Kim Myungsoo had every reason to be happy today. They won their first official trophy, live in a broadcast. He was crying on stage, all of them were crying on stage, tears of joy overwhelmed them. He won; they won, so he had every right to be happy. As how their CEO promised, they moved to a better apartment. The apartment complex was so much better with various facilities. It was so much better than their last one. But the best thing about their apartment, as Woohyun said, was having security guards to accept their fans gifts. So, they didn’t need to scramble on their feet and rushed outside every few minutes. Also, their apartment gave them more privacy than last time. In other word, it was perfect.

And Myungsoo had more reason to be happy. Their apartment is now closer to Jieun. Although he still need to take the train for ten minutes to see her. He absolutely had nothing to be upset about, since he had received more CFs deals and variety shows. The boys landed on another variety show aside from Jiae. They welcomed three little dogs to their home. The dogs were cute, although they could be quite annoying at times. Myungsoo loved dogs. He loved them.

He had every reason to be happy, but all he wanted was to sulk in his room and threw the TV until it broke apart. Really, Lee Ji Eun? She just had to ruin every little happiness he had. Every time he swapped channels, all he heard and saw was how lovely the milky couple was. They never stopped playing their sweet kiss scenes. The two even went for a lovely dinner. Well, Jieun claimed they went with their staff, still Myungsoo wasn’t happy with it. Jieun called almost every day to make sure he could understand. Still, he was upset. Kim Myungsoo was completely jealous.

“Don’t you think they look cute together? Oh, they are so cute! They fit each other so well.” Myungsoo mimicked the fangirling MC and freaked out to see the fake umbrella kiss scene being replayed. He threw the pillow and covered his eyes. “Cute? What cute? Idiot!”

“Can somebody calm him down? He’s been that way all day long!” Sungyeol whined. “I want to sleep.”

“Shut up!” Myungsoo yelled back. “Cute?! She’s mine! Those idiotic MCs and reporters need to be train well.”

“She’s yours? Did you even ask her out?” Sungyeol rolled his eyes at the latter’s sarcasm. Myungsoo hissed at him.

***

Jieun was tired. There had not been a day where she did not feel tired. She always feel tired with all the packed schedules and non-stop activity. Did she enjoy it? Oh, she enjoy it very much sometimes, while other times not so much. She was having a great time recently, with Suzy as a new friends, and Wooyoung as a nice co-worker. She got close to many actors. She started to enjoy working in her fields and getting along with others. But a jealous Myungsoo did not make things any easier.

Every day, Jieun had to at least text him a message. At times, she would have to call. She knew Myungsoo could understand and if he couldn’t, the INFINITE would help her out. She knew, but she thought having an explanation would be great. She always gave him a long explanation so he would at least feel better or understand her. At times, he’d only answer with a simple ‘I know’ or ‘okay’ or he wouldn’t answer at all. His silence could be scary at times. Jieun had to admit the cold-blooded Kim Myungsoo was actually childish and dorkish.

Lee Ji Eun sat on her couch and the TV. She became a hot topic recently, aside from her comeback and warmly-welcomed talent, she was known as the cute milky couple. She became a brand that people bought. IU became a brand. At least, that was how she thinks it worked. Lee Ji Eun was more of a person while IU was a brand. It became simpler when she thought about in that way.

She had just called Myungsoo earlier. She explained all the screens act and branding things. She doubted he would understand. But Kim Myungsoo is Kim Myungsoo, despite his stubbornness, he would understand. She simply knew, although it took her an hour to actually convince him so he’d be less upset. If he had not understood, then the two may stopped being together a while ago.

On a bright morning when everything was supposed to be quiet and peaceful, especially on a Saturday morning, her front bell rang. It was Saturday, her favorite day. So, was it really necessary for someone to disturb her? She only had little breaks on Saturday, so when it came, she would probably kick everyone out. Lee Ji Eun can be mean when it came to ruining her favorite Saturday. Kim Myungsoo had quite an experienced about it, long on those memorable days.

She didn’t expect it to be a postman, ringing her bell. She made it sure that every fans gift would be sent to her dorm or apartment. She wanted to keep her resident a secret. Pil Suk was part of why she would like to keep it away from the media. When Pil Suk returned, Jieun hoped she would be safe. Jieun had been dealing with an idol life over a year already; she had dealt with stalkers, assaults, trespassing, backlash, and pressures. She hoped Pil Suk wouldn’t have to deal with it. Jieun knew better than anyone, publicizing family relationships or any relationships will more likely do more harm than good.

“Are you Lee Ji Eun-ssi?” The postman asked, but remained neutral.

“Yes. Yes, I am.”

“Could you please sign this?” The postman gave her a piece of paper and a pen. She didn’t give much thought about it, a contrary to what she often does, and signed it right away. “Thank you. Have a great day.” He continued.

He handed her an envelope. It was a typical envelope you would see when you received an invitation for a grand party or perhaps a wedding. Jieun knew it was expensive. It may cost a lot more than necessary. She had to say it looked beautiful. She stared down at it, opening up the invitation. The package sender address was clear; it came from somewhere in France. She flipped it, reading the invitation again and again. Oh, how shocked she was.

This can’t be happening.

***

When Myungsoo came to give her a pleasant surprise on her favorite day, he found his presence to be unpleasant at the time. He may have come at the wrong time. He found Lee Ji Eun sitting on the couch, hands gripping a typical grand party invitation. It was white and beautiful, eye catching from a far. But Kim Myungsoo knew it was not a pleasant party for her. She looked very shock, eyes glued to it, and hands clutching onto the invitation very tightly. Her eyes scanned for it again and again, as if she had read something very wrong.

Myungsoo stood by her living room entrance, observing her from a far. He feared his sudden presence may add something unpleasant to her already bad mood. She was biting her lower lips, skin turning pale, and she didn’t look happy at all. She looked scared and shocked. Her brown eyes looked very cold and anxious. It was different from her lovely pair of eyes, the warm, friendly, and beautiful one. She looked very terrified. He wanted to snatch it away from her, but he would rather be patient than running everything.

“Mm… Jieun?”

Myungsoo could see her body tensed for a bit. Then it relaxed, she forced herself to relax. Her back finally turned around, so he could get a clear view of her face. She was forcing a weak smile, hiding her anxiousness. She was trying her best not to worry him. Instead, her efforts worry him even more. He replied her forced smile with another forced smile. She was trying her best not to worry him, so he should at least do the same for her. He shouldn’t let her know that he was worried. But the two had known each other for so long that both could see right through each other. It may be a good thing at times, but also a bad one.

“Hi,” she awkwardly greeted. “What are you doing here?” She stood up, placing the invitation underneath the stacks of paper. It was her music sheets, scattering all over the place.

“I didn’t see you on any live broadcast today. It’s Saturday. So I gambled myself all the way here, thinking that maybe I can get to see you at home. So here I am!” He tried his best to make her feel a bit better.

“Uhh… I’m sorry I didn’t notice you at all. Have you been standing for long?” She patted the empty spot next to her. “Come on, sit.”

She was not comfortable at all. Myungsoo badly wanted to hug her and told her everything would be fine, yet he also knew it would make things worse. So, he pretended he was dumb enough not to notice a thing to comfort her. She pretended she didn’t know anything either, that she had not seen the outrageous invitation. She tried to pretend everything was fine. It worked very badly, though.

“I couldn’t even read a thing from all this scratches. Are you sure you can read those?” He laughed awkwardly and took one of the music sheets.

“I got used to it long ago,” Jieun smiled and shifted closer to him. “It’s not that hard.”

“Nothing is hard for the perfect backstage princess.” Myungsoo jokingly said, earning a chuckle from his girl. He was happy she laughed.

“Should I get you something to drink or eat?”

“Do you have ice cream? Let’s eat ice cream!” Myungsoo exclaimed. “One bowl for the two of us, okay? I’m waiting for indirect kisses today. And one spoon!” He continued and Jieun laughed again. He was childish, indeed.

“Okay, okay.” Jieun blushed. “But its two spoons for today, since you keep on being mean on me.”

She took her leave and went to the kitchen, near the living room. It was not that far away, Jieun could still see his back. Myungsoo was busy playing with her music sheet, as if he had found something interesting with it. He looked like a kid playing with his new toy. He had pencil above his ear and Jieun found him to be charming. She found him growing more and more charming everyday, which she found her way of thinking to be ridicolus. She felt like she skipped her teenage days and skipped high schools.

She had dark chocolate flavoured ice cream in her fridge. She knew it was his favorite so she would always have it in store. In case he came, she could please him with it, signaling that she cares. Kim Myungsoo was stubborn, but to melt him could be quite easy and pleasant sometimes, while other times he could be a complete jerk. They were in the first step of getting back together, so at least the hurt and hurting cycle has stopped for a while. It felt great yet scary at the same time.

“Jieun-ah,” he suddenly spoke. His voice was heavy and demanding. It was a different tone of voice from what he used before. It sent shuddered down her spine and she wondered if something had gone wrong. Jieun knew him well enough to know a change in his voice often lead to something worse. “I need to go. Jieun-ah, I need to go.”

“Myungsoo, can you just wait for a while? I thought you were free today. I’m almost finished.”

“Jieun,” he spoke higher than before. “I need to leave.” He stood up with a loud stomped. Jieun immediately turn her head to see him being so different from before. He looked disappointed, scared, hurt, and pained. His eyes looked so dark and sad.

“Is everything okay? Are you okay?” She knew something was clearly long. She left for less than five minutes and he changed so much.

“Jieun-ah, I need to leave. I want to leave.” What he said clearly surprised her. Why would he want to leave? Usually, he would whine when one of them had to leave. Something bad must have happened. She simply nodded at his demands and mouthed an ‘okay’.

Once he saw her mouthing an ‘okay’, he ran outside without saying goodbye. He wanted to leave as soon as possible. Staying would only hurt even more. He left Jieun dumbfounded in the kitchen with so much ice cream she has scopped out on the bowl. She wondered how she would finish them, but most of all she was worried about him. What happened to him? What bad things happened? She scopped half the ice cream back to the fridge and returned back to her sofa.

She was about to call the INFINITE, asking if something had went very wrong, when she noticed her music sheets arrangements has changed. Most of all, the invitation was not where it was. She hid it before, under the music sheets, one with the thickest stacks. But it was not where she left it. It was at the top of the table, very visible, and clear. It was slightly bended. This can’t be happening.

He saw it. Kim Myungsoo saw it.

***

Kim Myungsoo suddenly wanted to live up that ecstacy, the euphoria he felt that day. He wanted to revive that moment – all the ecstacy and euphoria of the night where he was broken hearted. He ended up sitting at the bar, letting the sadness and loud music beats engulfed him. He was gulping down shots of alcohol, desperate to revive that moment. He swore he wouldn’t drink anymore after experiencing the aftereffects of a hangover, but this time he had every right to be drunk. So, he’d drunk himself to death today.

He was hurt. He had not been hurt for so long, but today the pain exceeded what he had imagined. He never thought in his relationship with Jieun, there would be a day where he would be in so much pain. It had always been him hurting her and her being hurt, but rarely her hurting him. At least, it was all true until today. He was badly hurt. He wanted to cry out, to go insane and yell at people, and drinking might be his last healer. So, he drank. He was a man, there’s not much he could do to vent it all out aside from drinking. A man’s tears would make a man looked less manly, he believed.

What hurt him the most, aside from seeing the invitation and that such an invitation existed was the fact that she tried to hide it from him. Jieun tried to hide it from him, regardless of what may happen later on. It hurt the most. She didn’t give him any explanation, she simply pretended. She pretended that everything was fine so he wouldn’t have to worry. Once, he found out, he did not only have to worry, but also get hurt. He was hurt and disappointed. He was trying his best not to hate her.

Neverthless, the invitation would still hurt him, regardless of how he found out. He couldn’t believe his own eyes when he first saw it. He read it again and again, trying to snap himself back to reality, only to find out it was the truth. The bitterness was the truth, it was the reality. He didn’t see it coming, neither did she.

Kim Myungsoo happened to see it: the invitation to Lee Ji Eun’s and Jang Woo Young’s wedding.