I Hope Love Is... [On Hold]

Interlude: Jae

Interlude: Jae

They tell me, go here go there
they make me go anywhere, everywhere
do this, do that, do everything
but I can't do what I want to do
I can't go where I want to go
I can't be with you...

-translated from “Discontent”
from Future Colors' fourth album Summer Love

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“The Philippines?” Manager Oh demanded. “Why is he in the Philippines?”

Jae gave him an even stare and tamped down the urge to lower his speech to banmal.

“I don't know. You're the boys' manager. You tell me.”

Manager Oh glared at him and appealed to President Kang instead.

“I'm sorry for this crazy stunt of Minha's, Agency President,” he said obsequiously. “I'm sure the boy was distraught over what had happened, so he ran away. If you let me go over there and bring him back...”

Kang Nam-seok nodded at Jae.

“Jae is going,” he said. “If you go too, Manager Oh, who will look after the rest of the band?”

“We're going too!” Jungkyu and the rest of the band barged into President Kang's office. Manager Oh sputtered angrily but they ignored him.

“But what about your schedules?” President Kang asked.

“What schedules?” Jungkyu asked. “We don't have any. Everything's been sort of put on hold till Minha recovers. Also, if we had anything scheduled, sir, are we going to be on our own, if everyone else is going to the Philippines?”

Jae was going to say something about Mia, but just then his wife put her head round the door and smiled at everyone.

“Since the boys are all going, yeobo, I'm going too,” she announced. “It's my hometown, after all. Might as well visit the relatives.” The boys cheered.

Jae scratched his head.

 “Don't tell Bebeh we're coming, honey,” he finally said.

 “Don't let her warn Minha so he can't run away before we arrive, you mean,” Mia answered. “What do you take me for?”

 “He's staying at your house?” Manager Oh's eyes narrowed. “Did you know of this before?”

 “No,” Jae answered tersely. 

 “So why is he there, of all places?” the manager persisted.

 “Shouldn't we be asking you that?” Jae retorted.

 “The boys are always welcome in our house,” Mia said sweetly. “Any and all of our houses. Minha needed no invitation. Perhaps he thought it would be more... restful there.” Jae eyed her expression of bland sweetness and tried not to laugh.

 After the necessary arrangements for the trip had been made, Jae and Mia were the last to leave President Kang's office, Jae having lingered for a last-minute discussion. He tucked Mia's hand into the crook of his arm as they went out the door.

 “I never thought I'd say this,” he murmured, “but you sounded like a proper Republic of South Korea ahjumma back there.”

 “If I'm an ahjumma, does that make you an ahjusshi?” Mia murmured back. “Thought not,” she added with a knowing smile. “I can't be an ahjumma if you remain Jae oppa, you know.”

 “As if you ever called me that,” he retorted laughingly.

 They found the boys waiting in the lobby. Jungkyu confessed they'd all arrived in Mia's car, since their own van was with Manager Oh.

 “Minha's not at the farm, is he, noona?” Junhee asked.

 “I don't think so,” Mia answered. “Bebeh's got school.”

 Jae frowned at the incongruity of her answer.

 “She would have said if Minha went to the farm,” Mia added. “But since she didn't, I read between the lines and understood that Minha's at the city house.”

 “Aw. I wished we could go back to the beach again,” Myungseok said wistfully.

 “Perhaps we could, there are plenty of beaches,” Mia told him. “Let's see when we get there, okay?”

 “Sometimes I wish you were our manager, noona,” Sangmin stated in that slow, good-natured way of his. Jae gave him a sharp glance, but the young guitarist seemed not to notice.

 “Half the time she's acting like she is, anyway,” Jungkyu pointed out, looking at Jae.

 “But Mia noona's going to have a baby.” Myungseok lampshaded the obvious.

 “Not all the time,” Sangmin objected.

 “And there speaks one who has never helped to take care of a child,” Mia said, laughing. “Yeobo, are you going to feed me? I'm hungry again. I'll bet the boys are, too.”

 “I suppose I'd better,” Jae answered, pretending to grumble. “At least it's obvious where all that food is going.”

 Mia stared at him. He stared back.

 “Oh, all right, they can come too,” Jae said resignedly.

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Vocabulary:

Banmal - often translated as "lowered" speech, informal language. Banmal is plain speech that drops the word endings used in jondaemal, or middle-polite and high-polite speech. It is used only when speaking with friends and intimates, or with subordinates; using banmal with people who are not close to you is considered rude.