This is a double update, make sure you've read chapter 24 before :)

Since Byeol found out Hongbin was planing to go to Wonshik's party, she also agreed to go. So on Saturday, they got ready, both of them wearing warm, comfortable and fashionable outfits to fit into the students party. Wonshik gladly welcomed them with one glass of beer each and then he got lost into the crowd of dancing and sweaty bodies. Hongbin left his sister alone to go and meet Hyuk while Byeol joined Yun who was with Jaehwan.

“Look who's there!” Yun smiled when she saw her coming, “Byeol!”

“Hi.”

“What are you doing here? Did Hongbin drag you behind?”

“No, I've chosen to come because I wanted to.”

“Really?” Byeol nodded, “then let's have fun tonight! I'm sorry, love, but I'm going to dance with my best friend.”

“W-what?” Jaehwan frowned, “but... and me?!”

“Just go find someone else!”

Yun took Byeol's hand into her own and she dragged her in the middle of the other students who were dancing. Since it was a first for Byeol, she just moved slowly following Yun who looked like she was having the time of her life. As they were dancing, Byeol slowly ignored the people around and what they could possibly think about her and she just danced and had a lot of fun. Tonight, she wanted to look like a normal teen, not like the scared little girl she was. So she gathered her courage and forgot about her fears for a few hours. She even drank three glasses of beers which were enough to make her feel tipsy but not drunk. When she realized she had had enough, she stopped dancing and went outside to breath fresh air. She sat on the pavement in front of Wonshik's house and relaxed a bit. From her stop, she could hear the music buzzing into the house and she could also hear the students' shouts and laughed. She took her phone and sent Ryeowook a text message to tell him she was at a party and that she was having a lot of fun. He automatically answered her saying that if she was happy, than so was he. Since she was feeling a bit hot because of the dancing and the alcohol, she put off her jacket but only five minutes later, someone grabbed her jacket and put it back on her shoulders. She was about to run away when Hakyeon sat next to her. She didn't say anything and looked at him with a confused expression plastered on her face.

“What are you doing here?” he asked her.

“Just... nothing... and you?”

“Nothing.”

“O-oh... alright,” Byeol vaguely nodded and looked away.

“I saw you dancing earlier,” he talked, “it seemed like you had a lot of fun.”

“I had.”

“But you only danced with Yun.”

“I... I only know her, so... yeah.”

“You could dance with me, if you want to.”

Byeol froze and her heart missed a beat when she felt him shifting even closer to her.

“We can go and-”

“Sunbae...” she gathered her courage to speak even if she couldn't look at him in the eyes, way too embarrassed for this, “I-I don't want to dance anymore...”

“Why? It's not much... just one dance and-”

“No,” she firmly said, “I don't want to.”

“Why? Because it's me?” his tone changed a bit to something more aggressive and annoyed, “you would rather dance with Taekwoon? Do you hate me this much? Am I only a bother for you?”

“W-what? What are you talking about?”

“Answer me! Do you hate me this much?!”

She frowned and stood up, suddenly feeling very uneasy. She gulped and slowly did two steps away from the boy who was now standing tall in front of her. Hakyeon stared at her with a stern and angry look on his face and she didn't like it at all and deep inside her mind, she wished someone who just appeared and take her away from him.

“Why, Byeol... why can't it be me instead? What does he have that I don't?”

“Who... who are you talking about? I'm sorry sunbae but I don't understand, I think you must have drank too much and-”

“Don't leave!” he seized her wrist to hold her back and then he put his arms around her waist, holding her tightly against him. She tried to push him away but the more she was moving, the more he was holding her, “don't leave!! Answer me!!”

“S-sunbae-”

“Why does it have to Jung Taekwoon?!”

Why Taekwoon? She didn't even know herself. It just happened to be him and nobody else, he just happened to be here at the right time and right place. He had always been here even when there was nobody else. It was him and it couldn't ever be Hakyeon, no matter how nice he had been at some points.

“Listen, it's late and I must go home-”

Before she could say something else, he pressed his lips against her. It took her a while before she reacted, maybe because she was too confused to realize what was going on or maybe because she had drunk much more than she thought, but once she really realized he was kissing her, she pushed him away and slapped him.

Her hand landed on his cheek with a loud dry sound and his cheek instantly turned red.

Byeol watched how Hakyeon brought his hand on his skin certainly to relieve the pain and she didn't know what to do anymore. She had never act violent in her life and she had never thought about hurting someone either when she was mad. But before slapping him, she hadn't thought about it either, it was just the first reaction she had and seeing how red his cheek was, she thought it was probably the worst reaction she could have had.

She had reacted before thinking first, which was the complete opposite of what she used to do. “So... that's what people called being instinctive?” she thought,” when you act recklessly, when you just relieve the act before thinking of any consequences? It's weird... now I'm scared I've hurt him badly but I don't regret doing this either... he was kissing me against my will after all! He doesn't have the right to do whatever he wants with me!”

“I'm a human, you know?” she said, “I-I have feelings! You don't have the right to do whatever you want with me without my consent!”

“B-Byeol...”

“You don't have the right to play with people's feeling! Maybe you like it a lot, maybe it makes you feel better, but you can't do that!!”

“What-”

“I don't love you!” she shouted this time while looking straight at him, “I don't love you and I will never love you! You may be a nice boy and you may be funny from time to time, but it will not make me love you! Just go bother anyone else like you were doing before and leave me alone – No! Just leave Taekwoon sunbae and me alone! Just stop messing with stuff that doesn't concern you!!”

He looked more shocked by her answer than angry, which was somehow a good point so that she wouldn't have to worry about him scaring her even more, but she found herself being even more surprised by her own behavior. She had never acted like that before and even if it was scary, it felt really good. She felt the weight she had on her shoulders suddenly flying away and it even made her feel emotional that she first felt tears rolling doing her cheeks before she burst out in tears.

A few seconds later Hongbin arrived closely followed by Hyuk and he jumped on his sister to ask what was going on and why she was crying.

“What have you done to her, huh?!” he coldly asked the head boy who was still speechless.

“N-nothing,” Byeol sobbed, “he has done nothing to m-me...”

“Then why are you crying?” Hongbin asked looking truly worried.

*

“Byeol...” Hongbin sighed, “are you kidding me?”

Because he had panicked seeing her sister crying he had taken her back home.

“I slapped him!” she said, “I slapped him! Like... he did something and I didn't like it so I slapped him! I had never done something like this before! It was completely the opposite of me! I'm terrible!”

“You're not... maybe you have been wanting to do that for a long time but you had never because you were too shy and now that you've been feeling better well you did what you had to!”

“It was just so unlike me... why... why did it feel so good yet so bad? I do I feel happy about having slapped him for being an but also feel bad about it?”

“Can you just stop thinking for a while? What was supposed to happen, happened! Now it's done and you should just feel better this guy is going to leave you alone!”

“But... about the group... he is still the leader and-”

“Byeol!” Hongbin stood up in front of her and roughly ran a hand through his messy brown hair, “you're not supposed to slap people, I get that, but... ! Stop worrying about stupid little things and try living the life you want to without asking you a lot of bothering questions! Just... live! Just live your life the way you want it without worrying as much as you do!!”

Just live.

Sooo~ there are three of four chapters left before the end, what do you think will happen ? 

Please tell me if you have any questions or just simple comments about the story, I wouldn't want to end up without having your feedbacks and also I'd like to know if you still have questions about something or some parts of the plot, if there's something that's still unclear for you. It would help me to know :)

So don't be shy :)

Thx

xx

Mae