We were kept in suspense while we were waiting for Zelo to call us back, he probably totally forgot about calling back, being the idiotic and forgetful person he was. When he finally did call us back, it was really, really early in the morning, about seven o'clock. No doubt that it was later in Korea, but here in England, the sun had barely started to shine. It was a good thing that I had stayed at Nana's house, otherwise I would have missed the phone call.

I think I was forgiven, as nothing more about the subject was mentioned. I guess that we had united in the face of a major crisis. I knew that I could always count on that bubbly, childish, mature and wise friend of mine.

Nana and Zelo had a brief conversation when he finally called, and I could hear the small change in Nana's tone when she was talking to Zelo. I got really irrated at this, I don't know why. I guess jealousy is an ugly monster. Why should she be able to talk like that to Zelo, when I can't do that anymore to Daehyun? Life is unfair.

I couldn't believe that she told him that it upset me, though. How could she? It was so embarasssing that I ended up hiding my face in my pillow when they had finished talking.

Nana had apologised for her slip of the tongue (or so she had said that was what happened), and I had readily forgiven her. How could I stay mad at her when she had forgiven me within two seconds?

I began to get worried when Zelo didn't ring back for a second time. Had he not bothered getting the magazine, or was he trying to avoid telling us that the pictures were true?

I got fed up of waiting, and decided to take a shower and clean up a little bit. Since Nana and I were roughly the same size, she didn't mind me stealing a few of her clothes.

While I was in the shower, I heard the piercing ring of my phone. It was the hook part of Warrior. I still hadn't changed it since the day we had gotten ice cream all those eons ago.

I called out to Nana to pick it up and rushed changing into a fresh pair of clothes in case it was Appa and he wanted to talk to me.

When I walked into the bedroom, feeling refreshed and clean, I found Nana with open like a goldfish and listen intently to the person at the other end of the line. She would try and say something now and then, but would promptly give up and sigh heavily.

Eventually, I presume she got tired of it, because she shouted down the line.

"Yah! Jung Daehyun!" I flinched at her loud tone. "I don't really care why you did what you did! I'm-"

I stared at her, mesmorised. Did she just say who I think she said?

" . . . No! I tried to tell you before! It's Nana. You're speaking to Nana, not Joyce. Gosh, get it right, will you?"

I sat down on the edge of the bed and tried to listen to the conversation, but I couldn't make out what the other person (who may or may not have been Daehyun) was saying. All I could hear was a ridiciously high pitched voice which was a result of frequecy distortion in the line.

"Listen, do you want to speak to her? She's just gotten out of the shower and she's sitting beside me right now." Nana told the person down the line. "Mmhm, yeah, alright." Nana held the phone out to me. "Here."

I took the phone apprehensively. "Yobesyo?" I said nervously. "Who is this?"

"Joyce? It's me, Daehyun." A deep voice informed me, and I gulped. What was I supposed to say? I looked at Nana with wide eyes, and she understood my silent communication. She got up and left the room, giving me some privacy.

"Oh." I said, completely incapable of stringing more than one syllable together. In my head, my mind was raging. What do I say? Why did he ring? Did he ring to tell me that everything was true? Did he ring to shout at me for the photos? To tell me that ever meeting me was the biggest regret of his life?

"You really went back to England, huh?" Daehyun asked. Oh, how this pained me. I missed that voice like crazy. The way his voice curled around my name and made it sound so endearing. The way he did everything from flicking my forehead to fighting with his best friend. The the way his arms would wrap around me whenever I was hurt . . . the look in his eye just before our lips touched. Everything. I missed everything about that Busan boy.

I didn't reply. I didn't know what to say. I guess he was expecting that, because he quickly filled up the silence.

"Zelo showed me the article, Joyce, and he told me that it upset you." Daehyun spoke slowly, as if he were unsure of his words.

My heart began to pound in my chest and my palms got clammy. What was he going to say next?

"Joyce, please, don't believe it. It's not true. They made a mistake, it wasn't what it looked like. It was just a stylist noona, she just gave me an address for a place that they can help with my skin condition. You know how I was insecure about that. I never got a number off of anyone! You believe me, right?" Daehyun pleaded.

"Uh." I was unsure of how I was supposed to respond. If I agreed with him, it meant that I though he was anything less than perfect, and someone confirming what you're insecure about would only sting, right?

"You don't believe me? Why not? Have I ever lied to you?" Daehyun demanded. "Actually, wait, no, don't answer that. Tell me something else, do you really think that I could do that? Even if you left me hanging on a whim, do you honestly believe that it is possible for me to cheat? Even if you never told me that we broke up . . . Have we broken up? What do you say Joyce? Why did you leave me like that, without even saying goodbye?"

He must have been holding all of that in for quite a while, since the whole thing mashed together to form one steady stream of words faster than Zelo's rap.

"Daehyun-ah." I called down into the phone and I cherised the way that it felt, talking to him once more. "I don't know what happened. I wanted to protect you, to prevent ruining your career, but it all backfired on me. I missed you like crazy, I still miss you, but I can't do any more to harm you or your career. Besides, Ahjussi wouldn't allow it."

There was silence down the line, allowing for him to grasp the full meaning of my words; I didn't leave by choice. I left him for him. I would jump at the chance to get back together with him. I'm still head over heels for him. I wanted more than anything to be back in his safe embrace once more; to share one last kiss together.

"That's the reason?" Daehyun asked eventually.

"Yes, isn't that enough?"

"No, it's not." Daehyun siad, and my blood chilled. What did he mean by that?

"W-what?" I stammered.

"Those things can be easily fixed. You shouldn't have left, Bambi. I can fix all of those things. I can appeal to hyung, I can protect you, I can stop the media and fans finding out, I can fix eveything, but I can't fix you leaving the country. Come back, Joyce. Come back to Korea, and I swear, I'll prevent everything - all of the things that you named - from happening. I can't promise that the media will never find out, but I was never once ashamed to call you my girlfriend. Were you ashamed to call me your boyfriend?"

A lone tear escaped from the side of my eye and I hastily wiped it away with the back of my hand. I sniffled and cursed myself for being such a cry baby.

"You're crying?" Daehyun asked from down the line. I wasn't aware that he could hear me snivelling. "Hajima, don't cry."

"I'm not crying!" I protested, but my weak voice betrayed me.

"Right, and I never talk in dialect." Daehyun said sarcastcially and I could tell that he was rolling his eyes.

"Joyce!" Nana cried out and burst into the room. "Joyce!"

"What?" I asked, a little startled, and I held my palm over the phone's mouthpiece so that Daehyun couldn't hear.

"Your Dad's here. He's mad that you didn't go home last night, I thought you called him."

"I did! I sent him a text telling him that I was staying at yours." I refuted.

*          *          *

I pouted and crossed my arms. I was staring up at my bedroom ceiiling, thinking over Daehyun's words. Did he really mean them?

I wanted to see him again. I wanted to talk to him face-to-face. I wanted to tell him that I loved him once more. I wanted him to call me 'jagiya' once again. I wanted a lot of things.

I knew that it was irresponsible, afterall what was the point of leaving if I was only going to go back? However, I was ready to see Daehyun again, regardless of what Ahjussi thought or said.

Sure, it was immature - a relationship before a career, but isn't that what constitutes true love? Love surpasses everything and anything. It knows no boundaries and follows no rules.

When I had appealed to Appa about the possibility of me going back to Korea, he had lost the plot. I guess after he had just finished shouting at me for not telling him where I was, was an inappropriate time to ask him.

Despite the fact I had shown him the text I had sent him on both my phone and his, he remained resolute that I hadn't told him where I was. It was ridicious. Should I be punished for his technilogical inabilities?

Appa had shouted at me and told me that if he couldn't trust me to tell him where I was in England, how did I expect him to trust him in another country?

It was the stupidest arguement I had ever heard. Hadn't I been in Korea before? I had lived there for ages!

Anyway, I had told him that once I was finished my schooling, I would go to Korea to study in college there. That was around the time that Appa lost the plot completely. 

I was now grounded and my phone, computer, internet - anything that could be used as a communication device - was taken away from me, and he had no hope of giving it back to me.

But, he can't keep me under lock and key forever, can he?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________