Updated on the 28th of July 2013.

Chapter 43 : Falling Apart.

Han Jin Sae.
Days went by ever since that day and you and Luhan were like mere strangers. Whenever the two of you passed by each other in the hallways, none of you would say hi even though deep down inside, the two of you just wanted to hear one another's voice again. Luhan didn't care if he said things ended between you and him because you can't just end feelings like that. He didn't even get to tell you what he wanted to tell you but that didn't matter anymore. What mattered was Luhan and EXO-M's image was safe and unharmed. So far, Luhan didn't even go to Sehun about anything. Much to your surprise, he didn't even go to Minho or CL.

It was as if right after the break up, your connection with EXO-M was cut off. Although it did kill you a little inside, you had to learn how to live with it. This was the best for Luhan. It was the best for EXO-M as well. Even your father knew about the break up between you and Luhan. At first he would want to question why, but he knew it was best he didn't. Ever since, things were starting to get better. The photos of them were kept in your drawer and everything seemed to be alright.

It was hard trying to live like this, knowing Luhan still loves you and hell, you still love him too but now wasn't the time for all this. Maybe in the near future yes, but now? No. Not until everything is settled. Not until you're out of university or at least not until Luhan is out of this university. Or will someone just hit Lizzy with a truck?  With your eyes still shut, you were hoping that the pain would reduce day by day but things weren't going your way. Sure you were slowly trying to forget Luhan but his face would pop up wherever you go. It's like his face is engraved in your mind and there's nothing you can do to get rid of it. Just then, someone was knocking hardly on your door. You furrowed your eyebrows as you got up from the bed and CL groaned. "What time is it?" CL mumbled and you unlocked your phone to check the time. 6.58a.m. on a Saturday?

"It's nearing 7.00a.m." You answered as you got up. More and more bangs could be heard on the door as you groaned. "Coming!" you shouted as you dragged yourself towards the door. You opened the door, with your bed hair but with a glare in your eyes. "What the hell is-Kris?" Your eyes widened but he pushed you in along with the whole of EXO-M coming in and much to your dismay, Xiumin dragged Luhan in with Minho and Sehun pushing them in from the back before the door slammed shut.

Everyone was chattering with one another and you got pissed. What the hell is with this meeting at this time? And why was Luhan here too? No one seemed to be explaining and CL got up to push open the curtains to let the light in. "Everyone shut up!" You raised your voice and everyone kept silent. CL went back to her bed to lie down as the rest of EXO-M sat by the dining table while Minho and Sehun went to the sofa to sit down. You stood in the space between the dining table and the sofa with CL's bed behind you. "What the hell is going on?" You snapped at everyone before Kris got up to hand you today's newspaper.

"What is this-" Your eyes widened when you saw the headlines title.

'Luhan from EXO-M! A scandal with a mysterious girl? But that's not it! He's also having another girl in check. A girl named Han Jin Sae! Is she just an ordinary girl that Luhan is being together with? No! She is the daughter of Han Jae Jung, the owner of Han Records. Read more on page 2 to find out more about this scandal!'

You pressed your lips before you flipped to page 2 to read more and boy, it didn't look good at all. They completely twisted and turned everything along with the pictures in the newspaper. There were pictures of you and Luhan together as well as pictures of Lizzy kissing Luhan. Your heart clenched when you saw those pictures but it's not like you've never seened them before. You were shocked by the fact she had pictures of you and Luhan. Those times when you were at the balcony and those times when you were walking down the halls. That wasn't it. The worst thing was the way they wrote the whole article.

'Does Mr. Luhan have a girlfriend? And if he does, which one is his girlfriend? Maybe his girlfriend is no other than Han Jin Sae. You can see it in the way they are with one another! But uh-oh, looks like he's getting busy with another girl and Jin Sae isn't the only one he's locking lips with. He seems to look like he has two girls in his hands and-'

You clenched your fists before you lowered the newspaper down until you eyed Luhan because you couldn't read on anymore. He sealed his lips shut and he couldn't say anything. His face was so pale, you thought he had just seen a ghost. "Sehun and Minho, get Lizzy here."

"What?" A few of them chorused at the same time but you glared at the two of them. "I won't repeat myself."

In a flash, the two of them dashed out to get the girl you mentioned earlier. Just then there was a call from your phone and you knew who it was already. It was your father. You answered the call, expecting shouts but there was none. Instead he asked, "Are you alright?"

You sighed before you nodded your head as you glanced at Luhan. "We have to do something about this. You know this isn't the truth."

"I know, but the news is spreading like wildfire. We're doing all we can to retake in back all the newspaper but it would hopeless. It's published and many copies have been sold. Even online there are over 200 articles already but we're still trying our best to take them all down. Do you know who might be behind this?" Right on cue the door flunged open, revealing Lizzy in Minho and Sehun's grip. "In fact, I do. I'll call you back." you finished up before you hung up and tossed your phone to CL behind you who caught your phone swiftly. You dashed towards Lizzy as you gripped onto her collar before you pushed her against the wall. "You said you wouldn't do it." Your voice was low and cold but her eyes were wide like saucers.

"Do what?! I didn't do anything!"

"Explain this." You shoved the newspaper into her face. She pulled it away before her expression changed when she read everything. It really looked like she had nothing to do with this and you tried staying as calm and collected as you can but you can't deny that this was making you panic slowly. "I-I didn't do this."

"Oh yeah? Then who did? You said that if I did what you told me to, you'd leave all of this alone. You said you'd leave Luhan alone. You said you'd leave me alone. You said you wouldn't pull anything funny." Your voice got lower and she flinched when you gripped onto her collar after you snatched the newspaper away from her hands to toss it to the ground. "Now who will take all of this away?" You hissed at her before you pushed her away until her back was slammed against the wall again. She grunted as she rubbed her head as if she was clueless but the look on her face, you could tell she wasn't the one behind this. At least not this time. Just then you turned around and eyed Minho who gave you a look. "I'll be back." Minho said as he dashed out of the room. Sehun stood in front of Lizzy before he cocked an eyebrow at her, making Lizzy flinch again as she was in a room filled with people who didn't like her at all.

"You.. do you feel good about yourself?" Sehun asked as you sat down on your bed. You could tell EXO-M were worried sick and CL got up from her bed to push Sehun aside gently after she asked Sehun if she could have a word with Lizzy. Sehun nodded and moved aside for her before CL stood before Lizzy. CL gripped onto Lizzy's collar before CL hissed at her, "You said that you wouldn't do anything about this if she broke up with Luhan. What are you trying to do now?"

Luhan's eyes widened as his eyes shot back at you but you looked away, avoiding everything. You took your phone and started to call your father to discuss with the progress going on that you tried to shut everything out from your mind. Everything was getting messier and messier. "Go online now." You told your father and he sighed. "I already did. They already have an anti cafe filled with 4000 members so far. Their fan cafe members are reducing. In their music video comments, they are getting a lot of hate, especially Luhan." You made eye contact with Luhan for a moment before you looked away, sighing when you saw the look on his face. He was getting paler and paler as well as the rest of the members in EXO-M. This must be shocking for them.

"We have to do something about this before things get out of hand."

"We'll have to organise a press conference as soon as possible. Tell him now. We'll have this on next Monday. I know you and Luhan are having difficulties but I need you to help EXO-M and Luhan right now. You need to prepare them for the press conference. Even though you're a victim, can I entrust you with this responsibility?" You sighed before you nodded your head, knowing your father probably has a lot on his shoulders as well. "I will have them ready by next Monday." You hung up the call after that as you breathed out heavily. 

Narrator.
Minho was walking down the hallways as he was finding Kim Jae's dorm. So happened when he was walking, Kai and Suho were around as they came to visit Jin Sae but they called Minho out. The rest of EXO-K knew about this and they didn't hesitate to come here. Kai and Suho being the first two to come here and visit her. They've met Minho at least once or twice before so they roughly knew each other. "What are you up to?" Kai asked as Minho sighed. "I'm looking for the bastard who did all of this." Minho hissed and just on their right, the door opened revealing Kim Jae.

"There's that bastard." Minho said lowly as he ran down the hall to chase after Kim Jae who swiftly ran back into his room. "Open up! I know you did all of this!" Minho shouted as he banged the door hard but the door wouldn't budge. "Allow us." Suho said as Minho stepped aside. In sync, Kai and Suho kicked the door down only to reveal Kim Jae by his bed. Minho dashed in before he gave a blow at Kim Jae's jaw. "You bastard!" Minho raised his voice but Suho pulled him back before Kai pinned Kim Jae down. "Were you the one who did it?"

"So what if I did it?"

"Haven't you even thought about what would happen if you did? All the consequences and how it would affect their lives?!"

"A like her deserves to let all of this happen to her anyway."

Kim Jae got punched multiple times in the face by Kai right after he heard Kim Jae saying that about Jin Sae.

Kris along with EXO-M could feel how stressed she must be feeling. Not only is her ex-boyfriend part of this huge commotion, she was a victim as well. Jin Sae got up and she stood in front of EXO-M again. "There will be a press conference next Monday and you all shall be there. Even you, Lizzy." Jin Sae said as she pointed at Lizzy who flinched, again. At the same time, this wasn't what Lizzy wanted. Sure she wanted to threathen Jin Sae like this but she never wanted this to happen. Just wait until she realizes her boyfriend is the one doing all of this because now Lizzy was also a victim in this.

Han Jin Sae.
"I will be preparing all of you for the press conference on what to say, how to react and what you should do. All in all, you all should be ready for the press conference. Make sure you all tell the truth as well as try to reason out your innocence. EXO-M, you all need to help Luhan here. As a group, he's the one receiving the most hate and I don't think I need to stress on that because you should be able to take note on that by now. Other than that, avoid answering any questions from the paparazzi, ignore deranged fans and stay safe. You all may leave now. I will brief you guys on what you should say on that day itself. For now, we wait until things settle down." you said as you sighed. You then gave another call to your father to tell him to prepare and send bodyguards here to protect EXO-M, and a few to protect you and Lizzy. Just for safety precautions.

God knows how crazy their fans are and how mad the paparazzi are just to get more information as well as other news reporters. "We've confirmed and set a date. For now, don't let EXO-M say anything out until the press conference. If possible, keep a close eye on the culprit. We may take legal actions on whoever that person is." your father said as you nodded your head. 

After 10 minutes, EXO-M went back to Luhan's room to calm down about everything. In which you would walk over to give them a little pep talk soon. There were a few bodyguards in front of their room doors, just keeping guard and making the paparazzi go away each time they would try. Sehun, Kai and Suho were now in your room with the boy named Kim Jae, supposingly Lizzy's boyfriend who wasn't actually her boyfriend anymore. It seems that they broken up two days ago and Kim Jae was doing this for revenge. Little did he felt like it, he dragged Luhan and you down with Lizzy. As much as you hated to admit it, Lizzy was on the same boat as the two of you.

You called your father to send some people to take Kim Jae away for any legal actions that could be taken against him. Any actions will not be taken yet but one thing for sure is that he'll probably go to jail for at least a year for defamation. Here they take defamation or what they like to call 'slander' very seriously and the sentence could even go up to three years maximum. Sighing, you walked over to Lizzy and crouched down in front of her. She was now crying, wondering why would Kim Jae do such a thing to her in which you sort of pitied her a little but that doesn't mean you actually like her. You just hate people crying.

"Look, we'll get through this alright? I know you hate my guts but I don't like yours either. All in all, the three of us are stuck in this messy scandal crap and I think it's safer for you to stay here with us until the press conference." Before she could say anything, you went on. "Don't tell me you've never seen real life people like you getting hurt by any celebrity fans just because they're their fans idols. If you were to take Rain as an example and if he was rumored to have a normal girl like you to be his girlfriend, how do you think things would turn out?"

"N-Not pretty." she answered and that's when you've got your point across. You stood up and offered a hand. She accepted your hand up before she stood in front of you. "Why are you being like this?"

"What do you mean?" You said as you dragged her until you pushed her so she sat down on the sofa. "For the time being you sleep here. It may not be comfortable but it's safer here with us.. Since.. you don't have a roommate." You said as you turned around to go to the door and meet with EXO-M but she called your name out. "What?" you said as you turned to look at her. "You still haven't answered my question."

"Let's just say that if the two of us were to keep finding hate to one another, this cycle will never end. I'm tired of this cycle and it's about time it stopped."

gaped open before you pointed at the fridge. "There's some food in there if you want." you muttered softly as you shut the door tight. Just then a group of bodyguards surrounded you when a group of girls came running at your direction. "So you're Han Jin Sae huh?!"

"You !"

"Stay away from Luhan!"

"No one likes you anyway!"

"You're not even that pretty!"

Your eyes widened at all the sudden remarks coming at you now. They didn't even know what was going on but just because of the newspaper, people around here became insane. Hell, you didn't even know if these people were from your university or not. All you knew was they had something in common, they hated you.

One of the girls tried to hit you but they couldn't when the bodyguards were guarding you. "Please make a move, Miss Han." One of the bodyguards spoke up as you nodded once. You walked towards Luhan's dorm and the girls kept on barking at you with mean comments that.. you weren't going to lie that it actually hurt your feelings and brought your self esteem down a little. When you reached in front of Luhan's dorm you knocked on the door. When the door opened, it revealed Luhan standing there with eyes wide open but soon he was gone when he brush past you. He stood behind you and you could hear eggs cracking. You turned around only to see Luhan shielding your body with his as those angry 'fangirls' were throwing eggs at you. The bodyguards took action into stopping the girls and Kris pulled the two of you in.

After what seemed to be 15 minutes, Luhan was cleaned up and now EXO-M were sitting in front of you as you stood in front of them. You could tell the look Luhan was giving you now was different than the looks from a few days ago. A few days ago, his looks meant; I don't want to see your face anymore.

Now his looks meant; I need to hear you explain to me things yourself.

"Listen up, boys." You said as you clasped your hands together. You sat down on the stool in front of them before you rested your elbows on your knees. "I can't say that the press conference will be smooth because we can't always expect a good outcome. But what we can do is prepare all of you for the best and hope that things will turn out the way we want them to be. The main purpose of this press conference is to clear the air about all of this. I know that some of you are nervous and I know that this is nervewrecking but, the six of you are one and you guys can do it. Even if this doesn't turn out well, I'll assure you that you'll have fans who will stick by you no matter what. Do you understand?" you said as suddenly, the five of them got up to group hug you except for Luhan. Luhan stayed there on the sofa as he played with his fingers and looked away from you.

"Thank you." The five chorused at the same time before Luhan sighed.

From there you decided to get back out there and head back to your room. When you opened the door, you could hear Lay saying to Luhan, "I think it's time you heard the truth." But from there you closed the door behind you when you stepped out because there were no fangirls. You asked one of the bodyguards if you could sit out in the balcony and he granted your wish by standing on guard to make sure no one would come out to harm you. You sat on the ground, near the railings as you gripped on them. What you prayed for was things to be alright again. Everything was getting hectic, you didn't know how things will end up like.

"You owe me an explanation." A voice came up and you turn around only to see Luhan leaning against the door frame of the balcony door before he stepped out and the bodyguard closed the door shut before the bodyguard went back to keeping on a look out with a few others.

"So do you." you breathed out and he came closer as he took a seat beside you on the ground.