"I'm here, where are you?" I asked Song-E on the phone, looking all over the small café for her.
"I'm in the bathroom," she sighed, "Did you see that blue car outside?"
"There aren't any cars outside," I said while making my way to the bathroom. I peeked under the stall doors and saw her touching her toes together.
"Are you here?" she asked on the phone.
"Yes, unni," I said and hung up, "come on, get out of there."
She opened the door slowly and sighed, "I'm officially the worst person in the entire world."
I didn't know what she was talking about, but this bathroom was not the place to talk about it, "Let's just go back to the dorm, unni." I tried to hold her hand to lead her out but she whipped her hand away.
"No," she was almost yelling, "I have to see Gikwang."
"You can call him on the way out," I said, "Let's just—"
"You don't understand," she was shaking her head.
"Okay, fine," I headed toward the bathroom door, locked it, and then turned to face her, "What happened?"
"We were just talking, okay? I was even talking about Gikwang! And then he just randomly puts his arm around me like he's going to put me in a headlock, but instead he kissed my cheek. And I KNOW that photographer was taking pictures the entire time and I KNOW it's going to be a huge scandal, okay? And I'm going to look like the biggest freaking whore, because now I've been seen with Gikwang AND Myungsoo," Song-E started crying somewhere in the middle and I took the liberty of hugging her, but she kept going, "I have to see Gikwang and tell him that I lied, and what really happened, before those pictures come up and he gets the wrong idea. I have to see him. I have to go right now."
"Unni," I paused, "you can't just burst in there and demand to speak to him," I checked my phone for the time, "They're back in practice now."
"I don't care," she straightened up and wiped her eyes, "I want to see him right now."
"Come here," I pulled her by the hand and looked for paper towels, but just grabbed some toilet paper when I couldn't find any. I wet it under the faucet, and then held her face while wiping off the makeup smears. "You're a mess, unni."
She just sniffed and let me fix her eyes. Once I cleaned her up I gave her another hug.
"Are you calmed down now?" I asked and held her back to look at her. She nodded and dried her eyes a little more. "Are you sure you want to see him right now?"
"Yes," Song-E didn't even hesitate when I asked. She gathered her bag from the sink and walked toward the door.
"Did anyone else answer the phone?" I asked and hurried to catch up to her.
"No, but Jiyoon promised she'd call me when she was out of the meeting. I haven't told anyone else but you," she looked over her shoulder at me, "Will you call Dongwoon? Tell him we're on our way?"
"Unni, I think you should just wait a minute to chill out," I said, struggling to keep up with her while she sped down the street.
"Just call Dongwoon, please," she said quietly. It had started to rain again, the weather as bipolar as the events of the day. Not even 15 minutes ago it was sunny and hot, now Song-E and I were pulling our hoods over our heads. So I just listened to her. It took several rings before Dongwoon finally answered, and rudely.
"We just picked up practice, are you okay?" the tone of his voice sounded really annoyed.
"Yes, I'm fine," I said, "But Song-E needs to stop by and see Gikwang right now."
"Uhh…" Dongwoon paused, "Are you sure about that?"
"Woon," I sighed, "Just have him meet her downstairs, I guess. I'll wait outside."
"No, no," he sighed, "Did something happen? Are you okay? You sound upset…"
"I'm fine," I said, "Song-E just needs to see Gikwang right away. Please."
"Well our managers are gone, it's just the choreos, so it should be okay. Just come up, we're going to practice until then," he sighed, "I don't mean to be short with you, but we can't just keep doing this."
I wanted to argue back and say I wasn't doing anything, but I knew whatever Dongwoon was mad about wasn't aimed at me. "I'm sorry. We'll be there… whenever." The other line clicked and I just rolled my eyes. The rain started to pick up.
When we finally got to the building, Song-E didn't hesitate to barge into their practice. The managers still weren't there, so the choreos said the boys could take another break.
"Make it a short one, please," Doojoon locked eyes with Song-E, who nodded. Dongwoon had gone to the bathroom, so I stood around looking stupid.
"Jinhwa, can we talk a minute… again?" Doojoon asked me.
"Sure."
"I know new relationships are new and exciting—"
"Whatever reasons you think I have for being here," I sighed, "they're not true. I'm here for Song-E."
"Do you mind telling me what happened then?"
"It's not my business," I said simply, "It's between Gikwang and Song-E, and it has nothing to do with Beast. So it's not really your business either."
Doojoon nodded, "Well, if you decide differently, let me know." He paused, "Jinhwa, I like you. I'll open up to you, but you have to open up to me."
"I haven't really decided whether or not I like you, though, Doojoon," I said. Right as I did, Dongwoon came back in.
"Oh my gosh, Jinhwa, you're soaked," he frowned, "You're going to catch a cold."
"I'm fine," I smiled. Doojoon had turned and left. I didn't get to see his reaction to what I said, but I couldn't decide whether I wanted him to be upset or not. My phone started ringing while Dongwoon started to blot-dry me with a towel. It was Miyeon.
"Yeoboseyo?" I answered.
"What's wrong with Song-E? She called me like 12 times and now she won't answer the phone!"
"She's fine," I sighed, "We'll be back soon. Something just happened.."
"Well hurry, because Jiyoon is going to kill you if you're late again," Miyeon yawned.
"What time is it?" I asked, looking around for a clock on the wall or something.
Miyeon spoke with a mouthful of food, "It's like 2:30. Where are you? Is leader unni with you?"
"Yeah, she is," I sighed, "We'll be back in 20 minutes. Do we have any extra clothes laying around?" I tried to stifle a laugh while I swatted Dongwoon's hand away from me as he kept trying to "dry me off."
"Just hurry up, maknae," Miyeon then went into a fit of giggles.
"Wait a minute," I paused, "Where are you?"
"Taecyeon is just dropping me off," she said as calmly as possible, but I heard her whispering something like "stop doing that."
"Uh huh, sure," I laughed, "I don't even want to know anymore."
"N-no, Jinhwa don't get the wrong idea! He's tickling me!" Miyeon squealed and I heard a big slap.
"Ouuuuch," I heard Taecyeon say in the background.
"You better kiss that," I teased, "It must have really hurt him."
"Shut up, maknae, just get back to practice… right now!"
I laughed and hung up. She always made me feel better.
"What's happening with Song-E?" Dongwoon asked in a whisper.
"I think I'll let Gikwang tell you," I sighed, "It's really just not my business. I'm sorry, big maknae."
Dongwoon just smiled, "You're a good friend."
"What?" I laughed, "No, I just want what's best for Song-E. I don't want to spread drama where it's not needed."
"That makes you a good friend, though," Dongwoon poked my nose, "It's part of why I like you so much."
I scrunched my nose looked around toward the door. It had just opened and Gikwang came back in. Alone. Uh oh.
"I better go," I said and pecked his cheek, "Text me when you're out of practice. I'll probably be home."
"You always leave in such a hurry," Dongwoon kept a hold of my hand, "I better get a real kiss later."
I stuck my tongue out playfully and pulled away from him. It was hard to act playful when I was so worried about Song-E. She was right outside the door, slumped against the wall with her head in her knees. She heard me say her name and looked up. She was a wreck. Obviously, Gikwang didn't take it well.
"Come on, unni," I said and held out my hand, "We have to go to practice."
"I'm an idiot," she said through tears, grabbing my hand and putting very little effort into standing up while I pulled.
"You're not," I said, leading her back to our building as fast as she could walk.
"Yes I am," she sobbed, "He's so hurt and it's all my fault," she kept saying. I didn't know how to comfort her, so I just held her hand while we walked back. She calmed herself down before we got inside.
"I'll talk to Jiyoon first," Song-E told me while we rode the elevator upstairs and she wiped her face, "Just don't say anything to the other two."
"Unni," I pouted, "We're not just friends, you know… we're sisters now. You can tell us anything, and if I were in their position, my feelings would be hurt…"
"I'm just embarrassed," she said, "I'll tell them on my own, just not right now. We need to get to work."
I sighed and nodded. I knew Song-E would talk to both of them when the time came. She was really the best choice for leader, and all of us knew it. She didn't understand because she had screwed up. I could admit that she screwed up. But I had a bad feeling about it in the pit of my stomach… Why was Myungsoo even acting that way toward her? They'd only hung out one time, and he suddenly decides to act all flirty? Surely Song-E told him that she had a boyfriend… It really made me wonder what sort of intentions Myungsoo had.
And why did the photographer leave when Myungsoo did? Instead of staying to get pictures of Song-E? If I was trying to start a scandal, I would stay until Song-E left. I was glad this photographer was dumb, but I couldn't help thinking there was a lot more to this story than what we knew. If these pictures never surfaced, I wouldn't be surprised.
"You guys are right on time!" Jiyoon smiled, "And soaking wet… is it raining that hard?"
Song-E laughed, "Yeah, it's been pouring for the last hour. Where have you been?" I smiled to myself at Song-E's true "idol factor." She could act like everything was absolutely fine even when inside she was falling apart. I didn't have that factor, but the more I hung around my unnis, the stronger that factor would get.
"Well, let's head upstairs," Jaesoon clapped, "After the voice practice, we're going to the gym."
"WAAAH, I DON'T WANT TO!" Miyeon pouted, "I've been going non-stop all day! Morning practice, shopping with Taec, and now I have to work out?"
"Unni is trying to kill us," I held Miyeon's elbow and pouted, then both of us scowled at Jaesoon.
"What? You two are fine," Jaesoon said strictly, "We need to stay nice and toned. Don't you want oppas to always love you? Better stay fit, then!"
"I'm actually looking forward to it," Song-E said, "I need to spend a good 30 minutes on the treadmill."
"That's the spirit!" Jaesoon hooked her arm around Song-E, "I can always count on leader-nims to be enthusiastic."
Song-E smiled, but she didn't say anything. I was still worried, but I could feel the stress lifting off of her. Something about being together—all four of us—we could always focus on the positive. The mood always lifted. I rested my head on Miyeon's shoulder while we walked.
"Hey, unni," I said, "You know that you mean a lot to me, right?"
Miyeon chuckled, "Of course I do, maknae. You need a good, strong, female influence in your life and I'm really glad that I am that influence."
"I'm serious, though," I laughed, "I'm really glad to be in this group with you. And Jaesoon and Song-E unnis, too. I feel really lucky."
Miyeon smiled, "I feel really lucky, too. Thanks for being here, maknae."
Song-E's phone started ringing. She turned slightly paler when she checked the ID.
"It's Gikwang," she looked at Jiyoon, "Please let me take it."
"Go ahead, but hurry up," Jiyoon groaned. What she didn't know was that this phone call was lifting so much off of Song-E's shoulders. I bit my lip as I watched Song-E drift down the opposite hall. She began to cry quietly, and I saw her lips saying "I'm sorry" over and over. I knew Gikwang—he couldn't stay mad at her. He was probably hurt, but he was going to fix this. He always fixed it, at least between Song-E and him. I was glad she had him.
"Jaesoon," Miyeon smirked, "is Dongwoo a good kisser?"
"The best," Jaesoon sighed, "Why do you ask?"
"Are you guys.. getting serious?" I asked.
Jiyoon blinked, "I'm going to pretend I'm not hearing this conversation."
"I don't know," Jaesoon sighed, "I think so… I know we both really like each other…"
Jiyoon cleared her throat, "Miyeon, I'm dating Doojoon."
Miyeon stopped walking and shook my arm off angrily, "What?"