"How'd your date go?" Chen asked.

Xiumin guffawed, "Judging from how Junri changed seats with Hansol ssi, it didn't go well."

Lay shot them a look, making them both settle down.

"What happened?" Kris asked, poking his food disinterestedly. "I tried to ask her earlier... but she just shook her head."

Lay sighed. "I..." *If I tell them, would they kill me?* "I..." He swallowed.

"We don't have all day, ge." Tao pointed out.

Luhan narrowed his eyes at him. "Did you... do something stupid?"

Lay nodded. "I tried to kiss her."

They all gaped at him.

"And she slapped me." Lay continued. He showed his cheek that had a bruise. He was covering it up with concealer.

"That is beyond... stupid." Luhan said. "What were you thinking?!"

Lay slumped. "I don't know... My one shot at forgiveness, gone like that."

"Because you tried to kiss her on the first date!" Chen rolled his eyes. "I can't believe this... Next, you're going to say you tried to do it before she even forgave you."

Lay looked at him with wide eyes.

"Oh hell no..." Kris shook his head. "You did that, didn't you?"

"I... I didn't know, okay?!" Lay pulled on his hair. "She won't even talk to me! I left her like a hundred messages the whole weekend. I tried to talk to her earlier... but she ignored me..." He pouted. He banged his head on the lunch table. It was a good thing Tao removed his plate before he did. "I might as well kill myself..."

"Go ahead." Luhan muttered, earning a slap on the back from Xiumin.

"Luhan. Go talk to her." Kris ordered.

"What?! Why me?! Not to mention, WHY in the first place?!" He asked with wide eyes.

"Because you're her 'bestfriend'." Kris said in a deadpan tone. "Just ask her if she hates Lay. Easy."

Luhan opened his mouth to object, but Xiumin landed another hard slap on his back. "Just do it." The older muttered, making Luhan sigh.

"Fine. Whatever."

"Good. Do it now."

"What?" Luhan gave Kris an incredilous look, but the leader maintained a blank expression. Luhan deflated and stood up with a bang on the table. "Stupid duizhang." He cursed and left. "Stupid baozi." He muttered as he walked to B.A.P's table. "Junri? Can I talk to you?" He tapped Junri's shoulder.

Junri turned around and blinked. "Sure. Why?" She stood up and followed him outside the cafeteria. "What's going on?"

"Kris made me do this, I just want to say that now." Luhan cleared off. "They're wondering if you're... okay. Now. Because of what Lay did."

Junri nodded. "I am."

"Really?" Luhan widened his eyes. "Then how come you're ignoring him?"

"He... I don't know, really." Junri admitted. "Because... I haven't forgiven him?" She unsurely said.

"For what?" Luhan asked. "The kiss or the engagement?"

Junri stared at him. "Is there a difference?" She whispered.

Luhan raised an eyebrow at her. "Of course. The difference is huge. You should know that he was the one who sent Meylin home... that night at the ball? Meylin was crying because of him. Because he kept telling her the engagement was off but she wouldn't hear any of it and tried to convince him."

"Then... last week, who was he talking to on the phone? He called her back here, didn't he?" Junri asked. "It's like the week before the break-up all over again!"

Luhan stared at her. *So this is what it's all about...* "Junri, he called her here so he could play cupid on her and Zelo. She didn't know that, though..." He said. "Believe me when I say he's really guilty about everything. Right now, his forehead might be bleeding from banging his head on the lunch table." He placed a hand at the top of Junri's head, like he was talking to a little girl. "You're the only one that guy can ever love, Junri. He's so desperate he could've kneeled on ice for you." She looked away from him. *He did... didn't he?* Luhan asked himself. "Trust him this time. He learned his lesson." He reassured with a smile.

"Easier said than done..." Junri breathed. She looked up to meet eyes with Luhan. "I'll try. Thanks, Luhan."

"Don't mention it." He said and walked back to the cafeteria with her. "I'm just asking, but he knelt on the ground, didn't he?" Junri nodded, making Luhan laugh. *Idiot.* "Okay then, bye." He waved and walked back to EXO M's table.

"So? Did it go well?" Xiumin asked.

Luhan shrugged. "She'll try."

"What?" Kris furrowed his eyebrows

"She'll try." Luhan said again. "I mean, it's not really that easy to trust someone again who trampled over her heart." He shot Lay a look. "But she'll try."

Lay lifted his head from the table. "Thanks." He sincerely said.

"Yeah, whatever..." Luhan muttered. "Just don't be an idiot next time. Because I doubt she'll come back when you do something equally stupid two times. And I'm not talking about the kiss."

Lay nodded in understanding.

"Let's see what happens next, then." Chen shrugged. *She'll forgive him... Without a doubt.* He then felt the missing 50 ooo won in his wallet. *Then again, I have been wrong before...*

"I'm surprised you didn't kill him yet." Himchan blinked at Zelo. The older inspected the maknae closely. "You're not an imposter, are you?"

Zelo pushed Himchan's face away. "I'm not. It's called thinking before you act."

"Oh. So you're planning something for him? That sounds more like you..." Himchan thought out-loud, making the table laugh.

"You're not mad at him THAT much, are you?" Youngjae asked Junri. "And what did you and Luhan talked about?"

"Nothing." Junri shook her head. "I'm not mad." She added.

"But you're ignoring him." Yongguk pointed out. "Look, his forehead is red already."

Junri fought the urge to turn around. "Whatever."

"Oooo. She doesn't care anymore." Daehyun grinned. "I bet you would want to see Xiumin wiping off the blood, though."

Junri gasped and turned around immediately.

"I was kidding." Daehyun pointed out, earning a look shot from Junri.

"I didn't know you went on a date with hyung." Jongup furrowed his eyebrows.

"Neither did we." Yongguk pointed out. "You didn't plan at all to tell us?"

"In my defence, Junhong went on a date too." Junri grinned at Zelo.

"Really?! Who's the lucky girl?!" Himchan excitedly asked.

"I bet she's a noona." Daehyung said.

"No. I think she's at least the same age as him." Youngjae shrugged.

Zelo swallowed. "... Meylin."

The table went eerily silent.

"Isn't she a year younger than us?" Jongup asked.

"That's not the point!" Himchan exploded. "Why her?! Of all people? She had the nerve to crash the ball!"

Zelo shrank. "She changed, you know... She's not really spoiled. And it wasn't a date!"

"Sure it wasn't." Daehyun sarcastically said, teasing the maknae. "But... if you say so." He shrugged. "If you like her, we're okay with it. Right?" He looked at the other members who nodded.

"Thanks-Wait. We're not dating." Zelo rolled his eyes. "Really. It was all a coincidence!" He tried to convince, but the other members and even his older sister weren't listening anymore. *This is so unfair!* He pouted.

Junri sat on her piano stool, blankly staring at the keys. *I'm starting to think I have alzheimers disease with the way I keep forgetting to play the piano...* She thought. She pressed some keys, but the sound that she heard wasn't music. It was the sound of someone randomly pressing keys.

"Keep that racket down!" She heard Zelo holler.

"Okay ahjussi!" She hollered back. She bit back a chuckle and shook her head. *Maybe I should just stick to the music sheets...* She thought and pulled out the papers from under the foam of the stool.

She took a look at the sheets and started to play the song.

"That's better!" Zelo hollered again. This time, she couldn't hold back her laughter.

She finished the song, her fingers ceased their dancing.

“The Piano is an instrument of emotion. Well... for me. How about you?”

She smiled at the memory. *Henry did teach me a lot of things... Didn't he?* She remembered the two incidents at the cemetery. *He did. And I guess I should be thankful. Because of him, I'm not as naive.* She thought. She remembered her thoughts of love from before her accident, and she can't help but sigh at how stupid she was.

*Who was I kidding? Love was painful... It wasn't beautiful.* She bitterly thought. *But not exactly ugly either...* She added. *It's half-alive and half-dead.*

“I love you, Junri. Please, say you love me too?”

She frowned, recalling what Lay said. *How can he expect me to say that easily after all he had done?* At her one question, she could feel anger boiling up inside her.

No. Not anger for Lay. But for herself.

*I hate myself for beleiving you...* Her jaw clenched. *I hate myself for being so stupid...* She bitterly smiled, wiping away the tear that escaped. She slammed her hands on the piano, creating a hideous sound. She was thankful she locked her door before-hand so Zelo wouldn't get a chance to barge in. *I shouldn't have gone to that date.* She sighed. *I shouldn't have let my guard down.*

But she felt no regret.

*I can't seem to hate you, can I?* She thought, taking off her necklace.

"I heard it. What's wrong?" Zelo asked her from outside her door. "Open the door, will you?"

"I won't." She said. "I'm fine. Go back to sleeping or something. The piano... broke."

"Come on. Open it. I bet you're crying." Zelo said, trying to joke. But he frowned when he got no response. "Hey. Open up."

"Go to sleep, Junhong." She said. "I'm fine. Really."

Zelo sighed with a shake of his head, and went back to his room. *It's stupid because you choose to lock everyone out right when you need someone the most.* He thought as he stared at his ceiling. "Tomorrow, you better not have red eyes!" He hollered.

"Neh, Ahjussi!" Junri hollered back, making Zelo smile a little.

*But what can I do? The only person who can really help you is the person you shut out the most...* He sighed. "If you open up, maybe someone can help!" He yelled. "And I'm not buying your piano excuse, so you better know what I'm talking about!" He yelled again. *Maybe... he won't make a mess this time.* He thought. *Maybe he won't hurt you as much.* He added. *And maybe I can trust him again.*