A few days passed since Jiyong's departure. Jieun was in a terrible state, always locking herself in the room and refusing to eat anything. Minah worried over her, along with her parents who were taking care of her. She wouldn't let anyone except Jiho to visit her, and she had a very good reason why. She was hoping that Jiho could take over and help Jieun recover as quickly as possible. She thought that Jieun needed a new love, but Jiho knew better. He knew that no one else could replace Jiyong. Not even him.

On a particular afternoon, when Minah was working at the store (she still kept her part-time job, and the manager opened up to her a lot since Jiyong left), she noticed that Wonshik, Kyungsoo, and Changshik were standing in front of the store for a long time. When she figured that the customers were too scared to come inside, she went out to talk to them.

"Why aren't you guys coming inside?" Minah asked. "Don't just stand there like dumb statues."

"But King Kwon isn't there," Wonshik said. His shoulders sank. "It's not fair that you guys got to see him go."

"Yeah! I was going to tell him about my dreams," Changshik added.

"Dreams?" Minah snorted. "As if you guys could have one. Can you even get into a decent college with your grades?"

"We don't know what we want to be and if it's going to be grade-related or anything," Kyungsoo said, "but we want to follow King Kwon footsteps."

"Actually, Changmin hired us to be his 'pawns.' He was really impressed with how we could blackmail him," Wonshik revealed.

Minah blinked her eyes. "You guys blackmailed Changmin?"

"Sh! Idiot! No one was supposed to know!" Changshik snapped, hitting the back of his head.

"Oh damn! I forgot!" Wonshik exclaimed. "I take back what I said. Forget about what I said!"

"Either way, we want to be near King Kwon, so we're hoping that we'll see a glimpse of him if we work under Changmin," Kyungsoo said. He glanced at the store. "I don't think there's a reason for us to come here if King Kwon isn't here."

"So what are you going to do?" Minah asked them, frowning.

The three looked at each other. Then, they started to crack up and grinned at Minah.

"Cram school!" they answered, turning around. Minah watched the three walk over the hill and disappear behind it. When they were out of her sight, she closed the door behind her and began to sit behind the same counter Jiyong was at.

She paused, then rested her elbow against the counter while her cheek leaned against the palm of her hand. She stared at the empty store, gently closed her eyes, and listened to the sound of the clock drowning away her thoughts.

Dreams, Minah thought. They're not to easy to achieve, are they? She glanced at an audition flyer hanging on the window. I better start making my dreams come true early, then. Okay! She took a deep breath and texted Jieun and Jiho. If I audition and ask them to come, then maybe Jieun will start feeling better and think about her own dreams, too.

Oh, how terribly wrong she was.

* * *

A few weeks later, it was time for Minah's audition. During the weeks that Jiyong was gone, Minah worked extra hard, practicing for her audition. Like the older man had said, she did find good friends. She was lucky to have Jiho and Jieun agree to support her at her audition. However, she didn't think Jieun would agree to come since she was mourning over Jiyong. The way Jieun had been acting made it seem like Jieun was ready to disappear and face another world….

It was something that constantly made Jiho worried. Although Minah wanted to tell Jieun to stop making him worry, she didn't have the courage to say anything to her. The one who faced the most tragedy after Jiyong left was Jieun, who just wanted to be besides him. A part of Minah was angry at Jiyong for breaking his promises, but another part of her knew that leaving was the right thing he had to do.

Minah looked at Jiho's worried expression. Her eyes glanced over to the door. The two were waiting in the waiting room, waiting for Minah's name to be called out. This was the only place where guests were allowed to stay. Once her name was called out, she would have to enter another room alone. She didn't worry much since she knew that Jiho would be silently supporting her from the other room.

However, there was one single problem that troubled her: Jieun wasn't here.

Prior to her audition day, Jieun had sworn to come and support Minah. Unfortunately, Jieun wasn't here, which meant that Jiho was worried sick over Jieun's sudden disappearance. The worst part was, the two had a pretty good idea where Jieun had disappeared off to—or where she was planning to disappear.

She sighed and rested her head against the wall. Her head pointed towards the ceiling while she closed her eyes. She looked down at Jiho, who kept tapping his foot against the ground, chewing his bottom lip while he played with his hands. His eyes were glued to the clock and to the door, to the clock and then to the door. He didn't even lookout Minah throughout the entire time they were together.

He doesn't look at me, she told herself, forcing to swallow the truth, and he will never look at me.

Minah let out another deep sigh. She looked away from Jiho and leaned against the wall with her arms crossed.

"Go."

Jiho looked up and stared at her for a moment. "What?"

"I said go," Minah repeated. She glanced over at him. "You know where Jieun is, right?"

Jiho bit his bottom lip. He didn't know exactly where Jieun was, but he had a really good idea of where she could be.

"But what about you? If I leave right now, you'll be going up there all on your own. I promised to stay here with you this time, remember? I said that I'd support you."

Minah's eyes rolled over to the empty seat besides Jiho. "But if you don't leave, then that rascal won't be coming back. Go and bring her back for me, will you?"

"But I probably won't make it back."

"That's fine. I'd rather have her back and you being happy rather than having her leave with you standing here feeling remorseful"

"But—"

"Woo Jiho," she snapped, glaring at him. He widened his eyes, taken aback until Minah flashed him a noteworthy fake smile. "I know you still have something to say to her. Try saying it. Maybe it'll help her stay here."

Jiho looked at Minah, who turned away and looked at the window. Drops of rain splashed against the window as the white pavement darkened.

"Oh look, it's going to rain," Minah muttered softly. "It should be snowing, though, since it's winter. Funny, isn't it?"

"Minah." She looked up and saw Jiho giving her a deep bow. "I am so sorry." He lifted his head and went to the exit. "I'm going, now."

"Whatever," Minah said. She didn't look back at him and only looked at the window. She waved her hand, motioning for him to go. "Don't make me regret letting you go. Go have a blast together."

"Sorry," was the only word that came out of his mouth. He opened the door and dashed outside, leaving Minah alone.

Once she was left alone, Minah waited at her spot in silence. She let herself sink in to the sound of the clock ticking. For some reason, it didn't sound like the clock was taunting her for losing her grasp on her crush. Rather, it sounded like it was counting down for the once opportunity she had always been dreaming for.

From the other door, someone came out and looked down at the clip board.

"Can I have #0513 step into the room?" the kind lady asked.

Minah looked down at her tag, then got up. She wiped her sweaty hands against her jeans and stepped inside the building. The lady checked her number and her basic information with her. Then, she let Minah step inside while closing door behind them. The worker pointed to the "X" symbol on the floor, where Minah was directed to stand.

Minah walked over to the platform, standing below the hot spotlight. She looked ahead, examining the four judges who were sitting behind the table. Papers scattered all over the surface as mutters echoed amongst them. When one of them finally realized that the girl was waiting for them, he picked up a mike and gave Minah an assuring smile.

"Please give us a brief introduction," one of the judges said. 

Minah cleared . "My name is Bang Minah. I am in my second year of high school. I am born on May 13th, 1993. Please take care of me."

She bowed as the judges nodded to her. Two of them didn't even bother to look at her—everything they wanted to know was already on paper. The judge with the mic nodded his head and looked down at the paper, twirling his pen with his fingers.

"And what will you be singing for us today?" the judge asked, not bothering to ask her anything else.

She gave them a faint smile. "I will be singing 'I Miss You' by Kim Bum Soo."

"Okay…" The judge smiled at her. "You have two minutes to impress us. Blow our minds."

"Thank you," Minah muttered. She cleared again and gently closed her eyes. She clasped her hands together, nervously waiting for the right moment to sing.

Calm down, Minah, she told herself. Think sad. This of the most sorrowful memory you remember. Think of missing someone, of crying because of someone. Think of… She shut her eyes tight as she took a deep breath. Think of Jiho.

"I won't go, I'll just wait here like a fool crying beside you…"

The lyrics flooded down her plump lips, and she finally opened her eyes. They were teary, glistening below the spotlight. Her voice cracked at some parts, but she kept singing, her hands reaching out like she was actually touching someone—as if she was reaching out for Jiho.

The judges looked up, impressed, and listened to the rest of her performance as Minah silently cried in the inside, longing for Jiho's moral support.

* * *

"Hah…Hah…Hah…" Jiho panted hard, running towards the bus station. He knew that Jieun was going out of mind. There was no way that her, as a high school student, could return of Jiyong's side. Yet, he knew that she felt that she had no other choice but to be besides Jiyong.

Splash, splash, splash!

His feet stomped against the ground, splashing on the puddle. His shoes were getting wet, but he didn't care. The goal was to find Jieun and to keep her from leaving. He had to do everything he could to keep her from leaving the town, from leaving her friends, from leaving him.

He took another sharp turn, and stopped abruptly. He stared at the girl walking a few meters away from him. She was walking forward, with her back faced against him. From the way she was walking, Jiho knew that she had already made up her mind. 

"Lee Jieun!" Jiho called. 

The girl stopped a bit. Then, pretending as if she didn't hear him, she continued to walk forward.

"Lee Jieun, stop!" Jiho shouted.

This time, the girl ignored him and walked on. Jiho scratched his head, frustrated. She was clearly pushing him away, walking along the road as if he was a nobody.

A nobody, Jiho thought. He swallowed hard, his heart beating against his chest. I can't always be a nobody forever. Not anymore, especially since Jiyong's gone.

The next thing he knew, he was subconsciously blurting out words that he believed would stop her: "I like you!"

The sound of rain gushed down on her umbrella. Jieun froze, then slowly turned around. She stared at Jiho, her brown orbs fixed onto his desperate, romantic gaze. He was drenched, with the rain drops trickling down his cheeks. His hair, usually pointing upwards, was soaked and covered just above his eyes. He was unable to look at her long enough to compose himself; he was already out of breath from chasing her. 

"I like you, Jieun," Jiho squeaked. "I like you a lot."

Jieun opened to respond, but closed it once she realized that she might be speaking too suddenly. A rosy color appeared on her cheeks as she awkwardly looked away. She gripped around the crooked handle of her umbrella, pressing her lips together, thinking hard about his sudden confession.

Jiho patiently waited for her to reply. He didn't care that he was being drenched in the rain. The rain didn't matter to him right now. The only thing he wanted to hear was the girl he loved speak to him with an earnest heart. 

"W-When…?" Jieun was unable to complete her question, but Jiho knew what she was asking from him.

"I liked you ever since we met. I thought you were just a weak girl who needed help, but I realized that the more I got to know you, you were someone who I wanted to protect," Jiho confessed. "You knew perseverance, and I wanted to be your support."

The rain came down even louder. The flooding water covered a few centimeters of the heels of their sneakers. The humid air helped Jiho compose himself as he carefully went on to listen.

"I can't," Jieun said quietly. She looked at up with dead-serious eyes. "I like Jiyong, so I can't return your feelings—"

"Damn it, Jieun!" Jiho exclaimed. "Don't give me that Jiyong excuse! I know you like him. Give me something else!"

"But there's no other reason to give," Jieun argued. "I like Jiyong, and I can't tell you that I like you back!"

"Jiyong's leaving, Jieun! He's leaving us; he's leaving you." Jiho took a step forward, but stopped when Jieun took a step back. He finally looked down at her other hand, which was occupied by the suitcase she was carrying. He gritted his teeth and looked at her with pain in his eyes. "Jiyong left, and he's nothing coming back. What are you still hoping for?"

Jieun broke eye-contact and stared at the ground. "No. He's not leaving. He didn't leave yet. He's just going on a small trip. He'll come back for us—"

"Then why are you bringing a suitcase?" Jiho pointed out, lowering his voice. He waited for Jieun to say something, but when he realized that she was stumped, he sighed. "You know better than any of us that Jiyong isn't going to come back."

"Jiyong can't just leave us like this, though. He needs us—"

"No, he doesn't. We needed him." Jiho his lip, tasting the rain by accident. "He finished his job and left us."

"No, he didn't. He didn't finish the job." She finally looked at him with tears in her eyes. "If he finished the job, then why do I still want him to come back?"

"Because you love him," Jiho admitted. He paused, taking a deep breath. "I don't like saying that, but you love him." He clenched his teeth, trying to keep himself form crying. "You're scared, too. You're scared that everything will go back to how it was like when you were stuck with Chanyeol."

"Terrified," she corrected, sniffing.

"But you have better people to hang out with. You got those three other dorks who liked Jiyong as much as you do. You got yourself a new best friend—Minah—waiting for you back at school." He slowly opened his arms. "And if you want, you got someone else who's ready to take over Jiyong's place in your heart."

Jieun was unable to say anything. Tears trickled down her cheeks as her eyes became swollen. Here he was, the boy she had always seen as her closest friend, trying his best to make a spot in her heart. It hurt her so much to reject him, but she knew that it would hurt her even more to accept his confession. Excluding her experience with Jiyong, this was becoming one of the most painful events she had to go through.

"I can't," Jieun said in a hoarse voice. She shut her eyes as her shoulders sagged down. "I can't love you like how I did with Jiyong…"

"Jieun?" She heard his voice crack. "Can you please say that while looking into my eyes?" She sniffed and shook her head. "Just once, Jieun? For one last time, please reject me properly, or else I'm going to hope that I have a chance."

She brushed away a tear from her cheek and looked up. She faced him for a long time, taking deep, shaky breaths. 

"I c-can't love you," she stuttered. She almost choked on her words. "And I can't properly reject you because you're one of my best friends." She wiped away more tears from her eyes. "See? Everything is different when Jiyong isn't with us. Everything falls apart!"

He stepped forward, but she only stepped back. Jiho made a fist as he frowned. He felt bitter about his situation. Was it because he was still a kid in her eyes that she couldn't look at him as a man to love?

Gathering up his courage, he finally stormed up to her. When Jieun tried to back away, he lunged for her wrist and pulled her closer. The umbrella slipped from her hand as her other hand was forced to touch his cold cheek. She tried to pull away, but he kept a firm grip on her wrists.

"Then I will work hard to make sure that nothing falls apart for you," Jiho boldly declared. "Lover or not, I will make sure that things will always stay the same. With or without Jiyong, I'll try to take over his place and make sure that we don't fall apart." His grip around her wrist became tighter. "I'll even throw away my feelings for you if that'll make you stay. Jieun, look at me." He released one wrist and used his free hand to lift her chin. "We are only kids right now. We are nowhere close to Jiyong's status. All I'm asking you is to grow up with me a bit more, and then we can go see Jiyong s…someday."

Jieun was surprised to see Jiho cry. She wasn't sure if he was crying because he missed Jiyong as much as she missed him, or if it was the fact that he was cruelly rejected by her. However, she felt sincerity in his words. The way he brought her fingers close to his lips, muttering and pleading her not to go was a huge wake-up call for her.

She looked over her shoulder, where she saw the bus approaching the bus stop. She closed her eyes, letting out a trembling sigh as more tears flooded down her cheeks. She waited for a few minutes, listening to the bus engines deflate and open its doors. Then, she heard the doors close and the engine roar. The bus had now driven away from them, leaving the sound of rain to fill in the empty gaps of their conversation.

Jieun looked at Jiho with watery eyes, while Jiho looked down at her, biting his bottom lip, trying to stop himself from crying. Finally, she pulled his head and brought him close to her shoulders. patting his back and the back of his hair as Jiho grabbed onto her clothes, giving her thankful mumbles for staying. He pressed her close to his chest, embracing her and muttering his promises to not have her break again.

It was officially too late for her to run away. Jiho had convinced her to stay.

I hope, she prayed, that when the time comes, I get to see you again, Jiyong. I really, really hope I get to see you again…

But for the rest of their lives, the three never met Jiyong ever again.

The End

Author's Note: THE ANGST TAG STILL STANDS! Yes, really, this is the end. Ah, I had a lot of fun writing this story. It was the kind of story that I really love writing, so I enjoyed writing every chapter of it. This is also the first story where I actually planned the ending. I normally just let my writing flow and see where the story goes (lol). I kind of like how I ended this story on my fifth AFF anniversary. Makes it feel even more special, hehe. Anyway, thank you to my readers, subscribers, commenters, and up-voters! Without you guys, this story would've never came to where it would be today. Thanks for all the support!

Oh, and yes, I am planning a sequel but I don't know if I want to post it or not. The sequel wouldn't have Jiyong or any other original cast from Miss Pariah except for Jieun and Chanyeol. It's still lingering in my head. If I do write the sequel, the earliest it'd be posted would be on Wednesday and the latest would be on Sunday. Like I said, the sequel is not confirmed, but if it is, I'll let you guys know with a chapter update here. Like I said before, thank you for all the support!