Meori Apeuda

Chapter 26

"Hi Kayleeee!" I turned around and waved excitedly at Jin-Ju, who just got out of her car. Although I felt nervous as hell, I was so happy to see her again.

She came closer and at first we bowed, but then I laughed and opened my arms for a hug, which she accepted, smiling.

"It's so good to see you again, Kaylee." She gushed and I nodded, releasing her and taking a step backwards. "Same, same. How are you?" - "Oh I'm good. But...but what happened to your face, Kaylee?" She suddenly asked and held her hand in front of her mouth, looking shocked.

I had tried to cover up my bruise as well as possible, but obviously it was still visible. I scratched the back of my head, laughing in embarrassment. "Do you remember me telling you that I'm the most clumsy person on this earth...?" Yes, it was a lie, but she already looked troubled enough. She gingerly stroked my cheek. "Did you visit a doctor? Should I call one? Do you need me to translate?"

I took her hand and smiled. "No, Jin-Ju, honestly, I'm okay. It's just a bruise. But thank you, I really appreciate it." Then I cleared my throat. "But there is something else very important, I want to talk to you about." She nodded, waiting patiently for me to continue.

I exhaled sharply: "First, I have to apologise to you. I wasn't 100% honest to you on Monday, but please believe me when I say that I had a good reason for it, okay?" She nodded, obviously not quite sure, where I was headed with this.

"You told me something, and I acted like I didn't know what you were talking about. But I did. I didn't say anything, because I didn't know if I was allowed to. Well, but now I got the OK and ... I would like to introduce you to someone..." I finished and waved at the two black cars, parking a little further away.

The doors opened and the guys got out, strolling casually towards us. Although I knew them and also had seen them before we left home, the image was still breathtaking. They were styled casually and looked so damn cool, walking towards us in a line next to each other.

I heard Jin-Ju hold her breath and she grabbed my arm for support. Please don't scream, please don't scream...I begged silently in my head, but she didn't make a sound at all, when the guys finally arrived in front of us.

Looking at Jin-Ju I frowned worriedly and stroked the back of her hand. "Jin-Ju, breathe please. Are you okay? Do you feel dizzy?" She took a deep breath, and simultaneously nodded and shook her head.

Chan and the other guys smiled and bowed to her, mumbling their greetings and she quickly responded with a bow, looked up and bowed again, whispering something in Korean under her breath.

When she finally straightened up, she stared at everyone, me included, her hand over her open mouth. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you earlier, but I didn't know if it was okay with the guys. Are you mad at me?" I asked nervously and started tugging at my rubber band.

Jin-Ju looked at me in utter disbelief and finally shook her head. "No. No, I'm not mad at all. Right now, my biggest problem is to remember how to breathe and speak properly, to be honest." She grinned helplessly and then turned back to the guys, bowing again to them.

"I'm very honoured to meet you all. Thank you so much for your music and everything. I'm a really big fan!" They also bowed again and mumbled their thanks, flattered smiles on their faces. Chan, who stood at the end of the line, stepped forward and bowed to Jin-Ju.

"Thank you for helping Kaylee on monday, that was very kind of you and I felt relaxed knowing that she was taken care of." Excuse me? That sounded like she had babysat his little dog. I snorted and rolled my eyes, shooting him half outraged, half amused glance. He grinned, showing me that he absolutely KNEW what I had been thinking and I shook my head, grinning. He knew me too well already.