Chapter 23

Taking a deep breath, she lightly knocked on the door before her. “Come in,” a voice summoned her. Soon, Samantha found herself inside Mr. Hong’s office. She knew this day was coming and she had to prepare for it. “Hello, Samantha. What brings you here today?” he asked in his usual friendly tone.

“Hello Mr. Hong, sorry to bother you but I came to deliver something to you,” she said reaching into her bag for an envelope and then handing it to him. It was her letter of resignation. She was parting ways with Cube in two weeks in time for the concert.

Taking the letter from her, he frowned and looked up at her. “Are you sure this is what you want?” he asked in a concerned tone.

“My work here was supposed to be temporary and I had other plans in mind,” she told him. “But I would like to say that I really enjoyed it here and everyone has treated me kindly. I especially won’t forget your kindness towards me, Mr. Hong.”

“Well I understand,” he said. “You will be missed. I wish you all the best, okay?”

“Likewise Mr. Hong,” she replied. “You have talented rookies and I see them succeeding in the future so keep up the good work!”

“Thank you,” he smiled. “Before you leave, I have one other thing to ask of you.”

“Sure, what is it?”

“If you find yourself needing a job, you’re welcomed here with open arms,” he inclined.

“You would do that for me, Mr. Hong? Thanks, I really appreciate it,” she stood bowing to him slightly.

Then, reaching into his desk drawer, he drew out an envelope of his own and then handed it to her. “Consider this a parting gift from me,” he said.

“Thank you,” Samantha accepted it. “I’ll let you get back to work now.”

When she exited his office, she was curious as to what was in the envelope. Opening it, her eyes widened to see that there were two tickets along with VIP passes to the concert in Thailand. This wasn’t goodbye yet, she thought, not until the concert was over.

As she made her way down a hallway, she had come face to face with Jihoon once again. “Hey I—“ they spoke up but stopped abruptly looking away from each other. “You first,” Jihoon inclined.

“I just wanted to tell you that I just gave Mr. Hong my letter of resignation,” she said. “I’m leaving in two weeks.”

He frowned and nodded. “Oh, okay. Thanks for telling me, I guess,” he said awkwardly.

“You were saying?” she asked curiously.

“I was still thinking about that kiss,” he said, smiling sheepishly. “Sam, what happened between us happened and I really want to try this thing out.”

“What do you mean?”

“I love you, Sam,” he finally said. “I’m falling in love with you and I can’t take it anymore.” He took her hand in his, looking into her eyes.

Tears brimmed the corners of her eyes as she started to take in what he had told her. “No,” she shook her head. “You can’t fall in love with me. You’re not supposed to…”

“Well, I did and there’s nothing you can do about it,” he said, cupping her face with his right hand. “Please, don’t leave. Don’t go to him. He doesn’t deserve you. I won’t hurt you the way he did so please don’t leave…”

“I can’t be with you and you know it, Jihoon,” she cried. “I don’t want to put your career in jeopardy. Honestly, it’s not worth it. So please do yourself a favor and forget me. I’m just a memory you’ll forget in the future.” She said pushing away from him.

He grabbed her again. “You can’t or you won’t?” he asked. “I know you felt it too last night.”

“I’m leaving,” she said shaking his hand off and then storming off, leaving Jihoon alone and confused. Peniel had heard the whole exchanged and decided to follow Samantha.

“I knew it,” a girl’s voice rang out: Ailee.

Jihoon looked up at his dance partner with a look of agony. “It’s obvious, isn’t it?” he finally said.

Ailee put a comforting hand on the taller guy’s shoulder. “She’s confused, Jihoon,” Ailee said glancing towards Samantha’s direction. “I think she’s still trying to figure out what she wants. My advice is to let her be until she comes to her senses.”

Jihoon sighed then rubbed his hand over his face in frustration. “I didn’t expect this to happen, I didn’t mean for it to happen…” he had said.

“She didn’t expect this either,” Ailee assured him. “Knowing Sam, she’s confused and doesn’t know what to do, Jihoon. You know you can’t help the way you feel so it’s okay to finally be honest with yourself. At least one of us has guts around here…” she drifted off then stopped herself short before she revealed anything else.

Jihoon chuckled softly then tried his best to blink back tears. Ailee found herself giving him a longing look when he was completely oblivious. It wasn’t much of a surprise to find that Jihoon was in love with her best friend, she thought. Samantha deserved better than Jeremy and Jihoon was the perfect fit. However, taking Samantha’s words into consideration the day before took its toll and Ailee considered seeing Jihoon in a different light. Oh Sam, she thought. What have you done?

“I’m so sorry, Jihoon…” she said to herself as she cried.

Then soon, she found herself face to face with Peniel. “Peniel…” she breathed out.

“I saw and heard everything, there’s no need to lie anymore, Sam,” the pain was so evident in his voice it was breaking her heart. “You were out with Jihoon hyung last night…”

“It’s not what you think, Peniel,” she pleaded with him. “Nothing happened…”

“What about that kiss?” he asked angrily. Samantha’s eyes widened. “What about me? Do you have any feelings for me at all?” he snapped at her causing her to flinch.

“Peniel…” she uttered.

“Right,” he said bitterly blinking back his own tears. “You have no feelings because you’re so caught up with Jeremy. So you decided to stick around and play with me and Jihoon’s feelings.”

“You know I didn’t mean for this to happen,” she pleaded with him. “I’m so sorry, Peniel. Please understand…” she reached out for his hand only to have him push her away.

“Just leave already,” he told her. “Isn’t that what you want? You shouldn’t stick around if you’re only going to cause any more damage.” He finally said.

When he was about to leave, Samantha reached for his arm. “Peniel, just hear me out. Please,” she pleaded one last time.

He shook her off. “It’s too late,” he said. “I’m done. I’m done waiting for something that won’t happen.”

“You don’t get it, do you?” she asked suddenly.

He turned to face her, wanting to hear her out.

“I can’t get involved with you and you know it,” she said finally. “It’s the same deal with Jihoon. I would not want you guys to put your careers in jeopardy over some feelings for some average girl who clearly isn’t worth it. I’m not gonna lie but I did feel something for the both of you. I’m just confused about it as it is and I don’t mean to hurt the both of you. But if you want me to leave, then I’ll leave if that’s what you want. As a matter of fact, leaving is probably for the better because you guys can forget about me.” She wiped away her tears with her hand and then walked off leaving Peniel alone and confused.

A/N: Here's another update! This time I typed through it and did not edit lol. Don't mind the minor errors. I might end this soon but not sure how many chapters are left because I'm still writing as I go. I'm glad for those of you who enjoy the story. I'm surprised this was doing a little better than I thought. After this fic, it might take a while for me to write something as good as this one again but I might consider another project after this one. Anyways, enjoy!