Chapter 4: Ya! Who Ate My Ramen?? ~ Heechul
Written By: Michele Hii
I stared at Kyuhyun in surprise. The van stopped behind the bold white line of the street as the traffic light turned red. The driver took off his mask, revealing his tufty black hair and charming-looking face. I recognized him from a couple of Soompi articles and pictures of his wedding back in 2014. "No way! You're their manager!" I exclaimed.
"Indeed I am." he let out a small laugh.
"Did we lost them?" Kyuhyun asked him. The manager peeked through the side mirror and replied, "I believe so, but we still have to be quick."
"Good, because we don't have much time." Kyuhyun said, "I can't stand seeing this girl in trouble."
"Why would I ever be in trouble?" I cocked my head to one side in confusion.
"Don't you see? The scandal between you and I are still the talk of Korea, or even of the whole world." he explained, "And now the paparazzi is chasing after you AND me for more about it."
And then it hit me. Everyone knew about the scandal. But it was not a scandal at all! It was just an accident! The fans who were at the cafe were the ones that made the scene LOOKED like we had a thing going on. And now everything was messed up because the gossip hunters were after me.
"We're here." Jung Hoon, the manager announced. He parked the van at an empty spot and scanned around the area for cameras.
"All clear." he said.
"May I ask where are we?" I raised my hand.
"Just follow me." Kyuhyun replied. I followed him out of the car and he led me to an elevator. Prince Manager, @ Kim Jung Hoon, caught up with us and pressed the "11" button.
"By the way, I haven't asked for your name." Kyuhyun suddenly shot a friendly smile.
"Oh..um...it's Elphena."
"How to spell that?"
"E-l-p-h-e-n-a."
"Ahhh!" he nodded, "That's a pretty name."
I could feel my cheeks grew warm.
"Do you know where we are?" Jung Hoon asked.
"That's what I've been asking! I have no idea!" I answered.
The elevator doors automatically opened. I followed them through a corridor where one side was graffiti-ed with autographs and messages in various languages.
"Oh my gosh! I've seen these before in that video with um...that sweet old lady." I gasped.
"Jun Woo Joo?" the manager guessed.
"Yeah, I think so! She brought kimchi for them and even complimented on Eunhyuk's super clean room."
"Oh, yeah!" the manager smiled.
"I wasn't there though." Kyuhyun added.
"Because of your schedule,right?" Jung Hoon snickered.
A voice inside me squealed, "I can't believe I'm actually in SuJu's apartment!"
Jung Hoon had a elastic band with a small set of keys chained around it. It seemed that he usually wore it around his wrist. He opened the door with one of the keys.
"Ryeowook-ah!" Kyuhyun called as he took his shoes off.
A short man with dark red curls and a baby face approached in front of us.
"Oh! Kyuhyun-ssi!" Ryeowook's face brightened
They had a short conversation in Korean while I stood near the shoe shelves. Sigh...somehow I wish I can speak fluent Korean. The way they speak was just beautiful!
"Hi!" Ryeowook waved at me, "Elphena, right?"
"Oh! Yeah, that's right!" I waved back.
"Nice to meet you! I had just finished cooking lunch. Would you like some of my special ramen?"
"Can I?"
"Of course!"
"Sweet!"
I remembered that Ryeowook was not only one of SuJu's main vocalists, but also SUKIRA's radio DJ and musical actor and a talented chef. A big boiling wok of the iconic Korean instant noodles was enticing enough for me to drool
"Help yourself. I've prepared some in the bowls on the table." he said.
Kyuhyun pointed at the dining table which was placed next to the small kitchen. He even pulled one of the wooden chairs for me to sit. Such a gentleman!
"Jal meokkesseumnida (I'll eat it well)!" I said.
"It's a little spicy, but I bet you'll like it." Kyuhyun winked. He took his first big slurp of Ryeowook's specialty. I controlled myself from giggling at his cuteness. His cheeks were puffed up like a squirrel when he ate.
The manager took one big slurp as well. Boy, they sure loved Ryeowook's cooking. I blew the first few strands of ramen that were hung from my chopsticks and finally stuffed them into my mouth. There was a hint of chili flavour, but it didn't disappoint the taste.
"So...what do you think?" Ryeowook asked.
"It's great!" I nodded.
"Awesome! Come and take more if you can, alright?"
Suddenly, one of the doors swung open and out came a man with a black bob haircut. He stopped and stared at me.
"Ya! Who ate my ramen?" he snapped.
I looked at him and then down at my bowl and then back at him again. Kyuhyun leaned close to my ear and whispered, "Yeah, I kinda forgot to tell you that you're sitting in his usual seat."
I could feel my blood pressure rising. Why you little evil maknae...
"I'm so sorry!" I quickly put down my chopsticks.
"You're sorry? You don't sound like it." Heechul sniffed.
"I'm really really really really sorry!" I tried again. I got up and did a 90 degrees bow. My shoulder-length hair almost dipped into the soup of my bowl. From my side, I could hear Kyuhyun giggling like a kid who won the best prank award. I wanna grab one of Ryeowook's frying pans and hit him in the head like Rapunzel did to Flynn Rider.
"Heechul, she's our guest." Ryeowook said, "Please be nice to her."
Heechul stared at the chef for a few seconds. He then heaved a sigh and sat on the chair next to Kyuhyun. "I guess I should say sorry too," he said, "I had an argument with one of my guy friends, and I felt grouchy this whole morning."
"Ah...I see." I replied, "I'm sure you'll figure things out once you talk to him."
"That's not a bad idea," he nodded, "What's your name, kiddo?"
"Elphena." I smiled.
"Nice to meet ya." he then barked at Ryeowook, "Ya! Give me some more ramen, will ya?"
"Alright, alright! Just shut up! " Ryeowook snapped back.
Goodness, these kids...XD
"Did I smell ramen?" a voice came from the front door.
"Ah! Yesung-ssi!" Ryeowook smiled.
A man with black eyelined eyes nearly covered by his straight fringe appeared from a wall. He immediately stopped when he saw me,
"Oh! Who's this?" he asked.
"That's our guest." Ryeowook replied.
I swallowed my last chew of noodles and put out my right hand, "Hi, my name's Elphena."
"Oh! Hi, Elphena! I'm Yesung." he greeeted shyly and shook hands with me.
"I know who you are." I giggled.
"How so?" Yesung exclaimed.
"Can't you tell?" Kyuhyun said, "She's an ELF."
"Ah! That makes sense now!" Yesung realized.
I stiffened a giggle. They were just too cute!
The unique, artistic vocalist stretched out his arms and sat on a chair on the other side of the table.
"Ah! I just came back from recording." he yawned.
"For your album?" Heechul asked,
"You betcha."
The manager, Jung Hoon, suddenly approached from the front door, which was weird because I thought he was somewhere in the dorm since he came in with us half an hour ago.
"Okay, Elphena," he explained, "I'm afraid you have to stay here for a little longer."
"Why?"
"Because the paparazzi is still on undercover."
"So that means?"
"You might have to stay here with Super Junior for a few nights."
My heart dropped. Did I just hear correctly that I have to stay here?? With SuJu???
"Well I'm not surprised." Kyuhyun said as he crossed his arms and leaned his back against his chair.
"Where would I sleep then? There's probably no extra bed...or room." I said.
"Donghae's and Eunhyuk's room is open." Heechul suggested, "Maybe you can sleep there."
Right...they were in the army. So were Shindong, Sungmin and Siwon. No wonder the dorm was a little quiet.
"I...I don't know..." I bit my lip.
"I'm afraid you have to, Elphena. It's for your safety. We might have to keep you here till this mess is cleared up." Jung Hoon agreed.
"How long it'll take then?"
"What do you mean?"
"How long will this whole freaking thing be solved?"
"Probably a week."
"Are you serious?"
"We don't even have a choice here. The paparazzi are seeking for you to ruin your privacy."
I looked at the four pop idols. Surprisingly, their faces lit up with excitement.
"You guys don't mind me staying here? I can't possible live with celebrities."
"Of course we don't mind!" Ryeowook answered, "I'll be happy to cook for an extra person!"
"And I can take you shopping!" Heechul winked, "Oh! I can even give you a makeover!"
"I can take you to see my turtle Ddangkkoma at the aquarium!" Yesung added.
I turned my gaze to Kyuhyun. He stared back at me and my heart did a flip flop,
"Kyuhyun-ah! Say something!" Ryeowook pushed.
His lips was formed into a hyphen. They suddenly curled up into a smile, "Why not?"
"Oh, what the heck," I gave in, "It'll be an interesting experience after all."
"Yeah!" they cheered.
"On one condition..." the manager interrupted.
"Huh?" I looked at him blankly.
"You cannot tell anyone that you're living with SuJu. The paparzzi are like eagles, they can just eavesdrop and track you down."
"What about my roommate, Liz? She's a master at keeping secrets, plus I need her to get my stuff."
"What stuff?"
"Uh...hello...my clothes and toiletries and other things?"
"You can borrow some of mine if you want." Yesung volunteered.
"Hmm..no thanks. I'm just gonna call her." I shook my head.
"Very well then." Jung Hong nodded, "I'm gonna trust you on this on."
"Sir, don't you worry." I laughed, "She's a good friend of mine."
"Ya! Heechul! Yesung! Kyuhyun! Eat some more! The wok is almost empty!" Ryeowook nagged.
"Oh, geez...I'm too full!" Yesung groaned.
"You only had one bowl! You need another bowl for sure!"
I giggled as I scrolled through my contact list for Liz's number. As I pressed lightly on the green button to call her, I could still feel my heart beating because my bias was eyeing at me. His chocolate-coloured fringe slid down to his eyes. I wanted to reach my fingers out to tuck his fringe back to the back of his left ear, but I knew it would be weird to do so.
"This is going to be a wild ride." I thought.
"*click* Hey, girl! Where have you been? I've been waiting for you for about an hour! We're supposed to go for KBBQ today, remember?" Liselle's voice floated from my phone.
"Liz, I know this sounds...crazy but...I need you to do me a favour. A big one."
"Did you suffer from writer's block again? Because I have ten Meiji chocolate bars waiting for you in my fridge."
"No, it's not that." I chuckled, "Just listen and take note, alright?"
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