Sometimes Taemin regrets telling his friends his secret. It’s getting pretty annoying to answer everyone’s questions, Jonghyun’s in particular. The dino thinks it’s pretty cool to know what’s going to happen before it happens. And the nosy bastard would never stop asking questions until the answer satisfies him.

“What happened between you and Jiyeon, Taemin?” Jonghyun asked and Taemin knew he was talking about that other time period where he came from in which Taemin had no intention of discussing with anybody. He didn’t say anything, trying to see if he can get away with it but Jonghyun is as persistent as hell.

“You broke her heart, didn’t you?” Taemin rolled his eyes while thinking, ‘here we go again…’

“Did you cheat on her?”

The idea was so ridiculous that he couldn’t help but respond with, “What? No!”

“Don’t tell me you also broke up with her then…”

“No, I didn’t. Although breaking up with her would have been a better decision.”

“What did you do then?”

“I took her for granted. I wasn’t a very good boyfriend.”

“You know that’s what really bugs me. Why would you do the same thing again when you know it was a mistake in the first place?” Jonghyun had a smug look on his face as if what he said makes perfect sense. “Do you know what I would have done if I was given the chance to go back to the past?”

“What?”

“I will try my best to make it right this time. And breaking up with the person I love will be the last thing I would do.”

Of course it was easier said than done because they didn’t know how it feels like to lose someone you love. Taemin knows and he didn’t want Jiyeon to experience the same thing.

~-*-~

It has only been one year and a half and yet it feels as if it was ages ago since she last saw him. A deep set of longing weighs in her heart and the fact that Taemin looks so hot wearing those ripped jeans and tank top doesn't help.

Although it was true, she couldn't just say, "Hey, Key told me you're in love with me and I came here all the way from New York to prove if it's true."

From a distance, she watched him dance and flirt with all those y girls wearing tight short dresses and even if she hates to admit it, they were more beautiful than she could ever be.

She didn't know how to approach him and the longer she sits there hidden in the dark at the gloomy side of the bar, the more nervous she becomes.

It has been a year and a half and she hadn't shown herself to him until (if she could gain enough courage) now. She wonders how Taemin would react on that. Will he run away? Will he acknowledge her? Or will he ignore her?

“Taemin really cares for you, Jiyeon-ah. He did all those things for you…” Key said to her over the phone.

“If he cares enough for me then he wouldn't have broken up with me," she replied.

“He had reasons Jiyeon-ah. I'm not in the position to tell you everything but believe me, Taemin did all those things for you. If you need answers, talk to him."

The heck with it. She talked to him before she left and the only thing it did to her was to break her apart. Hearing him say he didn't love her even just a little bit shattered her heart to a point where nothing could ever fix it. She was still suffering from the effects of that night so she couldn't understand why she even considered coming back in the first place. For all she knew, he could again say hurtful words she wasn't prepared to hear. But then again she already heard the worst of it. Nothing would be as worse than hearing him say he never loved her. And so she decided to meet him once more. If only her nerves would permit it and her heart would stop freaking out.

“You've been through the worst. This is nothing,” she tried to convince herself.

And then for a splitting moment their eyes met. It felt as if the world went on a standstill and there were just the two of them. One, two, three seconds. She couldn't be certain how long she stayed there momentarily shocked and heart beating fast.

Taemin broke their eye contact first and Jiyeon suddenly felt rejected. It was as if all reasons for being there don’t seem important anymore. She knew she shouldn't have listened to Key. It was really such a bad idea.

~-*-~

Taemin forced a smile on his face. That was all he could do not to spit out any rude remark to the girl who was clinging to him like a leech for the past hour. He tried his best to be nice because for one, it wasn’t her fault that she wasn’t as pretty as Jiyeon or that he was just not interested to any girl in particular. He should have turned the girl down the moment she said ‘hi’. It was his fault not hers, even if she was annoying as hell.

Taemin tried his best to untangle himself from the annoying woman while making up some excuse about getting more drinks. From the corner of his eye he caught a girl staring at him and after looking carefully, he realized it was Jiyeon.

He shifted his gaze somewhere else although he knew it was pointless because Jiyeon saw him staring back. He could no longer pretend he didn’t notice. He proceeded in getting more drinks before making his way back to the annoying woman. He tried his best to act as if he was enjoying his night although in reality he was feeling like crap and he almost wished the ground beneath his feet would open up and swallow him whole.

He mustered up his courage and let his gaze drift back to where Jiyeon was sitting earlier. When he didn’t find her at the same spot, he scanned the rest of the place searching for that haired girl that messed up his mind for the past year.

There was no sign of Jiyeon and Taemin became worried. What if she left and walked home alone? Taemin didn’t want to think about the worst case scenario but after everything that had happened, he couldn’t help but worry. That girl always has the tendency to walk alone on the streets in the middle of the night.

He dashed off the exit ignoring the voice of the annoying woman calling his name. He searched for her outside thinking that maybe she just decided to grab some fresh air but to his dismay she was nowhere in sight. He dialled Key’s number and before the guy could speak a word, he demanded, “Hyung, where is she?”

“Where is who?” Key asked on the other line.

“Jiyeon. Where is she?”

“How the heck would I know?”

“Damn it Key. Just tell me. Please… Call her. Check up on her. I don’t care how you do it. I just need to know if she’s safe. Please hyung… I’m begging you.”

Key was speechless. For Taemin to go crazy like this Jiyeon must be in Seoul and they must have met. And if Jiyeon is missing then Taemin must have been a jerk. Again. “Alright. I’ll give her a call,” he said before hanging up.

~-*-~

Jiyeon was almost close to tears when her phone rang. It was her dad calling her and she guessed he wanted to know how she’s doing. She went outside before taking the call. She didn’t want her dad to figure out she’s in a bar chasing some guy who broke her heart.

“Hi, dad.”

“Hey, baby girl. How are you doing?” her dad asked. They became closer since she started living with him again. She also learned to like his wife more.

“I’m fine. I’ll be staying at Yuri’s place,” she explained. Since she left for New York, Yuri decided to move to her apartment because it was nearer to the café where she works. When Jiyeon said she’s coming back to Seoul, Yuri suggested she stay with her however since she was in Daegu with her family at the moment taking some overdue vacation, Jiyeon had to stay at the apartment alone for a couple of days.

“When are you coming back here?” her dad asked. She didn’t tell him the real reason why she went back to Seoul because she knew her dad will be totally against it.

When Jiyeon realized it was a big mistake coming back to Seoul, she suddenly wanted to pack her bags and take the earliest flight back to New York. “I’ll come home soon,” she promised before hanging up.

She was about to take a cab when she heard the front door open and Taemin came rushing out. On instinct, she hid behind the wall and waited for Taemin to leave. But then she heard him call someone and their conversation was more than enough to make her tears fall.

“Hyung, where is she?” There was a pause and Jiyeon could tell that the person on the other line was speaking.

 “Jiyeon. Where is she?” Taemin spoke again. “Damn it Key. Just tell me. Please… Call her. Check up on her. I don’t care how you do it. I just need to know if she’s safe. Please hyung… I’m begging you.”

That isn’t the voice of someone who doesn’t care. Jiyeon wasn’t stupid enough not to be able to tell. Taemin is worried about her and he had been lying to her all this time. He said he doesn’t feel anything for her. That he doesn’t love her. The heck with it all. Why would he waste his time trying to figure out her whereabouts if he doesn’t care for her a bit? If he doesn’t love her?

She moved away from the wall where she was hiding. She could see Taemin’s back and she saw him lean his head back and rub the sore muscles on his neck. He was clutching his phone as if waiting for it to ring.

Her phone rang and it made Taemin turn around. Their eyes met for the second time that night. Hers were full of tears and his were filled with relief from seeing her safe. She avoided his eyes because she couldn’t take feeling of those eyes boring into hers. She checked her phone which was still ringing and saw Key’s name on the screen. She rejected the call because it would be difficult to answer a call when she couldn’t trust her voice.

“For the last time Taemin… please… be honest with me. Do you love me?” She was the first one to break the silence. She needed his response more than anything.

However his silence was enough to let her know what she needed to know. She couldn’t believe she let Taemin fool her with all those ‘I don’t love you’ crap. His eyes were telling her all the truth she needed to know but she was too busy wallowing in her own self-pity that she didn’t even notice. But now there is no mistaking it. He loves her just as much as she does. But she couldn’t forgive him just yet. All those heartaches she endured because of his lies are not something she could easily forget and forgive.

“No. Don’t say anything anymore. I already learned what I needed to know. I can’t believe I wasted a year and a half believing in a lie.

-------

A/N: It has been so long... I'm so sorry~ T.T