“Hyun… we need to talk. Where are you?” Said Areum on the phone.

 

“Eonnie… If this is about what I said about YJ, Jadin and my brother. I’m not coming back. I’m tired of all this blasphemy. I cannot act normal Areum. I can’t.”

 

“Why is it okay for Sungchan to have a wife and be heavily pregnant. While I just need to focus on my grades? Why do I always need to be the bad guy. The one that rebels. I hate this. Its too hard. Your brother dumped me Eonnie. Jabin won’t talk to me. Jadin is somewhere in the metaverse. Bommie is busy with super hot Taeyong samchon and my bestfriend is married to my Vampire brother. How is this normal Areum. No one cares about me.”

 

“Everybody cares about you Hyun.. Everybody loves you. In fact, everybody loves you more than they love themselves. Including me. I may have been a lil nasty on you during the wedding but that doesn’t mean I love you and care for you any less Jeong Hyun-.” HyunA puts down the phone and starts raging.

 

HyunA was having a meltdown from the stress studying she has been doing at the Neoz Hideout alone. Finals are in 2 weeks’ time. Jabin broke up with her. It has been days that she has been sleeping over at the Hideout. She changed the door passcode so no one could enter. She basically ignored the Neoz calls which resulted to Suh Areum calling her from a burner phone.

 

Let’s be honest, she was just a coward running away from her problems. She brought upon the problems she is facing herself. She and her big mouth destroyed most of the friendships, her relationship with Jabin same.

 

Couple weeks ago Jabin and HyunA broke up. Dating a trainee was harder than she thought it would be. Everything seemed to work at first and HyunA thought Jabin managed to sneak out safely for them to but after a while. It got troublesome when Jabin keep saying no to her. HyunA got pissed and thought that Jabin doesn’t feel the same way as her anymore.

Not her thinking, Jabin was rejecting her. But its really not. Jabin was giving them the space the relationship needed. He was busy preparing for debut. And also, Jabin thought about the promise he made to Yunha imo. The promise that he would not let the relationship affect HyunA’s education. The relationship between the Neoz and etc. This wasn’t just about the letter grade on paper for HyunA. This was for her future. She shouldn’t give up her own identity just because she wants to her an active life and to be loved. She is still a high school senior with whole lot of things stacked ahead of her. What would happen later?

Once Jabin debuts. What if far ahead in the future he moved on and dumped HyunA then. What if the press founds out about them both. The NCT children dating. Or what if suddenly one decided to moved apart and call it quits. What would HyunA do then if she hadn’t prepare for her own life, independent from Jabin. Jabin had to break up with HyunA. He was a realist, and he knew this relationship wasn’t worth destroying his future and HyunA’s future over. He needed HyunA to be her own person before she could be his. And HyunA would need to accept that.

 

HyunA let her thoughts swam above her head, brewing a dark storm cloud that threatened to rain down all over her mood. Falling in love was . Well no, the love and part was great. As was being loved by Jabin was great. But missing him… That part was .

She craved everything about him. She longed to feel his arms around her. She longed for his smell. She wanted to see his face up close again. Not zoomed in on a selfie they took. She wanted to see the expression on his face as his eyes drank into her features. His pupils ticking over her face, pausing at her eyes, nose, lips and tongue. She wanted his breath on her neck and he wanted his fingertips tickling her… OKAY lets not go there. As you can see. HyunA is not stress studying. She is ually depressed. She is an emotional mess since the day Jabin dumped her. She is also must be hormonal because the thoughts she just had, was ridiculous.

 

The sound of the door passcode being pressed brought HyunA’s attention to that direction. She saw at the intercom that it was Taeyong samchon. Her eyes lit up and with a deep sniffle, a test of her voice, throat clearing. She unlocked the door by pressing the intercom to let it open.

 

“Hi Tyongie!” HyunA said it in the lightest voice she could have muster. It took Taeyong a moment to respond.

 

“Why does your voice and face look like that? Were you crying?” Taeyong never buy it. He never did. He must have some sort of a super power that immediately sensed her moods because he was just too good at deciphering HyunA’s current state by the sound of her voice and the look on her face.

 

HyunA felt her nose stuff up more and she went in to hugged Taeyong not even bothering to hide it anymore. “A lil bit Tyongie..” She admitited and Taeyong inhale his breath and he was silent for a while letting HyunA melt into his embrace.

“May I ask why?” Taeyong said in a soft slow voice. His question was cautious. It was slow and delicate and it poked HyunA’s heart. Urging for her to speak, to tell him every single worry she had on her mind and she felt her lips tremble the more she saw Taeyong’s eyebrows curved upward in the middle of his face. The way his eyes moisten as he watched her struggle with her tears and words. His lips parted and pink. His tongue would dart out to moisten his bottom lip before he would pout in tiny. I MEANNNNNN is she even for real now or is she still and now her target changed?

 

“I-I umm I was just watching a sad movie.” HyunA lied. She wasn’t ready to get into just how badly her heart acted when Taeyong is in front of her. He is still Bommie’s boyfriend and also her not really related Uncle. Taeyong was just silent. As he was taking in all HyunA’s words and analyzing them now and just as she saw before. His eyebrows were flattening out as he blinked slowly at her.

 

HyunA expected Taeyong’s next words as much as she expected her now heart to keep beating and her lungs to keep breathing.

 

“Liar.” Taeyong exhaled into the word. It came off as a soft scoff designed to rebuke HyunA for trying to trick him and she looked down at her own hand that was clenched into a fist. Her nails dug into her palm painfully and left a lil red half moonies against her flesh. She tried to focus on the physical pain she felt in her hand to drown out the pain she is feeling in her heart. She knew she was being a big baby. She knew this was temporary. Taeyong was not here because of her obviously. She was just drowned in her own fantasy thinking that Taeyong somehow cared for her like how Jabin is before. HyunA knew this was just a mere coincidence.

 

“Well Young lady. You need to be honest with me love. How can you expect me to fix it if you won’t tell me what’s wrong?” OH OH. BIG MISTAKE. MAYDAY MAYDAY. Why is Taeyong voice so sweet. HyunA wanted to reach onto him and kiss him.

 

“Tyongie… Samchon. Its not something you can just fixed Samchon. You’re too busy. You are Lee Bommie’s boyfriend too.” HyunA could hear the petulant child her voice as she spoke. She was pouting. Moping and feeling sorry for herself and HyunA was powerless to stop it. She sniffled again as she wiped away the tears from her face. Taeyong came closer and embraced her again.

 

“Its that why you are crying? Because I’m too busy and you miss me? Because I’m Lee Bommie’s boyfriend?” (Oh boy.. we all know what is gonna happened here) HyunA could hear something in his voice now. Something different. A floaty tone that lifted his voice up higher as it danced through her ears. Taeyong sounded almost flattered that she would dare to be miserable because she missed him. She wanted to snog his face, unbuckle his pants and ride him so bad.

 

Taeyong did this to her. He was the one who made her feel so vulnerable and turned HyunA so weak. She stared at him thinking about all those possibilities and wrong doings that will lead her to losing more of her own people. But she is in need. Like depressed. ually. Yikes. She looks at the clock and it is almost 2am in the morning. Here goes nothing.

 

"Tyongie.. I think I feel like doing something risky.” HyunA whispered to his ears. Her voice was so damn sensual that Taeyong felt his skin prickle at the sound in his ears. HyunA quickly pushed him to side door that led into the alley way of the Hideout. A place where no cctv cameras were installed. The alley was dark and it actually led to the carpark of the Hideout. They got into Taeyong’s fully tainted car. Darker than you’d seen on any car before in the blackness of the night. People could never even make out a shape of a person sitting inside. Taeyong press the car keys to unlock the car. HyunA pulled the handle and she quickly slipped inside, sliding across the leather seat that felt cool against the bare skin of her thighs.

 

There was another click as the doors locked her inside and she looked to her left to see Taeyong. His eyes watched her with the kind of intensity that only Lee Taeyong was capable of. The kind of intensity that ignited a fire inside her belly and made her wanna jump with him. HyunA would do anything with him looking at her like this.

 

“Hi” Taeyong said it quietly. The gentle word didn’t match the heated look he was giving HyunA right now in the dark intimate space of his car.

 

“Samchon. I’m sorry. This is a bad idea. What if someone saw you driving here? Fansites go to some pretty crazy extremes, T-yongie.” HyunA couldn’t help but felt afraid. She wasn’t so afraid before but now sitting in the same car as Taeyong felt hot and it makes her nervous. She was never nervous being with a man before. Even with Jadin. It wasn’t like this.

 

“No one saw me. I promise,” Taeyong said it quickly. He watched HyunA’s face closely and his head tilted to the side as a small smile gaced his lips. HyunA sighed and relented. What choice did she have. She couldn’t let this one slip away. Taeyong took the bait and she greedily took in his face illuminated by the car’s instrument panel lights in the darkness as if she have been starved of him. It was a tough school week for her. It was time for her to release the inner beast.

 

“So where are we going now Tyongie…” said HyunA after exploring Taeyong’s tongue.

 

“Never have I ever-

 

“Hooked up with my girlfriend’s bestfriend.” Said Taeyong while he unbuckles the seat belt across HyunA’s chest.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________