After eating some of the food that Hoon made—which tasted pretty good—I went to Eli’s room, hoping to ask him for advice.

The member that I would go to for advice was Alexander, but he left.  Now I’m forced to talk to Eli.

“Eli.”

“Ella?”

“I need your opinion on something.”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Promise that you’ll believe me?”
“Depends.”

“What would you do if someone was blackmailing you?”

“W-What?”

“Blackmail.  You know…”

“I’ve never been blackmailed before, Ella.”

“Then if you had to choose between your career or your relationship, what would you choose?”

“Career?  I could always ask my girlfriend to wait for me.”

“Aish…that’s no help at all.”

“Who’s blackmailing you?”

“You won’t believe me.”

“Just tell me.”

“Alyssa.”

“What?”

“Alyssa Lee.  Sister of Lee Kikwang.”

“Ella, I told you I would believe you, but—“

“See?  I told you that you wouldn’t.”

“She’s changed, Ella.”
“Can’t you take my side for once?”

“I’ve always taken your side, but I think you’re wrong this time.”

“No, you haven’t!  Even when we were small…”

“Ella Kim, what are you talking about?”

“You never took my side when I would get picked on in school.”

“I-I never knew—“

“Oh, and what about that time I was framed for cheating?”

“You didn’t tell me—“

“I did, Eli!  You didn’t do anything to help me!”

“Ella…”

“Just…I was stupid to ask for advice.”

“Ella…”

“I’m going to my room.”

With that, I walked out of Eli’s room and headed straight for mine.

--

Kevin knew better than to disturb me while I was thinking because I didn’t see any sign of him that night.  He probably shared a bed with Eli…or even Soohyun.

I lied on the ground—rolled onto my side—and thought about my past.  Did Eli ever take my side?  I remember that we used to hate each other with a passion.  That was probably why he never took my side. 

“Ella, let me in.”

“Go away, Eli.”

“I’m not Eli.  It’s me.  Dongho.”

I sat up and stared at the door curiously.  After Dongho and I had agreed on becoming friends, we pretty much avoided each other at all costs.

“Oh.”  I went to unlock the door, and a half-awake Dongho walked in.  I could tell because of the way his hair was messed up.  And the fact that he wasn’t wearing much…

“I heard about your problem.”

“Yeah, and?  Are you going to be like Eli?”

“No.  I believe you.  Like Kevin hyung, I believe you.”

“So what should I do?”

“I don’t want you to be sad, Ella.  Talk with Yang Yoseob hyung about it.  He might come up with something better than the rest of us put together.”

Then Dongho walked out, probably headed back for his bed.  I sat on the ground thinking, and even made a list of ideas.  I spent the whole night writing things down, so when I woke up the next morning, I realized I only got two hours of sleep.

--

“Wake up, Ella Kim.”

“No.  Go away.”

“That’s no way to speak to your oppa!”

I felt something cold splash onto my face and drench my clothes.  My eyes flashed open, and I sat up quickly.

“Lee Kiseop.  I will kill you.”

“Crap.”  He took off down the hall; I followed close behind.

I ran to the kitchen and filled up a cup with water.  Then I started running again, looking for the idiot who poured water on me.

“Found you,” I said simply.  I took the cup filled halfway with water and dumped it on his head.  “That was the first and last time you will dump water on me.”

“Glad to see that you’re alive this morning.” Kevin chuckled at my expression.

“You too.”

“You woke everyone up.”

“I’m grumpy.”

“Then go back to sleep.”
“I have things to do today.”

“Do them later.  Go to sleep.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“This is getting nowhere.”

“I know.  But I’m going out.  See you later.”

“It’s dangerous to go out with only two hours of sleep.”

“How’d you know?”

“Your light was on until about five, and it’s seven right now.”

“Tell the others that I’ll be out.”

“Kay.”  On my way out, I heard Kevin say, “Kiseop hyung?  You might wanna blow-dry your hair before our coordi noona kills you.”

I grabbed an oversized jacket and pulled it over my clothes.  It was a cold morning, almost cold enough to wear warm clothes.  I took out my phone and dialed Yoseob’s number.  Taking a deep breath, I spoke.

“Oppa, we need to talk.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

hey guise <3

just realized that even though i planned out the ending, i'm not really following my plan :(

poo.

anywho.

i think i combined two planned scenarios into one chapter...