To Kiss An Idol

“Woah! What is this? What is happening? Yeah, he praised me, so what? Jae too praised me, that meant nothing. Oh, God! Why do I keep thinking about him? I too told him about what to buy, it really meant nothing. I was just trying to help him. Maybe he was doing the same. Oh, why am I overthinking this?” she shouted and placed the dress back in the bag and threw the bag away from herself.

“Okay, stop thinking about him, he helped you just like he helped Jae-Geun. I just hope that everyone would like their gifts,” she wished.

After grabbing all the bags that she just sorted she hung them on the hooks next to the door. Her eyes fell on her purse, and she gasped. “Oh, NK’s shirt! How did I forget about this?” she hit on her head. It was the one thing she had to do that she engraved in her mind. She had to wash his shirt before she would return it.

She took out the shirt from her purse and grabbed the bag with her clothes in it. She dumped every piece of clothing inside the washing machine and threw some washing liquid inside too.

“What to do next? Should I work a little? First, let’s take some food out of the fridge. Oh! How many days I will have to keep eating that? I will be 100 kgs after I finish the food. Why did they have to do so much for me?” wondered Nivritti.

She went into the kitchen and opened the fridge. She looked around and selected the food items she wanted to eat for dinner. She took out the containers and placed them on the kitchen slab. She saw something from the corners of her eyes, something white. She turned around and saw Jae-Geun’s handkerchief lying on the kitchen floor.

“Oh shit! What is this doing here?” Her mind flashed back to the moment he held her in his arms. “Why the hell do such stupid things happen to me? Ohh... men should stop grabbing me. This is getting annoying,” she groaned. She picked up the handkerchief, walked up to the washing machine, and chucked it inside the machine.

While her clothes were getting washed and her food was thawing out on the slab, she decided to work a little. She went into her bedroom and brought her laptop to the living room. Placing her foot on the table, she sat comfortably on the couch and placed the laptop on her legs.

.....

Her mind was buzzing with ASD, ASD and instead of opening the Rencontre site, she opened the search engine and looked for the latest live of ASD. The two days old video flashed up. She clicked on the option and the video started playing.

She smiled first when she looked at everyone in their gorgeous suit. Even though they were sitting, it was clear that the suit was made in such a way that it would enhance the members’ physiques. Their broad shoulders and toned body were impossible to hide. And their gelled slick back hair was giving off mafia vibes.

She saw them playing Monopoly and laughed at their funny antics. Most she laughed at was at the time when they would forget whose turn it was or where their tokens were last placed. And then some man from behind the camera asked the question she was waiting for, the question about the actress.

She had heard everything Kyung-Soo said in that footage and wanted to hear them again. No one knew but stopped breathing in the café when she realised that the night everyone was talking about, Kyung-Soo was with her, listening to her life story. She was his alibi. She knew he had nothing to do with that woman. She could be the witness but that would mean giving herself up.

Thank God that everything was okay, and this news was not dragged on till eternity. Kyung-Soo came out unscathed. ASD escaped yet another scandal.

She really was angry at every news media. They didn’t fact-check beforehand and started spreading rumours. It was their job to enlighten the mass and uncover the scandals that would hamper their lives, but they were too busy spreading rumours and invading the privacy of celebrities.

After she was done with the live-streaming video, she searched for the viral video that everyone kept talking about, the actress with a man who looked like Kyung-Soo, walking on a beach at night.

It was a dark video, and nothing really was clear. She was impressed by the eagle-eyed people who found out that the woman in the video was a famous actress and the man looked like Kyung-Soo as she could make out nothing. For her everything was dark, and two silhouettes were walking along.

She increased the brightness of her system, came close to the screen, and squinted to look better.

“No, nothing,” she shouted. “Either I am going blind, or someone had too much time on their hands. How people said that this man had a tint of blue in his hair, I can’t even see his hair. I can see one thing, his shoulders. NK has a broader shoulder, his is average at most.” She immediately gasped at her comment.

“Why the hell do you know how broad his shoulder is? You can’t see anything but can see this man’s shoulder. Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Get him out of your mind,” she shouted at herself. She instantly closed the screen on her laptop and dumped the computer on the couch next to her. “Okay, I am going mad. Why do I care about his scandals? He is free to see anyone he wishes.”

“I know he was with me that night. Even if he would not have been with me it would have been fine. He is entitled to live his life the way he wants.” Nivritti had no idea but her whole body was burning with the fire of jealousy. She hated seeing a look-alike of him with another woman. She knew that the man in the video was not Kyung-Soo yet she closed and threw her laptop in anger.

She was fuming with anger and invisible smoke was coming out of her ears. She kept exhaling like a bull. Her anger subsided when the washing machine signalled to her that the laundry was done. Groaning she stood up and went near the machine. She took out all the clothes and spread them on a stand to dry completely.

She came back to the living room, glanced at the laptop, made an angry face at it as if everything was the laptop’s fault, and walked into the kitchen. She placed her food in the microwave to heat. The moment the microwave beeped, her phone started ringing.

She groaned, “ahh... who is it? I don’t want to talk to anyone.” The phone kept ringing and ringing but Nivritti never even tried to move near it. The phone rang completely and the sound died down. She brought her food to the table and her phone started ringing again.

She rolled her eyes at the sound and looked at her phone. It was Jae-Hwa. She felt guilty for ignoring her the first time. Nivritti picked up the call and unknowingly she was stoic, “Hello!”

“Woah! What’s up with the tonal change? Who irked you? Are you alright?” Jae-Hwa noticed her anger.

“What tone change? I am the same just the way you left me. What are you talking about?” answered Nivritti.

“No, no, something has happened. You sound angry. What is the matter?” questioned Jae-Hwa again.

“Nothing is the matter, Jae. I am fine,” replied Nivritti.

“Well, I just called to tell you that I reached my house,” said Jae-Hwa.

“Now?” Nivritti was surprised.

“Not now, I reached ages ago. Changed my clothes, helped my Uhmma cook food and now I had a little free time so thought of calling you,” explained Jae-Hwa.

That made Nivritti smile. “You thought well. I am glad that you called me. But sad that I didn’t call you and asked you whether you reached.”

“Oh, no worries. I too was not going to call you but Oppa pestered me to,” giggled Jae-Hwa.

Suddenly a male voice screamed on the other side of the phone, “Jaehwa!”

“Excuse me!” Nivritti too shouted.

“Relax both of you. I am teasing. Ritti! He wanted to remind you about the eye drops. Apply it tonight before sleeping. Your eyes were looking better and the drops will soothe them further,” said Jae-Hwa.

“I will keep that in mind. Say thanks to him,” said Nivritti.

“She is saying thanks,” Jae-Hwa said away from the phone.

“And to your mother for delicious food,” said Nivritti.

“Okay, will do that. See you tomorrow,” said Jae-Hwa.

“See you tomorrow. Good night.”

“Wait!”

“What?” asked Nivritti.

“Oppa is asking if you were hurt when that man saved you on the street,” asked Jae-Hwa.

“Um... no, I am fine,” replied Nivritti.

“Then, Good night,” greeted Jae-Hwa.

“Sweet dreams.”

Nivritti placed the phone down and her mind wandered to when she was pushed by that boy on the street. Why did it feel like that man was someone familiar? She knew that touch. She knew that warmth. Was that man Kyung-Soo? No, that was impossible. It was clear that he was in that area but why would he follow her?