My paternal grandma was an absolute superstitious old bat. She'd have an explanation for anything— a cough, a wild black cat existing, a bird chirping, even a sneeze. And she used to always talk about how problems never came alone. And for the first time ever, I could vouch that she was right.
Because right now, I am staring at Mr. Park Tae Joo's call blaring my phone off.
Did Ha Joon hyung, that rat, sell me out? He probably did.
Even with fear gripping every inch of me, I know that it's best to attend the call than make him angrier by ignoring it so I pick it up, bracing myself for the brewing storm on the opposite side.
Park Tae Joo doesn't spare any pleasantries and cuts straight to the chase. "I heard you aren't in school." And just like that, my limbs freeze and I clamp a horrified hand to my forehead.
School! I completely forgot!
"Any explanations?" Mr. Park Tae Joo never really had any warmth in his voice to begin with and right now, they feel like freaking Antarctica, giving me cold hives. I shudder at the intensity and chuckle weakly. "I—I have an explanation."
A cold laugh interrupts me and I swallow a groan. Oh god, I think he is mad for real.
"You do?" Icy shards hit me and even though we're separated by miles, I can't take cover.
"I think I do..?" It comes out more like a question than an assurance.
But while I'm expecting him to ask me to go back to school though I might have missed two classes, Mr. Park Tae Joo doesn't waste any more words and drops the axe on my unexpecting head.
"Pass the phone to Xuejun."
To be extremely honest, with the amount of emotional shocks I've been getting since yesterday, I could easily get a heart attack at any moment. But apart from my fingers freezing and my heart plunging in a now familiar manner, I actually fare quite well.
I run a quick glance at Xuejun who's drinking his coffee, totally oblivious to the fact that we were busted.
"Don't make me wait, Winter."
Gulping, I stride towards Xuejun, nudging him lightly. "It's Teacher Park Tae Joo," I mumble, pushing the phone at him. Xuejun's expression isn't anything much different from mine. He looks like he'd just crossed paths with a ghost and his straw slackly falls from his mouth.
"He says not to make him wait," I add in for good measure.
That seems to work or Liu Xuejun isn't as much scared of Mr. Park Tae Joo as he used to be, because the next moment, he takes the phone from my hands without a single seething comment. Only a couple 'hmm's and 'mhmm's fill the entirety of the conversation and I can't dampen my stomach which was having a freak show right in that instant.
He finally ends the conversation with a 'okay' and I scamper up, gripping his arms in mine.
"What did he say?"
Xuejun frowns, a conflicted look on his face. He doesn't reply for a few seconds then he mildly shakes his head. "Seems like Manager Ma confidentially reached out to him to see if I ran back to the only adult I knew in South Korea."
"And what did he say?"
Xuejun shoots me a look, his eyebrows scrunched up like this discussion displeased him very much. It probably did.
"He wants us to come to his house. No negotiation."
•••
Xuejun is back in his 'celebrity gear' of face-masks and glasses and caps and hoodies as we board a bus to the other side of the city.
Even though Mr. Park Tae Joo was supposedly disowned by his own family, I've visited his house once and it certainly did not look like it belonged to someone who was disowned. His house was a huge flat in one of the costly parts of the city. It was on one of the top floors of a skyscraper and Ryuu once said that the entire floor seemingly belonged to the house.
Yet we had foggy mirrors in the practice room.
Wordlessly, Xuejun pays for the tickets and I decide to just add it to the tab. But five minutes into the ride, I feel a heavy head drop on my shoulders. Glancing down, I find Liu Xuejun fast asleep. His face still had the mask but a grin takes over my features as my fingers nimbly pull the mask down. And sure enough, behind the mask, his mouth is wide open.
I chuckle, pulling the mask back up. Celebrity or not, I guess old habits die hard.
Even with Seoul's morning traffic, we reach Mr. Park Tae Joo's neighbourhood in about thirty five minutes. It only takes a single poke to wake up Xuejun and we exit the bus.
"It's this building," I say pointing at one of the tall buildings. Xuejun doesn't reply but without letting that bother me too much, I pull him towards the entrance.
It's one of those posh buildings you'd only see in dramas, with a personal reception area and security. And probably a gym in the basement and a swimming pool on the roof. You never know. I feel extremely out of place as we make our way towards the lift, marble floors shining without a single speck of dust beneath our dirty sneakers.
Yes, Liu Xuejun's sneakers are a tad bit dirty too.
"You think those plants are real?" Xuejun's voice suddenly cuts but as if he couldn't believe that he spoke to me first out of his own accord, he snaps a hand over his mouth.
A tiny smile fights its way up but I bite it down. Too soon to tease and crack jokes, Winter.
"You think anyone in this building would water them?"
Xuejun chooses not to reply and we step into the lift. Inside, there's no one so I finally relax, punching the floor's number. Thankfully, instead of some boring as hell jazz music, a pop song plays in the lift, its volume in a delectable range. A hum raises inside my chest and though I know I'm currently walking towards my figurative death, I push everything to the back of mind as I hum to the melody.
Out of the corner of my eyes, I see Xuejun's head stealthily glance at me and for some reason, that lifts my mood more and the humming gets louder.
And for the first time in two years, I enjoy the way my lips curl up.