Chapter 21: Hot And Cool

Jae Joong was sleeping peacefully on the futon beside my bed. He must’ve been really hot last night; probably because I tend to keep the heater’s thermostat in my room on a high temperature. Can’t blame me… it’s cold in the winter and I came from a tropical country. He’d took of his shirt and kicked off his sheets. Just watching him lie there would’ve caused most of his fans nosebleed.

I slid slowly towards the edge of my bed and stood up on the floor. It was more of trying to stand up. I’d underestimated the aftereffects of drinking copious amounts of alcohol when I usually don’t drink a single drop. The moment I stood up, my head felt woozy. I took a step forward, somewhat like I was tripping or something and landed knee-first on Jae Joong.

“Aaaahh!!” he shouted as he was jolted awake.

“Omigod!!” I exclaimed, “Mianhae… mianhae…”

“Are you trying to murder me?” he groaned, rubbing the spot on his thigh which I’d landed on.

“You wouldn’t die because of that. I’d probably have maimed you though.” I laughed.

“Haha… not funny. Oww… how much do you weigh?”

“It has nothing to do with weight!! If anyone of any weight had landed on you knee-first, you’d still feel the exact amount pain,” I protested.

“Right…” he said sarcastically, still rubbing his thigh.

I laughed again. He looked so hilarious. The sleepy expression, coupled with pain and a little sarcasm. At that moment, he looked like a child.

“Mianhae,” I said I touched his thigh, trying to help him ease his pain. His whole body stiffened as I did and he pushed my hand away.

“I’m fine,” he mumbled, his face turning red.

“You sure?” I asked, puzzled at his sudden change of expression.

“Yea… umm… don’t you have a hair appointment or something?” he said.

“I do, what time is it?” I said as I turned around to look at the clock on the wall. It was 10am. “Damn!!” I cursed.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“My appointment is at 10.30am, I’m going to be late.”

“Go get dressed now, I’ll drive you there,” he said as he got up.

“Okay,” I said and started to rummage through my closet for something to wear. Then I remembered. Where was the skirt I wore yesterday? I turned around to catch him just before he went out the door. “Jae Joong, what happened to the skirt I wore yesterday?”

“I took it off.”

“Why?” I said, staring at him.

“You puked all over it,” he smirked.

“I did?” I said, suddenly feeling very embarrassed.

“Yes, and it stank!!” he laughed. I threw a shirt at him as he turned to walk out and he caught it. “Hmm…” he said, “Love the color, but I don’t think it’s my style,” and he tossed it back at my face.

“Yah!!!” I shouted and he continued laughing as he closed the door.

I rushed into the bathroom for a quick shower, and then put on some light makeup. I was so thankful that my hair’s short now. It takes little or not effort at all to style it as compared to the long hair I had.

Jae Joong drove me to the salon and dropped me off.

“Call me when you’re almost done. I’ll come pick you up,” he said. I nodded and went in.

As I entered the salon, the staff greeted me.

“Oso oseyo, Sierra-shi. It’s been a long time since you visited us,” a petite girl with a very big perm said. I think her name is Suki.

“Omo, Sierra-shi,” another exclaimed, “Your eyes… neomu yeppeo. The doctor must’ve done a really good job.”

This was the first time I’d been in the scrutiny of the public eye since my operation. I still didn’t know how to react to people’s remarks about my new… face.

“Kamsahamnida,” I mumbled. “Where’s Ray-shi?” I asked. Ray was the stylist who had always done my hair.

“He’s in the back, Sierra-shi. Please take a seat. He’ll be out in a moment.”

I sat down on one of the swiveling chairs. The salon was modern and classy with a retro décor and bossanova beat music played from the stereo. The mirrors in front of each seat was a succession of circles, starting from a small one, about the size of a football, at the bottom and each would be larger than the other until the final one reached the diameter of about 2 feet. Having said that, you wouldn’t want to wear a skirt with nothing underneath, or just knickers, if you came here. You’d be subjecting yourself to some indecent exposure if you did. I was served tea and snacks and almost buried under a stack of the latest fashion magazines. About 10 minutes later, Ray emerged from the staffroom behind the shop.

“Sierra…” he cooed. As you’ve probably guessed, Ray was gay. He was tall, had spiky hair colored in all the colors of the rainbow, and he spoke with a British accent although his face was so typically Korean.

“Hey, Ray,” I said as I looked up from my magazine. He bent down toward me and we did one of those air kissing gestures. The first time I’d met him, I had hesitated and he was deeply offended. From then on, I’d reciprocate his greeting just so I wouldn’t upset him.

“How are you doing, luv?” he said as he started inspecting my hair. Then, he noticed my face. “I see you’ve had a little job done. Not bad. Sponsored?”

“Yea,” I said, “But not by choice.”

“Tut, tut… we beggars can’t be choosers, can we?” he said.

“No, we can’t,” I smiled.

“So what are we going to do with you this time? Your company wanted you snazzied up, but it looks like you’re fine looking like this. I can’t imagine what color you would want for your lovely dark locks.”

“How about red?” I said.

“Are you serious?” he exclaimed.

“I’ve done red before, and it’ll fade to a nice brown later. That’s like value for money,” I laughed.

“You’re mad,” he laughed, “Red it is, then,” he said. “But you must promise to come in for a touch up once it fades.”

“I will…” I lied. I couldn’t really be bothered, usually I’d let it fade until it took on a bleached blonde color before I came for a touch up. Ray knew that I’d agreed just to please him, but he’d make me promise all the same.

Ray called for his assistants and started to work on me. They shampooed my hair once before Ray applied the dye on my head personally. He’d decided to dye a layer of my hair under my fringe all the way to the back of my head. He pushed back and pinned up my hair, leaving a thin layer of hair framing my face all the way to the back before he applied the dye. The effect was my hair looking like it was highlighted in red around the face when it was actually a whole piece dyed red. The new colour made my face look fairer and made me look edgier than I used to.

“Voila!” Ray said, as he finished blow-drying and styling my hair with some hair cream and wax.

“Thanks, Ray,” I said as turned my head left and right, looking into the mirror, and touching my hair lightly.

“Anytime, luv,” Ray replied and patted me on my shoulder.

I’d called Jae Joong half an hour earlier and he’d arrived. He waited for me in the lounge while reading a magazine.

I walked toward him and he stood up, “Wow… you look more like a rocker than an R&B singer now.”

“I do? It’s time for a change of image anyway.”

“Don’t worry, you look beautiful,” he said and smiled.

I smiled at him and linked my arm through his as we walked out of the salon.

Jae Joong drove me to the studios. I was very behind in my share of recording for the new album. They’d to push the planned launch date back 2 months because of the time I’d spent in the hospital.

As I walked into the recording room, I ran my hands over the headphones and the stand for the music sheet. It felt like I’d come home to something I’d lost for the past few months.

“Ready to go?” the producer spoke into the microphone which was connected to my headphones in the soundproof recording room.

I nodded and adjusted the headphones so that they fit properly. Today I was going to record a song the guys had already completed. All that was missing was my voice. This was the song Jun Jin hyung had recorded his rap for. It was called ‘Ghosts’. The music filled my ears and I counted silently until it was time for me to sing.

JunJin: This is Double J, baby, puttin’ it in for S-Cube…
Haha…
Sierra, baby… do your thing…

Sierra: I turned around as I felt your presence
I was disappointed when I saw, there was no one there
I continued to walk and I heard you whisper
The ghosts of our past are haunting me, haunting me

Skye: I was walking in a crowd when I saw you
Standing right in the middle, as people passed by
I called your name and all at once you disappeared
The ghosts of our past are driving me mad, driving me mad

Shoei: Why can’t I exorcise these thoughts away
They’re driving me to insanity,
Why do they torture me
Sierra: I scream in silence as the ghosts ravage my mind
I wish I can end this torture by ending my life

S-Cube: I wish you didn’t walk away
Without a word, without a care
The memories we shared are suffocating me
Only if you came back, you’d be able to save me

I wish you didn’t walk away
Without a word, without a care
The times we spent together keep reminding me
Only if you came back, you’d be able to save me

JunJin: Yeah~ yeah~ here we go…
The ghosts of our pasts just won’t go away
How much more do I need to beg
For you to come back, to stay
Only you can save my sanity, baby
Only you can cure me
Without you I’d go mad
As I drown in my screams

Shoei: Why can’t I exorcise you from my head
You’re driving me mad, you’re torturing me
Sierra: I scream in silence as your ghosts ravage my mind
Stop haunting me, I beg you, if you’re not coming back
Skye: Just take my life, and end this right now

S-Cube: I wish you didn’t walk away
Without a word, without a care
The memories we shared are suffocating me
Only if you came back, you’d be able to save me

I wish you didn’t walk away
Without a word, without a care
The times we spent together keep reminding me
Only if you came back, you’d be able to save me

JunJin: You heard me, baby…
Come back to me

“Good take,” the producer said, as we completed the recording for the final corrections. We’d spent the whole day on just this one song and it wasn’t perfect still. We’d have to work on the other kinks tomorrow.

As Skye, Shoei and I walked out of the elevator into the lobby at our studios’ building, we saw Jae Joong’s car parked at the entrance.

“Get in,” Jae Joong said and we did. We went out for a quick dinner and Jae Joong sent us home. When we arrived at our apartment block, we got out of the car and Jae Joong followed.

“Sierra,” Jae Joong called out.

“Wae?” I turned around and looked at him.

“Let’s go for a walk. We need to talk.”

We strolled along the pathway by the apartment block. The night air was cool and crisp. I shivered a little and adjusted my scarf around my neck. Walking out here reminded me of the times I spent with Yun Ho. We’d take walks out here after dinner and talk about what we’d done for the day. We’d chase each other like children on the miniature playground. I sighed loudly as I remembered everything.

“I spoke to Yun Ho today,” Jae Joong suddenly spoke.

“What? You did? How is he? What did he say? Did he ask about me?” I harassed Jae Joong with my questions.

“He said he didn’t want to talk about you anymore,” Jae Joong said quietly.

I was speechless as I stared at Jae Joong. Yun Ho didn’t want to talk about me? Why would he say such a thing? The Yun Ho I knew would never say such a thing.

“I asked him why he hadn’t gotten in touch with you,” Jae Joong started explaining, “and that was what he said.”

“You’re lying…” I said; my tone emotionless. I couldn’t, no, I won’t believe what Jae Joong had just said. Yun Ho would never treat me like this.

“I’m not, Sierra. I’m really confused myself. Something happened before he went back to Japan. Don’t you know anything? Didn’t Skye or Shoei mention anything? Something must’ve happened while you were unconscious.”

“I don’t know, the guys said that they didn’t know. Shi Kyung hyung wouldn’t tell me anything,” I said and I started crying out of frustration.

“We have to find out what happened,” Jae Joong said as he pulled me into his arms. “Don’t cry…” he whispered. “We’ll find out what happened.”

We stood there in the cold in each other’s arms, and I cried my heart out. Whatever happened during the time I was unconscious must have had a serious impact on Yun Ho. Otherwise, he would never had forsaken me like that.