Chapter 80: Break Up The Shell

“Jae Joong,” I called out his name again, this time louder. “It’s not what it seems to be.”

“Then tell me what it is,” he said, his voice shaking.

“He just grabbed me and kissed me,” I said.

“Why would he do that?”

“I don’t know,” I said.

I was close to tears now. Why did Darren kiss me? Why did he just kiss me and walked away? Did he plan this?

“You let him kiss you, and you don’t know?”

“He just grabbed me,” I said, as tears of frustration started to stream down my cheeks.

“What’s going on?” Shoei said as he walked towards us.

“Ask her. I’m leaving,” Jae Joong said, and he walked out.

“Jae Joong,” I called out, and I started sobbing.

“Nuna,” Shoei said as he put his arm around me. “Uljima. What happened?”

“I don’t know,” I sobbed as I sank to the floor.

Sometime later, I was sitting in a chair, nursing a bottle of water. Shoei and Skye sat in a chair beside me, just watching me. I knew that they were waiting for me to explain what had happened since I had been crying since Jae Joong walked out.

“What happened?” Shoei asked me and I just sighed.

“We can’t help if you don’t tell us, nuna,” Skye said.

“Darren kissed me,” I said.

“What?” the both of them exclaimed.

“Yea… what…” I sighed.

“But why?” Skye said.

“How would I know? I have never so much as looked at him meaningfully. I hardly know him and he just grabbed me and kissed me out of the blue.”

“But if you hardly knew him, why is Jae Joong hyung reacting this way?” Skye said.

“I guess he was just shocked at what he saw,” Shoei offered. “I’m sure if he thought of it, he’d realize that there is no way you’re involved with Darren. You’ve met him like twice so far. How can there be anything going on between the two of you?”

“You tell him that. I can’t believe he just walked out like that,” I sniffed.

“We’ll talk to him. Or do you want us to bring you to him, to explain?” Skye asked.

“Come to think of it, why do I need to explain? I did nothing wrong. I was attacked by that Darren. How could Jae Joong just assume the worst and walk out on me?” I said, my temper starting to rise.

“Nuna,” Shoei said as he put his hand on my shoulder. “Don’t let your anger get the better of you. If it had been you who saw Jae Joong kissing another girl, or being kissed by another girl, I’m sure you’d have gone ballistic too.”

“I’m suspicious of Darren,” Skye said. “Why was he here tonight? Did he come just to do that?”

“How could he have planned the exact moment Jae Joong would walk in?” I asked.

“He could if he intended to,” Skye said.

“It could’ve been a spur of the moment idea too. Your back was facing Jae Joong hyung when he walked in, right?” Shoei asked.

“Yea, and?”

“He probably saw Jae Joong hyung coming and decided to just do it.”

Skye muttered an expletive when Shoei gave that conclusion. All I could do was sink back into my chair and stare blankly ahead of me. Why me? Why do I always have to be embroiled in such troubles?

[Darren’s POV]

I drove into the parking lot and parked my car in the reserved spot. Tonight had been fun. I hadn’t planned to do what I did, but since the opportunity presented itself, I took the plunge. For the longest time, I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to cause a rift between those kids at SM. Their closeness sickened me. They went everywhere together; worked together, played together and in the case of Sierra and Jae Joong, dated each other. If I’m not mistaken, there have also been rumors that Skye was dating that new girl, Hae Rin.

“Hyung,” the guys greeted me as I walked into the apartment.

“Hey,” I acknowledged them but walked straight into my room.

I’m close with my band mates, Nakata and Min Jong, but sometimes, because of the age gap, I feel that I am still a world apart. I tossed my keys onto my desk and flopped down onto my bed. Her scent still filled my mind. I’ve always found her intriguing, but there is a bigger cause for me out there, and hopefully, I will make her my pawn.

“Where did you go?” Nakata asked me as he popped his head into my room.

“Nowhere special… just cruising,” I said.

“We have a shoot tomorrow,” he reminded me.

“8am?” I asked him, and he nodded. “I’ll be up,” I said, and he closed the door.

Earlier tonight, I’d been contemplating if I should go for that launch. I was wondering if they’d be suspicious of me. The aim had been to get closer to them, befriend them, and see what their weaknesses are. It was obvious that Sierra was the weak link in S-Cube. Girls usually are. That’s why Helix is an all-guy band. Because of her history of involvements with the other guys in SM, and the fact that she would always be the odd one out in her band, she was an easy target.

I remember when I first met her in the flesh, as in really stood in front of her and interacted with her. It was during the recent MKMF awards, and she had on that really hot Chinese outfit.

“Whoa…” Min Jong had commented as we walked towards the stage in the middle of the red carpet. “Check her out.”

“Who?” Nakata asked.

“Sierra from S-Cube,” Min Jong said, as his eyes strained in their sockets to take in every inch of the visual before him.

“She’s not bad,” I smirked, but looked on appreciatively all the same.

We got onto the stage and introduced ourselves.

“You guys look absolutely dangerous tonight,” the emcee, Gong Yoo said.

“We knew that S-Cube was going for suave and sophisticated, so we decide to go the other way,” I joked. “By the way, nuna.” I added as I looked at her. “You look hot tonight,” and I winked.

“Thanks,” she replied. “You look pretty hot yourself.”

This chick sure is outspoken. Most of the girls I talk to usually go all shy or whither up somehow. I decided, at that moment, that I liked her. Too bad she was dating Jae Joong of TVXQ. Stealing his girl would be hell for my career.

“How about that Sierra?” Min Jong grinned as we sat down in the auditorium. “She’s hot, and I’ve heard that she’s really witty and cute too.”

“Sure… Not bad.”

“Wasn’t she dating Yun Ho last year?” Nakata asked.

“She was,” Min Jong replied. “Until some TVXQ fan attacked her, then Yun Ho disappeared to Japan, and when he came back, she was with Jae Joong.”

“And he let them?” Nakata said incredulously and Min Jong just shrugged.

“How do you know so much?” I asked Min Jong. “Are you stalking her?” I laughed.

“I happen to be in touch with the news,” he huffed.

“Yea… celebrity gossip is news, alright,” I sneered.

“Hey Darren,” Hyun Joong of SS501 tapped my shoulder tapped my shoulder as he walked past to get to his seat.

“Yo!” I smiled at him. “Break a leg,” I said.

“You too,” he replied.

After greeting the rest of SS501, my thoughts turned back to Sierra’s issues. I’d never given it much thought because I wasn’t interested in their matters before. Meeting Sierra made me wonder what exactly happened between her and Yun Ho. Why would Yun Ho just sit back and watch his band mate date his girlfriend?

I found out weeks later, from a snitch from SM, that S-Cube’s manager had lied to Yun Ho, just after Sierra’s operation after the attack, and told him that Sierra wanted to end the relationship. Yun Ho left after hearing it, not knowing that Sierra could not have said that, since she was unconscious at the time. When she woke up, she was told that Yun Ho had left; no explanations. She spent the next 2 months recovering from her reconstructive surgery without hearing anything from him. But she wasn’t alone.

By the time she left the hospital, Jae Joong had become a constant companion. He was always seen chauffeuring her and her band mates around and having dinner together almost every night. In the end, Jae Joong’s persistence was rewarded. When Yun Ho came back, he apparently had a talk with Sierra, and they’d left it at that ever since.

If I were Yun Ho, I would not have just left it. I would’ve called Jae Joong out, but the TVXQ guys, being wusses, will never jeopardize the brotherly bond they had. They would swallow the bitter pill just to keep the band. I am pretty sure that Yun Ho still had feelings for Sierra. I wonder how I can egg him to make a play for her. That would shake things up.

It was so funny how everything played out so perfectly earlier; when she mentioned kissing, and then Jae Joong walked in. The wheels in my mind were spinning overtime and all I could think of was to grab her and kiss her. The look on both their faces was priceless. Both wore shocked expressions, and Jae Joong looked like he’d been hit in the gut. It was so pathetic, and very satisfying to watch. I guess now that I’ve made my move, I’ll have to keep going.

Helix was doing so well the year we debut since Sierra got herself caught up in a scandal with Yun Ho. The news of their relationship didn’t sit well with the TVXQ fans, which led to a boycott of their first album. If it hadn’t been for this boycott, Helix might not have won Best Newface at the MKMF that year.

Now that S-Cube is on track, Helix’s popularity is waning fast. We’ve already lost out to S-Cube this year, and I can’t sit back and watch them trample over us at the next awards. I need to strike them at their weakest spot, and their weakest spot is Sierra.

[Shoei’s POV]

Darren… what was he up to. Skye and I spent almost half and hour just watching nuna cry her eyes out. And I was shocked when she said the reason Jae Joong hyung had walked out was because he caught them kissing. To be exact, he caught Darren kissing nuna. I believe in nuna. She would never cheat on Jae Joong hyung. Besides, she didn’t even know Darren well enough. We’ve only met them once during the awards, and nuna told me they bumped into her, Si Won, Hee Chul hyung and Han Kyung hyung having dinner a few weeks back.

We’ve always been unspoken rivals with Helix because we debuted in the same year. We’d lost out to them during our debut year, but we picked it up and surpassed them this year. Could this be why Darren is acting so weird? To cause problems for S-Cube?

“Let’s go,” Skye said as he picked up his bag and nuna’s.

“You want to drop by Jae Joong hyung’s place?” I asked her, and she nodded silently.

“Don’t worry, nuna,” Skye said as he put an arm around her. “We’ll talk to Jae Joong hyung for you if he won’t listen.”

“If he’s still upset, there would be no chance for anyone to talk to him. I don’t even know if he’s at home,” she said, sadly.

“Should we call ahead?” Skye asked her.

“No,” I said. “If he knows we’re coming, he might leave the apartment to avoid us. That is if he’s still upset.”

“So we’ll just go there and see what happens?” Skye asked me.

“That’s the plan now,” I nodded.

“Araso…” Skye smiled. “I’m just the chauffer.”

The ride there was silent. I sat in front with Skye while nuna sat alone in the back. I was tempted to climb to the backseat to comfort her. I wanted to tell her that it’s alright if Jae Joong hyung doesn’t believe her, because I do. It’s funny how little misunderstandings can be blown so out of proportion and dramatized to such extent. What could’ve been solved with a moment of calm and patience has been made almost irreparable just because people get hurt so easily.

I sighed as I looked out of the window. It was almost 11pm, and we were all tired from the earlier festivities. So much for celebrating. Tonight would’ve been a joyous one if not for Darren Kang. When I get to the bottom of this, and if I find that he deliberately did it to hurt nuna, I’m going to tear him apart.

We got to TVXQ’s apartment and it was Jun Su who opened the door for us.

“What are you guys doing here?” he asked us.

“We’re here to see Jae Joong hyung,” I said.

“He hasn’t come home,” Jun Su said.

“What?” nuna exclaimed, and Jun Su reacted to her outburst with a puzzled expression, complete with his mouth hanging open.

“We’ll explain,” Skye sighed, and he quickly ushered nuna into the apartment.

“Has he been gone all night?” I asked Jun Su as I walked in and waited for Jun Su to close the door.

“Yea. I thought he went to your album launch party?”

“He did, but he left.”

“Did something happen?” Jun Su asked me as we walked into the living room where Skye was getting nuna to sit down on the sofa.

“That Darren Kang from Helix,” I started.

“What about him?” Jun Su asked.

“He violated nuna,” Skye continued for me.

“What?” came Yun Ho hyung’s voice from the corridor that leads to their rooms.

“He kissed nuna, for no reason, out of the blue, and Jae Joong hyung saw him do it,” I explained.

“And what did Jae Joong do?” Yun Ho hyung asked.

“He left the auditorium. He was really upset and he didn’t even wait for nuna to explain it,” Skye said.

“I’m gonna kill him,” Yun Ho hyung growled through gritted teeth.