38 The Rogues (7): Don't Disappoint Me

Jinhyun was reflecting on the dream he had last night. The image of Shina's tear stained eyes flashed through his mind, torturing his heart. The faceless corpse, his bloody hands and the sword he held. Everything was haunting him. 

He wanted answers from her and yet, it feels as if there was a missing piece in the puzzle. 

A knock on the door startled him. Jinhyun jumped as he broke out of his thoughts. 

"Come in," he said. His voice was shaky as he was reeling from the dream.

Sekjong entered the room. "You look pale," he noted. "Have you slept at all?" 

"Oh just the show has been getting on my nerves," Jinhyun lied. 

"You need a vacation," Sekjong said. "You don't look so good." 

"I'm fine," Jinhyun shrugged. "What's the update on the trainees? Are they doing well?" 

"Oh they have improved a lot," Sekjong replied. "And I just saw Yoona training Semin. The young girl had made a tremendous improvement. Yoona is a really good teacher." 

Jinhyun merely nodded. 

"You know, the girl is quite a beauty," Sekjong continued. "Yoona. And she's polite too." 

Jinhyun rolled his eyes and concentrated on the files in front of him. 

"Why don't you ask her for dinner some time?" Sekjong suggested. 

"I'm not gonna date my own trainees, Sekjong," Jinhyun said absentmindedly as he skimmed through the documents. 

"Just saying," Sekjong stated hastily. "She's smart, she's nice and friendly. I think you two would make a great couple." 

Jinhyun shook his head, rolling his eyes. 

"Stop trying to find me a date," he snapped, feeling irritated. "I'm way too busy for such trivial things! If I find a girl I like, I'll let you know." 

Even though I did find one, she'd rather throw me under a bus than go out with me, he sighed inwardly. 

"Suit yourself," Sekjong shrugged. "I just think you'd look good with Yoona." 

"She's in love with someone else," Jinhyun pointed out. 

"Ehh, she was probably just lying to get sympathy. I'm sure she'd be ideal for you."

"Not gonna date trainees," Jinhyun said firmly. "Anything else? If you're here to discuss my love life then, I'm sorry to say that I'm extremely busy right now." 

His words were final. Sekjong sighed and stood up to leave. He exited the room and walked ahead. Stopping in front of a storeroom, he paused to see if anyone was around. Making sure the coast was clear, he entered the room. 

Cherry was standing there in her daytime avatar. Sekjong's eyes were unfocused as he stared ahead. 

"What was his response when you told him to date Yoona?" Cherry asked. 

"He shrugged it off," Sekjong said in a robotic monotone. "He said he doesn't date his own trainees." 

Cherry narrowed her eyes. Jinhyun did not mention anything about Yoona herself. Maybe he does not have a problem with her but simply did not want to go against the rules? 

"What a pain!" she complained. That guy was turning out to be more difficult than she had originally thought. At first it seemed like an easy job considering that they were lovers in their past lives. 

But these two are really difficult to handle. Maybe I should make Yoona fall for him first, she thought. But if she is in love with someone else then the task will become more difficult… 

"Go and find out what Yoona feels for Jinhyun," she commanded him. "And report back to me." 

Sekjong bowed, his eyes still glassy, and left. Cherry sighed. She had to use herbs to put this guy under hypnosis. It was not hard since he smoked a lot. All Cherry had to do was replace his cigarettes with her special herbs stuffed inside them. 

She did not want to choose this dunderhead for the job. But given how close he was to Jinhyun, he was her best bet. She was initially shocked when she saw Sekjong at the restaurant. Even in this birth, the guy stuck to his Emperor like glue. 

"Don't disappoint me," she sighed aloud. "Prime Minister Lee Kwang." 

With that, she snapped her fingers and disappeared into thin air. 

…. 

Yoona was helping Semin to learn the choreography for Beyoncé's 'Single Ladies'.

"You gotta ease yourself when you move the hip," she instructed as she fluidly moved her waist. "Put pressure on your lower body only. The upper one must stay firm." 

She showed her the waist curving, bouncing her hips fast with the music. 

Semin watched nervously. She felt too shy to do such bold steps but if she wanted to be an idol, she must work hard. 

"Like this?" she asked, stiffly moving her hips. 

"Be at ease," Yoona said. "Let go of any apprehensions. "Dancing is about expressing yourself without any inhibitions. Be quick but shameless." 

She swiftly moved her curvy waists, completing the move with perfection. Semin tried to copy her movements a few times. The first few attempts were sloppy but she started to improve as she practiced. 

"Go on," Yoona encouraged with a smile. "You're doing great!" 

"Hello ladies!" 

Sekjong came in, carrying two bags of food. "Working hard, I see." 

Yoona and Semin greeted him and bowed. 

"Yoona unnie was helping me with my dance," Semin said. 

"She's improving a lot," Yoona complimented. 

"All thanks to you unnie!" 

"Ahh seeing you two train, reminded me of the past," he reminisced. "Wanna hear some fun stories?" 

The two girls blinked and nodded enthusiastically. 

"Come on," he ushered them. "Let's have lunch and I'll tell you some of the stories of Jinhyun's trainee days." 

He laid down the boxes and opened them. The strong scent of Jjajamyeong hit their nostrils. 

"This looks yummy!" Semin exclaimed. Sekjong mixed the noodles with black bean sauce and handed them their boxes. 

"Let's dig in!" he announced as he scooped some into his mouth. 

"It's really tasty," Yoona agreed. "So you were saying something about the old trainee days?" 

"Ah yes!" Sekjong said. "So you know that when the EXOTIC members were trainees, their company barely gave them any provisions? Their agency, Mystic Entertainment, was completely cash strapped and could not afford to give their trainees a good living. Jinhyun used to live with his other members, KJ, Ash and Dasom in a semi-basement apartment. It was even smaller than this training room!"

"What?" Semin asked in surprise. "Really?" 

She had always assumed that the members of EXOTIC were super rich. 

"Yeah," Sekjong replied. "It was almost thirteen years ago. You were a toddler then. But EXOTIC members struggled a lot. Even though KJ and Dasom were well off, they had left their wealth behind to become idols. None of them took any help from their families." 

He slurped on more noodles. 

"Dasom was a middle schooler and Jinhyun was in high school," he went on. "KJ and Ash were the older ones so they worked part-time to make ends meet. Jinhyun wanted to leave his studies and help out his members, but they wouldn't let him. They knew he was damn smart and it would be a waste for him to not complete his education." 

"You see, everything was uncertain. Their debut may not even had happened. And if they did manage to become idols, there was no guarantee that they'd succeed. Yet, they stuck together. Their bond was thicker than blood. They were like brothers." 

His eyes were misty as he remembered the four members and their bond. If only Ash had not gone astray… 

Yoona noticed the tears in Sekjong's eyes. 

"What happened to KJ?" she asked. "We know what happened to Ash Park and Dasom. But KJ…he disappeared. As if he never existed. Do you know where he is?" 

"No," he admitted sadly. "No one knows. Two years ago, he just vanished. He was the Nation's Idol and yet, somehow, he managed to evade everyone and escape."

"Does…does Jinhyun sir know?" Semin probed. 

"Honestly, I can't tell," Sekjong replied. "He was in England at that time. I don't know if KJ had informed him anything…" 

There was an awkward silence as Sekjong remembered his time with EXOTIC. Even though he mostly managed Jinhyun's activities, the latter always spoke of his members with a sense of pride. 

"Tell us more about Jinhyun," Yoona said. "What is he really like?" 

Sekjong chewed on his food, thinking hard. 

"Jinhyun may seem like a happy and simple person," he began. "He will see the best in people." 

Sekjong paused, trying to come up with something which can really describe Jinhyun. 

"But inside of him, there lies a darkness he can't escape from." 

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