Chapter 107: Sometimes

Yun Ho was squinting grumpily at the both of us, and I could feel my face turning red.

“Can you guys keep it down?” he said as he lay back down and covered his face with his pillow.

“It’s all your fault,” I whispered at Jae Joong and poked his head with my index finger.

“My fault?” he whispered back as he got off the floor and pulled me up.

“Yes,” I hissed at him.

“I was just being spontaneous,” he said.

“Right… falling off the bed is definitely a spontaneous act,” I giggled, and quickly muffled them by clearing my throat.

“Let’s leave the room,” Jae Joong said. “He needs the sleep.”

“I’ll be out in a minute. I need to get my bag cos Hee Chul’s gonna be here any second.”

“Araso,” Jae Joong yawned and walked out.

I walked to my pile of stuff that has taken residence in their room and picked up the bag I’d packed earlier. As I was about to walk out when Yun Ho started coughing; and it wasn’t just a cough. It was more like a fit.

“Yun Ho,” I turned around and looked at him. “Kwaench’ana?”

“Kwaench’ana…” he said as he continued coughing.

I walked up to him and sat next to him on the bed. He was still coughing, but was lying down. I noticed now that his eyes were red and puffy, not to forget the dark circles, and he looked a little pale.

“You don’t look okay to me,” I said.

“I’m fine,” he said as the fit started to die down.

I walked to Jae Joong’s bedside table and picked up a bottle of water I’d always left there, in case my throat got dry in the night.

“Here,” I said as I handed Yun Ho my bottle.

“Thanks,” he said as he accepted the bottle and sat up to drink from it.

“You look tired,” I said.

“I’m fine,” he said as he capped the lid on the bottle and put it on his side table.

I reached out and touched his forehead to check his temperature.

“You feel a bit warm. You’d better take a paracetamol or something. Don’t want it to end up a full-blown fever.”

“I will,” he said as his hand came up to hold my palm against his head. “Why do you always have such cold hands?” he said as he closed his eyes.

“Huh?”

“Are you cold-blooded?” he said as he smiled.

“Yea…” I laughed. “I am.”

“Just what I need,” he laughed softly. “Ah… chohta… My eyes felt like they were burning,” he said as he shifted my hand to cover his eyes. “Can you keep your hand on my face all day?”

“I can’t,” I smiled. “I’m going on the road today, for the rest of the week.”

“Hmm… Can I pay you to stay here and take care of me?”

“First of all, you can’t afford me… well maybe you can,” I laughed. “Second, you of all people should know that I’m not really good at taking care of the sick. Jae Joong is better at that.”

“But you’ve stolen him from me,” he said, still using that lazy voice, and still holding my hand to his eyes.

“That can’t be helped. If he was gay, and you were gay, maybe you’d have him all to yourself,” I laughed.

“Doesn’t matter… you owe me, since you took Jae Joong away,” he said.

“Don’t be silly,” I laughed and smacked his legs with my free hand. “Yah… isn’t my hand getting warm on your face?”

“Yea,” he said. “Time to switch hands,” he said and he tried to reach for my other hand.

“Michoso,” I laughed as I jumped off the bed, the moment he released my hand that was on his face.

“Sierra!” I heard Jun Su yell from the living room. “Hee Chul hyung is here.”

“Coming,” I yelled back. “I gotta go,” I said to Yun Ho. “Take some medicine, and drink lots of water.”

“Araso, oma,” he smiled. “Take care of yourself, I’ll see you in a week” he said and he turned onto his side to go back to sleep.

I closed the door and walked down the corridor to find Jae Joong sprawled on the couch.

“Why haven’t you showered?” I asked him.

“Yoo Chun’s in the shower, and I was waiting for you. What were you doing in the room?”

“Yun Ho looks like he’s about to have a fever. Might wanna get him some medicine,” I said as I looked at Chang Min.

“Right,” he said as he walked into the kitchen where the medicine cabinet was.

“You’re walking me down?” I asked Jae Joong.

“Sure,” he smiled as he reached for a cap that someone had left lying around on the coffee table and put it on. “Kaja,” he said as he opened the front door for me.

“Bye guys,” I said as I walked out.

“Bye! Have fun!” Jun Su said.

“Like I will…” I stuck my tongue out at him.

As soon as Jae Joong and I walked into the elevator, he pulled me into his arms for a very long and tight embrace.

“I’ll miss you,” I said, and I kissed him on the side of his neck instead of his lips, since he wouldn’t allow me to move at all.

I closed my eyes for the rest of the ride down the elevator, and he didn’t let go until we reached the ground floor, and the doors opened. We disentangled ourselves reluctantly and walked out hand in hand towards Hee Chul’s car which was parked out front.

“Call me,” he said softly, and kissed me.

“Yah!” Hee Chul yelled from the car and honked at us. “Let’s move it,” he laughed.

“See you in a week,” I said and I kissed him once more, and I got into the car.

“Take care of her,” Jae Joong said to Hee Chul as he leant his head into the car.

“I’m not her nursemaid,” Hee Chul said.

“He’ll take care of me,” I smiled to Jae Joong. “Chagiya… annyeong…” I said in a sweet voice and pulled Jae Joong down for another kiss just to irk Hee Chul.

“Yah… keumanhae!” he laughed. “See ya, Jae Joong,” he said and we drove off.

“Are you picking up Skye and Shoei?” I asked Hee Chul.

“Nope,” he said. “They’ll be meeting us at the studios, and we’ll leave from there.”

“Araso,” I sighed.

I leant the seat back and closed my eyes.

“Are you that tired?” he asked me.

“Don’t ask,” I said as squirmed around to get comfortable.

My back was aching this morning, and I wasn’t about to describe to Hee Chul why it ached. He knew well enough.

“I think I know what’s wrong with you,” he laughed. “You missing Jae Joong already?”

“Yah… shikkeureopta,” I said in a lazy, emotionless voice.

“Aigoo…” he said as he patted my hand which was sprawled on the armrest between the driver and passenger seat. “Koktjongman… oppa will take care of you,” he said.

“Yah… don’t touch me, you pervert,” I said in that same tone, and he laughed again.

We arrived at the studios where Skye and Shoei were already waiting in the van parked out front. We were going to go from city to city to promote our new single which was launched this morning. The first stop was one of the biggest record stores in Seoul, where we will be singing live and giving out autographs on copies of the single that the fans purchased from the store.

We arrived there and saw a sea of our blue-silver balloons and specks of blue balloons, which was Super Junior’s colour, since Hee Chul was with us. The security team pushed through the crowd gathered at the entrance of the store to make way for us. On our way in, we shook hands with some of the fans, and stopped to hug a few of them we’d actually seen often enough to remember.

“I got molested,” Skye wailed as soon as we walked into the safety of the store.

“Where?” I asked him.

“Someone touched my chest,” he laughed.

“You call that molestation?” Hee Chul retorted. “Someone grabbed my butt.”

“No one grabbed me,” Shoei smiled.

“Me neither,” I said.

“I think we’re just not as desirable as those 2,” Shoei laughed.

“Could be,” I said sadly.

“Yah… you think it’s fun to be molested?” Hee Chul exclaimed.

“Nah… but it sure feels deflating to know no one wants to grab me,” I giggled.

Once we were seated at the table prepared for the signing, the fans were allowed entrance into an area in the store with barriers around it.

“Annyeong haseyo!” the emcee greeted everyone once they were ready to begin. “Thank you all for attending the launch of S-Cube’s latest single, ‘Waiting for You’, a collaboration with Hee Chul of Super Junior. This is the first leg of their nationwide promotional tour and for the next few days, they will travel to 6 other cities, Taejeon, Pusan, Taegu, Kwangju, Incheon, Ulsan, so if you can, please be there to support them.”

“Yes, please do support us,” Shoei said, and the crowd applauded.

“I’m sure most of you have been teased with snippets of the MV for the past weeks,” the emcee said, “so let’s kick this off with the premier of the complete MV for the song.”

The lights were dimmed and all attention was turned to the huge screen put up on our right. The scene begins with Skye and Shoei sitting side by side on a bench by a pier, and they sang the first verse. They were both dressed in casual suits; Shoei in a grey one, and Skye in a black one.

Shoei: My mind tells me to go
But my heart says stay,
You’ll never know

Skye: Won’t you tell me to stay
Ask me again tomorrow,
and I may not be there

(Hee Chul appeared next, leaning on the lamp post by the bench Skye and Shoei sat on, and looking out toward the sea, wistfully. He was wearing a denim jacket over a dark colored turtleneck shirt and a pair of matching jeans.)

Hee Chul: Battle after battle, we fight each day
Every night before I go to bed for you, I pray
Do you still need me, baby, the way you used to
Tell me quick, baby, for I still love you
Let’s have it out, let’s pick it up, where we left off
Don’t play with me, honey, for you I care for
I don’t have much time, for us to play around
If you truly love me, then just say it out loud

(I appear behind them, walking down the pavement, and the three of them look straight on as they were, and as if I weren’t there. I was wearing a pair of skinny jeans, and a longish blouse with deconstructed sleeves and geometrical graphics on the front.)

Sierra: Baby turn back, if you don’t know what lies ahead
Don’t go too far, or you may be lost forever
Tried to tell you, no matter what you do, you’ll have my love
But time does not permit, baby I may not be waiting for you

(There was an interval, where it’s just music, and the 4 separate scenes we each were about to have were flashed onto the screen one after another, repeating a few times.

The scene changes to the airport. Skye walks towards the departure lounge at the airport, and he looks out at the planes taking off outside the building. He was now wearing a cap, t-shirt and jeans.)

Skye: My plane takes off in an hour
I kept waiting for you,
But you never showed up

(The scene changes again, and Shoei is in bed, his eyes opened and staring at the ceiling.)

Shoei: When I woke up this morning
I was suddenly reminded
that you belonged to me no more

(Hee Chul is now standing in the middle of a crossroad, wearing the same outfit, and people are walking past him, around him as he raps.)

Hee Chul: I look around, don’t see you there
I tried to pretend that I didn’t care
But I feel so lost, I feel so sad
You were the kind of love I wanted to have
Pick myself up and walk again
I swore to myself it wasn’t the end
Each day is a new day in this world without you
No matter what happened I’m grateful for you

(The scene changes again, and I’m hunched in the shower, fully dressed in a full-length black silk slip, and the water beating on me, drenching me as I sang the chorus.)

Sierra: Baby turn back, if you don’t know what lies ahead
Don’t go too far, or you may be lost forever
Tried to tell you, no matter what you do, you’ll have my love
But time does not permit, baby I may not be waiting for you

(The 4 scenes flash past twice, quickly, and it’s the final chorus, and we’re all gathered on a platform somewhere in the middle of the sea, standing in a circle, facing outwards. We were all wearing the same outfits as we were in the first scene by the lake. Hee Chul raps almost inaudibly in the background as the three of us sang the chorus.)

Sierra: Baby turn back, if you don’t know what lies ahead
[Shoei: Baby, yeah…]
Don’t go too far, or you may be lost forever
[Skye: Forever…]
Tried to tell you, no matter what you do, you’ll have my love
[Shoei: You’ll have my love]
Sierra: But time does not permit, baby I may not be waiting for you
[Skye and Shoei: Waiting for you]