Mrs. Choi sat silently after hearing Sung Ah's side of the story. Donghae stuck by her side protectively the whole time. Jung Hoon positioned himself on the other side of Sung Ah, who also said nothing.

Sung Ah tried not to squirm under the calculating stare of the older woman. Even so, she understood that Mrs. Choi's decisions were all for the welfare of the company.

“Sung Ah,” Mrs. Choi began slowly, “I think it's best to suspend you before the police found out the truth.”

A suspension? Sung Ah was shocked. What does she mean by that? Her hands gripped the sides of the chair hard. It means that she doesn't trust me, you babo! she answered her own question.

“But she's done nothing wrong!” Donghae protested.

“Listen, Donghae,” Mrs. Choi continued patiently. “I personally hold Sung Ah's explanation accountable, but it doesn't mean the board thinks the same way. They worry about the company too. We're not going to upset them.”

“It's all about the money, isn't it?!” Donghae now shouted. “You rather sacrifice an innocent person for the stocks. Don't we have some sort of ethnic to keep up too?!”

Jung Hoon placed his hand on Donghae. He tried to warn him that he was stepping the boundary.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Choi was unfazed, which scared Sung Ah even more. “I understand that you're worried about your friend, still it'd be better for her to work after her name is cleared. People can be mean in this industry,” she reasoned.

Sung Ah would have accepted her punishment readily if Donghae was not upset. An air of tension surrounded the two opposing forces as their eyes locked on each other. Donghae comprehended what the woman said. It's true that Sung Ah would be bullied because of the incident, but he was not about to let her go either.

Jung Hoon was the one who spoke first, “Suspension isn't the only option to protect the company's image. There are rumours going around already. Suspending her wouldn't help much anyway. Why don't we just pretend nothing happened, like it was an accident?”

Mrs. Choi had been listening to him attentively. She picked up the phone on her desk and ordered for an emergency meeting immediately.

Jung Hoon smiled to himself. They all knew the result would favour the idol's wishes.

***

Jessica was being isolated in the pantry next to a SM practice room. She watched the clock striking twelve. Being this late in the company, away from her members at the dorm, she needed not to worry about her label mates intruding her thoughts.

She mindlessly stirred her steaming coffee. This state of solitude had begun the moment Jessica heard about the Music Bank incident. Sleep failed her as she kept imagining the worst-case scenario. Jessica wound up dancing by herself late at night. Dancing was not her greatest strength, which was perfect for distraction. She needed to focus on her every little mistakes to forget about her worries for Donghae.

Tears now coagulated in her tired eyes when she thought of the stage light came crashing down miles per second, only missed Donghae by an inch or so. If the target was accurate, that damn light would have stolen him away from her forever. All the words meant to be voiced would have been left unsaid...

The regretful tears soon turned into violent sobs. The days wasted not speaking to him were haunting her. Why was she so stubborn? The time needed for her to “sort out her feelings” looked like a lame excuse.

“Sica,” Donghae's voice caused her to look to her side. He had been sitting beside her discreetly. She flung her arms around him and sobbed into his chest.

“I'm here now,” Donghae caressed her shaking back. “Don't cry.” He had a knowing way to read Jessica's mind. It was obvious that she was depressed because of him.

“How can I not cry?” Jessica mumbled between her weeping. “I thought you're gone forever!”

Donghae held her tighter. It was unusual for Jessica to not being composed. It hurt him too having Jessica in pain.

He freed Jessica from the embrace. “I'm sorry,” said Donghae, wiping her tears away. “I should have been more careful. I-”

Jessica leaned in unexpectedly and kissed Donghae, preventing his next words to come out.

His mind went blank as she put pressure on her plump lips against his. They stayed like this for awhile. Donghae's heart was still beating wildly when she pulled away from him.

Jessica's appalled expression mirrored Donghae's. What have she done?!

“I.. Er... I think my taxi is here,” Jessica got up hurriedly. “Bye.”

Donghae's dazed eyes followed her running out of the room. The scent of Jessica lingered on his lips. Inside his chest where Jessica had her head left a mark, something was tugging. A feeling which he could not describe.

It felt wrong.

It felt right.

***

He said that the jajangmyeon here was dabaek. It tasted bland to Sung Ah.

“Why do you eat so little?” Kyuhyun asked her with his mouth full. “You need to grow taller.”

Sung Ah twirled the noodles between her chopsticks. “I don't have the appetite.”

Kyuhyun stopped eating. It was unlike Sung Ah not to eat. Normally, she could finish a cake and more fruits after her main entry. “You're worrying about that?” he asked.

Sung Ah nodded. It had been two weeks since the investigation started. She had been interrogated once. Now she just needed to wait patiently for the results.

“There's nothing you can do about that. Don't stress yourself out.”

“I know. I just can't help thinking about what would happen to me.” She hid herself behind her hands, looking distressed.

“Seriously, stop it,” Kyuhyun hated seeing her anxiety. “Valentine's is coming.”

Sung Ah raised an eyebrow, “So?”

“I don't think anyone will go out with a Hulk.”

“Yah! Cho Kyuhyun!” Sung Ah threatened to stab him with her chopsticks.

Kyuhyun laughed and said, “You frown too much. Smiling suits you better.” He demonstrated his own square smile.

Was he insulting her or complimenting her? Sung Ah temporarily forgot what she was moping about.

“Are you asking Donghae out on Valentine's?” Kyuhyun pressed the issue further.

Sung Ah almost choked on her food. “Why would I ask that idiot out?”

“Hmm... let me see...,” Kyuhyun pretended to think hard. “Maybe because you like him?”

“No, I don't!”

Why is everyone in denial? Kyuhyun thought.

“Then I will ask him out...” Kyuhyun paused and snickered at Sung Ah's horrified look, “... for you.”

“No, Kyuhyun. Why are you like this?”

“Or should I ask you out?”

Sung Ah blushed. That playboy! She shoved a dumpling in his mouth. “Just shut up already!” she ordered.

Kyuhyun chewed quietly like the girl had asked. He wondered how would Donghae react if Sung Ah and him were actually going out. Then his phone rang and chased away the possible scenario he wanted to see.

“Yeoboseyo?” Kyuhyun first listened to his caller carefully and hung up briefly after.

“What's wrong?” Sung Ah asked, noticing Kyuhyun's face turned pale.

“Donghae said it wasn't an accident,” Kyuhyun's heartbeats was no longer regular. “They caught her.”

***

Detective Hwang sized up the young woman sitting across from him. His partner flipped through a folder, reviewing her previous criminal records.

He interrogated, “Shin-ssi, where were you at twelve am on the twentieth of January?”

The woman crossed her arms. “I don't remember,” she replied calmly.

“A janitor saw you in Studio One at KBS during that time. What were you doing?”

“I'm not answering any questions until my lawyer comes.”

Hwang had no patient for the “lawyer's card”. He took out a bag of pictures and slapped them down in front of him. “We found these pictures in your apartment, and more of these in your laptop. Why do you have photos of Lee Donghae and Jung Sung Ah taken from far away?”

Upon seeing Donghae looked so sweet and innocent with that girl, something snapped inside of the woman. Perhaps it was her sanity.

“I DON'T KNOW!” she glowered at the officer.

He proceeded his questions with more evidence. It was a news article sealed in another bag.

“We asked Scandal News for the source of this article: “Super Junior Donghae's New Girl.” We traced it back and found out it was from you. How long have you been stalking them?”

The woman gripped the edge of the table until her knuckles turned white. She vowed not to say anything until her lawyer came.

The detective continued, ignoring her twitching face, “There's a Music Bank staff who saw you giving Jung Sung Ah a blue light filter before she went and changed it. Why did you destroy the light and let her take the blame?”

The woman pounded uncontrollably at the table. “IT WASN'T ME!” she shouted hysterically.

Hwang kept on going, “It's safe to assume that you're a huge fan of  Lee Donghae. There are countless of posters and pictures of him in your apartment, many of which were taken secretly. Why did you try to hurt him if you love him?”

The woman released an inhumane growl. “It's that girl! IT'S THAT GIRL! If she's never here, my Donghae would never get hurt!” She broke down sobbing completely.

Detective Hwang regarded the woman with a mix of chill and pity.

Unrequited love could drive any sane person mad.

 Author's Notes: Merry Christmas everyone!  

This chapter is my gifts to you all, esp to the shippers. ;) 

People who love one-sidedly can be scary. >.< But unrequited love is such a special thing to have. <3

So does everything seem to make sense after this chapter?  Don't worry, more trouble awaits for Sung Ah, Donghae, Jessica, and Kyuhyun. :)

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