The next day, I went straight to the practice rooms. I knew that the boys were practicing today, so I lingered around and waited for them to take a break. I hid in the room next to their practice room. When they finally stopped practicing, I waited. One after another, they walked past me. When I caught a glimpse at Dongwoon, I quickly opened the door, grabbed his hand and pulled him inside. Then I closed the door and leaned against it, cutting off his only way of escape. When he saw me, surprise flickered through his face and then something else, but before I could decipher it, he quickly put on his blank expression.

“What is going on?”, he asked.

“We need to talk.”

“There's nothing to talk about.”, he said and grabbed the doorknob. “Now let me go.”

I swabbed his hand away. “Not very likely, Mister. We talk first and then you can go.”

He just stared at me. Then he let out a frustrated sigh. “You will never stop being stubborn, huh? Okay, then talk.”

I crossed my arms. “Why are you avoiding me?”

“Am not.”

I snorted. “Yeah, sure. Ever since we're back in Seoul, you won't even look at me, let alone recognize my existence.”

“Nonsense.”

“Not very talkative, are we?”

“You wanted to talk, not me.”

Gosh, talking to him was so frustrating!

“Okay, okay. Let's narrow this down to one question and then you can go.” I took a deep breath. “What am I to you?”

When those words left my mouth, I looked at him expectantly. He just stared back at me, not saying anything. The only sound in the room was our breathing.

After what felt like an eternity, he finally answered. “You're a co-worker.” Then he arched an eye brow and gave me a look which clearly indicated how ridiculous he thought my question was.

Several emotions flickered through me but I settled for a blank expression. “Thank you for answering my question. You're free to go.”

He gave me a frown and then he shoved me aside to leave the room. I winced when the door slammed loudly. Then I sighed and slumped against the door, burying my face into my hands.

I was such a fool. But at least I knew where I stood right now. He made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with me. Time to move on, Thu Ha. This jerk didn't deserve your tears.

The next day, Taec called me to find out how things went between me and the mysterious guy.

I sighed. “He is and always be a jerk. I'll only waste my time with him. He made it clear that I was nothing but a 'co-worker' to him.”

“I'm sorry, Thu Ha. I really thought that you both could work it out.”

“It's not your fault that Dongwoon is such a douche bag.”

Taec went silent for a while before I noticed that I had been revealing too much information. Ah, crap.

“So this guy is Dongwoon? Son Dongwoon?”, he asked quietly.

“Did I say 'Dongwoon'? Oops, my bad, I mean 'Dongwoo'.”, I lied.

He chuckled. “You were always a bad liar.”

Okay, he got me there.

“Whatever, it doesn't make a difference if it's Dongwoon or not, I'm so over him.”

He chuckled again. “Liar.”

I let out a frustrated sigh. “Okay, okay. I'm still not over him! Give me some credit, it's not like I can switch off my feelings whenever I want to.”

“I'm not judging you, Thu Ha. I just want you to be honest with me.” He hesitated. “There's something I'm curious about but I'm kinda scared to ask now.”

“Ask away.”

“I don't think -”

I interrupted him. “Hey, don't leave me hanging after making me curious, buddy. Now ask.”

He sighed. “An idol again? Wasn't me being an idol one of the reasons we broke up?”

Okay, I shouldn't have let him ask his question. I so not wanted to talk about his but I couldn't back away now.

“It's not like we could decide who we fall in love with. Our heart can be so frustratingly unreasonable sometimes.”, I said bitterly.

“Yeah, I get this. So you really love him, huh?”

“It doesn't matter anymore.”

“To draw a line, you have to be honest with yourself or else it'll haunt you forever, Thu Ha.”

I let out a frustrated sigh. “Yeah, okay. I love him, no I mean, I loved him. There, are you satisfied now?”

“You tell me. How do you feel now?”

I considered. “It's like a load off my mind.”

“See? Trust me, I'm always right.”

I snorted. “Always? “You mean 'most of the time', don't you?”

“You know I'm right.”, he chuckled.

“Smart-.”, I said and chuckled, too.

We continued talking for a while and then he had to hang up because his schedule started. I let his words sink in. And I had to admit that he was really right. I really love Dongwoon. Now that I've admitted it, I could finally draw a proper line and move on.

Weeks passed and I went back into my daily routine. Work, sleep, work, sleep and work. Once in a while, I saw Dongwoon but except a polite nod, we didn't interact with each other. After the end of BEAST's Japan Tour, the Cube employees decided to throw a party to celebrate the success of the tour. This time we rented a club.

At my apartment, I had difficulties to find an outfit. In the end, I decided to wear black leggings and a long white blouse which defined my cleavage very well. I put on a brown waist belt and my brown heels and then I was ready for the party.

I met Ha Ni in front of the building and we entered the club together. We were greeted by loud music and I could see that the club was filled. After dancing for a while, I got tired and sat down at the bar. I ordered a cocktail and tried to kill time by observing the people on the dance floor. I immediately caught a glimpse of Dongwoon who was dancing with a tall girl whose outfit consisted of hot pants and a short top. She could have went to this party in her underwear and it wouldn't have made a difference. And by the way his hands were all over her, it seems like that's exactly what Dongwoon liked. I snorted. No surprise though. His choice in women had always been questionable. But considering the fact that he wasn't looking for a relationship and that he just wanted to have fun, it didn't really matter if the girl had a personality or not.

I poured down one cocktail after another, trying to get rid of my bad mood. I was so not going to let this douche bag ruin this night for me.

“Hey, pretty Lady.”, someone suddenly said.

I looked up and saw a cute guy standing next to me. He was tall and gave me a dazzling smile. And hey, he had dimples. That totally got him brownie points.

“Hey there.”, I slurred.

Oops, seems like I misjudged the amount of cocktails I had.

He sat down next to me. “Why is a pretty Lady like you sitting all on her own?”

“I don't know. You tell me.”

He smiled. “Well, seems like I'm lucky. Do you mind if I keep you company?”

“Sure, sure. Just go ahead.”

He ordered a beer for him and another cocktail for me. Well, one more cocktail wouldn't make a difference, I guess.

“So, what's your name? Or should I continue calling you 'pretty Lady' if you want to remain mysterious.”

I giggled. “Nah, being mysterious is so overrated. My name's Thu Ha.”

“Hmm, a wonderful name for such a wonderful Lady. I'm Minjae, by the way.”

I gave him a smile and poured down the rest of the cocktail.

“So, Thu Ha, do you wanna dance?”, he asked.

I glanced at the dance floor and saw Dongwoon who was still dancing with his girl.

I shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

Minjae gave me another dazzling smile and grabbed my hand to pull me to the dance floor. We danced for a while and I just switched off my mind and let the music guide my body. It took me a while to notice that Minjae had gone behind me. He came closer and swayed his body along mine. He was so close that I could feel his lean body against my back. His hand moved along my arms to my waist and then they landed on my stomach, inching dangerously closer to my chest. No matter how squiffy was, I still had my limits. I quickly put my hands on his and tried to shove them away but he was stronger than me. His hands didn't budge an inch.

“Minjae-ssi...please not...”, I said.

I felt his breath on my ear. “Come on, don't fight me. You want it, too.”

He kept moving his hands higher and I struggled even more.

“Let me go!”, I said through gritted teeth and dig my nails into his hands.

“Stop struggling or it won't be very enjoyable.”, he hissed.

I felt the panic raising. Oh my gosh, what have I gotten myself into? The music was too loud to call for help and the dance floor was too filled for anybody to notice what was going on. Crap, crap, crap!

“May I cut in?”, someone suddenly asked.

Minjae froze and I used the opportunity to shove his filthy hands away.

“I don't think -” He didn't continued his sentence. I didn't know why but the other guy must have given him a very convincing look because he said: “Yeah, sure, She's all yours.”

Then he rushed off. I took a deep breath and tried to pull myself together. But now that the adrenaline has left me, I felt kinda dizzy. Uh oh, the alcohol was finally showing its effect. The world started spinning and I tripped. But before my face could make contact with the dirty dance floor, two strong hands grabbed my waist and pulled me against a hard chest. Okay, this guy definitely had a nice chest but I didn't want to be d again, so I put my hand against his chest and tried to push myself away. But his hands were still on my waist and his grip tightened when he noticed what I was doing. Once again, I was pressed against his chest. And hmmm, did he smell good. I froze. Wait...I knew this scent.

Before I had the chance to look up and confirm my assumption, he whispered: “I think you had enough fun for today. You should go home now if you don't want to wake up to a terrible hangover.”

“No, I'm okay...I don't want -” I got cut off by the sudden dizziness.

Gosh, how many cocktails did I actually drink?

He snorted. “Stop being ridiculous. Come on, I'll take you home.”, he said and put a hand on my waist, pulling me against him. I was too dizzy to fight and argue, so I leaned my head against his shoulder blade and let him guide me away from the dance floor. I kinda lost track of where we were but the sudden cold wind let me know that we were outside.

“What are you doing? Where are you taking her?”, someone asked him.

The voice was familiar but I just couldn't remember who it belongs to. Stupid cocktails.

“I'm taking her to her apartment. You can see that she had enough fun for today.”

“Maybe I should take her home.”

“Why? Don't you trust me?”

“Lately? Not really. Don't do this to her again.”

“I have no clue what you're talking about. Now let me take her home, before she collapses on the stairs. I promise I'll behave.”

“I swear, if you even lay a single finger on her, I'll make you regret it.”

He chuckled. “Yes, Ma'am.”

“Good. Then take her home.”

I heard retreating steps and then he guided me outside. He called a cab and then he helped me into the car. I felt him slid into the seat next to me.

“Where to?”, a deep voice asked.

“Where's your apartment?”, Dongwoon asked quietly.

I longed for my comfortable bed, so I didn't hesitate to tell him my address. He repeated it to the other person and then the car started moving. After a while, it stopped moving and I heard Dongwoon giving the other person money. The next thing I knew was that he lifted my into his arms and carried me into my apartment.

“Your keys?”, he asked.

“Pocket. Blouse.”, I mumbled.

He shifted so that he could reach into my pocket to pull out the keys. He opened the door and carried me upstairs. When he unlocked the door to my apartment, he went into it. Before I could realize it, I was carried into my bedroom. He gently put me down on my bed. Then he pulled up the blanket and covered me with it. The last thing I heard before I fell asleep was a soft “Good night, Thu Ha.”