Music:
Chapter 2: Unpredictable Attraction
Kibum yawned as he exited the classroom after falling asleep in his mathematics exam. The last one he will take as a high schooler, not that he cared. He probably topped the grade, again. He had finished before everyone else so he took the extra hour to sneak in a quick nap after a long night out the night before. That was until Onew nudged him awake only to ask him for the answer to question 16. The frustrated Kibum mouthed the answer to him before dosing off again, whilst Onew got caught by the supervisor. Fortunately for him, it was female supervisor so he was able to get off the hook when he flashed his signature smile.
‘So how did you go, Minho?’ asked Onew as they walked down the hallway ignoring the small yet growing number of girls stalking walking a safe distance behind them.
Minho simply shrugged.
‘How about you, Kibum? Actually, I’m not even going to ask. You even got time to sleep after the finishing the exam. Wish I had a brain like yours.’ As usual, Onew had let his imagination run wild and escaped reality just for a split second. It was all the time in the world for him to lose his footing causing him to trip slightly before he regained footing.
‘Not again, Onew,’ Kibum laughed. He was used to Onew’s constant clumsiness; in fact, he even found it amusing at times. Onew and he had known each ever since he could remember; he was more like family than his actually family.
‘So, got anything planned for the weekend?’ asked Onew trying to change the subject.
‘The usual,’ stated Minho simply, A statement which simply translated to a schedule full of dates by day and by night, clubbing. Kibum and Onew had ‘recruited’ Minho on their first day of school back in middle school, although he was a man of few words, they enjoyed his company and short yet witty contributions to their conversations once in a while. That and that he was a good listener when they needed someone to talk to, privately, not to mention the advantages of having a long line of ladies waiting to charm the quiet man.
Onew patted Minho on the back. ‘As expected of the infamous playboy especially since it’s a playboy with money,’ Onew winked, ‘well, I have a weekend full of work… variety shows and what not, not that I’m complaining, I mean I get to meet new people, especially the girl groups.’ As odd as this may sound, Onew was extremely musically talented. He, at a young age, began composing and writing his own songs and soon became a music sensation after Kibum sneakily uploaded one of Onew’s songs onto Youtube. Although Onew was contacted by various agencies, he rejected all of them preferring to work ‘at his own pace’ and not be governed by contracts. Onew was probably the only one who could become successful without an agency backing him up, that was probably because of his father’s status as the main stockholder of SBS, one of the main Korean television networks. Of course, being famous in Korea also landed you a large fan base and requests to be on television shows which Onew happily accepted though he didn’t appear on music shows very often.
‘What shows you recording this weekend?’ Kibum asked.
‘Um… Strong Heart and Champagne, I think. What about you, Kibum, what are you doing this weekend?’
‘A stupid family dinner with Grandma, you know how she loves gathering the family together.’
Onew nodded in agreement. Kibum’s Grandmother loved gathering the family together. It was amazing how she was able to persuade each family member to attend such gatherings especially since they were all of constantly busy because of their demanding jobs. Not only did she get them together but she was able to force them into group activities.
‘It gives you a chance to catch up with your family,’ comforted Onew. Trust him to always look on the bright side of things. Kibum dreaded gatherings. He felt caged when he was around his family. Family members young and old would constant shoot glares filled with hatred, only eyeing the inheritance which his grandfather had left to him before he died. This, of course, left Kibum’s father to take over his Grandfather’s company, Xavier, one of the largest companies in Korea, branching from electronics to hotels.
As they moved closer to the entrance of the school, quite a crowd had gathered around the three, screaming and squealing at the sight of them with many recording this privileged moment with their mobile phones. All three of them were used to such attention. Although they were not officially a ‘group’ nor did they produce anything together they developed an extremely large fan base, based on their renowned friendship, good looks and last but not least, wealth. Eventually, they were dubbed as ‘Shinee’ for their shining aura which ironically, also describes their large wealth. As they walked across the school yard, the crowd moved as well, clouding the three at a safe distance, admiring them.
Although Kibum was used to the crowds and constant attention, he felt claustrophobic, unable to reach fresh air, that’s why he often looked beyond the crowd to keep himself calm. Kibum had developed claustrophobia since the accident eight years ago. Since then, he would avoid enclosed places, large crowds which both Minho and Onew knew to avoid whenever they were with him.
As Kibum looked above the crowd, something or rather someone caught his eye. He watched the girl as she waved her friend off. Kibum had a knack of reading people’s personalities and from what he saw, she was the worse, selfish, conceited and the worse, independent. He hated girls who were independent, brushing of others worries without even considering their warnings and concerns. Her action exerted an extreme case of independence, yet from what he saw, she was also timid. For once, Kibum was puzzled had her paradoxical character. She carried unpredictability which Kibum was certainly not used to.
While she walked towards the gate, Kibum was expecting a car to come and pick her up. For some odd reason, he was worried about her. She looked lonely. Kibum often saw a small shrug of her shoulders, indicating her sighing. Wonder what’s on her mind…wait... why do you care? You don’t even know the girl. While Kibum shook off the thought, the girl turned towards his direction. He quickly looked down, trying to avoid eye contact.
‘What wrong, Kibum?’ Kibum heard Onew ask.
‘Nothing, ‘ Kibum shrugged off coolly. Man, what’s gotten into you…
His eyes darted towards her again. He watched as she check her wrist -Her watch perhaps- before running off around the corner which, if he remembered correctly, was the direction of the closest bus stop. Unpredictable and poor, what an odd combination.
Author notes:
Haha, now you finally know who the three are. :D
Nicole and Kibum will meet very soon. Don't want to tell you too much.
This will be my last update in a while because I'm going overseas. I do have pre-written chapters, so hopefully I'll be able to update during my trip. So excited :)
Oh and an early Happy New Years and best wished for 2010.
Remember comments are loved.
