That Saturday night, JooHyuk invited YongKi to have dinner at his apartment. Rather than cooking, the girls brought a variety of food from different restaurants, not sure what JooHyuk would like most. 
Once inside the apartment, the girls awed at how neat everything was and hurried over to turn on the large television. Although they were much younger that he was, they automatically felt a sense of comfort around him, almost as though he really were their big brother. On the center table, the food was spread out for anyone to take, in a true family-style atmosphere. 
While the television displayed a new episode of Eric Nam’s ‘After School Club’, the girls dug in and began to imitate the hosts. Meanwhile, JooHyuk raced off to the kitchen, returning with a couple of bottles of Soju and several shot glasses in his arms. 
“Shouldn’t we not be drinking?” Laura asked, as she heard the glasses clink on the table. 
“It’s rude to reject something that a Sunbae gives you,” JooHyuk replied, smirking as he cracked the seal of the first Soju bottle. He proceeded to pour a glass for Nari, but she politely shook her head and poured him a glass in return. Although Nari did like the taste of Soju, she did not find it appropriate to drink in front of her elders. 
As Nari got up to excuse herself, Meri took the bottle and poured the rest of the girls, including herself, a shot. “A toast, to our new Oppa and Sunbae, Kim JooHyuk!” Meri proclaimed as she raised her glass. The others followed the cue and swallowed the clear liquid with gusto. 

After two bottles were emptied, JooHyuk brought out two more. It was clear that the Soju was getting the better of the girls, and Nari watched on, chuckling at their drunken stupor. JooHyuk also seemed to be getting tipsy, but he could still walk properly, so she thought nothing of it. 
“Unnie! We feel so guilty towards you,” Momo said, slurring her words as her eyes tried to fixate on her leader. “After all you’ve done for us, we’ve kept a horrible secret from you.”
“What are you on about now?” Nari asked, not sure if Momo was being sincere.
“You know that scandal about you and JongHyun-oppa?” Momo went on.
“What about it?”
“YongHwa-oppa called us to see how you were doing and he said the strangest thing.” 
“Yah! You can’t tell her that now!” Laura interjected, her hair falling in front of her now-red face.
Nari moved closer to Momo, holding her shoulders to keep her steady. “What did YongHwa-oppa say?” Nari’s face was stern now, looking to Momo for any response.
Looking up, Momo continued, “He said that the scandal idea wasn’t even the CEO’s; JongHyun-oppa came up with it, hoping that you would come around to the idea and develop feelings for him.” Unaware of what she was saying, Momo began smiling to herself, reaching for her glass.
Nari turned to JooHyuk, who continued to pour himself a drink, completely oblivious to what had just happened. 
Nari stood up and exited the apartment, her cellphone in hand. Once outside, she dialed Lee JongHyun’s number and was pleasantly surprised when he answered on the second ring.
“Nari-ah? This is a surprise,” JongHyun said once the call connected.
“The scandal article, whose idea was it?” Nari asked, a tinge of annoyance in her tone.
“The CEO, of course. Who else?”
“I just heard differently. I was informed that you came up with the idea, in some ridiculous attempt to get me to like you.” Nari was letting her voice rise steadily. If JongHyun really was the mastermind behind the scandal, then he was lower than she thought.
There was a long pause on the other end of the line. Nari could tell he was thinking of a response.
“Would it be so bad if I really did want you to like me back?” JongHyun asked. There it was; Momo was right. JongHyun caused all of this just to get her to look at him. Maintaining her demeanor, Nari asked, “What did the CEO want to do instead?” 
“That old man- he wanted CNBLUE to hold an unplanned concert so he could gather the funds to buy off the person who took the photos.” 
Suddenly, the apartment door swung open and JooHyuk poked his head through. As soon as he saw Nari’s sullen expression, he asked, “What’s wrong?” However, his intoxication made him yell it, rather than whisper it.
“Who is that? Is that- are you with JooHyuk-hyung right now?” JongHyun yelled into the phone, demandingly. 
Nari ended the call, not wanted to hear another word from the guitarist. She walked over to JooHyuk and pushed him back into the apartment, closing the door behind her.
“Nari-ah, what’s wrong?” JooHyuk insisted, but as he leaned on her for support, Nari knew he was too tipsy to talk to. 
As they returned to the group in front of the television, Nari told them that they had had enough to drink. As she gathered the emptied bottles and packed away the remaining food, the girls began to get drowsy. 
Nari placed JooHyuk’s right arm over her shoulder and ushered him towards the bedroom. Once he was laying on the bed, she covered him with the bedspread and turned off the light. 

In the living room, Nari took out blankets and spare pillows from a small cupboard next to the bathroom and spread them on the ground. Carefully, she moved each of her members onto the blankets, leaving the couch free for herself. When she turned off the lights and ensured that the apartment was secured, she headed for the couch, careful to avoid stepping on her friends. As the night lengthened, Nari found herself wide awake, with thoughts of how to fix the scandal surrounding her mind. She knew it wouldn’t be easy, but it was doable. She just had to find a way to get the truth to the world, without hurting her, or JongHyun’s reputation. That shouldn’t be so hard, right?