"What's wrong with you lately, Yi Jung ah?" My president's tone was sad and liveless, as if he's sick and tired about me. Having nothing to say, I looked down.

"I'm sorry... I'm really sorry..."

"Aren't you busy yesterday? Why do you still have time to go outdoors?" My president asked again.

"I had completed the work for yesterday and I went out to have a walk."

"Then you should have done it alone. Why must you bring Seung Hyun with you?" My president sounded so frustrated. I'm getting more nervous and afraid, knowing that the president of mine will burst sooner or later.

"I'm sorry..." I can only apologised. What can I say? With the photos taken by paparazzis all over the table, can I just said that I'm stressed and I want a break? Can I said that I'm lonely and misses my parents a lot that I want to go home? Or can I revealed that when I'm having a hard time, sobbing alone, Seung Hyun happened to text me and asked me out? Can I say any of these? When I know that Seung Hyun is going to get it? My head remained low.

"Do you have any schedules later?" My president asked after awhile.

"I'm going to KBS to get something done." I replied with my head low.

"Proceed to YG Entertainment after that. We are discussing this issue together with Mr. Yang." What?! The president of YG Entertainment?!

"Yes..." I bowed.

"Go and do your stuff." My president dismissed me, I stood up, bowed again and leave. I slumped to the chair along the corridor and held my head. I breathed in deep and closed my eyes.

Flashback

I laid on my bed, poundering on the words my manager told me yesterday.

"Seung Hyun likes you."

I shook my head and buried it in my pillow. I then got out of bed as I heard my phone rang. It's my mother.

"Mummy." I called in English.

"Hello, Dear. How are you?"

"Fine. How about you?"

"I'm fine. Are you free this December? We are going to Hong Kong."

"December? I'm not sure..." Hong Kong is a country where I loved to visit when I was younger.

"Try to come. Everyone misses you... It's been two years." I felt a tear trickled down my face. My mother's voice, the voice that only reminded me of naggings that I hated when I was younger, was now filled with love and misses she had for me. My heart ached.

"But Daddy..." I can't utter the word through my own mouth. I knew my father dislike me, for becoming a singer, for pursuing my one and only dream. He actually considers the only dream that I have this whole live, the dream that I'm sure I would be happy to live with, stupid and unrealistic. At first, I thought it that way too. So stupid and unrealistic for me to go after a dream in Korea. But I still wanted to try. I only live once. I would regret if I give up without even stepping out the first step. From the moment I stepped out of my house, I knew my father would even break ties with me. That is why he hadn't call me once in these two years.

"Dear... You know he doesn't mean it..." My mum spoke so softly. It made my heart ached more.

"Mummy, I will update you again. I really have no idea about the schedules I have in December."

"Okay. I will call you again soon. Bye. Takecare."

"Bye. Takecare Mummy." The call ended. I sat back on my bed, letting the tears flowed freely. I hugged my pillow to my chest as I cried out loudly, letting out all the stress, frustrations and unhappiness I had in me. I felt so empty and the urge for me to give up came to me again. This isn't the first time that I feel like giving up, but this is the time when the urge was the strongest. Just then, my phone rang again. I stopped crying and wiped my tears and reached for my phone. I saw the caller ID and hesitated. Instantly, I heard my manager's voice.

"Don't be too close to Seung Hyun." I placed my phone back on the table, ignoring the call. But after a few seconds, I picked it up, feeling that it doesn't mean anything to have a chat with a close friend.

"Hello?" I said, trying not to sound like I had just cried.

"Hey. Are you free now? I found the storybook that you have been looking for." Seung Hyun's voice was cheerful and lively.

"Really?" He found the book?! "Where do you found it?" My voice was a little more lively.

"At one of the bookstore in Dae Gu. Shall I passed it to you today?"

"Sure. Where are you? I will be there." I said, drying my cheeks with my hands as I stood up.

"Wait for me at Kang Nam subway station in 30 minutes. I will pick you up there."

"Okay. See you."

"See you." I quickly got ready and took a bus to Kang Nam subway station. Yes, I live in Kang Nam but it is still quite far from my apartment. I reached the station and was looking at the driver in every car along the road, looking for Seung Hyun. When I saw the familiar white beanie and purple hoodie, I happily approached the vehicle. Seung Hyun smiled to me when he saw me, as if to signal me to hop in. I opened the door to the front seat.

"Hello oppa." I was cheerful again. He simply smiled and turned to reach for the carrier at the backseat.

"There." He placed the carrier on my lap. I took the book out. It's really the book I'm looking for! I ran my fingers over the front cover and admired it, smiling.

"It's the last copy and I actually need to persuade the owner to sell it to me." Seung Hyun said as I was still admiring the 'treasure' in my hands.

"Thank you." I smiled warmly that him. "How much is it?" I said and I took out my wallet.

"My gift for you."

"Why?" I looked at him, eyes slightly widen. "You even need to persuade the owner. Just imagine how much more the owner charge you. It's okay. I should be the one paying for it."

"Can I have dinner instead of money?" He smiled at me.

"Why are you doing this? I'm already so grateful that you kept a lookout for this book. How much is it?" I insisted on paying him.

"A thousand Won." He said.

"What? Did your family owns that bookstore? Even a packet of milk cost 850 Won."

"Haha. That's why, just pay me 1000 Won and top up the rest with dinner." He chuckled and said.

"I bet dinner wouldn't be more than this book." I shot back.

"Not really. Since you are treating, don't expect me save money for you..." He eyed me and smiled. I chuckled.

"Okay. What do you want to eat?"

"You will see..." He said, sounding secretive and drove off.

We arrived at a ginseng chicken eating house. We entered the eating house and it wasn't really crowded since it's past the eating hour.

"You wanted to eat this?" I asked as I sat down.

"This is what you and I need." He answered, as he called for the waitress and ordered the food. I watched him as he ordered, knowing what he was actually thinking. He wanted me to eat well as he know I would eat junk food at home. If I'm not wrong, this is what I thought. I just smiled to myself. It feels so good to be taken care of. It feels like I'm back home. When the food arrived, we chatted as we ate. I had geek spectacles on and Seung Hyun had the hood over his head and white geek spectacles. Fortunately, there was no one sitting beside us and the others didn't recognised us. We talked softly as Seung Hyun's unique husky voice would betray him. After finishing our meal, I went to foot the bill, but Seung Hyun was faster than me. I looked at him with the 'Didn't-you-say-I-will-be-the-one-paying' look. He smiled playfully and went out first. I followed behind him into his car.

"Didn't we agree that I will be the one treating this time?" I asked when I was seated.

"Why did you cry?" He asked.

"Huh?" The question was so sudden. "I did not cry..."

"Then why are your eyes so red and puffy?" He asked, turning to look at me.

"It's nothing..." I looked down. He started the engine and drove off.

"Where are we heading to oppa?" I asked when I noticed that he wasn't heading back to my apartment.

"A place where you would love."

Soon, we arrived at Han River. Yes, besides from beaches, I love rivers, especially those in Korea. They are all beautiful like the Han River. I got out and went to the river bank, holding onto the barrier as I looked down.

"So what's wrong?" He came beside me and looked out. I did not answer but just closed my eyes, and took a deep breath as I smiled faintly.

"It's so nice here..." I breathed in the fresh and sweet air, smiling with my eyes closed.

"Yes. It's nice here." I opened my eyes slowly and saw Seung Hyun closing his eyes and taking in deep breaths slowly as well.

"It's relaxing right? To enjoy the air this way." I asked, my eyes out to the view.

"Yeah."

We stayed this way for awhile. Silent. Allowing ourselves to get in by the night view before us and leave the reality.

"So... What made you cry?" Seung Hyun asked again.

"Just... Stressed..." He nodded. Then I felt his hand over mine. I let go of the grip on the barrier as he took one of my hand and held it with both of his hands.

"Don't worry. Everything would be fine." I knew what he meant. It's the bashing I got from the fans all along. It's one part of my stress. I smiled and nodded. He smiled back and let go of my hands slowly and leaned forward to the barrier again

"Thank you oppa." I thanked as I rested my arms on the metal barrier, looking out.

"For what?" He asked.

"For everything." I turned and smiled to him. He saw my smile and I got his smile as he looked out again. We stayed there for awhile before heading home.

End of flashback

My manager came out of the office later then me. My president must have scolded the hell out of her. Although my president's voice can't be heard from outside, I know my manager wouldn't be let off easily. I dare not look at my manager, afraid of her eyes. Her eyes could kill if she's mad. Surprisingly, my manager did not reprimand me. Just saying 'Let's go.".

"I'm sorry unnie." I apologised to her in the car. She did not respond. I have let her down. If she ignores me, that means she is disappointed and had nothing more to say. Silence filled the car. My manager sighed.

"I had nothing more to say. I mean how can you go out with Seung Hyun after two days from the day I told you to stay away from him?" My manager asked after awhile, feeling so absurd. I looked down. I'm in the wrong, I know. That's why I don't know what to say other than 'sorry'.

"Yi Jung ah, if you keep doing this, I'm not caring anymore." My manager had reached her limit. She dislikes people who defies her. I dare not lift up my head as I listened to what she said. When we arrived, I went to get the things done and leave for YG Entertainment. We entered the building and headed to the Mr. Yang's office. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. I turned the doorknob after getting permission from Mr. Yang inside. I could recognised Mr. Yang's voice. Seung Hyun and my president were already there. I greeted and bowed. I went to take a seat after Mr. Yang called me to.

"Such things happened for the second time... Can I hear from Yi Jung-ssi?" Mr. Yang asked. Damn it! What if what I said is different from what Seung Hyun said to Mr. Yang?

"I went out for a walk after completing the work for the day." I replied, head hanging low. Mr. Yang fidgeted. I knew Seung Hyun told him a different story.

"Who asked who out?" He asked again.

"It's me." Seung Hyun replied.

"You again... Why is it always you?" I'm so scared by now. The tension is like so much more than just having summoned by my president. Seung Hyun looked down, not answering.

"Please tell us the whole story." Mr. Yang said. Obviously knowing at I was lying. I don't know what Seung Hyun told him but I'm so afraid that I dare not lie anymore.

"I wasn't in a mood yesterday so when Seung Hyun-ssi called saying that he found the storybook that I had been looking for a long time, I got excited. I did not think of the consequences so I just met up with him to get the book."

"That's all?"

"We then went to have dinner and went to the Han River afterwards." I spilled everything out. I glanced at Seung Hyun to check for any clues on his face that said I said something different from what he told Mr. Yang earlier but he was just looking down.

Both presidents sighed.

"Shall we not let them appear on shows for the time being, Mr. Yang?" My president finally spoke.

"That's the only way for now." Mr. Yang said as he fixed his graze on the glass coffee table before him. "We will just let the media know that they were hanging out and avoid questions on the photos." He continued and my president nodded. After all the serious talk, we thanked each other and leave the room. My president is still talking with Mr. Yang inside the office. My manager and I were ahead of Seung Hyun and his manager. When we were about to reach the entrance door, a bunch of reporters gathered outside with the security guards holding them back. When they saw us, they became rowdy, throwing millions of questions at us as they extended out their recorders. Flashes from cameras hurt our eyes. My manager and I was taken aback and I stopped my tracks and stared at them. My manager recovered from the surprised almost immediately and pushed me back into the building instead, moving away from the reporters' sight. Seung Hyun was being pushed in as well.

"How are we going back?" I asked my manager, worried.

"There's no way we could get out with so many reporters." She shook her head and dialled her phone.

"I guessed we have to wait till they leave. The backdoor is also filled with reporters and personal guards were limited. I will let the president know. You stay here." She said after ending her call and walked off. We were at the resting area on the ground level. It is way inside the building so it's quite safe. Seung Hyun's manager went off to somewhere so I was left alone with Seung Hyun. So awkward... I sat on the chair and daydreamed.

"Here." Seung Hyun handed me a cup of coffee bought from the vending machine.

"Thank you." I held the paper cup and took a sip. The aroma of the coffee filled my nose but still, didn't take me away from the surprise earlier on. It's so sudden. Seung Hyun sat beside me and drank the coffee. Silence....

"Oppa. I think we should distance ourselves." I said after thinking through many times. I don't want our friendship to end but why make things so hard for everyone?

"What?" He looked at me, shocked.

"Maybe we shouldn't be too close." I said, not looking at him. I know he is looking at me but I just couldn't say it in his face.

"Why? Because of that?"

"You are so nice to me. You take good care of me. Always be there when I needed you. You are a close friend and like a brother to me. Even yesterday, you chose to eat at ginseng chicken because of me. I know, and I felt like I was back in Singapore, with my parents, showing me with love and care. What you did to me and how well you have treated me, I know. For someone like me, in a foreign country alone, a friend like you means a lot. I appreciates and treasures you. I don't want things like this to happen." I held back my tears from falling as I finally said what I don't really want to. "It doesn't mean to end this friendship. Just maybe lesser outings..." I turned to look at him and forced a smile. "Thanks for the coffee." I smiled again and walked away to look for my manager. Tears flowed and I wiped them away as my manager came to view
---
Okay! Another chapter! Hope this is a good chapter. I have not re-read the chapter so bear with me with the errors I have here. Will read it tomorrow. Thanks for reading and hope you all have enjoyed it. ^^ Comments please! :D

To sweetgirl, Love is in the air? Maybe, maybe not... ^^
Here's another update...! :D

Schedulex2(C)
Started- 8:21PM, 140810
Ended- 11:50PM, 140810