Aron’s POV

“Where is she?!” I screamed into the phone. “Where the is U-ie?!?!” I screamed again as Minhyun sat lifelessly on the floor. Startled, Jason placed his hands over his mouth and continued to alternate his gaze between me and Minhyun, remaining silent. JB wasn’t being of any help at this moment; I could tell by the sound of his voice that he was panicking. Several phones were ringing in the background down at the Pledis office. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that JB had already seen or been informed about the news broadcast.

“I don’t know-” JB sounded like he was about to have a panic attack. “What are you talking about?!”

“Where is U-ie?! That did this; she’s responsible for this big mess!”

JB paused. “Are you certain it was her…?”

“Who else would it have been?! She threatened Min right in front of me!” I exclaimed.

“Aron, you need to calm down… we both need to calm down. It could have been anyone-”

I scoffed in disbelief. “Are you protecting her?” I asked furiously. “You know what? Forget it. I’m on my way. You better hope to god I don’t find her!” I angrily hung up the phone and marched back out the front door to the mansion, headed towards the Pledis building. As I entered out into the yard I darkly brushed past Ren and Minseok, who both gave me startled looks. I could tell they both wanted to ask me what was wrong but I was in no mood to talk to either of them. My number one priority was getting down to the office and finding that backstabbing traitor. I remembered that day. I remembered it clearly. Because Min and I had prevented her from seeing Baekho, she threatened Minhyun for looking down on her. Her words were that he would regret his actions. Back then I thought they were empty promises; I didn’t actually expect for her to go through with it. We were all from the same family. We were all from the Pledis Family! I might not know much about the way things still work over here in Korea, but one thing is universal: you don’t betray your family. Ever.

About an hour later I entered the Pledis building, storming through the front doors and startling the receptionist who jumped out of her seat and almost hit the wall in fright. I ignored her and marched my way through the office, searching each room for that witch. She was bound to be here somewhere. I entered into After School’s official meeting room to find not U-ie, but the girls of Orange Caramel sitting at the table discussing their soon-to-be comeback. I stormed in anyways, gritting my teeth.

“Where is U-ie?!”

Lizzy raised a brow. “U-ie…?” She shared a glance with Nana.

“She’s probably in the practice room with the other girls-” I didn’t wait for Nana to finish before bursting out of the room and making my way downstairs to the dance studio. As I came to the last step I stormed through the door and entered into the practice room where the rest of After School was rehearsing a dance number. I wove in between each member, not stopping until I reached her. As U-ie raised her arm to do a spin I grabbed her by her wrist and yanked her hard, dragging her out of the group and back to the stairwell with me. U-ie screamed and then pulled her hand back once we were alone.

“What in the world is the matter with you?!” She exclaimed.

I laughed. “You’re that petty, aren’t you?”

U-ie froze and narrowed her eyes at me before folding her arms across her chest. “Explain yourself.” She replied haughtily.

“Don’t play innocent; you threatened Min and you finally followed through with it. I never thought of you as a terrible person, but maybe I was wrong. I thought you were better than this. You’re an idol, for heaven’s sakes. You of all people should know better.”

U-ie scoffed. “Aron Kwak, you call that an explanation?”

I had to restrain myself from wanting to slam my fist into the side of her ‘perfect’ face. I glared at her. “You leaked Min’s pre-debut pictures. U-ie, have you not received plastic surgery yourself? What makes you any better than him?” I asked, talking down on her.

“I’ve done no such thing.”

I paused, hurt. “Will you ever take responsibility for your own actions?”

U-ie stared at me with wide eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean…?”

I shifted my gaze down to the floor. “Your past with Baekho… was it really for him, or was it for yourself?”

U-ie ran both her hands through her long hair in disbelief. “What kind of person do you take me for?” She turned to the side. “I fail to see how any of that is your business. Anyways, you’re right, I threatened Min because he disrespected me, but I never meant it…”

“Never meant it?” I retorted.

U-ie turned back and face me with a dark look on her face. “2DREAM, who do you think you are? You’re nothing but rookies in this field compared to After School, and yet you have the audacity to talk down to your superior? The music industry is all about connections. It’s about who you know; people in this industry can make or break you. The both of you, you’ve got some nerve. Maybe this is the lesson you need in order to learn how to respect your sunbaes.” U-ie spun around, flipping her long brown hair in my face and angrily marching back into the practice room. “If the two of you appear in front of me again, I won’t stay silent any longer.”

I watched her leave in disbelief. What just happened…? Had U-ie just threatened us? I felt so lost. U-ie’s reaction when I confronted her was confusing. She seemed to be surprised, but then at the same time, it was like she wasn’t. She claimed to have nothing to do with the situation, but could we really believe her? I didn’t know U-ie enough to make a clear enough judgment about her. Back during our trainee days she usually stuck around Baekho. Only Baekho would know if she was telling the truth about this matter or not, but knowing Baekho, he’d want nothing to do with us now. U-ie… why is it that I find it hard to believe in you…?

Minhyun’s POV

I breathed heavily as I watched Aron run out the door. Tears began to build in the corners of my eyes. Aron, I need you… why are you running away from me? Don’t go! Don’t leave me here! Two wet tears trickled down my cheeks. I immediately hung my head low, trying to hide my shame from Jason who had caught sight of it anyways. Jason nervously twitched, kneeling down to reach for my shoulder. I shook my head. I didn’t want to be comforted by him. I wanted to be comforted by Aron! I felt alone. I felt so utterly lost, victimized, and alone. What am I supposed to do…? What am I supposed to do now? The world now knows the truth about me, that I’m a fake.

My heart began to race. I’m not a fake… the love I express to my fans, that’s real. The ‘me’ on stage… that’s real. The only thing that’s not real is my face… but the outside world wouldn’t see it that way, would they? Everyone… everyone is going to turn on me… This is my fault, isn’t it? I received the surgery. I received all the treatments. I did this, knowing that I was lying to everyone.

I’m not good enough.

I’ll never be good enough.

I was fooling myself by continuing to think I could be 2DREAM’s leader. A leader is someone who is confident in themselves and their abilities. They are comfortable with who they are and lead their team members to be comfortable with themselves. What was I? I was an insecure visual, never being satisfied with the way I looked. I starved myself to achieve an unreachable perfection that I had instilled in my head since childhood. I styled my hair in ways that I was uncomfortable with but the fans approved. I cut my face to appear more ‘presentable’ to the public… and still… it’s not enough, is it?

Perfection… what is perfection? It’s some unattainable goal.

Never feeling good enough… that feeling would never go away, would it? For those that have never gone through that feeling, they’d probably think that it’s easy to get over it, but it isn’t. I felt trapped, like I couldn’t breathe. I hated myself. I hated every square inch of myself. The real me, the fake me, it didn’t matter. I hated it all. I wasn’t happy with myself; how could I possibly make my fans happy? ‘Prince Hwang Minhyun,’ yeah, right… A prince is supposed to be perfect, and I was far from it. I had so many flaws, so, so many. I’m suffocating underneath all this pressure to be someone that I’m not. I hated myself, so I tried to change from the influence of others, but if I had known back then that feeling would never go away, I would have never done it… I regret it.

I’ve been caught… I should have known a day like this should come. I want to run. I want to run far, far away and just hide from all the world. But I can’t do that, can I? I’m an idol. I can’t run. I can’t hide from my shame because someone, somewhere will find me. But how can I ever go back now? I’m hurt. I’m embarrassed. I’m humiliated. I’m just downright scared.

“Minhyun-”

I grabbed the remote and launched it at the TV screen, causing it to break. “Don’t look at it!” I screamed. Don’t look at my imperfections. Don’t look at my shame…

Jason remained frozen in place, almost as if he could read the thoughts running across my head just by looking at me. He forced a smile on his face, despite his shock. “You’re not that different-” He tried cheering me up but it was no use.

“You can never hide ugliness… on the inside and out, I’m truly hideous...” I replied, shakily climbing to my feet.

“Min, whoever told you that?” Jason asked.

I quietly stared at him.

“If you had a friend that told you what you just told yourself, how long would you be their friend…?” Jason asked, sitting down on the couch and staring lifelessly at the broken TV. “You shouldn’t base your self-worth based on how other people perceive you. If you do, you’re only going to get hurt… Self-worth… it comes from within… you can’t give it to someone and you can’t expect for others to give it to you.”

I watched him with wide eyes. Was Jason talking to me just now, or was he talking to himself? It sounded as if he were trying to help me, but by the own sad expression written on his face and the tone in his voice suggested otherwise, as if he were speaking from his own life experience. “What are you…” My voice trailed off. I was beginning to question who our choreographer really was. When we first met, he mentioned that he was from Jeju. But his accent… Baekho was from Jeju, and even he didn’t have the accent that Jason spoke with. Who was Jason…? I wanted to ask him this question since the concert the other day, but for some reason I was afraid to ask. I wasn’t quite sure why I was. Was I afraid that Jason might not be the hyper, cheerful playboy he portrayed himself to be? I didn’t know… I was just afraid of hearing the answer. I quickly changed my question. “What are you talking about?”

A small smirk spread across his lips. “Whoever did this to you, they’re not worth it, Min. Whoever it was, they’re just jealous of you and your success. If there’s anything I know, it’s that jealousy is the result of someone’s lack of self-confidence, self-worth and self-acceptance.” He pursed his lips together before glancing at me. “You’re not ugly, Min. You think true beauty is on the outside?”

I scoffed. “Don’t play that game with me; you’re obsessed with beautiful men.”

Jason gave me an amused smirk. “Do you know why?”

I paused.

“When you’re a beautiful person on the inside, it shows on the outside. Aron, Ren, Minseok, even you… yeah, you guys are all pretty, but something that I caught onto very quickly is that you’re all good people, and that’s what attracted me to every single one of you. Good natured people draw others in naturally like a moth is to a flame. Y’know?”

I gave his words some thought. What he said held some truth in it. When I first met Ren, while the others completely shunned him out, for some reason I was drawn to him. I could just see it in the way that Ren carried himself that he was a sweetheart and although he was rather attractive, he seemed to pay it no attention. He wasn’t one of those types of people that were aware that they were good looking and used it to their advantage. Ren was quite the opposite; he always went above and beyond to help us. Aron was a bit of the opposite. Aron knew he looked good and always flaunted it in others faces, but at the end of the day, he was just a troll. Aron had a good nature about him as well. Although he was slow and dense at times, he cared about others. He tried helping Baekho, he comforted Ren when he thought he broke him, and he tried to help me with my eating disorder and low self-image. If Aron or Ren weren’t giving people and were all about their looks, they would turn others away. Jason was right… how in the world…?

Jason began to laugh hysterically. “You just realized I’m right, didn’t you? You totally think I’m smart, don’t you?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You’re dumber than bricks.”

“Maybe, but my methods work.”

I tilted my head to the side. “Huh?”

“It helped ease your mind.” Jason childishly stuck his tongue out at me.

I froze. Jason’s little spiel about beauty had temporarily made me forget about my pre-debut picture floating around the internet right now. And I was actually kind of glad that he had. “You little…”

Jason threw his arms up. “Just say it: ‘Jason, you adorable little rascal, you!’ Or ‘hyung.’ I prefer ‘hyung.’ But you choose. Heh.”

I continued to stare at him before shaking my head and chuckling a few times before sitting next to him. “You’re some kind of weirdo.” I replied before staring over at the TV I broke. “What should I do…?”

The smile disappeared from Jason’s face again. “Don’t be a coward…” His voice trailed off. There he went again… What was this all about? Jason, what’s going on with you? “If you own up to it, they’ll leave you alone. If you let them see that it bugs you, they’ll continue to drag it out until you crumble or they chase you away.”

“That’s…terrifying.”

“But it’s the only way.” Jason replied. “You’re beautiful; it’s society that’s ed. You shouldn’t have to be afraid to be the real you.”

“The real me… they won’t accept the real me…” My voice trailed off.

Jason scoffed. “Truth of the matter is, we’re all a little weird. But y’know what? Life’s a little weird and there are plenty of other whackos like us out there who aren’t what society calls ‘normal.’ But you? You’re exactly what your fans need. Weird people tend to migrate towards other weird people; when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with our own, we join up and fall in a mutual weirdness. Y’know what that type of weirdness is called?”

I shook my head.

“Love.” Jason replied. I stared at him with wide eyes. “A fanbase’s love. If your fans can’t accept the real you then they never had the right to call themselves your fan in the first place, y’think? So you’ve had plastic surgery; it’s not like you killed a guy.”

“I can’t do it…”

Jason stared at me. “Min, you were born to be real, not to be perfect.”

I bit my bottom lip and shifted my gaze down into my lap, deeply touched by Jason’s words. Who would have thought that those words of wisdom would have ever come from his mouth? All this time I think I underestimated him. If Aron hadn’t ever pushed me to try to get to know Jason more, I probably would have missed out on this moment. Jason was right… everything he said was absolutely right. I just wish it was Aron to have comforted me and brought me out of this darkness I brought myself into. Who knew what that jerk was up to. The more I tried to be patient with that guy, the more I realized that it was difficult and near impossible to understand him. Aron, I don’t understand your reasoning anymore… where were you when I needed you the most? You ran off… how could you do that to me…?

Despite Jason’s words, I just couldn’t find the courage to do it. I wasn’t brave like everyone else. I was by far the weakest person inside this house. But I really appreciated Jason’s effort and for him being there when I needed someone at my side. I reached over and placed my hand on Jason’s bare knee, surprising him. I feebly smiled at him.

“Thanks, Jason. I think I need to head down to Pledis now.” I replied, standing up. Jason stood up with me.

“I’m going with you.”

I tilted my head to the side. “W-why?” I asked, surprised.

Jason smiled at me. “Oh, just something I need to discuss with bossman.”

I nodded, unsure of his answer. “Alright then…”

Jason’s POV

As I arrived with Minhyun inside of the Pledis building, I smiled, waved, and parted ways with him, making my way past the receptionist and in front of the CEO’s office once he was far from sight. The receptionist gave me a serious look before silently nodding and allowing me entrance. I smiled at her then pulled the door open, stepping inside. The CEO glanced up from his desk at me as he took notice of another’s presence inside of his office. He looked tired; probably from the mess of phone calls Pledis had been receiving since the photo leakage from this morning. His eyes widened and he immediately sat up straight in his chair once he recognized me. I made my way in front of his desk and folded my arms across my chest.

“Minhyun’s not happy about what’s going down.” I said, staring down at him.

He annoyingly pressed his lips together. “And? None of us are truly happy.”

“If he’s not happy, I’m not happy.” I replied.

Bossman sighed. “What am I supposed to do about it?”

I raised a brow. “Fix it.”

“We’re working on it-”

“Fix it now, or I quit.” I threatened.

He scoffed. “You call that a threat? Not even the China office wanted you. You’ve always been nothing but a troublemaker. We’re doing you a favor, here.”

I cocked my head to the side arrogantly. “Is that the story you choose to believe…?” I scoffed. “It doesn’t matter what you believe. I’m your last hope for 2DREAM and you know it. I’d be nicer to me, if I were you. I could take my services elsewhere at any moment in time.”

The CEO remained quiet in his seat, probably realizing my words were correct. No one in their sane mind would want to work for DREAM, or rather, 2DREAM as it was called now. There were plenty of horror stories in the industry about what they put their staff through on a daily basis. After having lived underneath the same roof as them for a short amount of time, I could see that there was some truth to those stories. Minhyun and Aron were crazy and a bit immature, but it wasn’t anything that I couldn’t handle. I mean, everyone’s a little crazy, aren’t they? I knew I was. “What do you want us to do?” He finally asked.

“I hear U-ie is responsible for this. Is there any truth to this story…?”

He paused. “U-ie?” He asked, shocked, before leaning into the intercom on the corner of his desk. He pressed the buzzer. “Bring U-ie to my office, now.” He instructed to his receptionist, who replied shortly after. A few minutes later a beautiful, annoyed brunette stepped inside the office. I smiled widely at her, only to receive a ‘piss off’ look from her and be given the cold shoulder. Well, then… heh.

She turned her attention to bossman. “Sir, you asked to see me?” He pointed my way. She raised a brow and slowly glanced back at me. “What about him?”

“U-ie, is it?”

U-ie forced on the most strained smile I had ever seen in my life. “Yes?”

I extended my hand to her. She seemed very hesitant to take it in return. In the end, she chose not to shake it. I smirked and then let my hand fall back down to my side. “U-ie, I’d say we’re about the same age, right? We’ve both been in the industry for quite a while…”

She blinked, confused. “Excuse me? Who are you?”

I sat down and gave her another innocent smile. “Oh, just 2DREAM’s choreographer.”

“Tcht; don’t act like you know the life of an idol. Know your place-”

“You assume I don’t?” I asked, tilting my head to the side. “Speaking of places, tell me something. What is the definition of ‘sunbae’? You see, I’m not exactly from around here.”

“W-what?”

“You see, from what I understand, ‘sunbae’ is a term used for someone with more experience than others, is it not? What then, do I ask, are the responsibilities of a sunbae to their hoobaes? Is it not to lead, direct, and protect them? Am I wrong?”

U-ie clenched her fist at her side. “Get to your point.”

“You hurt Minhyun.”

She gave me a surprised, annoyed look. “Great, another one of you…” Her voice trailed off as she rolled her eyes. “I’ll tell you guys one more time; I did no such thing!”

I disregarded her last remark, letting it slide. “Regardless, based off of your current behavior, do you truly believe you’re worthy of the title ‘sunbae’?”

U-ie paused then shifted her gaze down to the floor as she disappeared in her own thoughts. She pursed her lips together as she realized that perhaps I might be right. She placed both hands on the sides of her face and sighed heavily before brushing her hair backwards. She placed her hands on her hips and faced me again with a guilty expression. “What should I do..?”

I smiled innocently.

“This situation has gotten out of hand, don’t y’think?”

Ren’s POV

My phone rang as I entered my room. Aron, Minhyun and Jason had run out of the place mere moments ago, not leaving me with the slightest idea of what was going on or where they were going. I glanced down at the caller ID; it was JB calling. I stared at the name in amusement. Finally he actually saved my number. With this final accomplishment of getting my number permanently stored in 2DREAM’s manager’s phone, I felt like I actually belonged to Pledis instead of being some nagging intern. I held the phone up to my ear and answered his call.

“Hello-”

“Emergency press conference; get down to Pledis now!” JB practically screamed into the phone before quickly hanging up. I blinked a couple of times before I felt adrenaline suddenly rush through my veins. Whatever the others had run out of the house for, it definitely must have been something important. I panicked. What do I do? How do I… dammit, Minseok had just left about a minute ago. I had no choice; I would have to run once again because clearly after today’s failed driving lesson, I was a danger to society on the road. I shoved my phone back into my pocket and took off running out of the front door of the mansion. I began to run as fast as my long legs could carry me down the sidewalk. I needed to get down to Pledis, now! They needed me! Stupid legs, go faster-

HONK HONK!

I glanced over my shoulder to see Minseok strolling down the street in his car, giving me a ‘what the hell’ look. He slowed down to match my speed, sticking his head out of the window. “Minki, what crazy nonsense are you up to now?!?!”

I gasped for air. “I have to get down the Pledis, now!”

Minseok narrowed his eyes at me as he sighed heavily. “Minki, get in this damn car.”

“No time-”

“GET IN HERE.” He demanded. I stopped in my tracks, heaving for breath before finally obeying my older brother and climbing into the passenger seat. Minseok reached over and slapped my forehead. I brought both hands to my face and groaned.

“You yelled at me again.” I pouted like a small child.

Minseok scoffed. “Want to run all the way to Pledis again? If not, buckle up and shut up.” I nodded quietly as Minseok sped down the street at a dangerous pace, not stopping until we reached the outside of the Pledis building about ten minutes later. To my surprise, the front of the building was bustling with reporters and a large following of 2DREAM’s fan club waiting outside. Just what in the world had gone on? What had I missed? As I was about to exit, Minseok stopped me. “Wait a minute; tell me this ‘friend’s’ address. I want to take a look at him.”

My eyes went wide. “What…? No, you can’t-” He wanted to visit Baekho? On his own…? There’s no way Baekho would forgive me if I just gave out his address to my brother, who was indeed a stranger to him. Not to mention, Minseok had this way about him… needless to say, after living under the same roof as Baekho for quite a while, I knew it was easy to anger him. Minseok would have to be careful around him if he expected to get out alive.

“How can I help this imaginary friend without seeing the extent of damage that I’m working with?” Minseok exclaimed. He did have a point…

“Ah, whatever! Fine!” Running out of time, I grabbed Minseok’s phone and tapped the address into a note file before I exited the car and watched as he drove away from the crazy frenzy that was taking place in front of Pledis. I wondered… what were the consequences of what I just did? I shuddered. Suddenly several reporters took notice of me and began flashing cameras in my direction. I raised a brow. Did they think I was one of the idols that Pledis represented? Well, Minseok did have an expensive foreign car… Normally, I would have been flattered but now wasn’t the time. I brought my hand over my face and began to push through the crowd, making my way inside of the building. Once inside I sighed heavily, exhausted. JB met me in the lobby and immediately rushed to my side, grabbing me by my arm, dragging me with him as we quickly made our way back into the heart of Pledis.

“We don’t have much time; Minhyun will be going on air shortly. Do your magic and make him look presentable.”

“On air…? What’s going on?”

JB paused, giving me a strange look. “How do you not know? Did no one take the time to explain to you about what’s gone on?”

I shook my head.

“Minhyun’s pre-debut pictures have surfaced. Questions have arose regarding the plastic surgery he received shortly before he debuted.”

I stared at JB with wide eyes. Minhyun… had received plastic surgery? I hadn’t known… I didn’t have enough time to form an opinion of the situation because JB practically threw me into 2DREAM’s dressing room where Minhyun was shakily standing in front of the mirror, practicing a script that Pledis had given for him to announce at the press conference. Standing beside him were the makeup artist and hair stylist, trying their best to get him ready. I glanced over to the racks full of clothing and began to frantically scour them, not stopping until I pulled out an outfit that I deemed appropriate for such an occasion. It wasn’t everyday one had to face the nation regarding a personal scandal.

“To those it may concern, despite the rumors going around regarding the issue of plastic surgery, I am here to inform you that they are groundless. I, Hwang Minhyun, have not once, nor ever, received plastic surgery. The photo was taken when I was an awkward teenager still growing into my features…” Minhyun’s voice trailed off.

I approached his side and held out a white dress shirt for him to slip into. He extended his arms and I slide one sleeve on over each before swooping around in front of him and buttoning up his shirt. The look on Minhyun’s face was devastating. But I didn’t know what to tell him to try to comfort him. For once I didn’t know what to do. As I pulled out a white infinity scarf and brought it around his neck, Minhyun met eyes with me.

“Ren… I can’t do this…”

“I’m sorry, Min…” I was at a loss of words.

“I can’t lie to them.” I paused as I was in the middle of adjusting Minhyun’s scarf. I glanced down, biting my bottom lip. Minhyun continued to watch me. He seemed torn by my silence. “Ren… please… say something… anything. You always seem to have an answer for everything. Please… I need you.” Tears began to well in the corners of his eyes.

My heart ached. “I’m only human, Min, just as you are… I wish I could give you strength, no, I want to give you strength, but I…I don’t know what to do… I want to help, but I…”

Minhyun fought back the tears. “I’m scared. I’m scared out of my mind right now, Ren.”

“Min…” My voice trailed off before I released both hands on his scarf and instead brought my arms around his chest, giving him a hug. Minhyun lowered his head and began to sob into my shoulder. The two stylists paused then walked off, giving us a moment together. “I strongly believe that everything happens for a reason. The people we meet, the paths we take; I believe it all happens for a reason. You aren’t the only person this has happened to and I’m sure you won’t be the last… but in that case, stand up and become someone else’s strength…” My voice trailed off as my thoughts once again returned to Baekho. “I know everything all seems dark and grim right now, but I’m sure something good will come out of this. You should make your smile change the world, Min, not the other way around.”

Minhyun pulled himself together and nodded. “Okay,” he replied, stifling his sobs. “You’re right. I will. I’ll go out there and be strong.”

I smiled at him. “I believe in you.” Minhyun gave me a touched look before smiling back at me. The makeup artist re-entered the room and retouched his makeup before JB entered with Aron with the instructions to make him up as well. Minhyun uneasily shifted his gaze across the room when he spotted Aron. I questioned the meaning behind that look but I disregarded it about as fast as it came to mind; time simply did not allow for me to question things. I quickly put together an outfit and dressed Aron as the others went to work on his hair and makeup. Within a matter of minutes we completely transformed him and JB returned for the both of the stars, pulling them out of the room and leading them back outside in front of the building where a podium with several microphones had already been set up. JB lead Minhyun to the podium, standing Aron directly behind him before he began the press conference.

I curiously snuck out of the building, wanting to catch what was going on. Apparently I wasn’t the only curious mind, seeing as how I ran into Jason who was standing in the corner of the staircase that lead to the Pledis building. We shared a silent look of understanding together before I joined him by his side and the two of us began to observe.

“We’re waiting on one more person.” JB said into the microphone. Minhyun glanced over his shoulder and gave him a confused look. Who could they possibly be waiting on? Aron and Minhyun were already standing there, waiting for the press conference to begin. A couple of minutes later another person emerged from the Pledis building. It was none other than U-ie, the woman I recognized from Baekho’s picture that he had on his desk so long ago as well as from the event that cost Baekho his hearing. I bit my bottom lip, feeling a surge of emotions rise up from within me. I wasn’t sure how to feel about her. One thing was certain, though. One of the emotions I was feeling was jealousy, something which surprised even myself. Why…? Why was I…

A flawless looking U-ie stepped up to the podium and took her spot next to a surprised Minhyun, who by no doubt was silently questioning her presence at the press conference. He stared at her with wide eyes and I watched as she reached for Minhyun’s hand, giving it a slight squeeze and smiling at him before releasing him and facing the large crowd of reporters that had gathered from earlier. Minhyun was about to begin the meeting, however, U-ie stopped him, placing her hand up. Minhyun paused as she shook her head.

“Good afternoon; I’m sure you’re all questioning my presence here today at 2DREAM’s press conference.” U-ie leaned forward, speaking into the microphone. A hoard of camera flashes went off. “Hwang Minhyun, leader of 2DREAM, was lately victimized by an unknown target, revealing something which was of private matter, accusing him of acts such as plastic surgery.”

“U-ie-” Minhyun spoke out, only to be further quieted by her. She shook her head again.

“I have a question to ask each and every one of you; are any of you perfect?” She asked the crowd. Everyone paused in reaction to the question. “Do you not dye your hair, lose weight, and put on pretty clothes or outfits, modifying your appearance for the approval of other people? If so, what is so wrong about it when an idol does it? Are idols a sub-class of human that are incapable of doing the things that each and every one of you do? Is plastic surgery some evil, horrible sin?”

Aron stepped forward. “U-ie, what are you doing?”

She ignored his interruption, instead digging inside of her small handheld clutch and pulling out a small piece of paper which appeared to be a photo. She paused, taking a moment to glance at it before extending her arm out and revealing it out in front of the reporters. There was a loud, audible gasp in the audience before a sea of flashes went off once again. “I’ve done it too. If that’s the case, I must be evil too. I’ve changed myself so that others would like and accept me as well. If the media is planning to gang up and shame one idol, you might as well do it to the rest of us.”

“U-ie…” Minhyun’s voice trailed off.

U-ie glanced at Minhyun. “I’ve been a terrible sunbae to you; I’m sorry. If there’s one bit of wisdom I can share with you, Minhyun, is that the past cannot be changed, forgotten, edited or erased; it can only be accepted.”

Minhyun looked genuinely shocked at her comment, but he turned and faced the crowd. “Is it a crime…?” He paused as he struggled to find the courage to somehow be brave in front of the reporters and his legion of fans all waiting silently for his comments on the situation at hand. “The pain from the scalpel was nothing compared to the pain from the media. I’m different from you all because I had plastic surgery, I admit to it, but aren’t our differences what define us from one another? I’m not proud of that decision I made several years ago, but I’ll stand by it because I’ll never let anyone try to take away my self-worth and make me feel ashamed of who I am or what I want to become. I am… Hwang Minhyun. I am the lead vocalist for 2DREAM. I want to be… the best person I can be towards my fans… and I have had plastic surgery in the past.”

As Minhyun made his last announcement, I watched as several camera flashes went off. Minhyun turned to his side to address U-ie and Aron. It was at this moment, out of the corner of my eyes I spotted Jason worm his way around several of the reporters and sneak his way into the center of 2DREAM’s fan club gathering. I tilted my head to the side and furrowed my brows; what in the world was this guy up to now, of all times? Jason zipped up his jacket and threw his hood over his head before placing both hands to the sides of his mouth and yelling out to Minhyun at the podium.

“It’s okay!” He shouted. Several of the fans, mistaking Jason for one of them, glanced back at him. “It’s okay!” Jason repeated himself, starting a chant amongst the fans that quickly spread like wildfire. Minhyun stood dumbstruck and speechless, staring out at the large group of fans that had gathered out in front of the Pledis building to support him. I smiled at Jason who was energetically and enthusiastically waving his arms around trying to garner more support for Minhyun. I couldn’t believe this guy… Jason, I think I was wrong about you… you’re not a bad person, are you? A tad strange, yes, but you were here to support the guys like I was, weren’t you? I shook my head then ran over and joined the crowd of fangirls, and a few fanboys, and chanted with them.

“It’s okay! It’s okay! It’s okay!”

“Oppa, we forgive you!”

“Oppa, saranghae!”

The tears in Minhyun’s eyes were evident. Minhyun sniffled then slightly chuckled as he brought both of his hands and placed them over his mouth. U-ie leaned forward and hugged the silently crying Minhyun, giving him strength as Aron just stood by and grinned at the two of us acting like complete fools in the sea of supporting fans. The camera flashes went off like crazy again, capturing this touching moment between Minhyun and his fans. He slowly nodded then pulled away from U-ie, leaning back forward into the microphone.

“Thank you, thank you…”

Baekho’s POV

“Thank you, thank you…”

I read the small black and white captions on the bottom of the television screen and watched as Minhyun bowed and thanked his fans in tears. I stumbled backwards into the sofa, a sea of emotions washing over me just now. Part of me hated what I just watched. I hated seeing Minhyun and Aron on TV, continuing on without me and parading around as that stupid sub-unit ‘2DREAM.’ I was angry at both of them. I felt hurt and betrayed especially the most by Minhyun, who took my place as leader. I felt… jealous. But at the same time, I also felt relieved. Deep down, part of me still liked Minhyun. Deep down, part of me still wanted to support him despite my current disposition. I was… relieved… that the fans accepted Min for the way he was. I knew the topic of his plastic surgery had always been an emotional sore spot for him and because of that, none of us ever discussed it or poked fun at it. We simply just left it alone. As much as I hated to admit it, the leader side of me still cared about Minhyun.

I shifted my gaze down to the floor as my thoughts began to travel elsewhere. If the fans had so easily accepted Min… could it be the same in my case…? I wanted to have hope, but I knew our situations were complete polar opposites. Minhyun had changed his appearance. I, on the other hand, couldn’t hear. I was considered disabled, something not looked well upon by society. I glanced back up at the news as the station began filming the fan club that had shown up to support him. My eyes widened with shock as I spotted a familiar blonde acting like a complete idiot alongside another unfamiliar red head beside him on camera. I couldn’t help but laugh as this sight brought a smile to my face. That Ren… he was really something else, wasn’t he?

I suddenly spotted my phone light up from down on the coffee table. I glanced down and saw that I had received a text message. I opened it up and it revealed that it had been sent by an unknown number. Curiously, I read through it.

Ren sent me. I’m outside your door. Open up.

-Unknown sender

I paused, furrowing my brows. I didn’t know what to think of this text. This sounded a lot like the text a murderer would send before his dumb victim opened the door. But the fact that it had Ren’s name in it made me wonder; who had Ren sent? He hadn’t… he hadn’t told anyone about me, had he? My heart sank. He wouldn’t… I clenched my fist angrily and scoffed. Choi Ren… you always do whatever it is you want to do, don’t you? I angrily stood up and marched to the front door of my parents’ house, unlocking it and yanking it open.

“What do you want-” I paused when I noticed the strike resemblance to the annoying blonde I had become accustomed to ruining my life. Everything about the two individuals seemed almost identical, except this man was taller, slightly more masculine, and had long brown hair instead of blonde. I stared at him in confusion as he extended his long, lean arm my way and held his hand out to me.

The brunette smirked, making sure he was in my field of vision before speaking. “I’m Choi Minseok… Audiology major and engineering minor. I’m that squirt’s older brother, heh.” He spoke loudly and slowly.

I paused. Ren had an older brother…? That’s right, I remembered Ren had mentioned him once or twice before. But back then I hardly ever paid any attention to a single word that escaped that pest’s lips. Wait a minute… did he just say ‘audiology major’? That means he had told someone-

Minseok lifted a brow. “Speechless? Yeah, I tend to get that a lot.” He joked, still smiling. “Can I come in?”

“Why are you… why are you here?”

Minseok placed his hands on his hips and stretched backward before standing back up straight. “He said you could use my help.”

“I don’t need your help.” I immediately shot down his offer.

“He said you might do that.”

“Do what?”

He smirked. “Try to use intimidation and fear to get me to leave.”

I smiled back, clearly annoyed. “I’ll remember he said that the next time I kick his-”

Minseok narrowed his eyes at me. “I’m the only person allowed to kick Minki’s . If you so much as touch a hair on that precious little blonde head of his…” He stopped himself before he got carried away. “Hey, at least hear me out, alright?”

“Ha!” I exclaimed. “Hear?”

Minseok leaned forward, deeply invading my personal space. “You’re hearing impaired, not deaf.”

My eyes widened in horror as he said these words. I immediately glanced around outside, making sure no one heard him before grabbing him by his shirt collar and pulling him inside of the house. “What is the matter with you?! Why don’t you just announce it to the world that Kang Baekho’s ears are broken!!!” I screamed at him.

Minseok blinked. “Right... Now who is ‘Kang Baekho’?”

I paused. “You’re joking…”

Minseok shook his head.

“Oh my god, you’re just like him.” I replied, walking back into the living room in defeat before sitting down in the sofa. “He didn’t know what I was either.”

“Well, doesn’t this sound interesting? Do share.” He replied, joining me inside of the living room. I gave him a look of disbelief, but yet, I didn’t feel like kicking him out. For some reason, thinking back on the memory of my first encounter with Ren made me smile, even though at the time it was rather shocking and infuriating.

“I’m unclear on the details on his side, but it all started at a café. I remember clearly… I was there for an interview. The moment the interviewer stepped away from the table, that’s when he showed up.” I replied, making the disdain in my voice evident. “He looked as if he were searching for someone and by luck, mistook me for them, sitting down and basically making it known that I, Kang Baekho, former leader of the k-pop group DREAM, wasn’t his type and for me to ‘give up.’”

The look on Minseok’s face was priceless. He placed a hand over his mouth and began to laugh hysterically. “That’s not shocking at all; my brother has always been a clueless one. He’s always been the type to do whatever he wants, which surprises me why he didn’t pursue his dream in the first place. But he has a good heart; not quite sure I can say the same thing about that head.”

I smirked. “So he’s always been that way then?”

Minseok gave me a dreadful look. “Unfortunately.” He replied, opening up the small bag he had brought inside with him. He pulled out a strange device. I stared at it with wide eyes. “Anyways, now for the real reason I’m here… oh, this? Scary looking thing, isn’t it? Relax, I’m not going to hurt you with it. It’s called an ‘otoscope,’ a device used to perform inner ear exams.”

“Why do you need to look at my inner ear?” I asked defensively. “I never agreed to let you help me.”

Minseok pouted; it was an all too familiar look I had seen from Ren several times in the past. It was almost frightening how identical the two of them really were. “Well, who else that you can trust to keep your secret can help you then, hmm?”

“I never said I trusted you.” Minseok froze for a moment before opening his bag up and placing his strange device back inside. He silently closed the bag back up and then stood, making his way for the door. I immediately stood up and followed him. “Wait-”

Minseok spun around and gave me an irritated look. “For someone who doesn’t trust nor want my help?”

I shifted my gaze down to the floor. “How…” Minseok grabbed me by my chin and raised my head back up. I stared at him with wide eyes. Just who did he think he was touching? Who was he? What gave him any right to touch me? The nerve! Ha, he was just like Ren. Apparently bluntness ran in the Choi family.

“Eye contact is essential; lack of it is rude. You want to carry on with your little secret in front of the media and your fans? Then get used to watching. Until I can set you up with a customized hearing aid, you will make do with learning how to read lips. But until you let me take a look inside of your ears, I very well can’t help you, can I?”

“H-hearing aid?” I sputtered.

“Yes, hearing aid.”

“No.” I replied, throwing his hand off of me and reaching for the door handle and pulling it open. “Absolutely not. If that’s the case, I don’t need you or your help.” Minseok glanced over at the open door and then back at me in disbelief. He pursed his lips together in annoyance, remaining silent as if he were pondering about something. Without so much as a word, Minseok marched past me and back into the living room, sitting back down on the sofa. I scoffed; what the-

“I’m not leaving until you rectify this situation with me. Right now you’ve left me with a terrible first impression; I’m reconsidering whether or not I want to help you.”

I slammed the door shut and marched back over to the coffee table and reached for my phone, texting that annoying brat to come collect his equally as annoying older brother. Once I was done I placed it back down on the table and sat down in the sofa across from him. “What do you want?”

“Kang Baekho, what makes you so special?” Minseok asked, surprising me by talking down to me. “Are you a god? Are you any more or less of a human than I am?” He said, only this time he had lowered his voice on purpose.

I stared at him in confusion as I attempted to read his lips, only he was far too fast. I pursed my lips together and shifted my gaze down into my knees. I was startled when Minseok leaned forward and roughly tapped the palm of his hand across the coffee table in front of me and shaking it, trying to get my attention. I glanced back up at him with large eyes. Who did he think he was dealing with here? The way he was treating me… it was as if I really was deaf-

“You might have been some over-glorified pop star last month, but right now you’re not. Sorry, but you’re as average a man as I am…” Minseok paused for a moment before continuing. “Tell me, did Ren ever tell you about our mother?”

I nodded, still unhappy with him. “Briefly.”

Minseok smirked. “You’re about as stubborn as she is. She didn’t want my help either, even though I dedicated my whole life and career to help give her the gift of hearing. But she doesn’t want it. Can you imagine? A whole ten years of my life that I’ll never get back. And instead of putting that audiology degree to use, I’m working as an engineer in a Samsung factory… ha.”

I was at a loss of words. I felt sorry for him, but at the same time, guilty. Ren’s older brother clearly came here out of the goodwill of his heart, and here I was, rejecting him. And for what? Because I was embarrassed to even consider the idea of a hearing aid, let alone actually wear one?

“I don’t want to make the same mistake twice… but I can see a big difference between the two of you. Just one look at your face and your actions; you want to hear again, don’t you?” He asked. “You want to sing again.”

“I do…” I really, really do. More than anything…

Minseok sadly glanced up at me. “Kang Baekho… will you let me help you?”

Minhyun’s POV

After arriving back home at the mansion, I immediately slipped off my shoes, ignoring Aron and marching towards my room. I undressed myself, sliding into a plain white shirt, black shorts and a navy cardigan before returning to the living room. I slid the door open to the backyard porch, not even noticing the four tiny footsteps following me outside. I sat down on the wooden floor and stared out into the starry night sky, biting my bottom lip before taking a deep inhalation and closing my eyes. I released my breath and reopened them. I took out my phone and turned it on. Aron’s picture immediately appeared on the lock screen. I paused for a moment to stare at it before I entered the passcode and dialed my mother’s number. After about a few rings, she finally picked up.

“Well, look who’s calling.”

“Why…?” I lifelessly replied into the phone.

“Why what, dear?”

“Why did you do this to me…?”

She paused for a moment, as if realizing by the pain and hurt in my voice that she had actually done something wrong towards me. “Didn’t I tell you before? Your place there isn’t permanent.”

“Because of you, I put the blame on an innocent person…” I replied, thinking back to how U-ie had actually took a stand and admitted to her own surgery in the public’s eye just to support me. Her actions today made me realize just how much of a jerk I had been to her recently. She was right; I was rude to her. I didn’t respect her as my sunbae. I didn’t let her see Baekho without really knowing both sides to the story that happened between the two of them those several years ago. Instead I spoke down on her and thought poorly of her, not once ever giving her a chance to prove herself to us. “I accused U-ie of spreading that picture because I thought ‘my mother would never do such a terrible thing to me.’ Why… why did it have to be you…? I didn’t want it to be you…”

“Are you still seeing that man?”

I paused, my thoughts turning towards Aron. My lips began to tremble. “Why…”

“I told you before, acting is one thing. It’s part of your job as an idol. But when it becomes real, that’s another story.”

“Do you… not want me to see Aron?” I had to fight back the tears.

“Of course I don’t want you to see him. Don’t be ridiculous!”

I paused, shifting my gaze down to my bare feet and staring down at my toes. I took a deep breath. “If I agree not to see him… will all of this stop…? Will you let me be?”

“I will leave you alone.”

My chest ached with numbing pain. “Do you promise…?”

“You have my word.”

Two silent tears slid down my cheeks. “Fine,” I replied shakily into the phone. “I’ll do things your way… I won’t… I won’t love him. I won’t love Aron…” As soon as those last painful words escaped my lips I hung up and threw my phone out into the yard, bringing my hands up to my face and sobbing hard into them. I suddenly felt two small paws digging into my upper leg. I pulled my hands away and glanced through teary eyes to spot Aron’s dog, Mel. The tears only grew stronger. Without a word, he opened his small mouth and chomped down on my wrist. I couldn’t deal with this, with him, right now. I shoved Mel off of me, sending him flying across the porch until he hit the wall and yelped loudly.

The door very suddenly and loudly slid open, revealing a pissed off looking Aron. He glanced down at Mel and then at me. “What the hell did you do-” He paused midsentence when he realized I was crying. “Min, what’s wrong???”

I turned my head away from him. “Get away from me. Don’t come near me.”

He ignored me anyways and started making his way towards me. “Min-”

“Don’t call me!”

Aron stopped, looking at me with worried eyes. “What’s… wrong? Did I… did I do something wrong?” He asked. For once when he spoke I could hear some actual emotion in his tone, a stark contrast from his usual empathetic, monotonous voice that he spoke in. This emotion that Aron was displaying… it sounded like… fear. Like he was afraid of whatever it was that I had to tell him. I felt even more awful. For once I was actually able to make Aron feel, and that emotion was fright. He looked like a scared child, despite being several years older than me.

“What’s wrong?” I glanced at him coldly over my shoulder. “Tell me, Aron, why is it that Jason was the one who had to comfort me today?”

Aron froze in shock. “What…?”

“When you ran off, you just left me here all alone. Do you know what happens when I am left alone to my self-destructing thoughts?!”

“Min, I… I did run off, but that was to go find U-ie-”

“U-ie had nothing to do with this!” I exclaimed. “It was someone else!”

“Then who was it? Just say the word, Min, and I’ll-”

I scoffed, cutting him off. “What will you do? Will you hurt them? Will you tarnish your idol image and throw everything you’ve ever worked hard for away?”

“Min… I did it to protect you. I ran away to-”

“I needed you!” I exclaimed, stunning Aron. “I don’t need you to protect me, Aron! I don’t need some super hero; I need someone that can just hold me and tell me everything is going to be okay… but where were you, Aron…? You weren’t… you weren’t there…”

Aron collapsed to his knees on the wooden porch. He was visibly shaking. “I’m sorry, Min… I’m so, so sorry…”

“Aron… tell me. Please, tell me… do you do this on purpose?”

Aron immediately glanced up at me, staring at me with wide eyes. “W-what?”

I paused. “This cluelessness… is it just an act, or is it real? Do you not know how to love because you can’t… or because you won’t?”

“I…”

“You’re still not over her, are you…?” My heart ached immensely as I asked this. Aron shook his head in immediate denial.

“No! I’m over her! I swear!” He exclaimed.

“Aron…” I painfully exhaled as it felt like my chest would burst from all the tight, strung up tension building up within me. “Why do I have to try so hard when it comes to you…? I’ve loved you for years secretly from afar. Now that I have you… it doesn’t feel any different. I still feel like I’m your friend, or your band member. I don’t feel like your boyfriend-”

“I-I’m trying really hard, Min. I promise you-” Aron replied quickly in a terrified voice.

“You’ve oblivious to everything… you never understand my feelings about anything… you care more about that phone and your dog than you do about me, don’t you?”

“Of course not!” He screamed.

“I’ve always been patient with you, haven’t I, Aron?” I asked, Aron nodded fearfully. I exhaled shakily before continuing. “I keep waiting and waiting on you, hoping that one day you’ll hear my heart for what it truly is. But sometimes… people get tired of waiting.”

Aron’s bottom lip trembled. He shook his head. “No, Min, no. Don’t say it-”

By now my entire body was shaking as well. “Say what, Aron…?” I asked sadly. I was ripping apart on the inside. Every square inch of my body was in pain from emotional turmoil. Aron crawled over to my side and much like how a small child would, grabbed the hem of my cardigan and lightly tugged on it. He continued to shake his head in disbelief, like he was caught up in some kind of trance.

“I know… I know I’m not the best boyfriend in the world, but… I have my scars, just like you do, Min… please… don’t give up on me. Don’t let go of me. D-don’t leave me…” Two wet tears trickled down Aron’s cheeks, landing on the wooden floor.

It felt like my heart had been ripped into shreds. I made him cry… I made Aron cry… Aron never cried… He’ll never forgive me for this. No, I’ll never forgive myself for this either.

“I know…” He whispered, staring down at the floor and barely being able to speak. “I know I don’t deserve you… but you’ve made me into a better person, Min… please… I made a mistake. A stupid, stupid mistake… please, don’t let this be what tears us apart. Don’t leave me… Don’t say we’re over… I need you too…”

I shakily brought myself up to my feet. I had already made up my mind. My heart wanted to stay and hug the silently sobbing brunette, but I knew I couldn’t. I had already told her… I clenched my fist by my sides, looking straight ahead. “Then I won’t say it, Aron.”

“Min, please…!” He begged.

“I’m sorry.” I replied, immediately sliding open the door and closing it quickly behind me, leaving Aron alone and crying loudly outside with Mel. As I entered the living room I burst into loud, audible sobs, covering my face with my hands as I walked past a startled Jason and to my room. Jason chased after me and entered my room, but I didn’t care. I threw myself down into my bed face first and cried my heart out. Jason hesitantly approached me and sat down beside of me on the bed. He placed a hand on my shaking back and patted me comfortingly.

“There, there… why are you crying? Did Ren and I not embarrass ourselves quite enough for you today?” He joked, trying to ease the mood. But it didn’t help.

“H-help me…” I sobbed into my blanket. I felt Jason tense up beside me. “I-It hurts so much…!”

“What’s wrong, Min…? What happened?”

“W-we’re done… we broke up…” I screamed in between sobs.

Jason froze for a couple of seconds before returning to patting me on the back. “I’m sorry… but you’ll get through this, Min. I know you will. It might hurt now… it might hurt a lot right now… but you’ll persevere.”

“H-how? Are you some kind of expert when it comes to breaking up?! You’re nothing but a playboy!” I exclaimed, immediately regretting my outburst. Jason took it in stride though. Although my comment clearly inflicted some hurt on him, he forced his trademark smile across his lips.

“A playboy? Yeah, sure I am. But that doesn’t mean I’ve never loved.”

I froze, tears still falling. “You… you loved?”

Jason stared off in front of him. “I loved him… or at least, I thought I loved him. Looking back at it now, I can now see that it wasn’t love, but infatuation… but it felt real. It was hot, it was heavy, it was intense and it burned deep… I thought to myself that it was physically and emotionally impossible to love someone so much that I thought I would die… and when it was over, I felt like it really did kill me. It hurt so much that even to this day, even though several years have passed, just hearing his name makes me numb on the inside.”

His confession startled me. I never would have thought that someone like him would have gone through something as intense as what he just described. Jason… just who are you…? I wanted to ask this, but right now I was still in pain over my own breakup which happened just minutes ago.

Jason smiled sadly. “Anyways, I know I told you guys that you were ‘cute’ and ‘awkward’ together, but I recognize that familiar look in both of your eyes when you look at each other. It’s how we used to look at each other in the past, him and I. The two of you might have broken up, but I don’t believe that it’s truly over. Aron’s a total stick in the mud, but I believe he needs this wakeup call. Y’know what they say, don’t you? Sometimes people have to fall apart to realize how much they need to fall back together.”

I paused, my heart still aching. Aron and I… get back together? But I… but we couldn’t do that… if she were to find out, she’d bring out more skeletons in my closet that I didn’t want the rest of the world to know about. She wouldn’t stop until she brought me down and completely destroyed me. Was Aron really worth it…? Was someone who barely put any effort into the relationship worth it? Did I want to go back to Aron…?

I bit my bottom lip.

Yeah.