If I’d known that our happiness wouldn’t last forever, then I wouldn’t have taken it for granted. Because after that day at the beach, right after when I’d told him that I loved him, things will never be the same.

          When I walked into Ashton’s office the next day, he didn’t look too happy.

          “What’s going on?” I asked.

          “______,” Ashton said slowly. His deep, serious tone was scaring me. This can’t be good. “Have you been on the internet this morning? Seen any tabloids?”

          “No,” I said. “I woke up and came straight here in the van. And slept along the way.”

          “Well you’d better take a look,” Ashton said, slamming about 5 magazines onto the table. Upon reading the headlines, I felt myself start to panic.

          No…no…

INFINITE’S L & LEE ______’S RELATIONSHIP EXPOSED AS FAKE

CONTRACT BETWEEN ENTRUST AND WOOLLIM GETS LEAKED!

UNKNOWN SOURCE REVEALS ALL!

L AND ______: FAKE THIS ENTIRE TIME

A RELATIONSHIP THAT WAS NEVER EVEN REAL

          Ashton kept tossing magazines and newspapers onto the table, each with their own headline of how L and I were fake and how we’d been pretending to be in love this entire time.

          I was shaking as I said, “W-What happened? How’d everyone find out?”

          “Someone stole the contract from my office last night,” Ashton said, “and apparently exposed it to the world.”

          “W-Who could’ve done such a thing?” I asked. “Don’t you have security cameras around here Ashton?”

          He shook his head. “My office is the only room that has no security cameras in order to conceal others privacy. But it wouldn’t matter if we caught the culprit anyways. Everyone already knows.”

          “What’s going to happen to me and L?” I asked, growing worried. “We can’t just break up.”

          Ashton shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe you guys will kind of have to.”

          “Why?” I asked. “We can’t break up. We just can’t.” Not when I told him I loved him.

          “Because everyone thinks you guys are fake,” Ashton said. “Even if you guys publicly go out and say that you guys love each other and all that, who do you think is going to believe it? Inspirits hate you now for toying with Myungsoo. Your fans hate Myungsoo for toying with him.”

          “B-But everyone loved us so much! How….how could this have happened…” I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration, wondering how things could’ve gone so wrong when everything had been going so right just last night.

          Ashton gestured towards the window. “Take a peek outside.”

          I cautiously went over to the big window and took a peek. There was an entire mob outside the Entrust building, filled with Inspirits with banners telling me to go die and to stop seeing their beloved oppa.

          “They all hate me,” I said to myself. “But I really do love him. Can’t I just tell them that?”

          Ashton shook his head. “They’re not going to believe you. I’m sorry, _____. I should’ve been more careful with this.”

          “It’s not your fault,” I said quietly. “I just really want to know who stole the contract and showed it to everybody.”

          “Sir,” an Entrust worker said as he barged into the room. “A worker here says that she saw someone go inside the room last night. And apparently he was the last person to come in before we locked up.”

          “Bring her in,” Ashton commanded.

          A petite, middle-aged woman stepped inside. She was rather plump, and was wearing a leopard printed jacket. She looked over at me and if I didn’t know better, I would’ve assumed she was glaring at me. Hmm…

          “What is your name?” Ashton asked her.

          “Kim Hyemin,” she replied in a squeaky, high-pitched voice.

          “Okay. You work as a maid here, correct?”

“Yes.”

“And who did you last see enter the building last night?” Ashton questioned.

“The one guy from DBSK. Kim Jaejoong,” she replied.

My eyes widened and I felt myself take in a breath. It couldn’t have been.

“Are you sure,” Ashton said, sensing my shock and surprise on the subject. “There are other people who look like him. Karam from The Boss, SHINee’s Taemin perhaps, or even our very own L from Infinite resembles him.”

          “No, I’m positive it was him,” Hyemin said. “I even saw the birthmark on his neck while I was talking to him.”

          “You talked to him?” I asked aloud.

          Hyemin shot me a look and said, “Yes. I did. I asked him what he was doing here so late. And he said that he had some business to take care of.”

          Ashton sighed. “Since you’re our only witness right now, we have no choice but to accept what you’re saying.” He turned to me. “I’m sorry, ______. But for now, Jaejoong is a prime suspect.”

          “No Ashton he couldn’t have done it,” I said. “I don’t believe this.”

          “Well you’re going to have to,” Hyemin said.

          This time, I shot her a look and said, “Stay out of this.”

          Hyemin rolled her eyes and looked away. I didn’t like her by the second. Thank god she left the room.

          “I’m going to have to call the both of them over,” Ashton said, pulling out his phone.

          “You don’t mean both Myungsoo and Jaejoong, right?” I asked cautiously.

          “Who else do I mean?” Ashton asked.

          This was bad. As if the two didn’t hate each other enough. I was immensely worried for what was to come.

          Suddenly screams erupted from the mob outside the building. I ran over to the window to see L getting out of his car. He was wearing a hoodie and sunglasses and with his jaw clenched, I knew that he was mad.

          L came into the room. We awkwardly glanced at each other before taking a seat at Ashton’s long conference table.

          When Jaejoong arrived at the scene, I could tell that fans were confused as to why he was showing up at such a place. Jaejoong walked into Ashton’s office and all hell was breaking loose for L. He abruptly got up from his chair and grabbed Jaejoong’s shirt, menacingly glaring at him as he said, “Do you know what you have done? HUH?!”

          Jaejoong pulled L’s hands off of him and said, “I didn’t do anything.”

          “STOP LYING!” L shouted. I knew that he was going for a punch so I got up and pulled him away.

          “L, STOP!” I said. “He’s right, he didn’t do it!”

          L looked at me in disbelief. “You’re defending him. You’re actually defending him.” He looked hurt but I had nothing else to say.

          “Jaejoong,” Ashton said. “Are you sure you didn’t do it?”

          “I’m sure,” Jaejoong said.

          “Then what were you doing here last night?” Ashton asked.

          “Looking for ______,” Jaejoong replied.

          Ashton raised a brow. “For what?”

          Jaejoong looked over at me and said, “It’s a secret. You’ll probably know soon enough.”

          “Why so late?” Ashton questioned.

          “My schedule ended late,” Jaejoong easily replied.

          “Well,” Ashton said, “the world is going mad right now. And both Entrust and Woollim have the worst publicity right now. Let’s just see how this goes.”

          L and I looked at each other. “Things can’t end like this,” I said.

          L glanced over at Jaejoong and held my hand. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m not going to let anything happen to us.”

          It was terrible. That day when everything was exposed, L and I exited the building together hand in hand but were only torn apart by all of the fans pushing us away from each other. I’d lost him in the crowd and had to go home with Jaejoong instead. He didn’t say anything to me, of course. The ride was rather quiet and awkward. I wondered what he’d wanted to tell me. But now probably wasn’t the time.

          L and I tried hanging out a couple of times after the incident but the same thing kept happening to us. People looked at us like we were crazy, like we were the enemy. Fans didn’t want us to be together. Everyone thought we were still faking it. I even heard some people say, “Stop the act,” while walking down the street one day. It’s a sin for us to be together. No one allowed it. No one wanted it. The fact that people hated us together hurt and saddened the both of us. It was as if just yesterday, the world loved and wanted us to be together. And now, no one wanted us together at all.