Dating an Idol

Twenty-Eight: THE CALLING

"Good job, everyone!" I said and everyone started clapping with me.

"See you again tomorrow, kids."

"Thank you, Teacher Yuri! See you again tomorrow!" everyone said in chorus.

The kids then picked up their bags and ran towards the door where their parents and guardians waited to fetch them. My heart felt warm watching how happy they were.

"Teacher Yuri." Someone called me from my back.

I turned around and saw Sarah. She has her bag on her pack like she's also ready to leave.

"Hey, Sarah. Are your parents not here yet?" I asked her.

"My dad's here. He's in his car outside waiting for me."

"That's good."

"But there's something I wanna tell you first before I go home."

"Oh. What is it?"

"I just wanna thank you for teaching here. I don't feel sad anymore now that you're here."

My heart melted by what she said. I smiled at her and reached out for her head to ruffle her hair.

"Thanks for being a good student, too. I am happy to be able to teach you."

"Will you be teaching here until I become a trainee?"

Her question caught me off guard. I couldn't answer her right away.

"I dreamed of becoming an idol, that's why we came back here to Korea. I hope you stay here until I'm good enough to be a trainee," she said.

And suddenly, I saw myself in her. I saw the younger version of myself whose dream is to perform on stage in front of hundreds, or even thousands, of people. I suddenly felt like I was about to cry.

I swallowed hard to get rid of the imaginary lump on my throat. "Y-yeah, yeah. Of course. I'll be here, don't worry."

I felt bad for lying but I just couldn't break her heart right now.

To my surprise, she hugged me before she ran away. It left me astounded.

I saw Nari with my peripheral vision; it looked like she was watching us from where she stood. I turned to her. She smiled at me before she walked towards me.

Nari's a good dancer and singer. I saw her teach her class earlier. She said she's in her late-twenties but she looked younger than that.

"So? How was your first day here?" she asked when she reached my side.

"Fulfilling," I said. "I didn't know teaching kids can give you this kind of gratification."

"I know, right?" Nari said, smiling. "It seems like teaching kids is your calling. You're not just a good performer, Yuri. You are good with kids, too. You can easily connect with them. Plus, they become so comfortable with you in such a short time."

I just smiled at the compliment.

"It seems like you're closer with Sarah, too, which is a good thing," Nari added. "She was very aloof when she started attending classes here last week. She would stay in a corner alone. I wanted to reach out to her but my English is not really that good so it was very hard to communicate with her. I'm so glad that you are here now."

"I'm glad that you are letting me teach here, too."

There was a brief silence between us. It seemed like Nari's contemplating something.

"I've seen those viral photos, by the way," she said after a short while.

That made me turn to her.

"That's why you looked rather familiar when I first saw you. I didn't recognize you right away though," she continued.

"Please don't kick me out. I promise I'll be lowkey. I don't think the kids recognized me anyway," I said.

I am starting to get worried, I admit. I needed this job.

She chuckled. "Who says I am kicking you out? Of course not. Why would I do that?"

I heaved a sigh of relief. I really thought she would kick me out of the studio because I got involved in a dating scandal.

"I'm just surprised that I got to hire Skye's cousin," she said.

I looked at her. I wanted to correct her. But I just chose to let it slide. I didn't want to give more details about my relationship with Skye.

"Did you know that I used to be a trainee, as well?" Nari said.

"Oh, really? What happened?" I asked.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I guess it's not meant for me. I wasn't lucky enough to debut. But I'm happy with how my life turned out. It's just as fulfilling. Minus the fame, of course."

"But with fame comes great responsibility," I said.

"Yeah, you're right. You must've learned about that the hard way, being involved in a dating scandal with an idol yourself."

I just smiled.

"I'm really glad that you're here now, Yuri. I hope we stay together for a very long time," she said.

She was sincere; I could see it in her eyes. And somehow I felt guilty as I do not know if I can still continue teaching here once I started training again.

I went home to change clothes. I was meeting Mael tonight.

We have agreed to meet in a coffee shop somewhere.

Mael was at our meeting first before me. He saw me the moment I stepped inside the café. I watched as his face broke into a huge smile upon seeing me.

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting," I said as I occupied the chair across from him.

"What's with that outfit, though. I almost didn't recognize you," he said.

I shrugged off my shoulders. "Looks like I'll be wearing loose hoodies for a while."

"Will you be okay here?" he asked.

"Yeah, I guess so," I said. "The netizens must've forgotten about me now. It's not that I'm that relevant anyway."

"Okay, cool," he said. "What do you want?"

"I'm good with Americano."

"Very Korean."

"I am Korean."

"Who loves adobo?"

"Because I'm Pinoy, too."

We laughed in chorus.

"Okay, I'll get you an Americano." He stood up to go to the counter.

When he came back, he got two cups of Caffè Americano and a plate of Strawberry Macaroons. My eyes grew wide the moment I saw it.

"Wow! That looks delicious." I couldn't contain my excitement.

"I knew you would love this," he said as he laid the tray on the table. "Is there anything else you want to have?"

"No, I'm good with this." I picked up one of the macaroons and took a big bite from it.

It tasted like heaven. My sweet tooth was happy.

We were enjoying our coffee when one teenager approached our table.

"Aren't you that trainee from last night's show?" she asked Mael.

Surprised, Mael muttered. "N-no, that wasn't me. You got the wrong person."

"No, it was you! It was really you! You are among my top picks among the participants so there's no way I wouldn't recognize you!" the girl insisted.

Her friends started to approach our table, too.

"What's the matter?" one of her friends asked.

"Have you seen the pilot episode of that idol survival reality show last night?" replied the girl who first approached us. "Isn't he that trainee who made it to all the judges' favorite picks except Skye's?"

All the girls looked at Mael. He tried to cover his face with his hand but to no avail. They all still recognized him.

They all agreed that it was him.

"I'm sorry but I have no idea who you are talking about," Mael said as he stood up, grabbed my hand, and pulled me out of my seat.

And before I knew it, he was already dragging me out of the coffee shop. To our surprise, those girls followed us so we started running away from them. And to my horror, they started running after us, too!

Hand in hand, Mael and I ran into the busy streets. Without bothering to look back, we ran as fast as we could while laughing.

When we got tired, we decided to hide in the alleys. We were both panting and laughing at the same time.

"I think we lost them," Mael said.

"Ohmygod, that was crazy. Looks like you're pretty popular now, too," I told him, still laughing.

"Who would've thought that someone will recognize me? That's surprising." He looked amused as well.

"That only goes to show that you made a strong impression last night. You are everyone's favorite pick."

"Well, except for Skye," he said, grinning.

"Yeah, I'm so sorry about that."

"Why would you say sorry about that? It only shows that I need to work harder to impress Skye." He looked sincere. "He must be looking for something else in a participant. Something which he couldn't find in me."

"About Skye, I'm sorry if I haven't told you about him," I started. "I know you got mad ---"

"I wasn't mad at you," he said, cutting me in mid-sentence. "I was just... you know... hurt a little since you never trust me enough to share that secret of yours. But that's all in the past. I don't feel that way anymore."

"Still, I'm so sorry for making you feel that way. I wasn't really planning to tell anyone about my relationship with Skye. Not even Gianna. I mean, I didn't feel the need to tell anyone about it. But Gianna found it out by accident. So I had no choice but to tell her everything."

"I understand, don't worry."

"But when Gianna learned about Skye, I was planning to tell you about it, too. Because somehow I felt guilty that she knew and you didn't. I was actually planning to tell you once we get back from Busan but that dating scandal happened."

"Skye and I were childhood friends, we basically grew up together," I continued. "We used to live under the same roof, that's how we got so close. But no, we're not cousins. That wasn't true."

"Everything makes sense now," Mael said. "How he casually approached you after the auditions, how you look at each other, and how he ended up in the Jumpin' Beans."

"I'm sorry."

"Stop saying sorry. You don't owe me anything."

"But I lied to you."

"You had your reasons."

"I've got another confession to make," I said.

He looked at me, worried.

"I am actually staying at his place right now."

He looked surprised.

"No, no, don't get me wrong. I am not staying with him. The place is empty since he was staying at the dorm with the members," I said.

"Yeah, yeah. Of course." He seemed to realize it now, too.

"We're now good, aren't we?" I asked him.

"Of course, we will always be good." He ruffled my hair.

He insisted on taking me home. I refused, of course. But he was insistent.

"I couldn't invite you in, though," I said.

"That would be okay. I just want to bring you home safely."

We went to the condo together. I thought he'll be okay seeing me enter the building. I was wrong. He insisted on bringing me to the door at least.

I punched in the door passcode as he waited. I heard the door unlocked but I didn't enter right away.

I turned to Mael. "I'm sorry but you need to go now."

"No, you go in first. I'll leave as soon as you get inside," he said.

"Be careful on your way home."

"I will, thank you."

"And make sure to wear something baggy to hide your face the next time you go out. You're getting popular now, too."

He chuckled.

"Go!" He said, smiling while pointing at the door.

"Bye," I said before I pulled the door open.

But to my surprise, I saw Skye standing right behind the door. His arms were crossed across his chest.

It was as if he was already expecting us. He must have heard me punch in the passcode and went to check on the screen.

He was basically glaring at us.