“Y-You guys are actually here…”

Jieun stared at the two people in front of her door steps. Minah, who was wearing a pair of large sunglasses and a mask mouth, waved her hand. Her sunglasses moved slightly upwards, and Jieun figured that she was smiling. Jiho was behind Minah, wearing a simple hat and a schedule book. He grinned at Jieun, happy to see her after such a long time.

“Duh. I thought you knew that I would be here,” Minah said. “Do I get a hug or no?”

Jieun smiled and opened her arms. Minah squealed and swooped the old friend in her arms, squeezing her tightly as if she was a little child. Jieun laughed lightly, squeezing her back.

“I’m so happy you guys are here, though,” Jieun said, smiling. She looked over at Jiho. “Do you want a hug?”

He forced a smile and shook his head. Jieun knew why he was restraining herself. If he hugged her, he knew that he couldn’t let go. She respected his thoughts and only nodded her head as she pulled away from Minah.

“Why don’t you guys come in?” Jieun said, stepping to the side for them to enter.

“Yes!” Minah cheered. She rushed inside and Jiho scurried behind her. 

“Minah, don’t run around in other people’s houses like that,” Jiho said, scolding her. He sighed when Minah shouted something and explored deeper into the house. Jieun giggled and closed the door behind her.

“Minah seems like she’s full of energy,” Jieun said.

“She’s a pain,” Jiho said with a smile. “How are you?”

“Good. Did you see the pictures that the three sent you?”

“Oh gosh. Don’t remind me of that.” He grunted and Jieun giggled. “Why the hell were they at your house?”

“Oh, I saw those photos!” Minah exclaimed, returning to the two.

“They came to visit,” she said.

“They knew where you lived?”

“Well, no,” she said. “I don’t stay at my house too often. I met them outside of the house.”

Jiho and Minah widened their eyes, a bit surprised.

“I thought you would be at your house, for, like, forever,” Minah said, taking off her sunglasses.

“Yeah. I thought you wouldn’t want to leave your house so much,” Jiho said. He scratched his head. “I was a little worried, you know…”

“Well, staying in this house is a bit too lonely,” she said, forcing a smile. “I actually go up the hill and hang out at Kiha’s house.”

“Kiha? Jang Kiha?” Minah’s eyes sparkled. “No way! You’re close with the writer of my drama?” She gasped. “Wait, I shouldn’t be lurking around here. We’ve got to go and greet Mr. Jang right now!”

“Oh, good point,” Jiho said. “It’s a good idea to go and see the writer first.” He turned to Jieun as the three made their way back outside. “Minah needs to nail this character. It’s her first acting gig, so if she messes up here, it’ll be hard for her to get a new one.”

“Ah, I see,” Jieun said, nodding her head. 

The three started to walk outside and marched up the hill. They made a small talk as they headed towards Kiha’s home, quickly catching up before arriving.

Jieun rang on the doorbell and patiently waited for someone in the house to open the door. She swung back and forth for a few seconds, but froze when she remembered the possible third guest in the house. Her eyes widened and she clenched her teeth, praying that Chanyeol wouldn’t open the door.

As if the Devil was listening, the door swung opened, revealing Chanyeol in an apron with a mop in one hand. The tall boy looked up to see who the guests were, but widened his eyes when he saw Minah and Jiho stared at him with utter horror. Minah paled while Jiho’s face darkened.

Jieun bit her tongue. “Jiho, Minah, please. It’s not—“

Before she had the chance to explain, Jiho immediately charged towards him and grabbed his collars. He pinned Chanyeol against the wall, causing the former bully to let go of the mop. Jiho glowered at him, his eyes filled with madness and anger.

“Why the hell are you still alive?” Jiho muttered. Chanyeol kept quiet, but he tried to push Jiho away from him. 

“Jiho, Jiho, stop!” Jieun shouted, grabbing onto his shoulder. 

“I can seriously punch you until you die!” Jiho yelled, raising his fist. “Why are you still living?”

“Jiho! Jiho, oh my gosh, I’m begging you! Jiho, stop!” Jieun screamed.

“Why? Why should I let him go? Jieun, don’t you remember the things he did to you?” Jiho asked. “Don’t you remember the things he did to Minah? To me? He nearly killed us!” Jiho tightened his grip around Chanyeol’s neck. “This bastard doesn’t even deserve to live!”

“Jiho, please! Stop!” Jieun pleaded. “This isn’t the Chanyeol from before. He’s changed!”

Jiho stared at her. “He changed? This blockhead can’t change. Once an abuser, always an abuser.”

Jieun nearly felt like crying. “I know, I know! I know what he did in the past! I know, but he’s changed! He won’t do anything to us! I swear, he won’t!”

“I don’t believe it, Jieun. I don’t freaking believe that he’s changed.”

“Then believe in me,” Jieun whispered. “Please, I’m begging you!”

Jiho frowned, skeptical of her pleads. He wanted to ask her if Chanyeol was blackmailing her or abusing her to say such a thing, but he knew that she was being honest with her words. She really didn’t want him to beat the jerk up. Jiho scowled, hesitant. After a moment of thinking, Jiho dropped his hands to his side. Chanyeol choked for air, trying to calm himself down.

“Wow.” The four looked over to their side, where they saw Kiha standing in the hall. “That was a commotion.”

“I’m so sorry,” Jieun said, bowing at him. 

“Are those two good?” Kiha asked, pointing at Jiho and Minah.

“Ah, yes. They’re my friends and…Well, they know Chanyeol,” Jieun said. “This girl is actually going to be the female lead to your drama.”

“She is?” Kiha asked. “Oh, yeah! I remember Chanyeol telling me that one of the actors or actresses would be coming over.”

“Jiho, apologize,” Jieun whispered to him.

“What? I’m not apologizing for attempting to beat that abusive jerk,” Jiho muttered back.

“Do it for Minah. She needs this job, remember?” Jieun pointed out.

Jiho let out a grunt before bowing at Kiha. “Hello, I’m Woo Jiho, Minah’s manager. I’m sorry for causing a ruckus in your house.”

“Eh, don’t mention it,” Kiha said, smiling. “I got a nephew who makes a mess in the house, too.”

“Hello! My name is Bang Minah! I will be playing the female lead in your manga!” Minah exclaimed, introducing herself in a cheerful manner. 

Kiha stared at her for a long time. He continued to examine her, then slowly nodded his head.

“I think I remember you. I was looking through audition tapes that the director sent me, and you stood out the most. It seemed like you understood the character the best,” Kiha said, praising her. 

Minah smiled. “To be honest, I based off my audition on Jieun. I read the manga and felt that it kind of represented her.”

Kiha raised his eyebrows. “You’re absolutely right. The female lead is based off of her.”

Jieun widened her eyes, surprised. She wasn’t aware of this fact at all. Her cheeks turned slightly pink, a bit embarrassed, but happy to hear such an honoring truth.

“Where’s Jungkook?” Jieun asked.

Jiho stared at her. “Jungkook?”

“My nephew. He’s also Jieun’s student,” Kiha said. “Jungkook? Jungkook!”

“Wha—at?” Jungkook complained, appearing in the scene. He stopped frowning when he saw Jieun. His heart skipped a beat, startled to see her. However, he glanced at Jiho, who was protectively standing in front of her. Jungkook frowned again. “Who the hell are they?”

Jiho looked at Jungkook with a completely annoyed expression. He scoffed and turned to Jieun.

“I bet he’s a difficult kid, huh?” Jiho said.

Jungkook scowled. “That doesn’t mean that I’m deaf.”

“Who said anything about you being deaf?” Jiho asked. He smirked when Jungkook scrunched his face. “That’s what I thought.”

“Why don’t you and I go into the living room and talk about your character in more depth?” Kiha suggested, looking at Minah.

“I’d actually like that,” Minah said, smiling brightly.

“Should we join you?” Jieun asked.

“Why?” Minah asked. Jieun stopped herself. 

She has a point, Jieun thought. I’m not even part of the drama. Why would I ask to join them?

“I’ll go and take a walk with Jieun,” Jiho said, putting his hand on her shoulder. Jieun looked at him. “We should catch up a little bit more.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Minah said, nodding her head.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Jungkook said quickly. He looked at his uncle. “You’re not going to make Jieun stay here?”

“Jieun?” Jiho looked at Jieun. “This kid doesn’t even address you properly?”

“I don’t mind,” Jieun said, shrugging her shoulders.

“If Jieun wants to go, then she should go, right?” Kiha pointed out.

“Uncle Kiha, I don’t think this is a good idea,” Jungkook said. “We don’t even know this guy.”

“Jieun knows him,” Kiha said. “I trust that those two will catch up.” He looked at Chanyeol. “Chanyeol, make the two of us some coffee.”

“Yes,” Chanyeol answered. He took this opportunity to leave and disappeared into the kitchen. Kiha gestured Minah to follow him to the living room.

Jieun looked at Kiha for a bit longer, but snapped out of her thoughts when Jiho tapped on her shoulder. She looked at him once again while he smiled.

“Let go,” he said.

“Right,” Jieun said, nodding her head.

“You two have fun,” Minah said, ready to enter the nearby living room.

“W-Wait!” Jungkook exclaimed. “I’m going, too.”

Jiho stopped. “What?”

“I said I’m going.”

Jiho glanced at Jieun. “The kid says he’s coming with us.”

“I’m okay with that,” Jieun said.

Jiho looked at Minah. “Did you hear the ridiculous stuff coming out of this kid’s mouth?”

“I’m not a kid!” Jungkook exclaimed. “I’m eighteen!”

“Oh yay, you’re a big kid now!” Jiho said sarcastically.

Jungkook felt his face burn with embarrassment. He had never felt so humiliated in his life. Without a second thought, he grabbed his shoes and pushed Jieun out of the house, leaving Jiho gaping at him at the back.

“Jungkook, you’re acting childish!” Jieun explained, trying to wear her sneakers. “You’re not usually like this.”

“I’m going for a walk, anyway,” Jungkook said quickly. “Hurry up and wear your shoes! Let’s go!”

He stormed out and Jieun followed him with a confused expression. Jiho scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“Can you believe this kid?” he asked.

“He’s kind of like you,” Minah said, smirking.

“What?”

“He’s like you when you were younger,” she said. “You know, when Jiyong was there and all that…”

Jiho kept quiet. “You promised not to talk about him on this trip.”

“I know, but it slipped out,” she said, sticking out her tongue. She patted his back. “Go.”

He scorned. “I know, I know.”

Without another thought, he left the room, leaving Minah once again alone to accomplish her dream of becoming a star.

“…and remember the time where we had that really awkward date?”

Jieun laughed. “Oh my gosh! I remember it! That was so awkward. The place was nice, though. I would love to go back there again.”

“I think that coffee shop closed down. They tried to hold a fundraiser but I heard that not a lot of people wanted to participate,” Jiho said.

“Oh, that’s too bad. That place was a lot of fun.” She paused. “Well, it was a lot of fun before you announced that we were ‘dating.’”

“Hey, don’t make fun of me. I was serious,” Jiho said lightly. 

Jieun laughed, but stopped when she saw Jungkook at the corner of her eyes. The younger boy kept glaring at the back of Jiho’s head as if there was a strange bug crawling on his hair.

It’s a little strange for Jungkook to be here, she thought. He’s kind of a third wheel…I wonder if there’s something that I can talk about with all of us involved.

“To be honest,” Jiho said slowly, resting his eyes on her, “I was planning on kissing you that day.”

Jieun stopped laughing and looked at him. “Really?”

“Yep,” Jiho said. He looked at the sky. “But I wouldn’t have been able to kissed you. I would’ve never kissed you without your consent.”

Jieun pressed her lips together. She was starting to feel a bit awkward inside. It just didn’t feel right again.

At one point, she stopped and looked at the stationery shop. She gasped and clasped her hands.

“Oh right! I need to buy some supplies!” she exclaimed. She looked at the two. “Can you guys wait outside for a few minutes? I’ll be quick, I promise.”

“Sure,” Jiho said.

“Whate—“

“Thanks!” Jieun exclaimed, interrupting Jungkook. 

Jungkook stared at her with his jaws wide as she ran off into the store. He scoffed and rolled his eyes while shoving his hands in his pocket with sheer disappointment on his face.

The two boys awkwardly stood next to each other, staring at the street. They watched the cars rush by the empty streets in a silent manner. It took him a few minutes, but Jiho took a deep breath to start a conversation.

“So,” Jiho said, “you’re Jieun’s student, right?”

“So what?” Jungkook responded, giving him a cold shoulder.

He doesn’t like me, Jiho realized. “You know, Jieun and I used to be classmates.”

“Why the hell would I care?” the younger boy snapped.

He’s treating me exactly like how I treated Jiyong, he thought. “Should we go inside?”

“Jieun told us to wait out here,” Jungkook said firmly. “Are you deaf?”

You brat, Jiho thought, irritated. I’m trying to start a conversation with you, god damnit. 

He took a deep breath through his nose, then let out a loud sigh. Then, he gave Jungkook a pitiful smile. "Minah was right. You're a lot like me."

"So?" Jungkook asked in a cold voice. He didn't like this man. Was it because he liked Jieun, too? Maybe, but he didn't want to go too deep into it. After all, this man was only going to stay for a few days, right. He was just a temporary obstacle.

"So you're not the best candidate for Jieun," he said. "You've already lost."

"What do you mean?" Jungkook asked, shifting his weight to one side.

“You like Jieun, don’t you?” Jiho said. Jungkook didn’t say anything, but he turned red. "If you resemble a lot like me, then there's no way that she's going to love you for who you are. The same happened to me.”

"I don't get it. Are you trying to tell me to give up?"

"I'm trying to tell you that it's best for you to give up," Jiho corrected. "If you resemble me, then she's never going to see you as 'Jungkook' if you ever get into a romantic relationship with her."

"I can change that!" Jungkook insisted.

"You can't. I've already tried." Jiho's eyes turned hard. "You resemble a lot like me. If you resemble me, then she'll see the person she loves the most in your eyes."

"Her first love?" Jungkook asked.

Jiho laughed. "No, never her first love. Her first love was an abusive jerk." He gave Jungkook a sympathetic look. "You resemble me, and I resemble her second, true love."

"I can change that," Jungkook repeated. "I can make her look at him for who I am. I have—"

"You can't, kid," Jiho snapped. He shot Jungkook a glare. "You just wait. If you ever confess your love to her, she's going to accept you, but she's not going to accept you for who you are. There will never be a moment in her life where she will love you."

"How are you so sure about this? What makes you say all these things?"

"I've tried, kid," Jiho mumbled. His voice became small. "I tried to love her romantically, but she rejected me."

Jungkook bit his tongue, remembering the dating conversation the two had earlier. "Okay, that was a one time—"

"One? No, no! Not one!" Jiho held up his fingers. "I've tried several times, but the message never went across her mind. I've gone on one date with her, but I noticed that her eyes didn't give me the same affection that I was returning her. Instead, she had this longing eyes and she kept looking at me as if I was some other man." Jiho curled up his fingers. "If only I could go back in time…" He let out a scoff. "Sometimes I wonder if it was a good decision to prevent Jieun from seeing him that day. Then I'd keep my promise to Minah to support her at her audition, and Jieun might've been happy." He ran his fingers through his hair. "Some nights, I go to sleep and force myself to remember my promise with Jieun. I regret that promise so much…"

"Promise?" Jungkook mimicked. "What promise?"

Jiho looked at Jungkook with cautious eyes. "A stupid promise that I'm trying to keep. Promises are hard to keep, kid."

"Like I said, what was the promise?" Jungkook asked, frowning.

Jiho paused. He looked up at the sky, then at his arms. He gently covered his eyes with a hand and took a deep breath.

"I promised," Jiho started in a quiet voice, "to work hard and make sure that nothing falls apart for her, that everything will stay the same."

Jungkook blinked his eyes. "That's such a stupid promise. Uncle Kiha always said that life changes, whether we like it or not."

Jiho chuckled and sadly looked at Jungkook's eyes. He could clearly see how Jungkook resembled him, and he understood what the little boy's faith would be if he ever tried to cross the line with Jieun.

Jiho only chuckled one last time before looking down at the new batch of flowers blooming at the side of the street.

"I know, right?"

Author's Note: 5 more chapters left! Be aware of a rushed ending, lol.