by J. S. Lee
“How did you?” I asked.
“What book? Since when do you like astrology?”
CX ignored him, opening it up to the first page. The photograph I had put in fell out. CX picked it up and, grinning, showed it to MinMin.
“I don’t recognize this photograph…” MinMin trailed off. “This is the hairstyle you had for the tour merchandise. I have seen this somewhere.”
“A similar photo went onto the fan café to introduce me as the new member of Onyx,” CX explained, running a finger over the photograph. “The day we went to Yongma Land, after we had wrapped up, we ended up in the Starfield Library. Kate wanted to take some photographs which were more ‘me’,” he explained.
“That was the book I saw him reading,” I added. It was a gift with a double meaning. CX had told me he liked to study. With the second present waiting for him in his bedroom – a telescope – he would be able to spend time looking at the stars.
For me, and obviously for him too, this was the first time I really started to get to know Yongsik, all that time ago. It was sentimental and possibly a little corny, but it was a gift that only I could give him.
“I love it,” CX grinned. He turned in his seat, pushing MinMin to the side so that he could rest his head in my lap. Once comfortable, he lifted the book and started flicking through it.
“What is it with bookworms that they can just get comfortable, regardless of everyone around them?” MinMin grumbled. He started to get up, but CX stopped him by wrapping his legs around his waist. “Why don’t you two put a movie on or something?”
I glanced down, running my hand through his hair. “Won’t it disturb your reading?”
“Bookworms can get comfortable regardless of anything around them,” he said, not taking his eyes off his book as he misquoted MinMin.
“What do you want to watch?” I asked MinMin.
“I don’t care,” MinMin replied. I reached for the remote and turned the television on. As I did, MinMin turned around and lay down, placing his cheek just above CX’s belly button so he could see the television, wrapping his arms around his waist. “Happy birthday, Yongsik,” he muttered.
This right here was the best part of living with these guys.
The fact that we could just relax and be ourselves. No one watching, and no one judging. No worrying about someone entering the hotel room.
I wouldn’t change much of what had happened over the last few months, aside from crazy stalker fans and the car accident, of course, but this was heaven.
This was home.
The only thing missing was knowing the other guys were somewhere in the house too.
But that would come soon enough.
제 9 장
Wedding Dress
By the time the end of April finally arrived, all of Onyx had finally moved into the house. Of course, they were taking it in turns to spend time in the dorms so that they could occasionally be spotted around in the area. Although the location of the dorms had never been released, as predicted, fans had managed to find it out.
Honestly, if any hardcore K-pop fan was in doubt as to what to do for a career, they should give being a PI a chance.
It was crazy, and it was also likely that this was going to end up being a long-term thing, but we were somehow managing it. Most of the credit was to be awarded to Youngbin. I could only just keep on top of my own schedule (and that was minimal), but he knew where every member needed to be. Together with MinMin who would organize the guys to be up and ready at the right time, things had been crazy – but smooth.
Until today.
There was no crazy in sight.
For the first time since moving in, I had not only spent the night alone in my bed, I had also spent it alone in the house. I hadn’t realized how big the house was until then.
It was the day of Sungmin’s wedding. The guys had spent the night at the dorm because a stylist was coming to them some time around now. I walked into the kitchen and eyed up some cereal. I’d gotten used to Xiao or CX cooking breakfast, but I had no idea how to replicate anything they had made. Which left a bowl of cereal for me. I opened the box and stared in it before closing it again. I was not in the mood for food after all.
I showered and then took my time getting prepared for the wedding. I was very much a ripped jeans and fitted t-shirt kind of girl. I’d had one dress which I had worn once in Canada with great success, but otherwise, I didn’t go all out.
Today, I was going to.
I wanted to look good for myself. And, because tonight was the first night the seven of us would finally be home together, I wanted to look good for them too.
Moisturizer, make up, hair, nails – the works. I spent several hours getting ready. And I enjoyed it all. Although I had no desire to repeat it in a hurry considering how time exhaustive it was.
Just before lunch time, about a half hour from when a car was coming to collect me, I was ready for the last thing: the dress.
JongB had taken me shopping a couple days before. Guys, being guys, didn’t think about dresses. Me, being more of a tomboy, also hadn’t considered it until two nights ago when watching a movie, I had sat upright, nearly elbowing Youngbin in the face, and announced that I needed a dress.
I’d been taken to a late-night opening mall and JongB had helped me pick out a dress. That had been a struggle. I’d been set against spending a lot on a dress, but I caved once I had discovered that as a general rule, Korean clothing sucked if you were not Korean; tall, curvy, and not under 55 kilograms.
In the end, JongB had found an olive lace dress with a flowing skirt that was pretty and wedding appropriate.
I pulled it on and eyed myself in the mirror. With all the products, I was glowing. I had finally gotten used to not being blonde and my makeup was on pointe.
Hell, if I did say so myself, I looked good!
I’d tried to get a wedding present while I was dress shopping, but JongB had informed me that wedding presents weren’t really a thing – it was a gift of money in a white envelope.
I slipped the envelope between a thin book to keep it flat and crisp, and put into a clutch bag which was barely bigger than the envelope. The intercom buzzed and I hurried to the door to wait for the car to collect me.
It was a beautiful day for a wedding. Needless to say, I had never been to a Korean wedding before, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. JongB hadn’t shared many more details, claiming I just needed to experience it. I had been warned, that with Ko Moonhee being a former member of a popular girl idol group, and a current popular actress, it was going to be an extravagant affair.
It was held at The Raum Art Center. I recognized the four story, pale brick building from several dramas I had watched. The car pulled up in front of a red carpet, and like I had arrived at a prestigious awards ceremony, there were photographers lined up behind a cordoned off section. It wasn’t much different from what I expected when a celebrity got married back home.
I got out of the car to minimal attention from the press. The hair dye was serving me well, even though I could see a few curious stares. I was sure that would have been different if any of Onyx had arrived with me as my date.
Inside a beautiful entrance I was greeted by Sungmin and a couple who looked similar enough to be his parents. On the other side of the doors were another older couple. I waited patiently for the small line in front of me to disappear as Sungmin and the two couples welcomed guests to the wedding.
It was the first time I had seen Sungmin for weeks and my initial reaction was to wince – something which, thankfully because he was with other guests, he didn’t notice.
The last time I had seen him, he was being pulled out of a wrecked car. The accident had left his face a mess, skin hanging from his cheek, and with a broken leg. Time and the wonders of medicine, particularly plastic surgery, had left him with a faint scar on his face. He had makeup on, so it was possible it was more visible than it was currently, but the thing which masked it more wa
s his smile.
Although he was greeting people stood up, I could see a walking stick, black to match his suit, propped up within arm’s reach. It was good to see him upright again.
My wince wasn’t because he looked a mess; it was more the acknowledgement that he had been in a really bad accident and although he had survived it, he wasn’t going to be the same again.
Sungmin’s gaze fell on me as the couple in front moved away. I walked up to him, about to envelop him in a hug and kiss his cheek, but I stopped myself at the last moment. “I think it is too early to say congratulations,” I told him. “I hope today will be magical for you. Thank you for inviting me and allowing me to be a part of it.”
Sungmin carefully glanced over his shoulder. Satisfied that the two older couples were occupied, and with no one waiting too close behind, he leaned forward. “It might seem like I don’t like you, but that’s not the case. My job has been to protect Onyx.”
“And now?” I asked.
“It still is, but you’re still here, and considering what has been said about you in the press, that’s impressive.”
Until then I hadn’t seen anything overly negative in the press. Which made me wonder exactly what had been hidden from me.
“Welcome,” Sungmin said, pulling me from the thoughts trying to pick out the negative stories from my memories. “Allow me to introduce you to my parents, and to Ko Moonhee’s parents.”
So that’s who the other couple were. That made sense; I just hadn’t been expecting them both to be greeting guests. “Where is your fiancée?” I asked as he escorted me over.
“Inside. You can go through and meet her.”
If either Sungmin’s parents or Moonhee’s parents recognized me, neither acknowledged it. Sungmin introduced me as the American coworker and offered little more.
Sungmin returned to his position and after politely saying hello to both parents, thanking them for allowing me to attend, I continued into the venue, marveling at the décor. It might have been a convention center, but it reminded me more of a stately home – like the Korean equivalent of Downton Abbey.
I followed the guests through to a hallway. At the end of it, through two double doors, was Moonhee, looking regal and beautiful in an elegant white wedding gown, as she sat on a chaise lounge greeting people.
I walked over, waiting patiently for people to leave her so that I could finally meet her. “Hi.”
She looked up at me, the smile disappearing from her face faster than a slice of Chicago deep pan pizza in front of JongB. “You came.”
“I…” Her tone was so flat, it threw me. “I’m Kate.”
“I know,” she replied.
I forced a smile. “I just wanted to congratulate you on your wedding. Thank you for inviting me.”
“I didn’t.” She folded her arms and stared up at me, tilting her head.
I was absolutely sure that Sungmin had told her about me and Onyx and I couldn’t help but think she blamed me for the accident. I glanced behind her, my gaze settling on the enormous framed print behind her. “How long ago was that taken?” I asked. There wasn’t a trace of Sungmin’s scar.
“Last week.”
Sungmin’s scar had been completely photoshopped out of it. For some reason, that made me feel sad. I wasn’t sure why: if it had been me, I’d have wanted it removed too. I guess it was the possibility that Sungmin was feeling self-conscious. “You both look so stunning,” I told Moonhee.
“I know I do,” Moonhee agreed, smoothing out the fabric of her skirt.
“Moonhee!” someone squealed from behind me.
I moved out of the way as a small girl barreled her way towards the bride-to-be. That was my cue to cut out of there. I needed to go find somewhere to defrost after that frigid atmosphere.
I left the room and I carried on walking through the building, following the few people through what seemed like a natural route, until I passed an open door and stopped. Feeling like I had seen a ghost, I took a step backwards.
I sucked in a sharp breath when I saw the photograph of Ina on a table at the far end of the room. Won Ina had been the group’s makeup artist. She’d been the only fatality in the car accident.
Almost in a trance, I walked over. The room had been laid out more like a traditional Korean funeral home. A low table with Ina’s photograph, with flowers and food offerings surrounding it. I toed my shoes off before walking onto the blanket which had been laid out and sitting down on it.
I’d never really grown close with any of the team while we’d been on tour, but Ina had been nice. I paid my respects and put my shoes back on. Before I could get to the door, it opened and Youngbin stepped in with a wicked grin on his face.
“Whatever you’ve got in your head, you can stop it right now,” I told him, stepping back for him to see the tribute behind me.
“Oh,” he sighed, softly. His demeanor changed almost instantly as he bowed his head and moved past me, straight to the table. Instead of taking his shoes off like I had, he kneeled down in front of the photograph, bowing several times in what seemed like a familiar pattern.
Another part of Korean culture I wasn’t familiar with.
Feeling like I was intruding, I slipped out of the room and moved further down the corridor to wait for him. A while later, the door opened and Youngbin walked out. He spotted me, then, making sure no one else was about, hurried over to me, tugging me into a different room.
“Are you OK?” he asked me, peering down at me. “Or is it Ina?”
“It wasn’t Ina,” I replied, looking around the room. It looked like a changing room in a store – there were mirrors, an armoire, a curved couch to sit on, and two stalls with curtains pinned back. I walked into the room, Youngbin following. “I’m fine,” I added, before he started panicking. “I’m just…” I frowned, not sure how to explain the strange feeling in the pit of my stomach. Instead I nodded. “Seeing that photograph of Ina left me feeling strange.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Youngbin told me, patiently. “Is this something you don’t know the words for? I don’t mind if you need to check.”
Before I could explain that it was the fact I couldn’t put my feelings into words in English, never mind Korean, the door opened.
We froze.
The door didn’t open further. “I told you, this can wait until after your honeymoon.”
The voice belonged to Holly. Youngbin suddenly grabbed me, pulling me into a changing room. Instead of pulling the curtain closed, he wrapped us in it. It was a good thing it was floor length.
Before I could point out that it was Holly, and this was overreacting – she knew about us, and if they were talking about a honeymoon, the other person was most likely Sungmin – Youngbin was shaking his head.
“I don’t understand why you can’t discuss this now?” I was right: the second person was Sungmin.
There was the sound of movement as the two entered the room and the door was closed.
“Because it’s your wedding day,” Holly pointed out. “Business can wait until after you get married.”
“I heard you and Taeyoon; you were discussing him being manager on tour. What about me?” Sungmin demanded.
I heard Holly sigh. “You have a walking stick, Sungmin. You can barely walk down the corridor.”
“But I did,” Sungmin retorted. “And I’ll be able to walk down the aisle - despite the doctors telling me it would take me twice as long to get to this point. “
“Exactly. You were injured badly. So badly, the doctors have said it will be a long recovery for you. This isn’t walking into an office and sitting behind a desk all day. This is you travelling to two different continents looking after six guys who are, let’s be honest, a handful, without the current situation with them.”
“I can still do my job.”
There was another sigh. “I’m not saying you can’t. I’m saying I want a second manager to help you out. Taeyoon has done an excellent job as your de
puty and he’s really stepped up for the last couple of months.”
“You can’t just-”
“That’s just it,” Holly snapped, cutting Sungmin off. “I can. I could stop you going altogether if I wanted to.”
“Will you?” Sungmin demanded. There was an edge to his question. He sounded worried more than angry.
“No,” Holly responded, firmly. “Not unless the doctor refuses to sign off on it, because I am not going against a doctor. I am, however, going to make sure you have some more support. Now, please, can we discuss this and the logistics, after your honeymoon?”
There was no response, but a moment later, the door opened and closed. I started to move, but Youngbin’s arms tightened around me. I looked up, expecting the grin to have returned – the one he reserved for his dirty thoughts. Instead, once again, he shook his head at me, a serious expression there.
From in the room, a phone rang. I recognized the music as one of H3RO’s songs. “Hello?” Holly answered, killing the ringtone. “Say that again, Inhye… Mo Daesik? As in the CEO of Meropis Entertainment…? What?” There was a long pause. “I’ll be straight in after the ceremony… I’m aware of that, Inhye, but you’re working on a weekend too. I swear if that asshole has had any involvement in this, I am flying to China and drowning him in the Huangpu River…”
The door opened and closed, and Youngbin finally let me go.
“One of these days, Holly is going to follow through on that threat to kill her half-brother,” I said to Youngbin as we stepped out from behind the curtain. His attention seemed elsewhere, however. “I guess it’s my turn to ask if you’re OK?”
Youngbin finally looked at me. “I need to speak to the guys when we get back. Holly is right; we are a handful. If Sungmin does finish the tour with us, we will need to try harder not to stress him out.”
I didn’t disagree.
I let out a sigh as I rubbed at the back of my neck. The wedding ceremony hadn’t even begun, and I was already exhausted. “We should go find our seats.”