~*L.Joe's POV*~

It was great. For the first time, it seemed as if things were finally gonna turn out alright. 

She hadn't exactly said yes to my proposal, yet she hadn't outright declined either. It's a good sign; it means that she is considering it. It means it's possible. We're possible. And hell, knowing that feels great. 

Sure, I've been acting as her boyfriend for the past couple of weeks, but that's all it's been. A big play. The whole time, she hadn't been thinking of me, she was thinking what she could do to me, do with me, that would hit L the hardest. I agreed to help her since I owed it to her, but it wouldn't be true if I said that it didn't hurt my self esteem. More than once, I silently prayed that she would drop him, learn to let him go, but it didn't seem that it would happen any time soon. 

That's why this right now, it's a good sign. She's finally seeing me. She's not looking at me as a jealousy inducer. She's looking at me as a possible boyfriend, someone to replace L.

I feel bad for him. I really do. I mean, I don't really think he deserves all of this. Deep down, a part of me knows I should set things straight for him, but a bigger part of me blames him for being responsible for putting himself in the position he's presently in. He's the one who screwed up. He's the one who fell for Sumi's trap. Why should I give up Hye Ri when he's the one who lost her in the first place? I know I'm not a good guy. I'm not that selfless. I'm not willing to give her up for him just 'cause it's the right thing to do, I just can't. 

I don't know when it started, but at some point, she started to matter to me. I actually care for her. Who she's with, how she's feeling, what she's doing, it all matters to me.  When she's upset, call me cheesy or whatever I don't care, I want to be there to make her happy again or to just comfort her and hold her in my arms. When she's happy, I want to be there to celebrate with her. When she wants to be alone, I want to be the only one she'll allow to approach her. It's freaky and sometimes frightening how she's changed me into someone so emotional and sentimental, but for her, I'd be it all without a second thought.

That's when I realized I can't give her up. Not someone who's become so important to me. Anyone in my position would understand, and anyone who says they'd give up is a liar.

She shifted, readjusting her head that was resting on my shoulder, reminding me what a pleasant situation I was presently in. "Today... how did you find me? How did you know where I would be?" She pondered quietly, staring off into the water.

I smirked, feeling lighthearted and in the mood to . "I'm your knight in shining armour. Of course I would know where to find you so I could save you. I have a radar system wired in my brain that keeps me updated on you and warns me when you're in trouble." I raised a brow, urging her to believe my explaination.

"Oppa." She rolled her eyes, obviously amused, yet wanting to stay on the serious track with the conversation. 

"Alright. Alright." I rewound the events leading up to where we were in that moment. I took a breath, the smiling wiped clean from my face. "To be honest, it was by chance. I had a premonition... kinda. I was feeling anxious and stuffy sitting around all day so I decided to take a walk. I was just wandering around, not noticing anything around me and just thinking when all of a sudden, I saw something in the corner of my eye. Now I realize it was you dropping your phone. To be honest, it felt like my heart dropped with it when I realized what you were doing. I couldn't process it at first, but then I ran like hell. If I didn't make it..." I trailed off, surprised with the intensity of the emotions I was feeling. Thinking about it again, every thing seems just as vivid, almost as if it was all happening again. Those people who tell you that it seems as if everything goes in slow motion, that's not true. It all happens to fast. And the anxiety creeps up at you. What if you don't make it in time. What if you're too late. What if. What if. What if. Damn. A gentle touch, thankfully, pulled me from my reminscing. Of course it was her. I smiled, loving her comfort. 

She held my gaze, her lips parted, her eyes unable to move away. "Why me, L.Joe Oppa? Out of every other girl out there, why did you pick me?" She asked. 

I tried to think about it, I tried finding the reason...

But I didn't know myself. Why did I choose her? Why wasn't it anyone else? What makes her so unique from every other girl out there? Sure, everything about her is special, but that's 'cause I'm biased. That's 'cause I chose her already. So what made me choose her in the first place?

I sighed, obviously I wasn't going to be able to answer myself logically. She had removed herself from my shoulder and I missed the light pressure, so I placed her head back where it belonged. "Shh. I already answered your other question. That's enough questions for now. Let's just enjoy the sunset in each other's company, yeah?" I suggested, wanting to enjoy the rare moment with her. She seemed as if she wanted to protest, but she didn't. She simply nodded her head, agreeing to sit in silence with me. 

I was content with her resting on me, my arms crossed over my chest. My gaze strayed to her face, lingering on her features, admiring the look of pure placidness as she admired the scenery surrounding us. The moment was perfect. It was just us two, enjoying the moment together. She wasn't thinking about anyone else, specifically, she wasn't thinking about that one guy. 

"Angel!" A voice called, breaking the moment. Aish. Speak of the devil.

"M-Myungsoo-sshi!" Hye Ri stuttered his name reflexively, bolting out of her seat, standing as stiff as a stick.

"Oh my god. Oh my god." He rushed to her, grabbing her by the shoulders and shifting her around, examining her from every angle as she stood numb, eyes as wide as saucers. "Thank god you're safe. Where's your phone? Why didn't you pick up my calls, goddamit?! You made me so freaking worried." He reprimanded, finally looking up at her face, taking in her expression for the first time. He began to panic. "Angel? What's wrong? Is something the matter?" 

"...Why do you care?" She gaped unbelievingly. "Why... why were you worried about me?" 

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Are you really alright? Don't you know who I am? Why wouldn't I care for you?" He whispered softly, looking deep into her eyes, making me feel as if I was a third wheel, intruding on their moment. "I was worried about you... because I love you." I adverted my gaze, shutting my eyes tightly. 

"What?" I heard Hye Ri squeak, still not believing a word that was leaving his mouth. "But-- Sumi Unnie. I- but you... Aren't you going out with her?" 

"Hye Ri-yah... that... there was nothing between us. That was never true." He spoke slowly, explaining it so that she would understand, yet her eyebrows furrowed, revealing her confusion. "It was fake. She made the relationship up. It was... it was just to make L.Joe jealous." He confessed, finally bringing everything out to the table. I sighed. I guess it's time for everyone to come clean. 

"I... don't understand..?" Hye Ri said, but it came out sounding like a question. 

"I-" L began, but I cut him off, speaking over him and he looked at me as if seeing me for the first time. 

"Actually, I don't think she was doing that to make me jealous." I stated, looking calmly at L as I spoke. 

His gaze hardened, and he looked at me suspiciously. "And what do you think she was doing then?"

"I think she just wanted you. She wanted to be with you, so she made a situation up so that her fantasies could become a reality." The two of them were looking at me now, without speaking a word. Realization flickered in L's eyes and he approached me until he was standing in front of me, glaring down as I stayed seated on the bench. 

"...Tell me what you know. All of it. From the beginning." He asked quietly. I looked up at him, judging him for a moment. He waited patiently for me to speak, a flicker of something I couldn't identify in his eyes. His hands were at his sides, balled into tight fists while his gaze was piercing. 

Eventually, after I was thoroughly satisfied with my observations, I obliged to his request. "Since the beginning, she's wanted you." I confirmed. "You might think that her wanting you doesn't really amount to much, but you don't know Sumi. You don't know what methods she is willing to go through to get something she wants. Well, you kind of do now, but that's not the point." I laughed without an ounce of amusement. "Hye Ri. Do you remember that day you saw me at Sumi's house?" I interrogated and she nodded numbly. "That's when I first found out. When she took me to the kitchen to talk. She asked me to do a favor for her. She wanted me to pretend to be her boyfriend in front of you. I didn't think much of it at the time and she was my friend. Of course I obliged with her." I explained myself. "After that episode is when she fully explained everything. It was simple. She wanted L and she wanted me to help her. In front of you, Hye Ri, she wanted me to pretend we were together. But for L..." I trailed off, looking at L, signaling him to finish for me.

"She asked me to help her get you. She wanted me to help her make him jealous so that he would see her." L responded, putting the pieces together. "She'd text me, telling to meet her up when you were around so I could pretend to be interested in her and to make you jealous." I nodded revealing that he was correct. "Everything was a set up. It was all fake, every part of it, from the beginning. And I played right into it all." He ran an aggravated hand through his tousled hair, frustrated. "Why did you help her? If you didn't, none of this could have happened." He pointed an accusing finger in my direction, causing my eyes to narrow into slits.

"She was my friend asking for a favor. She's never asked much of me before and who would I choose? A stranger over my friend?" I retorted defensively. "Now I know it was wrong of me, but you can't go accusing me when you're part of the reason it played out so well anyway. You're so gullible! Why did you trust her? You didn't even know her."

"She was my girlfriend's favorite cousin! What do you want me to do? Be hostile to her?" He spat back. "Don't try and make it my fault when-"

"Stop it." The quiet voice interjected, silencing L immediately. Hye Ri stood between us, disbelief coloring her every feature. "I can't believe this." She shook her head. "Sumi Unnie..? It was all her? And you helped her?" Neither of us responded as our heads hung low, allowing the silence to give her the unspoken answer. 

"Wooooow... that's so funny. You know it's funny right?" She laughed aloud, half hallucinating. I frowned, worried about her. "Of course. Just my luck. I've always been very lucky, you know? The world thinks it's funny to screw around with me when it knows I can't handle it. I should have guessed. The three closest people I have. I should have known you guys would be the ones who would hurt me the most." She spoke cynically and her grief-filled voice cracked, wounding me, tearing at my heart strings painfully. "The two of you... the two of you have made me shed more tears than I can recount."

She went silent, thinking about the statement she had just made, analyzing the absolute truth in what she had said.

"Really. I haven't even realized before how unhealthy this whole situation was for me before. I lost so much sleep. I didn't eat. I cried at least once everyday. Are you following what I'm saying? I'm thinking and thinking about what has happened up until now and you know what? Right now I'm wondering. Is everything I've gone through even worth it? How I see it, it's all happened, I've had to endure all of this crap, because of just the three of you. Three. People. And not just that, three people that I thought I could trust. The three people who I held closest to my heart. And basically all that happened was Sumi blurted out whatever white lie she needed to in order to catch your attention and when you two played right into her plans, everything went downhill. Neither of you questioned it. And even if you did, you didn't speak up. Just kept playing along. Just kept acting. You didn't think to tell me anything when I'm the one who would get affected most. I don't understand why the root seems so simple, yet because of that one stupid thing, I've been hurt so many times. But the thing I can't get over is that it was only three people. Three. People." She was pacing now, unable to contain herself in one spot when she was so heated, so passionate in her anger and disbelief. She continued to speak, following her train of thoughts wherever it took her, making it slightly challenging to understand her at times yet even the parts I couldn't quite catch on to stabbed me like the blade of a knife. She was hurting. A whole lot. And partially, because of me. That much was crystal clear.

"And as of right now, if I'm not mistaken, you both... the two of you... you have feelings. Feelings for me, right?" She asked, borderline mockingly. I spared a glance at L, noticing that he was looking at me in the same way. We both acknowledged the other as a possible contender for the return of Hye Ri's feelings. "Is that supposed to be another "haha-joke's-on-Hye-Ri" kind of thing? I mean, how can you say that you care for me when you're the ones hurting me? That's kinda sadistic, don't you think?" She laughed harshly without amusement. "That some kind of sick romance." She shook her head in disgust. "No. It's not one I want to find myself in. Ah. You know what I should do? Sungyeol. I should just call up Sungyeol and ask him to come save me from all of this because honestly, this is it. It's over. Unless he's in on it too? Because I wouldn't even be that surprised to be quite honest." She shook her head, scoffing.

"I finally know everything and this is the biggest joke I've ever heard. It was all over some petty crush of Sumi's. See it from my point of view, how could I ever accept either of you after this? How would I possibly be able to handle that emotionally?" He eyebrows crinkled, meeting in the middle, the heat of her anger beginning to wane due to the exhaustion of performing her monologue. She pinched the bridge of her nose, eyes shut tightly in thought.

"Hye Ri-yah..." L began, reaching for her, his voice coming out barely above a whisper. "Give me one more chance..." 

"Am I making you guys guilty yet? 'Cause I really hope I am." He lips quirked into a lopsided smirk, ignoring L's advancements towards her. "So let me get this straight." She pointed a dainty finger at me. "From the beginning, you were in on the plan, but gradually, you grew to become someone I leaned on and depended on while-" She altered her target, now pointing straight at L. "-you, on the other hand, so obliviously followed after another girl's command like a lost puppy, yet still claim to never have lost your feelings for me. And you expect me to choose between the two of you." She twisted her lip, frowning. "There isn't really much of a good hand for me to pick from."

"Angel, please. I know that I've hurt you a lot because of all of this, but see it from my point of view too, huh? I never meant things to turn out this way. It wasn't intentional. Please. I'm begging. Just one more chance. Let me try to win you back?" He was pleading, begging, tossing his pride away. I clenched my jaw, beginning to make a realization, yet not wanting to accept it.

"...It doesn't have to be intentional for me to feel the pain." She pointed out detachedly, swatting a hand in his general direction. "Besides, if I give you another chance, what about Byunghun-sshi? He's just as eligible to try and win me over as you are since you both have made mistakes, yet you both have a good point in your arguements, don't you? We have been discussing that matter for the past couple of minutes, haven't we? Doesn't that mean I should give him a chance too, then?" She challenged, her eyes slimmed into mocking slits. 

"Fine! If that's what it takes then fine! Give him a chance! Give us both a chance! Let us compete man to man to gain back your trust." L eagerly agreed, catching Hye Ri off gaurd. She obviously had not been expecting his response, as popped slightly agape and her eyes widened the smallest bit, but she quickly composed herself.

"Aish! I don't care anymore. Do what you want. It's not like any of you have ever taken my opinions into consideration anyway." She fumed with a glare, turning on her heels and sauntering away. L took it as a green light to go ahead, and without missing a beat, he was hot on her trail in his attempt to woo her, leaving me behind to stare after them.

The changed accomplice or the thick-headed devotee. You have been dealt quite a hand haven't you, Hye Ri-yah?

My lip twitched in amusement as I leaned back, keeping my eyes on the retreating figures in the distance.