Written By: Michele Hii
Chapter 6: I'm happy that you're staying here~Kyu
We rode on an elevator in what seemed like a music company building. As we reached the twelfth floor, we were in a recording studio. A camera crew greeted Kyu warmly and led him behind a giant glass window.
"What's going on?" I finally asked.
"I'm gonna do a live broadcast. It's a pre-recording for Fantastic Duo." he replied.
"Oh right! You'll be performing with Lee Sun Hee, right?"
"Yup, that's right."
"That must be exciting!"
"Yeah! I'm excited and nervous. It has been my dream of doing a duet with her. She has been my favourite singer since I was little."
"Well, I'm sure you'll do great."
"Thanks." he giggled. His cheeks went bright pink.
The crew were friendly to me as well. They let me watch him from the control room.
"Annyeong Haseyo! Syupeo Junieo ui Kyuhyeon mida! (Hello! I'm Super Junior's Kyuhyun!)" he began.
He swiped his iPhone to look at comments left by fans on V app. He smiled as he mentioned countries outside of Korea like Hong Kong, Taiwan, Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Chile, Texas, and the Philippines. He also kept clearing his throat and drank water quite a few times in the first eight minutes. It looked like he hadn't warmed up his voice yet. He did his first round of singing the song "Fate" which was written by his role model, but he failed to hit the high notes.
"Kyu, fighting!" I whispered.
He stopped singing and introduced the viewers on V app a method called "lip trill". He warmed up his voice by doing the motorboat sound with his lips. He also did the lip trill while voicing the do-re-mi notes. After that, he drank some more water and said "Ahhhh" like a sigh of satisfaction. That stance when he held the water bottle reminded me of his Jeju island water commercial with Taeyeon of Girls' Generation...for some reason.
As soon as he was about to go for the second round, the door swung open and he started to giggle like a schoolboy. The one and only Lee Sun Hee approached right in front of him and he quickly shook hands with her. Aww....he looked super cute, greeting her so shyly! Even though she spoke in a calm voice and she looked at him with a friendly face and her short hair swung gently whenever she moved her head, Kyu still looked stunned that he got to meet her in person. I crossed my fingers as they sang together. It was one of the most beautiful duets I'd ever seen in my life. Both of their honey voices blended so well! And when they had a goodbye hug in the end, I squeaked so loud that the people in the control room laughed.
"You did a good job out there!" I praised. He entered into the control room with his eyes closed and his hand on his chest.
"I feel like I'm gonna faint. Literally." he laughed.
"No, really, you killed it!" I showed him two thumbs up.
"Aww...thanks, Elph!" he smiled.
"High five?" I put out my hand. He slapped mine gently.
* * *
"Hey, Kyu?" I asked.
"Hmm?"
"Thanks...for everything today.."
"Oh! No problem."
"You really made my day. I wish I can repay you."
"You don't have to. My wish has been fulfilled."
"Wish?"
"Uh-huh." he gazed right into my eyes. I was once again hypnotized.
"My wish is to see you smile for the rest of the day. And you did."
I didn't realized it till now that we were holding hands during the whole drive back to SuJu's apartment! That last line from him got my heart beating. Super fast. Somebody call an ambulance because I was about to suffer from a heart attack!
At last, he let go off my hand and switched the gear back into parking mode.
"Ready for tonight?" he unbuckled his seat belt.
"Huh?"
"Don't you know? Leeteuk and Kangin have returned from Papua New Guinea. They were there to film a jungle adventure show. And we're gonna have a feast."
"Oh! Really? Sounds awesome!"
"Let's go then!"
My hand fitted in his; his long fingers intertwined to mine. We were like this the whole way up to the dorm. It was oddly comfortable.
* * *
"Here goes my nightmare..." I groaned. Pictures from this morning were all over social media and I couldn't stop scrolling at them.
"What to do? There's no way to fix it." Liz's voice appeared from my Macbook. She was on a Skype call.
"If only there really is a way..."
"Elphena, the scandal news is all over the Internet! Like wildfire! You can't fix this." Liz said, "I can't see you, but I hope you would close your Twitter window right at this instant."
"I wish I could, but my my hand's still on the mouse."
"Elphena, I mean it. The more you look at the photos, the worse it gets. Close that freaking window now!"
My fingers obeyed her. I watched as the blue webpage vanished in one click. All that was left on my computer screen was Liz's profile picture on the Skype video call page.
"Okay...I've closed Twitter. Now what?" I mumbled.
"Focus on other things." she replied, "Like..I don't know...your writing."
"What? You mean my SuJu blog?"
"That might not be a good idea. Do you any other projects?"
"Well I'm working on a novel but I haven't got inspiration to continue on with it."
"Oh! The one that was inspired by K-dramas?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"Maybe you can watch more to get inspired again."
"There's sooooo many! Plus I only watch the ones with SuJu in it."
"You're not planing to re-watch She Was Pretty and Oh My Venus again, are you?"
"Well...maybe..."
'It's doesn't have to be just SuJu, there' s some good ones like Descendants of the Sun."
"Yeah, I don't buy that. It's not romantic comedy."
"But it's still a romance series! And you like romance!"
"Not serious ones though."
"Oh geez...sometimes I don't even get you." she laughed.
"Sigh...oh well...I gotta go. I've promised Ryeowook to help with cooking."
"Oh, right! You're gonna have a feast right?"
"Uh-huh."
"Have fun, alright? You should feel lucky because you get to hang out with SuJu."
"I know." I smiled, "Talk to you later."
* * *
"Hey! Elphena right?" a cherry voice made me jump. I turned back and saw the magnae of Super Junior M waved at me. Beside him was the tallest member of the group.
"Oh! Yes, that's right." I waved back.
"Yah! Keep your eyes on the pork! You'll burn them!" Ryeowook screeched a few feet from me.
"Sorry!" I focused on frying the meat.
"Whoa! What are you cooking?" Henry asked as he came closer.
"Sweet and sour pork." I replied.
"Ooh! Mashiseo boyeoyo! (Looks delicious)" he exclaimed.
"You just came by?"
"Yeah, Zhoumi car-pooled me. We're excited to see Leeteuk and Kangin hyung who has gone through an exciting adventure in the forests of Papua New Guinea."
"I can't wait to hear their stories." I agreed.
I was a little scared of frying stuff. I always got burnt on the skin because of the hot splattering oil. But as I spoke too soon, a drop of oil jumped from the wok and stung on my arm.
"Ouch!" I cried, I dropped the spatula on the table and wiggled my arm.
"Are you okay?" Henry's eyes widened.
"Yeah, I'm okay....stupid oil..." I mumbled.
Ryeowook rushed and turned off the fire. "The pork seemed to be well-cooked. Well done, Elphena!"
"Thanks, glad I could help. Ow!" I gritted my teeth. Henry was a little too rough on rubbing a Chinese herbal ointment onto my arm.
"Sorry!" Henry gasped.
"Ya! Henry, you've got to be gentle when treating wounds!" Zhoumi chipped in.
"I don't know, dude, I don't know much about first aid!"
"Then why did you bring that ointment with you?"
"Because it's a gift from my mom and I don't know what to do with it...until now."
Zhoumi and I laughed. Ah, yes. Asian parents and their confidence in traditional medicine.
Ryeowook transferred the light-batter fried pork onto a plate and gave me a thumbs-up, "All done? I'm gonna teach you how to to cook the sauce now."
"That doesn't sound bad. As long as it's not frying, I'm in."
"Trust me, this doesn't include frying at all." You just have to mix and stir the ingredients in honey sauce."
After feeling better with the rest of the cooking, we brought all of the dishes onto the table. Heechul, Yesung, Leeteuk, Kangin, Henry and Zhoumi were all there. Kyu, on the other hand, was standing at the balcony.
"Why is he there? Isn't it cold out there?" I asked.
"I don't know. Can you call him over?" Ryeowook ordered.
"I'm on it." I nodded.
I pushed open the sliding doors and poked my head out, "Kyu? Dinner's ready."
He turned back with a neutral expression. He immediately pulled a smile, "Huh? Oh, okay."
"Is everything alright?"
"Yeah." he replied, patting me on my head.
* * *
"And then when Leeteuk was about to swing to the opposite cliff, his feet suddenly slipped at the edge of it and he lost his grip on the vine." Kangin chuckled,"He fell into the lake with his eyes stared down and he kept yelling "AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" kinda like Tarzan!"
We bursted out laughing, except for Kyu. He stopped eating his half-empty plate of kimbap, kimchi pancake and pork. I noticed that he drank four shots of beer. Everyone here drank two shots of it. Luckily, I don't drink beer or any alcohol, so I had water instead.
"Leeteuk-ah! Jinjah....you need to step up your game!" Heechul teased.
"Hey! It's called aging, okay? I'm too old to reach to the other side of the obstacle." Leeteuk pouted.
"Or you're just too old to swing a vine." Kangin guffawed.
"Young Woon. Shut up." Leeteuk glared at him.
Kangin stuffed himself with a big mouthful of kimchi pancake. I covered my mouth with my hand to keep myself from laughing.
"So, Elphena, where are you from?" Zhoumi asked.
"Malaysia, " I replied, "But I've studied in Canada for more than four years and now I'm here."
"Cool! I heard there are some pretty good Chinese food in Malaysia."
"Oh, yeah! Absolutely!"
"We should go back to Malaysia for a concert or something." Henry suggested.
"Not until the rest comes back from the army." Yesung said.
"Oh yeah..."
"Ah! I'm so glad to have this feast! Tomorrow I'll be all set for recording for my new album.."
I almost choked on my water, "Wait, Zhoumi, did you say you're gonna have a new album?"
"Yeah."
"That's awesome! I love all of your songs in your first album! Wow, I can't wait for your second one!"
"Thanks! I look forward to share my new songs." he smiled. His face looked hopeful, emboldened by my comment.
"What's your favourite song from my album?" he asked.
"Um...I have to say "Without You". I love the emotional feel in the song." I replied.
"Sweet!"
"What about me? Have you listened to my songs before?" Henry raised his hand.
"Of course!" I beamed, ""1-4-3" is my favourite."
"I'm happy to hear that." he smiled back.
"So...did you go back to Toronto often, Henry?" I asked as I finished my last bite of food.
"I think I went back a few months ago." he answered, "But due to my schedule, I'm unable to go back often."
"Plus the plane tickets are always expensive."
"I know, right? It's insane!"
"Do you miss Poutine (Canadian dish-french fries with gravy and cheese)?"
"Oh, yes! I miss it so much!"
"I miss it too." I laughed.
Kyu suddenly got up from his chair. His body almost tilted but he grabbed on the chair for support.
"I'm gonna...get some fresh air." he slurred. He lumbered to the balcony. I got up from mine and went after him.
I heard Ryeowook whispered, "Do you think Elphena likes Kyuhyun?"
"What do you know about it?"
I closed the balcony doors before I hear them spill random guesses. A cold chill hit against my face. I clutched my cardigan tight as I stood next to Kyu. Despite the freezing night, the city was a picturesque party of colourful lights. I glanced at him as my heart melted. The moonlight left glints of silver on his brown hair. It was absolutely breathtaking.
"Hey," I spoke softly, "You looked upset after we came up here this evening. What's wrong?"
He finally looked at me and breathed deeply, "I'm worried."
"About what?"
"My duet with Lee Sun Hee."
"But you're an idol. You've sang in front of thousands of people before."
"Yeah, but not with my all-time favourite singer."
"It's not as if she's gonna hurt you or make you look bad. You killed it at the pre-recording, and I know you'll slay it again."
" You...you just don't understand."
"You have an amazing voice, Kyu. I'm sure you'll be a perfect match to her voice."
He said nothing. He gazed at the view, looking half-asleep.
Without realizing, I leaned closer and placed my left hand on top of his right hand which was on the railing. I rubbed his hand back and forth to keep it warm.
"Kyu, can you just look at me for a second?" I asked.
He turned to me. His eyes were a dark shade of negativity. I could even see it with the moon's natural torch.
"You will give the best performance ever with Lee Sun Hee. The Kyu I know never backs away from such an amazing opportunity and he will touch everyone's heart with the song he has chosen to sing. Trust me, I know you can do it."
His lips curled into a smile. He slipped his hand off my touch and pulled me close to his body. My heart was about to explode. His arms were wrapped at the back of my neck and my head was right on his chest.
"Thanks, Elph." his voice was like bells to my ears, "I'm happy that you're staying here. I get to see your pretty face every day, and I thank God for that." I smiled and rubbed his back with my hands in that embrace. We were like that for one whole minute....I think. He let go off me and whispered, "Good night, I'll see you tomorrow."
His face was super close to mine, almost as if he was going to kiss me. My nose tickled from his beer breath. Still, I was mesmerized by the way he leaned against me and the words he said. "Good night, Kyu." I whispered in return. I took two steps to the glass doors, paused, and went back to plant a quick kiss on his cold cheek. Kyu's mouth hung slightly before he gave me a sleepy smile. He's cute when he's drunk. :3
As I closed the balcony doors, I glanced at his attractive back. The back of his hair bobbed gently by the night wind. "Oh Kyu..." I sighed and finally set my foot back to my room. I was already in my tank top and sweatpants which was pretty much my sleepwear. I immediately turned off the lights, switched my phone on silent mode and crawled into the blue checkered quilt.
"Who knows...tomorrow might be a good day." I yawned and dozed off, dreaming about Kyu.
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