*Minho’s POV*

I was utterly grateful when Nicole said she would rather go to her room by herself than hang out with us in the living room.

Dara sat next to me on the couch, her head leaning against my chest and my arm around her shoulders. We were watching Dream High since there was a marathon on all day and Taemin and Carolyn were obsessed with the show. However, my attention was anywhere but the TV.

What happened to her? She was so beautiful and classy and sure of herself. Now she’s so… weird. I hope she’s okay. I hope I didn’t send her into depression. Omo, what if all of this is my fault? I could never forgive myself. I just hope whatever it is, everything ends up okay-

“Tell me about her,” Dara’s voice suddenly snapped me out of my dreams. “I know you were thinking about her, so tell me. What’s she like?”

“What? No I wasn’t!”

“Minho, it’s okay. This must be hard for you. I want you to tell me what happened so I can help you through it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive,” she smiled, caressing my cheek.

“Well, for starters she wasn’t always like this.”

“I kind of figured that. Gothic doesn’t really seem like your type!”

“Haha, no,” I laughed. “She was beautiful; always dressing in designer outfits with brown, bouncy curls and nicely done makeup. She was cold back then too, but somehow I… I don’t know. But once we were together I got to see her sweet, vulnerable side and she wasn’t so bad. In fact I…”

“You can say it Minho,” she comforted me.

I took a deep breath, “I loved her. But it doesn’t matter. We broke up, I moved on, and then we got in a fight and… it was just bad.”

“What was the fight about?”

“Um, I think it’d be better if we didn’t bring that up.”

She looked at me in concern but didn’t push the matter any further. “Well, if you ever need to talk about anything having to do with her, I’m here for you.”

“Gomawo,” I smiled, kissing her forehead. “You’re so amazing.”

“Naega jeil jal naga,” she winked.

“Most definitely,” I laughed and she snuggled closer to me.

*Rebecca’s POV*

Onew and I were sitting on the floor with our backs against one of the couches. He had gotten into the show, but I was busy trying to find a way to get Nicole to trust me.

Well, I guess I just have to dive into it and hope for the best.

“Um, I’ll be right back,” I said getting up and adjusting my clothes.

“Ne,” Onew said absentmindedly.

I made my way across the room to Nicole’s door and knocked softly.

“What?!” came her annoyed reply through the door.

“Um, can I come in?” I asked.

“Whatever.”

I slowly opened the door and slipped inside. The room was darkly lit and Nicole was lying on her bed on her laptop.

“What do you want?” she asked, not bothering to look at me.

“I, um, I was just wondering if you wanted anything,” I said cautiously.

“I’m fine.”

An awkward silence passed between us until I finally took a step forward, “So, what’s up?”

Now she raised her eyes to look at me suspiciously. “Is there something you want from me?”

“No, I just thought you might be lonely,” I answered softly.

“I have online shopping. I am perfectly fine.”

“Oh, what are you shopping for?” I asked, coming around to look at her laptop screen.

“That!” she slammed her laptop shut, “Is none of your business!”

“Oh, I’m sorry-,”

“Just get out, okay?!”

“Okay, I will. I’m sorry-,”

“Go!!” she pointed to the door and I hurried out as quickly as I could.

When I got back out to the living room and shut the door, everyone turned to look at me, thinking it was Nicole.

“What were you doing in there?” Onew asked me as I sat down next to him again.

“I was just checking on her. She seems so lonely,” I answered.

He wrapped an arm around me and I snuggled against him.

“Did she yell at you?”

I nodded. He knew I was emotional and I’d take stuff like this to heart.

“Don’t worry about it. You were trying to do the right thing,” he comforted me.

“I know; I just can’t help feeling bad. She’s so lonely.”

“You tried your best. Just let it go,” he said, kissing my cheek. “Let’s enjoy the show, ne?”

“Ne,” I sighed, and pretended to watch the TV. However, something was puzzling me. When I went around the side of Nicole’s bed, I caught a glimpse of her laptop screen before she shut it on me. She was looking at dark clothes, which wasn’t a surprise to me. However, the “Plus Size” title at the top of the page had confused me.

Is she depressed because she’s getting fat? Or maybe she is getting fat from being depressed. But then, what is she depressed about?

By this time I was very confused, but I promised myself that by the time this vacation was over, I’d have Nicole’s mystery all figured out.