“Ugh, lets see,” She sighed, looking at the ceiling. “You are too good at everything, it drove me crazy how you could just...do anything well. Oh and your voice is...to die for. No doubt, you will have a 100% success rate with women if you just sing for them.”
“Good to know,” Wonjung gave her a self satisfied grin.
“What about me, Claire-nim?” Kitae cuddled up to her with a purposefully charming grin.
“You, young man,” She addressed him with a reprimanding wave of her finger. “You know exactly how cute you are and how to use it to your advantage. You do not need to hear more about what a successful charmer you are even as a minor.”
“Awwwww,” The young man gave her a rakish grin and slipped an arm between her and Cheol to give her a hug. “I knew you always liked me.”
“Pfft, see? You didn’t even need me to say it,” She laughed and gave his arm a pat where she could reach it.
“What about me,” Cheol prompted, curious about what she had thought of him before they had met.
“You want to know what I used to say about you?” She looked at him over her shoulder.
“Yeah,” He gave her a squeeze.
“You really want to know?” She teased, slipping out of his arms and backing up across the room. “Like really really?”
“What? You didn’t like me or something?” He joked, moving to catch up with her.
“You always made me smile,” She admitted, taking his hands while still backing out of the room. “Your aegyo was always adorable but…” she leaned in to whisper in his ear, hand curving along his waist. “Mmmm the way you move your body….oh baby.”
She let out a squeal as he scooped her up and carried her back to his room for one last visit to the bed before she went home.
Chapter 15
Over the next few weeks they managed to find a balance that made everyone happy. Claire came over to the dorms often. Sometimes visiting to see everyone and spend time chatting and helping them out informally. Other times she was there for Cheol, giving him every ounce of her attention and adoration when she was. It wasn’t always easy for Cheol to fall back on the days she wasn’t there to see him, but he liked seeing everyone together like a family. They made time as much as they could, even when their schedules got too full. Often it meant forgoing sleep, something he was used to, though it was a little harder on Claire. More than once she fell asleep while hanging out with them and had to be told to go home and take a break.
At the KXO offices she was always there, happy to meet with them when they were free, grabbing one member or another between practice sessions. As the tour dates neared, they had an increased schedule of interviews in both Korean and English. Increasing amounts of time were spent practicing their quick interview skills with Claire when they had the time. She quizzed and teased them with TMI type questions over lunches and dinner when she ate with them. Even the native speakers had trouble keeping up with her questions and quips as she quizzed them alongside the others.
The president of KXO had been more than satisfied with the group’s progress and was surprised to hear back from the band’s manager and various handlers that they seemed to be eager to spend much of their free time practicing with their teacher. They were getting better and more comfortable speaking English and it showed in their work. It was more than he had actually hoped for. Even he had been surprised a few times to see Claire and a few members chatting happily over lunch, looking like they were having the time of their lives.
Their manager also took note of their enthusiasm and affection for their teacher. The members seemed to have her around more often than not and kept her better informed of their schedule than he would have expected. When he spoke to her, she seemed to know more about them and what they were all doing that he did. It struck him as a little odd, but everyone seemed to be happy with the situation, including the CEO. He really didn’t want to be the one to make waves. Besides, Claire had made more progress with their English than all their years of individual study with the company.
Claire seemed to have made herself an indispensable part of the group, at least as far as they were concerned. Whenever Jihoon talked about an interview or engagement, someone always asked if Claire might come or if it was something she had already mentioned to them before. It was clear that they loved meeting with her and were happy to push themselves.
For her part, she seemed glad to put in however much time they asked and meticulous in going over the information they gave her to prepare for them. It seemed to Jihoon, that he couldn’t give her too many questions or too much to cover. It was impressive and a relief. When they had first discussed getting someone to help prep the group, he had been skeptical about hiring not only a foreigner but a younger one. Frankly, he had doubted that her work ethic would match that of the company. He was happy to say he had been wrong, but he was also a bit curious about how close they had all gotten. Whatever she was doing with them was working but he wasn’t sure the members or Claire understood that, as successful as they were, the need for her was likely temporary. If he were to guess, he would bet that she knew it was something that would last for only so long, but he suspected that her departure, whenever that came, would come as a surprise to the members when it happened.
Perhaps it was something he ought to bring up with them when he saw them next, he decided. It wouldn’t be hard to just stop by on Saturday evening. They didn’t have anything scheduled for that day and that meant that most of them should be home to rest by evening time. It would probably be a good time to talk to them if they were all there together. It would probably be good to start with a chat with Cheol to feel out how the rest of the group might react, he thought to himself.
***
“I’ve missed you this week,” Cheol murmured, kissing along her jaw and neck.
“Mmmm, I missed you too,” Claire sighed back. “I’m sorry we couldn’t find more time this week. It has been stupidly busy.”
“I know,” He agreed, his hand wandering up under her shirt. “I couldn’t make the time either. No matter how much I wanted to...and believe me, I wanted to, so much.”
“The start of the tour is only another month away,” He pointed out. “No one has free time now with that coming up. It’s all just work, work, work.”
“You know you love working that hard,” She reminded him. “You wouldn’t know what to do with yourself if you suddenly had a ton of free time.”
“I know exactly what I would do with all that time,” He playfully slipped his hand into her waistband. “I’d spend it all with you, on some warm beach, half dressed. Only doing what we want, when we want.”
“That sounds sweet,” She scooted herself closer to him. “But, 자기야[54], in fifteen minutes you’d have your laptop out, composing something. I suppose it would be fun, doing the same things with a better view.”
“Mmmm, you think I could take my--” His remark was cut off by a sharp, fast series of knocks on the door.
“Bro, our manager is here, I think he’s coming to talk to you,” Hyunwoo rasped in a harsh whisper from the other side of the door. “Hello manager, it’s good to see you.” He raised his voice, trying to sound casual as he clearly stalled for time for Cheol and Claire to do whatever they were going to do. “Yeah, I think he was napping but I’m sure he is getting up now. He’ll be happy to see you.” In a panic, Cheol and Claire rushed to find a place to hide her and her things in the small room. She slid into the only space big enough; crawling under the bed as Cheol hurriedly stuffed her bag, sweatshirt, and socks after her. She made herself as small as possible, pressed against the wall. Cheol spread out his blanket so that it hung off the bed, obscuring anything that might be underneath. He tossed a quick glance back at the bed and around the room to check for anything visibly suspicious before he opened the door.
“Hey, Jihoon-ssi,” He greeted, just hoping that he looked and sounded casual. “Did you--I mean was there some reason you came by today?”
> “Actually there was, would you mind?” Jihoon gestured into the room and started moving inside. He closed the door behind him before making his way to sit on the chair at the desk. Claire heard the scrape of the wood against the floor and nearly stopped breathing. Why did he have to come in and talk to him in here, she whined in her head.
“I wanted to talk to you first, sort of get a feel for something before I talked to everyone together.” Jihoon began, shifting to lean forward, elbows resting on his knees. “It’s about the English teacher position.”
“Oh,” Cheol took a seat opposite him towards the end of the bed. “What...what about it?”
He knew Claire was under the bed listening to all of this. Not only was this probably something he didn’t want to be discussing at all, he knew for certain he didn’t want to be talking about it while the subject of the conversation was trying to hide discreetly beneath him.
“I can tell that she has worked well with all of you,” Jihoon started. “She has done a better job helping all of you than I thought she would, to be honest. You all seem to enjoy having her around, which is good, seems to have helped you all work hard on getting better. It’s just…”
“What is it?” Cheol interjected into the silence left when their manager paused.
“I’ve been worried how everyone else is going to handle it when her job with KXO ends,” Jihoon admitted with a sigh. “I can see that a lot of you are getting attached to her, maybe especially some of the younger members. It would be best if her departure didn’t cause any disruption when it happens.”
“Wh--when do you think that will happen,” Cheol swallowed past a lump in his throat.
“Sometime after the tour,” Jihoon sighed, not noticing the stiffness that subtly overtook the person sitting across from him. “There has been a lot of talk about focusing back on the Korean market afterwards, once you have your tour. You won’t lose your place if we refocus on the local market for a bit afterward and the progress everyone has made in English will remain even without her continued teaching. The company just won’t need her to be working with you that much afterwards.”
“Ah,” Cheol acknowledged noncommittally. “Right.”
“I was thinking of talking to all of the members tonight,” Jihoon continued. “To bring it up so no one is surprised when she goes. What do you think?”
“Not a bad idea,” Cheol admitted, considering the thought had hit him like a ton of bricks.
“Good,” Jihoon’s shoulders relaxed slightly. “Is now okay, do you think? Best to just get it out of the way, right?”
“Sure, I mean of course,” Cheol nodded, wondering desperately what Claire was thinking, hearing this from below.
“Shall we?” Jihoon lifted a hand in the direction of the door as he stood up.
“Yeah, yeah,” Cheol nodded again, motioning for the other man to lead the way. Jihoon did so, heading for the living room as a dozen eyes as large as saucers peered at them, looking for any sign that something off had been discovered. Nobody said a word as he gathered all of them together in the living room.
“I wanted to talk to all of you about Claire,” Jihoon began, once he had gotten everyone gathered and seated. Every eye in the room shot to Cheol, who was seated on the arm of the couch next to Jihoon looking at his hands in his lap.
“But...why...did she do something wrong?” Kitae scooted forward in his seat.
“No no, not that I know of,” Jihoon waved away the concerns the young man had voiced. “The company has been very happy with her and with the great strides you all have made with your language. But,” he paused to clear his throat. “After the tour she probably won’t be continuing her work with you. The company is talking about refocusing on the local market here and it will be a little while before there is a return to the focus on preparing for the international market. She just won’t be needed anymore.”
“But she has been so good at helping us prepare for all of our interviews,” Hyunwoo protested. “Even things is Korean. I’ve liked working with her. She’s….she makes working on all of that fun. It’s much better than when we used to prepare by ourselves.”
“If you need help with it, I am sure the company could find someone to help with that,” Jihoon shrugged. “But just that, only that isn’t enough to keep her on. Besides, I am sure she is getting tired of having to keep your hours. After this, don’t you think it would be nice for her to have an easier job? Keeping up with your schedule is exhausting, trust me.”
“She never makes it sound like we are a burden,” Minjun sniffed, feeling slightly put off at their manager’s description of what it was like to work with them.
“She is being kind,” Jihoon said flatly. “But I know that she also enjoys spending time with all of you as well. It isn’t all hardship, of course, but...well it’s probably for the best all around if she moves on after the tour.”
“It’s not like we will never see her again even if she isn’t working with us,” FX jumped in, ostensibly to reassure everyone but flicking a look to Cheol.
“Yeah,” Cheol plastered a fake, bright smile on his face. “We’ll still be friends after this. And I’m sure she’ll be happy to come around now and again to help if we ask.”
“Sure, of course,” Jihoon agreed. “If she can find the time with whatever new job she finds, I’m sure she will be happy to.”
“She’ll probably get busy, we’ll get busy,” Changho scoffed. “Then half of us won’t see her for months. It’s fine, that’s just how it goes.” He sounded bitter.
“You know she isn’t like that,” Wonjung insisted.
“As long as she stays here,” Seunghoon pointed out quietly.
“Why wouldn’t she?” Jaejin questioned. “She likes being here; she has learned Korean; she taught before teaching us.”
“Exactly,” Wonjung agreed. “She won’t just disappear.”
“No, she won’t,” Cheol reiterated. “Look, we...we don’t have to think about all this now, it isn’t like she is going somewhere tomorrow. Just...it needed...they didn’t want it to be a surprise.”
“Right, there haven’t even been any decisions about it,” Jihoon assured them. “And even after...She seems happy here. I’m sure she’ll be around even if you can’t see her much.”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t we be able to see her, though?” Kitae said, feeling the need to defend Claire’s character, and equally sure that she wouldn’t just disappear on them. “She’ll come if we ask.”
“If she can,” Changho hammered that point.
“I’m sure she wouldn’t want us sitting around sulking like this over it,” Wonjung said pointedly, giving them all a silent reminder that she was stuck somewhere hiding while they all talked like this. Though god knows where, he thought to himself, since they had spoken in the room alone before they came out here.
“Right, I’ll talk to her about it when I hear more from the company,” Jihoon promised. “I just wanted to make sure all of you knew.”
“Thanks,” Cheol gave him a reassuring lift of half of his lips and patted his shoulder.
“My wife is probably waiting for me to come home,” Jihoon stood up, using the truth to make an excuse to leave. He had been right that most of them seem to have not considered that her position was an impermanent one. At least now they had time to get used to the idea. Moving over to the front door, he started to slip on his shoes when he noticed something he hadn’t when he had first come in.
“Aren’t...aren’t these Claire’s shoes?” He asked, picking up the small sneakers that were in one of the small cubbies by the door. They were far too small for them to belong to anyone who lived here.
“Oh, she had to leave them here last time she visited,” Jaejin lied smoothly. “Her shoes got too wet on the way over so she had to borrow a pair of rainboots from FX and forgot them here when she left. We’ll bring them back to her on Monday.”
“Ah, right,” Jihoon nodded, slipping them back where he had found them. �
��Well be sure to get them back to her.” With a wave and a little glance back at the shoes, he left, heading to his car to go home.
The members watched out the window to see him drive off before they all rushed to the room to rescue her. Cheol was the first to head back in, dropping down to lie on his stomach and look under the bed. She was still there, trying to be as small as she could while staying away from any of the edges where someone could have caught a glimpse of her.
“You hid her under the bed?” Changho sputtered, getting down on his hands and knees to see her for himself.
“Where else could she have gone?” Cheol chafed at the question, feeling bad enough as it was. “애인[55] he’s gone, you can come out.”
“I can’t,” Her voice was barely audible behind her arms covering her head.
“Sure you can, just give me your hand,” He offered, scooting a little closer. She didn’t answer, just shook her still covered head. He thought he heard her sniffle but he wasn’t completely sure until he heard her draw in a shaky breath.
“Move,” Grumbled Hyunwoo as he moved Changho and Cheol aside to slide under the bed himself. He scooted himself over until he could curl an arm around her where she lay, using the other hand to stroke along her arm and side. Slowly, she dropped her arms, letting out a sob and melting into Hyunwoo’s warm hug. Cheol stayed on the floor beside the bed, just watching and feeling stupid for not going in after her first. Changho sat on the floor against the wall, happy to wait. Wonjung took a seat near the head of the bed with FX. The rest of them stood or sat in the hall. They waited quietly until her sniffling had faded away and the house was awkwardly silent.
“Claire-nim, you okay now?” Hyunwoo asked beside her.
“No,” She croaked. “But staying under the bed isn’t going to help anything.”
Hyunwoo scooched out little by little, followed by Claire. It looked to Cheol like the sleeve that had been against the floor under the bed had swept up more dust than he would have liked to admit had been left under his bed. He brushed her off as he pulled her into a hug.
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