CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
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I remembered when me and Jake first met.
I was walking home…and then this dog came running after me. And then…there he was…I saw a beautiful boy that was so happy and so gentle.
So far, we got along. But after the days in I-LAND, we became pretty serious with each other. Then…we debuted. Together. Like we promised. But ever since then…our relationship kind of strained. And it was all because of the peer pressure from Jay.
I’m sure whatever he went through wasn’t that bad. But he didn’t have to take it so far. I know he was still haunted by the three years of his training. He should have gotten the help he needed.
My eyelids were still closed. I was still passed out. But then…the vision of Jake again. And so were his overlapping voices as he yelled at me, told me gently and everything in between.
However…I felt a soft brush against my cheek. I tried to open my eyes…but they couldn’t open. I could move my entire body…but my eyes did not want to see what was right in front of me. I eventually opened my eyes…I was not in my dorm room. I was in the bunk room, where the ENHYPEN boys sleep.
What brings me here? Did Jake…?
I saw the young boy right next to me. Was seemingly asleep. But then…he fluttered his eyelids open. I then burst into tears silently. But Jake looked away. I was anguished.
“Is that all you’re going to do…? Sleep there and not comfort me?!”
Jake didn’t answer and had his eyes shut.
“Well then…I guess there is no reason to get back together now. You know, I can’t believe you’re doing so much damage. And not just for me…but for my girl groups as well! All I wanted was for us to debut together…in peace! We were in peace, alright. But why did it all go downhill from there?! Huh?! Care to even bother explaining why?! Jake, after all of this time, this is how we become? I don’t know if getting back together would help! I want something more than just that…I want us to be loveable and creative. Best friends again! However…everything comes in between us and we do nothing about it!”
But Jake didn’t move a muscle.
“JAKE SHIM, ALL I WANTED WAS TO DEBUT!! THAT’S ALL I WANTED! I JUST WANT TO FREAKING DEBUT!!! FORGET ABOUT BEING ON A STUPID SURVIVAL SERIES, FORGET ABOUT BEING ON A REALITY SHOW OR SPECIAL LIVE APPEARANCES! I JUST WANT TO COME TOGETHER AND BE WITH YOU!! THAT’S IT!! YOU AND ME, SITTING UNDER A TREE, RAPT IN EACH OTHER’S ARMS!! DO YOU HEAR ME?!”
With that, I bawled my eyes out. I cried so hard I could have lost my voice. I laid my head on top of Jake’s chest and cried even more. But then, his soft hand brushed my hair. I looked in his eyes. Even he was crying too.
“Oh, Jake!” I whimpered, cupping his cheek.
“Y/N…” he said, with a tearful smile, “I’m so sorry…I never mean for this to happen. You were right. I should have gathered myself together and listened to you. I had no reason to follow someone else’s actions.”
“You should have…and I really never miss anything I say.”
“You never do.”
I kissed his forehead and he pulled me into his arms. Not once did I say this. I really wanted to debut in peace. Jake then whispered something in my ear. But I’d rather not share it…not yet, in the least.
The rest of the night, he cuddled me in his arms, as if he was a teddy bear, protecting me from nightmares (in which, those rarely happen to me). But he kept waking up a few times. Friday was the Melon Music Awards. One of the biggest award shows of the year. I knew we couldn’t miss it. But I think Jake was contemplating something.
“I just wanted us to get along better…hold each other right. Comfort each other well.” he whispered.
“And I for myself,” I replied, “When I first applied as a trainee, I was only thirteen. And now…fast-forwarding about four years later, I’m a world famous cover artist. It was a tough one. But at least I found a few friends that were willing to stick together with me.”
“And me,” said Jake, “I helped too.”
“I know…” I said, “But I mean in my experience.”
The next morning, Jake had to take Layla for a walk. I thought maybe I would take him out for breakfast. We walked past BTS’s usual restaurant. The sign said they were open for breakfast.
“You’ve eaten here before, correct?” Jake asked.
“Yup.”
But since we had to practise for our show, we picked up breakfast. My girl groups were hard at work and so were the boys. So far everything was going right. But were they really going to get better?
It was while we were in BTS’s practise room again. We were all thinking about our big finale to conclude the award show.
“I know!” said Juliet, “Y/N should wear a beautiful fairy-like gown. Flowy enough to twirl like a ballerina in Swan Lake.”
“And it would be strapless…well…maybe one strap. But it has to have flowers on it!”
“And maybe a connectable shawl.” said Lara.
“I like it so far…” I said, “But, where would I find a dress like that?”
“I know someone.” said Leila, smirking.
We went to a formal apparel shop. And they had the dress that we were thinking of. And they had it in my size! Only…the length was quite long.
The shopkeeper noticed.
“I’ll have it alternated just for you. Anyone else?”
The rest of us had some amazing finds as we were shopping for me. It was going to be a big night. But now came the big question. How were we going to conclude the awards show? We couldn’t wear anything formal just yet.
Suddenly…I had an idea.
“We’ll surprise ENHYPEN.” I said, over dinner.
“But how would we do that?” asked Holly.
“Remember that song we were backup dancers to? The one in I-LAND?”
“The Signal Song?” asked Maeve.
“Yeah…that one.”
The looked at each other, thinking about the opportunity that I was offering.
“Let’s do it!” said Keira, “And luckily, I still have our I-LAND outfits…and the other I-LANDers’ phone numbers.”
Soon we got straight to work and rehearsed every single detail about the song and dance. Luckily, the boys from the new group &TEAM, were willing to help us out. So were TXT and BTS. And once we were finished, we had to switch back into our formal wear, since we were wearing it for the red carpet.
Once we rehearsed enough times, we called it a day. My sub-unti found me lying down on top of my bed; I was weirdly exhausted.
“So,” said Hinata, “You’re back with the Aussie boy, I suppose.”
“Yup,” I said, “But…I haven’t announced it to the public yet. I still need to ready myself for that. And I have to apologize to Jake for the break up.”
“Didn’t you already?” asked Jax.
“I did…but…sometimes one is not enough.”
“But…” said Livia, “We’re the ones to apologize as well. We shouldn’t have assumed that it was Jake. Now that my own bias Jay has done every single thing to ruin our power…I’m not sure if I could trust him.”
“Not sure either,” I said, “But hey…at least we figured out his reasons. I’m sure he’ll be back to normal by tomorrow.”
And he was. He finally had the courage to speak with Mr. Bang about his actions.
It was in his office. Jay had walked in with a heavy heard.
“Glad to see you,” said Mr. Bang.
But Jay couldn’t say anything. He wanted to. But he couldn’t find the words. Maybe it was nerves. Or maybe it was the fact that he regretted his actions for so long he had to speak up.
“PD-nim…” he said, “I…I…”
“You…what?” asked Mr. Bang.
“I’m sorry…” Jay sighed, “I don’t know what came over me…but I’m sorry for it.”
“Go on…”
Jay sighed again and shook his head.
“I was humiliated. I was in JYP for the first two years. And then, the girls from TWICE humiliated me for having graceful skills instead of the typical boy dances that most practice. And so, I was eliminated for good. But once I was scouted by BigHit, I thought that everything would change for the better. But then, the boys from I-LAND wouldn’t give me a better part to sing in. I remember that it angered me so much I even yelled at them. But when I heard Y/N sticking up for me, I thought she was one of the coolest people out there. However, she began hanging out with Jake a lot. Even that upsetted me.”
Jay began to burst into tears.
“And then…once we debuted…I wanted them to break up so bad. God, I was so evil towards them, I couldn’t stop myself. The pain was so bad, I didn’t know how to deal with it. And now, here I am…reflecting on what I’ve done. So…please…PD-nim…please, forgive me.”
Mr. Bang was silent for a moment.
“I should have had you kicked out of the group before, because your actions were incredibly terrible and you showed poor character in front of everyone…however…now that you opened up your reason…I forgive you. But it better not happen again. If you ever feel suddenly angry or upset, at least find a friend, or step outside to clear your mind. Y/N finds that going for a jog helps a lot, as well as venting out to someone.”
Jay seemed to smile after that. But there was one more thing we had for him and ENHYPEN. We were going to bring home I-LAND and our dreams that we all ran for.
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[AUTHOR's NOTE]
Before I publish the finale of this story, I want to reflect on what had went on when I came to making it.
I was watching a CNA Insider video that featured a Japanese trainee that was training to become a K-Pop idol. But then, after attending lectures, dance practices, and studying Korean, she didn't make it. That was my original idea. The Y/N character was not supposed to debut, but Jake was. But after watching I-LAND for the very first time, I thought that maybe I should make this an I-LAND story.
And then, a year later, this is where we are now. I'm here and I've nearly completed this story. To everyone that is reading this...thank you...thank you for taking the time to read this story, thank you for voting some parts and leaving a thoughtful comment. I just don't know what I would do without your support. Thank you, once again!