A/N: Chapter Two! Hopefully the characters are in character and not OOC; forgive me if so, though, and don't hesitate in helping me correct them.
She dropped her luggage onto the floor once she entered the dorm the members of Anjell. shared. It felt...nostalgic to return so suddenly. Go Mi Nyu––now, once more Go Mi Nam––wouldn't deny that she missed this place. If anything, there were moments in Africa where she wanted to so desperately return and be with the boys she found herself attached to. But she had to learn to cope being without them, even though she had already grown used to their silliness and lifestyle. It would be a lie to say that she didn't miss singing, too.
There was a lot I missed..
Go Mi Nam smiled faintly at the fond memories that ran through her mind. She began to stroll around the dorm the band members shared, going from room to room without any direction. Instead, she reminisced in the sweet memories she shared with the outgoing Jeremy, sweet Shin Woo, and even the grouchy Tae Kyung. A few memories that popped inside her mind caused Go Mi Nam to laugh a bit out loud without realizing it.
"What are you laughing at?"a voice from behind asked her.
As if caught from a heinous crime, she froze up, listening to the footsteps approach her from behind. After a few seconds, Go Mi Nam spun around to face the member who caught her reminiscing in the memories. A familiar man––one she grew to love so much, despite the hardships he put her through––stood before her, looking as serious as ever.
"Well?" Tae Kyung asked again, clearly not wanting to repeat himself.
She couldn't help but smile at him. Oh, how she missed this stubborn singer. She missed him and his gentle nature––
Without any warning, he flicked her forehead, now a little bit irritable. "What the heck are you smiling about? Do you find it funny that I'm asking you this question? Are you trying to make a joke out of me.." He scoffed, folding his arms while narrowing his eyes. "..What are you laughing at?"
Scrunching up her nose, Go Mi Nam quickly changed her mind. She didn't miss his not-so gentle nature. In fact, she preferred it when they were far from each other, and he was telling her how much he missed her over the phone. He was a lot nicer then.. She turned her head away and decided to respond before she frustrated him further by not replying. "I was just...remembering.."
"Remembering?" repeated Tae Kyung, raising an eyebrow at her blunt answer. "..Remembering what exactly? Nothing embarrassing I would hope.."
"Everything!" responded Go Mi nam right after. She turned away from Tae Kyung and without direction once more, acted as though the wind were leading her and drifted towards the kitchen. Once reaching the kitchen, she placed both her hands on the table they once shared breakfast, lunch and dinner at. "Like the times we ate here.. And especially the time you cooked food for Hee Yi, and did terrible things to it, and then Jeremy had to eat it.." She laughed a bit quietly at the memory where all three men had been horrified when Hee Yi insisted that Go Mi Nam eat the meal first before Jeremy volunteered as a sacrifice. She then moved from the kitchen to the living room, brushing her fingers across the television in the room. "Or the time Jeremy showed me those videos of you.. And you ended up chasing him around here.." Go Mi Nam smiled sadly as she looked to Tae Kyung who had been following her around, listening to her reminisce with him. While he wasn't fond of those particular memories she spoke of, he still remained quiet as he listened to her before he approached her, remaining expressionless.
Finally, he parted his lips to speak. "Are those memories really something to be fond of?" he questioned, tilting his head to the side a bit.
"What do you mean..?" asked Go Mi Nam, a little confused by his question. "I don't get.."
"What I mean is this: Why are you wasting time reminiscing when there are.." Tae Kyung paused, clearing his throat as he glanced away awkwardly, "..more memories to create?"
Despite Tae Kyung's clear awkwardness from saying such cheesy things, the fact that he went ahead and said those things caused her to smile wide. Once he focused his gaze back onto her, he noticed her smile and rubbed his neck irritably.
"If you're just going to smile at me like that, then forget what I said––" he began before being interrupted by her sudden action.
Go Mi Nam had lunged forward in that moment, wrapping her slender arms around Tae Kyung and smiling with her eyes closed shut as she rested her head against his chest. "Thank you, Hyung-nim.. You've made me happy by just saying those kinds of things. So thank you."
Tae Kyung shifted uneasily at first. After glancing around to make sure no one was coming to see, he returned the embrace by wrapping his arms––hesitantly––around her smaller figure and mumbling, "..It was nothing." Eventually, once a few minutes passed of their warm embrace, Go Mi Nam reluctantly pulled away, glancing up at Tae Kyung whose facial features had softened. Instead of looking irritable and awkward, he held a calm expression. The eyes that were once cold like ice and sharp as daggers were now soft and filled with warmth as he stared at her. "Are you going to be okay?"
"I am," she told him, nodding her head in response.
But Tae Kyung wasn't satisfied with such a simple answer. He stared down at her in disbelief. "You're going to be okay? With your brother in the hospital, trapped in a coma? That's really okay for you?" Go Mi Nam was taken aback by the sudden topic of her twin. "You're okay acting as someone you're not? Standing in someone's place you don't belong with a name that isn't even yours?"
"Hyung-nim.."
"You're not denying it. Are you telling me that you don't care about the fate of Anjell. ? That if we get caught, it's still going to be okay?" demanded Tae Kyung.
"That's––that's not what I meant," argued Go Mi Nam, her eyes beginning to water.
"Then what is it you exactly mean, Go Mi Nam? You're okay with the destruction of Anjell. and what we stand for?" demanded Tae Kyung once more.
"I––I mean that I.." She was speechless.
A few tears dripped down her cheeks. She had told herself that she wouldn't be emotional anymore; that she wouldn't cry like this in front of anyone and burden them. But even now, right at the start, she was already failing. She didn't know how to respond to those questions. She didn't know how to feel. Ever since she left the hospital, she told herself everything would be okay. That her brother would wake up from his coma. That he would survive and live out his dreams. But in truth, despite her hopes and prayers, her heart ached; a lot. In reality, Go Mi Nam was afraid to start all of this over, despite longing to return to Tae Kyung's side. She was terrified that she would finally be found out and that the truth would be uncovered. She was worried that Tae Kyung, Jeremy, and Shin Woo would face the consequences of covering up lies that deceived their loyal fans and disgraced their band. Go Mi Nam didn't want to destroy everything they built up.
She went to wipe the tears off her face with the sleeve of her sweater, but Tae Kyung stopped her. Instead, he grabbed a hold of her hand and dragged her back into the kitchen before sitting her at the table. Just as she was about to object, he grabbed a box of tissues left on the table and placed it closer to him; pulling out a tissue before using it to wipe the tears that stained her cheeks. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment, though she averted her gaze from the scene she just caused.
"Hyung-nim, I'm sorry––"
"Don't try and lie your way out of this situation," he said, cutting off her apology while he continued to gently wipe away her tears.
She blinked at his words. "What.. do you mean?"
"You're clearly not okay, Go Mi Nam." Tae Kyung got up from his seat to throw away the tissues used before sitting back in front of her. "You were lying when you said you were okay. Had I not asked you those questions, you would have kept deceiving yourself. If you're not okay, then tell me. Don't hold in those emotions anymore." Before he could get embarrassed by the sweet talk, he cleared his throat. "Because if you happen to be at a fan-meeting or on live television, and you break down like you just did because you kept holding it in, then it's going to raise a lot of questions and unnecessary publicity. Understand?"
Go Mi Nam stared blankly at him before her lips curved back into a small smile. "I understand, hyung-nim." While he used the excuse of publicity, she really knew that he––the stubborn, short-tempered band leader, Tae Kyung––cared considerably about how she felt often. And truly, she was grateful that he went through such lengths to understand how she felt. "I promise, I'll let you know how I'm feeling from now on. Shall I write you letters at the end of the day and slip them under your door for when you wake up in the morning? That way you don't have to waste time asking me how I am––?"
He simply stared at her with expressionless features before exhaling heavily as he leaned back in his seat. "..You're really something."
But that didn't keep him from smiling a bit at her suggestion.
A/N: Your thoughts?