Hae-Yeon

 
Mi-Seul hands me the letter from Jake, and I take it from her eagerly, ripping open the cover and pulling out the letter from the inside. I have always looked forward to receiving his letters with a lot of excitement, but it is even more special now because of these little challenges that are going on.

Jake has been giving me reasons to look forward to each day with a bright smile, but if I think about it clearly, the real reason that I am excited about this whole challenge thing is that it concerns me, and I’m indirectly deriving my happiness from myself. Even though he is the one who initiated this challenge, he has not made me wholly dependent on him to feel happy, and I’m so thankful that I didn’t allow my mind to let him do that to me either.

 
Dear Sarang,

The photograph was brilliant, and I loved it. Now since you already did something that you love to do, today, let’s get you to do something you’re not so fond of doing.

And, I should thank you for already giving me a hint of what you’re not too confident about doing. You know it too, don’t you? That’s right. You have to sing for an audience.

Wait!

Don’t panic already, and don’t think that I’m pushing it too far. But, always being inside your comfort zone will not promote growth of any kind. You need to step up and step out of your comfortable shell and just experience everything. Life is too short not to be silly and crazy, isn’t it? The amount of happiness, pride, confidence, satisfaction, and sense of achievement that you would gain from breaking out of your shell would be unmatched by any other feeling.

Call me right away, and I’ll tell you what to do today. Okay?

With all my heart,
Jake.

 
My face pales the moment I read his letter, but he surely has his way with words. At least with me. Shooting a tense glance at Mi-Seul, I pick up my phone and sit down on the couch in the reception area of the studio. I place a call to his phone while swallowing thickly to moisten my throat which has suddenly gone as dry as the Sahara Desert.
 

Jungkook

 
“Jake, there’s no way that I can do this,” Sarang declares, whining.

I press the phone to my ear and let out a soft laugh as I snuggle my daughter closer while gently rocking back and forth in my rocking chair.

“Why is that so? Last time you picked to do something, and you did it immediately. This time, I picked one for you, and you’re already hesitating. That’s so unfair…” I whine right back, and it forces a heavy exhale from her.

The challenge that I picked for her this time is to sing in front of an audience. It could be an audience of any size, and that really doesn’t matter, but it shouldn’t comprise the people she already knows and feels comfortable with.

This challenge is to help her know that she can do whatever she pleases to do without caring about anyone else, and still feel good about it. I do have a place for her in mind, but the first step before letting her know that is to actually get her to accept this challenge.

“I- I don’t know,” Sarang breathes out, “I’ve never sung anything in front of anyone. Does the shower head count as an audience?” Her question makes me laugh.

“No.” I manage to answer her seriously.

“No?”

“No. Non-living things don’t count. You must sing in front of people,” I inform her patiently.

“The moment I start singing, it is going to be empty chairs. Those are still non-living things only,” her voice dips low, sounding feeble and unconfident.

“Hey, Sarang,” I adjust a little in my seat and continue talking to her, “whatever we do, whether it is singing or photography or anything for that matter, always think that no one knows it better than you. Of course, there will always be people who know the craft better than you do, but they don’t know exactly what you have prepared. And there will be people who will judge you no matter what you do. But you just have to learn to ignore everything and everyone. So, take it head on and face it confidently,” I end my little motivational speech in one stretch.

“I suck at singing,” she states meekly.

“I do too at most times. I’m still working on my voice and the way I use it. It’s just sound engineering and advanced technology that make me sound great all the time. It doesn’t matter, just do it, and I’m sure you’ll be way better at it than you think you would be. There’s a beautiful timbre in your voice and a subtle rawness too, which is a very rare and deadly combination. Give it a try. Please?” My voice drops to a whisper when I sense Haewon squirming in my arms and vigorously sucking her pacifier soon after.

“Alright,” Sarang sighs. “How do I gather an audience though?”

“You don’t have to. I know a place you could try. It’s right behind the alleyway next to Daiso. There’s a small nightclub outside where busking happens every Wednesday night,” I spill the information that I’ve been wanting to tell her from the start of this conversation. 

“Next to Daiso? Which one?”

“Yeah. The one which is in your locality.”

“How come I never knew about this?” She quizzes me, sounding quite surprised.

“You weren’t interested, and you didn’t have the need to find it out all these days, but now you know,” my lips stretch into a smile before I slightly dip my neck and press a kiss to little Haewon’s face.

“That’s true. Wait, today is a Wednesday, so does that mean I have to sing tonight?” Sarang shrieks in surprise, and I chuckle, but before I can answer her verbally, she concludes, “You planned it, didn’t you?”

“Maybe I did?”

“Oh God. I’m starting to get nervous now. How do I do this?” She worriedly asks me.

“Hey, just relax and take deep breaths. I’m sure you’ll do well. Don’t forget to record your performance and share it with me,” I relay my remaining instructions to her softly.

“Are the remaining challenges going to be like this? I might drop out if you ask me to dance in public or something,” she says in all seriousness, and I fight a giggle as I keep rocking in my chair.

“Thank you for giving me ideas. I’ll make sure to include that one as well,” my reply earns a soft gasp from her.

“You’re evil… aren’t you?”

“Why don’t you find that out?” I laugh softly, and Sarang chuckles too. 

“Okay,” she blows a long breath, “I’ll try to do this without wrecking my nerves today,” her voice lowers when she says that.

“Good luck, Sarang. You’ll do great, and don’t forget the recording.” I remind her once again, and soon we end the call.

☆°•°☆

“Why do you want to go alone?” Taehyung asks me worriedly. “It isn’t going to be risky or anything, but the weather hasn’t been great, and it’s also a place you’re unfamiliar with. How will you be able to move around comfortably?” He lines up his worries and concerns.

“Taehyung, I feel bad for always depending on you or the driver for my logistics. I do understand that I need you guys to some extent in a place where I haven’t been before. But I want to try and become a little more independent,” I answer him in a deep and serious tone, making him sigh loudly.

“Jongno-gu is a crowded locality. People may not be careful while moving around. What if someone knocks you down or something by mistake?” He worries once again.

“I’ll take care. I’ll be really careful. The driver would be in the car anyway, just in case there’s an emergency or something,” I assure him, not earning his complete approval, yet I don’t intend to take him along with me today.

“Jungkookie,” Taehyung exhales, moving his chair closer to mine, “tell me the real reason why you want to go alone today. I know you’re lying, so don’t even try anymore,” his tone is firm and sure.

I only let out a long breath and rise from my seat, focusing in his direction. “Taehyung, I want to be there when Sarang sings. I want to hear her singing. But I don’t want you to see her because we’re all still anonymous, and I don’t want us to lose this anonymity for any reason. At least not without her knowing. It’s a small world, and there’s a chance you might see her or have already seen her somewhere, but if you don’t know what she looks like, you might never know or recognize her. And that’s good,” I give him my answer, truthfully this time.

He sighs again. “Seriously? But fine, whatever. Go on.” Taehyung steps aside without any further protest, and I hear him moving his chair out of the way as well.

“Thank you, buddy. Go back to Mi-Seul. She must be waiting for you,” I chuckle lightly as I whip out my cane and guide myself out of the room.

My driver drops me off at the venue, and I instruct him to park the car discreetly and wait in a corner while I get done witnessing her performance. He helps me to the busking spot, and I get seated at the wall of the circular pool that has a water fountain at the center. My driver assured me that it was located in the direct line of view of the spot where the buskers would be performing.

I’m here earlier than required, hoping that Sarang will show up on time and start singing. From the low bustle of voices around me, I’m able to decipher that there is a crowd of probably around ten people or so who are moving around, and a few others who are seated at the wall of the pool, just like me. I’m waiting with my phone in my hand for Sarang to start performing, ready to record her voice the moment she begins singing. 

In a little while, a young male starts singing a French song, which I have already heard once. It is quite popular among buskers, and he nails the notes like a professional. Without my control, I clap my hands aloud and cheer for him when he ends his performance.

There’s a bit of shuffling and low voices that float around in the air until the next performer gets ready to sing. A female voice that quite literally has all my thoughts tied to its owner sounds on the mic, and it makes me right my posture and stiffen in my seat. The inkling of doubt that was mushrooming in a corner of my mind that it could possibly be someone else, gets crushed when the woman clears her throat and introduces herself as Sarang. She then taps the mic lightly and prepares to sing while my heart races in anticipation and thrill.

Silently, I instruct my phone to start the voice recorder, and it obeys, emitting a little beep sound.

“Good luck, Sarang,” I whisper, leaning towards my phone.

Sarang’s breaths are amplified by the mic, which causes my skin to bristle, after which she begins singing an old English love song from a famous movie in a feeble voice, probably standing far from the mic. But a few seconds into it, her voice grows more audible and closer to the mic. Her words are dotted with nervousness, and her voice is a little shaky at the start, but as the moments pass by and as the audience plunges into complete silence, her inexperience does not show through any more. Her voice stabilizes, and it makes my heart swell with pride.

The same feeling reflects in her voice as her singing grows more soulful and confident, and the soothing nature of her voice pulls at the strings of my heart in ways I cannot explain with words. It would be safe to say that her voice and her persona in general exude a kind of intense gravity that attracts me heavily, and I’m loving it.

I lose track of how long the song is, but it definitely seems to have ended too soon, and it leaves me longing to hear more of her voice. A round of applause follows her performance, and I join in too, feeling proud of her for stepping up and doing something which she initially felt she wouldn’t be able to do.

A couple more performers sing one after the other, and I sit by listening to them. I don’t bother to voice record any of their performances, but I mentally conclude that this would indeed be a great place to hunt for some amazing singing talent because the applicants for most of the auditions aren’t half as talented as the singers who just performed here today. And that includes Sarang.

I have no idea how many minutes passed in the process, but I’m pretty sure it is dinner time now because my stomach begins to rumble with hunger, and I decide to leave the place and head back home. Sarang may have left right away, and she wouldn’t have had the slightest clue that I was here, witnessing her performance in person. But the thought of surprising her with that information tonight thrills me. And I will also back my stand with the proof—the voice recording of her performance. This time around, she doesn’t have to give me any proof for completing her challenge. I have already done it for her.

Extending my cane in front of me, I slowly tap my way to a nearby wall, and then I retrieve my phone to call my driver. But just as I’m about to place a call, I hear a voice.

“Jungkook-ssi?”

It’s a female voice, and it sounds a little familiar, but I’m unable to identify who it is. The only thing I know is that it is just my mind which is playing tricks by making every female voice sound like Sarang’s.

“Hi,” I turn my head in the direction of the voice and send a small smile. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I remember you,” I add with an apologetic grin and a small bow of my head.

“Hi, that’s okay. I’m Hae-Yeon, Taehyung’s friend, and the photographer who clicked pictures of you and your baby Haewon,” she says, taking a step closer to me.

“Ahh, yes, I remember you. It’s good to meet you again,” I bow and smile again.

“Are you waiting for someone? Is Taehyung here?” She asks me.

“He’s not here, and I was just passing by. I’ll get going now,” I speak in a hurry before she can hold my hand or something because I’m already getting flashbacks about how my body reacted so weirdly the last time she innocently touched me.

No, I’m not letting that happen again.

“Oh, okay. I was passing by too. Shall I walk you across the road?” Her question makes me panic a little.

“No, thank you. I’ll manage on my own,” even though it wasn’t intended, I kind of snapped back with my reply, and I may have sounded a little rude when I said that. But that’s the last of my concerns right now.

She would probably call Taehyung and tell him that I’m a snob, but that’s fine. I’m just in defense mode, trying not to put myself in another embarrassing situation that involves her, and I don’t think I’d be able to explain that to her just to make myself seem like a nice guy.

Hae-Yeon then says goodbye and walks away, and I make sure to walk in the opposite direction while puffing out a breath of relief and placing a call to my driver’s phone.
 

Who do you think will reveal themselves first?
🤔

Published on : 09/16/2023