TRIP.
"Hello.." the person on the other end of the phone called out once again a bit of worry evident in the voice but all that responded was Sung-hoon's heavy breathing as he looked at the phone his eyes wide.
"Is everything okay?" The person asked as they shuffled on the other side getting uneasy with the silence.
Sung-hoon stared at the phone paralyzed as he tried to think of anything to say but his mind was blank. He held in his breath thinking maybe the person would get tired and cut off the phone call.
"If you don't answer I am coming over right now!" The person threatened as his voice became even more worried.
"No!" Sunghoon shouted jolting from his position he stood up from the floor while shouting. "No don't come!"
"Okay...okay..." Jae-wook said backing back up on his seat but, still a bit concerned. However, he could not argue with Sung-hoon being so defensive. Besides, what excuse would he use to go see him especially at night just because they had slept together and had a bit of tension between them did that change anything about how they interacted as per their agreement. Moreover, he thought he probably called him by mistake because he had never called him before. They mostly met by coincidence which seamed to happening quite a lot lately.
"Is everything okay?" Jae-wook asked for the third time. Hearing those words coming from jae-wook seamed foreign to Sung-hoon.
"Yes I just...." He raked his brain trying to look for an excuse. " I wanted to call Se-hee but I guess I dialed the wrong number." He said with a nervous chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head.
Jae-wook felt a little hurt by his confession. He already knew or had an inkling that that may be the case but a small part of him had hoped he had just called him willingly. That he wanted to talk to him.
Jae-wook had not been well lately his parents were giving him a headache and his schedule was getting more exhausting by the day. When he saw the call he had thought that he wanted to talk to him. He had thought of Sung-hoon calling him previously. He had even yearned for it but he had dismissed the thoughts. Seeing his call made his heart beat and excitement rush through his body.
"Oh!" He said with a disappointed sigh.
Sung-hoon noticed it. He had been around too many people in his life and his jobs sometimes depended on his attentiveness so he caught it fast.
"Is everything okay?" Despite his own problem that was lurking in his mind he put that aside and asked him if he was okay.
He was selfless like that. Mae-rin had told him before that he should also try to open up more and be concerned about himself instead once in a while instead of everyone around him.
"Just the schedule is tiring." He answered seating back on his chair as he let his head fall back on the arm chair. He felt relief for some reason just talking to Sung-hoon, like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He hardly ever admitted when he was tired even to his manager or members.
"I don't know how to help with that. Sorry." Sung-hoon said with a chuckle as he sat down on the couch his thoughts slowly drifting away from the messages.
"I heard you are getting an award congratulations. " Jae-wook said his voice a bit husky.
"Thank you." Sung-hoon said with a smile. A lot of people had congratulated him but hearing it from Sung-hoon felt different.
A thought suddenly passed through Jae-wook's mind as he sat up excitement on his face.
"Are you still free the next couple of days."
Sung-hoon's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at his question but he still answered nonetheless.
"Not until next week for the award show."
"That's great!" Jae-wook suddenly squealed in excitement taking Sung-hoon by surprise.
Jae-wook noticing his tone change he quickly cleared his voice.
"What do you have in mind?" Sensing that Jae-wook was probably embarrassed he asked but a smile laced his lips as he waited for Jae-wook's reply.
"I am going to England tomorrow for a shoot would you like to come with me?" Jae-wook asked carefully his heart was slightly racing thinking that Sung-hoon would probably reject his proposal with how long he call stayed in silence.
"How long?" Sung-hoon finally asked.
"Three days." Jae-wook responded holding on his breath as he waited.
"Sure why not...but I probably won't get tickets at ...."
"You don't have to worry about it. " Jae-wook cut him short. The eagerness in his voice clearly evident.
"Okay then done...see you tomorrow at..."
"Noon." He replied a smile beaming on his lips.
"Okay." Sung-hoon said before cutting the call.
Jae-wook looked at the phone satisfied with the outcome. He hadn't planned on inviting him but he had sensed he was uneasy but he didn't want to pry too much so he thought of asking him to travel with him. If he asked why he did he would state it was a simply a gift for his first award. But unbeknownst to him his heart was slowly changing. His heart beat was slowly beating for another.
Sung-hoon looked at the phone a grin on his face as he placed the phone down. He let his head rest on the couch as he breathed.
He was still uneasy with the messages so he took his phone and called se-hee making sure it was the right phone number.
Se-hee was taking a relaxing bath when he called. Soaking in her tab of warm water filled with soap bombs, with wine and snacks laid out for her. She had on a face mask and was listening to some relaxing music. Her voice was in a dreamy state which made Sung-hoon feel guilty at the thought of even trying to involve her.
She had done so much for him in the past few months and he didn't know how to repay her kindness. To burden her once again with an issue she had delt with previously left a sour taste in his mouth.
He ended up telling her he was just checking in on her and ended the call with a goodnight.
Since he didn't drink any alcohol, he ended up drinking some water to relax and went up to his room.
□♤□
The next day Sung-hoon had finished packing his bag and thrown it near the entrance when he heard the car honk. He quickly drunk the water from the bottle and placed it on the counter before rushing towards the door. He quickly grabbed his bag and went to the gate.
Manager Kim was waiting for him as he was looking through a tablet, something he noticed he did often unlike Alice. A chuckle left his lips at the difference but he quickly masked it when manager Kim looked at him.
"Hello" Manager Kim greated him as he closed the tablet. Just like always he was dressed in his black suit even in the hot weather. Unlike Sung-hoon who was dressed in his usual baggy clothes. A light pair of baggy grey pants with sport shoes, some headphones hanging on his neck and a large baggy blue shirt finished off with his favourite to go sling bag. He was holding his hoodie on one side and a slightly larger bag on his other hand.Alice had told him plenty of times to change his wardrobe but he had insisted on his style he felt it suited every weather as compared to what she had bought him. He had had to go for shopping to re-do half the wardrobe and most of the things she got for him were lying deserted gathering dust.
Sung-hoon greeted him back as he walked towards the back of the minivan. He looked inside looking for something or maybe someone but didn't find anyone inside. Sensing Sung-hoon's confusion manager Kim spoke up.
"Jae-wook said he would meet you at the airport. " she informed him as he took his bag while ushering him to enter the car.
Sung-hoon nodded his head and got into the cafe and seating on one of the seats. Manager Kim got in after him and soon they were driving towards the airport.
He got a message from Alice informing her that he had gotten his text. He had already told her the previous night that he would be travelling for about three days. She must have been asleep because she didn't respond or pester him about where he was going and with whom.
And when she did reply it was only a short answer which got him wondering if there was anything wrong but he quickly dismissed it as him over thinking.
He would take this trip and try to relax. Maybe when the stalker would see he wasn't responding or wasn't at home they would stop contacting him. Besides he had never been to England or any other place for that matter, and the thought of stepping foot there made him excited washing away his worry.
Despite the traffic they got there in record time. They stopped at the entrance. There were a large number of people waiting outside and inside some carrying posters written Raiven on them and some holding large cameras probably for the fansites. A man dressed in black came towards them he seemed to recognise manager Kim as he quickly took the bags from the trunk and loaded them on a luggage trolley.
Manager Kim had given Sung-hoon a hat previously and Sung-hoon had the hood over the hat covering his face. He didn't really see it as necessary though considering the people gathered at the airport weren't his fans nor did he think he was famous enough to warrant their attention.
The man with the language helped them push their language in first.
"I thought you said we would meet him at the airport."
"Something must be holding him up." Manager Kim said as he dialed the assistants number. After a few ring she finally picked up.
"We are on our way Jae-wook says you should go in first." The assistant informed him.
Manager Kim agreed without any questions and hung up the phone. He had tried previously to ask what Jae-wook's thought process was when he did things but he found him insufferable and hard to read so he just gave up.
"Let's go in first." He said holding him by his waist slightly indicating they should move forward.
Sung-hoon walked alongside him as they stopped at a crossing waiting for a van and a car to pass by.
"Isn't that manager Kim?" One of the fans asked getting the attention of those around them. Their necks craned in their direction looking at the mysterious figure with manager Kim.
Some of the fans on noticing manager Kim started flashing their cameras in their direction.
Due to their almost similar figures and height some of the fans mistook him for being Jae-wook.
Sung-hoon looked down even further blocking the camera flashes as they walked towards the airport entrance.
Suddenly a group of fans crowded around them. Sung-hoon quickly took a step back feeling uncomfortable by how close they were getting. Manager Kim noticed this and quickly got in front of him.
"Everyone please calm down Raiven has still not arrived please!" He said looking at Sung-hoon concerned.
He didn't know he would feel so out of breath probably because it was the first time such a large number of people had been so close to him. His heart beating so fast. He held his chest trying to get his emotions in check when he felt a hand hold his arm pulling him further into the airport. He didn't even hear Manager Kim's words as he parted the fans all he could hear was faint ringing in his ears. His palms were sweating with nervousness.
"Where is Raiven then?" One of the fans asked loudly, prompting murmurs around them which to Sung-hoon felt like a swam of bees buzzing around them.
Suddenly a hand pulled his hood down exposing his face. He looked up to see a large crowd looking at him.
He felt like holes being drilled in his skin under their stares.