As ________ asked the question, Ha Jae realized that she looked half-relieved and half-ready-to-break-down at her reply. Tugging nervously at a strand of her black hair, she wondered exactly why they’d strayed to the topic, and how come it was so urgent. Having a sketchy past, she never felt comfortable talking about her own history or others, and she had a bad feeling when _______ asked about Jaejoong. After all, he wasn’t exactly the boy with the cleanest reputation out there.

“Do you know anything about Jaejoong’s background? Or history?”

Ha Jae was taken aback but the sudden question. Her eyes blinked wide open, and she let out a little laugh. She knew that Jaejoong was popular, and that questions regarding him often came up every once in a while (Ha Jae had even been called insults because of her relationship with him) but she didn’t know that ________ was a fan of him too. “I didn’t take you as one of those sesang fans, _______.”

________ laughed, and Ha Jae looked curiously at her.

“If our relationship was that innocent, things would be much easier," the girl sighed, running her hands through her hair. 

Ha Jae’s eyebrows frowned, and she remembered Yunho talking about being a trainee and getting ready to debut with a few other members. She couldn’t think of any other reason for ________ to know her cousin. “Is he in the same company as Yunho? I knew Jaejoong modelled often, but just a while ago he told me he’d switched to become a hallyu star.”

“Yes. Though he’s just getting ready for debut, he’s planning to leave to America.”

“What?”
”He didn’t tell you?”

Ha Jae shook her head in disbelief. “He’d always been like this-he’d start something new, and once he got to it’s peak, he’d give it up in search for something else. It’s been years since his last exploration in medical school, and after that flop, he entered modelling. Now that he’s started something from scratch, he’s already given it up? We always supported Jaejoong and hoped that he would do well - but it feels as if he's temporary, like he can't hold on to anything for a long time." 

“I don’t think that’s the case here.”

Ha Jae’s eyebrows crinkled. Was this girl implying that she knew more about him than she, Jaejoong’s cousin, did?

“It’s not?”

“Jaejoong never gave up modelling. He’s still continuing with it, but I think he only took it up to feed his résumé as a trainee. I’m not sure why he gave up medical school, but lately he’s been rather subdued, like he’s under orders or something.”

Under orders?

“Would you mind explaining more on that?”

“It’s like he’s a different person. Jaejoong seems cold at first, but he’s always thinking about others. He blames himself for anything that goes wrong, which is why I think there’s something going on. Someone’s threatening him with guilt.

And I don’t think it’s right.”

Ha Jae bit her lip. It was obvious that he and this girl had a very close relationship-she had even gone to the point of digging through Jaejoong’s background. However, if Jaejoong didn’t mention any of his past to her, then he must have had a good reason. Though Ha Jae’s cousin may crumble easily under guilt, he was always extremely reasonable in his decisions and never took the next step unless he was sure it wouldn’t fail him. He wasn’t a risk taker, and was extremely meticulous.

What should she do?

“Ha Jae-please. If we just leave it like this, things will never change. And I don’t want that anymore. Please-can you help me?”

Ha Jae looked at the painful expression on ________’s face, and took in a deep breath. This girl was different - determined and intelligent-compared to the other girls Jaejoong used to bring in. She wondered how their story had started-and felt a great pressure knowing that she, his cousin, could determine whether or not they got a happy ending.

Oh, please forgive me, Jaejoong.

♩ ♪ ♫ ♬