TaeRi POV

I was awakened byy a phone call. It was MinJung. Ah! How could I have forgotten! I immediately picked up the call.

MinJung: “TaeRi-ah! Are you okay? Where are you?”

TaeRi: “Your company decided to put us up at a hotel quite far away from the central of Seoul. I’m doing fine so don’t worry too much.”

MinJung: “I don’t even know if I should be sad or happy for you.”

TaeRi: “Ah, don’t worry. I’m fine here with MinHyuk.”

MinJung: “Oh! Have you received the invitation to the high school gathering?”

TaeRi: “Erm… Give me a moment to check. Yea, I did. Are you intending on attending?”

MinJung: “I mean, why not? It’s this Saturday. Do you think the matter will die down? They are confirming attendance by noon.”

TaeRi: “I wouldn’t mind going.”

MinJung: “Then it’s settled. I’ll pick you up from the hotel. See you! Stay strong!”

TaeRi: “I will!”

I checked my inbox. 1 unread message:

Miss Jang TaeRi, you are invited to the gathering of the graduating batch of 2013. Please confirm your attendance by noon. We hope to see you there!

 I replied to the unknown number: I’ll be there! Thank you for inviting me.

I put down my phone as I got a back hug from MinHyuk. With him around, I felt so safe. “Good morning, Ri,” he said. I turned myself around and kissed him on the cheek before going to the bathroom to wash up. 

We sat down on the sofa and decided to eat some cake for breakfast while watching TV. Somehow, it felt like we were already married. Or maybe it was just me. There was nothing much to do the whole day so we just lazed around and watched some movies. I’m sure I could get used to this. The day was kind of pointless, but I was with the person I love so all was well. It’s like I was constantly reminded that all the hurt I’m receiving was worth it.

I was loaded with messages when I checked my phone. I’m sure the article was posted. I went to read it. ‘Cube confirms that BTOB’s MinHyuk is dating a regular citizen’ I clicked onto the link and there were so many photos of us. I showed MinHyuk the article and we read the comments together. We laughed about some, we felt comforted by others, and we faced the hate comments bravely.

SATURDAY

Saturday came quickly. It was the day of the gathering. I put on my favourite dress and pulled my hair into a high bun. As promised, MinJung called me when she came to the hotel. I went down to the passenger pick-up point as instructed to.

“This gathering feels weird to me, like something isn’t right?” MinJung said. “Well, at least I can come out for some fresh air at last.” I replied. But it honestly felt funny to me when there weren’t people at the destination even though we reached just on time.

“Are you sure we are at the right place? How come there’s nobody?” I asked. MinJung shrugged but suggested we go in to take a look.

Tragedy. It was a nightmare.

The room was dark. But from the sunlight coming through the curtains, I could see pictures of MinHyuk and me walking. Could this be sasaengs? I took a closer look at the pictures on the wall. My face was crossed out by a red cross.  Unconsciously, tears formed in my eyes. I doubted my decision to date MinHyuk. My world came crashing down. I squatted, closing my eyes tightly. I felt MinJung’s familiar tap on my shoulders as she tried bringing me out.

The lights and I opened my eyes to look towards the direction of the door.

Lee JaeMin. Oh HyeMi.

Well, I was shocked they were still close friends despite being such es. I heard MinJung from behind me. “What do you guys want?” she demanded.

I stood up slowly, eyeing what they were holding in their hands.

“We want something very simple. You, Jang TaeRi, break up with my MinHyuk oppa.” HyeMi said. “Or else…” JaeMin threatened.

“We make your life a living hell.” JaeMin finally continued.

“You know, I really pity you. If only ChangSub oppa wasn’t my cousin, and this precious piece of information hadn’t slipped his mouth, all this wouldn’t have happened.” JaeMin said again.

“Well, JaeMin, you have good photography skills!” HyeMi complimented JaeMin.

The two girls then laughed idiotically. “So, break up… or not?” JaeMin threatened with a smirk.

“Why would she break up with MinHyuk?” MinJung defended.

“So the answer is no?” HyeMi asked.

I shook my head.

They reached their hands into the paper bag that they were holding and what happened next was a blur. I was hit by something hard, but it was slimy. It smelt kind of bad too. No doubt, eggs. Each hit harder than the previous one. “Stop!” I screamed in agony. They paused for a while, before saying “Break, or no break?”

This time, I hesitated a bit longer. But I thought of everything that made all these worth it and again, I shook my head. This time, MinJung was dragged out of the room and it was me and the two of them. The lights went off. I guess they were out of eggs cause the next thing I knew, sharp fingernails scratched against my skin, my skin screaming for help. I felt the sharp heels of their shoes against my skin. I struggled to be free from their grip. But two was stronger than one. I screamed for them to stop. But the misery continued. I let myself cry out loud. I kept thinking about the times MinHyuk and me had together that made this all worth it.

But I never knew it would be this bad.

When I was finally free, I was lying on carpeted floor, wet with my tears and slime from the eggs. My skin was screaming for help. I was helpless; I just laid there, crying.

MinJung came in after they left and she comforted me. She helped me to the washroom and helped me wash my wound. I couldn’t describe how lucky I was to have a best friend like her.

She helped me onto the car and gave me her jacket since I washed the slime off my hair. The ‘gathering’ was a disaster and I was already on my way back to the hotel. MinJung stopped at a pharmacy to get more plasters before she followed me back to the hotel.

MinHyuk opened the door and was shocked at my appearance. Totally different from the condition I left the room. I fell into his embrace, tears streaming down my face.  

[ A/N ] this fanfic will end in the next half-chapter! i have already finished writing it in advance! the last chapter will be posted this weekend. so please look forward to it! if you think it deserves it, please upvote and comment on this fic! so i can improve on my future fics. i'm currently in the middle of my GOT7 oneshot. the introduction has already been posted so please subscribe! i would really appreciate it!