When she arrived home, her parents were waiting for her in the living room. "Sit down," her dad ordered. She sat down on the couch. "Your mom told me what happened," he started. "I'm very disappointed in you." He went on about Sapphires and their history. She half-listened because she was tired of hearing how wrong she was. She didn't want to hear what she already knew about Sapphires.

"Jimin told us you found your actual Sapphire." That grabbed her attention. She meant to have him keep it as a secret but what did she really expect? "Find it," her mom ordered.

"I'll find it when I'm ready," she answered.

"What do you mean, when you're ready? If you're still thinking about Jungkook then don't even start!"

"I'm not! Weren't you just talking about Sapphires being a part of our life? That we have one Sapphire that will be with us until we die? I didn't plan on keeping Jungkook but I need time to accept someone new, okay?"

She got up, headed into her room and sat on her bed. She let out the biggest sigh and fell back on the mattress. With all the thoughts about his leave, she could barely concentrate in class that day. She thought she made it clear to him that she didn't care about what her parents think. It was probably what I said, she thought. He was probably flustered about what she said about registering him.

Before coming to that decision, she did think about finding her own Sapphire and still keep him around. She looked through books and searched online about any laws but there weren't any. There is a law that states one human is not allowed to register two Sapphires and the thing is, Jungkook was not going to be registered. He'd be basically hiding from the outside world in her house. She thought it was a great idea but she would have to buy a new place to live before she could do that. Her parents would never let her house an abandoned Sapphire and Piyoon couldn't wait that long because if he is found by Nappers or, even worse, Hunters, she would be in big trouble.

From the lack of sleep she had the night before, she dozed off and went into a deep slumber.

She was in a pitch dark area before a light shone in front of her. Jungkook stepped into the light and smiled at her. It was the usual smile he showed to say, "Hi." She smiled back. He took a couple steps towards her but suddenly, shadowed men appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his arms. Before she could even react, a light shone on her and arms appeared around her body. Her eyes traced them up to see Jimin pressed up behind her, just watching Jungkook. The men started dragged him out of the light and as much as she tried to struggle out of the grip, it was no use. Jungkook was screaming for help but she was useless.

Riley heard her voice from downstairs and decided to check up on her. She was sweating and thrashing around a bit so he woke her up. Piyoon let out a small gasp when she opened her eyes. She stared at Riley for a second, confused as to why he was there. Then, she sat up and looked around for Jungkook but when she realized he wasn't there, tears rolled down her cheeks. "Riley," she cried.

He hugged her and patted her back. "Hush, don’t cry. It was a bad dream." She held on to him and cried. She couldn't believe he affected her this much. It felt like someone took something important away from her life and she didn't understand why. She was sad and scared at the same time.

Jimin was right outside the door listening in. He felt horrible when he heard her cry. It was partially his fault but he believed he was doing what was right. He couldn't let an abandoned Sapphire hurt his human, even if it meant Piyoon hating him.

"You look like you haven't had any sleep." It was the next morning when Piyoon headed to school early without any breakfast. Jimin didn't even walk her to school like usual and it will probably stay that way for a while. So, for some reason Shownu was at school early and spotted her at her locker.

Piyoon was too tired to even be annoyed by his presence. She only ignored him but he didn't want any of it. "Hey, I'm talking to you. Hey." He poked her arm but when she didn't give him the reaction he wanted, he poked her harder and even pushed his face in front of hers.

She closed her eyes and sighed. "You're right; I didn't get enough sleep last night." She pushed him out of the way to close her locker. "If you'll excuse me, I need to find a room to sleep in before my first class." When she turned away, Shownu held an energy drink in front of her face and shook it to get her attention. "I know exams are coming up in a month but you don't have to stress yourself out that much. I don't want my hon' to be sick." Surprisingly, Piyoon wordlessly took the can and walked away. He tsked and cocked his head to the side. Her responses made him a bit uneasy.

Piyoon missed her class that morning. She was way too tired and she didn't remember to set an alarm for herself. Luckily, the class she chose was vacant during the time she slept. She woke up to noises of a game being played. Her eyes opened to see Shownu playing on his phone beside her. He noticed and gave her a glance. "You're finally awake?"

She didn't respond and sat up straight, stretching her neck and back. The entire time she was sleeping on her books over the table so her body was stiff and her neck was sore. Grabbing her phone, she checked the time and when she noticed she missed her only class that day, she groaned and placed her forehead back on top of her books.

Shownu looked at her weird. "Is that how you react when you miss your class? You're supposed to gasp or scream. Hey, are you even awake?" He poked her a couple times before she twitched away from him. She let out a sigh and straightened up. The books that were used as her pillow were packed into her bag and she stood up but Shownu pulled her back down and placed a cold burger in front of her.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked. "You were perfectly fine and sassy yesterday."

"Let's not speak to each other anymore. I'm tired." With that, she left Shownu dumbfounded.

That night, the house had awkward silence floating around. When Riley tried to speak to her during her dinner, she only answered in one word. She and Jimin didn't argue that night either. They didn't even spare each other a single grunt or huff and the awkward atmosphere continued on for a couple days. Piyoon didn't speak to Jimim for obvious reasons and she spoke very little to Riley, afraid he would spill to her parents if she said too much. She didn't even speak to her parents all that much.

At one point, Riley got frustrated. He just wanted everyone to make up and live happily again! He didn't want the house full of negative emotions so he spoke to Jimin about it first. "Can't you just apologize to Piyoon?"

"Why should I?" he responded yet his eyes were glued to the TV.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you," Riley sternly spoke. Jimin pushed himself further from Riley on the couch and gave him his full attention. "The atmosphere in the house isn't what it used to be. She's obviously angry at you for sending him off."

"I didn't do that," the other corrected. "He left by himself and he made a good choice."

"You think this silent house is a good choice? The house used to be so lively! You two were always arguing but at least it isn't so dead."

"It'll be better," he assured. "It's only been a couple days. Piyoon will get over it soon enough, her parents will do so, too and we will all get along again."

Riley sighed at how dumb this Sapphire was. "You think it's that simple? Piyoon will never ever forget Jungkook. The world is a dangerous place for a kind like him and she knows that. She will worry everyday even after she finds her Sapphire. It's not like he's some boyfriend you pushed away. At least boyfriends have homes and friends but that Sapphire doesn't."

"Why are you pushing the blame on me? I did something right and I don't need to apologize. If we continued this secret, imagine how disappointed they'll be."

"I know how much you care about Taerin but she's an adult now. She'll be hurt but in the end she'll forgive her because she's her daughter. Piyoon won't forgive you if you don't apologize. Remember, her parents entrusted us to her."

Jimin was being stubborn. "I don't care how old Taerin is. She's my human until I die and Piyoon doesn't affect me at all. All Taerin wants me to do is take care of her and that's what I'm doing. There's no need to take care of her feelings, too."

He stood up and froze when he saw Piyoon by the stairs. Riley turned around and stood up when he saw her. "I'm going on a walk," she said.

"At this time? It's too dark," said Riley. "Let me come with you."

"It's alright," she said, stopping him. "I'll be around here so there's no need. I'll be back soon." Riley called her back but she was already out the door.

"You fix this," Riley told Jimin with a frown and left him.

Piyoon didn't hear the whole conversation but she heard what Jimin said. She didn't expect him to care about her like he did to her mom because she completely understood. Sapphires love their humans and they would sacrifice themselves to protect them. Although she didn't expect much, she at least expected him to care for her as a friend. She didn't understand what happened for him to feel that way. She thought they were friends. Was she wrong?

Without her realizing it, her feet brought her to the alley and disappointingly, she didn't feel his presence so she sighed and walked back home.

The continuing days were the same: the house was as silent as the dead. If Riley didn’t make a conversation, Piyoon wouldn’t speak. When the whole family was present for dinner, there was barely any conversation. Her parents asked about her day and classes and she would answer in short sentences. She didn’t elaborate about her day like she usually does. There was obvious tension between her and her parents because of her decision in not finding her Sapphire. The thing is, she refuses to find it because of the guilt in leaving Jungkook. She wouldn’t be able to love her Sapphire the same way it will love her because of she will be constantly thinking of him. It wasn’t fair.

One weekend afternoon outside her house, Shownu was loitering in front of her porch. He was contemplating whether he should ring the doorbell or not. He wanted to call her to come outside but he didn’t have her number. What she told him days ago bothered him. What was so bad about him that she didn’t want to speak to him anymore? Sure, he was a bit annoying but it wasn’t even that bad! He only called her playful names and that was about it.

“Who are you?”

Shownu jumped and whipped his head to the door. He didn’t hear the door open because he was too immersed in his thoughts. His eyes automatically trailed up to his bright orange hair for a quick second before looking at him in the eyes. “I…I’m Piyoon’s friend.”

“Friend?” Jimin asked with his brow raised up. From what he knew, Piyoon didn’t have friends. “So what do you want?”

He felt chills up his spine at how cold and scary he sounded. “Uh, I wanted to hang out with her. Is she busy?” Jimin scanned him from head to toe and slightly scoffed. What would a tall, good looking guy want from her? On top of that, even though it was summer, why was he wearing a sleevless shirt if he wanted to meet Piyoon? He told him to wait while he went to fetch Piyoon. When he was about to head upstairs, she was already heading down so they met at the bottom of the stairs.

The two stared each other for a moment. He noticed her dark circles and felt a slight concern. Was she not sleeping properly? She looked away from him first but before she could circle around him, he spoke to her for the first time in a while. "A boy with muscles is looking for you. Is he your friend?"

She looked at the open door to see Shownu leaning against the porch. She inwardly sighed and looked at Jimin. "I won't be back for dinner." The thought of grabbing a snack was forgotten and she exited the house.

Shownu straightened up when Piyoon came out and closed the door. Before he could speak, she said, "Talk later. Let's go somewhere first." She walked ahead and he followed, not speaking a word. Shortly after, they arrived at a playground full of children playing under the warm sun. They sat down at a bench and watched them play around and dogs doing their business.

"What were you doing at my house?" she asked.

"Because, no matter how much I think about it, there is no reason not to talk to you!" said Shownu, getting straight to the point. "I mean, I know you're annoyed by me-"

"I don't want to be annoyed."

"I'm not done! I know you're annoyed by me," he repeated. "But I only see you once or twice a week. I talk to you for less than five minutes to ask you how your day is. I'm sure a simple question like that is normal, unless you're weird." She looked at him. "Uh...I mean, I'm the one that should be annoyed! You talk to me like I've done something horrible to you. I'm not annoying; you're annoying!" he lamely finished.

"So we're both annoying. Let's keep it at that and continue on our way."

"No, wait. I'm not annoying. You're annoying to think that I'm annoying."

She looked at him with a raised brow. "Really?"

Shownu smiled in embarrassment. "Just give me a valid reason why we shouldn't talk and then I'll be on my way."

She sighed and leaned back on the bench. She was about to speak but someone called out her name. The voice was so familiar that she immediately stood up in reflex. Her eyes dared to look over to the man who called her. It's him, she confirmed. The boy who turned her high school years into hell has become a man and his name is Namjoon.

"Hey, hey, calm down," he laughed when he appraoched them. "We're not in school. You're making me look bad in front of your friend by standing up all stiff like that. Piyoon, you haven't changed one bit. Well, except for the friend."

She looked away. His looks changed but she knew he was still the same. In high school, he was famous for being a rebel. Many people called him that but she called him a bully. Among the many school rules he broke, he also picked on kids that looked ugly, those who were poor and her - those who were outcasts. He didn't push them around and send them to buy food for him. He's a well off person anyway.

What he did to those students was put them down in the worst way; he crushed their self-esteem and he never got in trouble for it. There were many times where he would sit backwards on the chair in front of her and give her that charming smile many people fawned over. In fact, he did affect her in that way but in the end, it was all part of his fun. He approached her first, made her believe that he was her one and only friend and then he crushed her.

One day when she went up to him to say hello, he gave her a questionable look and asked, "What's your name again?" He embarrassed her and after that, he only approached her to 'coach' her on her antisocial skills, bringing her self-esteem down. Her life was hell because of him.

Then, Piyoon realized why she didn't like Shownu so much. He reminded her of Namjoon. The way he approached her and those 'friendly' gestures were the same as his.

"Oh, wait," he said and she looked at him. "You're 19 so he must be your Sapphire." He grinned and she looked away. His smile was the thing she hated the most.

"Who are you?" Shownu asked.

Namjoon looked at him and held out his hand. "I'm Namjoon, Piyoon's classmate in high school. It's nice to meet you. Since you're her Sapphire, she must have told you about me."

He looked at his extended arm and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I'm not her Sapphire."

The other pulled back his hand and dusted it on his pants. He smiled. "Oh, then are you her partner for a project? Her coworker? And hey, are you athletic? I tried to work out a few times but I couldn't get the muscles. I eny you, man."

"I'm her friend," he said, completely disregarding his compliment. Piyoon looked at him. "We have one class together but we're just friends."

Namjoon looked between the two with a surprised smile. He was always smiling no matter what the situation and that is what scared her the most. "You two are friends? Wow, Piyoon! You've really something. Piyoon didn't have friends in high school. She was always alone and whenever there were group projects, she opted to be an individual." Then he laughed. "Hey, Piyoon, do you remember your nickname?"

She grew small under his attention again. He always did that. He always bullied others by exposing their insecurities in front of others, pretending it was no big deal. He always did it in the most positive way and that was another thing she hated about him.

"Her name was Lonely Baboon or, Baboon for short. She had severe skin problems back then so her face was all red. The others called her a baboon because of that. Funny, right?" He laughed but no one else was laughing.

"I don't really care what she was like during high school," Shownu said. "She doesn't look like a baboon right now, so it's best to not bring it up."

Namjoon stopped laughing but he still had his smile. It was slightly faltering but it was still there. "Right, that's my bad. Did I hurt your feelings?" Piyoon shook her head and he patted her shoulder. Shownu noticed how she flinched under his touch. "Well it was nice seeing you again, Piyoon. Let's meet each other another time." He left and she could finally breathe again.

When he was out of earshot, Shownu commented, "In my opinion, he's more annoying yet you never said a word."

"I'm going home-"

"I'm not like him," he said before she could turn away. "I don't know what kind of person he is, but I can tell you right now that I'm not like him. I'm sorry I was being immature. If you don't like me, then whatever but I'm still going to talk to you. I'm leaving."

Before he could walk away, she told him, "I told them I’m not coming home for dinner."

He was confused but then, he smiled. "I'd love to eat with you."