Chapter 12 – Friend or Foe?

It was the final night of the trip. Soon they would be on their way back to Seoul to resume their busy lives. Busan wasn’t an island paradise or some tropical heaven where people flocked to in swarms to get some vacation time, but to them it might as well be. Nobody was looking forward to restarting their boring and unexciting lives. They desperately wished they could stay there forever and never have to deal with the pressures of their responsibilities, but sadly that would not be the case.

Yonghwa actually didn’t mind going back to Seoul. There was only one thing he wasn’t looking forward to at that moment and it was explaining to everyone how he was now a couple with Hyuna. That was scarier and more annoying than going back to school and dealing with his daily affairs. Hyuna on the other hand was ecstatic. She couldn’t wait to tell everyone the good news.

“What are we going to tell the others?” Yonghwa asked the girl he was currently guiding back to the beach house. Hyuna looked up with bright shining eyes and gave him a genuine smile. Seeing her act like that brought a smile to his face too. If he were to be completely honest with himself, he wasn’t too sure of what he was doing.

“Well, we could just tell them that I finally got through to you during the trip. Although, I’m still a little angry at you that you’re only using me to forget another woman,” Hyuna pouted. Yonghwa gave out a chuckle as their feet walked through the soft, white sand of the beach. He knew she was playing around with him about that, but at the same time, all jokes have a bit of truth to them.

“I’m sorry Hyuna,” he apologized sincerely. Even though he was sorry, this was something he felt like he had to do. If he didn’t forget Seohyun now, he would never forget her as long as he lived. Seeing as how she was marrying his best friend, there was no way he would be able to live with that pain every day of his life.

“I was kidding,” she defended when she felt as if his tone had gotten too serious. “You know that I proposed to you for us to go out from the beginning. I want this.”

“Yeah but I-”

“Yonghwa I want you to want this too,” she affirmed in a voice just as serious as his. Yonghwa shut his mouth and nodded at her silently. Something about her words made him a little surer of his decision. It might not be easy, but maybe, just maybe, Hyuna could actually pull off the impossible and make him forget the woman he had loved for most of his life.

“Thanks a lot Hyuna.” Yonghwa proceeded to give her a smile just as sincere as hers had been. Even though they had been going out for about ten minutes, he had a feeling that it could work out well. It would take a lot of time for the wounds to heal, but he had to believe Hyuna was more than capable enough to heal him.

“You ready for this?” Hyuna asked when she saw they had reached the beach house. Yonghwa took a deep breath and answered back by walking to the house confidently. Fear welled up inside him since he knew that Eun Jung and Jang Woo were not going to be happy.

“Hey guys, what are you up to…?” Jang Woo asked before trailing off. Yonghwa had expected this, but he couldn’t back out now. Jang Woo’s face was obviously full of confusion and no doubt the rest of his friends would react the same way once they saw them holding hands. “You guys wanna tell me what’s going on here?”

“Yeobo! Is everyone back so we can celebrate the new…? Um, am I just seeing things or are those two holding hands?” Eun Jung asked while running down the stairs. Yonghwa looked over at Hyuna protectively as if saying ‘I’ll handle this’ before he began to speak.

“I asked Hyuna to be my girlfriend. It wouldn’t be any fun if we were the only lonely ones on this trip while you two couples hang out with each other,” Yonghwa joked. Eun Jung and Jang Woo both knew all too well what this was about. Yonghwa wasn’t going to fool them.

“Uh huh…” they both grunted in unison.

“Where is Seohyun?  I have to tell her all about it!” Hyuna squealed. The excited girl finally let go of Yonghwa’s arm to climb the flight of wooden stairs that lead to her friend’s room. Jang Woo stood up angrily and began to drag Yonghwa out of the house forcefully. Eun Jung took a step forward but was stopped when Jang Woo glared at her and shook his head.

“Dude what is your deal?” Yonghwa angrily asked while straightening out his shirt. “I was going to tell Joon about-”

“About what? About how much of a coward you are? About how pathetic you are?”

“This again?” Yonghwa growled, his temper flaring full force. “Jang Woo are you serious? You’re not my mother so why don’t you stop acting like it.”

 Both young men stared each other down and neither of them were backing off. The only thing that could be heard was their rapid, angry breathing and the faint sounds of the waves in the background. The tension in the air was thick enough to suffocate anyone else that came into the conversation. And it didn’t help that both of them were ready to pounce on each other if the situation escalated.

“I never said I was your mother,” he spat back.

“Yeah well you might as well be. You keep interfering in my life as if you had a right to,” Yonghwa acidly responded. Jang Woo let out a deep sigh and tried to calm the fire he felt rising inside of him. He knew it would do him no good to instigate any sort of fight.

“I do have a right Yonghwa,” he stated in a calmer voice. “I’m your friend and I think that gives me the right to stop you from doing something stupid.”

“You think me dating another girl is stupid? First I was stupid for liking Seohyun. Now I’m stupid for dating Hyuna?” he scoffed. Jang Woo opened his mouth to respond, but he quickly shut it. There was nothing he could say in response. Yonghwa was right and he had nothing to counter him with.

“I’m sorry. It’s just that this whole thing is driving me insane. I know Hyuna looks like she could finally erase that girl in your heart but it won’t be real,” Jang Woo explained. Yonghwa dropped his guard when he heard his friend drop his. It was almost funny how much his love for Seohyun affected everyone, not just him. “We all like her, but there’s something off about her. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed.”

Yonghwa had to admit that Jang Woo was right. Ever since he had met her at the airport, he knew there was a certain fire in her eyes that was always present. It wasn’t even a fire of determination or passion or anything of that sort. It was a greedy fire that threatened to consume everything that it could touch. It was a tainted, bloodstained red fire that could do nothing but harm. Even so, there were times where that fiery look in her eyes disappeared and left her vulnerable.

“I have, but…” Yonghwa trailed off. Now it was his turn to be without a defense. “I just want to be done Jang Woo. Hyuna is probably not the best choice but she legitimately likes me, I can tell that much. Maybe having someone like me back will get me to snap out of things.”

“Snap out of things?”  Jang Woo laughed in a sincere way. “You are a funny guy Yonghwa. That’s not how it works, but you’re right. I’m sorry I doubt your actions, but it’s only for your own good.”

“Jashik,” Yonghwa called back to him. “I’ll be fine trust me. You know me enough to know that I won’t screw up. I’m going to fix this problem finally. Now I only hope Eun Jung doesn’t kill me when I tell her.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure she will only beat you down a little.” The two guys gave each other a handshake and walked back to the house dreading just how much Eun Jung would scold them for leaving her out of the talk.

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Meanwhile, Hyuna had gone to look for Seohyun up in her room. She had already heard the good news that she was going to marry Joon, so it was her turn to spring some good news on her friend. *Knock knock* said the door as Hyuna lightly tapped it with her knuckles. Slowly the door opened up, revealing both Joon and Seohyun in the room.

“Oh my god congratulations!” Hyuna squealed once her friend was in sight. The two girls jumped in joy and quickly gave each other a loving hug. “I’m so happy for you guys. I knew it would happen sooner or later. Joon is lucky to have you.” Seohyun’s eyes brimmed with tears of joy as her best friend congratulated her. She still couldn’t believe the events of that day had actually happened.

“I know! I’m still in shock.” Joon coughed a little and began to head out the door. He figured it was a moment amongst girls and he didn’t want to ruin it. Hyuna looked over at him and gave him a look not much different than the one she had given him at the pool earlier that day.

“Well get ready to be shocked again. Guess who just scored herself a new boyfriend?” Hyuna bragged. Joon and Seohyun gave each other a confused glance and looked back over at Hyuna. She pointed to herself and began to laugh at her stupid way of telling everyone she was now Yonghwa’s girlfriend.

“What?!” both Seohyun and Joon asked loudly.

“You’re looking at Kim Hyuna, or should I say: ‘Jung Yonghwa’s new girlfriend.’”

“No! You’re kidding!” Seohyun exclaimed. For a quick second her thoughts blurred and she remembered the dream she had involving him. Just for that slight moment, a thorn of some sorts hurt her in her chest but it quickly disappeared. The thought of marrying Joon came in quickly and killed off any other thoughts about Hyuna’s new boyfriend.

“Yup, I finally got the idiot to fall for me.” Joon continued to stare at the bragging girl and tried his hardest not to run out of the room and warn Yonghwa to get out of the relationship at once. Something about Hyuna was definitely off especially after the way she had flirted with him and even tried to kiss him. Jealousy was also a reason he wanted to get Yonghwa away from her. He wasn’t going to deny that Hyuna had roused his interest in her after that afternoon.

“I have to go congratulate him!” Seohyun squealed happily. Hyuna nodded at her happily and allowed her to fly down the stairs in order to talk to her best friend since birth. Joon tried to follow her but was stopped once again once he looked into Hyuna’s eyes.

“You move pretty fast Joonie boy,” Hyuna mocked. Joon’s temper flared up as he was not in the mood for Hyuna’s games. He felt like grabbing hold of her and shaking her until she shut up. Even so, part of him wanted to take that anger out on her in a different way.

“What are you trying to say?”

Hyuna laughed at him and continued to stare him down. She knew that Joon was cornered and he had nothing to defend himself with. She had the upper hand and she knew it. If the boy even tried to do anything to Hyuna, she could easily just claim that Joon was coming onto her and everyone would believe her. She was known to be a little promiscuous, but since she was ‘Seohyun’s best friend,’ nobody would ever think of doubting her.

“It’s a little funny how things turned out today don’t you think?”

“What are you trying to say Hyuna?”

“Maybe the guilt you felt was a little too much for you to handle?” Hyuna back. Joon was now fuming as he didn’t like what she was insinuating.

“Are you trying to say I only asked Seohyun to marry me because I felt guilty from what happened earlier today?” Hyuna nodded and shot him a cocky smirk. It was so easy to play with him she considered it unfair even. “You better take that back. You came onto me, not the other way around. You’re full of and you know it.”

“Am I? Last time I checked you were all fired up and ready to go. If I had let you continue you would have kissed me back,” Hyuna defended herself. Once again he was cornered because he knew she was right. He liked it and there was no denying it. Still he continued to tell himself that it wasn’t guilt that drove him to ask Seohyun to marry him.

Joon calmed himself down and began to walk away from Hyuna once more. He didn’t need to be arguing with her on the day he had proposed to his future wife. No matter how many mind games Hyuna played with him, he wouldn’t cave. He couldn’t cave. This was all just a game for her and he wouldn’t play right into her hands. He had done it once, but it wouldn’t happen a second time.

“You just worry about making my friend happy,” Joon suggested to her before leaving the room. “Yonghwa better not get hurt because of you.”

Hyuna laughed once more at the way Joon was trying to run away from the situation. It was even funnier to her that he was trying to play the perfect friend/boyfriend role at the moment. “I could tell you the same thing. You better not make Seohyun unhappy because I know you will slip up eventually. See you later, Joonie…”

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Back in Seoul the week started back up, reminding everyone that they had real lives to tend to. Be it work or school, everyone was back on track as much as they hated it. As the days passed, the weekend seemed to come slower. It was if the time slowed down once it realized that people were getting ready to enjoy themselves. Seconds went by as if they were minutes and minutes felt like hours. It was already Thursday afternoon but it felt like Friday was still months away.

“Damn it!” Hyuna exclaimed while being kicked out of one of the administrative offices. “Stupid bastards! I said I would have the money before the end of the week. It’s not fair!”

A woman wearing a business suit swung open the door Hyuna had just slammed and looked down at her in anger. The woman looked like she was in her mid-forties, possibly a little older. Her glasses made her look even older than she really was and her permed hair wasn’t doing her any favors either. Overall, her appearance was that of a sour woman that either liked being mean for fun or was just bitter because life had screwed her over.

“Bastards? Hyuna-sshi, I do believe we gave you plenty of chances to pay off your tuition,” the sour woman pointed out. Hyuna scoffed at her and continued to hold up her princess attitude even though she was the farthest thing from it. “Scoff again young lady, it won’t do you any good.”

Hyuna could only stand at the door to the building and look up at the clouds floating by in the sky. Tears began to sting in her eyes as she realized that she was screwed if she didn’t find some way to fix the problem at hand. “Please,” she began to beg. “I need to stay here or else I’ll never be able to get out of the crappy life I have.”

The woman did sympathize with Hyuna, she really did. Every day she would see bright students drop out of school because they couldn’t afford it. However, she wasn’t a charity organization. She had a school to run and that required money. “I’m sorry, but you’ll either have to go to a college that’s more affordable for you, or pay up. One or the other sweetheart.”

The woman entered her office once more and left Hyuna out on the front stairs to cry. This was one of the few things that could actually break the spirit of the ever so strong Kim Hyuna. Life was tough on her so she had to be tough on life. Even so, there were times where she needed help and this was one of them. Nobody could help her though. She needed a lot of money and her pride would not let her directly ask her rich friends for a loan.

“Are you okay?” a male voice asked from beside her. The last person she would expect to be there ended up being the owner of that voice.

Lee Joon, the man she had gotten into an argument with just last night, appeared at her side. A flash of a smile made its way onto her face but Joon didn’t catch it. “I’m fine Joon. Leave me alone,” she said while wiping the tears off her tanned cheeks.

“You don’t look fine,” he pointed out in a know-it-all voice. “What’s wrong? Why was that lady yelling at you?”

Hyuna took that as a cue to begin to bawl her eyes out. Joon was startled by the sudden outburst and quickly rubbed her back to make her feel better. He had fallen for her bait almost too easily, causing her to hug him while still letting out all the tears she could.

“I’m getting kicked out of school,” she said through sobs. “They want me to pay up a lot of money or else I’ll have to leave by tomorrow.” Joon hugged her back and tried to comfort her as best he could. The thoughts of him being angry at her disappeared, leaving him to sincerely feel bad for her.

“Go home Hyuna. I think you need some rest and you’ll feel better tomorrow morning,” Joon assured her. Hyuna wanted to laugh and jump for joy as she realized that the idiot had fallen for her trap. The crying girl nodded wearily and began to walk towards the building where she could find Yonghwa.

“Tch idiot…” Hyuna scoffed while clearing her face as best she could before she met up with Yonghwa. “No wonder that sap is with that goody two shoes Seohyun. They’re both dumber than bricks.” The weary and melancholy shuffle she used near Joon had now turned into an arrogant walk as if she were a model on the catwalk.

Her good mood went south when she saw that her boyfriend was walking out of the lab building with a bunch of girls that were interested in more than just his help to get a better grade in the class. There was one girl that especially caught her attention. It was that same girl that looked like some sort of doll, Park Min Young. That eye smile of hers made Hyuna sick with anger.

“Sunbaenim, I can’t believe you got the experiment to work for us. I thought we were going to be in there forever,” a girl praised. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. Yonghwa tried to calm them all down and be as humble as possible, but it seemed everyone insisted on embarrassing him.

“Yonghwa seonsaeng!” a male voice called from the door. “The head teacher wants to ask you something. Come back inside for a second.” Yonghwa excused himself for a second and left the group of girls to get back to their busy schedules. All except for one girl, the girl Hyuna had her eyes fixed on, left.

“Annyeong Min Young ah,” Hyuna coldly greeted. Min Young turned around to have a cold pair of eyes meet hers. “You seem to be awfully smart with the way my boyfriend praises you.” Min Young backed off a little and tried to make sense of the situation.

“Ah, you’re Yonghwa sunbae’s new girlfriend Hyuna right?” Min Young happily asked.

“Yeah that’s right little girl,” Hyuna insulted her even though Min Young was probably at most a year younger than her. “Stay away from my man you .” Hyuna menacingly came over to Min Young’s side and the ends of her hair softly. “You have really pretty hair. You wouldn’t want me to have to tear it all out would you?”

“N-no,” Min Young stuttered as Hyuna tugged her hair painfully. “I’m not interested in Yonghwa sunbae. He’s just a teacher to me.” Hyuna let go of the dark brown locks of hair and tried her best to make it nice again.

“You better hope for your sake you keep it that way,” Hyuna threatened. The scary woman brushed past Min Young forcefully and headed inside the building to look for her new boyfriend. The pale faced girl let out a breath of relief as she was rid of the girl with a strong murderous intent. She had no idea why Hyuna was so hostile to her, but she didn’t want to find out exactly what she was capable of.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It seemed like Hyuna’s little crying stunt had paid off. Once again she began to attend classes as if there was absolutely problem with her tuition. She had gone to the finance office and they told her that everything had been paid for, even things for the next year. A triumphant smirk graced her face as she remembered how easily she had gotten Joon to fall for her act.

“Pabo… you really are an idiot aren’t you Lee Joon?” Hyuna whispered to herself while walking out of her class to meet up with the man that had been her savior. There she would see Joon again and personally thank him for having helped her out. Her little game was starting to get much more enjoyable as she did not expect those kinds of rewards out of it.

She felt bad for Yonghwa because he honestly did seem like he was trying to like her, but there was something missing. Because she knew he was still in love with that girl, he hesitated to be intimate with her. His kisses were few and far in between. Women had needs too and hers were not being met at the pace Yonghwa was going.

Also, she had told him that it didn’t matter that he was poor, but that was only something she had said because she was blinded by love. The way she had almost been kicked out of her university had reminded her that love wasn’t going to be there to help her pay her bills.

That was where Joon came in. As much as she liked Yonghwa, Joon had money. He was easy to manipulate and she was going to use that to her advantage. The boy was already eating out of her hand. She figured she would knock out two birds with one stone. She would gain the intimacy she wanted as well as money to get what she desired. It was a win-win situation for her.

“Hello Miss, may I help you with something?” a polite secretary asked Hyuna when she entered the building where Joon’s company was run from.

“Yes I’m here to see Lee Joon. I don’t have an appointment but if you tell him Kim Hyuna is here he will know what to do,” Hyuna politely replied. She looked around and liked what she saw. From a distance she had passed by the elegantly decorated building, but she had never been inside. The main lobby alone was probably five times bigger than her tiny little hole she called a home.

“Mister Lee’s office is on the 5^th floor in room 515,” the secretary explained to her after she got off of the phone with Joon himself. “The elevator is behind you to your right. Have a nice day Miss.” Hyuna nodded at the lady and wished this is how she was treated every day of her life.

The eager woman put her game face on while the elevator slowly ascended the floors of the elaborate building. Soon enough the bell dinged and the shiny silver doors opened up for her to make her way to Joon’s office. After a quick knock on her door she heard a rustle of papers indicating that Joon was coming over to greet her himself. “Hey Hyuna,” Joon nervously greeted. “What are you doing here? Did you come with Seohyun?”

Hyuna let herself into the office and closed the door behind her before Joon could continue to ask questions. She looked around the room and noticed an empty desk beside his where she assumed a secretary should be working there. However, it looked like nobody occupied it since there was absolutely nothing besides a small lamp on it. Another arrogant smirk formed on her lips as she realized this would be easier than she thought.

“I’m actually here to thank you for what you did about my tuition,” Hyuna explained. “If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t have been able to continue my studies.”

Joon stiffened up at her reason for being there and headed over to his desk to pretend to do work.

 “I don’t know what you’re talking about Hyuna. If you’re here to speak nonsense, please go home. I have work to do.”

“Don’t lie to me Joon. I know it was you,” she asserted. “The financial office told me it had been you who paid.” Hyuna was lying since that was confidential information, but Joon was much too easy to fool. He wouldn’t think of doubting her words.

“Well, they need to learn to keep their mouth shut,” he spat, implying that he had in fact paid her fees. “Seriously, I’m in the middle of work so I need you to leave. I appreciate you coming up here to thank me though.”

Hyuna pouted at his attempts to get rid of her but she was determined to continue messing with him. She walked over slowly to the empty desk and sat on it. She crossed her exposed legs and stared at Joon until he looked up. The sight in front of him was far too distracting for him to continue his work. Her sun kissed skin was exposed for him to take it all in. The skirt she was wearing was far too short for her to be sitting on there and it didn’t help that she was basically posing for him.

“I see you don’t have a secretary,” Hyuna pointed out.

“Yeah I d-don’t,” Joon stuttered. “What’s it to you?”

“Well, I think I could pay you back for helping me out,” she began to explain. “Every business man needs a secretary. I think I can help you out with that.” Joon scoffed and tried to look down at the papers he was currently reading, but was interrupted by Hyuna’s movement.

A seductive smile formed out of the smirk she was wearing as she walked over slowly to his desk. She rested her body against his desk in the same way she had done to the other one only this time she was within an arm’s reach of Joon. The flustered man tried to avoid her gaze but he couldn’t. His eyes were glued to hers and the fire he felt inside him back in Busan was setting him ablaze.

“How could you help me?”

“Well I could be your secretary. It would help me out too. I’m studying business just like you and Seohyun. It would give me a lot of first-hand experience if I worked in a company like this,” she purred. Every word was like honey to him. Each syllable drew him closer and closer to her. Joon’s hands ached to reach over and enjoy the sight in front of him. All thoughts of how he was marrying Seohyun or how Yonghwa was now Hyuna’s boyfriend disappeared. Arousal was the only thing keeping going.

“I do-don’t need one…” he muttered while still inspecting every centimeter of her exposed skin. “Go home Hyuna. I’m busy.”

“Aw I don’t think you want that. You know I would be the perfect secretary for you.” Her voice grew even more seductive by the minute if it was even possible. Joon watched as she uncrossed her legs and crossed them again to get more comfortable. Hyuna could tell he had wanted a quick peek at what was between there, but she couldn’t give him the prize without receiving one herself first.

“How come?”

“I think this will help convince you.” She pulled on his tie and forced him into a passionate kiss. The situation in Busan was completely different from the one they were experiencing at the moment. Back in Busan Hyuna was soft and teasing. Now the kiss they were sharing was rough and forceful. Hyuna felt herself smile when she felt Joon place his hands in her obsidian hair and push her closer to him if it was possible. Their tongues danced in heated passion as they let their hands roam over each other’s body.

Just as Joon’s hands began to creep up on her chest, she pulled away. Once again she put a finger over his mouth and kept him from touching her. “Not so fast. You still haven’t agreed for me to be your secretary. I’m sure you’ll agree that I have more than enough ‘experience’ for the job.” Joon groaned as his body ached to feel her warmth again and he hesitantly nodded.

“I’ll let you be my secretary,” he stated. Nothing in the world mattered to him now. Not Seohyun, not Yonghwa, not any of his other friends who would judge him. All that mattered to him at that moment was to finally release all of his frustrations on the girl teasing him.

“That’s a good boy,” she mocked. Joon found himself wanting more once Hyuna straightened her clothes and hair before walking towards the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow after I get out of class so I can start repaying you. Thanks again, boss…” she purred before she let the door close behind her.

Joon wasn’t going to have her play games with her anymore and he quickly caught her before she got too far. Hyuna was startled when she felt his strong hand grab hold of her arm, but at the same time she enjoyed it. The stronger figure pulled her back into the office before slamming the door closed and clicking the lock. “You’re starting today whether you like it or not. Something tells me that you wouldn’t mind it though.”

“I don’t know boss. It depends how hard you work me,” she continued to tease in her foxlike manner. Joon’s eyes almost rolled into the back of his head upon hearing those words coming out of . They hadn’t even done anything yet and he was already ready to blow his top. This had been what he needed. Even though the thought of Seohyun came into his head, it didn’t matter. This felt right to him. He had needed this for the longest time and Seohyun couldn’t give it to him.

“You’re going to work so hard you’re probably not going to want to come back tomorrow,” he cockily teased back. Hyuna liked the way he was speaking a little too much. His arrogant and strongly worded innuendo made her feel like she was definitely going to enjoy ‘working’ with him very much.

“Try me,” she defied.

“Oh, you’re going to regret challenging me like that.”

Author’s Note: Sorry there wasn’t really and Seohyun or Yonghwa in this but this this chapter sets up the future of the story’s plot. So I’m sure that some of you already had doubts about Hyuna from chapter 1 but I guess this is the big eye opener for everyone. While I’m not really going to defend Joon, he’s not all that bad of a guy, at least not as bad as I think Hyuna is. He is just a guy that has unfulfilled needs and feels like the only way he can get off is by doing what he’s doing.

As for the people who are waiting for some kind of realization from Seohyun, we shall be getting some of her thoughts out of her in the next chapter. I know a lot of you guys were pissed with the last update but it’s just how the story is going. I can’t do anything about it now since I already have like 7 more chapters already written. Everyone wants Seohyun to finally make up her mind and make a move, but I just can’t make her do such a big 180 just because everyone wants her to. Besides, if I did that the story would end too abruptly.