Gyuri woke up the next morning thinking about what had happened last night. She thought about how Nichkhun had cared for her and how her well laid plan was working to her advantage. She felt happy that Nichkhun still showed some concern over her well-being. It made her heart melt at the thought that he might still harbored some feeling left for her and that gave me enough reason to smile. She got out of bed and walked into the kitchen and noticed that there was a bottle of water, a bottle of Tylenol and a note on the dining table

“Take the medicine if you have a bad hangover and don’t forget to drink lots of water too-Nichkhun”

She immediately broke out into a wide grin

“He still care” she thought

She poured herself a glass of water and grabbed her phone and dialed a number. After a little while a man picked up the phone

“Proceed with the plan….send out the first set of pictures” said Gyuri

“Ok…I’ll personally deliver it myself” said the man

“Be careful…don’t get caught” said Gyuri in a serious voice

“Don’t worry…I know what I’m doing” said the man and hung up 

-------------------------------------------

Gyuri showed up on set just as expected of her. She walked over to Nichkhun who was sitting in front of his trailer reading the script

“Thank you so much for taking care of me last night Khun” said Gyuri and handed him his favorite coffee

“How are you feeling today?....You shouldn’t have drink that much Gyuri” said Nichkhun with a concerned expression on his face

His concern made Gyuri’s heart flustered she wanted to wrap her arms around him and tell him how thankful she was for his kindness, but instead of following her heart she reached out her hand and touched his arm, looked into his eyes and said

“I’m sorry if I’ve made you feel worried Khun…and thank you very much for taking care of me” said Gyuri smiling sweetly at him

-------------------------------------------

It was a nice and bright sunny day just like any other day. Victoria was in a pretty good mood since she had just received a text message from Nichkhun telling her that he missed her terribly. Victoria came back home after work and upon reaching her house she could see that there was a big brown envelope sticking out from her mailbox. Victoria took the envelope out and examined it, there was nothing written on it, no postage stamp and no written address. Victoria thought that it was strange because it meant that someone had personally put the envelope inside her mailbox rather than mail it to her. Victoria took the envelope along with her other mails and got into her house. She got inside and sat down on the wooden bench next to the Japanese Chestnut tree and opened the envelope and took out the content inside.

Inside the envelope it contained pictures of Nichkhun and a woman whom Victoria did not know.

Victoria looked at the pictures in disbelief. Her heart dropped upon seeing those pictures. She was looking at pictures of her boyfriend getting cozy and comfortable with a beautiful woman. There were pictures of Nichkhun sitting on a chair and the woman hunching over him caressing his cheek with the back of her hand, pictures of the same woman touching his forehead while Nichkhun’s eyes were closed, pictures of her laying a blanket over Nichkhun and the worst of all, pictures of her feeding him pieces of orange.

Victoria’s hand began to tremble upon looking at the pictures. It felt like something was piercing her heart. Even through pictures, the way she looked at him was enough to make Victoria’s heart ached. She held the picture of the woman caressing his cheek up and she could see the love in her eyes and in the way that she looked at Nichkhun. How her hand was caressing his cheek while looking into his eyes, how comfortable Nichkhun looked to her touch. They looked really comfortable around each other at least from the way the pictures showed. Victoria didn’t know what to make of these pictures. A million thoughts ran through her mind

“Why does Nichkhun seemed so intimate with this woman in the picture?”

“Why do they look so comfortable around each other?” 

 “What kind of relationship does he have with her?”

“Who is this woman?”

“Where do these pictures came from?”

“Who sent them to me and why?”

“Is Nichkhun cheated on me?”

“What should I do??”

Victoria was sitting on the wooden bench thinking hard of what she should do next. Tears started to fall down her cheeks and she quickly wiped them off and told herself not to overreact and that she needed to hear his explanation first. She didn’t want to jump to the conclusion that Nichkhun was cheating on her, but she needed answers and she was determine to find out everything about the pictures. She grabbed her phone and began texting him

Beep beep – an incoming message

Nichkhun reached out for his phone and pressed opened and immediately smile upon seeing Victoria’s name. However, once he began to read the content of the message his smile dropped and he became tensed. Gyuri noticed the change in his expression and realized that it must have been Victoria who sent the message and that she must have gotten the pictures already. The corner of curled up into a little smirk upon realizing that her plan was working just as she hoped

“Can you come by my house tonight?....there’s something I need to discuss with you” – Victoria

Nichkhun was confused at her message. There wasn’t a hint of sweetness in her message, unlike the previous ones that she had sent him. He got the feeling that something was bothering Victoria and he could sense that Victoria was upset. Nichkhun began tying feverishly at his phone trying to find out more about the impending meeting

“Of course I can come by tonight, but I’ll be there quite late though…are you ok honey? You seem a little agitated…is everything all right?” – Nichkhun

Beep beep

“Let’s talk about it tonight….I’ll be waiting no matter how late you’ll be” – Victoria

Nichkhun didn’t know what to think of her response. She seemed cold and distant. He was beginning to feel afraid and worry. He tried to shake off those feelings, he tried to convince himself not to overthink things and that he should wait until tonight and found out what she wanted to say before he let his imagination took the best of him. Gyuri could see it on his face. She knew right away that her plan was working. She had calculated it and expected it to happen, but it was still amazing to her to be able to witness the beginning of her triumphant plan. She could hardly kept her happiness inside, but she had to….she had to play the part of a caring friend, the part she had meticulously planned on being for Nichkhun in his time of need

“Khun are you all right?....You seems bothered by something….are you ok?” asked Gyuri looking all concern

“I’m fine Gyuri…I’ll be fine…thanks for asking though” said Nichkhun trying his best to persuade her that he was fine

“Ok then, but if there’s anything I can help you with…anything at all…You’ll let me know right?” asked Gyuri touching his arm and looked straight into his eyes

“Thanks Gyuri…I will” said Nichkhun smiling his little smile and walked off to get ready to begin shooting his scenes

-------------------------------------------

It was already 2AM when Nichkhun arrived at Victoria’s house. He wasn’t sure if it was too late to come over so he texted her before to make sure that she still wanted him to come, to which she replied yes. He let out a sigh; he didn’t want to come tonight. He was tired from the grueling hours of shooting and whatever she wanted to talk to him about didn’t seem to be something that would cheer him up. He parked his car in front of her house and hurriedly got out of his car and rang the doorbell and stood there anxiously waiting for Victoria to open the door for him. A few minutes later Victoria came and unlocked the door and let him in. Nichkhun immediately noticed that something was wrong because Victoria did not give him any kind of greeting upon seeing his face like she usually did. There was no welcome kiss or an I-miss-you-hug, not even a simple hello was given. Nichkhun didn’t say anything and followed Victoria inside the house. Once he was inside and the door closed Victoria turned around to face him

“How was the shoot? Did it go well?” asked Victoria looking serious and not a hint of playfulness in her voice or expression

“It was ok honey….I’m really tired actually….What’s wrong honey? What is it that you want to talk to me about?” asked Nichkhun concerned and worried

Victoria was looking at him straight in the eyes trying to figure out the best way to ask him about the pictures and more specifically the woman in the pictures. She let out a sigh and reached over to the brown envelope on the table and handed it to Nichkhun. Nichkhun took the envelope with a confused look on his face then took out the content inside it. Nichkhun’s eyes immediately widen upon seeing the pictures. He frantically flipped through the pictures one by one with his eyes bulging and his face turning pale. When he had finished examined all the pictures he looked up to see that Victoria was already staring at him observing his expression

“Where did you get these?” asked Nichkhun confused

“Somebody dropped this in my mailbox today” answered Victoria with a serious expression on her face

“Somebody put this in your mailbox?....Who?” asked Nichkhun furrowing eyebrows together looking even more confused

“I don’t know Khun” said Victoria shaking her head looking as confused as Nichkhun was

“Are you trying to tell me that somebody took these pictures of me and instead of going to the press, they just give it to you?” asked Nichkhun in disbelief

“What is that supposed to mean Khun?.....What are you implying?” asked Victoria tilting her head to the side furrowing her eyebrows looking a little bit upset at what he said

“No, I’m not implying anything Vic….I’m just curious that’s all” said Nichkhun exasperately running his hand through his hair

“I didn’t asked you to come tonight to find out who sent these pictures to me Khun….I asked you to come tonight so I can asked you personally about the pictures and more importantly the woman in the pictures….I don’t know what to think of these pictures Khun….to be honest with you…I don’t know what to make of it” said Victoria frowning her eyebrows and looking confused

“There’s nothing between me and her honey…if that’s what you worry about” said Nichkhun reaching out and took Victoria’s hand in his

“Who is she Khun?” asked Victoria looking straight into his eyes questioningly

“Here comes the question” Nichkhun thought

He honestly didn’t know if he should tell her the truth or not. He wanted to tell her that the woman in the picture was Gyuri, the same woman who broke his heart, the same woman whom he used to love. He wanted to tell her and reassured her that Gyuri meant nothing to him anymore, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t because he was afraid, he was afraid that Victoria would not understand. He was afraid of being interrogated, afraid of having to constantly prove that there was nothing between him and Gyuri. He couldn’t handle that, not when he was working so hard like he did. He honestly could not take the suspicions that would come from knowing that he was working closely with the woman who used to mean everything to him. Just the thought of it made his head hurt and he decided that it was best if Victoria did not know the real identity of Gyuri and it would be better off for him too

“She’s just someone that I worked with in this drama honey….there’s nothing between us” said Nichkhun and letting out a heavy sigh

“I looks to me like you guys are more than just colleagues Khun…what was she doing to you in those pictures?” asked Victoria looking straight into his eyes

“I wasn’t feeling well that day…and she was kind enough to take care of me that’s all” said Nichkhun slowly losing patience

“I didn’t know that you were sick?....why didn’t you tell me that you weren’t feeling well?” asked Victoria looking hurt

“I didn’t want to make you worry…and besides there was nothing you could do…it’s not like you could come on set and take care of me right?” said Nichkhun a little frustrated

“I know I can’t go to see you on set Khun, but it would be nice to know when my boyfriend is sick….do you know how I feel Khun? Do you know it hurts me to know that someone else was taking care of you when you’re sick? I’m your girlfriend Khun….it’s my job to take care of you….do you know how hurt I feel to know that it wasn’t me who took care of you when you need to be taken care of…to know that it was someone else who did that” said Victoria voice shaking, tears b in her eyes

“Please don’t be like this honey” said Nichkhun a little exasperatedly

“Like what Khun?....Is it wrong for me to be insecure when I see these pictures?” asked Victoria wiping tears from her face

“No, it’s not honey, but there’s really nothing between me and her…please believe me…I love you and only you” said Nichkhun and pulled her in for a hug

Victoria couldn’t hold her tears anymore. She rested her head on his chest and began to cry while Nichkhun tried to console her

“Shhh please don’t cry honey….please trust me….there’s nothing to be insecure about…there’s no one else but you” said Nichkhun softly and calmly whispering in her ear while hugging her tight

Victoria hugged him back. She didn’t know if he was telling her the truth or not, but she wanted to believe him. She wanted him to reassure her that there was nothing between him and that woman and when he told her that there was nothing between them Victoria was willing to accept it. She loosen the hug and looked up into his eyes with a little puppy eyes and said

“You’re not lying to me right?” said Victoria looking like a lost little girl

Nichkhun immediately let out a chuckled and hugged her even tighter and said

“Of course not honey” said Nichkhun looking straight into her eyes assuring her not to worry

“Come on…let’s forget about these nonsense ok? I’m really tired now…can we please go to bed honey?” said Nichkhun looking at her with puppy eyes

Victoria let out a smile, wiped her tears and nodded her head

-------------------------------------------

The next day

Nichkhun left early in the morning to go back to his work as was Victoria. Victoria was still a little apprehensive about those pictures, but she didn’t want to think any more of it. She was willing to let it go and be happy with her boyfriend than to waste her time and energy obsessing over it. Nichkhun texted her constantly that day telling her that he loved her, that he missed her and that there was no one else but her. It was good enough for Victoria. It was good enough for her to let her curiosity go and pretend that it was a bad dream and that nothing had change between them. After school was over Victoria and Krystal went to lunch at La Caffe as usual. By this time Krystal and Teacyeon had officially became a couple while Luna and Wooyoung never really officially announced it, but it was so obvious to everyone that there was no need for them to put a label on their relationship anymore. Victoria was glad to see her friends again, to spend time with people that she loved and who loved her. She debated whether or not she should tell her friends about the pictures of Nichkhun and the mysterious woman, but she decided against it because she was determined to put it all behind her. However, no matter how hard she tried she was still only pretending. Luna and Krystal being her best friends noticed that something was bothering her and began questioning her

“Vic are you ok?......You don’t look happy….is everything ok?” asked Luna concerned

Everyone turned and looked at Victoria trying to gauge her emotions

“Oh no I’m fine….really I am….everything’s fine” said Victoria trying her best to persuade her friends

“Don’t pretend to be fine Vic…I’ve known you long enough to know that look on your face….something’s wrong…..what is it Vic?” said Krystal questioningly at her best friend

“No, really I’m fine guys….I really am” said Victoria trying to sound sincere

“Aren’t we your best friends Vic? If there anything that’s bothering you why won’t you tell us?....Please Vic whatever it is you can tell us…I can’t stand to see you pretend like everything is fine when it’s clear that it’s not” said Krystal reached over and held Victoria’s hand in hers

“Yes Vic we are your best friends….we’re like sisters….I really hope that you can trust us enough to confine in us when you have problems Vic” said Luna sincerely

Victoria was conflicted. She didn’t know if she should tell her friends about what happened or not. She knew that if she showed her friends those pictures there would be more questions thrown back at her. Questions that she did not have answers for, but she knew her best friends well enough to know that by not telling them she’s actually doing them a great disservice as a friend by excluding them out when she actually needed them the most. Victoria let out a deep sigh and reached down into her purse and took out the brown envelope

“I got this in my mailbox yesterday….seemed like someone purposely left this for me” said Victoria holding out the brown envelope

Krystal reached out and took the brown envelope from Victoria’s hand and began to examine it

“There’s nothing written on it….not even a postage stamp” said Krystal and began to open the envelope and took out the content inside it

Upon seeing the pictures Krystal immediately gasped as her mind began to process what she was seeing. She quickly shuffled all the pictures with her eyes bulging. Luna immediately scooted over next to Krystal to examine the pictures upon seeing her shocked expression and pretty soon Luna too was looking at the pictures with her eyes bulging in disbelief. Wooyoung and Teacyeon were completely confused and turned to look at each other trying to make sense of what was going on

“What the hell is this??.....who is this woman??...and why does she look so comfortable with Nichkhun?” said Krystal in a loud voice with her eyebrows furrowing

“Nichkhun??” said Teacyeon and immediately reached out and took the pictures from Krystal’s hand

Upon seeing the pictures Teacyeon and Wooyoung gasped and Wooyoung unconsciously put his hand up and covered his mouth in shocked of what he was seeing. Luna and Krystal noticed Wooyoung and Teacyeon’s reactions to the pictures and knew that they knew something about it and began to question them

“Why are you guys looking like you’ve just seen a ghost??...Do you know anything about this???” said Krystal glaring at both Wooyoung and Teacyeon with a serious and questioning expression on her face

“What is it guys??....what’s going on?” said Luna looking straight at Wooyoung

Wooyoung and Teacyeon turned and looked at each other in the eyes and realized that there was no way they could hide it from them and that they needed to tell them the truth. Wooyoung turned back and said

“The woman in these pictures is Gyuri…..Khun’s ex-girlfriend….the one who broke his heart 2 years ago” said Wooyoung calmly

Victoria’s heart dropped immediately upon hearing what Wooyoung had just said. She sat there frozen in her seat. She could hear Krystal’s began to yell, but she couldn’t make out what she was saying. All the noise seemed to grow quieter until she couldn’t hear anything. She closed her eyes and unknowingly a single tear trickled down her cheek and the only thing she could think of was

“He lied”