"Geonbae!!!" we brought our glasses together, and retreated to our mouth for a sip, or rather, a gulp for me. I squint my eyes while I feel the soju burnt my throat. In the split second that my eyes were closed, Hyunjae appeared in my head. Within a jiffy, I forced the sides of my lip to perk upwards and laughed at whatever the guys are laughing at. 

"Hyung! You are so cool, hyung..." Seungri slurred his words, "So cool... I can't wait to watch the movie. Geonbae!" He brought up his glass again, but alone this time, while the rest of us laughed. Youngbae slapped his hands lightly, bringing his glass down, "Ah, it's only midnight and he's almost wasted." 
"Let him... At least we know he will be trouble-free if he drinks here. I'd rather he get all wasted here, than with them gold-diggin' es" There was a strong hint of frustrations in Jiyong's voice and I knew he was still upset about the scandal a couple of months back. Who isn't? 

We talked some more, then I decided to fish out my phone to check for e-mails, phone calls or text messages. 
. 

9 missed calls from Hyunjae. 2 from 8pm, 2 from after 9pm, 3 from 10pm, and 2 from 11pm. What happened? What is so urgent that she had been calling me consecutively? 
I excused myself while I made my way to the smoking lounge where there is nobody. I felt my blood pulsating and pumping even harder while I dailed her number. Thank God I didn't have to wait for long - she answered the phone within the first ring. 


"Seunghyun! Are you okay?!" Her voice was tense and anxious. My worries eased as I hear her voice but I became more confused, "Hey... Yes, I'm fine. Um... What happened? Is something wrong?" 
"Are you sure you're okay?" the tension in her voice have yet to go.  
"Yes, Jae. I'm perfectly fine. What happened?" I tried to calm her down with my voice, because frankly, how else can I calm her down when we are physically too far away from each other? 

Then I heard a sigh, and she spoke again - this time, her voice shook - "I don't know... I was... I... I called you because I remembered today was the last day of your filming and I wanted to congratulate you. I wanted to call earlier but I figured you will be at the lunch celebration... So I called at 8, and you didn't pick up. And it just reminded of when you injured your hands. So I kept calling and calling, but you still didn't pick up. I didn't know what to do. I would have called at least 50 times, but I don't want to be annoying you if you are fine. I just... I just didn't know what to do... I -" 

She kept on blabbering, with her voice still trembling. I knew she was crying. I felt my heart strings tugged. Silly, silly girl... I kept on listening to her while she tried her best to explain while holding in her cries. Somehow, I like it - Not her crying, but her worrying. I was smiling while I hear her acting paranoid. She remembers my schedules. She is still constantly updated and in touch with whatever that is going on with my life - that is available on the Internet. She cares, and I like it. In fact, I love it. 

"Jae..." I finally say, to stop her from speaking, "I'm fine... I'm sorry... I was with the boys. I'm sorry. Though, what could have happened?" 
"I don't know... I just became stupid and frantic when you didn't answer the phone. I'm over-reacting..." she sighed, and I stopped her immediately. 
"But I like it." I felt myself blushed while I said it, "It reminds me that you care. I've missed us." 
 

There was a long pause.

"How're you?" Her voice was now soft and sligthtly wary. It was such an easy question, but how do I tell her that I am physically healthy, but wounded mentally because I need her? I am surprised that I am still alive and breathing now, since it has been 2 months since I last saw her pretty face. 

Silence unfold. What happened? What happened to the Hyunjae, 5 minutes ago, whom obviously showed th