We'll Be A Dream (2/?)
Summary - Jongin left Mihwa behind to chase his dreams two years ago. Now she's a dangerous dream he can't afford to chase.
Sequel to this | Part 1
Jongin stood outside the door. He wanted to ring the bell but he was aware of the fact that it was already late in the evening. He wondered if Mihwa’s foster parents would approve. He didn’t want to get her in trouble. He didn’t really have a choice though. He was leaving tomorrow morning.
“Jongin!” Jongdae exclaimed in surprise when the door opened on its own. “Hyung, you’re home?” Jongin asked, equally surprised. Well this was a good thing. He didn’t think he would get to meet Jongdae before he left but there they were. “Yeah. I came home for a few days for Mihwa’s birthday” Jongdae told him. “Are you going out now?” Jongin asked. “Yeah. Just making a small run to the pharmacy. I need to get some medicines” Jongdae told her. “You’re not feeling well?” Jongin asked, concerned. “No, it isn’t for me. It’s for Mihwa. She keeps forgetting her sweater and so she caught a cold” Jongdae said, resigned to his sister’s behaviour.
Jongin’s mind wandered back to the last time that he had met her, two days ago. She hadn’t worn a sweater or a jacket then. He frowned. She was sensitive to cold. She should have worn something over her uniform. “So, how’s your dancing coming along?” Jongdae asked, making small talk. “It’s good. Its hectic but good” Jongin replied. “As long as it is what you want to do” Jongdae asserted. Jongin nodded in reply.
“Mihwa was in her room the last I saw. But you can still go talk to her” Jongdae prompted. “I’m leaving tomorrow morning hyung” Jongin told the older man. “So quickly?” Jongdae asked. “Yeah, hectic schedule” he reminded the older boy. “Right. Well I’ll see you in Seoul or maybe Jeju if you ever come down to perform there” Jongdae said with a smile.
“Can I ask you for a favour hyung?” Jongin asked hesitantly. “Sure” Jongdae replies. “Can you give this to Mihwa. I’ll miss her birthday and I don’t want to disturb her now” he told him. He took out a little gift wrapped box and handed it over to Jongdae. “I’ll pass it on to her. I’m sure she’ll like it” Jongdae assured him. “I hope so” Jongin replied nervously. “I’ll be heading home then. Take care hyung” Jongin bowed and left the porch first. “Keep in touch!” Jongdae called out and waved before heading in the opposite direction to the pharmacy.
“The part is not long. You enter at approximately 50 seconds into the song after the first chorus. You perform together till halfway into the second verse and you will exit on the left by the time the second chorus starts” the choreographer Greg explained to Kai. Greg showed Kai the next few steps and they were fairly simple. There were no lifts or turns which made the movements smooth. He could easily practice these alone as well, if the extra effort was required.
Greg performed it with Kai for the first four runs till he got the hang of the basic steps. The fifth and sixth time, he watched Kai perform and corrected him wherever required. By the seventh run, he had it down perfectly. “Well done” Greg said with a pat on Kai’s back. Kai smiled. “I’ll work on the rest now. I’ll leave you to practice for now. The day after BoA will be coming in for the regular practice session so you’ll start practising with her then” Greg told him. “The day after?” Kai asked. “Yeah. I’ll text Jaemin the place and time” Greg told him. “Okay” Kai agreed.
Greg left and Kai ran through the dance a few times. It was lyrical hiphop and hence a catchy choreo. It was relatively easy to perform. Kai kept forgetting that singers couldn’t afford extravagant moves lest they tire themselves before they could actually sing. Idol groups were crazy that way. Kai shrugged. He was quite happy being a dancer and moving to the beat as it came.
He took a break. It was late at night. He would come back later the following evening and get some more practice in. He sat down on a chair kept by a side and rummaged his bag for his phone. He had three messages and a missed call. The missed call was from Jaemin and the first message too, asking how practice had gone. Jongin replied in positive and asked him to text Greg for the location and timing of the next one just in case. The next two messages were from unknown numbers. The first one read
She liked the gift! ^_^ (Y)
Jongin frowned. A wrong number perhaps. He checked the last message.
Thank you for the gift - Mihwa
Jongin started. He checked the date on his phone. It would be Mihwa’s birthday today. Or rather, it was today since he had passed midnight an hour or so ago. He had forgotten to put a reminder for it. His grip tightened. It seemed a little too late to call. He should probably message her. But what would he write?
He typed out happy birthday and added a smiley. But a smiley seemed too childish. He could probably use those Japanese emojis from that one site he had found. But that felt like overkill. He could use those funny stickers on Kakaotalk but her number wasn’t registered on it. Jongin sighed and berated himself for not remembering to call at twelve. He sent in a simple Happy Birthday message with a simple smiley face. It was too late to call her anyways.
Thank you :) You didn’t have to
Jongin frowned as his phone beeped while he was packing up his things. He was surprised to see a message from her.
I wanted to. Still up?
He packed up and punched out of the electronic lock system with his temporary pass. The company building here was more advanced and more tightly protected. It was necessary since he had heard the craziest stories about sasaengs trying to break in. He decided to head towards a fast food stall he had seen nearby while he waited for Mihwa to reply. He kept a firm grip on his phone. He wondered if she would reply now or if she had fallen asleep. It wouldn’t be the first time, he remembered fondly.
Yeah, couldn’t sleep. You’re up too.
“Ramen please!” he ordered. The ahjumma behind the counter rattled off instructions to someone in the kitchen. Jongin found a place to sit down before replying to Mihwa.
I had late night practice
Jongin pulled the joint wooden chopsticks apart before rubbing them together. His hands warmed up too and he stopped before he gave himself a burn. The nights were not as chilly here in Seoul as they had been back home, but the warmth of hot food was always welcome.
How’d it go?
Pretty good. It’s a simple choreo.
Is that good?
Depends on the song. But it’s good for this one.
Jongin sighs. He feels exhaustion wash over him once all the warm ramen soup is gone. He relaxed and pulled his jacket closer. His phone beeped again and he smiled to himself. He didn’t know how much he had missed talking to her. For a moment, he felt fifteen again. He remembered conspiring to help sneak Mihwa out after her curfew so that she could meet him at the dance studio and see his new routine. He also remembered staying out late to eat ramen and waking up the next morning with swollen faces and getting hit by her for it.
I see. I have school in four hours. I’ll try to get some sleep. You take care okay?
I will. You too. Love you.
Jongin didn’t realize it when he sent it. He didn’t notice until the next morning when he checked for messages from Jaemin. He wondered if the lack of reply was because she had fallen asleep or because she had chosen to ignore it.
Sequel to this | Part 1
Jongin stood outside the door. He wanted to ring the bell but he was aware of the fact that it was already late in the evening. He wondered if Mihwa’s foster parents would approve. He didn’t want to get her in trouble. He didn’t really have a choice though. He was leaving tomorrow morning.
“Jongin!” Jongdae exclaimed in surprise when the door opened on its own. “Hyung, you’re home?” Jongin asked, equally surprised. Well this was a good thing. He didn’t think he would get to meet Jongdae before he left but there they were. “Yeah. I came home for a few days for Mihwa’s birthday” Jongdae told him. “Are you going out now?” Jongin asked. “Yeah. Just making a small run to the pharmacy. I need to get some medicines” Jongdae told her. “You’re not feeling well?” Jongin asked, concerned. “No, it isn’t for me. It’s for Mihwa. She keeps forgetting her sweater and so she caught a cold” Jongdae said, resigned to his sister’s behaviour.
Jongin’s mind wandered back to the last time that he had met her, two days ago. She hadn’t worn a sweater or a jacket then. He frowned. She was sensitive to cold. She should have worn something over her uniform. “So, how’s your dancing coming along?” Jongdae asked, making small talk. “It’s good. Its hectic but good” Jongin replied. “As long as it is what you want to do” Jongdae asserted. Jongin nodded in reply.
“Mihwa was in her room the last I saw. But you can still go talk to her” Jongdae prompted. “I’m leaving tomorrow morning hyung” Jongin told the older man. “So quickly?” Jongdae asked. “Yeah, hectic schedule” he reminded the older boy. “Right. Well I’ll see you in Seoul or maybe Jeju if you ever come down to perform there” Jongdae said with a smile.
“Can I ask you for a favour hyung?” Jongin asked hesitantly. “Sure” Jongdae replies. “Can you give this to Mihwa. I’ll miss her birthday and I don’t want to disturb her now” he told him. He took out a little gift wrapped box and handed it over to Jongdae. “I’ll pass it on to her. I’m sure she’ll like it” Jongdae assured him. “I hope so” Jongin replied nervously. “I’ll be heading home then. Take care hyung” Jongin bowed and left the porch first. “Keep in touch!” Jongdae called out and waved before heading in the opposite direction to the pharmacy.
“The part is not long. You enter at approximately 50 seconds into the song after the first chorus. You perform together till halfway into the second verse and you will exit on the left by the time the second chorus starts” the choreographer Greg explained to Kai. Greg showed Kai the next few steps and they were fairly simple. There were no lifts or turns which made the movements smooth. He could easily practice these alone as well, if the extra effort was required.
Greg performed it with Kai for the first four runs till he got the hang of the basic steps. The fifth and sixth time, he watched Kai perform and corrected him wherever required. By the seventh run, he had it down perfectly. “Well done” Greg said with a pat on Kai’s back. Kai smiled. “I’ll work on the rest now. I’ll leave you to practice for now. The day after BoA will be coming in for the regular practice session so you’ll start practising with her then” Greg told him. “The day after?” Kai asked. “Yeah. I’ll text Jaemin the place and time” Greg told him. “Okay” Kai agreed.
Greg left and Kai ran through the dance a few times. It was lyrical hiphop and hence a catchy choreo. It was relatively easy to perform. Kai kept forgetting that singers couldn’t afford extravagant moves lest they tire themselves before they could actually sing. Idol groups were crazy that way. Kai shrugged. He was quite happy being a dancer and moving to the beat as it came.
He took a break. It was late at night. He would come back later the following evening and get some more practice in. He sat down on a chair kept by a side and rummaged his bag for his phone. He had three messages and a missed call. The missed call was from Jaemin and the first message too, asking how practice had gone. Jongin replied in positive and asked him to text Greg for the location and timing of the next one just in case. The next two messages were from unknown numbers. The first one read
She liked the gift! ^_^ (Y)
Jongin frowned. A wrong number perhaps. He checked the last message.
Thank you for the gift - Mihwa
Jongin started. He checked the date on his phone. It would be Mihwa’s birthday today. Or rather, it was today since he had passed midnight an hour or so ago. He had forgotten to put a reminder for it. His grip tightened. It seemed a little too late to call. He should probably message her. But what would he write?
He typed out happy birthday and added a smiley. But a smiley seemed too childish. He could probably use those Japanese emojis from that one site he had found. But that felt like overkill. He could use those funny stickers on Kakaotalk but her number wasn’t registered on it. Jongin sighed and berated himself for not remembering to call at twelve. He sent in a simple Happy Birthday message with a simple smiley face. It was too late to call her anyways.
Thank you :) You didn’t have to
Jongin frowned as his phone beeped while he was packing up his things. He was surprised to see a message from her.
I wanted to. Still up?
He packed up and punched out of the electronic lock system with his temporary pass. The company building here was more advanced and more tightly protected. It was necessary since he had heard the craziest stories about sasaengs trying to break in. He decided to head towards a fast food stall he had seen nearby while he waited for Mihwa to reply. He kept a firm grip on his phone. He wondered if she would reply now or if she had fallen asleep. It wouldn’t be the first time, he remembered fondly.
Yeah, couldn’t sleep. You’re up too.
“Ramen please!” he ordered. The ahjumma behind the counter rattled off instructions to someone in the kitchen. Jongin found a place to sit down before replying to Mihwa.
I had late night practice
Jongin pulled the joint wooden chopsticks apart before rubbing them together. His hands warmed up too and he stopped before he gave himself a burn. The nights were not as chilly here in Seoul as they had been back home, but the warmth of hot food was always welcome.
How’d it go?
Pretty good. It’s a simple choreo.
Is that good?
Depends on the song. But it’s good for this one.
Jongin sighs. He feels exhaustion wash over him once all the warm ramen soup is gone. He relaxed and pulled his jacket closer. His phone beeped again and he smiled to himself. He didn’t know how much he had missed talking to her. For a moment, he felt fifteen again. He remembered conspiring to help sneak Mihwa out after her curfew so that she could meet him at the dance studio and see his new routine. He also remembered staying out late to eat ramen and waking up the next morning with swollen faces and getting hit by her for it.
I see. I have school in four hours. I’ll try to get some sleep. You take care okay?
I will. You too. Love you.
Jongin didn’t realize it when he sent it. He didn’t notice until the next morning when he checked for messages from Jaemin. He wondered if the lack of reply was because she had fallen asleep or because she had chosen to ignore it.