“So you and Myungsoo are friends now?”

            Jongin and I were hanging out at his parent’s place, on the couch watching movies. We just finished Spiderman and I was on the verge of tears due to James Franco’s flawless face.

            “Yup,” I said, nonchalantly wiping my eyes with a tissue. “It’s nice.”

            “Ah. So that’s why you’ve been happier lately,” Jongin remarked.

            “Yah.” I playfully punched him in the arm and he laughed. “I am happy because of you.”

            “Are you sure about that?”

            “Yes I’m sure. I like this whole ‘dating after dark’ thing a whole lot more. God only knows how paranoid I get when we hang out at the café in broad daylight.” I shivered at the thought of it.

            Jongin shrugged. “Gotta keep things interesting, right? Which reminds me. Where is APink sitting at the end of the year awards? Next to Exo I hope?”

            “I actually don’t know.” I thought about it again. “I think it’s Infinite though. I want to say Infinite but I’m not sure.”

            “Hm. Infinite.” I could tell that his guard was up at the mention of that group.

            “Hey,” I said, bringing his face close to mine. “I told you. We’re friends now. He has someone and I have you. And you’re all I see.”

            Jongin smiled, taking my hands in his. “You know, I really like it when you open up to me like that. It’s rare. But I like it a lot.”

            “Well, I’m usually not the type of person to express my feelings so easily,” I said. “But I’m working on it. It’s getting easier. You’re helping me make it easier.”

            He caressed my cheek, his soft hands gently touching my skin. “I love you, my Son Naeun.”

            My Son Naeun.

            My mind raced back to the mysterious letter I’d received in the mail weeks ago: my dearest Son Naeun…

            Kim Jongin. Blackmailing me? No. He couldn’t be. I mean, why would he? If he’d found out about Myungsoo being my stepbrother then he’d come confront me immediately. Why would he go through the trouble of scaring the out of me?

            Even with my reasoning, my instincts kicked in and I found to be more cautious of my surroundings by the minute. In fact, I was so immersed in my thoughts about the blackmailer that I’d completely brushed past how Jongin had just practically confessed his love for me.

            “Naeun?”

            I snapped out of it. “Yes?”

            “Did you hear what I just said?”

            “Oh. Yeah.”

            “Well, um…do you have an answer?”

            “I, uh, I’ll get back to you on that,” I said, hurriedly getting out of his arms and grabbing my purse. “I have to go. Busy schedule tomorrow and I want to sleep early. I’ll see you soon, okay babe?”

            “O-Okay.”

            “Great.” I faked a smile and gave him a peck on the lips before making my exit.

            On the drive back to the dorm, my mind was racing, the gears turning faster and faster. I didn’t want to believe that Jongin could be blackmailing me. But I also didn’t want to rule out the possibility just because I was seeing him. You never know who you can trust in this world.

            End of the year awards are great. It signified an end and a new beginning, a recollection of an idol’s accomplishments in the past year. But many idols don’t seem to see the end of the year awards in this context.

            Instead, the end of the year awards was just the perfect excuse to mingle with other groups without seeming suspicious.

            I was having a chat with Lizzy from After School, catching up on things since we also knew each other in high school.

            “…yeah and I did this variety show last week where I had to text an idol or something. So I decided to choose Myungsoo because honestly, the guy needed a popularity boost,” she was saying. “He was talking to me backstage last month or something about how Infinite needs it. Did the guy a favor.”

            “You called Myungsoo?” I asked.

            “Yeah.” Then she giggled. “Ahhhh I remember. You two had a thing back in high school didn’t you?”

            “What? Noooooo,” I immediately said. “There was nothing between us. Besides, he and I are good friends now.”

            She raised a brow. “Friends?”

            “Yeah.”

            She snorted. “Naeun, I hardly even know your relationship or past with him but even I know that you two can never be just friends.”

            “Why does everyone say that?!” I said. Even Jongin seemed to have doubts. “It’s been working between us. Seriously.”

            Lizzy shrugged. “Whatever you say. Just looking out for my hoobae. If he breaks your heart, he’s dead. But to be honest, I hardly even know him.”

            “You don’t?”

            Lizzy nodded. “After School and Infinite introduced themselves to each like two years ago maybe? I feel like he only wanted to get to know me to find out stuff about you.”

            “You’re kidding.”

            She shook her head. “Nope. He legitimately asked me if I’ve been keeping in contact with you, then proceeded to get my number so that we could ‘chat’. God only knows that he wanted to get closer to you.”

            I rolled my eyes. “No way.”

            She shrugged. “So how are things with Taemin?” Then she laughed. “This is honestly so funny. You, me, Myungsoo, Taemin, and so many others. We all came from the same high school but haven’t even began interacting until now.”

            “Yeah. The irony.” I even thought I saw that Gong Chanshik dude the other day performing as a member of B1A4. But it’s not like he would remember me. “Oh and the whole WGM thing is planning to end next month. After that I’ll probably try to get a part in a drama or something.”

            Lizzy nodded. “Nice. Making a name for yourself, huh?”

            “Yup. Trying to.”

            Lizzy and I walked down the hall, continuing to chat about our activities, when we ran into Taemin with a girl around the corner. As we got closer, I recognized her to be none other than Bae Suzy.

            He turned around and nodded at me. I did the same. We will sure have something to talk about when we film WGM next week.

            But then I passed by Suzy, who gave me a menacing glare. She stuck her nose up in the air, looking at me from head to toe. And for some reason, I could hear it in my head: my dearest Son Naeun.

            Instincts took over. The gears were turning again. Bae Suzy had been Myungsoo’s girlfriend in high school. She’s seen me and him together. She could know.

            Then I thought back to Jongin. And even Taemin could’ve known as well since he’d gone to our school too. There were just too many suspects and not enough answers.

            I was filming my last episode of WGM with Taemin. The shooting finished and I was wiping my fake tears off of my cheeks while saying thank you to the staff and crew. Taemin was nowhere to be found. The PD wanted to take a group picture and sent me off to find him.

            Following orders, I went all around the building looking for him. Around an empty corridor, I heard a voice.

            “Suzy…Suzy yes I know.”

            What is going on?

            I stealthily peered around the corner to see who was talking and couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw that it was Taemin, phone in hand.

            “…yeah,” he continued, “Naeun? I was done with her years ago and you know that. Okay. See you later babe.”

            I heard footsteps coming closer to I hid in a nearby janitor’s closet as it passed by.

            What was that all about? I didn’t like how he’d mentioned me in a conversation that he was supposed to be having with Suzy. I found it odd and quite terrifying.

            Then I thought about the blackmailer. Could it possibly be Taemin working in cahoots with Suzy? The possibilities were endless.

            When I saw Taemin later at the group picture, I said, “So. You and Suzy huh? You must be thrilled.”

            Taemin nodded accordingly. “I am. We’re actually going on a date this weekend. She’s a lot more at ease with me now since WGM is over.”

            “Glad to hear that,” I said. “I bet you’d do whatever she tells you to do. Like a tool.”

            “Ah, but that is where you’re wrong, Son Naeun,” he said with a chuckle. “You see, I’m not just a tool. I’m a good-looking tool. There’s a difference.”

            Perhaps that was meant to be a joke, to be funny. But I wasn’t laughing.