Namjoon shot up in his bed, another nightmare rattling his body. The messages were becoming more pressing. If he didn't have something to report by tomorrow night, something bad was going to happen.
If you can't get information to me, I can easily just get it myself. You know that. But everything has its consequences. Just be aware of that.
That voice sent chills down his spine. Namjoon remembered Ae Ra sitting by his bed in the nurse's office. He had grabbed her hand and held onto it like his life depended on it. He missed her presence. More than anything, he wanted to curl up in her arms and hear her tell him it was all going to be okay.
"It's so hard," he held his throbbing head in his hands. But he knew what he had to do. He couldn't lose sight of his mission.
The phone rang, and Namjoon jumped. He knew he had to pick it up. If he missed a call, his family's company would suffer.
"Yes? It's me," Namjoon said, trying to keep his voice from shaking.
"Oh, I was wondering if you were feeling any better."
Namjoon blinked as he pulled the phone away from his face to look at the caller ID. "Ae Ra? What are you doing up at this hour?"
The girl giggled. "It's only nine. What are you not doing up at this hour? Oh wait, you're unwell. You need your rest."
Namjoon had figured sleep was the best way to deal with his problems. The less amount of time he spent actively worrying about the situation at hand, the better. "Yeah, I feel loads better after getting rest at the nurse's office and then coming home. Thanks for everything earlier. I mean it."
"Of course! That's what friends do."
Namjoon winced hearing that word. "Yeah. Are, um, you doing okay? You were so ill and frail the last time I passed by your house. I know I see you every day, but have you gotten completely better?"
"Yep!" she chirped. "My brother took really good care of me."
"Did you ever get around to meeting your neighbor?" Namjoon asked curiously. He wondered how long he'd have to keep Tae's secret. Did he even want to keep it?
There was a pause. "Nope. I think I've seen his silhouette a few times, but I haven't actually seen his face. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, I was just wondering. Anyways, thanks for checking on me. The other guys texted, but a phone call is more comforting. I should probably get going. I need to take care of some things before I fall back asleep." He wished her goodnight and opened up his messages. This was going to be a long night.
Ae Ra collapsed on her bed after texting Rina to come over. She could use some advice, and apparently her best friend had some big news for her too. After what felt like eons, she heard the doorbell ring, and Hyunjin ran to get it.
Rina escorted herself to Ae Ra's room and plopped down next to her. "I have good news and bad news."
Ae Ra's eyes widened, not sure which one she wanted to hear first, so she let her friend pick.
Rina took a deep breath. "So you know how I'm into music composition right? I applied to work as a music composer, so I'll be moving to Seoul. I'll be transferring colleges, but I promise I'll come back to visit."
Ae Ra could barely process what she was hearing. She was incredibly happy for her friend, but at the same time, who was supposed to give her boy advice and grab bubble tea after class with her now?
"Anyways, we'll talk about it more later. What's your news?"
Rina waited for Ae Ra to let it out. She could tell it was something juicy.
"I like Taehyung. But I don't know what to do. I'm so bad at all this stuff."
Rina laughed. "And you think I'm any better? Why don't you try calling him or seeing him more in person?" They discussed more in detail about how Ae Ra should try to put herself out there more before shifting to Rina's big move to a new city. Finally, she had to leave to make it in time for dinner, and Ae Ra was left all alone again. She scrolled through every social media app, waiting for a notification to come in. But there was nothing. She was bored out of her mind. Just then, she heard sounds on the other side of the wall.
He's home!
She'd heard him leave a couple hours ago, and Rina had helped her decide that calling him would be the best method to get closer. She half expected him to ignore her call and send her straight to voicemail, but surprisingly, he picked up.
"Hello?"
Well here goes nothing. Ae Ra cleared her throat. "Hey, um, sorry to bother you, but, um, I just wanted to let you know Namjoon is doing okay now. As his friend, I thought you should know."
She heard the sound of shuffling feet and suddenly the door that separated her room from his was yanked open.
"I would rather see you than just hear your voice," Taehyung whispered.
She studied his form. He wore a neat button down with slacks, and his hair was neatly styled. He didn't look like the boy with the cold expression who grimaced every time she opened her mouth to speak at school. He looked like a guy that had so much love to give who just wanted someone to talk to and listen to.
"I mean... I have some news for you. You wanna come over for a second?" Taehyung asked, trying to cover up his burst of excitement.
Ae Ra glanced down at her clothes. She donned shorts that were a little too short and an oversized t-shirt. But hey, she hadn't been prepared for Taehyung to just come barging in all of a sudden. But if it wasn't big news, then he wouldn't be standing here like this.
She slipped past him into his room, and he closed the door behind them. "What's up?"
Taehyung's nerves were on edge. He noticed some clothes on the floor and some dishes in the sink that he'd procrastinated washing. "Ummm, how would you feel about painting something for a local café?"
Ae Ra's expression faltered. "Wait, back up. How did this happen? And you want me to paint? I can't-" She hadn't told Taehyung about her situation. He had no idea that she wasn't allowed to paint. And now her work was going to be displayed somewhere? Her mom was going to kill her.
"I got the job at the coffee shop. And they needed new artwork, so I recommended you. You don't have to do it, of course."
Ae Ra shook her head. "I really want to."
"Okay, then do it."
"But I can't," she stared at the ground.
Taehyung knew her reason, but he didn't want her to miss out on such a golden opportunity. "What's holding you back?"
Ae Ra took a seat on the edge of his bed. "If I tell you, you're going to make fun of me. But then again, I don't care what you think. You must have seen the painting I slid under the door one morning, right?"
Taehyung nodded slowly. He didn't expect her to open up, but he took a seat beside her.
"I've made multiple paintings like that. I'd wake up at 5 and work as quietly as possible, and once I was done, I'd slip my painting under the door into what's now your room." She paused. Ae Ra felt herself on the brink of tears.
"I love painting," she choked out. "But to my mother, success is not happiness. Success is money. When I told her that I wanted to be an artist, she laughed in the beginning. That seemed like a foolish dream of a child. But then she realized I wasn't joking, and she took action. The more I painted, the more she would break my art supplies. She'd scrape out the paint from my palettes and snap my brushes. But still I wouldn't give up."
Tears were streaming down her face now. "I can never give up something I love so much."
Taehyung put a hand around her shoulder and leaned her into his chest. With his other free hand, he held her hand and squeezed it with reassurance as she cried. Why did his heart hurt so much?
"I'm s-sorry," she sniffled. "You're probably really shocked, aren't you? Everyone's used to seeing smiley, bubbly Ae Ra. But this is who I really am."
Taehyung ran his fingers through her hair. "But it's okay to be who you are," he said softly. "What if you painted in secret and submitted your piece to the café? Your mom doesn't have to know about it."
He sighed. If she opened up, it was only fair that he did the same. "I've never wanted to inherit the company. I was forced to learn all those logistics growing up. My parents would create my hobbies for me. They'd enroll me in professional speech classes and have tutors come home to teach me the basics of business. In my free time, I'd have to read books cover to cover about marketing strategies."
"That sounds miserable," Ae Ra looked up at him.
He realized he was still holding her, but she wasn't complaining. "My parents never gave me a choice to dream. Everyone thinks I'm some arrogant rich kid who doesn't understand how privileged he is. But sometimes being privileged is the biggest curse I could ask for."
Ae Ra felt a pang of regret. All those times she'd snapped at him, he must have felt so bad and misunderstood. He was just like her, forced to conform to a dream that wasn't his.
"I'm so sorry," she said, as her sniffling grew more intense.
Taehyung couldn't help but laugh. "Why are you apologizing? You did nothing wrong."
"I was so mean to you. Secretly, I hated you until that day you asked to watch me paint. I made no effort to understand you, and I hate myself for that. I thought you were the worst."
Taehyung gave her hand a comforting squeeze. "Hey, that's all in the past. I judged you pretty hard in the beginning, too, you know?"
"I guess we're in the same boat, then. What are we going to do? You don't want to be a rich CEO, and I don't want to be a business woman."
Taehyung's eyes lit up as he was struck with an idea. "Separately, we're not that great, but together, our skillset would be unstoppable."
"I don't think I'm following what you're saying."
The new gleam in Taehyung's eyes made Ae Ra's heart pound faster than she'd like to admit. "Marketing is nothing without design. That's what I learned when I went to the coffee shop today. Ae Ra, there was no reason for me to take over the company before, but come to think of it, the business is so outdated. My father has been using tactics that worked back in the day but he's hanging by a thread. Gyeseung Group needs a new look."
Ae Ra tried to process the words coming out of his mouth. "So what you're saying is-"
"Be my business partner. We'll run my company together. I mean, technically, I will be running it, but you'll be my design and virtuosity advisor. That way, you'd be in the business field and still do what you like to do. You don't have to give up painting."
"But what about you? What's your dream? I thought you didn't want to take over the company."
Taehyung wiped a stray tear from her face with the pad of his thumb. "If that means you get to live your dream, then it's worth it for me."