THE weekend came and went in a flash. Isabelle ended up staying over at Brian's place until finally heading back home Sunday afternoon. They had lazed around his apartment together- eating, talking, watching movies, laying in bed, cuddling...

Isabelle's face grows warm as she recalls the weekend. Not because of the list of things they did above (okay, maybe partially), but also because she had opened up to Brian about what happened to her. She had unexpectedly cried...a lot. She was absolutely vulnerable in that moment and felt so much shame and embarrassment...but that all disappeared when Brian hugged her tightly. He was shaking as he held her, and she soon found out that she wasn't the only one crying- Brian hurt for her and he was angry for her. He had shown more care and understanding and warmth than her so-called friends had back then. And just recalling this literally melts her down.

"Noona... Noona?"

Isabelle jumps in surprise as someone waves their hand in her face and she looks up to see her younger cousin in front of her.

"Jinhyeong!" Isabelle exclaims. "You scared me!"

Jinhyeong chuckles. "You just weren't paying attention! Why were you so distracted anyway?"

"It's nothing," Isabelle diverts quickly. "Come on, let's go."

Jinhyeong eyes his cousin in slight suspicion before catching up to her with a smile.

"Where's Younghyun-ie hyung?" Jinhyeong asks casually.
"Brian?" Isabelle repeats, blinking rapidly.

Damn, just hearing his name makes me feel all weird... I hope my face isn't as red as it is warm.

"I don't know," she eventually answers.

And she honestly didn't. For one, they had exchanged a few texts since she left his place the day before, but nothing really substantial. Secondly, she didn't want to be clingy... As much as she realized she liked Brian, Isabelle didn't want to fall too deep and make every aspect of her life about him. Two people in a relationship still need their own space, and don't need to be on each other's cases 24/7...right? Anyways, they weren't explicitly in a relationship- hell, they didn't even say anything about dating- for now, they had only confessed their mutual like for each other, nothing's been set in stone.

"So...anything happen between you and hyung?" Jinhyeong asks mischievously.
"What?" Isabelle eyes widen, startled.
"You two left together in the middle of Jinwoon hyung's performance on Friday..." Jinhyeong gently nudges Isabelle's arm. "What was that about?"

Isabelle would have blushed or even laughed if her memories hadn't brought her back to the face that made her leave the venue in the first place. She bites her lip and shakes her head, as if shaking the image away.

"I wasn't feeling well that night," Isabelle replies with a weak smile. "From what I heard, Jinwoon oppa's band is really good though."
"You missed out on the best part though," Jinhyeong recalls with a sparkle in his eye. "While the crowd was yelling for an encore, hyung called Nicole up to the stage and sang a ballad to her."

Isabelle chuckles. "He probably lost a couple of female fans that night..."

"Maybe," Jinhyeong agrees with a smile. "But I think that was the manliest and coolest I've seen my hyung."

Isabelle laughs with Jinhyeong as they arrive at their destination. She looks up in surprise, as without thinking she had led them to Urban(e). Jinhyeong opens the door for her and she follows him inside.

"Hey, I know your faces," Joe greets brightly from behind the counter. "Izzy and Jinhyun, am I right?"

Jinhyeong grins widely as he corrects him politely, "Close, but I'm Jinhyeong."

But surprisingly, Isabelle doesn't bother correcting Joe.

"Can I get you guys anything or do you want to just go on up? Y'all can always order later if you want," Joe explains with a relaxed smile. "Our boy Young K's already up there."

Isabelle's ears perk up. Oh no, stay calm, girl...

"Oh, he is?" Jinhyeong bounces on his feet. "Nice!"
"Yeah, he actually came with some girl." Joe scratches his temple under his beanie. "I've never seen her before, but she's pretty cute."

A cute girl, huh? Isabelle feels a mix of emotions. Her excitement definitely has died down as it's now been replaced with something else... After Jinhyeong orders something to snack on, Isabelle follows less than enthusiastically up the stairs, where she hears the muffled sounds of instruments and voices.

"Hyung!" Jinhyeong calls out as he steps into the large room.

The music abruptly stops.

"Oh, Jinhyeong!" Brian grins widely and sets his guitar down to walk over to greet him. "What are you doing here?"

Brian spots Isabelle sort of hiding behind the tall, skinny teenager.

"I'm tutoring Jinhyeong-ie today and somehow we just ended up here," Isabelle explains as she reluctantly steps forward and comes face to face with the cute girl Joe had mentioned. "Oh, Ayeon-ie unni..."

Ayeon eye smiles and waves. "Yijin-ah, nice to see you again! Who's this?"

Jinhyeong smiles and bows cordially. "Hello! I'm Yijin-ie noona's cousin."

"Ah, nice to meet you!"

Brian hasn't taken his eyes off of Isabelle since he saw her and he grins widely when she finally glances at him. She merely gives him a tight-lipped smile before looking back at Ayeon. Brian's smile wavers, as he's confused and disappointed at her lack of enthusiasm.

"Are you guys working on something?" Isabelle asks, eyes set on Ayeon alone.
"Yeah, Hyun-ie-"

Isabelle forcibly stops her eyebrows from shooting up to the heavens.

"-is helping me with a song for my recital."

From Younghyun-ssi to Hyun-ie, eh? They must have gotten close...

"I had to self-compose and write a song and had no idea what to do," Ayeon continues. "Hyun-ie-"

Isabelle blinks a few times, forcing her eyes not to widen as Ayeon squeezes Brian's upper arm and her hand lingers there for a good few seconds.

"-was a real lifesaver."
"No, I didn't do anything," Brian denies with a humble smile, turning to Isabelle and Jinhyeong. "Ayeon's really talented herself."

Isabelle forces a smile, even though she has a bad taste in and a terrible twisting burn deep inside- and no, it's not acid reflux...

"Nice," Jinhyeong comments. "You guys should get back to it; I have to start my tutoring now too... Come on, noona."

Jinhyeong grabs Isabelle's arm and gently tugs her toward the bean bags. Isabelle looks back toward Ayeon, giving her a courteous smile while completely avoiding Brian. When both pairs are back to their respective tasks and far enough away from each other...

"Who the heck is that girl?" Jinhyeong whispers.