It's UPDATING TIME AGAIN! :]

I didn't forget this time. =] I made sure that I had some time set aside for this.

Since after all, there are only TWO CHAPTERS LEFT, EXCLUDING this one.

But anyway, before I begin, I just wanna say a few things.

Firstly, I really appreciate the comment of kprincess1995 and how it made me smile was really something. Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts about SeKyung-sshi and YoungHae-yah. =]

Secondly, the comment of PaintMeBrown actually made me think. Things in life are always difficult. It's just upto us if we will let it make our own life difficult or not. And for this story, the agony isn't going to last much longer. I assure you that. =]

THERE. It's time for the chappie now. :]

Brace yourselves guys. This is it.

What happened in the Coffee Shop.

= = = = =

May 9, 2011
SME Building - ShiRin's Rehearsal Room
4:20 P.M.

"... and did you know that JongHyun-ah---"

"Could you just stop talking about him, HeeSung-ah?!"

I exclaimed at my now shocked manager as she made a few steps back. I know I had been too harsh on her for shouting at her like this, but if you were the one in my shoes, rehearsing with all your strength and then someone kept talking about the man who you try your best to forget and avoid, wouldn't you be mad?

"I'm sorry, Manager-nim. I was just carried away..." I apologized to my 'cousin' who looked at me with a concerned expression and approached me. She rubbed my shoulders in an attempt to soothe me, and I just nodded before pulling back.

"I didn't mean to blab on so much about him, ShiRin-ah. But I'm pretty sure that even if you're not seeing him right now, you'd want to know how he's doing..." She murmured to me, and I nodded, acknowledging the truth in her words.

"So, what were you going to say earlier?" I asked her softly, and with that, she continued speaking.

"Remember that you told YoungHae-sshi that if SeKyung-sshi wants JongHyun-ah, then she can have him?" She asked me, and I nodded as reply.

"Well, I don't know what he's thinking, but he's surely gone crazy." She continued.

"What do you mean?" I asked her, and with a smirk, she ended.

"As of this moment, he's talking with SeKyung-sshi."

"MWORAGO?!"

= = = Chapter Soundtrack: My Love, My Kiss, My Heart - Super Junior = = =
May 9, 2011
Seoul - Coffee Shop
4:20 P.M.

"You came..." I murmured as I saw SeKyung-ah entered the booth we used to have coffee in, and the same booth I was in not long ago when I ended things with her.

"Yeah. Sorry I'm late, I was stuck in the hairstylist for a while." She told me, and that's when I really looked at her.

She had her hair fixed, and she wore something nice. She looked like she was preparing for this. I had the feeling that she was going to ask me if we're getting back together, and I feared for it.

I felt bad for her, truthfully. What was going to happen today is the exact opposite of what she wanted.

"So..." I began.

"So..." She continued.

"So... How have you been?" I asked, deciding that I'd take the indirect route to catching her by the tail.

"I'm surprised you'd ask me that. I have been well in some parts, in some... I'm not." She answered, before looking straight to my eyes.

With the silent reactions of Rin-ah that I kept seeing before, I learned that SeKyung-ah is implying something, and that I know now.

"I see. Well, as for me, I've been a happy man. The girl I love finally confessed to me on my birthday, and we were together until her company made her leave Korea for a while..." I told her as I dismissed her implication, my mind somehow getting lost in the memories of Rin-ah and I in the Iris Garden.

"Oh..." I heard her murmur, and it was enough for me to continue speaking.

"She was pretty traumatized when she was attacked with the poisoned juice and everything, but she's fine now." I continued, and as I looked at her, she slammed her fists on the table, an angry expression taking over her features.

I smirked at her reaction. I got her this time. Perfect.

"Are we just going to talk about that of a girlfriend of yours during this whole meeting?!" She shouted at me, and while I was offended that she called my Rin-ah a '', I inwardly smirked at how childish she's been acting.

Good thing, we had the booth all to ourselves. No one would see this side of SeKyung-ah. I'm actually doing her a favor.

"I thought this conversation was important! What's important in talking about another girl when I'm here?!" She asked me harshly, and I just sighed before motioning for her to calm down.

"I came here to clarify things." I said, and with a scowl, she asked me back.

"About what?"

I tried to stiffle my dark chuckles as I answered her bluntly.

"Your connection to my girlfriend's suffering."

= = =

I smirked at her shocked reaction as my words sunk in.

"I already know it was you, the moment I talked to Rin-ah's doctor. I just needed to confirm it." I said in a low voice, which had her reeling.

"Whoah. Don't accuse me of being the assailant of that girl. I might dislike her, but I didn't attempt to kill her." She told me defensively, and at that, my expression turned serious.

"You're not the type of girl, or a person, who'd do something bad hands-on. After all, if you're the A-lister Shin SeKyung, then any bad deed goes straight to record." I began to say, but she quickly defended herself.

"I wasn't the one who placed super glue chemicals in her juice, I wasn't the one who sent her nasty things and e-mails in Japan. It's not me." She said in a frantic attempt in making herself clean, but I could only chuckle darkly.

Gotcha.

"True. But have I already told you about how Rin-ah was sent many disturbing things in Japan? Has it EVEN reached the public yet?" I asked her in a tone of voice proclaiming that I already caught her red-handed.

She looked at me with self-protection written all over her face, and I smirked at her.

"No. I haven't said anything like that. And I only knew of these things through a certain Yeon YoungHae-sshi who admitted everything to me." I said, and her shock became fear.

"You cannot deny that it was you, SeKyung-ah. The more you wash your hands in front of me, the more dirt that you hide shows." I told her, and huffed a breath as tears brimmed her eyes.

"But I did NOTHING Jjong-ah, I only said that---" She began to say, but I cut her off.

"I wish that she'd be gone."

She gasped as she heard her exact words from me. I smirked at he shocked reaction and continued.

"...And being the fangirl YoungHae is, a person longing for her idol's recognition, she went to many lengths as to make sure that Rin-ah was miserable. In short, YOU had been the spark of Rin-ah's suffering. YOU started it."

I saw SeKyung-ah look at her lap as her tears rolled down her cheeks, and I just sighed.

"You know, because of how you've been acting, I realized that I made the right choice in giving up on you when you left me hanging. I've never met anyone like Rin-ah, who rathers she see herself being pulled down than any of us 'original stars'. And the fact that she's ready to give up on her singing for my career made me say for certain that I'd never let her go."

She sobbed twice before looking at me. She wasn't saying anything else, just looking at me.

"I've changed ever since she came into my life. I wouldn't be this strong if it wasn't for her. If I never met her, I'm not sure if I could have the courage to face you. And I won't have the determination to face my fans tomorrow..."

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and I just laughed it off before standing up.

"We can be friends, SeKyung-sshi, but I guarantee you that it won't be anytime soon. I'm cutting off all connections between us, and starting now, I'm not going to let you hurt the one I love any longer. It's time you step out of the fantasy you're confining yourself to, because I have already gone ahead to my reality... the reality I will always want."

And for the last time, I bowed politely in front of her and ran straight to the door of the coffee shop.

I still have a lot of things to do, and there's not much time left. I already made Onew Hyung talk to Sajang-nim about the emergency fanmeet, and I already had LeeMyeong Sunbae-nim's word of Rin-ah's attendance, even if it's her birthday tomorrow. But, what about...

...Aish. Maybe I should arrange things for the flowers first.

= = =
May 9, 2011
SME Building - ShiRin's Rehearsal Room
5:30 P.M.

-=- ... Take it, take it. Love me, love me! -=-

As I turned around and did my final pose, I looked at Choreographer Sunbae teasingly before huffing a sigh, walking to the center of the rehearsal room, and sitting on the floor.

"ShiRin-ah, look at the audience teasingly as you turn instead of after. You looked at me a bit too late earlier..." She reminded me, and with a nod, I opened my bottle of thirst quencher and drank the liquid inside.

"Before I forget to ask you, what are you going to do tomorrow?" She asked me, and I just shrugged my shoulders before replying a soft "Molla."

"What do you mean you don't know?! It's your birthday tomorrow, ShiRin-ah! You cannot do nothing!" She said, and with fatigue catching up on me, I replied irritatedly.

"Then let's rehearse tomorrow as usual! Geez, Sunbae. I don't care even if it's my birthday tomorrow. I'd rather rehearse." I told her, strong at first, but as I moved on to the final sentence, my voice lost volume.

Well, it's true. I'd rather rehearse than do something else. Besides, not a lot of people knows my birthday anyways.

"Then, maybe as my birthday present for you, we'd just rehearse in the afternoon. You're free to sleep in tomorrow, since you look like you'd faint anytime now." She told me, and with a chuckle, she held her arms out. I fell into them and she hugged me.

"I might be your choreographer, but I am also your Unnie, and I know how you feel. Rest well, arasso? You deserve it." She said, and I can do nothing but nod.

= = =
May 9, 2011
SME Building - ShiRin's Rehearsal Room
5:35 P.M.

Not long after ShiRin's departure from her practice room, JaeLi's phone rang. Her eyes widened as she recognized the voice when she answered it.

"Omona. JongHyun-ah?"

"Neh. Noona, I need your help. It's Rin-ah's birthday tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah. Wae?"

"I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

"What is it?"

As JaeLi continued listening to the male's plans, her straight face began brightening up. She enthusiastically replied her "Uh-huh"s and "M-hmmm"s as she took all the information in.

"This is a risky thing you're doing, JongHyun-ah. Do you know that?"

"Neh, I know. Arayo. But I think this is the only thing I could do. If I don't act this out soon, I might lose her."

"Alright. Tell me when anything changes, Arasso?"

"Neh. Komawo, Noona. I owe you one."

JaeLi ended the call with a smile on her face. She stared at her phone for a few moments, where a picture of her and ShiRin was the wallpaper, before huffing a deep breath. She could only whisper words of admiration for the young man to herself.

"Song ShiRin, you are such a lucky girl..."