Chapter 18 - Sparks Will Fly

Ye Rim's voice echoed through the hall in a warm and sensual way, in the first few verses of the song, and the curtains opened, and her eyes involuntarily turned to Mr. Go's private table by the right of the stage. Dr. Kim really was there, and Ye Rim felt a different sort of fluttering in the pit of the stomach.  I have to prove to hi'Likem that I'm a pro, ha.'

She looked away and ignored the inopportune visitor, then rendered herself with fervor to the the first song of the night. Ye Rim just decided that she would be kind and overcome the public vexation from the previous day, thank the flowers and accept the insincere excuses, and simply move on. That was the plan, of course.

Kim Jun Hyeon, to be honest, barely remembered her voice from the day before, although he remembered many other things. When the velvety, smooth voice was heard in the microphone, before the opening of the curtains, he felt a shiver running its body from head to toe. And when the curtain finally opened and she came out surrounded by a halo of light, he definitely felt stunned and thrilled.

She was beautiful, and her voice was beautiful, and even the intervals when she breathed between the words and the notes of her voice were poetry.

Kim Jun Hyeon knew a lot of talented people, and a bunch more of beautiful people, and even a fair amount of people with both qualities. Miss Nam was in this select last group, and he could not deny that she had the je-ne-sais-quoi of the stars.

"Ye Rim-ssi is fantastic, isn't she, Jun Hyeon?" After the first song, when the singer greeted the audience, Mr. Go pulled the sleeve of his grandson's jacket with a radiant smile.

"She's ... talented, yes. Undoubtedly." Jun Hyeon nodded, choosing just one of the words that came to his mind to describe her. His attention was drawn to her movement coming down from the stage as the second song began, coming to their table. ' What is she doing? ' An unexpected feeling of panic gripped the doctor's heart.

Miss Nam's slim figure in her long, demurely elegant dress, stood beside him and bent to greet her grandfather with smiling eyes. But when Jun Hyeon's turn came, the look in her eyes wasn't that warm. In fact, for a brief moment, her lips formed a disgusted little pout that forced her to suppress words, but the next moment she smiled and sang another part of the song, staring blankly at him. The doctor was baffled when she turned around and went to greet her friends at other tables while singing.

"It's always like that? Is it always the way she makes her show?"

Understanding that the grandson was referring to how the singer used to walk through the hall, Mr. Go made a broad gesture with his arm:

"She has many friends here. Look around you, Jun Hyeon."

The younger man followed Mr. Go's advice, scanning the main hall of the nightclub with a closer look. The place wasn't very big, probably had about 20 or 30 tables. About half of them were taken, but it was relatively early. Then Jun Hyeon understood what Grandfather meant. Only 4 tables, 5 with theirs, as far as he counted, were occupied by more than one person.

"Ah, I see ... This is a place for lonely and nostalgic old men."

As expected, his comment was rewarded with a slap in the head. "You bratty boy, you never control your tongue!"

"Hey!"

"Miss Nam has a loyal fan club, but it never grows... In fact, it just shrinks."

Ah, what a morbid geezer my grandfather is, hahaha ..." The surgeon laughed heartily, digesting the funny comment and its link to how close to death were the bulk of the singer's fanbase.

His drink came, and he toasted with his grandfather as they went on enjoying the setlist of mostly oldies, without actually talking much during the show. The woman on the stage attracted his gaze. He didn't recognize many of the songs, but he recognized the talent, and his thought wandered for a moment thinking that Ms.Nam wasn't a lucky woman, for being there in this obscure club singing on a Wednesday evening for a public that shrinked month by month, as well said his grandfather.

Then the singer started singing a very romantic and popular American song, and again she came down from the stage, handing out roses to her audience.

"Aren't those your roses, Jun Hyeon?" Mr. Go asked, with an amused look, and wondered: "Wow, that's how she often present flowers to the audience..."

Kim Jun Hyeon, who was getting all his grandfather's insinuations, scowled at the thought: ' What do you mean, my flowers ?! Why is she doing this? In front of me? Does she want to piss me off? Is she really so resentful?'

"Aish, what a crazy woman!" His last thought was audible, and Jun Hyeon just wanted to leave soon. But he reflected that if he left right now, he would look as taking insult on it. Then to keep face he had no choice left but stay, though his mood had dramatically dropped after that.

Ye Rim finished the passionate song with vigorous applause from the presents, and the orchestra started playing a downtime playlist. She came down from the stage again, coming straight to Mr. Go's table with an effusive smile, bringing two roses. Jun Hyeon wanted to snort in indignancy, but he refrained himself from doing it.

"Mr. Go! Dr. Kim!"

"My dear Ye Rim-ssi! It's been a long time since you've last sung this last song." Mr. Go elegantly accepted the rose offered to him, and commented, gesturing for her to sit down with them, which she gleefully did.

"Ms. Nam sings wonderfully, doesn't she, Jun Hyeon?"

"Yes, wonderfully." He did his best to sound bored, twirling his rose between his fingers, not looking at any of them. Mr. Go's eyes widened, for this was not the expected answer or manners from his doctor grandson.

"The songs were not to your liking, Dr. Kim?" Ye Rim asked angelically, realizing that the doctor seemed to want to leave immediately, as he sounded annoyed and hostile. ' Why did you come then? What an idiot!'

Jun Hyeon didn't reply, scratching his head exaggeratedly, and barely holding back with curiosity. Mr. Go was alarmed at the grandson's reactions, and the latter surprised him by putting the question so casually:

"Did you receive my flowers, Ms. Nam?"

Ye Rim, who was about to pull the same subject, let the air out of her lungs, with a surprised, comic smile: "Yes. Yes! What a good taste you have, Dr. Kim! Beautiful roses! I really didn't expect it, I was very surprised! I am so glad!"

"Did you really like it?" He stressed the tone of doubt in his voice. She was not only a very talented singer, she was very brazen as well.

"Yes, I loved the flowers. They're not to blame, you know. They just come into the world to bring love and bliss." Ye Rim didn't ignore that the arrogant doctor had clearly been offended by her use of "his" flowers. And she was getting sick of his tone already.

"But... what a beautiful and intriguing way of thinking! Worthy of an artist! I hope it's not just a beautiful thing just said by the sake of saying it." Kim took a sip of his drink, and knew that he should not be acting so mean, but he was fed up with this little thing that was convinced she was a star just because one a dozen old men drooled over her. She was a farce to those old people, and he would corner the singer in her own territory.

"You... you..." Mr. Go started to try to stop the impending disaster, but he was completely ignored, since both singer and doctor focused exclusively on each other, at that moment. He had seen something like this before, in the car.

"By the sake of saying it? By the sake of saying it?! Ha, how funny, coming from a doctor who tells someone else to write his apology cards!"

"Ahhherm...!" This blow struck low, Jun Hyeon felt the blood rising to the face and a sudden air shortage in his lungs. But handled the situation with a corner smile, and a sardonic uhn!

"So Ms. Nam, do you think my apology was lacking sincerity? It may sound cliché, but I'm pretty busy man."

' What a nerve of him, he outsourced an apology and is still pretending it's perfectly acceptable. This man can't be in his right mind. He can't be serious!'

"I don't know what you told your secretary, "Ye Rim sipped at the water the waitress brought her. "But you certainly didn't tell I'm younger than you, Dr. Kim."

"Ahnn..." So she's really upset at me, he thought, finally getting the reason for such rancor.

"But like I said, I really liked the roses. I admired them. I appreciated their aroma, the softness of their petals, and all their love. They had a difficult mission, when you gifted me with them and that insincere card of yours. So I gave them another assignment: I gifted them to everyone who came to enjoy my performance this evening, and now they express my sincere gratitude to these people."

"Hey Hey! Why are you like this?" Dr. Kim was shocked by the singer's falsely soft words, because they convened a hard truth he did not want to take on.