I couldn't help but froze when the door opened and I saw the person standing there. She looked just like the last time I saw her.

It seems like she didn't recognize me at first because she gave me a confused look. “Hello. How can I help you?“, she asked politely.

“Mi Sun Imo.“, I whispered. Then I realized that I was speaking before thinking, and quickly covered my mouth with my hand, hoping that she hasn't heard it. Unfortunately, it seems like she did because she tensed visibly and stared at me wide-eyed.

'Imo' was the Korean for 'aunt', the term for your mother's sister. Mi Sun Imo wasn't my Mom's sister by blood, but they were as close as sisters could ever be. And like I said earlier, she was like family to me.

“Oh my gosh.....is that you, Ha Ni?“, she asked, still shocked.

Not being able to come up with a proper answer, I just nodded. Before I could react, she pulled me towards her and hugged me tightly, nearly suffocating me. Forgetting all the rage about her sudden disappearance, I hugged her back.

After a while, she released me but she kept her hands on my arms. She smiled at her, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “It's really you.“ She smiled. “Come on, let's go inside.“, she said.

“Uhm, Imo, may I introduce Seungho Oppa to you?“, I asked hesitantly.

She stopped and looked at Seungho as if she just realized that he was standing here. Well, judging from her expression, it may have been the case.

“Omo, I'm so sorry. Forgive me my impoliteness. Nice to meet you, Seungho-ssi. I'm Lee Mi Sun.“

“Nice to meet you, too, Mi Sun-ssi.“, he replied politely.

“Well, then let's go inside.“, she said again, motioning us both to follow her.

Before I could enter the house, a gentle grip on my arm held me back. I turned around to give him a confused look.

“I can wait outside. Because I think you both need privacy to....talk.“, he said.

I wanted to retort but Mi Sun Imo beat me to it. “Don't be unreasonable. Of course you can come in.“ She winked at him. “And if we want some privacy, we could still go to the kitchen while you remain in the living room. This house is big enough.“

“Thank you, Mi Sun-ssi.“, he said.

“No need to thank me. I always had a weakness for handsome young man.“, she said while walking into her house.

Seungho gave me a confused look but I just shrugged, trying hard not to laugh, and followed her.

We entered her house through the entrance door. Normally I'd have admired the interior of houses like this but today, I was too nervous to notice my environment. So I kept staring at Mi Sun Imo's back while following her through the floor to what seems like the living room.

“This is the living room. Seungho-ssi, you can wait here while we're having a chat in the kitchen.”, Mi Sun said.

I glanced. “Is it really okay for you? I won't mind you joining us, Oppa.”

“No, it's okay. Just go ahead and talk with your Imo, Ha Ni. I can wait.”, he said and smiled.

“Handsome and kind. I like you more with every passing minute, Seungho-ssi!”, she gushed.

Noticing Seungho's flustered look, I quickly said: “Imo, I don't have much time. Can we go to the kitchen to talk?”

“Omo! I'm so sorry, Ha Ni dear, I was too distracted by Seungho-ssi. Of course, let's go to the kitchen.” She winked at Seungho. “See you later, handsome.”

We both went into the kitchen on the opposite side of the floor. Mi Sun Imo motioned me to take a seat at the dining table while she prepared tea. Then she went to the living room to offer Seungho something to drink and when she returned, she sat down next to me.

“So...how have you been, Ha Ni?”, she asked after a while.

I have been through a lot since you disappeared all of a sudden. You haven't been there when I needed you the most.

That was what I wanted to tell her but instead, I just said: “Fine.”

She didn't noticed my hesitation. “It's been a while since I last saw you. You've grown into a beautiful woman, just like Hyori. You both have the same eyes, you know.”

I winced slightly when I heard my Mom's name but I quickly tried to hide my uneasiness. “People often say that I look like Dad.”

“Ah, yes, you definitely resemble your Dad more. Especially when you smile, I can see a lot of him in you. But your eyes are Hyori's.” She smiled. “How has he been, by the way? We haven't been talking for so long.”

Yeah, because you just disppeared without saying anything.

I stared at my cup. “He passed away several months ago.”

Mi Sun Imo has been taking a sip from her cup when I said it. When she finally registered what I said, she froze and the cup slipped out of her hands, shattering on the floor. She didn't move at first but then she suddenly jumped up and quickly gathered the broken pieces of her cup.

“Omo, I'm so sorry. I don't know what got into me.”, she said quickly.

I crouched down and helped her. When we were done, Mi Sun Imo leaned against the counter, her back to me. I could see that her shoulder were shaking slightly. I wanted to approach her and comfort but instead, I just sat down again.

We didn't say anything for a while. When I was focused on my cup of tea, she suddenly said: “What happened?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

“He was hit by a drunk driver while walking home.”

Looking, up, I saw that her fists were clenched while her body was trembling. Then she took a deep breath and wiped at her face. When she turned around to face me, I could see that her eyes were red.

She quietly sat down next to me again. “I'm so sorry, Ha Ni.”, she whispered.

“It's not your fault, Imo.” No matter how mad I've been at her, seeing her like this, so broken and sad, I just couldn't come up with the rage to confront her for going away. “It's that drunk bastard who's at fault.”

She shook her head. “I may be not at fault for your Father's death...” A tear trailed across her cheek. “But I'm partly at fault for the suffering you both had to go through.”

“What....what do you mean?”

“Oh, Ha Ni. There is so much I have to tell you. The guilt has been killing me these past years.”

“Guilt? Imo, I don't understand.”

She put her hand on mine. “This may seem like a shock to you but please, promise me to listen to what I have to say before you get mad. Let me explain and then you are free to do what you want. You can walk away and never talk to me again or you can hit me....I won't mind.”

“Imo...you are scaring me.”

“Ha Ni, no matter what, you have to understand that I love you and I did all this to protect you.” She took a deep breath. “Dear, your mother is not dead.”

I kinda assumed that she knew that my Mom was still alive, but it was still shocking to hear it from her directly.

“Ha Ni? Did you hear me? Your mother is not dead.”

“I know.”, I said quietly.

She froze. “What did you say?”

“I know that she's not dead.”

Her eyes widened. “What? But.....but how? I had to promise Hyori and Minhyuk to never tell you.”

“After Dad...” I paused. “After he was gone, my Aunt gave me a letter. It was from him....I guess he must've written it some tme before. In this letter, he told me all about Mom's fake death.”

“So he told you in the end.”

“And you knew it all along, didn't you?”

She looked away, not daring to look into my eyes.

“All these years.....you, Dad, and even Mom.....you all have fooled me. You kept quite while I was breaking apart, griefing for the loss of my Mother. You all knew she was alive and you never said a word! You all, who are my family, closer to me than anyone else, have been deceiving me all this time!” I didn't even notice that I got louder.

She winced and another tear trailed across her cheek. “We did it to protect you, Ha Ni. We didn't want you to get hurt.”

“Yeah, and you did a great job.”, I said dryly.

“I know it was wrong to keep this from you but you also have to see it from our point.” She looked into my eyes. “Tell me honestly, would you have let your Mom go if she had told you the truth? As a 9-years-old girl, would you have let her move to another country without you?”

Of course. That was what I wanted to say but as soon as I thought it, I knew that that wasn't the truth. I would have never let my Mom go away. I would have begged for her to stay and to find another solution.

Mi Sun Imo must have seen the defeat in my eyes, because she said: “See? Do you understand now why we kept quiet?”

I sighed. “I understand but I still think that it wasn't fair to do this a 9-years-old girl. You can't imagine what I have been through, Imo. It really tear me apart to watch all my friends with their mothers, knowing that I would never be able to see my Mom again. All this pain, just to find out that it was for nothing.”

She placed her hand over mine. “That was why I moved away. I just couldn't stand to see the pain in your eyes everytime I visited you, knowing that I could relieve you from the suffering with the truth.” She exhaled. “You know, I was always against your mother's plan but they convinced that it was for your protection,so I went along. But everytime I saw you so heartbroken, I couldn't help but feel angry at your Mom, your Dad, and even about myself. In the end, I decided to walk away, just like a coward.” More tears trailed across her cheeks. “Forgive me, Ha Ni. Please forgive your Imo for being such a coward.”

Seeing her like this, so broken over lying to me all these years, I just couldn't stay mad. I already forgave my Dad for lying to me. It was time to forgive my Imo, too.

I took her hand and squeezed it. “I'm still hurt but I already forgave, Imo.”

She smiled, more tears spilling from her eyes. “Ha Ni, you can't imagine how much this means to me. Thank you, my dear.”

“No matter what, you're my Imo, my family...I could never hate you.”

“Thank you for forgiving me.” She sighed. “I only wish I could have met your Dad again. I really missed him, too.”

“I never knew that you were close with Dad. I always thought that you were only close to Mom.”

She smiled ruefully. “Your Dad was my first love, Ha Ni.”

“What?! I....I didn't know....”

“How could you? It was all before you were born.”

“But he's with Mom....so how...”

“So how comes that I wasn't with him? Is that what you were asking?”

I nodded.

“It's a very long story, Ha Ni. But I'll try to sum it up for you.” She paused. "Hyori and me, we both met Minhyuk, your father, when we were at college. I immediately fell for him when I first saw him. Your Mom, well, she was into bad guys at that time. So your Dad, who was a gentle man, wasn't even on her radar." She chuckled. "Even though Hyori didn't like your Dad, she still helped me to approach him. And several weeks later, we were dating. I really loved him. He was friendly, gentle and oh-so-romantic. I still couldn't believe that someone like him would date me." Then she sighed. "But Hyori kept calling him a 'wimp', comparing him to her boyfriend at that time. By the way, his name was jake and he was a jerk. I didn't like him at all. But because he was Hyori's best friend, I had to tolerate him. Just what she tried to do with Minhyuk. Weeks passed and Hyori suggested to have a double date. Even though Iwas against this idea, I had to give in in the end. Your Mother can be really stubborn, Ha Ni." She smiled ruefully. "Like I expected, the date was a total disaster. Jake kept insulting Minhyuk. I was really tempted to smack him on that day."

"Didn't Mom say anything? And Dad?"

"Your Mother was blinded by her love for that idiot. And your Dad, well, like I said, he was a gentle soul. He didn't say anything at all."

My eyes widened. "He didn't defend himself?"

"Let me quote him: 'There'll always be people like him out there. Just let them talk. They'll get tired of it anyway.' That's what he told me when I confronted him.", she said and smiled.

"That was very mature of him.....and very frustating."

"No kidding! I really admired his gentle soul but sometimes, it was also really frustrating.", she said and chuckled. "But back to the topic. That evening, Jake was drunk but he insisted on bringing Hyori home. When Minhyul brought me home, I couldn't help but worry. I asked your Dad to check on Hyori on his way home. The next day, your Dad came to college when a black eye, bruises and a split lip. When I asked him what happened, he told me that he slipped and fell down the day before. And to be honest, that story sounded very fishy to me. Then Hyori approached us but instead of greeting us, she just passed us without saying anything." She paused. "She kept avoiding me for several weeks. One day, when Minhyuk didn't come to college, I decied to visit him. But when I arrived at his appartment, I saw him making out with her. My heart was shattered into little pieces. Gathering all the strength I had left, I ran away. The next day, I avoided both Hyori and Minhyuk. I just couldn't stand to see their faces. When Hyori suddenly confronted me, I told her that I knew everything. That I knew that my best friend and my boyfriend were betraying me. And that from that day on, I wouldn't have a best friend and a boyfriend anymore. No matter how many times they tried to approached me, I refused to listen to their excuses. This went on until our graduation from college."

When Misun Imo finished her story, I was too speechless to say anything. It was hard to process everything. My gentle Dad and my cheery Mom, they both betrayed Misun Imo.

“But all those years you were like a sister to Mom. And you were friends with Dad. I don't understand...”, I said after a while.

“You mean, why I stayed with those two who broke my heart?”

I nodded.

“It took me a while to forgive them, to be honest.” She smiled ruefully. “There's something you should know. Until I decided to forgive your parents, they weren't dating.”

“They weren't?”, I asked confusedly.

“No. For my sake, and I guess because they felt guilty, your parents decided to stay apart.”

“But then I don't understand how they got together in the end. And why you are so close with them.”

“Like I said, it took me awhile to forgive them...but in the end, I did. It wasn't like I just decided one day, that I wasn't feeling hurt and betrayed anymore. You know, I was very angry...but I also saw the way your parents were looking each other even though they kept their distant from each other. At first I was hurt because Minhyuk has never looked at me like that. I was jealous. But after a while, I realized how selfish and childish I was. Yes, I had every right to be angry. But even though your parents hurt me, I still loved and missed them, even though I didn't want to. And that part of me was feeling guilty for the heartbreaking looks on their faces whenever they saw each other, knowing that they couldn't be together. So, when time passed, my anger was replaced by guilt. And that was when I decided to forgive them. They had already sacrified their happiness for my sake, I didn't want to ask more of them.” She smiled. “You can't imagine the happiness on their faces when I told them that I missed them and that I wanted to forgive them. Your tough Mom was the one who cried a lot, causing me to cry as much.”

I couldn't help but smile. At least their story had an happy-end.

“And ever since then, my parents started dating?”, I asked.

“Yes. At first, it was a bit awkward between us. But after a while, it was like nothing had ever happened. We were good friends again, and your parents loved it each other more with every passing year. After collage, they got married. And several years after that, you were born.”, she said and smiled at me.

“And you never held a grudge against my parents?”

A loud noise came from the entrance, interrupting Mi Sun before she could answer. Confused, I gave her a questioning look but she just smiled at me. Seconds later, the door to the kitchen was opened. Looking away from Mi Sun, I turned around to get a better look. That was when I saw him. Yes, him. A tall and handsome man, walking into the kitchen while carrying several bags. After putting down the bags on the counter, he walked towards Mi Sun with a smile. Then he stopped behind her chair, leaning down to give her a quick kiss.

“Sorry that I'm late, honey. The meeting with the client took longer than expected but I did manage to stop by a supermarket to buy the things you needed.”, he said.

Mi Sun placed her hand on his, which was on her shoulder. “Thank you.” And then she turned to me. “To answer your question....no, I didn't hold a grudge against your parents because without them, I'd never met my Junho.”

Only now did he finally noticed me sitting here. “Mi Sun, is that...”

“Yes, she is.” Then she turned to me. “Ha Ni, let me introduce to you my husband, Park Junho.”

“Ha Ni?”, he asked and stared at me. I felt kinda uncomfortable under his gaze. Then his face lit up, as if he remembered something. “You are Minhyuk's little girl!” He smiled. “You look so much like Hyori but your eyes are definitely Minhyuk's.”

“You know my parents?”, I asked.

“Minhyuk and me, we are childhood friends. We lost contact when he moved to another city to go to its college. We met again after college. He introduced Misunnie to me. It was love at first sight.”

“Stop embarrasing me in front of Ha Ni with your cheesy words.”, Mi Sun said and laughed.

“Why? It's the truth after all.” He turned to me. “You know, it was really hard to get past your mother. She was really protective when it came to Mi Sun. You can't imagine how many interrogations I had to go through until she fnally approved of me.”

Mi Sun sighed. “I was really scared that she would succeed in scaring you away.”

“Nothing would have been able to scare me away from you. Not even Hyori.” He paused. “Well, except if you would have turned out to be a man.”

She punched him. He was still chuckling when he was rubbing his hurt arm.

“How's Minhyuk by the way? I haven't heard anything from him for a while.”, he asked after a while.

I sighed and stared at my hands, still feeling uncomfortable to talk about this topic.”

“Honey, he passed away several months ago.”, Mi Sun said quietly.

I looked up and saw the smile crumbling from his face. “What?”

“He was hit by a drunken driver.”

Junho's hand on Mi Sun's shoulder tensed visibly. Then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, he looked at me sadly. I could see that his eyes were shining with unshed tears.

“I'm so sorry, Ha Ni. He was a great man.”, he said quietly, his voice thick with grief.

I gulped. “Thank you.”

Then he turned to Mi Sun. “Does Ha Ni know....?”, he asked hesitantly.

“Yes, she does.”, she answered.

“And does she know...?”

“I'm not sure....but I think not.”

“You have to tell her, Mi Sun. She needs to know.”

“We haven't been talking in years. I'm not even sure if she wants to talk to me again.”

“What are you two talking about?”, I asked confusedly.

Junho hesitated but Mi Sun said: “We're talking about your Mom.”

Okay, that's my cue. I let you talk to each other privately. I'll be keeping the young gentleman in the living room company.” When he passed me, he put his hand on my shoulder. “No matter what, never give up, okay? I can see in your eyes that you're a strong woman. And if you ever need help, never hesitate to contact Mi Sun or me. It doesn't even need to be an emergency. You can also just come to visit us.”

“Thank you, Junho-ssi.”

He smiled. “Call me 'Imobu', Ha Ni.” Then he lifted his hand from my shoulder and left the kitchen.

I couldn't hide my emotion. I was moved to tears by his gentleness. He accepted me as his family without hesitation by telling me to call him uncle. I just got to know him but I already liked him.

“I can guess what you want to hear, right now, Ha Ni.”, Mi Sun said after a while.

I arched an eye brow. “And that would be....?”

“I have your Mom's address, considering she haven't been moving again in the last couple years.” She sighed. “But I don't think it's wise to look for her.”

“Why not? She's my mother! Why shouldn't I go looking for her?”

“Aren't you happy right now?”

“Happy or not, I want to look for my Mom. And she deserves to know about Dad, no matter how disappointed I am that she hasn't contacted us for so long. Why can't you understand it, Imo?”

She sighed again and stood up. “Can't you just listen to my advice?”

“I want a reason.”, I said and stood up, too.

“Then follow me.”, she said and wen out of the kitchen.

I followed her into the living room. When Junho and Seungho saw us, they sopped talking. They both looked at me. Seungho's face was filled with worry while Junho looked rather sad.

Mi Sun went to the desk near the window and pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen. After scribbling something on it, she went towards me and handed me the sheet of paper. When I glanced at it, I saw an address.

“Is that...”,I asked hesitantly.

“Yes, it is.”

“But I thought you don't want me to look for her....?”

“I still don't want it. But I realized that it's your decision whether to look for your Mother or not. As your Imo, I can only give you an advice and hope that you'll listen to me.”

“Imo, it's not that I want to be stubborn but after my father's...” I gulped. “...death, I want to be part of a family again. I feel so lonely.”

She took a step forward and hugged me tightly. “But you still have me and Junho. Then there's also your father's sister...”

“But it's not the same. I miss Mom so much.”, I said, trying hard to hold back tears.

“I know you do.” She took a step back to look at me. “But people change, Ha Ni. She may not be the person you used to know.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I don't know how to explain it to you.” She sighed. “Maybe it really better for you to look for her, so that you won't spend the rest of your life asking yourself 'what would have been if'. It's just...” Her voice broke. “...it's just that I don't want to get hurt.”

“Imo, you're confusing me.”

“I'm so sorry, Ha Ni. I didn't mean to. What I mean is -”

“Maybe you should let her find it out on her own, honey.”, Junho said, suddenly appearing next to us. He put his arm around her shoulder. “You're just scaring her this way.”

“I know, I know.”, she said and leaned her head against his collarbone. “Forgive me, Ha Ni. Your Imo is talking nonsense.”

Before I could say anything, Seungho approached us. “I'm sorry to interrupt, but Ha Ni and me, we have to go.”

“Already?”, Mi Sun asked.

“We have an appointment and if we don't hurry, we'll be late.”

“What a pity.”, she said and smiled ruefully. “I really would have liked to talk to you more.”

“You should come visit us again when you're not in a hurry, Ha Ni.”, Junho added.

“I will.”, I said and smiled.

They both accompanied us to the entrance door. After several hugs and and parting words, Seungho grabbed a cab and we both drove back to the MT house. When we arrived, he grabbed my hand before I could open the door to the MT house.

"Ha Ni, I think we need to talk.", he said.

"About what exactly?"

"Let's find a place to sit down first.", he said and pulled me towards a bench.

When we sat down , I turned towards him. “What's the matter, Oppa?”

“Well, what your Imo said, you know, when we were about to go. About your mother not being the person you used to know.” He frowned. “I'm still trying to figure out what exactly she meant.”

“She's just worried that I won't handle meeting my Mom again after such a long time. Don't rack your brains over this.”

“Are you sure? Your Imo looked pretty worried back there.”

“Yes, no need to worry.”

“But maybe it's better to listen to hear advice.”

I jumped up. “What?! You also think that I should stop looking for your Mom?”

“Ha Ni -”

“She's my Mom, Oppa! How can I not want to look for her?” I gave him a sad look. “I thought that you would understand me.”

He sighed. “I do, Ha Ni. I really do understand your wish to look for your Mother. But I also know that you hope to get back a piece of your family after what happened with your Dad. I can see in your eyes that you think that you're alone right now and that's why you want someone to care for you.” When I was about to protest, he held up his hand, telling me to let him talk first. “But you are wrong. You are not alone, Ha Ni. You never were.”

“Right now, my family only consists of me and my Dad's sister, who, by the way, cares more about her job than about me.”

“And what about your Imo and her husband? Your friends?” He took my hand and gently pulled me back to the bench. Reluctanly, I sat down again. “There's also Wooyoung, because no matter how hurt me be right now, he still cares a lot about you.” He smiled. “And me, I also care about you. Doesn't that mean anything?”

He was right. After my Dad passed away, I always felt so lonely, thinking that I was the only one left. I forgot about those who were always there for me, who never stopped caring for me. I made the mistake of taking it for granted. But...

“It's possible that that's one of the reasons why I was so eager to look for my Mom. But there are other reasons, too. Oppa, she is my Mother, one part of me. When she allegedly passed away, she took that part with her. I never stopped loving her and there wasn't a day that I didn't miss her. That is why I want her back in my life. Also...” I gulped. “My Dad has been living with this secret for such a long time, knowing that she wasn't dead but still not being able to be with her, even though he loved her so much. So, even though he has been lying to me, I owe it to him to look for my Mom. That's what he would have wanted.”

Before I knew it, he put his arm round me and pulled me closer to him. Then he placed a gentle kiss on my temple. “I understand now, Ha Ni. I'm sorry for being so inconsiderate.”

I quickly wiped away the tear that trailed down my cheek. “Thank you.”

“Always happy to help.”, he said and smiled. Then he gave me a last squeeze and let go of me. “Never forget that people who care for you are only being overprotective because they don't want you to get hurt.”

“I know, Oppa.”

“Well, then we should probably head back to -”

“There you are!”, someone suddenly interrupted him.

Startled, I slid to the other end of the bench, putting as much distance between me and Seungho as possible. It was already bad that I had put Wooyoung through so much trouble by being the cause for several scandals, I didn't need Seungho to go through the same.

“I have been looking for you! Where were you? Your lesson ended hours ago!”, Trish said while walking towards us. Her smile slipped a bit when she noticed the person beside me. When she finally recognized him, confusion was written all over her face. Her gaze kept switching between him and me. Then her brows shot up and she grinned. “Oh, I'm sorry. Have I been interrupting something?”

I groaned inwardly. Great. Just great. Now she wouldn't be able to stop setting me up with Seungho. Especially when she was so sure that I had a crush on him. Crap.

“No, we were just talking.”, I said, even though I knew that it was pointless. Judging by her bright face, she wouldn't listen to any 'excuses'.

“Of course. Maybe I could come back later, so that you two can continue talking.”, she said and gave me a wink.

Jeez. “Nah, we're done talking.”, I said quickly. But as soon as I said that, I regretted it immediately. What a wise choice of words, Ha Ni. Now she would never think that something was going on. Her chuckle proved my misgivings.

Before this situation could get any more awkward, I quickly asked: “Why were you looking for me? What happened?”

Her grin disappeared and she frowned at me while crossing her arms. “I'm sure that you were otherwise occupied but may I remind Lady Ha Ni that we had an appointment? We wanted to meet before the party to talk about our plan.” Then she quickly glanced at Seungho before looking back at me. Her grin returned. “Though I have to admit that I'm quite ecstatic about the fact that you're one step ahead of me.”

I let out a frustrated sigh. “Trish, please, stop talking.”

“Huh? Why? Do you want to keep it a secret? Okay, sure, I'll keep quiet. But now that you've achieved your goal, how about helping me with mine?”

Okay, I had enough. “Trish, why don't head back first and I'll follow you after saying goodbye to Seungho Op...uh...Sunbae? Then we can get ready for the party together.”

She grinned even more. “Sure. Just take your time, Ha Ni.”, she said and winked at me. Then she turned around and walked away.

“I'm pretty sure you guys were speaking my language, though I have to say that I didn't really get what you two were talking about.”, Seungho said after a while.

I sighed. “It's one of her crazy ideas again. She wants me to set her up with her crush while she would help me to set me up with...uh, well....you.”

He arched an eye brow at me. “Me?”

“Yeah, she thinks that I have a thing for you.”, I said and blushed.

Oh man, could this get any more embarrassing?

“How did she get that idea?”, he asked and chuckled.

“I don't know! When I was asking her about her 'Idol School' teacher and she told me that it was you, I was just surprised for a moment. I didn't say anything that could've given her the idea that I have a...uhm... crush on you.”

“So, how are you going to solve this misunderstanding?”, he asked. I could clearly see that he was amused by this.

“Oppa, that's not funny! What if other people will get the same idea and then there'll be a scandal? It could damage your career!”

“Wait, wait, calm down, Ha Ni. There'll be no scandal. We're close, so what? Many people are close with each other in this business.”

“Yeah, but do you think that people will think the same when they, like, see us sitting on the bench in the dark? Won't they just see a man and a woman hiding from others? It would be a miracle if they don't jump to conclusions immediately.” I took a deep breath. “I know how harsh netizen can be. Been there, done that.”

He sighed. “Why do I always find myself apologizing to you? Okay, Ha Ni, I'm sorry for all the pain you had to go through in the past. But no matter what we do, people will always jump to conclusions. Do you really want us to stop talking to each other?” I shook my head. “See? I don't want that either. So let's just be careful now and then, and there will be no need to worry.”

“If only I could be as optimistic as you.” I paused. “And it'd be nice if Yoseob Sunbae could be, too. His pessimistic attitude is so frustrating.”

Seungho smiled ruefully. “I think that he's rather careful than pessimistic. And he can be very protective, especially of those he really cares for.”

“So that obviously excludes me. Huh.”

“Why would you think that?”, he asked, arching an eye brow at me.

“Because he doesn't even acknowledge me. It's like I don't exist. And like I told you, he said that the kiss didn't mean anything to him! Isn't that prove enough?”

“So does that mean that you want the kiss to mean something?”, he asked softly.

“I...uh...”

Okay, I was rendered speechless. Because whenever somebody asked me why I betrayed Wooyoung, I told them that I didn't mean to do it. That the kiss was a meaningless accident. But that's what Yoseob said. Because, to be honest, the kiss meant more to me than I would've liked to admit. And that was bothering me somehow. You see, I had a perfect boyfriend, who loved me and cared for me. So why did I still wish that another man's kiss would be more than a mere accident?

Because you're an insatiable and deceiving liar, a tiny voice in my head said.

“Uh, Ha Ni? You're still with me?”, Seungho asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“What? Oh...uhm...yeah.” Then I remembered that he has been asking me a question. A question about a topic I was still uncomfortable to talk about. “I think we should head back to the house. The party's about to start.”

He frowned slightly at my obvious evasion of his question but didn't say anything else. We both stood up and walked back to the house in silence. When we arrived at the lobby, we parted ways. I quickly rushed to my room to take a shower and change clothes. I was done half an hour later, just in time for the party.

When I was taking a last glance at the mirror, Trish came into the room.

“You sure took your time out there.”, she said with a knowing smile.

I rolled my eyes. “We were just talking, Trish.”

“Of course, you were. And if my plan succeeds today, then I'll also just talk with Wooyoung Sunbae tonight.”

Okay, it was really pointless to argue with her.

“Ready for the party?”, I asked.

“Yeah! Let's go have some fun with our teachers!”

“That sounds so wrong, Trish.”

“And you're a spoilsport, Ha Ni.”

Sighing, I went out of the room. Trish followed me and we both went down to the lobby, where we met Jay and his new buddy, Jihoon.

“Woohoo! Hi there, Ladies! I have to say that you look really stunning tonight!” Jay put his arms around our waists and grinned. “Ah, I'm a lucky man.”

Trish struck out and punched him on his side. He winced and let go of her.

“You're only getting this lucky in your dreams, babo.”, she said and shot him an evil grin.

He pouted and turned to me. “Aaw man, Trishie-Baby is such an aggressive girl. I really feel bad for her future boyfriend. He will have a hard life with her.”

The grin vanished from her face and she glared at him. Then she turned around and walked ahead of us.

“You will never get it, huh?”, I asked and sighed.

He looked at me confusedly. “Huh? What? What did I say?”

“Really, Jay-Jay, sometimes you can be so dense.”, I said and lifted his arm from my waist.

“Oh Honey, not you too. Why are you girls in such a bad mood tonight?”

“For the record, it's not really nice to tell a girl that her future boyfriend's gonna have a hard life with her. That's over the line, Jay-Jay.”

Especially when that girl is secretly in love with you, I thought.

Yes, Trish obviously had a thing for our very own babo Jay, even though she may not know it right now. I could see it by the way she kept looking at him. Or when he was saying things like that, causing her to rush away angrily.

“But it was just a joke. Trish knows that I'm just teasing her.” Then his look turned horrified. “Omo, don't tell me she's actually hurt by my comment?”

“Ding! 100 ponts for the gentleman with the big mouth.”

“Ah, crap. I have to apologize. See you later, Honey!”, he said and rushed after Trish.

Jeez. They should just start dating already. All this drama was really exhausting.

“When will they ever realize that they're into each other?”, Jihoon suddenly asked.

Startled, I flinched. Mna, I totally forgot that Jihoon was there, too.

“Yeah, it's kinda obvious, they're just too dense to realize it.”, I said and chuckled.

He smiled. “Why don't you give them a little push into the right direction?”

“I already did as much as possible. The rest is up to them.”

“And what about you?”

“What do you mean?”, I asked confusedly.

He hesitated. “I mean...is there...uh..someone...?”

“Oh! You mean -”

“You don't have to answer if it's too private. I was just curious.”, he added quickly.

“Uh...well, not really...”

“Oh. Okay.”

We walked the rest of the way in awkward silence. When we arrived, we already saw Trish and Jay standing in front of the door. She was turning her back at him while he looked like a lost puppy. Seems like they still didn't make up. Oh man, this night was going to be really strenuous.

Groaning inwardly, I walked past them and opened the door to the dining room. Loud music was blaring from loudspeakers. On both sides of the room were long tables with food and drinks. The dance floor was in the middle of the room and I could see several couches along the walls.

“Nice party.”, Trish said, appearing next to me.

“Indeed. You wanna dance or head to the food first?”

“Let's grab something to drink to get me into the mood. That babo Jay has been ruining my night already.”

“Uh, okay.”

We both walked through the mass of people on the dance floor to get to the tables with food. Trish grabbed one of the drinks that was standing on the table and downed it in one shot. She did the same with her second drink. But when she was going to grab her third drink, I stopped her.

“I think two are enough, Trish.”, I said.

“But I'm still not feeling giddy enough.”, she said and pouted. Then she stumbled a bit. “Okay, maybe I should've eaten a bit before drinking.”

I sighed. “There are some snacks over there.”

Trish walked over to the snacks and started eating. Waiting for her, I took a look around the room. After glancing at some faces, my eyes settled on someone sitting on one of the couches. That familiar knot appeared in my chest. And when I realized that he wasn't alone, that knot got even tighter.

Wooyoung was sitting comfortably on the couch, his arms lying on the back rest. Next to him, on both sides, were several women. Some of them were the female trainees from different companies and the others were female staff members. The woman closest to him was even snuggling up to him. But it didn't look like he minded it. On the contrary, he was giving her a flirty smile. I frowned. He seems really cozy out there. I shouldn't have minded but I did. Because no matter what happened, I still loved him. And that part of me hated seeing him with those other women.

As if he could feel me watching me, he looked up and his gaze locked with mine. His flirty smile was gone, replaced by his usual blank expression, saved only for me apparently. I didn't know for how long we've been staring at each other like this. Only when Trish accidentally bumped into me, was I able to tear my gaze from him. After glancing at Trish, who still seems as drunk as before, I looked back at Wooyoung. His eyes were still on me. Then he smirked and turned his attention back to that woman who was snuggling up to him. He said something to her and then he gave her a flirty smile again. I could hear her giggle even through the loud music. She was obviously melting away under his gaze. I knew exactly how she felt because I was once at the receiving end of that smile.

“Hey...what'cha looking at?”, Trish asked next to me. I tore my gaze away from Wooyoung to look at her.

“What? Oh...uh...nothing.”, I said.

“Ah, nonsense. You were staring at something while frowning. What's upsetting you?”, she asked. Then she looked in the same direction I was looking a moment ago. That was when she saw him, too.

“Omo! Is that Wooyoung Sunbae over there?” She frowned. “But who are those es next to him? Oh no, I won't let them spoil my brilliant plan! I'm going over there now!”, she said and started to walk towards them.

I quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. “Wait, let's look for Jay first, okay?”

To be honest, I was looking for Jay because I needed his help. I didn't know how to deal with a drunk Trish.

“Jay? Who needs that jerk? If you want to see him so bad, you'll find him on the dance floor. I saw him rubbing his body against that SM trainee several minutes ago.” She pulled her wrist out of my grip. “If you don't mind, I need to act out my plan.”, she said and continued walking towards Wooyoung. I saw her squeezing herself between that woman and Wooyoung. That woman glared at Trish, but she ignored her. She was only paying attention to Wooyoung. Whereas his smile for that woman was flirty, the smile he saved for Trish was genuine. I could clearly see that he was fond of her. Could there be more between them? Just thinking of that made my blood boil up. Not being able to continue looking at them, I turned my attention to the dance floor. That was when I saw Jay dancing with that SM trainee, just like Trish told me earlier. I didn't understand him. He was obviously into Trish, so why did he rub his body against another girl in front of her? Was he trying to make her jealous? Well, he did achieve that though it didn't go as he planned. Instead of making her realize her feelings for him, he kinda pushed her to Wooyoung with his actions. Oh man, I would never understand those two.

After looking around for a while, I noticed that I still didn't see Seungho. Where was he? I really would've liked to talk to him right now. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to go to this party after all.

Getting bored of standing around like this, I decided to go out to the terrace to get some fresh air. Thinking too much while being in this stuffy room was kinda suffocating. Sighing, I walked past Wooyoung and his entourage, purposely not looking at them, to the door that led to the terrace. When I was finally outside, I took a deep fresh. Ah, it was so refreshing!

The terrace was filled with several small tables and chairs. I walked past them towards the railing. Leaning against it, I enjoyed the view of the beautiful Jeju Island.

With nothing around to distract me, my thoughts caught up to me again. My mind switched from my complicated love life to tomorrow's competition. Thinking about that already made me nervous. So many people would be there tomorrow and even more would be watching through television. The pressure was too much for me to handle.

“Ah, crap.”, I muttered.

Suddenly I heard a sudden noise behind me. I froze. It sounded like a rustling of clothes. Taking a deep breath, I slowly turned around. When I saw no one, I frowned. Did I just imagine it?

Oh my gosh. There it was again. That rustling sound. I went totally still.

“Uhm...hello? Is somebody here?”, I asked quietly.

When no answer came, I decided to slowly walk towards the door back to the dining room. Imagination or not, this was getting creepy.

Just when I was about to open the door, I heard that noise again. Before I could turn the knob, someone said: “Ha Ni?”

I froze. What the heck? Somebody was out here, too? But why didn't I see him? Well, it was definitely a 'him', judging by the voice. And why did that person know my name? Could it be Seungho? Oh my gosh, of course! He wasn't in the dining room, so it was only logical that he would be here.

“Seungho Oppa?”, I asked hesitantly.

The person didn't answer but on the other side of the terrace, I saw something shifting in the shadows. Was he sitting there? Then the shadow moved again. That was when I realized that whoever was sitting there, was now standing up and walking towards me. But when I finally saw his face, my eyes widened and my heart skipped a beat.

“Yoseob Sunbae?”

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A/N:

Hi there ~

Feel free to comment to let me know what you think about this Chapter.

By the way, I also wrote a whole detailed Chapter about the story of Min Sun, Minhyuk and Hyori from Mi SUn's POV. If you guys want to read it, just let me know, and I'll publish this Chapter! :)

Love y'all!