Cwtch

Where it all started

"Gomawoyo."

She smiles softly at me and replied to me.

"No, I should be the one thanking you, thank you for the treat, Yuri." She replied. 

"So, what is up with you? Why do you work two jobs?" I asked her right off the bat. 

"I needed to, because Eomma doesn't have a job and so does Appa, Appa recently got sick, he needed a heart transplant. I decided to train with WM, drop out of school and work two jobs on the side." She replied to me as she got a piece of chicken from the bucket, first serving me the biggest portion there was on the bucket. 

"I see, I was worried about you, the past few nights, I heard you crying on your own, when you thought no one was up. I didn't mean to spy on you, but I am a light sleeper. Was that why you were crying?" I asked her. 

"Yeah and also because I was so exhausted from work. Mianhe, I didn't know you were a light sleeper." She replied rather shyly. 

I shook my head to her reply, she shouldn't say sorry to me, it was something she had to endure without anyone's help and I felt bad that all this time, she carried this burden alone. 

"No need to apologize, I definitely understand your situation now, I thought it was because you missed being home or something, so I had to set the records straight. I'm not a nosy person, but I wanted you to know that I am here, I am your team mate and being that we train under one team, I wanted you to know that we can help you, okay? No matter if it was a big favor or what have you. In fact, why don't we get you some help? Does he really need to get a heart transplant? Perhaps there's something we could do." I replied to her.

"I don't want to bother anyone, Yuri. It's shameful enough that I get to eat food through Haneul Appa's offer during breakfast, I don't want to add more to anyone's burdens." She replied.

"Three of us in the team are well off, we can spare something for you and Chaeyeon belongs to a family of Doctors and Hospital Owners, so I'm sure we could find some help." I replied to her. 

"Yuri, thank you for your offer, but I will make sure to provide Appa with his needs and I would do everything I can to save up." She replied. 

"What about a non-profit organization, we can find one that would help him. C'mon, I'm sure I can find something for you." I replied to her.

She sighed after some, prodding from me. 

"I'll take the non-profit, I'm looking into it myself." She replied and ate a bite of Jjajangmyeon. 

A few months later, I would explode in anger with Chaeyeon, prompting her to help her teammate and she does, she found Chaewon's Appa, where he was confined, it was a government hospital, so she had him admitted to one of their hospitals that specializes in Heart Conditions, where he was given everything for free including medicines. They would try to find a match for Chaewon's Appa but at that point, he had lived long enough to witness her debut and he was happy and content. 

End of Flashback

We had some good times and bad times together, loving Chaewon wasn't an easy feat to achieve, partly because she was too busy taking care of her parents' needs and too busy working on the side, only when she finally debuted did she stop working on the side and focused solely on promotions, she was the first member to be paid as well. Some of us had to wait for our payment, but magically or perhaps because of Chaeyeon's request to the company, they paid her after a month of debuting. We didn't protest or anything and was happy for Chaewon, because everyone in the team knew at this point that she needed the money more than any of us did. Kku Eomma for example had money from her J-Idol stint, half of her money were saved in a traditional bank and half were invested in Cryptocurrencies and some Market Bonds. She paid for travel expenses when we were starting out. Chaeyeon was the same, she had her K-Pop Star Three appearance fees and any other activities related to her being on K-Pop Star Three were invested in Cryptocurrencies, Market Bonds and Aggressive Market Shares. Chaewon saved her pay and half of it she donated to the non-profit organization who 'helped' her father. She would continue to make donations to this non-profit and help save lives. My view of Chaewon's kindness and humble beginnings in the industry won't change the fact that I am lucky to have gotten to know her and that after that night I treated her out, we've grown so much closer and in love, harboring some mutual feelings until we finally decided to be together. I even helped her out taking the dogs out for a walk, we eat dinner together and spent half of our lives training and doing everything together. We were back to the future, enjoying loud live band singing and performing some Filipino Songs that we have grown to love. Filipinos were musically inclined people, a nation that was rich in history and culture that was so kind, gentle and giving. It's nights like these nights that I always miss Haneul Appa, the bright sunshiny woman that she was, always unserious and would prepare the Christmas Decors and Tree as early as September 1st, it was a shame she wasn't alive anymore and that it took us five years to finally get out of a dark loop we've fallen in after her death and after Seri Eomma decided she had enough. It was her caring nature that reminds me to always understand Chaewon and her life. She's had it harder than any of us in training, so the decision to stay beside her even when I swear she drives me unbelievably mad with her past three months of erratic behavior, came like a natural decision for me, I considered what would Haneul Appa do at those instances. I bonded with her eldest sister, we said our apologies for my past behavior and we both decided to be better people and truly supported Chaewon at this time. Her eldest sister was cool and caring unnie, often cooking home cooked meals whenever we visited their Mother, the team and I made amends and forgave her for her absence when Appa was living miserably. There was peace currently, I was always treated by her parents like a part of the family, so why the heck change that? Instead, we both settled to try and build a relationship with each other, giving and taking what we could. Plus her kids were adorable, so they automatically became like a mediation pack for us, those kids were our bundles of joy. We monitored how they were doing in Nursery School and Grade School for the eldest child. It was a common ground, one where we can both agree to disagree that they brought peace in the family. Ranhee Eomma was fond of those kids, giving them everything she had in exchange for their time and hugs. The kids were willing to be with their Ranhee Haelmoni, basking in the warmth of their Haelmoni's love. 

She enjoys the music, albeit not in tune with the original versions of each songs they played, it was a subpar rendition if I were being honest. Haneul Appa could sing better renditions of Filipino songs in my opinion. We enjoyed our orders as we drank, ate and listened to live band music. The night wore on, we slowed down in drinking and eating our orders, more of enjoying talking to each other as we listened to Filipino Music. Some had english lyrics and some purely tagalog ones. The night ended with us walking back to our dorm, holding hands, we were still in the same old Mapo-gu Area, holding hands like we used to do after walking the dogs. There are things we can't and won't change no matter how our relationship turns out. 

"I am really grateful for you, Jo Yuri, my love, my best friend, my jagiya. So grateful for your patience and kindness." She told me after a while of silently walking down the streets of Mapo-gu, arms linked, hands held together. 

"I am more grateful for you because you are like a star, I can't always see you especially around Seoul, but I am comforted to know that you exist. That someday, I will be right beside you, growing older with you." I replied to her. 

She laughs at my words because it seemed we were far apart, I mean technically, when she shuts herself off from the world, she's near yet so far out of reach. Like we have been separated the last three months. 

"I would never again be so far away from you, I will always make sure to hold you beside me as we go along." She replied.

"I am holding you to that." I replied to her with a sigh. 

I feel burdens were lifted off our shoulders with this promise, it was like she hasn't changed from that first instance we spoke about her problems. 

A/N:

Thank you for reading this chapter. Always spread light and love to Jo Yuri and Chaewon of LE SSERAFIM. Take care readers!

- Sky