Third Person's POV

"Jihye ah, good morning" Jonghyun greeted as the two met on the way to school. 

"J-jonghyun. Good morning." she stuttered, surprised with his sudden appearance. 

"Did you sleep well last night?" She nervously nodded. Jonghyun held her hand and stopped walking which made her stopped too. 

"You don't have to be nervous around me, okay? Let's do this comfortably" Jonghyun smiled. 

"I'm sorry. This-...this is my first time-...dating someone..." 

Jonghyun smiled. "Yah, don't be. This is my first time too. You don't know I'm so dead nervous, right now?" Jonghyun cautiously ruffled her hair and smiled as soon as he saw her smile. Jihye gently grabbed his hand in his surprise. 

"Let's go then" Jonghyun smiled. 

-weeks later-

"Jihye ah! Hurry up! We're going to miss it!" Jihye laughed hard, she had never laughed this hard. The two of them quickly slipped in to the booth as the guard locked the door. 

"Oh this is going to be fun! You're not afraid of heights, right? But it's okay. You can always snuggle to your boyfriend" she stuck his tounge out and slapped his arm. 

"I'm not afraid of heights. But I'll take my chance" Jihye smiled as she snuggled to him. Jonghyun smiled and gently her hair. 

"Oh! We're moving!" Jonghyun exclaimed. Jihye chuckled at her boyfriend's enthusiasm. She told him she had never ridden one of those ferris wheels this morning, and he suddenly took her to the amusement park afterschool. She was very excited, but he was ten times more excited, even though it's not his first time. 

"Jihye ah! Look at that!" Jonghyun exclaimed as the scenery slowly moved up. Jihye rose up from her seat and carefully touched the glass. She glanced at the scenery in front of her, amazed by the view with a soft color from the sunset. 

"It's so pretty" she mumbled. Jonghyun put his arms around her waist and smiled, "You're also so pretty." Jonghyun slowly turned her around, facing him. 

"Remember when I said that you're pretty back in Gangwon-do? I wonder how someone can look so good in all those snow." Jihye blushed and nodded. 

"Ah, how can someone be as pretty as you? Our Jihye is also pretty in the summer. She's also pretty in the winter. Aren't you being too much? You're not a goddess or anything, right?" Jihye playfully hit his arm. 

"Yah! You're exaggerating." 

"You're my goddess." Jonghyun lifted her and turned around. "Jonghyun, stop!" She laughed as he put her down, his hands still wrapped tight to her waist. 

"I love you." Jonghyun carefully leaned in and gave her a chaste kiss on her lips. The two blushed after he pulled away from their first kiss. 

"Ah, she's even prettier from close."

-months later-

"Jihye ah, come here." He patted the seat beside him, the same seat they sat on before they were dating. Jihye smiled, sat down and leaned to him, handing him a cup of tea. Jonghyun always loved it when they went to the villa in Gangwon-do together. 

"How's school? It's pretty lonely without me, isn't it?"

"Mm, it was lonely without you" she sipped her tea. Jonghyun quitted school to pursue his dream to become a singer. He was very lucky to be scouted by SM entertainment during one of his performance. Jihye smiled at the thought. She was happy that he could pursue his dream. 

"Those kids aren't bullying you, right?" She shook her head, smiling gently at him. "How's the training? Is it hard?" 

"Mm, the competition was real and tough. But I'll pass through. I must" he smiled, "How's my little doctor going?"

"School's fine." she sighed. Perhaps her dream to become a doctor was a bit unrealistic. She knew going to medical school was impossible with her current financial and family's condition. 

"I'm doing my best" she smiled. 

"Your best is enough" he messed with her hair. Jihye curled her lips into a smile and looked down at her now empty cup. 

"Jihye ah?"

"Yeah?"

"I've got something for you." Jonghyun took out something from his pocket, wrapped tight in his fist. 

"Should I open it or not~"

Jihye laughed, forcing him to open his fist with her hands. 

"Yah! Meanie" Jihye pouted. Jonghyun snickered and opened his fist. It turned out that it was a pair of rings, silver toy rings with blue carvings on the side. 

"Sorry it's not the real thing....I promise I'll work hard and buy a real one for you" Jonghyun blushed, embarassed with himself. Jihye took one of it from his hand and tried on her finger. 

"It fits." She smiled, and took the other one to his finger. "It perfectly fits." She held up both their hands in the air. "Don't be sorry, this is so beautiful." Jonghyun brought her hand and kissed it.

"My girl" he smirked. Jihye laughed. 

"Jonghyun....you know you don't have to give me anything, right? I'm happy with you being there for me." She looked down at her ring. 

"I know. I just want to make you happy. Hey, Jihye ah?" Jihye looked up and was surprised at the sudden kiss in her lips. 

"I missed you. So much."

"It's hard, isn't it?" She cupped his face. "Jonghyun ah, you'll be okay. You have a great voice. Be confident, okay?" He smiled as he gently touched her face and brought her lips to his. 

"Thank you." He kissed her one more, gently lifting her and tucked her inside the blanket. He laid down beside her, holding her under his arms. 

"Jihye ah, you know I love you, right?" Jihye nodded and smiled. She kissed his forehead.

It was the first time on her life to be loved by someone. 

"I love you, too, Jonghyun"

"Jihye ah?" 

"Hmm?" Jonghyun put down his book and faced her. He was lying down in her lap. "Are you...okay?"

"Hmm? Why did you ask that?"

"I don't know....you look tired--...in pain, sometimes." He sat up and sighed. 

"Is there anything you want to talk to me? Or is there something I can help? I'm worried about you." Jonghyun gently touched her face. 

"I'm....I'm okay" she closed her eyes, letting him touching her face. Jonghyun sighed, his band members' words rang to him. 

"Jonghyun ah!" The boys sat around him.

"Hey, What's up?"

"You're going out with that Jihye girl now?"

"Yeah....." Jonghyun blushed

"Ohhhh!" His band said in unison. 

"Way to go, Kim Jonghyun-ssi"

"That's my boy!"

"I'm pretty good, right?" He bragged to his band. 

"Yah, Jonghyun ah! You'd better be careful with her. They said that her family's the source of her curse."

"Eyy what curse! I told you to stop talking about that"

"No, I'm serious. You should be careful of her family."

"How are you and your family? Did you get scolded when we went to Gangwon-do again the other day?" She shook her head. "It's okay, Jonghyun." 

"I think I should meet your father. I never met your mother and your brother too." 

"No. No, it's okay. Someday....someday I'll introduce you, but not now." She gently caressed his cheek. "I'm sorry." Jonghyun smiled and gave her a peck in the lips. 

"It's okay. Jihye ah, you know you can trust me-....you can always tell me everything, right?" She smiled as she gave him a peck on his forehead. 

"I know."

"Do you trust me?"

Jihye smiled and cupped his face. "More than anyone in this world."

"Nobody's hurting you, isn't there?" She shook her head and smiled. 

"I won't let anyone hurt you, not even lay a finger on you. I'll protect you well. But you need to tell me what's going on. Okay?" 

"I will. Thank you, Jonghyun."

Jihye closed her book and turned off the lights. She glanced at the clock, 11.00PM. She took out the mattress from her wardrobe until she suddenly heard the front door was opened with a bang. She quickly settled the mattress and quickly tucked herself in, but suddenly her door was slammed opened. It was her dad again. 

"You. You sneaky little fox." He smelled like alcohol, she knew he had been drinking. 

"YOU. YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE MY MONEY AWAY AREN'T YOU?!"

"A-appa, calm down, I don't have such intentions." Jihye cautiously stood up. 

"SHUT UP. SHUT THE F_CK UP." He threw the bottle he was holding at her. He missed. 

"Appa, don't--"

"WHAT? IT'S YOU AND YOUR F_CKING BOYFRIEND ISN'T IT? SPENDING ALL MY F_CKING MONEY!" He charged at her, hitting and kicking her repetitively.

"A-appa! It hurts, please!"

"F_CK I'M GOING TO KILL YOU" he took the broken bottle and started stabbing it twice into her stomach. She winced in pain, tears started to flow down her face. She collapsed to the floor and started vomiting blood. 

"A-appa, please-- don't...." She begged as she held her stomach. Her dad threw the broken bottle aside and kicked her in the stomach. She screamed in pain. 

"Get your f_cking boyfriend out of your life. Or else." He left the room, leaving her in pain. 

"J-jonghyun." Jihye sobbed as she tried to move and took a shirt from her wardrobe. She held it in her stomach, and slowly walked outside her house, heading to the hospital. Every step she took was painful, and she started to feel lightheaded from the loss of blood. 

Jinki wondered aimlessly in the streets after his training was done. He had to go home, but he didn't feel like going home. 

SM was going to train five people as a group, and if they worked hard, those five people maybe the team that's going to debut next. 

Jinki was a part of that team. Moreover, he's their leader. 

Jinki sighed, he's a leader by age since he's the oldest, but he felt like he's really lacking in leadership. 

Him, leading a group of five boys?

He's close to them, but a leader....

The thought made him nervous. 

Just then he saw a trail of red drops in front of him. 

'What is it? Blood?' 

He looked for the source when he found a girl was walking limply while holding her stomach. 

He knew the girl. 

He remembered Jonghyun introduced her a few weeks ago as his girlfriend and told him to keep it as a secret. 

"Jihye-ssi? Shin Jihye-ssi?" Jinki patted her shoulder. She turned around, her face was pale white. Her stomach was bleeding, blood was visible in her lips. She stared him in the eyes. 

"J-Jonghyun?" She fell to his arms. "J-Jonghyun-...it...hurts....a lot...."

"Are you okay? What--" she suddenly collapsed in his arms. 

"Jihye-ssi?! Yah, hang on!"

Jinki sat down beside her as the doctor was done treating her. It was almost 3AM. His arm was bandaged. She lost a lot of blood, and it turned out that his blood was a match with her blood. Jinki pulled out his phone, contemplating whether he should call Jonghyun or not. 

"J-Jonghyun....." Jinki sighed. She had been mentioning his name in her sleep for the past ten minutes. Her face was frowning, she looked like in a lot of pain. She started panting and Jinki quickly shook her, waking her up. 

"Yah, are you okay? God, you're sweating a lot" Jinki pulled out some tissues and wiped her face. She panted for a while before calming down. 

"Oppa. Jinki oppa?"

"It's me. It's okay. You're in the hospital." She let out a deep sigh. 

"D-do you need anything? Or-"

"I'm okay. Thanks a lot, oppa."

"It hurts a lot, doesn't it? I'll get Jonghyun for you-" he said, pulling out his phone. 

"No." She suddenly said, holding his hand. "Please don't call Jonghyun." 

Jinki sighed. "Then who should I call? Are you guys in a fight or something?"

She shook her head. "Don't call anyone. Don't tell him about any of this too. Please." She stared at him "I beg you."

"Why?" Jinki stared at her, his patience was running out. He was fine when he met her the first time, but she was very stubborn and somewhat impractical. 

"Look, Jonghyun will worry, but he's your boyfriend, okay? He needs to know this."

"No, he doesn't need to." She stared at him. 

"You were almost dead! For god's sake." He shouted at her. 

"Please. I don't want him to worry." Jinki rubbed his temple. 

"Okay. Fine. I won't call him or tell him, but you need to tell me what happened. The doctor found a lot of marks consistent with abuse. Bruises. Stitches. On your body." Jinki sighed, displeased at the thought.

"I know Jonghyun would never do this to you, but I need to know if any of my members screwed up. Including Jonghyun."

"It's not Jonghyun. Jonghyun would never do this." She started to sob. "Jonghyun would never hurt me. He'd-" 

"Calm down. Please don't cry." He grabbed her hands and squeezed it, reassuring her. "Your wounds were just stitched, you might open them again."

"Jonghyun doesn't know any of this. Please, I beg you, don't tell him."

"Why didn't you tell him? I-is it really because of your family? I-"

"I'm scared. Jonghyun will do something, but he could get hurt o-or he might leave me. I--I can't let him get hurt because of me. I-it's okay if I'm the only one who gets hurt. I'll endure it well. I'll hang on for him. I-If Jonghyun leaves me, I-I don't think I can do it any longer. I have no other reason to live. I......If Jonghyun didn't become a part of my life, I think I might already killed myself a long time ago."

"Is that what it is? Those cut marks on your wrist?" Jinki gently lifted her hand. 

"I've changed my mind since I met him. I'm okay with all the pain, as long as I have him. Please, you can't tell him this. Jonghyun will know this sooner or later, but not now. Not like this."

Jinki stared at her, then at her hands, her couple ring. 

"Hyung! Hyung! Take a look at this." Jonghyun shoved the boy with two rings. 

"Woah, they're pretty" Jinki took one of it, examining the carvings. 

"Right?! I'm going to give this to her." Jonghyun smiled, feeling satisfied. 

"It's the one you introduced us the other day right? Yah, your girlfriend is pretty"

"Don't flirt with her, hyung" Jonghyun jokingly glared at him. 

"How did you meet her, anyway?"

"She treated me when I fought in high school" Jonghyun laughed as he remembered it. 

"She seemed like the quiet type, though. I didn't know you liked those type of girls. I thought you like the cheerful kind?"

"Well she's exceptional. I didn't know why I like her too. I like her smile, but I guess I just fell for her. She made all of these trainings seemed so...easy? She pushed me up. She's my source of inspiration. She's...I can do this because of her." Jonghyun stared blankly at the two rings. 

"Ah what the heck, you're being such a poet" Jinki sneered. 

"Well she made me like this~" Jonghyun laughed. 

"Okay." Jinki sighed. His heart grew fonder of her. She loves him that much, and Jonghyun felt the same too. That's enough for him. "But if anything happens, please contact me. I can help. Don't push yourself."

"I know. I-I'm sorry...I-I haven't thanked you properly. Thank you so much for everything, oppa. You even gave me your blood."

"It's okay. Sorry I shouted at you earlier."

"Thank you oppa" She smiled as she sat up. A forced smile. She was wincing in pain. "Jinki oppa, I won't ever forget your kindness."

"Yah--yah! What are you doing?"

"It's almost morning, I have to go home and prepare things. It's almost breakfast time." She smiled 

"Yah, you didn't hear what the doctors say? You have to stay here for the day."

"Ah, I can stay at home. I won't go to school today, I promise." She slowly stood up. 

"What if something happens? Just stay here. I-Is it because of the cost? I'll help and cover it up for you, I'm serious." She shook her head. "Thank you so much, but I can't do that. I'm sorry." 

"At least let me take you home then."

"Oppa," she panted. Jinki was supporting half of her weight, as she refused to be carried by him. 

"What's wrong? Should we stop for a while?"

"No, I'm okay." She panted. "J-Jonghyun is doing well, right?"

"What?"

"Jonghyun's-.....training" 

Jinki took a deep breath. "You're really asking me about him right now? In this condition? Yes he's doing fine. He's doing great. We'll start doing group activities this week."

"Ah, really? That's glad to hear."

"His vocal is top notch too. He's a great bastard."

"Oppa," she started panting and Jinki stopped as she did. 

"Yeah, we should stop for a while."

"Jonghyun-" she started 

"Jonghyun?"

"I-If I'm not around anymore, please stay by his side."

"What? Yah, what are you saying-"

"I'm not giving up. Not yet. But if things got out of control- please. Promise me."

"I promise. But you can't give up, okay?"

"I won't."