Chapitre 67: Reminiscing
"So just to confirm again, who are the top 5 women that are your type?" The writer for We Got Married asked.
It's been days that I've checked out from the hospital. It was a day before New Year so tonight's going to be New Year's Eve. I was currently at MBS' studio with one of the writers for the show. They were interviewing me and were trying to find out who was a match for me. From 20 people, we narrowed it down to 5 now. It took some time since I was only eyeing one person among the pictures that were shown to me. I can't believe that she also applied for WGM. Well, what are the odds of her being picked for this show?
Although I was here physically, my mind was somewhere else. Believe me, I was excited for this, but I needed to be somewhere else. I just didn't think that this interview would to take this long. My manager already called our other manager for me. I was supposed to be in the set for our MV shoot today for "Thanks". When I submitted some of the songs to PD-nim, he actually liked all of them so he decided to produce an MV for most of the songs. It was the first time ever that most of the songs in the album were given a budget for an MV.
Still, I hope that I can make it there. We were shooting a lot of MV albums for the rest of the week. And Dominic already gave me a curfew so it was getting harder to finish the songs because I had to be in bed by 10PM. To make matters worse, they were always checking if I was eating on time AND if I was taking my medicine on time. So my momentum would be ruined every time I was working on something. I tend to get lost with what I'm doing and forget the time when I focus on my work. It must be my nature as a businessman.
"I don't know who my top 5 are, but I'm sure that she's my number 1." I answered her as I pointed on the picture that I was referring to.
She giggled. "Alright. Are you saying that she's the one you like?"
I smiled at her. "Yes. That's true."
"Alright. I want you to know that some of her members also applied for the show. What if we pair you up with them instead of her?" The writer asked,
I sighed. "Then it couldn't be helped. You're the ones who decide after all. I also know that sometimes you try to mess with the people by giving them people who are opposite of their ideal types to see if it works."
She chuckled. "You must be a fan of the show then, since you know that much."
"That's right. I actually watch some episodes if I had some time off." I replied.
"Well, thank you for your support. I have to be honest with you. It varies per couple. That is why at the end of the couple's journey, we make them decide if they would make it official to date or not."
That makes sense. Now there's something that's different in this world and the previous world's WGM. In the previous world, everything was done virtually. Otherwise, the fans would mob one of the couples if they would date outside the show. In this world however, the couple can choose to start dating when their time in WGM ends. Most couples DO date but there are also some who prefer to stay good friends. It wasn't even awkward afterwards since most of them just go on the show to experience a dating life and find someone who they can be good friends with. I, on the other hand, am hoping that I WOULD end up with HER. But there's a slim chance that that would happen. It's up to the show-runners after all.
"Let's go with whatever you guys decide. I'm open for a little bit of surprise. I just want to help the show in every way that I can." I replied politely.
The writer smiled at me. "You're as polite as they say. Don't worry, I'll see what I can do. After all, I also am a fan of Alpha, and I want my idols to be happy as well."
"That's… I really appreciate that. But you don't have to push it if the producers wouldn't want it to happen." I replied as I smiled wryly.
She chuckled. "Don't overthink things. I also want to confirm if SHE's the one these fan sites are generating so much buzz about. Quick question though, is Miss Top 1 your mystery girl?"
Her question took me by surprise but I quickly composed myself. "I can neither confirm nor deny."
She grinned. "Alright. I can work with that. Know this… the show can start at any time. We won't inform you but will ONLY be calling your company about it. This is so we can surprise you. MAMAMOO's Solar was also surprised as her manager brought her to an unfamiliar place last year. She thought that she was going to die, but we met her there to tell her that her married life was about to start."
Now there's something that this world has and the other world doesn't. The previous world had a script to run it. Although the things they talk about were impromptu, the scenes, the dates, the meeting and ambiance were all pre-planned by the writers. This world, everything was based on impromptu. They would just give you suggestions of activities and dates, and it's solely up to the couple as to how they would do it.
I nodded. "Understood. Is there anything else that I should know about?"
"Yes, and this is the most important rule of all." She answered with a serious expression.
"And what's that?" I raised a brow.
She leaned closer and somehow it intimidated me. "You must never EVER reveal to anyone that you're coming to this show. EVER! Unless you want to lose your chance of getting a virtual married life."
________
"Where the hell have you been?! You're an hour late!" Matt-hyung yelled the moment I arrived in the set for our music video.
We were in a warehouse somewhere and everyone was either busy with retouching their make up or preparing for their scenes. The set for the MV "Thanks" were really similar to how the SEVENTEEN MV looked like in the previous world. PD-nim must have approved EVERYTHING about the concept proposal that I submitted. After greeting and apologizing to the director and the staff, I was faced with an angry Matt-hyung with Yo Chul-hyung trying to stop him from killing me. As soon as Yo Chul-hyung stopped him, he calmed down a little.
Before I could answer, my manager stepped in with a smile. "Matt-ya, he had another schedule which took longer than expected. I already called Ming Do-ya (other manager) about what happened today and asked him to tell the director."
Matt-hyung glanced at me before turning his gaze back to our manager. "I understand. We were just worried that something happened again. He didn't pick up his phone again."
"I had his phone since it was a very important meeting for a TV show. It's a surprise so he can't say anything about it… legally speaking. I hope you understand." My manager explained.
He smiled at him before looking at me. "Of course. I'm sorry for snapping at you like that, JayB-ya."
I waved it off and gave him a smile. "No harm done. I deserved it anyway."
He chuckled before putting his arm over my shoulder and dragged me off. "Let's go. Your scenes need to be shot so we can start shooting outdoors."
"But it's cold outside." I complained.
"I know. And the longer you take, the colder it becomes. Now go." He whispered before pushing me towards the set.
After putting on my costume designed for the set and having my make-up done, I immediately tried my best to make-up for lost time by giving 110% on set. It went smoothly as we finished my parts in less than an hour. Now we were heading out for our outdoor shots. It was really cold and there were a lot of people outside since it was the day before New Year. It was almost lunch time so my tummy was starting to rumble.
"Hungry?" Ming Do-hyung asked.
I smiled at him wryly as I scratched the back of my head. "Kind of. I immediately went to my schedule this morning without eating anything. I was almost late because I woke up a bit late."
"Here. At least eat a little before we have lunch. You're still taking your medicine so you have to be careful with your health, hyung." Zee handed me his packed sandwich.
I happily took a bite from it. "Wow! This is good!"
He chuckled. "Of course it is. Yuna-ya made it for me."
My mouth fell wide open. "Is it okay to give this to me when your girlfriend made this for you?"
He nodded. "It's fine. I already ate 3 of those earlier. Besides, she also cares about your health, hyung. She cried when I told her what happened."
"Tell her that I'm grateful for the food, and tell her I'm sorry for worrying her." I replied. I was feeling a little guilty. Not because of the sandwich, but how people were constantly worrying.
Matt-hyung then handed me my medicine and reminded me to take it. "Here. Also, Domi-ya approved for you to work late tonight. I heard that you're going to meet your family later tonight as well?"
"I'm still not sure about that. I still need to finish the song before we head for the award shows in February." I replied.
He shook his head. "We have no schedule the next two days except to go on VLIVE tomorrow afternoon. So you can do whatever you want tonight and sleep it off tomorrow morning. If you need to record, then do it after tomorrow."
Matt-hyung was being assertive today. But I had to finish our songs before we get busy. "But hyung…"
"No buts. Zhang-ie will help you with the mixing AND recording after tomorrow. Until then, you finish what you can today and spend time with your family. Understood?" He glared at me.
I sighed. "Yes, sir. I understand."
We continued talking about the upcoming promotions and shoot for our MV. They were also consistently pressuring me to tell them where I was earlier today. I really wanted to tell them but doing so would break the contract. Besides, I really wanted to go in this show.
Upon arriving at our next schedules set, we immediately started shooting. We shot in 3 different locations during our outdoor shoot: in a public rented bus, in a nearby shopping district, and in the streets of Gangnam. It took us so much time because most of the fans were mobbing us every single time we go out of our cars. Of course, we didn't want to be rude so we tried being polite with them. Thankfully, back-up came as the company sent more security personnel to guard us. Working became easier for us by then.
The shoot ended late in the afternoon. We can finally were able to eat a good meal after working hard. It's not that we didn't eat anything but we ate small frequent snacks while waiting for our next scenes. We couldn't eat that much because we don't know when we'll be called for a shoot or if there needs to be a re-shoot for a certain scene. Now, we were finally done with everything for this MV. The studio would call us again soon for the other MV shoots that we had. For today, we just want to enjoy a good meal.
After having a hearty meal with everyone, we decided to go our separate ways since some of us have schedules while others had appointments with other people. I had nothing on my list but to record so I decided to leave my stuff in our recording studio in the company and take a walk outside. It was still really cold outside because of the winter snow, but I still wanted to take a walk to relax. I couldn't even remember the last time I walked around without anyone mobbing me or flashing a camera in front of my face. These days, it's been difficult to do so.
My destination today was Olympic Park. There were stalls set up near the place where food and other leisure items were being sold. This time of the year in this world, there were a lot of idols who would go there and buy stuff. It was the only time in this world where fans were not allowed to mob the idols when they were not working. Otherwise, they would be arrested for assault and invasion of privacy. I know. Crazy, right? It's the one rule that the Korean government in this world actually got right. It was to protect the artists who were walking in the streets. This means, no pictures without the knowledge of the artist, no fangirling towards artists, and definitely NO STALKING.
There were many who greeted me along the way. It's the one time of the year that I wouldn't be afraid of going out without having a disguise on. After a long walk from the company to the district near the park, I spotted some street food and saw that there were tteokbokki. My favorite snacks were being served. I didn't hesitate to buy a lot of it. Although I already had dinner, I developed this bad habit where I always eat not knowing if I'm really full or not. Especially nowadays that I'm asked to eat a lot by my members. Thanks to that, I'm getting closer to my ideal weight.
The lady who was watching over her stall was surprised with how much I could eat. She thought that idols were supposed to go on extreme diets. I told her that it depends on the artist themselves. I also told her that self-care is really important, and starving yourself was not ideal. She really appreciated my insight as she agreed with my views. After eating there, I roamed around a bit more before spotting a little stall that serves chocolates.
"She loves chocolates. She couldn't live without them." I reminisced at an old memory of us when we dated secretly resurfaces. It was one of the many things that I loved about her. She wasn't picky nor choosy with food. Her favorites were also consistent.
"I wonder if she still loves chocolates in this world too." I turned to look at the sky as I try to recall the memories we had before. It was difficult to approach her in this world without alarming her. Even though I knew I had a chance with her, but it turns out that it was becoming slimmer by the second.
I snapped out of my thoughts as I bought a variety of chocolate snacks and drinks for me to have later as I start recording. Even I became a fan of chocolate after she gave me some. I didn't realize I was highly influenced by her in my previous life.
"JayB-oppa!" I heard a voice call out to me. A lot people who were following me around and were watching me turned to look at the person. These people were probably waiting for other people to approach me. Maybe there were some sasaeng fans among them too. But I could see that they were staring angrily at the girl who was happily waving at me to get my attention.
To avoid any tension, I approached the person and greeted her. "Yuna-ya! What are you doing here? You know that it's dangerous to call my name in public like that. Especially at this time of the year."
"Oops! Sorry about that. I just got so excited. I heard from Zee-oppa that you were recording in the company today. What are you doing outside?" She excitedly spoke.
I chuckled at how cute she was acting right now. "I decided to take a walk and see the scenery. This was the only time that idols get to do so freely after all."
She took a peek at the plastic bags that I was carrying around and giggled. "Looks like you did more than just 'sight see'."
I turned to look at the food that I was carrying and chuckled shyly. "I guess I've might have bought too much tteokbokki and chocolates. Do you want to eat them with me?"
She laughed at my reaction. "I'd love too. But you know that I have a boyfriend already."
I rolled my eyes. "Stop teasing me. Do you want some or not."
She giggled. "I want to. But I'm waiting for Zee-ya since he went to the bathroom. I'm also waiting for Lia-unnie to arrive."
"Hey! I'm sorry! Did you wait long? Oh! Hyung! You're here!" Zee said as he jogged towards us.
"Yeah. I took some time off from recording but I'll be back later. I decided to head for the park. Want to come with?" I invited them.
He also did what Yuna did earlier as he took a peek at what I was carrying. "Are those snacks? Did you overbuy again? Hyung, we already told you to learn to estimate your appetite."
"I know. I guess I was still very much hungry." I smiled wryly.
He sighed. "At least you're eating well again. Let's wait for…"
"I'm here! Sorry! We needed to close up the practice studio and- Oh! JayB-oppa! You're here! Are those snacks? Wow! I didn't know you could eat that much." She asked.
We all laughed at her similar reaction as Zee explained. After talking in the middle of the busy district, we were already receiving too much hate glares so we decided to take this somewhere else before someone would try to hurt Lia and Yuna. The park was a great place to visit. Though it was cold outside, our laughter and food helped us warm up. It was nice to see Zee and Yuna happy like that. It was as if they were really meant for each other.
"Did you guys ever fight?" I asked out of curiosity.
They both looked at each other lovingly before Zee turned to me. "Well, yes actually. A couple of times."
I raised an eyebrow. "Really? Then why do you always look so happy? I've haven't even seen you angry at all."
"We promised not to fight in front of people no matter how emotional we get. Plus, we try to fix the issue before the day ends. We always find time to meet up or call up to talk about the problem." Yuna sounded really mature as she explained to me how they handle their quarrels.
"If you really love someone, then you wouldn't try to beat each other's pride. It's not about who's wrong or right. You don't keep a record of mistakes. It's a matter of how you make the relationship work. It's not one-sided after all." Zee further explained.
These two are the youngest in our groups yet they're the most mature when it comes to love. I wish I had that kind of mindset back in the previous world. Would things have been different if I did?
"I wish I had someone like that." Lia suddenly spoke out.
Yuna giggled. "Unnie, you will. But let's focus on debuting first."
She sighed. "It'll be harder to find a boyfriend once we debut."
"You don't need to rush Lia-ya. Trust me on this one." I told her.
"How long have you been single now?" She asked a personal question which startled me a little. She must've realized what she did as she frantically tried to defend herself. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that. You can forget what I asked!"
I chuckled at her cute reaction. I never knew that she could be like this. She had a cold and distant demeanor back in the other world. I waved it of as I continued laughing. "It's fine. To answer your question… after IU-sunbae, I didn't date anyone so I guess about almost two years now."
"That long?" She asked again.
"Yep. That long." I replied.
Yuna rolled her eyes. "Are you still hung up on that mystery girl that everyone's been talking about? Or is that a rumor?"
"Wha… Mystery girl? Everyone? People have been talking behind my back?" I asked a series of questions after finding out that 'everyone' has been talking about me and that mystery girl.
"Yeah. The trainees were talking about it the other day. Well, almost every day. Most trainees have a really big crush on you. That's why when they heard the rumor, they were so excited and were wishing that it was them. It made me want to puke." Yuna explained.
Zee laughed when he heard his girlfriend say that. "That rumor's true though. But she's not a trainee anymore. She debuted a while back. Besides, JayB-hyung's been crushing on her since he was 11, I think?"
I sighed. "Let's not talk about that. We're here to have fun. Now here. Have some tteokbokki and chocolate milk."
"Ugh… You have weird taste, hyung." Zee grimaced.
I rolled my eyes. "Chocolate milk tastes better after eating something spicy. Now don't be a baby and eat."
Our bickering continued for a while before I saw my watch hit 8PM. It was finally time to head back to the studio to work on the songs. I need to make some progress before we hit our busy schedule. Dominic also called to remind me not to overwork things and to come home before morning. He knew that it couldn't be helped right now since we were about to become busy in the next coming days.
I arrived in the company's building but I was shivering from the cold. After it got dark, the temperature dropped drastically. To make matters worse, it also snowed which contributed to my fingers and toes feeling numb. It was then that we decided to head indoors. I separated from Lia, Yuna and Zee to head back to the studio. Thankfully, I made it in time before I froze to death.
My thoughts wandered off to Zee and Yuna before I left them. As we entered a nearby convenience store, Yuna immediately bought a cup of coffee to help warm Zee and Lia up. Since I was leaving I didn't ask for my share of the coffee. Big mistake. I should have just taken the gesture before heading back. It would have helped me suffer less in the cold.
"Still… it would have been nice if someone did that for me…" I muttered as I entered the studio.
Wait…
Didn't I lock this place up?
I shrugged as I turned the lights and the computer on. I also turned the heater on as well. My hands were still pretty much cold. I sighed as I thought about what happened today. There was a lot going on which made me excited and drained at the same time.
"Getting married, huh?" I pondered before sighing. I slowly turned my head to the side where a small table was placed. I realize that something was on it. I stood up and approach the item. It was a tumbler for a hot drink. That didn't surprise me. It was the piece of paper beside the tumbler that surprised me.
The note was addressed to me. The hand writing was very familiar to me. I read the letter and it dawned on me, it was her handwriting.
Meaning to say...
This is from HER...
_________
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone