The Un(idol)istic

CHAPTER 18 Blooms

My parents have never been a fan of my job. They always wanted me to work hard, study harder and get into a good college like Harvard, continue the family legacy. But I wanted to be my own person, go to college with my friends, work in a place where I was happy with my job. And here I am, at Me2U's dorm, 5 AM on Saturday, working when I should be sleeping like the dead. Such fun I have ignored my parents' wishes.

The members are still in deep sleep, only the managers are awake knowing the schedule. They let us in and the crew sets up the cameras, do their usual thing, and at 5.30 AM, we play loudly the wake-up messages the members had recorded during the teaser shoot for their future fans. One by one the members wake and assemble in the living room, begging the staff to stop their voices, blurry eyes.

When Min Jay notices me among the crew, his eyes widen and he whispers something to Song Woo, pointing at me. I give them the universal we'll-talk-later sign so that there's no interruption in the shoot.

Hee Su passes Baek Ha the mission card about the surprise outing given to Me2U, since it really is a surprise for the members, they cheer and dance around in excitement. They decide to get ready one by one, meanwhile, Song Woo and Soung Jae approach me to ask about the implementation of their impromptu call.

I tell them, "I've talked to Yang PD-nim, he's making arrangements with the higher management to get the approvals. To let the other idols, from other agencies at that, on your show, there are a lot of permissions to be taken. There shouldn't be any issues with the rights later on."

I don't expect them to understand the whole process, that would be my work. They thank me and Song Woo asks how I've been. "I heard there was a lot of commotion when the staff saw your hair." Soung Jae says smirking at me.

I shake my head. "Yes, apparently only idols such as you and rich kids can dye their hair. No peasants like us have such rights." I say sighing as Song Woo laughs.

"It's good that we keep you company then." Soung Jae says snickering. I make a fake bow and shoo them after telling them to get ready.

I'm just standing by the window wall after checking on the crew on-site when someone taps on my shoulder. Turning, I come face to face with a little blue-violet flower, shaped like a lily but slightly different.

Taking my eyes away from the bloom, I look at the person holding it. With a slight secret smile on his face, Edward holds out the flower for me. He stares at me with his warm brown eyes.

Flustered and most likely red-faced, I swallow and take the bloom from him. Holding it close to my face, I examine its colors and shape to avoid looking at the boy in front of me. "What is it called?" I ask as he's still standing right there.

"I don't know what they call it here in Korea..." he says softly looking at the flower. I don't ask him to continue, scared to say anything further, knowing he would lose interest if I just stay quiet. After a few seconds of silence, he turns to leave proving my thoughts right.

But pausing last minute, he turns to me again and bending down with his face close to mine, he says in my ear, "I thought of you when I saw it blooming in the snow."

What? Leaning back with wide eyes I ask, "Me? Why?" He too leans back and putting his hands in his pocket, he shrugs. Frowning I ask, "Where did you find it?" If he says something like finding it in the backyard, that means it doesn't really matter who he gives it to. He just found a random person who he thought would like it. I am no one special. Right. That's it, I tell myself.

"I plucked it from the backyard." He says looking out of the window, where the last of the snow is melting. See Emmy! Random person. No one special. I nod to myself relieved, but somewhat uneasy at the thought of being a random receiver of a flower that looks like it's perfectly mine. But then he continues, "The snow was about to crush the bloom. I wanted to protect it."

Aww! How cute, caring about the flower. Such heartthrob Edward would be to Me2U fans if they knew it. "Good job," I say smiling and turning to leave with my newly acquired bloom.

But his next words stop me in the tracks and make me turn sideways. "It looked like you, Noona. When I saw you in snow that day." Looking down at the bloom in my hand he says, "It's called the Glory of the snow. I had to give it to you." I look up at him. His eyes are still on the bloom and the slight smile is still there. The next moment he looks at me and swallows nervously. "I hope you like it." He says and leaves me standing frozen by myself.

I think back on his words and get even more confused than I was before. Shaking my head, I decided to tackle my thoughts on this matter later, when no one is in urgent need of me.

The boys are ready and we load them on the bus. I avoid all types of contact with Edward, I hardly even look at him. Hee Su does all the talking as directed. The boys are in a playful mood and they start playing games on the bus. Some who are still tired fall asleep in their seats.

I sit in one of the front seats of the bus with Si A, talking about work. Noticing the dark circles under her eyes, I ask, "Are you alright? I'm sorry I had to ask you to come today. I could have managed with Hee Su if she had a bit more experience, but Se Ju was required to deal with the PR department today so..."

She shakes her head. "It's ok. It's my job." She says and quiets down as we hear the laughter of Me2U members from the back. Then in a disappointed tone, "My oldest daughter is almost of their age, but all she does is sit in the front of the TV and watch dramas. Look at them," she says tilting her head at the backside of the bus, "they are working so hard at this age."

I bite my lip. This is probably how every mother feels, mine too. "I don't know anything about your daughter," I say hesitating, not knowing if it would be any help to her, "but when I was 18, my mother broke my laptop in anger because I used to watch Daylight's videos all day long."

Si A breaths deeply, "All day?" she asks in a shocked tone, giving me an utterly disappointing look.

I nod. "Yes," I reply. "I'm a big Daylight fan," I say and hurriedly continue, "but, that wasn't the only reason I was watching those videos." Tilting my head, I think back to that time. "I was at an age when kids are not kids anymore. We decide what we want to be, who we want to be, at that age."

Leaning back, I remember how my mother had taken my laptop from my hand and thrown it on the ground, breaking it. And I remember how I had been red-faced and angrily crying for the next three hours. I and Maa hadn't talked to each other for the next four days, our longest fight, and then Hyun had to come to sort it out for us.

Smiling at the memory of how my usually useless brother had stood up for me, I continue, "My brother was the only one who understood that my mind could save any information that came in the form of entertainment."

Seeing Si A's questioning expression, I laugh. "I was studying in my own way. Do you know how I passed the interview for GEN?" I ask her.

She shrugs and says, "Probably because of your Master's degree?"

Shaking my head, I tell her, "No, even though the degree played a big role in getting the job, my interview was completely based on what I knew about the artists of GEN. I had to state everything with the source from where I learned it."

Si A's eyebrows furrow. "What? Why? I wasn't asked any such thing. They just checked my writing skills during the evaluation."

I nod, "That's because you write the content that I tell you about. But I must know the content firsthand. And that I would only know if I have seen it, which I was doing when my mother had her angry fit."

"Ah!" Si A makes an understanding sound. "So is my daughter learning to write dramas by watching those all the time?" she asks me puzzled.

I laugh at her question. "She's probably just a fan of Song Joon Ki or Lee Min Ho."

Someone chuckles from the back and I turn in my seat to see who it is but the bus jerks to stop at that exact moment. The crew gets up in a hurry, blocking my view of the back seat so I just shrug and get out.