One Music, One Nation

Chapter 03

AREUM

"AREUM-A. WHAT'S WRONG? Why are you crying?" Suho hyung asked while approaching me. My tears continuously falls and I hated every single tear that fell to the ground.

Suho hyung then looked at my phone and opened it. Seeing the number that was recently dialed, Suho hyung looked at me with sympathetic eyes. I forced a smiled but it didn't came it right, yet it came out as a sob.

He hurriedly hugged me and kissed the top of my head. A brotherly gesture that all of them do when they see me like this, "Wae geuraeseo? Oh? Neoga appeundago. Geunde neohante wae geuraeneonggeoya?" He scolds me with a caring voice. For once, I wanted my hyungs and eonnie's to scold me, like they really want to hurt me and that they meant it. They've always cared about my feelings because of what happened that night. They felt a pang of responsibility and now they only care about me. That's lovely of course, but I didn't want them to always care about me, I also wanted them to give a little care to themselves when their around me.

"Can you just shout at me?! Scold me?! And tell me that I'm such a freak in calling him?! Cause I'm sick and tired of you guys always looking out for me and you don't even give a single strand of fuck to yourselves!" I pushed him away and yelled at him. I yelled to him all the anger and all the things I wanted to tell him. But who am I kidding? That wasn't all. But that is enough, for now.

"Language, Lee Areum!" Suho hyung scolded me. His eyes burning with regret but not anger.

"What is going on here?" G-Dragon hyung suddenly joins the arguement.

"Geunyang amugeotteo eopseo hyung." Suho hyung said to him but I didn't want it to stop there. I know I'm going to be a bitch in doing this but it's the only way to make them focus on their career and not in me. EXO hyungs haven't had their comeback now and it's been a year. It is all because of me and my fucking heart illness. I've been in and out of the hospital lately and these EXO hyungs wanted to watch out for me, although I said no, but their hard-headed and they just did it anyway.

"It's not nothing. It's everything. Everything is the problem. I shouldn't have met you guys. Look at us now. I'm ruining everything. It's all because of me and my stupid heart. That makes you all even not want to make a comeback." I mumbled. I was angry, I needed to let it out or I'm not gonna be able to and that will be dangerous. For me, for them, for everyone. So it's better this way.

"What are you talking about Reum-a? This is nonsense a'right? We don't care if we don't make a comeback. We needed to be there for you! We made a promise!" Jiyong hyung said.

"Oh maja! Yaksok haesseo! A very bullshit of a promise that is. Nan yeol ilgop sal iya! I can handle myself!" I shouted to him. All of the other artists must have heard us cause they started to come out of the tent one by one. I stared at them, not knowing what to say.

"I can't handle this anymore. I give up. There. I said it. I don't want you guys to give a care about me anymore. Just. Just focus on your career from now on." I said and left the school. I hurriedly went to the my motorcycle that was parked at the parking lot of the school, Bobby hyung must have used this.

I drove at a speed that was faster than my usual speed. I drove to the cementery. I parked my car and walked to his grave, tears falling from my eyes.

"Oppa annyeong." I mumbled. There on the cold, hard cement lies the name of my big brother, Lee Jinreum. He died, four years ago, due to an accident. A car accident to be exact. He was with the Bigbang members, they were going to a restaurant. That was the day SYJ had the 7th year reunion anniversary. Turns out we all had our reunion in the hospital. The most wounded in them was Seungri cause he was in the frontseat. My brother died cause the car crashed on his side of the car. The other members on the back were just wounded. That was the day GD hyung made his promise, his will. His will was to take care of me. Not a long while, they already signed their names as my guardian and I didn't even know it.

I was happy at first, you know, having much time with them. It was much better than being a fangirl. But I saw their hurt also, when one by one the doors opened and some had taken the chance to leave. I tried to stop them but...as always, I couldn't. They told me to wait and they will sort things out but turns out, I was waiting for nothing. I also got tired of waiting that I had noticed that, I wasn't anymore. I wasn't waiting, just simply remembering.

"Oppa. I fought with them. I did what I could do to let them stay away from me and have their life. I cut the string. I lost them but at same time I set them free. It was the right thing to do, right?" I asked him, tears falling more and more. It was pathetic for me, crying. I never once cried this much that it's tearing my heart apart. After telling him everything, I went back to my motorcycle and drove my way back to the mansion. I decided to sleep here. On my way to my room, I received a phone call.

It was Yang Hyun Seok isajangnim.

"Ne. Yeobeoseyo?" I answered.

"Areum-a. Eotteoke dweneonggeoya?" He asked me. Like a father worrying for his child. I know that he knew what happened back there. I know cause the other artists would always ask help from him in this situations.

"Ani eopseomnida. Geunyang saoseoyo." I answered with full sincerety but at the same time my voice sounded like 'Let's not just talk about it'.

"Come to the company right now. Nan halmari isseo." He says and hangs up. I just sighed and went back to the garage and rode my motorcycle to YG Entertainment.

I walked my way to YG's office and when I opened the door. I entered and saw all of them in there. The other's were on the floor, they looked depressed. When they saw me coming in, their faces lifted and lighted with smiles. But I didn't react to anything.

"Mwondaeyo?" I asked YG isajangnim.

"Neo yaedeureun yeongseohaeya dwae. It's not good to fight." He says to me and he leaves the office. He left me with them.

"Mianhae." They all say at once. Like they were planning this.

As our conversation and our apologies keep coming along, I couldn't help but to forgive them and accept it. This wasn't the first time we all fought. This was one of those times that actually never lets me down.

"So what did Kris and you talk about?" Suho hyung asked. I just looked at him and gave him a melancholic smile as I tell him the story.

Flashback

"Kris hyung..." I called to him on the phone. There was a long silent before...

"A-Areum-a. Oraenmannida." He finally says.

"Hyung. Bogoshipeo. We all do."

"Nado. But I...can't keep my promise, talgi." He called me 'talgi' which means strawberry. He always calls me that because he said that my cheeks turns into color pink whenever I am under the sun for too long.

"Waeyo? Yaksok haesseotjanhayo. Yaksok jigyeo haeya dwaeyo."

"I'm tired, talgi. I can't make my own style of music there. It's just not me. I don't have any freedom for my own music." He says.

"Then produce music and show it to SM isajangnim and then that will be added to the album for the guys to sing."

"Mothae. Mian." He said and hung up.

End of Flashback

"If he wants that then just leave him be." Suho hyung said to me and hugged me.

"Talgi. Pfft." Baekhyun and Chen said causing all of us to laugh. It was a pretty weird nickname. This was one of the signs saying that, we were all back to normal.