Hyomin's POV

I was heading out of the bathroom when a familiar figure suddenly approached me. Her hand raised up, stricking me across the face. Her long, thin figners imprinted a red mark right against my cheek. The pain quickly followed after. The sharp sting caused my anger to become uncontrollable. 

"Yah! What do you think you're doing?" I yelled, clenching my teeth.

"You... you have a lot of nerves." She pointed her finger at me.

"What-" She cut me off.

"Telling people whether or not they can see it, that isn't you choice. I can take care of myself. I don't need you pity help!" She screamed, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. 

"Jiyeon..." I was my hands to wipe her tears.

"Don't." She grabbed my arm. "Don't touch me." She threw my arm against the wall and stormed away.

---

After that incident, my relationship with Jiyeon hasn't improved. Whenever I came close to her, she was suddenly walk away, as if she was planning to head that way. When T-ara would eat, she would talk to everyone, except for me. She never answered when I asked her questions. She simply tried to act as if I no longer existed. The only time it would seem like we were friends was when the camera was in our face. Then, she would actually acknowledge me. I must admit, her acting was strong. I would've been fooled if I was the audience. 

"Jiyeon-ah, let's go out to eat!" Eunjung used ageyo, knowning Jiyeon would say no. Jiyeon liked to eat out with Joon often lately. It was as if she was trying to taunt me.

"Eunjung, I can't though." She started to whine.

"... Fine." Eunjung let out a sigh of frustration. She turned towards me and her eyes lit up. "Hyomin-ah! Let's go eat, okay?" She linked arms with me.

Jiyeon suddenly opened her eyes wide. "Eunjung! I'll go. I want to go!"

"Aish, you're too late." Eunjung glared at Jiyeon.

"I'll pay. My treat. Okay?" Jiyeon pleaded.

"Hyomin, is it fine with you?" Eunjung asked me.

Before I could even reply, I noticed Jiyeon's eyes throwing darts at me. "Oh... actually, I can't go." I removed my arm from Eunjung's.

"What, but you didn't say anything before." Eunjung whined.

"I never got the chance to say it. I'm sorry." I bowed, hoping my excuse would work.

"Ah, I get it. Go ahead. Let's eat out next time though, alright?" She smiled disappointedly.

"Let's do that next time." I smiled and turned around, walking away from Eunjung and Jiyeon. In the background, I could hear Jiyeon purposely laughing loudly. 

I didn't notice that I walked into someone at that moment. I stumbled back a few paces. I immeadiately bowed, apologetically. "I'm really sorry." I kept bowing, never actually looking at who it was.

I heard a snicker. "Yah, Hyomin-ah, you can stop." I felt their hand onto my shoulder.

I looked up and saw their face. "Oppa..." My face flushed red.

"Aigoo, our Hyomin, never looking where she walks. What should we do?" Wooyoung nudged my head and laughed. "It's lunch time right?"

"Yes, why?" I fixed my hair.

"Let's go on a date." He winked and grabbed my hand.

"Date? But..." It was too late to complain. I was already inside his car.

"Where to?" He looked over to me.

"Why are you here?" I asked him.

"Korean barbaque it is!" He drove off.

"Ah... okay." I looked over at him worriedly. Why was he suddenly acting like this. I could see a smile on the outside, but something must be troubling on the inside. His eyes simply told me.

Once we arrived, Wooyoung looked over and me and smiled. His fake smile. He unbuckled his seat belt and got out the car. He ran over to my side, opening the door for me. He stuck his hand out, waiting for me to place mine on top. I just stared at him. It was so obvious. He was something distrubing him. As much as he tried to hide it, I simply saw it as if it was written over his face.

"Yah, are you just going to let my hand hang?" He pouted.

I chuckled. "Aish, this baby." I slapped my hand on top of his. "Is this better?"

He slightly lunged forward, pretending to taunt me. "Do you want to die?"

I let out a small laugh. "If it means I can get away from you, go ahead." I stuck my tongue out at him and ran into the restaurant. .

"Y-Yah!" He yelled after me.

The whole time we ate, he continued to fake his smiles. He kept speaking of the past, telling me everything was pleasent for him. He told myself to always take care of myself. He wanted to always see a smile on my face. I finally noticed he's been hinting at. I guess I should've seen the clues, right? I must have been a burden on his side. So, I guess when he says it, I will be prepared.

We were leaving for the car, when I couldn't hold it in any longer. "When are you going to say it?"

"What are you talking about?" He stopped in his tracks and turned around to look at me.

"Why do you have to be like this?" Tears were rolling down my cheeks.

"Hyomin-ah." He walked towards me.

"Can't you just say it and move on?" I felt him pull me into a tight hug. I cried on his chest, soaking up his shirt.

"What do you want me to say?" He whispered into the my ears.

"Aren't you planning to leave?" My voice was hoarse, cracking between words.

"Leaving?" His hug loosened. 

"Me." I whispered.

I heard him laugh out loudly. "Yah, what has gone through your mind?" He continued to laugh. "Aigoo, why would I ever leave?" He playfully hit my head. "I'm never going to leave you, alright?" His voice was serious now.

I nodded. "Alright." I can't deny that it felt amazing to hear those words from him. It did feel as if a heavy weight was taken off my chest. But then, why was he saying all those stuff? "Wooyoung-ah, why did you say all those things in the restaurant?"

"Huh?" He thought back. "Oh, I know you're facing a tough moment right now. I just want you to know, I'll be here for you as often as I can, but when it's just you, you have to continue staying strong. I don't want you to ever give up on life." He gave me a genuine smile for the first time today.

"Aigoo, is that really it?" I scoffed. "You made me worry for nothing." I laughed, letting out more tears of relief. 

Junhyung's POV

"Hyung let's go eat. We've been playing all day, but we still failed to eat. I'm really starving now." Yoseob complained.

"Alright, but you're paying." I let out a laugh.

"What? I was pay!" He let out a laugh of disbelief.

"You're the one who asked for food, if I am not mistaken." I looked over to him.

"Cheap." He made a face and continued walking. He walked into the nearest restaurant. Once we sat down, he immeadiately grabbed the menu and let out a sigh of relief.

"Alright, you can buy anything. I should have enough money for the both of us." He started to look at the menu, seeking what he should get.

I reached for a menu. In the end, we both decided to get a hot pot. After eating, Yoseob had to leave for individual schedules. I sat in the restaurant a little longer. When I got up, I heard a familiar voice behind me. It soft, high pitched voice. Following after, was a voice of a man. Deep and husky. I slowly turned around to see a man sitting down with Hyuna. 

It wasn't just any ordinary man though. This was a man all idol tried to avoid, but why was Hyuna with him all of a sudden? Why was she speaking to the reporter? I remember her always complaining about reporters following her, asking her questions, but now she decided to sit down with them. I guess there must be a reason for it. Perhaps it's the company telling her to speak with him. Nevertheless, it wasn't my bussiness, so I just left without thinking of it twice. 

I headed back to the dorm, having nothing to do. I was currently on a personal break. Maybe I should go visit my parents, I thought. The company wouldn't mind. They always encouraged us to stay close to our family, even when we're busy. So, I made my decision. I packed my bags with clothes for about a week. It's been a while since I've seen my family, so this was  a good opportunity. 

---

I rang the doorbell to the house. From inside, I heard my mother yell. Within a couple of seconds, my mother opened the door. Immeadiately, her face showed she was shocked. She closed the door, then reopened it. Her was was filled with disbelief.

"H-h-husband! Come to the door." She yelled.

"Why?" He walked up to the door. Once his eyes laid sight on me, his mouth fell open. "Jaesoon."

"Mother, Father, it's been a while hasn't it?" I smiled. My mother ran out the door and grabbed me into a tight hug.

"Yah, where have you been?" She started to hit my back. "You never picked up our calls, never even visited us."

"Honey, don't hurt our son." He stood at the door smiling.

"Mother, let's go inside, shall we?" I started walking towards the house with my arm around her waist. 

"Aigoo, what a bad boy. Acting so sweet after not speaking to us for so long." She let out a slight chuckle while fixing my hair.

As I passed by my father, I gave him a nod along with a smile. He patted my back and followed behind. We all sat down together in the common room. We all shared stories, laughter, and tears. They often asked if I would like to quit the entertainment world, given all that has happened thus far. To that, I always responded, "It's too late for giving up at this point." I couldn't just suddenly quit, leaving the members out there on their own. I took on a responsibility once I debuted under the group B2ST. So quitting, it was no longer an option.

"How about Jiyeon?" My father suddenly asked.

I was hesistant before asking, "What about her?"

"Are you still speaking?" He asked me. I guess my parents never heard about Jiyeon and me. I never did tell them about our relationship anyways. I just felt as if it wasn't something that needed to be said out in the open. At least, not yet. 

"Oh... a little here and there." I replied. 

"You're not speaking often anymore? What happened?" My mom suddenly asked worriedly. "How can friends from middle school just suddenly stop speaking?" She questioned herself.

"Mother, it really isn't like that." I left out a fake laugh. "It's just we've been busy... some more than the other." I let out a smile. "Don't worry."

"Alright, alright." She still kept the same expression though.

"So, how is everything? Do you watch me on the music shows?" I quickly changed the subject.

"Everything here is fine. You should worry about yourself moreover us." My father replied.

"Ah, really?" I smiled. "Well, that's good then."

Eventually when it was time for dinner, we parents insisted on taking me out to dinner. I rejected though. Being an idol, it makes you begin to hate eating out. All you ever eat are take-outs. You begin to miss a simple bowl of rice and side dishes. So, in the end, my parents agreed on eating at home. While eating my mother's food, I felt like a child again. My mother would always put more meat into my bowl and watch me eat.

The rest of the evening was like any evening. My parents went off to bed earlier than me. Since I wasn't tired yet, I decided to pass time by watching television. I was changing the channels until I heard a familiar name. I immeadiately stopped to listen to what was being said. 

"Park Jiyeon has been caught in a scandal recently. A video has been released of her stripping on camera. Some say it is the real Park Jiyeon, while others believe it is simply an impostor. Continue watching us for further information." Then, the logo appeared. 

Questions were running through my mind. It couldn't be Jiyeon could it? There was the possibility that it was just a look a like. Or someone could have edited her face into the video. There were so many possibilities. Yet, at the same time, there was also the other side. What if it actually was her? Even if it was...

Why was this suddenly coming out?

Who was behind all of this?

Why is the target Jiyeon?

---

A/N - Alright. You can shoot me. I'm so sorry. I neglected this story for nearly a month. Truth was, I had one line written the whole time, but then I forgot to continue writing from that day onwards. SO, when I remembered, I started two days ago. I hope this chapter is fine. The story is now starting hit the now! ^^ ; After many, many chapters of no real plot, it has finally come! Well, I won't even bother saying I'll update soon, since... it's me. I either get stuck and stop, or, I forget. BUT, I will honestly try. Haha, I hope this chapter was my usual length, it felt a little short. Maybe it's just me. ANYWAYS, I hope you like it!

Okay, so many of you heard of the T-ara controversy, right? Well, don't worry. I am not going to affect my story with any of the rumors going around. You may have thought Jiyeon slapping Hyomin branched off from Hwayoung's incident with Jiyeon, right? Well that wasn't the case. I always planned on that happening, despite anything said about Jiyeon. I will always support T-ara so you can count on me to finish my story. So, I hope you also plan to support T-ara through this tough journey! ^^

LASTLY, just me, shamelessly advertising. Well, I made this new request shop, COFFEE DELIGHT. I hope you check it out. I am still relatively new to creating graphics, but I am currently training under a great mentor, as well as a good friend. So, please watch over my growth as a designer. If any of you are interested, please don't be afraid to leave a request!