Brazen Love [Chapter 5]

 

Chapter 5:

Hyun Joong looked around in confusion. ‘Where did that kid go!?’ he wondered in frustration. He thought he had glimpsed Hwang Bo in the crowd before Hyung Joon had snatched him away like that. And even though he didn’t think he had the courage to approach her, just observing her would have been enough. He was about to turn and go back inside when he felt arms close gently around his waist from the back. ‘What is this?’ he wondered, startled.

“I-I missed you,” Hwang Bo said to the stiff back of the man in front of her. “I’m sorry about the way I sent you away that night and I’m sorry I didn’t text you in so long. I-I really needed to sort some things out... in my heart.” ‘Why isn’t he saying anything?’ Hwang Bo wandered as she tightened her grip on him.

Hyun Joong stiffened when she began to speak. ‘I-is that Hwang Bo?' he dared to hope. ‘Did she just say that she missed me? Am I imagining things?’ he wondered. He hadn’t really been getting much sleep lately.

Hwang Bo was trying to keep her temper under control, but she hadn’t seen him or spoken to him in over a week and he wasn’t even responding to her. “Yah!” She shouted jerking away from him and pulling him around to where he was facing her. “I said I missed you and that I’m sorry!”

Hyun Joong looked down into Hwang Bo’s angry eyes and his heart, that had been feeling cold lately, instantly warmed. It was actually her. He wanted to reach out and touch her, but he didn’t think that would be the best idea. ‘What is she apologizing for?’ he wondered. ‘I should be the one apologizing. I practically attacked her that night.’ He was about to speak, but he was interrupted by a man’s voice. “Hwang Bo Hye Jung! I was hoping to find you at this party!”

Hwang Bo’s face twisted in irritation at the unfamiliar voice. Every time she was alone with Hyun Joong someone or something always interrupted. She was even more upset when Hyun Joong bowed and said respectfully, “It was nice seeing you again, Noona.” She stared after him as he walked away then slowly turned to face the man behind her. Her eyes widened in surprise and she smiled brightly. “When did you get back?”

It was one of her school friends who had went off to study in America. She had known that he would be coming back to Korea to try his hand at producing Korean films, but she didn’t know that it would be this soon. He embraced her in a quick hug, which Hyun Joong looked back just in time to see. He scowled. 'Does she just go around hugging everyone? Who is that?’ he wondered. His fight or flight response had been activated since he had felt Hwang Bo’s arms wrap around him, so at the interruption he had utilized the latter. Now he was wishing that he had stayed. He hadn’t seen Hwang Bo in two weeks and when he did see her, he ruined the chance by running away and now he had to see her with some other guy. The man released Hwang Bo, letting Hyun Joong breathe a slight sigh of relief. “That doesn’t matter,” the guy was saying. “You’ll never believe why I came back.” He paused to create suspense for Hwang Bo. “I’ve been going for marriage meetings lately, and guess whose name got brought up for my next one?”

Hwang Bo looked at him suspiciously from the corner of her eye. “Me?” He nodded happily and attempted to pull her into another tight hug. Hwang Bo stepped away from him, her arms up in front of her. “Really?” Sure Jea Hun Choi was handsome and had only grown more so since his stint in America, and he was bound to be successful after the release of Dagger Goong, but he just was not what Hwang Bo was looking for as a husband. He was entirely too much like Maknae. Hwang Bo looked over her shoulder to find an excuse for escape, but her eyes fell on Hyun Joong’s face which was frozen in a mask of anger and disbelief. Jea Hun was still celebrating by himself, fluttering around her talking about his new film and his experiences in America.

When Hyun Joong saw Hwang Bo’s eyes fall on him, he immediately turned and went back inside. He needed something to distract him so that he wouldn’t go back out there and make a fool of himself in front of either Hwang Bo or that guy she was with. At that moment, he heard a call from beside him. “Hyung!” He looked up to see Amber waving at him. She was standing not too far away at the food table, her other members near her. He was surprised to see Hyung Joon mingling among them, trying to talk to Krystal.

Hwang Bo felt disappointed that Hyun Joong hadn’t come over and dragged her away from the excitable man. Even though she had been afraid that he was growing too confident of her feelings after what he had attempted that night, she didn’t know she would be this upset when he didn’t display those same actions at this moment. She turned to go after him, dismissing Jea Hun with a mumbled sentence, so upset that she didn’t notice that her phone was still on the ground behind her. She walked back into the pulse of the party and saw various members of SS501 hovering around the food table, dancing as they ate fruit from colored tooth picks, balancing a plate in their hand. She was about to boldly approach Hyun Joong in front of everyone to scold him with her eyes when she saw him in the corner, laughing with an androgenous figure she couldn’t determine was male or female. When Hyun Joong snatched the hat from the head of his companion Hwang Bo recognized her as Amber of F(x). ‘Since when did they get so close!’

She hurriedly tried to banish the sudden feeling of overwhelming jealousy. ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ she told herself. ‘Amber is so much younger than him.’ But that thought didn’t do much to cure the feeling as she thought of her own age and Hyun Joong. ‘And that means she’s so much younger than me too,’ she realized as she noticed the freshness of Amber’s face. She also looked over at Hyung Joon, who was busily entertaining Krystal. Age wasn’t stopping him either. She was about to turn away feeling dejected, when she heard Hyung Joon call her name. He had spotted her and felt a huge wave of relief. She had said she would help him get Krystal’s number, and he just didn’t have the courage to ask for it himself.

“Noona!” Hyung Joon whisper shouted, standing behind Krystal, waving his arms and pointing down at her. “It’s been forever!” ‘Maybe this will impress Krystal,’ he thought as Hwang Bo made her way toward him, a distracted look on her face.

Hyung Joon’s stage whisper carried to Hyun Joong and the rest of f(x), who drifted over to meet their senior. Hwang Bo averted her accusing glare from Hyun Joong and put on a smile for the suddenly stiff junior before her. Krystal bowed quickly and greeted her. “Annyeonhaseyo,” Hwang Bo replied, nodding back. “Krystal right?” Krystal nodded, blushing. Hwang Bo could remember all too clearly the feelings of when she was new in the industry and was greeted by seniors. “I really love f(x),” she said, looking around at the rest who had gathered around, not letting her eyes linger on Hyun Joong and Amber. “You guys have something special as a group. I hope you never lose it.” As they thanked her, Hyung Joon continued to signal her as if she had forgotten her mission. She nodded quickly, discreetly. She continued to talk to them, and it wasn’t long before they had become a bit more comfortable in her presence.

“Krystal-ssi,” she finally said, having gotten the idols to loosen up a bit. “I was wondering if I could use your phone to call my phone. I’m not sure where I left it, maybe if I hear it ring I can find it.” Hyung Joon’s mouth gaped as he heard the simple technique Hwang Bo noona had used to get Krystal’s number, but was even more stunned when his own phone sounded. His eyes were round as he answered the phone. Hwang Bo quickly snapped Krystal’s phone shut and passed it back to her before anyone noticed that Maknae had answered his phone. “I didn’t hear it, I guess it’s not in here. Thank you for letting me use your phone.”

Hyung Joon let out a wide, triumphant smile. He suddenly turned toward the food table and started piling things on a plate. “But...” she said, addressing f(x). “Are you guys alone? Is your manager not with you? You guys are like babies,” she said jokingly, throwing a meaningful look at Hyun Joong. “If you need anything, just call me. I’ll come and take care of you.” Hyung Joon offered Hwang Bo the plate he had piled high with food telling f(x) that Hwang Bo was really the best. Hwang Bo smiled at the eccentric youth and waved away the plate, causing him to pout. She had realized that she really didn’t know where her phone was, and she needed to find it. “I have to go,” she said. She sighed, as she retreated. “You guys make me feel so old.”

Hyun Joong watched Hwang Bo leave the room, once again headed out to the fountain covered garden. He politely shook Amber off as he followed Hwang Bo from the room trying to be as discreet as possible. He wanted to make sure she wasn’t going back out to meet up with that weird man who had been out there before, and he wanted to finish that conversation they hadn’t really started earlier. He also wanted to ask her about the strange things she had been saying in front of the other idols.

Hwang Bo was walking with her head down, focused on the ground. She had to have dropped her cell phone around here somewhere. When she reached the fountain she had been at before, she crouched down hurriedly, as she had seen Jea Hun still standing where he had been, chatting with someone else. She didn’t have enough energy to talk to him tonight. Hidden behind the base of that statue, she spotted her phone a little piece away. Could she get it without being seen? When she felt a presence standing above her, she looked up slowly. Her eyes traveling from the shiny shoes to the handsome face, that seemed expressionless but she could tell from her many days of deciphering his expressions that there was hidden amusement there.

She covered her face and looked down. This was not the type of image she had ever wanted to show him. She would have stood up and proudly faced him to wipe the amusement from his face, but she didn’t want to bring Jea Hun’s attention onto herself. So she sat through the humiliation as she waited for the spastic man to finish explaining to the bored actress how using flashlights in place of professional lighting in the Dagger Goong movie had created for a more interesting light affect using less money. The woman finally walked away leaving Jea Hun walking in a circle going over ideas and scenarios by himself until he eventually figured out that Hwang Bo wasn’t coming back. When he finally left, Hwang Bo breathed a sigh of relief, but when she got ready to stand, she realized too late that her legs had fallen asleep.

Hyun Joong smiled down at her. He loved when he could catch glimpses of her cute side. And he was also happy that she seemed to be avoiding the guy she had been with earlier. He just stood there and watched as she waited for the man to leave. When he did and she tried to stand, she crouched back down immediately. “What’s wrong?” he asked, worried.

Hwang Bo ignored him and tried to stand up again only to embarrass herself by losing her balance because she couldn’t feel her feet. Hyun Joong laughed when he caught her, his arms tight around her waist. She blushed and quickly sprang away from him to get her phone. He followed behind her to make sure she didn’t fall again. She snatched up her phone then turned to face him, her blood pressure under control. “Why didn’t you take me away from that guy earlier?” Hwang Bo demanded without thinking. She bit her lip wanting to take back what she had said; she had only managed to get her blood pressure under her control but not her brain.

Hyun Joong looked at her, surprised. “I didn’t know you wanted me to,” he said. Had he again showed a side of himself that wasn’t manly enough for her?

Hwang Bo laughed and hit him in the chest shaking her head. She looked around the garden to make sure it was empty then stood on her tip toes to plant a kiss on his cheek. She strolled away from him into the hedge maze that was a feature of the house, looking over her shoulder hoping that at least this time the young idol would take the hint to follow her. She laughed again when she heard his hesitant footsteps following her inside. ‘I must have gone mad with jealousy,’ Hwang Bo thought as she giggled and started to run, looking over her shoulders again to see him chasing after her, a wide grin on his face. ‘I’m acting like I’ve lost my mind and I don’t even have the nerve to confront him about Amber.’

Hyun Joong didn’t know what to expect from one minute to the next, but he found himself following along every time as if he was on a roller coaster, and his emotions followed along with him. He was happy to see that Hwang Bo was getting some of her playful energy back. He ran along after her, trying not to lose her in the maze.

'This is one strange place,’ Hwang Bo thought as she made her way through the maze finding a new sculpture from different eras as she turned corners in the maze, making sure she didn’t get too far ahead of Hyun Joong. She finally stopped when she reached the center where a park bench sat with two horse figures placed on each side. She sat down on the bench to catch her breath and wait for Hyun Joong.

Hyun Joong soon came into view, breathing heavily. “Buin, have you really been training for the Olympics? You’ve gotten faster...”

Hwang Bo laughed and reached out a hand to him placing him beside her. Hyun Joong smiled when she didn’t let go. She started to swing her feet back and forth. “Hyun Joong-ssi... Shillang, do you accept my apology from earlier? You startled me that night and I didn’t know what else to do so I just sent you away, then I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t even call you to apologize.”

Hyun Joong looked down shyly. “Ani...I deserved it. I was too forceful that night. I’m sorry to you, Buin.”

Hwang Bo peeked at him from the corner of her eye. “Do... your feelings.... you...Shillang.” ‘Aigooo, what am I trying to say?’ Hwang Bo looked down again and started swinging her feet. “Should we... Do you want to?”

Hyun Joong looked at Hwang Bo hopefully. Frozen. ‘Was she trying to say what he thought she was?’ He uttered the hopeful words. “Could it be...you want to date Buin?”

Hwang Bo was glad that he had taken the words right out of her mouth. She nodded and looked up at him. “Since we’re officially dating, that means that it’s up to both of us to fix misunderstandings. I was upset when you didn’t try to call me.”

Hyun Joong’s heart soared. Finally! They were officially dating. He could hardly believe it. He replied to Hwang Bo’s words. “I didn’t think you wanted anything to do with me after what I did to you that night. But don’t worry. I’ll call you everyday from now on.”

Hwang Bo felt a little panicked at the thought of him calling everyday, she put up a hand to stop his flow of words. “Maybe not everyday...people might get suspicious, I don’t want your career to suffer.” His face fell. “But you could text me everyday, if you forget...” she held up a fist, “you’ll die.”

Hyun Joong’s smile brightened once again. “Okay. Now it’s your turn, Buin. Who was that guy just now?”

Hwang Bo had a hard time remembering, she looked up to go over the people she had met today, then focused on the only one Hyun Joong would be concerned about. Her brow furrowed. “That guy who hugged me earlier?” He nodded. Hwang Bo laughed. “He was an old friend of mine from high school who went to America for a few years and just now came back. He reminds me a lot of Hyung Joonie.”

Hyun Joong felt relief wash through him as he nodded. “Ahh...Now that we’re dating, you have to be careful around guys.”

Hwang Bo felt a stab of guilt in her chest. ‘I can’t let him find out that I still have to go to marriage meetings. Who knows what he’ll do?’ She thought of that night he had gotten angry when he found the takeout boxes in the trash. Then she remembered what had happened afterward with a blush ‘Maybe it won’t be so bad if he finds out.’ She came back to the present and turned to him a smile. “Danghenochee. Do you think I’m some sort of player?”

Hyun Joong smiled. “But, Hyun Joong...” Hwang Bo continued. “The same goes for you. You can’t see any other women as women. Just think of them all as men.” She made the statement as a joke, but Hyun Joong could tell she was serious.

Hyun Joong agreed without hesitation. He didn’t care about any other woman but her anyway...and his mother, but that was different. He twined his fingers through hers then looked up at the sky, the light was getting dimmer. He looked at his watch, six o’clock. He had to be back at the dorm by eight and the guys were planning to leave the party at seven, but Hwang Bo looked like she wasn’t planning to move for some time and he definitely wasn’t about to get up first. Hwang Bo saw him checking his watch and was flooded with irritation. She had just agreed to date him and here he was checking the time. If he checked it again, she would just hold onto him for that much longer. He peeked at the watch again barely half an hour later and kept looking up at the sky. Hwang Bo shot to her feet. “You got somewhere you’d rather be than here?”

“Ah! No, noona,” Hyun Joong said quickly, startled so much at her sudden irritation that he called her respectfully. He could see from her face that that was the wrong thing to do.

She dropped his hand and glared at him coldly and tried to find her way out of the maze alone. She ran into a shrub and stubbed her toe on an arrogant statue. She pulled out her phone to use as a flashlight. She heard footsteps behind her and picked up her pace. “Aish! Why’d it have to get dark! Why’d I run here anyway!” She wished she had a knife or something so she could just cut through the thick shrubbery. She felt her dress catch and rip on various things sticking out of the bushes, then felt a strong hand wrap around her arm. “Aiiiiishhhh!!!”

Hyun Joong increasingly felt as if he was walking on egg shells. He always did something to ruin the moment. He had felt panic when she started to walk away from him, but as she stumbled into things he began to find her cute and a smile stretched across his face. He hurriedly caught up to her and grabbed her arm. “Buin,” he said, trying to rectify the situation. He held her, easily containing her struggles. “You should really do something about your temper.”

Hwang Bo kicked him in the shin and tried to set off by herself again, only to hit another bush. She gave up when she fell backwards into his arms, folded her own arms across her chest and resigned herself to the situation.

She cleared her throat. “You usually always find it so hard not to call me 'Buin.’ Now, you’re calling me noona all of a sudden. Fine...If you want a noona, that’s what I’ll be,” she said, trying to scare him. “Just go to wherever you need to go that’s so urgent. Noona will find her own way out of the maze.”

Hyun Joong laughed as if it didn’t bother him, hoping she was kidding, hoping it was just her anger talking, but his grip on her tightened involuntarily. “Buin,” he said sweetly, planting a kiss on her cheek. “I won’t call you anything but Buin from now... unless we’re in public, then I’ll only whisper it in your ear,” he said almost cringing from the corniness but knowing she would think it was funny, and as long as she was laughing she wasn’t angry; at least that’s how he saw it.

Hwang Bo laughed in spite of herself, as she turned and swatted him. “Ahh! Whatever,” she said, trying to hold onto her anger. “Let’s get out of here. You obviously have somewhere you need to be.”

Hyun Joong smiled, and took her hand. “I just need to get back to the dorm before curfew and I don’t want to hold up the rest of the group by making them wait for me. Now let’s try to get out of this maze. Why is there a maze here anyway...and all those weird fountains?”

Hwang Bo laughed. “I was wondering the same thing. It’s kind of creepy.”

They held hands all the way through the maze, walking pressed together in the solid darkness. Hwang Bo immediately released his hand when they came to the border of the maze. He sighed but allowed it, there might be people standing outside. “Why don’t you go first, Shillang. You told me you had to be back with the group by seven, it’s seven fifteen right now. They’re probably looking all over for you.”

Hyun Joong nodded and turned back to Hwang Bo. He bent down and gave her a peck on the lips. “I can do these things now that I’m your boyfriend,” he said, as he left the maze. Hwang Bo laughed and waved him off. She sighed, almost wishing that they could have stayed in the maze forever. Because when she stepped out, she knew she faced the prospect of more marriage meetings and knowledge that she couldn’t stay with this young idol forever.