Before she could understand what Gajin was trying to tell her, Jihyo found Jongkook's imposing figure standing right in front of her. 

Her heart raced with inexplicable anxiety and the loud buzz of the cafe fades quickly into the background, leaving her with the wild du-goon of her heartbeat in her ears.

"Jihyo? You're here too? Is everything okay?" 

Gajin's lifts her reddened face towards the sound of his voice as more tears well up in her big brown eyes.

"Oppa." She hiccups. "You're here." 

"Yes, we arranged to meet remember?" 

Completely confused, Jihyo chews on her lip nervously. What does he mean by that - Gajin arranged to meet Jongkook here? 

"Gajin-ya, what happened? Why are you with Jihyo then?" The muscular man asks as he pats her gently. 

"Oppa. We just... " Gajin blows her nose loudly into the tissue before continuing, "We met to talk about us." 

Jongkook an eyebrow in doubt. 

Jihyo watches the both of them, feeling very much like an outsider, as he continues his gentle interrogation. "Then why are you crying?" 

He darts a quizzical eye at Jihyo when he asked the question.

The unreadable look in his eye unsettles her, and she wonders if he faults her for Gajin's emotional outburst.

And if he does, Jihyo wonders if he's right. 

When the younger girl doesn't respond as she struggles to quell her sobs, he coaxes her to talk in a tender voice. "Gajin-ya... Was it something that Jihyo said?" 

Her heart and legs twitched at the same time at his words. She should leave. It no longer feels appropriate for her to remain at the table.  

With that thought, the urge to bolt overwhelms her and she stands up abruptly, swinging a restless gaze towards the wooden doors of the cafe.

"Gajin-ssi. I'm so sorry again if there was any misunderstanding," She struggles to keep her voice neutral, under control, even as betrays her by tightening up on her. "I... I need to go."

Jongkook stands up quickly. "Jihyo-ya. Hang on." 

She forces a shaky smile on her face and tries to stop the quiver in her voice.

"Oppa, I'll catch you later." 

She leaves the table quickly and takes big strides towards the exit, without so much as a backward glance, as her own tears overwhelm her and burn her eyes, threatening to fall. 

"Gajin-ya. What happened?" He asks as Gajin stands up to shove him towards Jihyo's rapidly disappearing figure. 

"Oppa, quick, go after Jihyo-ssi!" 

"What? Wait." Why was she here in the first place? "Gajin-ya, tell Oppa. Did something happen between you and Jihyo that made you cry?" 

"She didn't make me cry!" Gajin says as she wipes the remnants of her tears hastily with the back of her hand. "Goodness. She's going to think that I set her up or something!" 

"First, tell me." He crosses his arms and stands his ground, his eyes searching hers for an answer. "Why were you together?" 

Gajin becomes flustered, speaking rapidly to explain herself. "I met her because I wanted to check if she still has feelings for you. But she was more worried about my feelings instead."

That's just like Jihyo. Jongkook sighs inwardly.

Gajin's words start to tumble over each other as her face becomes animated with panic. "She thinks we're together and I... I cried because I was trying to tell her that we're not."

Her face fell. "Oppa, I've made things worse, haven't I?"  

"Gajin-ya. It's not your fault." He pats her shoulders gently. But it might be his. "Was I... a bit harsh when I spoke just now?" 

"I... I think Jihyo-ssi might feel a bit blamed." 

She would.

"You really should explain things to her." 

He thumbs the tears away from Gajin's eyes and ruffles her hair gently. "But will you be okay?" 

A brave little smile plays on her lips. "Oppa, I wanted to right things, not make things worse!" She gives him another hard shove forwards, her eyes firm and bright despite her tears. "Just go!" 

With that, he turns and runs quickly towards Jihyo. 

Outside, cars jostle noisily on the road whilst pedestrians walks purposefully alongside them, the world making its way home after a day of work. The wind is chilly as it dances with Jongkook's golden brown hair and he can detect the smell of rain in the air.

His eyes scan the surroundings rapidly.

Jihyo is nowhere to be seen. 

He tries to contact her on her phone, but only hears the lady on the voicemail. 

Exhaling heavily, he is unsure of what to do. 

He knows that in that split second, he had misunderstood Jihyo's intentions towards Gajin. And Jihyo, with all her sensitivity, probably picked up on it when he asked that damning question.

Jihyo-y