“You cheated on him with… with James?!” Seunghyun asked incredulously.

“Shut up, Seunghyun, you don’t know the details!” Kelly shot back, but Gemma held her hand to calm her down.

“Yes, it was James,” she whispered.

“Gosh Gemma, why? How?”

“She always liked him!” Kelly yelled again, “she had no idea he liked her too!”

“Kelly!” Gemma hissed, trying to quiet down the younger girl. Kelly decided to turn away from Gemma and stare out the car window, pouting.

“Why’d you date the other guy if you liked James?” Seunghyun asked.

Gemma sighed. “Jimin was amazing. He loved me, and I loved him too. I finally thought I could get over James. It was…it was just a childhood crush. But then went down, thanks to mother dearest…” Gemma’s voice was bitter now. Seunghyun knew she was talking about her stepmother Amanda, who was the most evil woman imaginable.

Gemma continued, “Amanda killed my dad, I know it. She fooled him into thinking she loved him, and me, but it was just a plan to take over his entire business empire. She…she kicked James out, who was my dad’s prodigy. James worked so hard, and he had such a terrible childhood, but he kept going for his little brother’s sake… I never told Jimin about my childhood, or about Amanda- I just wanted to leave my life behind. But when dad died…” Gemma’s voice broke. Kelly squeezed her hand, reassuring her.

Gemma took a deep breath. “Anyway, Amanda had already emptied my savings account, and then she kicked James to the curb, knowing he wouldn’t support her corruption. And she made her lover the company vice-president while she became president herself… I was so heartbroken. I couldn’t see my dad’s hard work being thrown away like this, and then James had lost his job too… I was so depressed, and Jimin wasn’t there because he was in South Africa with his parents for the summer…and I was scared that he might be angry I hid all this from him all this time, and not only that, I was scared he’d not be able to handle the trainwreck I had become! I couldn’t lose him!”

Seunghyun paused driving. He was too distracted. Pulling up to the side, he turned back to look at a distressed Gemma who was finally letting out all the crap she had been dealing with. Tears streamed down her cheeks and Seunghyun handed her some paper towels. Gemma took them gratefully, and continued.

“I had to go check on James, he was my closest friend, since him and his brother and I basically grew up together. Dad had taken them in when he found out his good friend from high school, who was James’ father, was thrown in jail for a crime he hadn’t committed. I went to check on James, and he was so distressed too, dad was like his own father…and his mother didn’t care about them anymore, can you believe she ran away with the guy who was responsible for throwing his dad in jail? It’s so messed up. James and I bonded over our ty lives, and we spent a lot of time together because summer vacations were going on and its not like any of us were employed. All the feelings I had suppressed inside, began to come back to the surface, and I was so scared, so I tried to go away. I couldn’t abandon them though, I couldn’t be another person doing that to James and his brother. I also knew Jimin and I wouldn’t last if I stayed messed up like I was. I don’t know what I was thinking!!!”

Gemma burst out crying, unable to speak. Kelly held her close, coming close to crying herself. Seunghyun rubbed Gemma’s shoulders, trying to calm her down, but to no avail. They sat in silence for a while, only broken by Gemma’s sobs.

She finally spoke again, “No one understood me like James did. He was my best friend… We both had broken families, and no control over our lives. And we were alone. James gave me something Jimin couldn’t. He gave me understanding, without any judgment… he did not think my brokenness was something to be ashamed of… he made me hate myself less, and he gave me reasons to smile. I know it still doesn’t justify what I did…”

“It was just one kiss, goddammit!” Kelly exclaimed. “It was a moment of weakness, and you know James, he would have ended it right there and then, he’s not the kind of guy to go after a girl who’s already dating someone else. It was a small mistake, you guys could have moved on and forgotten about one little kiss during a moment of sadness. That’s all it was!”

Seunghyun sighed. “I think it was brave of Gemma to still be truthful to Jimin… despite how much hurt it caused both of them. But why didn’t you tell him why, Jimin I mean? The poor guy is probably wondering what he did wrong.”

“I couldn’t tell him,” Gemma whispered. “I would hurt him even more if he knew I hid my entire messed up life from him even when we were dating, and he would be upset that James knew everything while he knew nothing...” Gemma’s voice shook. “And it would be easier for him to get over me if he hated me. That's why I didn't even try to justify my behavior. I had to help him forget me and find someone better…” Her voice broke. More tears.

Seunghyun took a deep breath. This was hard. He knew Gemma never meant to hurt Jimin. She was just in a very bad place, and didn’t want to involve Jimin in her crap. James understood her, and she let herself be loved when surrounded by so much betrayal and hate. She even lost her dad… Even though cheating is terrible, he had a hard time calling what Gemma did cheating, maybe she knew Jimin and her couldn’t go on any longer, not when she was struggling so much to keep herself afloat, where the only one who slightly understood her pain was James.

“Gemma,” he whispered to the heartbroken girl. “You have to let it go. Jimin will recover, but I am not sure you will. And James... Kelly tells me he is hurting as much as you are. You and James love each other, don’t throw it away. Maybe you are the only ones who can help each other…”

Kelly nodded. “Oppa’s right. I know James still loves you. And he still wants you. He…he wants you two to recover together and leave all the behind.”

Gemma clenched her jaw. “How can you be so sure?”

Kelly sighed. “Because someone told me. Someone I can trust.”

“Who?” Seunghyun asked curiously.

“His little brother- Jake. But he doesn’t use that name anymore. Neither does James, actually. They didn’t want to use the names their mother gave them after what she did to their family. You know him as Taehyung. And James is Baekhyun.”

Seunghyun’s eyes widened. “Aren’t they…aren’t they the sons of our dad’s mistress?”

Kelly nodded, her eyes tearing up as she remembered how her dad treated Baekhyun at the pool, and Taehyung’s bandages. “Yes, yes. That’s them.”