Lady Spring

“You mean my brother? No, he hasn’t. Nothing happened. I just feel… You know.

Saeun tried to smile again. She tried to laugh to reassure Wooyoung on the phone, but she sounded awkward. It seemed that Wooyoung could tell as well.

“Okay. I’ll be there soon. Probably in 10 minutes. Wait for me.”

“Alright. You don’t have to hurry. Be careful on the road, okay?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be there soon.”

After hanging up, Saeun hugged her knees tightly and buried her face on them. She couldn’t help her tears rolling down her eyes uncontrollably. 

She hated her family. She resented the world. She found her life pathetic. Why couldn’t she even love freely? Saeun felt sorry for herself.

***

Wooyoung burst into her room. Saeun, who still had her face buried in her lap, looked up and smiled at him.

“Oh, there you are. You got here really quick.”

“What’s wrong? Why are you sitting on the floor like that? Did something happen?”

He took off his jacket and threw it on the floor. Wooyoung kneeled in front of her and held her face gently with his hands. His hands felt really cold, but she didn’t mind. Saeun leaned on his hands and closed her eyes. Even if it was frigid coldness, she still wanted to soak it in if it was from Wooyoung.

“No, nothing happened. I’m just glad you’re home.”

“What did you do after work today? Were you here like this the whole time? I guess I should’ve come home earlier today.”

“It’s okay. How was your day? You’re almost done with your movie, right? How much longer do you need to work on it?”

“This weekend will be my last day. Then, I need to get ready for our concert. Strawberry Fields’ concert is next month.”

Saeun’s eyes widened. Wooyoung rubbed her face with his thumb gently before sitting next to her and putting his arm around her. He sighed and groaned, 

“Gosh, I’m so sick of it. I don’t know why there is so much work to do all the time. I can’t even remember the last time I had a vacation. I’ve always been so busy.”

“Yeah, you must be so tired of it.”

Saeun leaned on his shoulder and looked up at him. Wooyoung glanced at her and smiled. He asked, 

“What are you thinking about?”

“I was just thinking that maybe being an ordinary office worker is easier than being a celebrity. It looks like it’s a lot of work to be a star.”

Wooyoung grinned and tapped her forehead with his own.

“True, but I make tons more money with this job. At the beginning of my career, I made nothing, but now, it’s so much better. I really shouldn’t complain.”

“Was it really hard at the beginning? Did you have to skip meals and stuff?”

“It wasn’t that bad. We didn’t have many events to attend at the time, and even those got cancelled all the time. There were many times when awful things happened too. Thankfully, Jay was always so strong for all of us. Sangone, who’s the youngest, was really great at dealing with people too. I was no good with things like that. I wish I could’ve helped them.”

Wooyoung chuckled and sighed again. Saeun frowned.

“Why do you say that? I’m sure you were very helpful too.”

“I wasn’t, because I wasn’t good at anything. I didn’t know anything either, and I don’t really stand out anywhere like the other three members.”

When Saune’s frown deepened, Wooyoung giggled and rubbed her wrinkles on her forehead. 

“Don’t frown. There are plenty of kids who give up after a few years because they don’t make it. Compared to them, I got lucky because I ended up with awesome members.”

“And don’t forget that you’re one of those members. You even have your own fan club, don’t you?”

“All the other members have one too. It’s a small subgroup of the official Strawberry Fields’ fan club. Do you know the name of my personal fan club? It’s called the Donut Factory. Isn’t it funny?”

Saeun rolled her eyes. Wooyoung hugged her a little tighter and sighed again. 

“Anyway, I think the movie’s going to turn out okay. It’s so nice having you with me, Saeun. You even helped me with my acting.”

Wooyoung grinned. Saeun rolled her eyes again, but she couldn’t help blushing. After that day at the set, Wooyoung told her he had been thinking of her whenever there was a romantic scene. She secretly loved the fact that she helped him, even if it was just a little.

“Have you watched our concert before?”

“No, I’ve been wanting to, but I never got the time to go.”

“You should come this time. I’ll get you the best seat. I can ask Jingyu to have it ready. There are some reserved seats for the members of the fan club. I will get you the best seat.”

Saeun really wanted to go. Somehow, she ended up living with these singers, yet she has never seen them perform live. They had a separate studio to practice, so it made sense she never got to see them dance, but shouldn’t they be practicing singing all the time? She never even saw any of them hum. Not even Wooyoung. She thought she could hear Strawberry Fields’ songs live every day if she lived with them.

“That sounds fun, Wooyoung.”

“Yeah, it will be super fun. Jay’s motto is to make every concert memorable. Of course, that means we have to work like dogs to prepare for it. He’s such a sadist.”

Saeun giggled and poked Wooyoung’s waist. 

“You’re the real sadist here. Always bullying other people!”

“I’ve never bullied other people! Just you!”

Wooyoung began to tickle Saeun, making her fall on the floor and laugh. He got on top of her and continued to tickle her.

“I can’t help it because I love your reaction!”

“Stop! That tickles!”

When she flailed helplessly, Wooyoung bit her neck and whispered,

“You’re too cute, Yun Saeun. How can you be so cute at this age?!”
“You better never say something like that anywhere else or people are gonna think you’ve lost your mind.”

“Who cares?”

 Wooyoung continued to suck on her neck hard. Knowing she will be left with a hickie, Saeun sighed. It was partly because she was annoyed, but also partly because she liked it. Whenever he left a mark on her, it made Saeun feel like she belonged to him. Even if this was a perverted thought, she couldn’t help it. She wanted to be possessed by him. She wanted to belong only to him and no one else.

Satisfied with his work on her neck, Wooyoung licked it one last time and hugged her tightly. He asked, 

“By the way, when are you going back home?”