🎶 Someday, The Boy - Kim Feel
= All the moments of my past only brought my youth to sadness. Even on nights I fell asleep alone, I kept that pain with me. Time has since raised me, telling me to step into the world. My past self is asking me now if I'm happy enough to smile. =
⚡️⚡️⚡️
Jaehyun's POV
I've never asked for much in my entire life. I lived as Jaehyun and only Jaehyun for years without telling anyone that I am the younger brother of a celebrity idol - EXO Baekhyun.
I don't even tell people that I have a brother, because the spotlight always shone over him when they find out we are family. It isn't jealousy, I don't get petty over shit like that, but people are social animals that change wherever the tide turns.
The people I mixed with were all like that. I realised how their priorities change when my famous brother comes into the picture.
The friendship with my best buddies turned bland when I noticed how they kept hanging around me to get favours from my brother. The girls I dated were worse. Like pigeons flocking to the bigger fish in the sea, I would end up as their tool to get in touch with my brother instead.
I got sick and tired eventually and shut them all out after learning how fickle relationships can be. At some point I decided to never disclose my relationship with Baekhyun because I didn't want to experience what a failed friendship or relationship is like again.
And it's not that I hated my brother for it - in fact Baekhyun and I are really close and I am honestly, really, sincerely happy for my brother's success.
It's just really difficult to live as a brother of a really famous celebrity.
So I thought it was best to keep a fair distance with people because only then, there would be no chances of hurting each other. I decided to stay low profile, thinking that it was okay for me to live like that.
I was ready to get through high school as a loner in class until I met a girl who was just as lonely as me. And really atypical because she was the first person I've seen who completely didn't give a shit about me or any other people.
She was Jisoo.
I can never forget the day we exchanged our first words only because we were paired for a project. Her complete disinterest in me was what sparked my interest in her... weird but funny right? At first, I liked how she drew strict boundaries between her and everyone else, so I thought - why not have a friend like her who knew how to keep the right distance?
It worked perfectly well for the rest of high school and until graduation, but what developed, however, were my feelings for her as we spent more time together.
This girl has this irresistible charm that gets me smiling and staring all the time, but she never knew.
I was the one who knew it all.
I knew how much she tries to be a devil when all she has is a heart of gold. She never wanted to show her goodness so I have never tried to change her 'dark' ways. I only silently admired her thinking that our distance was just right and that I could be satisfied with the way we were.
So even when she seemed interested in me at some point, I pretended not to know.
But my world went crashing down on the day she started talking to me about another guy, and I couldn't do anything about it but be there for her as a friend.
I still regret everyday for being only her friend when I could have been something more.
Now... it was too late.
You know the saying that you don't realise it's too late until it's gone? This is me now hating myself so much for not realising my feelings for her earlier.
I like her much more than I imagined and I want to win her heart. It doesn't matter if her heart is with Jongdae hyung now because I'm going to prove to her that I can give her much much more than he can.
You see, I never asked for much in my whole life... but for once this time, I want to ask for her to come to me, not him.
I was on the brink of confessing my feelings then, hoping that I could talk some sense into her, but she just wouldn't give me the chance.
"Enough is enough, Jaehyun. And I will say this for the first and last time. Don't ever say things that'll come between me and Jongdae again," she sternly warned and I didn't dare to say more in fear that she might really walk away from me.
I could lose any other friend in my life but not her. Not after realising how great a girl she was.
...
Jisoo's POV
I arrived back at the dorm in the evening, my head loaded with thoughts about Jaehyun. I was expecting our meetup to be a casual and happy reunion, not for it to be some relationship counselling / confession session.
I pulled out my hair like a crazy woman, feeling so done with the past two days. We were given such precious day-offs amidst the busy pre-debut period, but this was how I end up spending both days... frustratedly.
Ahh, I miss Jongdae already again. I needed him as my happy pill.
Seeing how I still had time before our curfew (10pm), I sent a text to Jongdae wondering if we could meet up for a short while.
I wasn't putting my hopes up though, because he said before that he might be too busy today to reply my texts, let alone meeting me.
Still, I tried my luck, and it worked because a reply soon came.
JD 😘: I'm outside for a photoshoot. Don't think I'm leaving anytime soon
I sighed into my phone and sprawled down on my mattress in the bedroom. I guess happy pill is not available for me today. The other girls were out too so I was all alone.
Then a second text dropped in.
JD 😘: ....do you wanna drop by?
Reading the message once got me up on my feet in a skip beat.
I asked if it was possible for me to show up and Jongdae assured me that it was fine, so I got dressed again. I decided to change my outfit from before because I wanted to look good in front of Jongdae.
Something casual in jeans with a pretty and neat and white top maybe?
I looked at myself in the mirror, fixing my hair and praised my fashion sense, then checked my watch for the time and cursed after realizing that I spent too much time dolling myself up.
...
I walked into the set where the photoshoot was ongoing, with a bouqet of flowers and a cup of hot tea in my hands. It was my first time entering a venue like this and I understood why Jongdae was so confident telling me to drop by, because everyone at the scene were too busy with their jobs to focus on anything else.
But I thought it was his solo activity all along until I was welcomed with eight more handsome faces.
They are none other than EXO.
I stood at a corner, feeling dumbfounded on site. Is it too late to pretend I never came? Because I was so NOT prepared to greet anyone else, let alone his best bros.
"Soo ya!" Jongdae waved as soon as he spotted me and I pretended to smile even though I was nervous to the bones.
Why does he have such great eyesight?
At the call of my name, eight heads turned to my direction. It felt like I was caught red-handed after so long — let's never forget how I was once a peeping tom of their dance practice. I forced another smile and bowed to them, and they did the same back to me.
Shit, I only bought one cup of hot tea for Jongdae. What am I supposed to do with the eight?
I mentally freaked out as Jongdae made his way to me, at the same time enchanting me with his bad boy look. He was dressed in an oversized white V shirt that was half-tucked into his black pants, and I was so in love with the outfit on him.
This man always made anything look good, not that the outfit made him look good. My heart fluttered madly as I took in the ravishing sight of him. 💓
"Jisoo?" He called, and I blinked again to see him now standing before me.
"Uh, hi," I greeted softly.
Why am I suddenly shy now?
"I g-got you tea," I raised the cup to him. "Oh, t-this too." Then I put the bouqet onto him. He received them with a huge smile on his face, making me smile back with ease.
"I wasn't expecting you to come with this surprise. You didn't have to," he said, but his eyes were sparkling over the things I got him. Yay to that.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were with the guys. I would've bought tea for everyone..."
"That's exactly why I didn't tell you, cause' you don't have to do that. Plus, aren't you trying to save up money? This must've cost quite abit." He admired the flowers that I personally picked for him. They were apple blossoms that symbolizes preference in the flower language, meaning 'I prefer you before all'.
But he didn't need to know the hidden message. Anyway.
"I'll save on myself but I won't save on you," I replied. "Have some tea, it's chamomile, good for sleep."
"You remember every single thing I say, don't you?" Jongdae smiled brighter and briefly stroked my cheek, probably impressed that I remember him saying that he hasn't slept well for days.
He took another look at the flowers again. "But I don't know how to deal with flowers. You should drop by my place some time to help me with it."
I smirked at that. "Is that supposed to be an invitation?"
He leaned into my ear and whispered, "2-1-0-0-0-0."
"What?"
"That's my invitation," he chuckled and lightly pinched my cheeks.
"Well well well... who do we have with us today?" Someone else sounded, and I turned to see Minseok sunbae and the gang coming up to us.
"Annyeonghaseyo!" I bowed ninety degrees to show my fullest respect, and felt so small all of a sudden.
Eight gods were standing with me, so how can I be okay?
"Introduce yourself please?" Minseok sunbae asked and I started introducing myself in a formal way.
"We heard a lot about you from Jongdae," he chuckled in a friendly way. "Oh, I heard that you're a fan of EXO too."
Am I?
"Are you not?" Minseok sunbae laughed louder and my hands immediately went up to my lips.
I did not just say that out loud, did I?
I broke out laughing trying to hide my embarrassment and side pinched Jongdae to get him talking. Why was he leaving me to speak when he was standing right next to me?!
"AaaAhh!" He winced away from my hand, rubbing where it hurt while I stood there smiling innocently. He soon recovered and chuckled to the guys. "See what I tell you guys? She can be quite aggressive."
I widen my eyes at him in disbelief that he just said THAT in front of his brothers. Really wished I could snatch back the flower bouqet and whack him with it now.
Be calm, Jisoo. That's exactly why he said you were aggressive.
I breathed in and out slowly, wearing my best smile and turned back to the guys. "Anyway, you guys look really cool for the photoshoot. I am proud to be a fan," I praised.
Baekhyun sunbae stepped out this time, and I almost thought I saw Jaehyun at first glance. It was my first time meeting him in person and I could finally see the strong resemblance between him and Jaehyun.
"I thought someone doubted herself like a second ago." He teased, and I squinted my eyes back at him...
What's this familiar feeling?
It was our first encounter but even the way he talked was very much like Jaehyun. I could only say that they are definitely brothers.
He smiled back eventually and forked out a hand to shake. "Hi, Jisoo. I heard a lot about you because Jongdae doesn't stop talking," he complained.
I kindly returned the handshake before whiny Jongdae could interrupt us. "Hello Baekhyun sunbae, sorry but I didn't hear about you because Jongdae doesn't bother."
My attack threw him off right there and he placed a hand on his chest as if it hurt.
Hmmph, revenge for my Jongdae.
Jongdae sent me a proud look and I winked back to flirt, making all the members cringe at our overdone romance.
"We've got one more part to shoot and then we should be done. Can you wait? I'll send you home before your curfew." Jongdae stroked my hair and I nodded back sweetly before leaving him with the guys for the next round of photoshoot.
At least tonight ended on a really nice note.
...
I dug my fork into my salad bowl and fiddled with the green leaves. Another week has passed and we had been so occupied with pre-debut activities as usual. I was finally having dinner with the girls at the dorm but I didn't really have the appetite because something else was bothering me.
In fact, it had bothered me for too long.
"Guys," I decided to speak my mind after countless hesitations. "I feel like I'm being stalked," I said in complete seriousness, and all eyes landed on me as if I had just dropped a bomb.
"What makes you say so? Since when?" Hera asked. Everyone including Doyeon stopped eating to focus on me.
"It's just a feeling," I shifted in my seat. "Been a week since I felt like someone was watching me but I haven't seen anyone in particular so maybe I'm overthinking?"
I let out a laugh to break the serious silence.
"Hey, relax. It's not that serious, I'm just telling you guys cause' I thought you should be careful too. Who knows, someone might be watching all of us?"
"It's not funny, Jisoo. You should've told us earlier," Hera said.
"Yeah, and we should tell Sohee about it," Seol Ah pointed out and everyone agreed.
When dinner ended and I was doing the dishes, Hera walked over to chat with me. "Hey," she leaned her butt against the sink. "Does... he know?"
I knew right away that she was referring to Jongdae but I shook my head no. No because I haven't thought of how to bring it up in case he starts worrying and overreacting for nothing. Jongdae was busy with EXO schedule these days so I didn't want to add onto his burden.
"Because it's not certain. It's just my instinct and I might be wrong. I don't need him to worry over something like this. Plus, if he knew, I'm pretty sure he'd come running before I can even calm him down," I explained more when Hera couldn't seem to understand.
"So when was the first time you felt stalked?"
I thought back to the night I met Jongdae at his photoshoot. It was right after Jongdae and I parted when I was heading back to the dorm myself.
It felt like someone was following behind me but I couldn't pinpoint what it was and where it came from. Each time I turned to check, there was no one there.
"We have a meeting with Sohee tomorrow night so you should bring up the issue to her then and see what she can do. Maybe tighten the security around here or something. Until then, don't go anywhere by yourself and stick with us, okay? It's safer to stay together."
I nodded back with a smile at Hera's concern.
Tomorrow night sounds like it will pass quickly but really... a lot of things can change in 24 hours.
...
- The next day -
"I'll go on my own," I insisted the third time in front of Hera, Lia and Seol Ah whose hairs were bubbled in foams. Of all days, the three of them decided to dye their hair when we ran out of shampoo and they were asking me to buy some.
With Doyeon.
"No, you're going with her," Hera insisted too, pulling Doyeon into the picture. Queen bee stood there feigning innocence, but deep down she and I knew that we didn't want each other's company.
I exhaled heavily. Here goes my 4th attempt. "No, I said I'll go myself."
"Why're you suddenly so stubborn? Yesterday you just said you're being stalked. We're not going to leave you alone," Hera frowned back.
"But you want to leave me with her?" I pointed at Doyeon. I was so ready to tell them that Doyeon was poison to me but that girl suddenly decided to agree with Hera.
"She's right," Doyeon butted in. "We should go together, it's safer that way."
I debated if I should say something nasty then. When all the girls in foamy hair were still staring between Doyeon and I.
"Don't try to act-"
"Jisoo, we're talking about a possible stalker case here. We just want to be sure that you're safe. Please just let me come with you," Doyeon pleaded in her friendly voice. "We'll get shampoo real quick and be right back, okay?"
...
I ended up compromising to Doyeon's fake kindness. As expected, she dropped her friendliness the moment we were left alone, and neither of us bothered speaking to each other. The mart we were heading to was just across the street and we stopped at the crossroad waiting for the green man.
My eyes casually scanned the area and landed on a black car that seemed a little familiar. I stared at the car plate harder trying to recall if it rang a bell.
I think I've seen it before... but where?
Before I could figure it out, the engine revved and the car drove off. I was so in thought that I didn't notice the green man until Doyeon snapped her fingers to my face. I think she backtracked just to get me.
The green man was blinking by now, which meant that I had wasted half the time standing still. Together with her, we jogged to get across the street before the green man turned red.
We paid for four bottles of shampoo thanks to a buy-3-get-1-free offer and ended up with two grocery bags of two bottles each. I immediately dumped one bag on her. Doyeon caught it in time but her look told me that she wasn't planning to help me at first.
I revealed a smug smile before walking past her with the other bag in my hand, but as soon as I stepped out of the mart, I noticed the same black car parked around a corner.
That's when I suddenly remembered that I had seen it around once when we headed to a new site for our pre-debut photoshoot.
But why is it here again? Why is it always around me?
I pretended not to see it this time and spun around, forcing a smile upon Doyeon who seemed disturbed by my sudden friendliness. "Hold this," I shoved my bag of shampoo to her and she caught it again with two hands in bewilderment. "Just for a minute, I need the restroom." I smiled a sarcastic one and scooted off to where the restroom was, except that I wasn't planning to go there.
I made sure to get out of the black car's sight and detoured a long way around so that I was now watching the car from behind. I hid myself behind a wall and kept watch for some time until my phone began ringing.
"Hello?" I picked up in a flash.
"Where the hell are you?" Doyeon snapped on the phone. She must have been too impatient at my disappearance to be calling.
"Restroom?" I said, my eyes still glued on the black car that stayed unmoving.
"Don't try to lie, I went in to find you but the restroom is empty. Did you just leave me to carry four freaking bottles of shampoo?! On purpose?!"
I smiled to myself, remembering how the bottles were huge and four bottles must've been a weeny bit heavy. It wasn't my intention to do that to her but it sure is worth it to hear her so frustrated.
"Why? Too heavy? You don't have muscles?" I continued to joked when I found it amusing.
"Bitch I'll make you pay for..." she kept cursing through the line and I kept smiling.
"How long are you gonna wait there? Come back already. The girls are complaining that you're taking too long," I lied to make her leave without me. It was true that they were waiting for the shampoo to come but I was not planning to leave until I found out who was in that damn car.
Highly likely that my stalking instinct referred to this and I was going to end this once and for all.
I hung up before Doyeon's nasty mouth would run and kept my focus on the black car. From my standpoint, I could even see Doyeon leaving back for the dorm. Angrily, may I add. She seemed to be muttering words to herself and I bet that they were vulgarities directed at me. Not that I care.
It was just then when I saw a man in black suit step out of the car, looking to the direction of the restroom that I was supposed to be in. He was masked and in sunglasses so it was impossible to guess his face from behind. I sneakily followed when he jogged up to the restroom to check on 'me', and I thought - what a bloody perverted stalker.
My growing distaste made me want to kick his balls even more and I decided it was time to confront him, but he didn't stop outside the restroom and kept walking forward.
My phone rang again and I picked up immediately. "Hey, I think I found the stalker. I'm still near the mart and I'm going to confront him now," I said discreetly through the phone while keeping my eyes on the man.
"What? What stalker?"
Jongdae replied me to my surprise, which caused me to look at the caller ID for once. Why did I assume that it would be Hera calling to nag me?
This was worst than Hera's call because I seemed to have spilled something that worried the butt out of him.
"Uh, r-relax, it's not as bad as you think it is."
"I called because I'm nearby. Where are you exactly? Tell me now."
"Near the k-mart. I just passed the blue ATM machine," I reported obediently after a quick scan of my surroundings.
The man quickened his pace and I had to pick up my steps to chase after him. "Hey, I gotta go. Call you in a bit!" I hung up because I was too focused keeping up with the stalker.
Funny how I'm stalking my stalker now, heh.
He walked deeper into the nooks and corners, turning left right left until I was suddenly following him into a dark, dirty, and empty alley.
This is where the weak female protagonist in dramas tend to get abducted because they stupidly follow the culprit into the trap.
And for the first time... I do feel stupid.
⚡️⚡️⚡️
A/N: stupidity happens... shit happens... 🤔🌚