SHINee's Dreamgirl: United at last.

Chapter Eighteen

  "You look beautiful" Megan says admiring my reflection in the mirror.

"Thank you" I say and give a small twirl. Today I get to spend the day with my father and Soo Hi, so I want to Look good.

"So, did you talk to Jong?" I say and look over at her. A cheeky smile spreads on her lips and my eyes grow huge.

"Megan.....what aren't you telling me?" I say and put my hands on my hips. She pops a skittle in her mouth and looks at the floor.

"Well, you know......we talked"

"And?.....details!"

"Well, let's just say....I've got a celebrity boyfriend!!!" She squeals loudly and so do I. We jump up and down like a pair of highschool girls. She pushes her hair back to show me a silver heart necklace hanging proudly from her neck. We both scream again and then laugh.

"That boy is so sneaky! He planned it all along!" I say still not quite believing that he's capable of being so creative. I suspect Key had something to do with this but don't say anything.

"Yeah when I went to talk to him he asked me why I hated him so much and I was like 'I don't hate you, you just annoy me' and then he was all like 'if you don't hate me then are you willing to love me?' And I was so shocked! At first I didn't know what to say, but then he asked if I would give him a chance because he really liked me and I thought, why not?!"

I listen to her intently as she paces back and forth in excitement. But now that I think about it, Manager Hyung is Megan's uncle, he practically raised her. What would he have to say about this?

"Have you told Hyung?" I say and she stops.

"Do I have to?" She says and frowns.

"Well, you should" I give her my best nagging face like Key does but don't quite succeed. She begins to rub the heart she has around her neck In anxiety.

"You'll be fine, I'm sure Hyung wants you to be happy" I say and give her a hug which she gladly takes.

"Ok well I've got to go, but I'm super happy for you OK?" She nods with a smile on her face and burning cheeks, I give her my best impersonation a Jong wink and she pretends to swoon. When I'm out the door I inhale so deep I can feel my lungs stretch to their full capacity and then exhale. Now I'm ready.

When I arrive at the hospital I'm suprised to see Rose in the room and my dad dressed in dark jeans and a sweater. He's standing against the wall talking to Rose. When I enter his face illuminates.

"There's my Kigo!" He says with his arms wide open. Without thinking twice I take the invitation and run into his arms. I'm transported to the past when I used to hide under the bed whenever it was bath time. Dad would look for me and pretend he didn't know I was under the bed .

"Oh where could Kigo be?" He'd say and I'd cover my mouth to supress a giggle.

"Could she be......HERE!" He'd jump behind the couch. "Hmmmm no.....maybe HERE!" He'd check in the closet. Then I'd give up feeling sad for him and yell "Silly daddy! I'm right here!" I'd say and crawl out. He'd open his arms wide and say "There's my Kigo!" And just like I used to do then, I did now. Being in his arms feels right.

He laughs when I refuse to leave his embrace. Rose smiles warmly as well but I pretend I don't see her. She's a stranger to me, who does she think she is acting like family when she wasn't even there for mom's funeral, I didn't even know she existed. I reluctantly remove myself from his arms and look up at his handsome face, his Asian features completely contrasting with Rose's Hispanic ones.

"Where's your sister?" He asks.

"I don't know, but I'm sure she'll be here soon" I say.

"But why are you standing? Shouldn't you still be recovering?" I add.

"Your father is always quick to recover physically, the doctors gave him the OK to leave as early as tomorrow, they just want to keep an eye on him jhst in case" Rose says and nudges my dad on the arm.

Don't touch him! My head screams.

"I was talking to dad not you" I say coldly and flinch at my own rudeness.

"Oh Ha Ni!" Dad says in shock and I shrink in hearing him say my full name.

"What dad? Ha Ni is right, she wasn't talking to Rose" Soo Hi says walking through the door just in time to see the drama.

"That doesn't matter, she was disrespectful to an elder, and not only an elder but her own family!" He says with the same commanding to he used to use whenever I was being mean to my mother.

"She's not family! what kind of Family leaves without ever contacting and doesn't even come to her own sisters funeral!" I scream beside myself in anger. This day is not going as planned.

Rose drops her head and touches my fuming father on the arm before he can say anything. "It's OK, she has a point. It was wrong for me to come" she says softly and leaves the Room wiping a stray tear from her face.

"Now look what you've done!" He says and flings his arms.

"Without Rose god knows I wouldn't have made it his far! you two have no idea what your talking about! She had a more than enough of an excuse for her absence in our lives!" He looks livid but I am too.

"What excuse is good enough! THERE IS NONE!" I yell at the top of my lungs imagining my dead mother in her cold grave.

"She was dying!" He yells back and Soo Hi and I look at him with confused expressions.

He runs a hand through his hair and sighs. "Rose is a cancer survivor, she was hospitalized for many years. When your mother died, Rose was In induced sleep after days of chemo therapy, she didn't hear of your mothers death until maybe a week after the funeral. She never wrote to us afterwards because of he shame she felt for not being there and she couldn't visit because her body was still to weak" he says with a sad look in his eyes.

As he explains this my shoulders begin to slump and slup further in weight of my shame.

"I didn't know..." I stutter and he nods his head. Before he can say something else I run out of the room in search for Rose. I look around frantic in both directions, she couldn't have gotten far. I run all the way out searching until I reach the parking lot. I look for a starting or leaving car but find none with her in it. Feeling terrible I force myself back inside. Me and my big mouth, why did I judge her so quickly without even asking?

When I'm on my way back to my fathers Room I spot a silhouette from the corner of my eye and turn to see Rose sitting down in the waiting room of another hospital section. I look up to see the sign.

CANCER PATIENT WAITING ROOM

She sits there with her hands in her lap. I see her look up to stop the tears from running and I immediately feel guilty. I muster up all my strength and sit down next to her. She looks up and scoffs.

"Don't worry, i'll be leaving now" she says and motions to get up but I grab her hand.

"Actually, I came to apologize" I say and look into her eyes. She looks at me and sighs but sits back down to my relief.

"Dad explained everything. I'm sorry I was so harsh with you, its just that my mother's death was such a dramatic turning point in my life that....that I..." before I cam finish my face turns read and tears sting my eyes. She puts her arms around me and hugs me to her chest.

"There there, its OK. I know you meant well, and I'm sorry for not being a better aunt" she murmurs and pats my back gently. I let myself cry on my aunt and feel the warmth of a mother. We stay embracing each other until she wipes my tears away and helps me up.

"Let's get you back to your father, OK?" She says and picks my face up by putting her finger under my chin. I nod  yes like a little girl and let her lead me back to my fathers room.

We all stand in the room smiling at one another. All of us realizing that we all will get a new chance of starting new Family memories.