L.Joe stared at the back of Chaekyung's head, his eyes furrowed.

He twisted his mouth deep in thought, unable to figure out the girl he thought he understood. He thought he knew Chaekyung, not very deeply or whatever, he didn't have the interest anyway, but he thought he understood girls like her.

He grouped her conveniently as one of those popular girls that only cared about themselves, couldn't move around the school without her bunch of followers and absolutely thrived in attention of the opposite . It was the reason why he called her princess in the first place, because princesses were pampered and selfish.

However princesses didn't suffer in silence. Princesses didn't give in to others. Princesses always insisted on what they want.

Chaekyung didn't do any of that.

L.Joe frowned to himself as he watched Chaekyung struggle with an algebraic question. Unlike Jaekyung, she wasn't terribly gifted with numbers. Nor words. Nor academics on the whole. Which was why she found studying extremely difficult and frustrating when all she wanted to do was to design clothes. It was just annoying that she still had to get a certificate before she could get into the designer school she wanted.

Even if she didn't really know how to understand mathematics, she tried time and time again until she nearly burned a hole in her paper with her eraser from erasing her answers and trying again multiple times.

That was another thing L.Joe didn't understand. Didn't girls like her look for the easier way out, especially when there was an answer sheet right at the back of the book?

That was something L.Joe didn't know about because the past Chaekyung could have done that. It was her past behavior when she asked Jaekyung to help her bake the cupcakes and design the love letter for L. It was the easy way out instead of burning the house down with her baking skills or using hours to draw the perfect heart.

However that was the past Chaekyung and the present Chaekyung had changed. This Chaekyung had learnt not to only take but she had to give as well, especially when she owed so much.

L.Joe didn't understand any of that which was why he was completely mystified and spent the entire two days pondering over Chaekyung's actions. It was annoying how the girl kept popping up in his head when he wanted to daydream about Jaekyung but he couldn't help himself from being curious.

Just what was that girl thinking?

-----

Chaekyung felt his intense gaze at the back of her head and furrowed her brows. She had grown rather accustomed to L.Joe's presence in her room and she swore he hugged her minion pillow for even longer hours then she did when she went to bed.

He usually played with his phone, read playboy magazines or computer games on his laptop while he was over, just to waste away the time before dinner when he could see Jaekyung. Occasionally he would be on the phone with his friends from his hometown, of which one of them Chaekyung knew was called Chunji. That guy was the one who managed to get L.Joe most irritated most of the times and Chaekyung secretly liked Chunji best.

However Chaekyung wasn't used to L.Joe just lying on her bed doing nothing but stare holes into the back of her head. Like seriously, even if the person was L she wouldn't be comfortable with it.

Chaekyung spun around in her seat abruptly and threw L.Joe the eraser in her hand. She was slightly impressed and annoyed at the same time when L.Joe didn't even flinch, and she wasn't able to catch him off guard when he caught the eraser smoothly.

"Quit staring at me Ariel and do something productive for once." Chaekyung grumbled and narrowed her eyes at him. "Or perhaps you could consider lazing back at your home instead of here." she suggested hopefully.

"Nah I like it here. I'll miss your plentiful care bears and this minion toy." he squeezed the pillow in his hands and smirked. He leaned forward and stared at her for a few more moments, his brows furrowed thoughtfully.

Chaekyung squirmed uncomfortably under his gaze and she cleared , feeling slightly weird. "You can admire me as long as you like, I'll return to my math." she turned around and picked up her pencil once more to try the darn question.

L.Joe frowned and shuffled over to the side of the bed, putting his legs down onto the floor. "You're trying to do that question again?" he retorted. "There are answers at the back of the textbook you know."

"Yes I know but how would I ever get the answer in the exam if I always peeked at the answers?" Chaekyung harrumped, biting the end of her pencil while furrowing her brows once more. Darn, she really had the urge to peek at the answers now because this question was waaaay above her level of comprehansion.

"But you've been at this question for the past forty five minutes, princess." L.Joe drawled. "Maybe even longer. I really doubt you would get the answer any time soon."

Chaekyung grounded her teeth and wrinkled her nose. Humph. That was what he thought. She would figure the answer out just to spite him.

"Determination. Never give up." Chaekyung said in what she thought was a wise conscending tone which sounded pretty funny to L.Joe. "Haven't you heard of that Ariel?"

L.Joe ignored the insult and he leaned forward further. "Right. So what happened to determination and never give up with L?" he shot back.

Silence immediately reigned and Chaekyung spun around on her chair to stare at L.Joe in shock. Did he just...no, he didn't just go there. It took several seconds for her to react, and even so she seemed to be unable to get over his words. "W-what-"

"I said what happened with L if you're so determined and stubborn?" L.Joe pressed. He knew it wasn't any of his business but after brooding over it for days, he couldn't stand NOT knowing. He had to figure this girl out or he would go crazy.

This girl occupied his mind so much that he couldn't stop to daydream about Jaekyung peacefully and it was annoying. So, so annoying.

"What happened to being determined when that L broke up with you to go with your sister?" L.Joe pressed, observing as Chaekyung pressed her lips into a thin line and dropped her gaze to the floor. "What happened to that determination when you just gave the guy you love up? I'm asking this as a pure bystander, and I'm not even letting my feelings for your sister come into play now. If you like him so much why won't you even try to get him back?"

Chaekyung swallowed. "You don't understand. My sister-"

"If sisterhood was so important she wouldn't be dating L now." L.Joe snapped. He didn't know why he did it but he just degraded Jaekyung with that sentence but he suddenly felt unfair on behalf of his "girlfriend". "If she could date your ex without a second's thought right now, what's holding you back from pursuing L again?"

Chaekyung didn't say anything, because she didn't know what to say. What answers could she provide?

L.Joe grew annoyed at her lack of response, not knowing that it wasn't cowardness that held her back but guilt. He unexpectedly flared up at her because he wanted her to do something, to not get stepped on, to fight for something for herself.

He was trying to provoke her into telling her the reasons, to stand up for herself, not because he had other ulterior motives but he couldn't imagine how someone could suffer in silence all alone by themselves. It had to drive them crazy.

He watched Chaekyung carefully and could see she was shocked that he even approached the subject. But he was L.Joe and he was different. Chaekyung remained silent even with the oncoming questions and L.Joe grew increasingly impatient. He wanted answers, just any logical answer to her behavior such that he could go back to disliking her instead of being curious for her behavior every minute of the day.

Not thinking it through carefully, L.Joe lashed out once more, not knowing how close his statement hit to her heart.

"If you're so cowardly, I can see why L chose Jaekyung instead of you." L.Joe blurted, trying to get her to react. "At least she's courageous enough to pursue the guy she likes, she's so much better than you. No wonder L-"

L.Joe blinked in shock when Chaekyung gave him an anguished shove, causing him to fall back onto the ground in a shameful heap because she caught him off guard. She gave him a heated glare before turning away and running out of the room.

Her room.

Somehow L.Joe had the capabilities to drive her out of the room even if it was hers, instead of the other way round. He should have been gloating for his new found achievement but he couldn't. Not when he caught sight of her face just before she ran out of the door.

The girl who could withstand all his insults, his teases, his unreasonable attitude and behavior (yes he knew he was unreasonable as well, but he just liked to provoke Chaekyung), he finally broke her. He wouldn't be surprised if the girl was already sobbing hysterically at this point because he had seen the tears welling up in her eyes, the desperation, the anguish....

And hell, L.Joe felt like he was the worst person on earth.

He just wanted answers. He wanted to stop being curious of Chaekyung all the time and now he crossed the line. If he could turn back time, he would take back everything he said.

Because even if he wanted to believe so, he knew deep down that Chaekyung wasn't inferior to Jaekyung. Not even when his feelings for Jaekyung were added into consideration.

"You're a bastard."

L.Joe groaned and cursed under his breath. After Chaekyung ran from her room, L.Joe followed after her moments after while formulating different ways of apologizing in his mind. However when he looked around the house, he didn't see Chaekyung anywhere and when he asked Mrs Lee, he found out that the girl had gone out.

Where? He didn't know.

He could wait there at her room till she came back but L.Joe didn't feel too comfortable about it knowing that Mrs Lee guessed that they had a fight and he wasn't ready to explain things to the mother. And besides, Jaekyung and L were about to get home and he didn't want to see either of them.

Not even Jaekyung, because it would just remind him of how stupid it was of him to compare the two sisters together when they were too very different people altogether.

He went home and tried to think of ways he could appease Chaekyung and ask for her forgiveness and he could that his fantastic brain could give him no answers. He had no idea how he was supposed to appease a fuming girl because he had absolutely no experience in the matter.

Girls came onto him but he never reacted to any of them, and not to mention the girls wouldn't even dare to throw a temper at him. He had a girlfriend once but they were together for too short a time for them to have a squabble and for him to have a chance to even try to appease her.

Desperate, L.Joe decided to ask his friends for suggestions and help.

"You're really really a bastard." Chunji looked really disappointed as he kept shaking his head and repeating the statement over and over again. "A freaking bastard."

L.Joe glared at the computer screen and scowled. "Shut up. I know that alright and if that's the only suggestion you're going to give me then I'll just end this freaking call."

"Chill hyung." Changjo pushed Chunji out of view and occupied the entire computer screen instead. He tapped his chin and frowned. "But you're got to admit it was rather hurtful on your part to say those things, especially when you know that the girl is still in love with that L guy and you're rubbing salt onto her wound."

L.Joe narrowed his eyes at the maknae and Changjo visible swallowed even though L.Joe was all the way on the other side of Korea and could do no physical harm to him. But still, a hyung was a hyung.

Niel poked his head in front of the camera. "If you ask me, hyung, there isn't much to think about what to do." he snorted. "There's only one thing to do right now and it's to apologize to her because you were in the wrong. I don't know what you're hesitating about but that's the only thing you need to do so do it!"

"I know but.." L.Joe frowned and grumbled under his breath. L.Joe didn't do apologies and he most certainly didn't show weakness in front of a girl. And he wasn't sure how he was supposed to apologize because he was quite sure Chaekyung wouldn't forgive him, seeing how upset he made her in the afternoon.

L.Joe groaned inwardly. Chunji was right, he was a bastard.

"I tell you Lee Byunghun." Chunji stole the laptop away to look at L.Joe, frowning. L.Joe opened his mouth to snap back at his best friend for using his full name but Chunji's hard glare caused him to shut up. "You did the girl wrong so apologize. And you better do it right with sincerity or I'll never forgive you. Chaekyung is a perfectly nice girl and you went ahead to hurt her without thinking and she deserves a nice sincere apology from you." he reprimanded.

Narrowing his eyes at the screen, L.Joe growled. "Yah what are you, her boyfriend or something? You haven't even met the girl yet and you're already defending her."

Changjo's voice could be heard in the background. "Yah Niel hyung, do you think that means we can meet her in the future?"

"Woah, you mean when L.Joe hyung introduces us to his girlfriend?" Niel pondered out loud.

"Cool." the two echoed in unison.

L.Joe frowned in irritation but snapped his attention back to Chunji because his best friend looked like he wanted to kill him. "Don't you throw your temper at me when you know you're 100% in the wrong. Do something to salvage your relationship with her if not i'll guarantee that you'll regret it. Bad."

"I know I know." L.Joe grumbled. "I have to make up with her if I want to get closer to Jaekyung anyways." he muttered.

Chunji rolled his eyes and shook his head, looking ready to bang his head on the wall. "My best friend is retarded." he whispered to himself. "Hopeless."