May 2015, Two days later

Hakyeon was eating his breakfast cereal at the table, savouring the peace and quiet before his dongsaengs woke up. Or rather, before his noisy dongsaengs woke up. Taekwoon and Ravi were already up and out for their morning run, and Hongbin was in the shower. Jaehwan and Hyuk were still sound asleep, hence the peace and quiet.

It was a rare day that they did not have any schedules planned until later in the afternoon. They had been practicing day and night for the past couple of weeks in light of their upcoming concert, and hence Hakyeon requested for a late start today so that they could get more rest and recharge before the last lap. Living together for the past three years, Hakyeon could roughly gauge the energy level of the group and at the moment, the liklihood of one of them falling sick and infecting the rest was high. Prevention is better than cure, and so their manager agreed for the break.

The familiar chime of their electronic lock sounded, and Hakyeon knew that Taekwoon and Ravi were back from their run.

“How was the run?” Hakyeon asked as they appeared in front of him.

Ravi nodded and gave a thumbs up as Taekwoon pulled out two bottles of water from the fridge. “It was great weather for running,” Taekwoon commented.

Ravi nodded again as he gulped his water. “Oh hyung, guess what we saw!” Ravi excitedly pulled out his phone and clicked a few buttons. “In Guk-hyung and Sunny are dating!”

“What?” Hakyeon took the phone from Ravi to read the article that he pulled up.

“According to the article, it seems that they are dating!” Ravi repeated. “People spotted her visiting In Guk-hyung in hospital.”

“What’s that? What’s happening?” Hongbin asked, fresh out of the shower.

Ravi explained what he read to Hongbin, as Hakyeon read the article with Taekwoon reading over his shoulder. While the article questioned if the two celebrities were dating, they had no concrete evidence other than Sunny being spotted at the hospital.

“Do you think it’s true?” Taekwoon asked Hakyeon. Hakyeon shrugged at first, but his mind flashed back to the day that they visited In Guk, and how he thought he saw Sunny, or at least someone that looked like her. He also recalled the name that appeared on In Guk’s phone as it rang while he was in the restroom. Sunshine and Sunny. After reading this article, he had no doubt that it was indeed she. Question is, are they dating as what the article claimed?

Hakyeon grinned at Taekwoon. “We can always ask In Guk-hyung.”

-----

May 2015, The same day

In Guk groaned inwardly as he read the same article on his laptop. He was rudely awakened by his manager’s frantic calls directing him to the article that had surfaced and demanding to know if it was true. It’s not true, In Guk responded, and it took him about ten minutes to convince his manager that it was the truth and to calm him down.

How did people find out that she had visited me? In Guk wondered. Truth be told, even he himself was surprised when she called and told him that she was in the building and wanted to visit him. He did not know her very well, only meeting her a couple of times after Yuri, his co-star on No Breathing, introduced them. Even so, they often met as a group of friends and never individually, and hence the thought never occurred to him to be paired with her. Besides, he already had Eunji.

OMG, Eunji!

In Guk grabbed his phone and dialed her number by memory. I hope she has not seen the article, was In Guk’s first thought. He immediately scoffed at himself. What are you thinking? It is all over the Internet; of course she would have seen it. And even if she didn’t, I have to tell her anyway, In Guk reasoned.

“Yeoboseyo?”

“Oh Eunji, In Guk here. Do you have a minute?” In Guk’s heart was racing. Her background was eerily quiet, and In Guk racked his brains to think of where she could be now.

There was a slight pause before Eunji spoke. “Actually, I am walking to your apartment now. Can we talk there?”

She has already read it. In Guk closed his eyes as his heart sank. He could hear the distance in her tone and voice, and knew that she was upset.

“Sure,” In Guk replied, trying to keep his tone casual. “Call me when you get here.”

-----

Deep breaths, Eunji told herself as she stepped out of the elevator. She had been on edge ever since she read the article online this morning, and struggled to keep her composure in front of the girls when they started discussing about the news. Thankfully, a few of them, Bomi included, were out on their individual schedules, and Eunji had the day free, so she could excuse herself from the dorm. She initially did not intend to look for In Guk; her mind was scrambled and struggling to process the news. She had hoped that a walk through the park would help, but before she knew it, she was on the bus to his apartment.

Just ask him about it and hear what he says, Eunji told herself as she rang the doorbell. It could all just be a huge mistake, she tried to reassure herself.

But deep down, Eunji was insecure and uncertain. Their relationship, although technically a year and half old now, was not a usual one. In fact, the amount of time they spent together probably made up to less than a month and half. For the most part, they still led their individual lives and pursued their individual dreams, colliding together every so often with their undercover meetups and hushed phonecalls. Eunji also knew In Guk’s charisma and good looks were a magnet for the females in the industry – females that had better looks, bodies and personalities that she did. It was a competitive industry, even more so for females, and Eunji knew that she was low on the pole.

And this is Sunny, for goodness sake. SNSD!

“Annyeonghaseyo…” Eunji greeted quietly when In Guk opened the door.

He nodded in return and closed the door behind her.

“Would you like a drink?” He asked as he helped to take her coat off.

Eunji shook her head. “Kamsamida,” she thanked him as he hung up her coat. She stood awkwardly in the middle of his dining room, unsure of where to go and how to start. She had only been over to his apartment a couple of times, and they spent their time either curling up in front of the television, or trying to cook in the kitchen. Neither activity seemed appropriate at this moment, so Eunji just sat tentatively on the end of the couch.

In Guk also approached her tentatively and sat down next to her, hands clasped together and resting on his knees, his gaze to the floor. They sat in tense silence for a while, before Eunji finally spoke.

“You didn’t tell me that you were hospitalized.”

In Guk looked up at her earnestly. “It was just heat exhaustion from Jungle, nothing serious. It was only for a couple of days and I didn’t want to worry you so I didn’t tell you. Jellyfish also kept it low-key.”

Eunji bit her lip and kept silent.

“I wasn’t trying to hide anything from you… It’s just, we were still not talking so I didn’t know if you were still upset with me…” In Guk tried to justify himself.

Eunji shook her head wordlessly. “Did you not think that I would want to know? Even if we were having an argument?”

“I –“

“If it was me in hospital, wouldn’t you want to know?”

In Guk kept silent. Eunji had a point – he would want to know anything that happened to her. Even if he was fuming mad at her.

“So, is it true? Are you both dating?” She asked quietly.

In Guk snapped his head up and turned to Eunji. “No, of course not!” He protested reaching out to hold her hand. “Eunji-ah, how can you think that?”

Eunji looked away as she coldly removed her hand from his grasp.

“Eunji…” In Guk moved to face her fully, putting his hands on her shoulders. Eunji looked away. “You have to believe me. I would never cheat on you.”

Eunji swallowed as she heard his confession, her eyes welling up. Get a grip Eunji, she told herself.

“There’s really nothing going on between Sunny and me,” In Guk continued. “I only met her through Yuri, and we only hung out a few times but always in groups and never alone. You have to believe me,” In Guk told her earnestly.

Eunji kept silent, but made no move to look at In Guk.

“I know the article talked about us being close and everything, but it’s really not true. I am really not that close to her.”

Eunji bit her lip, but continued to keep silent. In Guk moved to kneel in front of her in attempt to face her. He pulled her hands into his, and this time she did not move away.

“Eunji, please. Can you say something?” In Guk pleaded.

Eunji looked up at In Guk. “Did she come to visit you at the hospital?”

In Guk swallowed. “Yes, she did,” he replied quietly.

Eunji removed her hands from In Guk’s as she made her move to stand up. “I’ve got to go,” she spoke in a quiet tone.

“Eunji –“ In Guk stood up and grabbed her arm. Eunji stopped. “Can we please talk about this?” In Guk pleaded. “I don’t want to leave things like this.”

“Let me go.”

In Guk shook his head. “Not until we thrash this out. Please, Eunji. You need to let it out and talk about it.”

Deep down, Eunji knew that In Guk was right. He knew her too well. And at that point, it irked her more than it gave her security. It reminded her of how much he knew and understood her, and that made her feel vulnerable.

“Fine.” Eunji said quietly, turning to face him squarely. “So tell me, how come she visited you in the hospital when supposedly no one knows that you were in hospital?”

“I really don’t know –“

“How did she come to know about your hospitalization and I didn’t?” Eunji pressed.

“Eunji, I really don’t –“

“And so she visited you in hospital. Was there anyone else in the room? What were you all doing together?” Her voice was getting louder now.

“Nothing! Eunji, I know this is not like you to be jealous and –“

“Stop acting like you know me!” Eunji shouted at In Guk. “This IS me! I am jealous and unreasonable! Are you regretting your choice of girlfriend now?”

In Guk shook his head wordlessly. “Eunji…” He reached out to her. Eunji took a step back.

In Guk drew a deep breath. “Eunji, I swear to you. There is really nothing going on between Sunny and I. You are the girl that I chose and our relationship means the world to me. I would never, ever cheat on you.”

Eunji closed her eyes and shook her head at his confession. She had shocked herself with her outburst, and was still feeling riled up in the aftermath. She wanted so much to believe him, but things didn’t seem to be adding up in her mind as yet. She couldn’t trust herself to speak.

“Eunji, please.” In Guk pleaded. “I know I don’t say it often, but it has always been my promise to you. You are the only one for me. I –“

“Please, stop.”

“I love you.”

Eunji looked away. In Guk had pulled the trump card. He never said those three words freely. So that it will not lose its meaning, he had told her. In Guk knew how much Eunji treasured his sincerity and integrity behind the words.

There was silence as they stood facing off each other in the living room.

Eunji took a deep breath. “I’m sorry for shouting at you,” she apologized to In Guk.

In Guk looked visibly relieved as he reached out to her. “Eunji…”

“I think I need some time to think about this,” Eunji said, cutting him off. She could not bear to look at him to see the hurt that she knew she would have caused.

In Guk stared at her blankly.

“Apink will be heading to Shanghai for a tour next week,” Eunji continued.

“I think that it’s best we not see each other for a while.”

----------

AN: I'm sorry if it seems like they are always quarrelling! It's really because of the timeline and where I started the story from. They had already been dating since Sept 2013 and hence now that it is a year and a half later, their 'honeymoon' period is more of less over. On hindsight I should have written a couple of chapters on their happy times before this (who wouldn't like some fluff?), but it's kinda hard to backtrack now. But please keep the faith! They will get their happy moments in a bit.