To Kiss An Idol

49 The Discussion

Jeong-Eun happily went back to his team members. He wanted to see Jae-Hwa, find out if she was okay and he did. He knew that the day was bad for her but was glad that she was fine. He knew he thanked Nivritti before but made a point to thank her again.

The atmosphere of the ASD mansion was chaotic that evening. Jung-Hwa was in no mood to practise so they retire early and came back home. A few were in the kitchen preparing dinner and others were cleaning the house, but everyone would scream from their location either asking a question or answering one.

Everyone ordered Jung-Hwa to just sit and relax. He was enjoying all the attention. Munching the chips with chopsticks in his hands, he would just shout and reply to whatever everyone kept asking him.

“That was lucky that you went to the same restaurant,” commented Korain while chopping the vegetables in the kitchen. Loud sniffling sounds and groans filled the kitchen as Young-Chul was chopping onions in a corner of the kitchen.

“Yeah,” replied Jung-Hwa while chomping on the chips.

Thwack! Thwack! Sniff! Sniff! Munch! The rustling of the packet, all the sounds were mingled with the sounds of the vacuum cleaner and washing machine. On top of that everyone kept screaming at Jung-Hwa at the top of their lungs.

“But you punching that man was not necessary. You could have asked your bodyguards to handle the situation,” sniffled Young-Chul and wiped his tears.

“I, for one, am in favour of what JJ did. No matter what Ritti says, we should be allowed to choose violence if it is to help someone or protect someone. It is like making positive impressions on our fans that we are there to protect if necessary. It does not mean we will go on a hitting spree,” shouted Kyung-Soo from Thae’s room after changing his sheets. That was his work, changing sheets in every room.

“I am not in favour of violence just like her,” said Korain.

.....

“Me too. But I also feel sometimes, hitting someone is necessary,” commented Young-Chul.

The sound of the vacuum cleaner died down and Him-Chan placed the machine back in its place. He was done with all the rooms.

“What are we talking about?” he sat on the floor near Jung-Hwa with a thud and spread his legs. He let his shoulder slouch and Jung-Hwa fed him a chip.

“We are discussing whether my punching that man was right or wrong,” said Jung-Hwa and placed a chip in his mouth.

“You were right, absolutely right. We all saw the video. Poor girls! Did you see Ritti’s arms when she came to Hu-ssi, cabin? They were black. I wanted to hit those men too,” Him-Chan gritted his teeth.

“Yeah, I noticed that too, she must be in pain,” said Thae while giving a final wipe to all their trophies and awards. He went to the utility room and threw the rag at Jeong-Eun who was doing laundry.

“Both the girls had so much to endure today, physically as well as emotionally. I love that K&Q thinks so highly of us and they are extremely protective but sometimes they are too much. The speculation and gossips need to rein in. I loved when I received that message burst from CEO’s office. Hu-ssi was firm in his words,” noted Jeong-Eun.

“I hate when people ship us with other people. Without a single ounce of proof, they keep babbling about us. They don’t even think about what we may feel after that,” chided Jung-Hwa. He placed the packet of chips and folded his arms over his chest.

“We are lucky that Ritti took care of everything else media would have spun this news the way they wanted. JJ would have been viral by now and would be shipped with both Ritti and Jae-Hwa,” Young-Chul rolled his eyes.

“I remember when Kyungsoona Hyung was dating. They never left him alone. Don’t know but they always found out where they went,” Thae lowered his voice so that Kyung-Soo would not hear him.

“Oh, that’s easy. It was all her. She wanted fame. Hyung was her stepping stone in the world of modelling,” replied Young-Chul bitterly.

“I never liked her,” commented Jeong-Eun.

“Me too,” a collective reply echoed all through the house.

“I am done with all the sheets. Have placed the dirty ones in the hamper, PJ,” abruptly Kyung-Soo appeared and spoke. Everyone heard him and stopped talking. “What?!” he asked after reading the room.

“Nothing,” all shouted at once.

“Jee Jung-Hwa, what?” commanded Kyung-Soo. Everyone looked at Kyung-Soo first and then at Jung-Hwa. They pressed their lips together, tightly and looked at each other. They never used to talk about his previous relationship in front of him. It would always make him angry.

It was a bad breakup. The media reported on that for days. It was impossible for Kyung-Soo to leave the house during those days. Few fans were in his support, but the possessive ones started sending death threats to both Kyung-Soo and his ex. It was a difficult time for Kyung-Soo, and he wanted to forget all that. After that break-up, the heartbreak, the public scrutiny, the invasion of privacy, he vowed he would never date again.

Jung-Hwa gulped hard and looked at Kyung-Soo. “Well!” prompted Kyung-Soo.

“Um... we were just talking about Ritti,” lied Jung-Hwa.

“No, you were not,” shouted Kyung-Soo.

“We were talking about her, you-know-who,” replied Korain.

“How does she come up in the conversation?” rebuked Kyung-Soo.

“Well, we were talking about media and how people ship us with everyone they see us, and her name came up,” replied Young-Chul, carefully.

“Well, no one said her name. We just said that we didn’t like her,” said Jeong-Eun.

“Your opinion would have been great before I started dating her. Not after everything is finished,” reprimanded Kyung-Soo.

“You are a grown man, Kyungsoona. We thought you knew better. But not everything was negative about that relationship, now you know what kind of girl you want to date,” said Korain.

“Enough about me. We were talking about JJ, let’s talk about him,” Kyung-Soo tried to change the topic.

“I hope they both are okay. Well, Jae-Hwa has family here so they will be her support, but Ritti lives alone, far away from her home. Will she be, okay?” commented Jung-Hwa with concern on his face.

His words made Kyung-Soo’s heart jump out of his chest. He realised that Jung-Hwa was right. She was all alone and in pain. She must have been thinking about the harassment she had to experience today. She needed someone to talk to.

“I was so impressed by her. I don’t think she needs any help. She is very much capable of taking care of herself,” said Him-Chan, proudly.

“Right on!” Young-Chul raised his hand and shouted.

“I can never thank her enough,” said Jeong-Eun while staring at the wall before him.

“What? Why?” asked Jung-Hwa curiously.

“Um...” Jeong-Eun ran and sat next to Jung-Hwa hugging him tightly. After planting a kiss on his cheeks, he said, “she was with you at every step. She made sure you were out of the media’s eyes. She also took care of you.” Jeong-Eun sighed loudly as he hid his real intentions. He was happy that Nivritti helped Jung-Hwa but was happier that she saved Jae-Hwa.

Now the only sounds audible were from the washing machine that was on its last load, the overhead chimney in the kitchen and the boys’ voices. They all were sitting in the living room while Korain and Young-Chul were in the kitchen.

“Yeah, she was brave. But I am glad that I could help her,” said Jung-Hwa.

“I think we should ask her to treat us,” commented Thae.

“What?” laughed Him-Chan. “Why would you say that?”

“She is rich now. She got two bonuses within days,” noted Thae.

“He is right,” nodded Jung-Hwa.

“You don’t even think about saying a word to her. I think she is still angry at you. For that bathroom fiasco and now choosing violence when she is against it,” scolded Jeong-Eun.

“Yeah, he is right,” laughed Korain. Others too joined him.

“Hey!” shouted Jung-Hwa. “No, she is not. Would she have cared for me if she was still angry?”

“Yes,” shouted everyone at once and started laughing.

“You guys are mean,” pouted Jung-Hwa.

“You guys have fun, I am going to take a bath. I won’t be having dinner tonight with you, I have some work to look after. Sleep and don’t wait for me,” announced Kyung-Soo.

Everyone was shocked to hear that.

“Where are you going?” asked Korain.

“I have a meeting, an extremely important meeting,” replied Kyung-Soo, cryptically. “There are some answers I need.”

Only Jung-Hwa understood what he was talking about. He kept noticing his expressions whenever anyone talked about Nivritti. He was not even that angry when they talked about his ex. He knew he was not angry as his mind was occupied by Nivritti.

“Okay, you all need to take a bath. Go, sitting here after dusting and vacuuming, go have a bath,” scolded Korain. Everyone jumped from their seats after his shouting and ran to their room. “Kyungsoona, I will place some food in the fridge. If you are hungry after your meeting, heat it and eat.”

“Thank you, Hyung,” said Kyung-Soo and ran to his room for a bath.

After a quick bath, he dressed in his white cashmere shirt and paired it with blue denim jeans. It was the same shirt that he wore when he first saw Nivritti. She cried on his shirt, and he kissed her while wearing it. The shirt was special for him. It was the shirt that comforted her. Again, tonight she needed comfort, and he was going to be there for her.

Not only he was going to comfort her, but he also needed answers to all his questions.

He grabbed his mask, his cap and his keys and went to the parking area of the house. With a loud sigh, he started the car and reached his destination. Tonight, even if someone would cross her threshold, no one would recognise him.

He reached her floor, stood before her door and pressed the doorbell. It was hidden behind his mask, but he had a big smile on his face.