Lovesong

Chapter 29

Had I really just told Kate that I'd visit her in California? Where was my head? And where would I find the time? She seemed pretty excited about it. I know how lonely it can be in an unknown place. I'm not sure when was the last time she was even in California since she mentioned that all she's known is Korea. I'm excited to see her finding her way, but I'm sad to see her go. The TXT house will definitely have a different air without her. Even though so much chaos has been stirred since she's become a part of us, she shined light on all of us. I can honestly say Gyu is quite lucky. I reached out a hand and caressed her cheek, "Shortcake, please take care of yourself. Call us if you need to." I heard commotion in the room. Kate wasn't alone. It sounded like it was coming from Gyu's closet. Did the whole clothes rod just crash to the floor? I eyed it inconspicuously over her shoulder. I directed my attention to Kate and she was pressing her lips together and her eyes were closed. She shook her head in dismay. There would be no reason for Gyu to hide out in his own room. So who was in here....and why? By the look on her face I knew. Soobin. My hand fell away from her face and I walked over to the closet and jerked open the door. There he was. Buried under all of Gyu's clothes. Sure enough the rod had fallen. I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and hauled his ass out, "What the f*** are you doing? Does Gyu know you're in here?" Soobin jerked within my grasp, "Dude, let go of me! We were just talking....and you interrupted our in depth conversation! Don't you dare question my reasons! I see what you're up to! You can't pull the wool over my eyes anymore!" I really did not want to cause a scene, but seeing my best friend in this very room really made my blood boil. I knew his intentions. And it wasn't a real conversation. He was out to talk in other ways. I turned to Kate, "Did he try anything?" Kate took a step back, chewing on the inside of her cheek, "Tae, I'm fine." I knew that was a lie. I should have seen the signs the second she opened the door. It hadn't been locked because she was packing. He'd locked it. Something was going down. And Soobin was making sure they weren't disturbed. Luckily I arrived in the nick of time. I tossed his ass out of the room, "I'll deal with you later." I slammed the door in his face. Soobin seemed a bit surprised, but I was not in the mood to contend with him. I wanted to talk to Kate alone, and if I'd known we had an eavesdropper I would have kept my words to myself. Soobin banged a fist on the door, "Hey," he yelled, "Your secret is out! Shutting me out won't shut me up! Gyu will find out!" I watched the way Kate dropped her face into her palms. "All I wanted was to leave this place in peace," she stated, "Why is he always out to start something?" I stepped up to her taking her by the upper part of her arms. I spoke calmly, "Hey, Shortcake. He's just blowing hot air. Now be honest with me. Did he touch you?" She slowly lifted her head, "Tae, why does it matter? I probably brought it on myself." My hands moved to her face, "Shortcake, don't blame yourself. It's not your fault that he's a creeper. You can't help that you're beautiful. I'm just glad I was nearby. And things didn't go any further....or did they?" My eyes narrowed. She grimaced, her eyes falling in between us. I reminded her, "Kate, you can't keep protecting him. You do this, and he feels he can do whatever he wants. You're not the answer he needs. You can't save him. Stop trying to. He's ripped you apart. He's almost destroyed you. He may need help, but he can't get the help he needs from you. I've never seen anyone like you, Shortcake. Bless you for being a saint, but sometimes you have to cut the ties." I saw the tears well up in her eyes, "Tae, please don't think bad of me, or think I'm crazy. I only wanted to try and break through to him. To find the source of his pain. And I succeeded, but he needs so much." I sighed, "You are an angel no doubt. Leave that to the professionals. You're only human. You'll end up cracking if you don't watch it. And that's exactly what he wants. He wants to bring you down to his level." She closed her eyes and shook her head, "Tae, he already has...the day he ripped my world apart. I'll never be the same again. And he knows that. He also knows he's the main reason I'm leaving. I say it's because I got the record deal, but in reality it's him. I can't do this anymore. I can't be here anymore. I hate that I'm leaving all of you because of him." I brushed away one of her falling tears. It tugged on my heart to see her cry, especially at a time like this. I know she cares about what's happening with Soobin, but she also needs to think of herself first. I gave her a small smile, "Hey, beautiful. We're all going to be ok. Don't worry about us. Don't worry about Soobs. Focus on yourself and what you need to do. You have a whole new life ahead of you. You can't dwell on things you have no control over. Just go do you. Be you. Let us deal with Soobs. He's not your responsibility. He never should have made you feel like it's you." She sobbed her bottom lip quivering, "Tae, it just hurts because I can't fix him. He needs me. He has no one. And it makes me feel guilty for leaving him stranded." I understood where she was coming from, and I hate the way Soobin has clung to her. I've been his friend long enough to know he wants to be loved, and after everything he's done, I'm surprised he's still after Kate. But she gives him the attention he seeks. As long as she does so, he'll keep coming back for more. I know they've formed a bond somehow along the way, if they hadn't that could've prevented a problem. There was something more. I could see it in her eyes. Something else happened in this very room. Something she's not telling me, and it's her right not to. I'm not Gyu. And if I was, I'd kick that son of a bitch down the stairs. Hmm...she's protecting him. But why? Did he threaten her? That much I have to know. Anything else Gyu could deal with. So I asked her, "Shortcake, did he in anyway threaten you?" She moved over to the foot of the bed. I hadn't noticed the tangled sheets before. Oh dear! Please for the love of Korea no...not in Gyu's bed. She buried her face into her palms, her shoulders shaking. Then she threw her head back and took a deep breath, "Tae, how did you know?"I took a seat next to her. Too close. I was getting lost in her sad eyes the second I filled the space beside her. I shifted my weight a little to widen the gap. Oh, I surely was going to miss this feeling every time I looked at her. Coolly I ran my right hand through my hair, "Shortcake, here lately I can just sense when you're in danger. What happened in here? Why did Soobs feel the need to be in here?" She shook her head, "I really don't know. I was dressing...and..." Suddenly my mouth went dry. Geez, she's giving me the blow by blow details. I didn't need to know what he did...Just the why. I stopped her, laying my hand on her arm, "Kate, spare me the details, ok. He didn't say anything?" She looked at me in shock, "What? Of course he did. He always does. He scares me, Tae...And yet, I want to save him just the same." I nodded in agreement, "I know, Shortcake. But you can't unless you want to lose Gyu. Think of Gyu. Think of your relationship with him, and how far y'all have come. Don't risk that on Soobs. Is he worth losing the love of your life over?" She curled the fingers of her left hand against her lips, "No. I love Cookie. I love him so much." And I knew that. I could see it in her eyes, in her face, every time she mentioned his name or talked about him. Even through her tears, her whole face lit up. He brought her so much joy. And vice versa. I'd never in all my life witnessed a love like theirs. It truly is a fairytale romance. One of a kind. The corners of my lips turned up slightly. I wanted to know a love like that. My hand fell away from her arm, "Then hold onto that, Kate. You can't handle Soobs on your own. He's too much. We will, in some way, find him some help. Right now he's too unstable and would fight us all the way. He's as stubborn as they come. I know you said you would try as well, but you'll be so tied up doing your own thing in California. Think of yourself first. Think of Gyu. Leave Soobs out of this. He'll only keep your relationship rocky. I know Soobs is important to you, but you have to think of what he's done to you and Gyu." She turned those glassy green eyes on me and a tear slid down her face, "Tae, he threatened to destroy me." I instantly pulled her into my arms and held her to my chest. Oh my god! As if he hadn't already done enough. And it's all because he can't have her. She shook against me, and I clearly felt her pain. What the hell is Soobin thinking. It's a good thing she is leaving, but he could still so much damage to her career. When he sets his mind to doing something, there's no turning back. I witnessed this with his attempt to rip Gyu's world apart. I don't want her to suffer at the hands of him. I kept one eye on the door, praying that Gyu does not walk in. If he does, this would not look good. I don't need him thinking I'm trying to move in on his girl. No matter how she makes me feel, I'd never do that to him. It's hard keeping my feelings at bay, especially when she gets like this, but I have to. There's no way I can open up my heart anymore to her than I already have. She clung to me helplessly, and it made me so weak. I was just about to say something when the door burst wide open, banging against the wall. On the other side stood Soobin. He was fuming at the sight of Kate in my arms. Kate jumped back like a frightened child when she saw him, "Soobin!" He roared coming at her, "Don't you dare Soobin me!" I jumped up in between them, my eyes narrowing at my best friend, "Touch her and you'll wish the hell you didn't." He shoved my aside, causing me to stumble backwards, "Who the f*** do you think you are? Throwing me out? Slamming the door in my face? Only to take what belongs to me!" He hooked his claws onto the upper part of Kate's arms, "And you," he hauled her to her feet, "You just don't get it, do you, Red?" I raised my voice to him, "Let her go," as I broke my fall, "I'm tired of seeing you treat her like some rag doll! You can't go around grabbing her and shaking her the way you do!" He sneered at me, "You stay out of this!! I know what you're doing! You think you have everyone fooled! But you're just as guilty as all of us!" He shoved her back up against the door, "And why the fuck were you in his arms!?" From behind him I saw Gyu coming up the hall. Busted. Gyu broke into a hard walk when he saw Soobin's hands on Kate.

I watched as Gyu grabbed Soobin by the shoulder and spun him around. He gritted his teeth and his eyes narrowed in anger. He roared, "Get your hands off my woman!" With full blown force he slammed his fist into Soobin's face causing him to crumble to the floor. Kate cringed against the door, "Cookie, please. Don't fight." He ignored her, jerking Soobin up off the floor. I've seen Gyu angry many times, but lately, my best friend has been pressing his luck with Kate. And I don't blame Gyu. I wanted to fight Soobin myself once I found out he had threatened her. Soobin gasped spitting up blood when Gyu punched him in the gut. Soobin came at Gyu striking him across the jaw. Gyu hit the floor. Kate shrilled as she slid down the door with tears streaming down her face, "Soobin, no!" She crawled over to her fiancée. Like a fool I stood back, letting these two fight their way out of it. Gyu jumped to his feet, wiped the blood from his busted lip with the oaf of his thumb, and went after Soobin. Both of them slamming into the wall. Gyu threw another punch. Then Soobin. Blood spewing everyone, all over the cream colored carpet. Kate got caught up in the middle, trying to separate them, when Soobin revived back struck her to the ground. The blow was meant for Gyu...not his Red. He cursed under his breath. Gyu's nostrils flared, "You son of a bitch! You will not hit my Kate!" He stammered on his words, "Dude, I...I didn't mean to." Suddenly Kate's green eyes looked at me in a pained expression. There was nothing I could do. If Gyu hadn't been around, I surely would have come to her aid. Soobin approached her, "Kate, sorry." He went to reach out to her, and Gyu tackled him, "Don't you touch her!" Just as Soobin's back hit the floor, I heard him say, "Tae's just as guilty." Wth! My best friend just threw me under the bus. I went to Kate and pulled her out of the warpath. Maybe Gyu won't throw punches at me for helping her. That's all I'm doing. Oh geez! She has another beautiful shiner to match the other one. Seriously what would her manager think? Gyu yelled, "It's not him I'm worried about! You're the one who can't keep their hands to themselves! This ends now! Once Kate is gone, you'll no longer be able to look at her or put your hands on her!" For the hell of it, Gyu kicked him in the ribs. Soobin grunted and clutched his stomach.