"Get out!"
Jaye frowned as she stepped through the door at the dressing room. Tae Kyung's hairstylist scurried past her. The man was fuming in front of the dressing table. He had cut his hair in the last couple of days and it wasn't doing what he wanted.
She dropped her bag to the couch and walked over to him. He glared at her in the mirror was as she grabbed a comb and started running it through the messed up locks. He had a TV spot in an hour and he was picky about his hair. He'd always been picky about his hair.
She dipped her fingers in the hair goo and pulled it through his hair. It instantly swept up and back. It wasn't completely spiky but it was spiky enough that it stayed out of his face. She wiped her hands on a dampened rag then sat in front of him. His makeup wasn't a hundred percent done so she grabbed his makeup and started to apply it.
"What did she do?" she asked as she applied the foundation with deliberately light strokes. He was almost as picky about his makeup as he was his hair.
"She wanted to slick it back and I told her no. She tried to do it anyway," he groused.
Jaye shook her head as she switched from foundation to liquid eyeliner. "You need to control your temper. I've told you this before. It's already gotten you in enough trouble with the company. You don't need to have your contract terminated."
He scoffed. "They won't do anything to me. My mother won't let them."
"One day that threat won't work. You have to be careful. They're going to get tired of your attitude and call your bluff. Then what will you do?"
"You're talking like you know what will happen. You're not part of this company because you didn't want to be."
She pinched his shoulder hard enough to make him twist. "You wanted me to come with you when I was content studying at college. I'm glad I didn't follow you because if I had, I wouldn't have a private life. Look at you. You've had more scandals with your current girlfriend and your fake girlfriend. Yes, I kept up with you even when we didn't talk often. Your private life is nonexistent because you are an idol. I don't want that."
They stared at each other for a long time. Tae Kyung had asked her to come with him to AN Entertainment when he was first signed. She was the only one who knew him well enough to know when his temper was at its limit. He had never taken his temper out on her because her temper was worse than his. But she had thought it over and had ultimately decided not to join the company. She had known what he would do the instant she had joined and she hadn't wanted that.
She had gone on to school and continued working at the café and as a music teacher. If she ever became a lyricist, she wanted it to be on her terms, not because she rode on the coattails of her friend.
She continued applying his makeup in silence. He was brooding like he always did when they got into an argument, but it would only take a minute for him to come out of it. He wouldn't hold a grudge against her, never had. When she was done, she sat back against the mirror and stared off into space.
"Oppa!" They both looked at the door to see the twins standing there. Hee Yi was with them and she looked smug for some reason. Mi Nyu came in and looked between them. "What's going on, Oppa?"
Jaye sighed because she knew what was coming next. Sliding off the vanity, she went to grab her bag only to have Tae Kyung grab her arm. Classic wrist grabbing that she had seen in dramas. Apparently he was a master of it. She tugged gently to test his strength. He wasn't letting go.
"Don't misunderstand," he said as he stood. "Jaye has been my only friend since I was nine years old. She knows just about everything about from my mother to now. Nothing is going on. I see her more as an older sister than a girlfriend."
Laughing, she took her hand out of his. "You wouldn't know what to do with me if I was your girlfriend. Anyway, I have to go. I just wanted to swing by and see what you were doing. I have a music class to teach."
She grabbed her bag and excused herself past the two people standing in the doorway. For some reason hearing Tae Kyung say that he had never seen her as a woman hurt. She had known he had never seen her like that but hearing it out loud was a different matter altogether. She wasn't lying when she said she had a music class to teach, but she had several hours before that. It had just been an excuse to get away from everyone.
Shin Woo was ascending the stairs when Jaye brushed by him rather quickly. He had been staying at her place for the last few days because they were still working on his song. He had gone home early that morning to gather some clothes so he wouldn't have to travel in and out of his house and disturb people. She had said she was going to be busy that day and for him not to worry. He hadn't thought anything of it and had gone on his merry way. Now to see her coming down the stairs in a hurry told him something was wrong.
He continued on until he got to the green room. Mi Nam, Mi Nyu and Yoo Hee Yi were gathered around Tae Kyung talking intently. Shin Woo had no idea what it was about, but he was certain that this is where it had originated.
"So nothing was going on?" Mi Nyu asked.
"Jaye and I are just friends. Was there ever a time I saw her as more than a sister? Maybe once, but that is well into the past. She doesn't want anything to do with me like that. The thought of sleeping with her is cringing," Tae Kyung said.
That was the thing that had caused the commotion. He had opened his mouth once again and said the thing that was on his mind. But once again he didn't think of the consequences. Shin Woo pulled out his phone and hit speed dial as he turned from the doorway.
"Where are you?" he asked as soon as Jaye picked up the phone.
"I'm getting coffee," she answered.
He heard the tone of her voice and picked up his pace. "Sit down and wait for me."
There were only two coffee shops near the company and one she wouldn't set foot in because it was way too dingy. Only the truly depraved went there. He took the second one as his guess and headed that direction.
From the moment he met her, he'd known that Jaye was completely different than the other women who'd thrown themselves at the band. She didn't care that they were famous. She treated them all the same. She was honest about most things, but he wondered if she was honest about how she felt when Tae Kyung ran his mouth without thinking.
He saw her sitting beside the window swirling a plastic stir stick in her cup. The happy face he had come to know in the last three days was gone. He guessed she would feel downtrodden if her best friend said that he didn't see her as a woman.
Taking a deep breath because he knew what he was about to do, he walked into the coffee shop. Every female head turned as he walked towards Jaye's table. He pulled the empty chair out and sat down. She didn't even look up until he pulled her cup across the table and took a sip. There was no light in her eyes as she looked at him.
"I find it best to ignore him," he said.
"I've known him for so long and most of the time whatever he says goes in one ear and out the other. But this time…" She shook her head as she folded her arms on the table. "I never thought I'd hear him say something like that."
"Did you ever look at him as more than a brother and a friend?"
She shook her head again as she took her cup back. She needed to do something with her hands so she wrapped them around the warm porcelain. "No, never. We've always been honest with each other on that front, but we've never looked down on each other or said anything like that. Somehow it makes me feel like he doesn't see me at all."
"He does; he was just caught off guard with Mi Nyo (had to revise as I found the correct spelling) and Mi Nam showing up. Plus Yoo Hee Yi would probably have started something if he hadn't have spoken up. They have a history that was very tumultuous."
He smiled at her. "Why don't we go back to your place and work on the song? It may help your mood."
Jaye looked out the window and thought back to how crazy things had become in the last year. No, in the last month. She had seen an increase in students and had to drop some hours at the café. Now she had Shin Woo and Tae Kyung to worry about; one because she was helping with a song and the other because he didn't think before he spoke.
Shin Woo knew he wasn't going to get anywhere if they just sat there. So he took her hand and drew her up. He didn't relinquish it as he led her out of the café. He was certain some of the people in the building had taken pictures and that they would be on the internet by the time they returned to the house. There was no doubt they were going to receive some phone calls about it.
"Can I ask you something?" she asked suddenly as they were standing at a crosswalk.
"Sure, whatever you want," he replied. He realized she didn't pull her hand from his.
"How did your fans take it when they found out Jeremy, Tae Kyung and Mi Nam were dating? I know they see the boys as sweet and innocent when it comes to the opposite sex."
He used the thirty seconds it took to cross the street to think about it. Those three had been so open about their relationships that no one dared contradict them.
"No one really said anything. Then again Tae Kyung dared everyone to tell him what to do," he explained.
"He's always been like that. Can we get some skewered fishcakes? I don't particularly want to go home but I'm hungry."
Shin Woo laughed and led her towards an area he knew had plenty of stands. He knew she would have a hard time choosing what she wanted to eat. Neither one of them realized they were still holding hands.
He couldn't hide in the crowd of people, but there was no need to. As soon as she found the stall she was looking for, she pulled her hand from his and went directly to it. She ordered several skewers and paid the woman cooking them with a happy smile. They met halfway and she handed a couple to him. She broke the seal on a bottle before loosening the lid and holding it.
They walked through the throng of people and watched everyone. People were shopping and wandering in and out of stores and of cafes. They stopped to stare at him as he followed Jaye. He smiled politely at them then continued on after the woman. He heard phone camera shutters going off as plenty of people took photos.
Jaye was caught up in her own little world that she completely forgot she was with Shin Woo. She turned around to find him kneeling and talking to a little girl. She was holding on to a notepad as a throng of girls stood around him. He smiled at her as she kept talking to him. She finally held out a pen and he scribbled his autograph on her paper.
He sign a few more autographs then politely broke through the crowd. He smiled at her as he put his hand on her back and turned her so they could continue on their way. She looked at him and he smiled in return. He knew there was going to be photos as soon as they got back, and at his interview the next day there would be tons of questions about who the girl was but he was going to deny anything. They weren't seeing each other but Tae Kyung wouldn't know that.
"Let's go work on the song," she said suddenly.
"I can't. I have to go home and get ready for tomorrow. The band has a television interview." He stopped and forced her to do so as well. "There are bound to be pictures online come tonight and tomorrow. Can you trust me not to give your name to the public?"
"I don't have an issue with my name being made public. I just don't want to get attacked for being with you or asked to go on interviews because they view me as something I'm not.. And don't make up stuff. Be as honest as you can."
Shin Woo smiled at her reception. She really was down to earth about this whole thing. It was probably due to the fact that her father was always in the limelight.
He walked her back to her house and waited until she was securely inside before he headed home. Tae Kyung was going to be a beast when he saw the pictures.