Fan Fiction 1: I LIKE YOU, KWON! – Chapter 6

Title: I Like You, Kwon!

CHAPTER 6

A WEEK LATER, WGM STUDIO RECORDING

This was the first time that all 3 couples in WGM gathered at the studio together. Kim Yong Jung and Hwang Jung Eum is a real couple so it didn’t matter whether there’s a camera in front of them, they always stick with each other. The other couple, Park Jae Jung and Uee from After School also seemed to have gotten closer, chit-chatting while they prepared for the shoot. The atmosphere was one that was rather jovial and warm.

The only couple that seemed out of place was the Adam couple. Ga In sat on her own, with earphones in her ears, giving off the signal that she didn’t want to be disturbed. This has been going on since she finished her make-up and was waiting for the recording to start. Finally, Kwonnie could not stand being ignored anymore. He had no clue why Ga In was behaving in such a manner. They still exchanged message, still talked on the phone, although Kwonnie had to admit, he was always the one initiating these contacts. And even when Ga In replied or bothered to pick up his calls, the messages and phone calls were both short and abrupt.

He walked to her side, took out her left earphones and asked, “Yeo bo~ What’s wrong? Why are you sitting here all by yourself and ignoring me?” There was a hint of hurt in his voice.

When Ga In heard Kwonnie calling her “Yeo bo”, something inside her heart twitched. “It’s fake, Ga In, it’s fake. Don’t be taken in.” She swallowed, trying to prevent the hurt from entering her voice when she said the next words.

“Nothing. There have been too much news about us recently and I don’t want others to misunderstand our relationship.” Silently, in her head, she continued the sentence as a reminder to herself, “This is fake. It’s not real. Remember that Son Ga In.”

“But…” Kwonnie was cut short because Ga In has already put back the earphones in her ears, as if to show Kwonnie that he was disturbing her.

Kwonnie, seeing Ga In behaving the way she did, also got a little irritated. As he turned away, he started mumbling to himself, “What is this? We are not real anyway. Who cares…” But her words and action did hurt him. He thought they shared something special in the hospital ward. Was it because she was sick and it was a moment of weakness? But it didn’t feel that way. “Argh! Whatever!” Kwonnie walked to the opposite corner and sat down, sulking on his own.

Seul Ong, who was seated with the other MCs in the studio, rehearsing their parts, witnessed the entire scene. When they ended their rehearsal five minutes later, he walked out of the studio.

“Ya! This is for you!” Seul Ong sneaked up behind Ga In and held something really cold against Ga In’s neck.

“YAAA!!!” Feeling the sudden chill, Ga In was awaken from her daydream. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” She turned around and saw that it was Seul Ong. Her first reaction was to slap his arm. Then she saw what was in his hands and quickly snatched it away from him.

“OMO!!! Just what I have been craving for! Vitagen!!” Ga In looked at Seul Ong, showing her first genuine smile all day.

“What’s wrong between you and Kwon?” He asked, getting straight to the point. Beating around the bush has never been his strong suit.

The delight that Ga In exhibited a second ago was gone the instant Kwonnie’s name was mentioned

“Nothing.” She looked away from Seul Ong’s keen eyes. She knew that her eyes would betray her. She could not show it, especially not to her Ong oppa. She knew how protective over her he was and she didn’t want to cause any unhappiness between the two men.

“Silly girl, you think you can actually hide from me?” Seul Ong thought to himself. “Something is definitely bothering her. She doesn’t realize how fast her expression changed from delight to wanting to not care the moment Kwon’s name was mentioned.” However, seeing that Ga In didn’t want to talk about it, he also didn’t press her further.

“How about we visit the BBQ shop that’s near our high school after the recording? It’s been some time since we were last there.” He knew that that BBQ shop was one of her favourite and would definitely cheer up her.

“Ok! It has really been a long time since we’ve been there! Let’s go and eat to our heart’s content today!” With that, she opened her Vitagen and finished the entire content in one gulp. She looked up at Seul Ong and gave him a broad smile.

Seul Ong could not resist her smile. He lifted his hand to her head and ruffled her hair. “Aigoo! Our Ga In is still as greedy as ever! Are you SO afraid someone would snatch the drink away from you that you have to finish it all in one gulp? MONSTER! ”

His teasing caused her to slap his hand away from her head. “Ya! Ong Seul Ong Ong! How dare you?!” With that she got up from her seat and started chasing Seul Ong around the room, her laughter was full of delight.

Everyone in the room witnessed the entire scene but didn’t think much of it since everyone was aware of Seul Ong’s friendliness with all the girls. But to Kwonnie, the scene was unbearable. The irritation that he was feeling from being ignored by Ga In just now rose to an apoplectic level, but he knew he couldn’t show it since everyone was in the room.

“What is this? She doesn’t want to be near me in case it caused more articles about us to be written but it’s perfectly alright if it’s with her Ong OPPA?! OUR Ga In?!! ARGH!!!!”

Something else was needling him at the back of his head: “Didn’t Seul Ong agree to give him a month to show that he’s Ga In’s happiness? What is he doing now?! Giving her her favourite drink and all… chet!” But that also reminded him that the one month is going to be up soon. He only has one more week.

AFTER THE RECORDING

Immediately after the recording and saying their goodbye greetings to the seniors, Ga In went up to Seul Ong and badgered him, “Ong oppa, HURRY!! Let’s GO! It’s some distance away!”

Kwonnie saw the two of them standing so close to each other and couldn’t help feeling indignant and nervous at the same time. He walked up to them quickly, “Hyung, where are you going?” Kwonnie asked, trying to keep his emotions in check, not wanting to reveal how unsettled he was.

The moment Kwonnie approached the two of them, Ga In looked away. Kwonnie noticed the movement as well but he was more interested in getting an answer from Seul Ong.

“Oh… I’m going out with Ga In.” Seul Ong answered very matter-of-factly.

“You and Ga In?? Together? On your own?! Kwonnie had to pause and take a deep breath as the anger that had been suppressed inside him threatened to explode. “Hyung, have you forgotten your promise to me? Kwonnie felt he had to remind Seul Ong of the promise they made to each other 3 weeks ago.

“No, I didn’t forget. But I didn’t say that I would stop caring especially if Ga In needs me.” Again, Seul Ong said in that calm and reasonable tone that made him seem so stable.

Ga In had thought that Kwonnie was just going to talk to Seul Ong when he approached them. But when he began to show displeasure towards the fact that the two of them were going out together, she couldn’t stop herself from responding.

“Ya! Jo Kwon! What business is it of yours that I’m going out with Ong oppa? Who are you to me? Ong oppa is my close friend and I choose to, no, I WANT to go out with him. Do I have to ask for YOUR permission?” Ga In said, with the intent of hurting Kwonnie with her words.

“You…..” Kwonnie’s first emotion after hearing what Ga In said was anger. But underneath that anger, Ga In had managed to achieve what she set out to do with her words. Kwonnie was beginning to feel the pain that was creeping through his body.

“Oppa, let’s go!” With that, Ga In grabbed Seul Ong’s arm and forcefully pulled him away from Kwonnie. Seul Ong took a quick glance at Kwonnie as Ga In led him out. He could see that Kwonnie was shocked by Ga In’s outburst but he could also see the hurt on his face. “These two… Something must have happened… But what is it? Ga In has never reacted in this manner to Kwon before…” He kept his thoughts to himself but made a silent decision to find out.

As soon as they were out of the waiting room, Ga In told herself to gather her wits together. She pushed the whole episode that just happened with Kwonnie to the deep recesses of her mind and composed herself. She looked at Seul Ong and gave him a broad smile.

“Oppa,” she said, with a bit of aegyo and linking her arm with Seul Ong, “it’s your treat right? Right? Right? It’s been a long time since you gave me a treat! Please?”

Ga In had her eye-smile on and Seul Ong has never been able to refuse her whenever she does that. She could have asked for the star with that smile and he would have made sure that she gets one. Combined with the fact that her arm was linked with his, Seul Ong, though he felt a little apologetic towards Kwonnie, could not help but indulge in this moment of stolen happiness.

“Alright. You know I could never say no when you do your eye-smile.” Seul Ong pinched Ga In’s nose lightly as he said this. Ga In reacted by smacking his hand. They continued their play-slapping all the way out of the broadcasting station.

They didn’t notice the reporters who were waiting outside to try and catch a short moment with Jo Kwon and Ga In. The reporters saw everything and when Kwonnie walked out of the waiting room to leave, the reporters swarmed him.

“Why did Ga In leave with Seul Ong?”

“Did something happen between you and Ga In?”

“Is your couplehood on WGM in danger?”

Kwonnie did not want to respond to any of the questions, or rather, he didn’t have an answer to most of the question. He looked up and was about to give the reporters his brilliant smile and give them the standard reply that everything was alright.

“Is your couplehood on WGM a cover-up for the REAL relationship of Seul Ong ssi and Ga In ssi? One of the reporters shouted out.

Kwonnie froze. In fact, everyone froze, turned to look at the reporter and then turned again to focus on Kwonnie to see how he would answer the question. He had about to lose his usual composure when dealing with the press when Manager Min stepped forward.

“Sorry, Jo Kwon has to leave for another schedule which is why he can’t join Seul Ong ssi and Ga In ssi for dinner. It’s a group dinner. Jin Woon and Chang Min will be joining them later. Thank you for your love and concern all this while. In the future, please continue to support 2AM and BEG.”

With that, Manager Min signaled for Kwonnie to start walking. Like a zombie, Kwonnie followed him back to their nanny car. But the question kept on haunting him. It made him very upset that a few minute of the closeness that the reporters witnessed between Ga In and Seul Ong was enough for them to question and undermine what everyone sees on TV. Yes, it’s a TV show but what they have been doing was not dictated by a script. Why? Why the doubts? Did Ga In and Seul Ong’s action really feel more like a couple? Just thinking about that made tears well up in Kwonnie’s eyes. He blinked the tears away, took out his phone and sent a message.

“Yeo bo~ I want to see you. I will wait for you at your dorm… No matter how late you get back. Just don’t ignore me, please…”

He turned to Manager Min, “Hyung, I know you are not going to like this but please, please bring me to the BEG’s dorm. I beg you. You know I have never beg you or disobey your instructions so please, can you let me do this?”

Kwonnie’s voice quivered towards the end and tears that he had been keeping back started flowing. Manager Min looked at the boy beside him. He had never seen Kwonnie look so agonized. He wanted to refuse his request because he knew that it’s no longer “fake” for Kwonnie but it was also because of that he nodded his head in agreement and drove towards the BEG dorm.

“But Ga In went off with Seul Ong for dinner. Are you sure you want to go now? You might have to wait for a long time you know.” Manager Min tried to reason with him even though he already knew the answer.

“Yes. I want to be there. No matter how late she gets back, I want to be there when she does.” Kwonnie replied without any hesistation. He was determined to show Ga In that what he feels inside for her was no longer fake.

AT THE BBQ SHOP

“Oppa, why are you not drinking? Drink!!”

“In ah, stop drinking. You have already drank 2 bottles of soju on your own. You can’t drink well and you just recovered. Don’t do this to yourself…” “And me,” Seul Ong thought to himself. It pained him to see Ga In doing this. He snatched the soju cup away from her.

“Oppa!! Why? Why are you also treating me this way? Don’t you know I’m feeling very frustrated inside? How can you not understand? You are my oppa!! You are supposed to be the one who understands me the most!!!” Ga In’s eyes were all red, partly from the alcohol but mostly from unshed tears. But her face had taken on a ghastly shade of pale.

“In ah! If you don’t tell oppa what’s wrong, how can I help you? Tell me what’s wrong then I can help you, ok?” Seul Ong was equally frustrated and at a loss. From the time he knew her, this was what he was most afraid to see: Ga In keeping everything to herself and pretending that nothing ever hurts her. Just like how she acted when her mother left her…

“Oppa, oppa, what should I do? What should I do?” Ga In slumped down in her seat and was just continued mumbling, “what should I do?”

Seul Ong decided that this was enough. He got up to pay the bill, lifted her from her seat and carried her towards the car. As they were walking, perhaps it was because Ga In felt safe and comforted, she burrowed a little deeper into Seul Ong’s arms and lifted her arms and put it around his neck. Seul Ong was human after all, what’s more, this girl in his arms is the one girl who had captured his heart. He tighten his hold on her and savoured the stolen moment.

“Oppa, I seemed to like Kwonnie more than just a little, more than just as a work partner. But he’s already got a girlfriend, what do I do? I promised his girlfriend I won’t contact Kwonnie or see him beyond work, or be close to him.” As if the next thought was too scary, Ga In suddenly opened her eyes and look at Seul Ong’s face.

“Oppa, oppa~ you cannot leave me! You are the only one I have left… I… I… My own mother left me for someone else. Only you are left, only you have always been there. Oppa, you can never leave me alright? Promise?”

While all this was said in a drunken stupor, but Ga In meant every word she muttered. The panic in her voice was evident. While her confession that she liked Kwonnie was nothing new, the news about him having a girlfriend was totally new to him since just 3 weeks ago, Kwonnie told him he was going to be Ga In’s happiness. So what happened?

Seul Ong decided to leave his car and take a cab back since he had also drank some alcohol. They got into a cab but Seul Ong continued holding Ga In in his arms. Ga In was all curled up, like a kitten finally finding a warm nook to protect herself.

“Oma… Oma… don’t go…” Ga In said softly, and started frowning. Seul Ong smoothened out the frown and looked down at the girl who had captured his heart 8 years ago. Seul Ong knew that this was the deepest hurt that Ga In has been keeping in her heart all these years.

“In ah, don’t worry, I will always be there, whenever, wherever. I promise you. I will never leave you until you find someone who will protect and love you like you deserve.” Seul Ong said softly, close to Ga In’s ears. He could not resist holding her a little closer, a little tighter. It was like he was so afraid that she would slip through his finger. But in his mind he knew Jo Kwon has got some explaining to do. Just then, he noticed Ga In’s phone was vibrating. With one hand, he reached for the phone.

“조권” was flashing across the screen. Seul Ong did not pick up the call because he knew in his present state of mind, he’s very likely going to scream at Jo Kwon for hurting his most precious princess. After the call ended, he saw that there were 20 missed calls all from the same person. On top of that there was a SMS from him. He opened up the SMS and read the content.

“Yeo bo~ I want to see you. I will wait for you at your dorm… No matter how late you get back. Just don’t ignore me, please…”

Seul Ong was even more confused. Why would Kwonnie send this message to Ga In if he already has a girlfriend? But he also knew that he would see Kwonnie when he arrived at the BEG dorm. Looks like a confrontation was unavoidable. Seul Ong put Ga In’s phone back into her bag just as they were about to reach BEG’s dorm. He took out his phone and called Narsha to help him open the door. He also asked if the other members were around or awake. Narsha assured him that she was the only one awake. Both JeA and MiRyo were out for individual activities.

Kwonnie saw the cab driving up the walkway. He had been waiting there for the past 4 hours. He knew immediately it would be Seul Ong and Ga In in the cab. He was about to walk up to the cab so that he can catch Ga In before she went up to her dorm, when he saw that she was in Seul Ong’s arms. Seul Ong looked at Kwonnie and sent him a look. “Go away.” That’s what the look said. That stopped Kwonnie in his track.

Seul Ong saw Kwonnie standing by the walkway and was going to approach them. He didn’t want to create a scene in front of the dorm so he sent a warning not to approach. Seeing that Kwonnie stopped, he knew he had understood. He carried Ga In up to the BEG dorm where Narsha was waiting anxiously. When she saw Ga In in Seul Ong’s arms, she panicked but kept her questions to herself. Seul Ong went into Ga In’s room and put her down onto her bed.

“Oppa will never leave you, this I promise you. Sleep well.” With that, he got up and left the room. Narsha chased after him and when they were in the living room, she broke the silence.

“What happened to Ga In? Why is she so drunk? Why did you allow her to drink so much? Don’t you know she just recovered?” All the questions came out in a rush.

“Noona, I’m sorry. I know I should have stopped her from drinking so much. As to why she was drinking so much, I’m rather confused at the moment as well. Something has definitely happened between her and Jo Kwon. He’s been waiting for her downstairs. So I’m going to go down now and have a talk with him. Please look after Ga In. She’s in a really fragile state right now. If anything’s wrong, please call me immediately, promise?”

Narsha was shocked by the revelation that Kwonnie was downstairs, but she was even more overwhelmed by the fury that was flashing in Seul Ong’s eyes the moment he mentioned Jo Kwon’s name. She was afraid the two boys would come to blows downstairs and was about to advise Seul Ong from acting rashly.

“Don’t worry noona, I’m not going to hit Jo Kwon and create a scene here. Ga In has enough on her hands to deal with, I will not add on to her worries. I’ll go now. I’ll leave Ga In in your care but please call me if anything happens.” Seul Ong said, reading the worry on Narsha’s face. He had to reassure her and remind himself he would not act rashly with Jo Kwon. But he’s definitely going to get an answer.

When he first saw Ga In in Seul Ong’s arms as they exited the cab, Kwonnie had wanted to go up and demand that Seul Ong release Ga In IMMEDIATELY. But he also saw that Ga In was sound asleep. He knew he could not create a scene so that was why he backed off. “Seul Ong’s got some explaining to do when he gets down.”

Just then, he saw Seul Ong coming out of the building. He waited for him to come over as he didn’t want to have the confrontation right in front of the building.

“What happened to Ga In?” That was the first question out of Kwonnie’s mouth the moment Seul Ong stepped within his field of vision.

“What happened to Ga In? I think I should be the one asking you that! She just started drinking the moment we reached the BBQ shop and didn’t want to stop until I had to forcefully remove the cup from her hand. She drank 2 bottles of soju, 2 bottles! She’s not even a good drinker but she forced herself to drink as if she wanted to forget what SOMEONE did to her. So, let me ask you, what exactly happened between you and Ga In?” As much as the rage he was feeling inside was needling him to hit Jo Kwon, he kept it in. He wanted to hear Jo Kwon’s explanation first.

“What are you talking about?” Kwonnie asked, even more confused than before, “I didn’t do anything!!”

Seul Ong had to close his eyes and looked away just so he would not lift his clenched fist and hit Jo Kwon. He took a deep breath, “You didn’t do anything? Really? If that’s your stand, then I’m sorry. I had thought that you were her happiness and I was going to step back but what happened today showed me that you are not. I know that’s one more week to the one-month deadline. I’m ending it now. I’m taking Ga In away from you. You! Stay away from her!”

With that, Seul Ong turned and walked away. He didn’t stop to get a cab but instead walked a long distance because he needed to get the fury he felt out of the system.

Kwonnie was shocked at Seul Ong’s outburst. He has always been the calm one amongst the four of them and he has never shouted at Kwonnie before. But he was more confused as to why Seul Ong would think that he had done something wrong towards Ga In. Then he remembered the last part of Seul Ong’s outburst.

“I’m taking Ga In away from you. You stay away from her!”

That caused panic to engulf him and he lost his footing and had to sit down on the pavement. “No! He can’t take Ga In away from me! I would die if I don’t have Ga In.”

As if he was suddenly woken up, Kwonnie stood up quickly. “Im Seul Ong, I will not let you take Ga In away from me. Never.”

Unknown to both Seul Ong and Kwonnie, Narsha saw the entire scene. While she could not hear everything they said, she had caught the anger and confusion that emitted from the two of them. She knew both of them have gone into war mode and that’s not good. “What could have really happened between Kwonnie and Ga In?” Narsha was deep in thought for a while, then she seemed to remember something, “Could it be…?”

Just then, she could hear Ga In calling out. She quickly went to attend to her. The thought that came to her was forgotten for now but she knew that she had to get to the bottom of things.

END OF CHAPTER 6