. Right as I had closed my eyes, my ears picked up on two sets of footsteps entering the kitchen instead of one.
“Mi Kyoung!” Dong Joo exclaimed and fell at my side, causing me to grimace internally. The idol’s footsteps paused, making it seem as if he was possibly watching. “Are you alright? Do I need to get someone?” the man beside me questioned worriedly.
“I’m fine, just resting,” I whispered. Making him worry was one of the few things I didn’t want to do. “Go eat,” I added half-heartedly. I was only met with silence for a minute or two. When I was about to pry my eyes open to see what the troublesome man was going to do, I felt lips brush against my forehead. Heart stopping, I opened my eyes in shock to find an embarrassed Dong Joo. Stiffening, I shot him a look as if to say that he would have been dead if I was feeling better. “What was that for?” I snapped. The man glanced down in guilt and finally stood up. Once he had grabbed as many dishes as he could possibly carry and left the room, I furiously rubbed at my forehead. Although a small thought at the back of my mind was warning me that I was being rude, I continued to rub at it until Yoochun’s hand closed over mine.
“He’s just worried,” he whispered to me.
“Does being worried mean he can kiss me?” I snapped in reply. Catching myself, I blinked and looked away. “Just go eat…” I muttered, yet the man chose not to listen to me. Instead, he sat in front of me. “Yah…” I mumbled with very little energy.
“Let’s go to the hospital.”
“Not until you eat,” I replied.
“I can’t, the sight of your nose made me lose my appetite. And I came to eat your food, not mine.”
“Then stop looking at me, it’s not my fault,” I snapped, turning away. The man took a deep breath and slowly let it out before standing up, making me smile in triumph. However, my victory was short-lived, for he bent down once more, pulled my arms around his neck, and lifted me up into his arms like a princess. When I was up in the air, I began to hit at him in frustration. “Let go,” I hissed. From such a command, Yoochun then pretended to drop me only to laugh when I yelped and tightened my hold on him.
“Will you let me take you?” he asked. Begrudgingly, I nodded and watched as he carried me out of the kitchen. The idol didn’t even change my shoes; instead, he slipped into his own and went to open the door.
“Noona…” I heard my younger cousin start to say something only to trail off. It hadn’t been that long since the two of us had finally grown to like each other, yet he was quick to call me by that name with ease. “Noona! Where are you taking her? What’s wrong with her?” the little boy cried out when he caught sight of us.
“Hyo Sook-ah!” I hissed in warning as Yoochun quickly set me down, embarrassed to be caught carrying me. Making a face at the man beside me, I instantly began to change my shoes. “I’ll be going to the hospital to get a check up on my face, and Yoochun is only going to go with me so that I won’t get lost. When we get back, I’ll definitely make you some sweets alright? But that will only happen if you don’t let anyone else know, alright?” I whispered, brushing my clothes off and looking my younger cousin in the eye. The little boy slowly nodded, the prospect of sweets quieting him. “I’ll be back soon then,” I said waving before slipping out of the house with Yoochun following closely.
“Are you always that disgustingly sweet?” he questioned once we were safe in the car we had arrived in. Thankfully, the couple had been brought in during the time we were cooking, which meant that we didn’t need to have two unconscious people in the backseat as we went to the hospital.
“Excuse me?” I scoffed, not being able to believe that he would say something like that.
“The way you talked to your cousin, is that your normal self?”
“Don’t worry about it,” I replied, furrowing my brow and turning towards the window. The man beside me shook his head and pulled out of the driveway. From the time it took to go from the house to the parking lot of the hospital, neither of my uncles contacted us. However, when we were finally parked, Yoochun received a couple of calls. Ignoring those calls, he stepped out of the car and made his way towards the building. His quick movements forced me to run after him just like the last time we were alone together. Inside, he stopped at the front desk, not looking my way. It took a mere second before the nurse realized who he was and abruptly stood up.
“Yoochun-ssi,” she respectfully addressed him with a bow. Although she wanted to look professional and catch the man’s eye that way, she was beaming from head to toe in excitement to be able to assist him.
“Can a doctor see my friend?” he asked while politely motioning to me. The woman stared in my direction for a second or two, her eyes growing at the sight of my face.
“R-right now?” she stuttered, apparently not ready to take care of a girl a famous idol had brought in. “Ah, I’ll go find one right away!” she finally gasped when Yoochun gave her a pleading look. Finding this ridiculous, I turned away and glanced around the slightly empty room.
“She must be new,” the man grunted and grabbed my hand to pull me away from the desk. When we sat in the row of empty seats closest to the desk, the man’s grip tightened which forced me to look his way. His features that normally showed either happiness or frustration towards me were now masked with such worry that it was frightening. It wasn’t like I was going to die due to a soccer ball hitting me in the face, so why was he acting in such a way? It wasn’t that trivial to worry about. “Do you remember that car crash that my group was involved in?” he whispered. I had to think hard for a second until the memory of headlines came rushing into my mind. Multiple car crashes littered the newspaper headlines for days until the idols were back to full health. However, each time I recalled such memories, fear struck hard against my heart as if someone was ruthlessly banging on a gong. “Well, I’m always afraid that I’ll come back to that specific hospital and remember in great detail. Each time our members ended up in the hospital were the most frightening times I ever dealt with. Sometimes, I wondered if ending up in the hospital would become the end of our group. I even thought this way over silly trips to the hospitals because of stys in the eye,” he said slowly, his voice deeper than normal. “Although I’ve been in the hospital quite a bit due to my asthma, becoming an idol has worsened my view towards such trips.”
“If you were so afraid, then why did you insist on bringing me?”
“Because, a broken nose could possibly prove to be the end of your singing career,” he retorted, shooting me a glare.
“How are you sure?”
“I’m not, but I’d believe that it could mess with your breathing. And people learning that you messed up your face before debut might not be the smartest idea,” he answered, looking me straight in the eye. I found the fact that he was worrying about ridiculous things funny, which made it hard to return his gaze. When I worked at the miniature clinic, I saw multiple clients who came in with their noses smashed. If they received the right care, then it wouldn’t mess with their breathing.
“It’ll be alright,” I insisted. “Having a bruise on my face won’t harm my publicity either, since I can quickly respond with the fact that it was an accident when playing with you guys,” I added, attempting a smile. All the while, I patted his hand that continued to hold onto my own. Finally noticing what he was doing, the man pulled his hand away as quickly as he could, glancing around to make sure that those few people in the room weren’t watching.
“Yoochun-ssi,” the nurse called out as she ran up to the two of us. Forcing himself to focus once more, Yoochun stood up and peered at the girl whose face was brighter than the sun. “The doctor will see you now,” she beamed with a bow. The idol nodded and bowed in return. I then followed the man’s actions only to add an extra bow of thanks afterwards. Unconsciously, the man grabbed a hold of my hand once more. Knowing that I would be pulled yet again, I tugged my hand away at once.
“I can follow,” I whispered when he glanced back at me. “Go,” I insisted when he refused to move forward, not wanting to explain further. The man sneered at me and headed on, leading the way toward the doctor. Around the corner, a few nurses were huddled together in a tight cluster, gushing about the fact that there was an idol at their hospital. Annoyed at the fact that the appearance of famous people made professionals into children, I ducked my head and barreled on. Why did we even have to run into fans every place we reached? It was extremely embarrassing to walk around with a top idol looking the way I did.
“Yoochun-ssi,” the doctor greeted upon arrival. The man who had been greeted gave a polite bow in return before the doctor turned towards me. I quickly gave an awkward bow as my greeting and stared up at the man who was decked out in a long white lab coat. The doctor definitely fit the typical picture of a Korean doctor. He was tall, young, with short black hair and complete with glasses. Truthfully, the man looked like he could be the twin of the doctor in the drama Scent of a Woman.
“Hello, I’m Mi Kyoung, Cha Mi Kyoung,” I politely said and bowed once again.
“Is she your Chairman’s…?”
“Niece,” the idol concluded the odd question. “Anyway, we’d like to see if her nose is actually broken.” The doctor before me took a closer look at my face only to pull away with a look in his eyes that equated with the need to laugh.
“How did this happen?” he questioned as he gestured to a bed. Not knowing what else to do, I peeked out of the corner of my eye at Yoochun while I passed him so that I could sit on the hospital bed.
“She got hit by Junsu’s soccer ball,” Yoochun replied, taking over the answering as if I wasn’t capable of doing it myself.
“Who kicked it?”
“Junsu,” the man answered right away. At such words, the doctor’s eyes snapped back to my face.
“Alright, we’ll run a test to see what’s wrong,” he replied, putting his back to us so that he could hide the smile that was breaking out across his lips. Meanwhile, Yoochun moved over to sit next to me on the hospital bed.
“Are you scared?”
“What? No,” I whispered glancing up at him. Was he still scared like he mentioned a little bit ago? The doctor instantly snapped my attention back to what was happening then and there by telling the idol to wait in the room while I went through the tests. He then described what we needed to do, which wasn’t much. Although, leaving the idol alone was slightly worrisome since he gained such a look in his eyes that said that he was definitely afraid for the outcome. All I wanted to do was shake some sense into his head to show him that I would be alright. During the x-rays, I thought of the many ways I could relay the news to him that even a broken nose wouldn’t be that bad. When the doctor and I were done with the tests, I quickly stopped him in his tracks. “I want to apologize for making you go through with this trouble. I actually knew my nose wasn’t broken. I just wanted to appease Yoochun’s worries, and find out a way to ease the pain to where it’s bearable,” I muttered, not daring to look up at him.
“I could see that you knew the entire time, and I know how hard is to dissuade an idol like him,” the man replied with a kind smile before leading me back into the room. Once the door opened, Yoochun shot up, worry written all over his face. “I have both good and bad news,” the doctor informed as I joined the idol’s side. “The good news is that her nose isn’t broken, but I’d suggest that she should stay away from public activity until the bruise heals. The bad news is that refraining from public activity will put everything on her schedule on hold for a little bit, which means that the company might suffer slight repercussions. No matter what, it’s all for the best. I don’t understand what the Chairman is doing with putting you through so much stress when you’ve barely arrived,” he said, strangely knowing more than one should probably know. Maybe he was a close friend of the company?
“Wait, the rest is the bad thing?” I asked, not understanding clearly.
“Yes, because once I give the okay, they’ll put you under worse treatment,” he replied. With that, he turned around to pull out random items from the cabinets. “You’ll be required by the company to cover up at least most of your bruise. They might even make you wear a disguise so that most people won’t know about your injury,” he instructed while shoving the items he had gathered into a bag. “You’ll also get a big scolding, since it is you and your group’s fault for doing this, so stick close to her during the scolding,” he told Yoochun as he pulled out a bandage about half the size of my face. Wondering about how it would fit onto my face, I silently watched as the doctor pulled up a chair and began getting the bandage ready.
“So it’s not broken?” Yoochun asked as the man gently placed the bandage over my hurt nose. Wincing as the doctor’s fingers gingerly pressed the bandage against my skin, I waited for this tedious task to be over with.
“I already stated that it wasn’t,” the doctor reassured. In reply, the idol slowly nodded, relief swarming across his face. After I was handed the bagful of bandages, the doctor grabbed a couple of packets of medicine to help the pain go away. “Take this if the pain grows unbearable,” he instructed when I gratefully accepted them. With that, he examined my face once more before nodding and dismissing us.
Extracting a sigh of relief, I hopped up, this time grabbing the idol’s hand and pulling him outside. Once we passed through the sliding doors, the man yanked his hand back, eyes darting to the shadows. Confused, I tried to look in the same direction only to end up with more shadows filling my sight. Were there anti-fans following him? When I opened my mouth to question his actions, the man pulled off the light track jacket he had been wearing and threw it over my head. He then immediately began to rush me to the car. Thinking that it was paparazzi, I complied with his actions. However, even when we were safe in the confinements of the car, there were no flashes. It was only continual darkness. Instead of taking measures to get out of the place as fast as he possibly could, Yoochun locked the car and took a breather before turning it on. At once, the headlights blinked on, illuminating the path that had once been cast over by shadows. Gasping at the sight of a small group of girls who had darted to two taxis parked nearby, I turned to Yoochun, my eyes demanding for him to answer the questions that kept forming in my head. When he remained silent and merely began to drive, I grunted in annoyance.
“Does your nose hurt?” he asked, his voice cracking on the first word as if his throat had gone completely dry. Although I wanted to exclaim that it was obvious that it did, I shook my head in reply. He nodded and reached over to ruffle my hair before settling into silence once more. “When we get to your uncles’ house, we’re going to shut off the car stay in it for a little bit before we go inside, alright?” he stated after about five minutes of complete silence.
“What’s going on? Were those crazed anti-fans?” I asked, my heart gradually building up in its pumping speed. Yet, I was met with silence. “Are they fans?” Again, the man refused to answer. “Why won’t you tell me?” I huffed after a little bit.
“Because you don’t need to know,” he coldly replied.
“Then I don’t need to be riding in this car,” I snapped, actually recognizing the area we were passing through. “If you won’t tell me, then you can let me out,” I insisted. The man snorted and continued driving, not uttering a single word. Knowing that I was fighting a useless battle, I sighed and turned away. The silence drug on until he flipped on the radio so that music and people babbling in Korean filled the empty space. Close to five songs later, we pulled up into my uncles’ driveway. Yoochun then flipped off the headlights and turned the car off. Like he had instructed not that long ago, we sat still, our breath caught in our throats. Noticing that his eyes were glued to the rearview mirror, I looked through the side-view mirror although it was useless. In a matter of seconds, a cab slowly crept down the street. Although it was long gone, the idol refused to move until another passed by.
“Now, we run,” he whispered before dashing out of the car. Not sure what else to do, I grabbed my bag of bandages and medicine, and rushed after him. Right when I got inside, I wasn’t allowed a chance to catch my breath since both of my uncles were standing in front of Yoochun, keeping him in the outside part of the house.
“What do you think you were doing?” the Chairman inquired, his voice melded together with invisible daggers.
“A-at the hospital,” I stuttered.
“Is your nose broken?”
“N-no, just bruised.”
“You should have come home with it broken for what it’s worth. Either way, we’ll have to hide you for a little while,” he grunted in return. At that, he turned around and headed further into the house. The man beside me drew a sharp intake of breath and then stumbled to put his house slippers onto his feet. Once the task was complete, he dashed off after my uncle. Shaking my head, I looked up at my other uncle who opened his arms. Not sure what to do, I changed into my slippers and stepped inside the house. At once, his arms wrapped around me, enveloping me in warmth.
“My poor baby,” he whispered, stroking my hair. After a moment or two, he pulled away and then stared at me with a loving look. “Let’s go eat, okay?” he asked and guided me to the dining room. However, the large meal that I had Yoochun prepare was wiped clean from the table. “Yah! Who ate all of the food?”
“Man Young ate the rest!” Hyun Ae’s voice sounded from her room. My uncle made a few angry faces before moving to go find the perpetrator’s room.
“Stop!” I insisted, grabbing hold of his arm. “He was hungry, and he won’t be eating this house’s food for a while,” I said softly. “In fact, I’ll make you your favorite food,” I added when I received a look of dissatisfaction.
“He is going to have to fend for himself after tonight…” my uncle reasoned, the fire in his eyes slowly subsiding.
“By the way, why didn’t you eat earlier?”
“Because…I had dancing lessons,” he sighed.
“Dancing…lessons?”
“Yes, the woman I’m married to has decided that she wants to learn salsa! After watching that darned drama to support Junsu, she fell in love with the thought of it,” he grumbled.
“And they lasted only half an hour?”
“No, she got bored of it,” he sighed. “The woman has two left feet, I’m telling you. How she’s a director of a dance school, I have no idea,” he added, his voice growing a bit quieter. Trying not to laugh, I slipped away and skittered to the kitchen. Wondering if Jaejoong and his goat were awake, I peeked around the corner where the two had been lying. Finding their places empty, I concluded that they were up and about, needing something for their stomachs that had been emptied before they passed out. Pulling out two pans, I then worked on making two sets of food. One was food specifically for Jaejoong and Junsu, and the other was for those who weren’t able to eat. When I found a chance, I took one of the pills that the doctor had given to me so that I could deal with the pain pulsing through my head. In the end once everything was finished, the three idols and the Chairman sullenly traveled down the hall. Poking my head out in confusion, I watched as they slumped into chairs at the table in the dining room. Making a small face, I picked up Jaejoong’s and Junsu’s plates and headed towards the dining room.
“What will we do about our things?” Junsu mumbled, not fully awake.
“And my Jiji? We need to go now!” Jaejoong added, sloppily standing back up. The time when all four noticed my presence was when the drunken man turned around to leave.
“Mi Kyoung-ah,” my uncle exclaimed, glad that I was there to distract the two from completing insane actions. I gave a small smile and moved around Jaejoong so that I could set the plates down. “Western style tonight?” the Chairman asked peering at what I had prepared for the drunken couple.
“It’s the best dish I know how to make for those who are drunk,” I softly said and backed away to grab the food for the rest of the unfed group. For years, not only was I to look after my drunkard of a mother, but I was also required to look after her friends that she would bring home. Drunken people always had different kinds of tastes. However, when my mother was wasted, she always wanted Western food of all sorts. Nonetheless, each dish I tried in the past would upset her stomach too much, which forced me to try fusions of Korean and Western dishes. After many failed attempts, I eventually found a solution that would suit her tastes and stomach.
“It looks odd,” Junsu mumbled when I finished setting the food down.
“It’s not a popular dish, just eat it,” I sighed while slumping into a chair. All of the energy I had during the entire day escaped from my being as quickly as a puff of air extracting from a sighing mouth. When I had settled, my younger uncle entered with his wife and the two sat across the table from me.
“Thank you for the food, we will eat well!” the younger muttered and began grabbing at the food before him with his chopsticks.
“I have important news concerning the members of this household,” my older uncle stated, forcing his brother to stop from getting food. “And since Hyun Ae is busy with entertaining her guests, I’ll tell her later. But some issues have come up. Those issues revolve around these three idols, this means that they cannot return to their dorms. With that being said, I have come to a decision to let them stay here for a while until everything has cleared up. Since Man Young is leaving after tonight, it will be easier to place them in his old room. Mi Kyoung, you will have to continue in Hyun Ae’s room until we make one suitable for you,” he went on to say. My other uncle resituated himself in his chair and glanced at his wife to figure out her thoughts.
“That room is too small though,” she spoke up after thinking heavily. “But I guess that isn’t a problem because one of them can share with Hyo Sook.” Right as those words left her mouth, the drunken Jaejoong shot Yoochun a glare which forced the poor man to offer up himself. Knowing that it might not bode well for either my cousin or the idol, I turned away to hide my reaction. Not only was I worried about those two sharing a room, I also really didn’t like the fact that I would have to live next to him for a little while. Of all the people in the world, why did I have to live right next door to an idol that got on my nerves the most? He was also going to live with my mischievous younger cousin who knew how to find all the dirt on me, which might not be the greatest situation since he could possibly use that to torture me if I ever stepped on the wrong button of his. Realizing that I needed to talk to my cousin first, I excused myself and ran to Hyo Sook’s room.
“Mi Kyoung, come back here!” my uncle yelled. In the midst of hearing the news about the idols living in the house, I had easily forgotten how strict my uncles were about staying at the table while the others were eating. Supposedly, if one did so, their digestion was immediately messed up. Wincing and whispering a useless apology, I slipped inside my cousin’s room.