The Reason? - Yoon Jeonghan

Chapter 42

Walking back to the changing room after going to the toilets, Jeonghan stopped in his steps as he saw a couple waiting at the end of the corridor. He straightened himself up and looked more closely, making sure that he wasn't hallucinating.

"Celine et Frederick Sauze?" He called out unsure. Jeonghan was even more shocked when they turned his way and their faces were very much facing him. He hadn't been wrong. Cleaning himself up a bit, heart racing and mind blank, he made his way over to them.

"Your manager told us to wait 'ere." The man told him once they were next to each other. "Happy to see you again." He said, taking Jeonghan's hand in for a shake. All the while the idol was unsure of what to do. He squeezed the hand back and bowed down at the same time. He had never thought about meeting the couple again, even less at his own concert.

"Dje swi content de vous voir." He hoped that he hadn't butchered the phrase, as he had no real use to continue learning French since Ophely had passed her exams; he still wanted to learn useful phrases for when he would finally go to the country on his own. When he was going to shake the woman's hand, she took him by surprise by bringing him into a tight hug. He hugged her back, of course, he couldn't leave her hanging. But he didn't want to smear his sweat all over her.

"It's okay, don't worry sweetheart." She took a step back from him. "It is weird to see you in real life." And after a few seconds, she frowned. "Where is Ophely?" She asked, finally understanding that she had Jeonghan as Jeonghan in front of her.

The idol stood back up smiling at the couple. "I will take you to her." And so the man and the couple went down the numerous corridors backstage to the concert, crossing paths with technicians, backup dancers, all going about to clean everything up and put things back where they were supposed to go. It was the last concert of the tour and the last of the year for them. So it was going to be a large and thorough cleanup. Everyone was tired but also running on adrenaline. Everybody greeted each other as they passed, bowing their heads even if it was the third, fourth, fifth, time they had met that day. The French couple also got their fair share of welcomes, unsure of how to respond at first but slowly copying Jeonghan as he bowed and greeted them.

For after what felt like an eternity and a whole maze, Jeonghan stopped in front of the door and opened it up, showing the couple inside. Celine and Frederick froze as they watched the mess that was going on inside. Jeonghan chuckled half embarrassed by his bandmates as he saw the room in shambles. Racks of clothes were everywhere, bags and bodies littering the floor. But nobody cared.

Wonwoo was the first one to realise that it wasn't just anybody that had entered the room, he looked up from his phone and observed the out-of-place couple. It didn't take a genius to see the resemblance Ophely shared with the couple. So he alerted her, knowing she wasn't far behind, putting his members' costumes back on racks and tidying the room up a bit. Not that it made much difference.

"Opely!" He called out.

He wasn't sure but he thought he heard her answer with a sort of 'what?' or any other unclear vocalisation. "와서 봐!" He just called back, too lazy to explain to her what the situation was, if she just came to see, then that would be easier.

"What?" She asked as she appeared from behind a few racks, hair tied up to cool herself down from running around, and a hanger on which she was putting a jacket on. She didn't even see the couple standing in front of Jeonghan and behind Wonwoo. The sitting man just nodded towards the couple standing not two metres away from him. Ophely turned to see what he wanted to show her.

Jeonghan didn't know what to think about her reaction as he saw Ophely freeze in space and open her mouth, yet no words escaped her. She stood straighter and took a step back. He didn't understand why until he saw her eyes glistening with unshed tears. Her parents didn't move either, just smiled at her from where they stood. Ophely let out a strangled sob, turning away to hide her tears from her parents. When he saw her back shaking, he had made move to take her in his arms, but her mother was faster. She made her way to the girl, careful not to step on anything, as she brought her daughter into her arms.