Chapter 51

Sleepily, Annie made her way over to Yongguk's studio that morning with bags of breakfast and a drink carrier with four cups of coffee on hand. She had already managed to drop off Daniel at school in one piece and on time, which was quite a relief on her part. Not long after, Daehyun had sent Annie a text message asking for her to bring him and the other guys some breakfast since neither of them had time to pick some up. And since Annie had nothing better to do, she figured why not? She didn't mind. Besides, it would be nice to eat breakfast with her friends for a change and she hoped Yongguk didn't mind as well.

Setting the bags down momentarily, she lightly knocked on the door. “I've got a delivery for Jung Daehyun!” She called out cheerfully.

Almost immediately, the door flew opened. Daehyun shifted his attention over to the bags in her hands. “Are those for me?” he asked.

Annie grinned and nodded. “Surprise!” she exclaimed. “So are you gonna help me carry them inside or what? This coffee is going to burn my hand.” She chuckled.

“Right,” he said stepping out to take the drink carrier from her.

In turn, she leaned over to pick up the bags off the floor. Following him inside, she found Youngjae sitting on the swivel chair reading through a bunch of notes. As soon as he spotted her, he set his notes aside then stood up to help her. “Good morning!” she beamed.

“Morning,” he grinned.

“There's a bunch of stuff so help yourself,” she told him. “I even brought coffee. Not sure what you guys liked so there's cream and sugar packets in one of those bags,” she motioned over to the paper bags on the table before slumping back against the leather couch against the wall. Before long, she yawned loudly garnering their attention.

“What time did you get home last night?” Daehyun asked raising his brow before taking a bite of his sandwich.

She turned to look over at him with a flat expression. “I didn't go home last night,” she muttered. “Danny wanted me to stay with him so it's not like I had any other choice. Lucy understands.”

Youngjae chuckled. “I couldn't blame you,” he remarked before taking a sip of his coffee. Looking down at the cup, he sighed then held it out to her. “Here,” he said.

She eyed it carefully then looked up at him with a puzzled expression. “Huh?” she uttered.

“You need it more than I do,” he told her.

She lightly pushed his hand away from her. “It's okay, Jae,” she said, declining his offer. “I'll just go buy another one before I have to go get Danny.”

“Come on, Annie,” he insisted, refusing to budge.

She sighed then eventually caved. “Thanks,” she said finally taking it from him. Taking a sip, she glanced around the room only to realize someone was missing. “Where's your boss?” she asked curiously referring to Yongguk.

“He stepped out for a bit,” Youngjae answered. “He should be back soon.” He said glancing over at the door.

“Ah, I see,” she said nodding in understanding. When Youngjae gave her a knowing smile, Annie glared at him. She nearly forgot about the confession she made the day before at Daniel's birthday and yet he just had to remind her. In turn, she gave him a dark look. “Don't say anything,” she warned him, mouthing silently so Daehyun wouldn't notice.

He snickered then feigned innocence. “I promise I won't,” he said with an innocent smile, crossing an imaginary X over his heart.

She pointed a warning finger at him one last time. “What the hell is going on with you two?” Daehyun's voice rang out, breaking the abrupt silence.

Youngjae and Annie glanced over at him. “Nothing,” they replied simultaneously.

He narrowed his eyes from Annie then to Youngjae. “I'm onto the both of you,” he said with a hint of suspicion in his tone.

Youngjae chuckled nervously. “It's really nothing, Dae,” he said.

“Sure it isn't,” he sneered.

Before long, the door burst open garnering their attention. Annie felt herself tense up upon seeing Himchan enter the room. Soon, she was reminded about the events that transpired the night before as well. “Hey Himchan hyung!” greeted Daehyun and Youngjae.

He nodded at them. “Hey guys, how's it going?” he greeted wearily.

“Uh nothing,” said Daehyun, who soon pointed over to the bags on the back table. “Annie brought us some breakfast so feel free to help yourself.”

“Annie?” he perked up then turned to find her sitting still on the leather couch. It was apparent that she was avoiding eye contact with him.

Sensing he was staring her way, she finally managing to look up, giving him a faint smile. “Hello,” she greeted him sheepishly. She knew she couldn't be here with Himchan around. Not after what happened last night. What she saw came as a huge shock and it still stunned her to face him. Tapping her foot impatiently against the pavement, she finally garnered the attention of her best friends. “I have to get going,” she said standing up.

“What? Why?” Daehyun furrowed his brows in confusion. “You weren't even here that long. What could possibly be more important that your best friends?” he asked, sounding a little hurt that she would leave so abruptly.

Annie sighed. “I just realized I had errands to run,” she said looking away from them.

Youngjae observed her closely, realizing she was lying but he knew better than to throw her under the bus. He noted her sudden strange behavior once Himchan entered the room. He saw her tense up when he looked her way. A little faint voice in his head told him that something was up and from the looks of it, they didn't look to good. He began to grow suspicious but knew better than to throw it out into the open. He made a mental note to talk to Annie later on when he got the chance. Maybe she would tell him what's on her mind like she usually did. For some reason, this seemed to worry him a bit more but he tried not to let it show.

As Daehyun tried to reason with Annie, Youngjae finally placed a hand on his best friend's shoulder. “Dae, let her be,” he said softly into his ear.

Daehyun relaxed a bit turning to Youngjae. “What are you talking about, Jae?” he asked in a hushed tone.

Youngjae motioned over to Himchan and Annie, who made it known that she did not want to even look at him. The silence in the room between the two of them was getting loud and Youngjae knew better than deal with awkward tension in the atmosphere. “She clearly doesn't want to be here with him,” he pointed out.

“But why?” he asked in confusion.

He shrugged. “I don't know either,” he finally said with a sigh.

Reluctantly, Daehyun nodded slowly then turned back to Annie. “Alright, it was nice seeing you this morning,” he said reaching out to her for a hug. “Thanks for breakfast.” He finally said rubbing the small of her back.

“Anytime, Dae,” she said over his shoulder, hugging him tightly. Pulling away from him, she glanced from him to Youngjae. “Tell Bang I said hello.”

“Sure thing,” Youngjae nodded as he pulled her in for a hug.

“Bye guys,” she said, smiling faintly. “See you guys later.”

“Later, Annie,” they said waving goodbye.

Glancing at Himchan briefly, she gave him a slight wave of her hand. “Bye Himchan.” She finally said quickly before walking out the door.

Once the door shut behind her, Annie made her way down the hall only to hear the door burst open once again. Looking back over her shoulder, she found Himchan making his way to her. Immediately, she turned back around and began to pick up the pace, making a beeline towards the staircase, hoping to lose him soon. “Annie!” he called out to her.

Clutching her bag tightly, Annie power-walked her way down the stairs. The elevator sure likes to take its sweet time when I need it the most, she grumbled to herself.

The night before...

“Nanny, what are you doing here?” Miranda finally asked, breaking the tense silence that erupted between them.

Realizing Miranda was speaking to her, Annie perked up clearing awkwardly. “I was tucking Danny into bed and he asked if I could stay the night,” she said avoiding eye contact at all costs.

“Well clearly he's in good hands since I'm here,” Miranda retorted back. “Maybe I should just call you a cab. It's getting really late.”

“No thanks,” Annie immediately spoke up. “I'll be fine.”

“Then, how are you getting home?” she asked, raising a brow.

“I'll take her home,” Himchan spoke up, prompting both Miranda and Annie to look over at him.

Annie clenched her fist angrily but tried not to let it show. “Actually,” she managed to say, trying her best to disregard his presence. “I'm staying.”

“You're staying?” Miranda repeated.

Annie nodded. “I felt it was a little convenient since I have to drop him off at school in the morning,” she said looking down at her feet. She really needed to avoid this situation and fast so before Miranda and Himchan could speak up, Annie spoke up once again. “Anyways, I should get some rest since I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow. Good night,” She finally said, faking a yawn. Then, turning the knob slowly, she made her way into Daniel's room shutting it softly behind her. Trembling, she leaned her back against the door sliding down against it in the process. Not able to hold back any longer, Annie allowed herself to cry as she would glance over at Daniel's sleeping figure occasionally in the hopes of not waking him.

Her phone chimed. Curiously, she made her way over to it to see a text message from Himchan that read, “I can explain...” It was slowly starting to make sense. Miranda's jealousy... Himchan's strange behavior... She felt like an idiot for not knowing sooner. Who else knew about this? Should she say something to someone? This was clearly none of her business but it felt that way knowing the way Miranda and Himchan looked over at her. This was not something to be taken lightly. And Himchan was her friend for crying out loud! She had no idea what to feel at that moment. Should she feel hurt? Angry? Sad? In her case, she was just full of mixed emotions, not knowing how to handle this.

Instinctively, she deleted the text message, choosing to ignore it, then stuffed the phone back into her purse. It was really going to be a long night, she realized. How was she going to face Himchan now that she knew his secret? It was heartbreaking. She was still hurt by it even though it had nothing to do with her. She cared more about protecting Daniel. began to feel even more dry. Nonetheless, she would dread having to face him the next time she saw him again.

Once she was outside, she could hear his footsteps following close behind. Before she could take another step further, he managed to catch up to her grabbing her by the wrist which therefore slightly startled her. She tensed up immediately, finding herself on the verge of tears thinking of Daniel. His adorable dimpled smile. His doe-like eyes gleaming at her that morning. The way he would tell her he loved her and couldn't wait to come home and play with her. He was so innocent in all of this drama but why did he have to suffer? He didn't deserve any of this. Slowly, she turned her head to face him.

“Please Annie...” he said softly, yet pleadingly.

She shook his hand off of her, but he only tightened his grip a little more firmly. “Let go of me,” she said coldly.

“Not until you hear me out.”

She relaxed a bit, allowing him to loosen his grip on her. “Fine,” she replied curtly.

Soon, he proceeded to lead her to a park bench knowing it was a little more private for this kind of conversation. She sat down turning her body away from him, willing to lend an ear but she had made it clear that she did not want to be around him and he knew it too.

Little did they know, Yongguk managed to see them leaving together hand in hand as he was returning to the studio from his quick little errand. Furrowing his brow, he wondered what was going on. From what he could tell, Annie did not seem happy as well as Himchan. Instinctively, he would have loved to follow them to see what was up but he had work to do, knowing Daehyun and Youngjae were expecting him upstairs. The album's not gonna write itself, he thought before making his way into the building.

“I'm on a bit of a time crunch,” she said dryly, examining her nails.

“I'm not sure where to start,” he began.

Annie scoffed. “What, do you want me to play 20 questions?” she asked. “As you wish. What was last night all about? Oh wait, I know exactly what it was. Seeing that Miranda was humiliated at her kid's birthday party, she needed company and decided to call her boy toy to make her feel better. Am I correct?” she asked, laughing bitterly.

Himchan looked away from her, unable to answer.

“I knew it,” she muttered, shaking her head. “Unbelievable.”

“I really wanted to end it, I swear,” he managed to say finally.

“Then, why don't you?” She raised a brow.

He sighed, running a hand through his unkempt hair. “It's not as easy as it sounds,” he told her. That made sense, she thought. He was screwing around with Miranda, of all people, so of course it was anything but easy.

“Okay,” she sat up, finally turning to face him. “Now that that question's been answered, onto the next one... How long has this been going on?” She asked directly.

After an abrupt silence, “A few years,” he replied, unable to meet her eyes.

Annie felt a knot in her stomach as she swallowed hard. “Does—does anyone else know...?” she croaked, holding back the tears threatening to form.

He shook his head. “Only you know,” he told her. “I met her a little after she gave birth to Danny. She was in charge of funding for the music department at the school where I studied. I remembered when I first met her, I had a crush on her. That crush turned into something more when I found out her husband was neglecting her by choosing work over family. According to her, I provided for her a bit of comfort and security and it went on from there,” he admitted as he looked away from her. “My family couldn't afford to keep me in that musical program so I would often agree to meet with Miranda just so I could remain on the roster.” Everything was starting to make perfect sense as Annie found herself listening intently taking in every bit of information. “I will be perfectly honest and tell you that this isn't my proudest moment.”

She nodded slowly in understanding, allowing a single teardrop to fall into her lap. “I see,” she remarked. He reached out to touch her hand but she slapped it away. “So all those meetings, she was having and those phone calls... She was meeting with you this whole time?” He nodded. “And your strange behavior resulted in what was going on with her?” He nodded once again. “That makes perfect sense,” she sarcastically remarked. “Do you realize the position you're putting me in at the moment, Himchan?” she snapped.

“I know,” he looked down apologetically. “And I'm really sorry, Annie...”

“You're sorry?” she interrupted him, laughing bitterly. “Hey, don't apologize to me. The one who deserves the apology is Danny.” He grew silent. She scoffed, looking away from him. “I can't believe you,” she shook her head in shame. “You're his music teacher for crying out loud...”

“I assure you I will end this soon, I promise,” he looked up finally.

“I really wanna believe you,” she said softly. “But you're not giving me any reason to...”

“Annie.”

“I can't look at you the same way anymore, Himchan,” she said honestly, standing up. “I should get going.”

“Annie, wait!” he stood up with her.

She looked back at him. “Do you remember that agreement I told you about?”

He furrowed his brows in confusion. “Agreement?”

“It was about our friendship,” she said taking a deep breath. “I don't think I can stay friends with you anymore,” she finally said. “Now, I know we'll see each other occasionally for your lessons with Danny but please, don't speak to me like we're friends anymore.”

“But--”

She held up her hand to stop him. “No,” she sniffled, allowing more tears to fall from her eyes. “I'm sorry, Himchan. I should get going. See you around,” she said bowing apologetically before leaving him alone without another word. She did not bother looking back but she could feel him staring at her, fighting the urge to stop her.

Then, as if on cue, her phone buzzed: Miranda calling... Annie sighed looking down at it, wiping away her tears before answering it. “Hello? Yes, I'm on my way, Miranda,” she said. “See you then.”

A/N: Here you go! The chapter you guys have been waiting for!!! Sorry if it doesn't satisfy you but I wanted a more real approach to the situation as opposed to a very dramatic soap opera moment a majority of you guys were expecting... So again, I apologize! Anyways, I was watching a bit of Revenge to help me get going on this chapter lol. Not to mention, I'm currently reading this really cute romcom called "Love, Rosie" by Cecilia Ahern. If you guys have not read it yet, you guys should! It's gonna make you laugh. And I'm also reading "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" by Mitch Albom. Both are great books!!! Great for light reading lol. Anyways, check out BTOB's Thriller MV?! *_* OH HOT DAMN!!! Is all I can say atm... Anyways, I'll stop talking! Happy reading! ^^

P.S. Just saw the screen caps to the Japanese version of Warrior... OH HOT DAMN! Nuff said. Oh and please don't mind the minor errors lol. I fixed it to the best of my abilities lol. >.<