The sound of people talking and the sound of the footsteps made Gina Choi’s head felt like spinning. She pressed her head and bent down. Seeing her three inches high heels and pink nails would not help her to calm down. She closed her eyes tightly and held up her head while sighing in loud.
“Gina?”
Gina was tilted a bit as she heard that female voice. She breathed out when she spotted her own co-manager who was watching her with a tight face.
“Nothing,” she answered. She back-combed her long and smooth blonde hair. “I’m…I’m just tired. That’s all.”
Ms. Ho sat next to her. “You’ve already won first place just now. You should be happy, dear.”
It was true that Gina had just won first place at Music Bank, one of South Korea’s most viewed entertainment channel. People from all over the world watched that channel too since Korean pop artists were widely known and loved by international fans nowadays. Gina had just released her new single and that song helped her to grab every music chart in Korea. She was one of the noticeable person after her popularity rose.
But, she felt too tired being in her own place. Singing was her passion since she was a toddler but she did not know the effect when the public started to spot her as an attention to the community.
“Can I go home now?” Gina blurted, already standing in her feet.
“Wait! You better join our party after this. Let’s celebrate this victory,” Ms. Ho said.
Gina grabbed her clutched. “I’ll pass,” she spoke and walked out of the dressing room.
“Don’t forget your schedule for tonight!” her co-manager yelled but Gina pretended that she did not hear anything.
Gina pulled into the curb after an hour of driving from that channel station. She had arrived at her apartment. An exclusive apartment. Only rich people lived there. She was one of them. After taking a deep breath, she wore her Gucci sunglasses and went out of her car.
When she noticed a janitor nearby the small street, she fastened her steps to the main door of the 30 floors building. It was like a habit, running away from anyone that you did not know. Public, to be exact. Every artist did that.
“You’re home early today,” a grandmother asked as Gina passed her.
“Oh, it’s you,” Gina admonished. She tossed her hair to her back. “I wanna take a proper rest so I offer to go home early. I have to rush for another schedule tonight.”
“Yeah, I know. You always do,” the grandmother barked and strode away towards the end of the lobby where a spa was located.
Gina sighed. She walked to her home with heavy steps. As she neared her favourite couch, she immediately hopped onto it and breathed out. Finally, she was home after gone through a tight schedule that day. She had won a prize but that did not make her feel calm.
The house was so peaceful and quiet for almost three years. It meant that she lived alone. There were no parents around. Why?
Gina got up and went to the freezer. She took out a jug of cold milk and poured herself a glass of it. While taking a short drink of the milk, her eyes locked at her room. The door was a bit ajar.
She walked there slowly and stopped at the doorway. A picture that was framed paste on the wall caught her eyes. It was a picture of her when she was a baby. Gina drank her milk once more. It hurt when she swallowed the drink.
Actually, she had a big complication with her parents last three years. They fought over a small misunderstanding and she ended up runs away from home. She settled herself after a manager found her talent when she performed at a street show. Since then, she became a successful singer and owned an apartment and a car.
She got everything that she ever wanted but she lacked of love by her own parents. She did not know how to get back on the track. Even a best friend she could not find someone who can stand her attitude. She fed herself all this time.
After feeling tired with all those thinking, she decided to go to a night club. Yes, a night club would do to calm her mind and her heart. There was no need to follow her silly schedule she had to attend that night.
“Hey, Doojoon hyung!” Jun HyeSung called in the middle of the hallway.
Jang Doojoon glanced at his classmate while closing the door to the listening room. “Hey, what’s up, buddy?”
Both of them made handshakes.
“Hyung, let’s shake our booties to the fullest tonight at Mercy’s!” Hyesung said.
Doojoon chuckled and stops. He shook his head slightly. “Nah, no can do, buddy. I have to study with my group tonight. We have a presentation tomorrow’s evening. Need a lot of things to do.”
Doojoon was the best student of Science study at his university. He was only twenty-one but everyone praised him for his good academics and charity works. The professors there liked him and had once offered a chance to do a fast-track which he could just straight away continue to study degree. He was doing his best to join the offer.
His parents won the-best-parents award while Doojoon had a full collection of trophies since the first start of his freshman year. He was still in a freshman but his genious brain led him to justice and attention. He also attracted every female student’s heart with his charming smile and killer eyes.
Hyesung seemed disappointed. “Oh, man. Come on, big brother! You don’t have to always be with them. Once in a while, taking a break won’t harm you. You’re still doing great likewise. Come on….it’s just one night. The best DJ is going to be there,” he poked.
Doojoon sighed. He looked at his watch. Even though he really did not want to join his junior, he finally thought of taking a short break. “Okay. I’ll join you.”
Gina showed her identity card at the door guy of the night club named Mercy’s. The guy was a bit shocked as he studies the card and he observed her from head to toe in disbelief. Gina felt uneasy. She adjusted her sunglasses. “Make it quick,” she told him.
The guy nodded and lent back the card. He stepped backward and nodded slightly. Gina smirked and entered the building with confidence. She was sure that no one will recognize her since the dance floor was filled with hyperactive-like night clubbers. Besides, the lights were all dim.
Gina stopped at the door way. She turned around. “Keep it a secret, will you?” she asked the door guy. He nodded vigorously.
The night club was huge, like the size of double fields. Gina reached for the counter bar and sat on the tall stool. Her slender body and long legs attracted every man’s eyes as they passed by but she ignored them. All that she ever needed was to have fun and relax, not finding a partner.
Gina took her head away from watching the DJ when the bartender came. She formed a weak smile. “Tequila, please,” she ordered. The bartender nodded.
Her cell phone rang. She knew it was her manager so she pressed the button ‘off’. That was the first time she escaped from her manager. She could not believe it herself.
The tequila she ordered before was placed in front of her. She held the drink and took a sip. She sighed in relief. “I love it,” she said softly.
“-as much as I do,” a man sounded right next to her.
Gina gawped at him. She continued to drink her tequila, facing in front.
“It’s better if you take off those sunglasses, pretty woman,” he said with a seducing tone.
Gina took a side-glance at him. The man was like….in his 30s or so, wearing an office suit. He had curly black hair and his face was very common every office man would have. Of course, Gina was not interested with him. So, she did not respond.
That man touched her hair. Gina backed away immediately, throwing him a mad face but he leaned forward and tried to take off her sunglasses. She got up abruptly.
“Stop it! Don’t touch me!” she scolded. She quickly ran towards the crowd on the dance floor. Looking at the people dancing, she sighed in, trying to ignore the guy just now. She felt the beat slowly crawling into her body and she danced.
Before she could be wilder, the man came and grabbed her by the arm tightly. Gina squinted. “What are you doing?!!! Let me go!”
A fist was placed on the man’s right cheek. Everyone froze.
“Let her go. You heard that, right?” a guy with spike hair ordered.
The man pushed his hand away and laughed. He observed the guy. By seeing him wearing casual t-shirt and worn jeans, he assumed that that guy was a timid and normal person. “What are you? A student?”
Everyone laughed. Gina was confused with the situation.
“I may be a student, but that doesn’t make me a back-off kind of guy,” he responded.
The others wowed sarcastically,” Uuuuuuu……….”
“If you lend one pat at that woman, you’re gonna need help from my fist.”
The man was a bit terrified but he covered it by giggling. “Oh, yeah? How ‘bout this?!” he grabbed Gina’s body and pulled her head back.
Everyone gasped. The music stopped by the DJ.
Gina grunted from pain. The man kept pulling her hair to the back. He faced the spike-haired guy with a sly smile. “You wanna beat me? Come on, go ahead!”
The spike-haired guy breathed out in anger. He tightened his hand grips. The man widened his eyes and says, “Come on!”
Gina screamed out loud as her hair was pulled even tighter. Tears began to flow down to her cheeks. The spike-haired guy felt threatened. He could not dare to see the woman suffers. Suddenly, he figured out something.
He held the woman’s legs and pushed them to the sides and she split. The man lost his grip of her without realizing it. The spike-haired guy punched him in the face and quickly Gina out of the night club.
A loud and mad crowd could be heard as they paced towards a junction. After a long run, they finally stopped. Gina fell down on the pavements. She held her injured right leg. Seems like her high heels were not suitable for running.
The spike-haired guy bent down. “Are you okay?” he asked, panting.
Gina looked up. She was crying. “I’m fine-,” she cried. “Oh, no, I’m not. My leg hurts! Do I like OKAY?!!!”
The guy was shocked. He giggled. “Sorry. High heels make you suffer, huh?”
Gina gawped at him then she cried back at her injured leg. The spike-haired guy frowned. He watched the woman from the back. Just then, he widened his eyes.
“Hey! You must be Gina! Gina Choi!” he shouted.
Gina gasped. She pulled him down to the pavements and cupped his mouth with her right hand. “Shut up! People will hear you, idiot!” she whispered in a desperate tone.
“Are you Gina?” he muffled in her hand.
“Yes, yes, I am!” she replied.
The guy chuckled.
“Now if I let go off my hand, you promise not to shout, okay? Okay?” Gina asked in cautious.
He nodded.
Gina took away her hand. She wiped her palm on her dress secretly. Suddenly, her sunglasses were pulled off by that guy. “Hey!”
He smiled broadly. “Oh-My-God! You ARE Gina!”
Gina grabbed her sunglasses back and wore them. “So what? You’re gonna rock the internet and tell everyone that Gina Choi stops by at a night club and causes a fight?”
The guy kept silent for a while. “No, I won’t. We made a promise,” he said.
Gina locked eyes with his innocent face. She was glad he remembered the promise. “So don’t break it,” she blurted and got up.
“You sound like my aunt,” the guy teased. Gina glared at him. She scoffed and walked away with the injured leg.
“Excuse me, ahjumma,” he sounded in sarcastic way. “Are you gonna leave just like that after what had happened just now?”
The woman stopped. “What is it now?” she responded without looking back.
The guy reached for her. He took out his cell phone and pointed in her face. “Let us exchange numbers. I want you to call me every night.”
Gina spun around with mad eyes. “Ex-CUSE me?”
He shrugged. “If you refuse, I will break the promise,” he warned. Gina hated to see him smiling like that. She groaned hardly.
The guy waved his cell phone. Gina stumped her foot on the pavements before she reluctantly joined the exchange. Later, she turned back to walk off to her car.
“I’m Jang Doojoon!” he yelled out.
Gina rolled her eyes. “Whatever!”
“I knew that you haven’t put my name in your phone book. You would better do!”
But it was too late. Gina got into her car and started the engine.
to be continued…..