This chapter gave me some troubles; I think, I rewrote it at least three times. I really hope did come out right. That leaves 2 creeper-ramblings, 2-3 chapters, and a short epilogue following after this.

Chapter 8

Takeo contently leaned against the wall next to the door. The shutters were safely shut; Suyi animatedly talked to the make-up artist, and they had plenty of time before the next appointment. Eun-Mi transformed the beautiful teenage girl into a gorgeous young adult; Takeo was fascinated by this transformation, like every time before.

A soft melody played and, without stopping her chatter or even averting her eyes from Eun-Mi's face, Suyi picked up her mobile. She read the text message, and Takeo could see the smile slowly melt from her face. In quick succession, confusion exchanged with aversion and finally fright.

"Suyi?" Eun-Mi asked as Takeo walked over to the women's sides.

"This... what is this?" Her hands shook as she held out her mobile phone so that Takeo and Eun-Mi could read the text. It was short, barely a few words. It started with "My sweet angel," followed by accusations seasoned with profanities about her infidelity, and ended with "You still belong to me!" Takeo knew these words; he had read them only a few days ago in the love letter that came with the ticket.

"Don't worry about it too much. We're already taking care of it," Takeo tried to calm her down.

His head was already reeling. Where did that man get her phone number? Suyi, like every idol, kept it secret. She was even cautious to whom of her school friends she gave it to. Did the stalker talk to someone, or did he possess the skills to get it through illegal means? And how…

"What do you mean with 'we're already taking care of it?' Did you know that some weirdo tried to write me?"

"Suyi, dear, you know that with this type of work, you're bound to get some uncommon fan letters," Eun-Mi tried to appease her. Suyi only glared at her, silently muttering something that suspiciously sounded like "Letters, not text messages."

The girl didn't seem to know herself if she should be angry or scared, and finally settled on sulkily crossing her arms in front of her chest and glaring at both adults. To Takeo, it looked more like hugging herself, though. He had settled for standing next to her while Eun-Mi sat on the dressing table, a reassuring hand on the kid's small shoulder. He sighed. Time to tell her a few things. Of course, he attenuated everything. He left out about their assumption about the spotlight, and he confirmed again that everything was under control. It seemed as though he had managed to exactly say the wrong things.

"Why didn't you tell me? I'm no child anymore. It's my life after all. I hate this! I hate you all!" Suyi shrieked now, the glare dampened by the tears glittering in her eyes. Takeo told himself that she didn't really hate him. She was just angry about the situation. Lashing out to keep yourself safe that was a natural behaviour. Still, he felt a pang of hurt as she shouted at him.

"We didn't want you to worry..."

"Out! Now!" Suyi's voice still lingered in ear-piercing ranges as she jumped up and pulled open the door. She gestured towards the open space with a forceful snap of her hand, and left no question about what she meant. "I don't want to see you at the moment."

Should he try to talk to her? Explain his intentions? But she wasn't listening at all. Eun-Mi relieved him from coming to a decision and shoved him out of the door, following him too. With a final sounding bang, the door closed almost on his heels behind them. Suppressed but still clearly audible sobs came through the closed door. Takeo blinked a couple of times while he stared at the wood, dumbfounded.

"What did I do now?"

"You're earnestly asking that?" He turned around to see the make-up artist of Suyi's standing next to him, doing her best to suppress the joyless chuckle that urged to break its way out. Well, he hadn't had the intention to actually say his question out aloud or more importantly to let anybody hear it. But he really was clueless, so he made a gesture somewhere between a nod and a shoulder shrug.

"Ah, men… So dense." She answered with an exaggerated sigh. She clearly enjoyed torturing him for a few seconds. Before he could ask what she meant by it, she talked on. "I mean, you actually told her to mind her own business. Not in those words, but that seems to be what she read between the lines. It is nice that you wanted to shield her, but now she has found out. She's a teenager even though all here seem to forget about it most of the times with her status as an idol."

"She never was anything else than a child for me." His quiet words earned him a fond look of the woman.

"You know, she isn't really angry with you. Just scared. Don't take her words to heart, especially with what happened yesterday. For a teenage girl, she is tough, but even she should be allowed to throw a temper tantrum. Don't hold it against her."

Takeo just shook his head negatively. He never intended to put the blame on Suyi, especially not since he started to understand the reason behind be behaviour. He had wanted to protect her, to keep her from worrying. Had that been the wrong choice? Maybe he should have talked to her after the 'accident' with the spotlights, but what should he do to fix that problem with Suyi?

Perhaps he had asked it aloud again without noticing or the make-up artist was a mind reader since she answered his question. "Just go and apologize for keeping it from her. Be sincere and…"

"And say that you were at fault no matter what happened. Girls want to hear it," added another voice. It was the manager who had headed down the corridor and had caught the last sentences. The other man seemed to be in high spirits as he greeted the young make-up artist with a brilliant smile, which made her blush slightly. Takeo received a less elated nod.

"So, what happened for Suyi to expulse you of her room?"

There was still some merriment in the manager's behaviour. Takeo assumed that idols throwing temper tantrums weren't that unusual for him to still behave so relaxed. He felt certain, though, that this would change with his next words.

"She found out about the stalker."

"You told her?"

"Of course not!"

In short words Takeo told the manager about the text message and Suyi's following breakdown. The excessively high spirits of the other man were long-gone, and he frowned.

"What is done has been done. The most important thing now is to assure Suyi that she is safe. She has three concerts in the period of the next week!"

Takeo glared at Young-Jae. The last part was not really the most important in his opinion. Still, that Suyi should feel safe again? He would make sure of it.

"He's going to take care of it," Eun-Mi said, and Takeo furrowed his brows at the confident way she pointed at him. He, himself, wasn't too sure about how Suyi would receive him. The manager seemed to hold to the same scepticism since he raised his eyebrows. Still, he didn't keep the woman from turning Takeo back around to the door. "Good luck, you'll need it."

Did she need to sound so cheerful? He felt like before a fight, hoping for the best but fearing the worst. With a sigh, he squared his shoulders and knocked on the door. Suyi didn't call him in, but she didn't shout at him to stay out, either. A good sign?

Takeo took another deep breath, then he pushed down the handle, and entered the room. Suyi sat on her couch, her knees pulled up to her chest, and her arms wrapped around her legs. Her face was half hidden behind her long tresses as her forehead lay on her knees. Silent sobs still shook her shoulders. He would have done anything to have spared her from this.

"Suyi?" Tentatively, Takeo shut the door and stepped closer. Her head snapped up as if she only now noticed that somebody entered the room. The tears had smeared the carefully applied make-up. For a moment, Suyi just stared at him. Then she sprang up, and Takeo had only just enough time to steady his footing before she collided with his chest.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean what I said! I..."

"It's alright," he muttered. Where to put his hands? Suyi wept with renewed vigour; her own hands clutched his suit jacket, and her face was hidden in the fabric. In the last few days, they had grown closer, but he still hadn't expected such an outburst. Takeo rested his right hand on Suyi's soft curls. He didn't really know how to comfort her, but appeasing her like this felt like something Tao would do.

For a few minutes they stood like this. Suyi cried away all her feelings of guilt and fear while Takeo rested his hands tentatively on her head and on her trembling back. Slowly, the frequency of the sobs abated until only Takeo could only hear silent and slightly erratic breaths.

Finally, Suyi moved out of his arms, her head bowed and her shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry for... Oh, cripes! You're suit is full of make-up!"

Takeo followed her gaze, and true enough, the front of the black jacket was covered in wet and colourful smears. He just hoped, Frankenstein would be able to wash it out. Nonetheless, he stopped Suyi as she came back from her dressing table, a hand full of soft paper tissues.

"That's not important. How do you feel? You know that you have nothing to fear, right? We won't let him harm you."

Many different emotions flashed over Suyi's face too quickly for Takeo to read. The things he could tell was that the frantic look in her eyes lessened, but there was still the almost shy way she looked rather to the floor than into his eyes. Her fingers played with the hem of her skirt.

"The spotlight. Was that... do you think that was the stalker?" The voice sounded small and insecure, nothing like the joyful teenager he knew. "I''m sorry. You got hurt because of me!" Fresh tears streamed down her face.

"That's the last thing you should worry about. It's not your fault."

She didn't to believe his words, but she she kept her lips pressed into a thin line. Her eyes belied her silence, though. Furiously, she wiped the tears away with the tissues she still had clutched into her hands. What to tell her to make her believe him? The opening of the door kept him from needing to find the right words.

Eun-Mi's head poked through the gap. Her worried gaze grew softer, and she rushed to Suyi's side. Before the girl could protest, she was swept into a bone-crushing hug. Takeo breathed a sigh of relief. The make-up artist might be a bit confusing, but she surely was more fitting for comforting Suyi if he had correctly interpreted the way the young girl relaxed into the embrace.

"He knows my phone number," Suyi mumbled. She didn't need to add what was obvious. The girl was scared, and all Takeo could do was to stand next to her while Eun-Mi whispered sweet little lies into the girl's ear.