July 2015, The next day, 7.50am

“N-hyung? N-hyung, wake up!”

“Wha -?” An insistent tapping on his shoulder awaked Hakyeon. He forced his eyes open and blinked at the bright light above. Why are my neck and shoulders aching so much, he wondered, and then realized that he had slept on the couch the whole night. I didn’t even shower, Hakyeon realized.

“N-hyung, manager-hyung just called,” Jaehwan was speaking to him, bouncing up and down as he usually did when he was hyper and well rested. “He asked why you have not been answering the mobile phone; he sounded angry,” Jaehwan made a face, not unlike their manager when he was frustrated with them.

“My phone?” Hakyeon was still dazed. He looked around him and then dug through his bag on the floor next to the couch. “Oh no, the battery must have died,” Hakyeon exclaimed as he tried to turn on the phone in vain. He immediately scrambled through his bag to fish out the phone charger. “Did manager-hyung say what he wanted?” Hakyeon asked.

“He said that he is on the way to pick you up to go to Jellyfish,” Jaehwan answered, still bouncing. “Mr Hwan wants to speak with you.”

Hakyeon froze for a second. “Mr Hwan?” He tried to keep his voice neutral, as he took out the charger and headed for the power point at the end of the living room.

“Yeah,” Jaehwan stopped bouncing and followed him. “Why does Mr Hwan want to see you in a hurry? Is everything okay?” Jaehwan’s tone turned serious.

Hakyeon plastered a smile as he connected the phone and looked up at Jaehwan. “Yes, of course everything’s fine,” he replied, hoping that he sounded reassuring. “I’m sure it’s nothing too important; he probably wants to see me because he’ll be away or something for a while.” At least, I hope, Hakyeon thought to himself.

Jaehwan frowned as if thinking, but did not say anything else. Hakyeon tapped him reassuringly on his arm. “Don’t worry, Jaehwanie…” Hakyeon walked away to pick up his bags and disappeared into the room.

Jaehwan turned to Hongbin, who was watching the exchange from the area outside the kitchen, with raised eyebrows. Hongbin walked towards Jaehwan and said, “Yeah I see what you mean. Hakyeon-hyung is really not okay.” Hongbin frowned. “He is definitely troubled by something.”

“Yeah, but what?” Jaehwan was perplexed. “What could be troubling so much that he cannot even share with us and need to lie to us that he is okay?”

Hongbin shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. “I’m as lost as you are,” he told Jaehwan. “Maybe we could ask Taekwoon-hyung if he might have an idea?”

Jaehwan nodded slowly. “Yes, that’s a good idea.”

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Hakyeon scrambled into the waiting car and slammed the door. “Sorry, manager-hyung, the phone battery was flat and so I didn’t get your calls earlier,” Hakyeon apologized before his manager could chide him.

“Ya, Hakyeon, how can you be so careless?” His manager nagged at him as he pulled the car out of the lot. “The phone is for communication purposes between management and the group – a very important tool. Thankfully it was me that was calling and not Mr Hwan. They would think that VIXX is not being serious about this opportunity.”

“No, of course not. VIXX is very committed to working hard and being successful!” Hakyeon protested. “It won’t happen again, I promise.”

“Better make it so.”

Hakyeon felt guilty. Their manager-hyung was usually nice to them, and Hakyeon was always grateful for how much he helped him as a leader to speak for VIXX and support him. For their manager to be so frustrated and grim about this situation meant that he was probably also pressurized by the management and caught in the middle just like he was.

The rest of the car ride was spent in silence. Hakyeon was dropped off at the Jellyfish management office lobby, with his manager informing him that he will be waiting for him to be done in the car park. Hakyeon nodded, but with a heavy heart. This means I’ll be facing Mr Hwan alone, he thought to himself, his heart pounding wildly. All through the elevator ride to Mr Hwan’s office, Hakyeon was racking his brains to think of an incident that could have gotten him, or by extension, VIXX, in trouble with the big boss. He came up empty.

“You can go right in. Mr Hwan is expecting you.” Mr Hwan’s personal secretary informed Hakyeon politely when he arrived. Hakyeon nodded his thanks, took a deep breath and entered the room after knocking.

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July 2015, The same day, 9am

After a rested sleep, Eunji was not sure if it was a good idea for her active mind to be alone in the dorm that day. With the filming of Off To School done, she could feel herself being back into thinking about the relationship. The ball was technically now in her court, and Eunji hated being in this position. Granted, she asked for more time, but now a month on, she was no closer sorting out her feelings for him, and hence no closer coming to a decision than she was at the start. Oh In Guk, she sighed. Why are you making this so hard for me?

Eunji flicked on the television and settled on the MTV channel, hoping that the songs played could give her some inspiration and take her mind off In Guk. She focused her attention on the reality show that was happening on the screen, and then frowned. That guy looked familiar… Oh! She realized that MTV was now showing VIXX’s MTV diary, and she was staring into the face of Cha Hakyeon, aka N, who was narrating what VIXX was up to up to the camera.

Eunji found herself smiling as she watched the program. She realized that she was grateful she had the opportunity to make a new friend, and one that she could connect with too. When Eunji first knew about joining in Off To School, she hoped that she would not be paired with another idol as she thought that it would be too cliché, and that it would take the attention off all the other cast members, which wasn’t fair. Her heart sank even more when she realized that she was not only paired with an idol, but that it was Hakyeon of all people. She knew Hakyeon and all of VIXX admired In Guk very much. In particular, she recalled In Guk telling her about Hakyeon before, and how he felt very much connected to him and wanted to mentor him. She knew that In Guk trusted Hakyeon and shared things with him; she just was not sure if In Guk shared about her and it would make things awkward if he actually did.

However, Eunji was relieved when Hakyeon made no mention of In Guk or insinuate that he knew about their relationship. In fact, he turned out to be a pretty humble and down-to-earth guy, and was pretty funny too. He’s like In Guk, Eunji realized. Just a more camera trigger-happy version, Eunji thought with a laugh.

Oh, I promised to return him a text, Eunji remembered.

Hakyeon-oppa, Eunji here! This is my number. Just saw your big face on TV and got reminded (; Enjoy your break!

Eunji heaved a sigh and glanced at the clock. Another 2 hours before the rest of the girls will be back from schedule, she calculated mentally. I’ll just take a walk out to the park and back, she thought. This should clear my head since it’s unlikely that I will get any other rest. Eunji threw on her sweater, laced on her boots, and headed out.

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