"You will always be alone. You will never belong here," the monster told her.

He was lurking again, making himself known to her, telling her that he was still alive. He would come and get her one day. And it's soon. And she didn't want to. She kept pulling her arms away but she was never ever that strong to fight against him. She was weak. She was no one. She was garbage they needed to dispose and the way he chose to handle her was inhuman.

She pleaded to be freed. And that's when she heard the light speak.

"You can trust me," it said.

She didn't come to the scheduled meeting today. They were not scheduled for another stage performance until next month, the start of school. Dean already told them he would be finishing an album and dropping it soon. The dance leaders were excited as it meant another choreography to work on. They all agreed to take the rest of the week off and start anew on Monday, 7pm.

It bothered Dean not seeing her. He worried she would leave the team. She can't. She was perfect on stage. Not on a personal level but because Chahye learned choreography faster than the others. She was also good at adapting to what was happening on stage, making each movement still as fluid as the rehearsed versions. He knew she left the cafe for a leave, the boys told him. Where else would she get money for the start of semester? Even the guys from Club Eskimo was starting to wonder.

"I miss Cha," pouted Millic as he rested his head on top of the table as he sat on the floor.
"I thought she would be with the dancers downstairs," said Colde.
"It isn't fun without her," said Punchnello pouting.

Dean listened to them as he sat in his chair, hands clasped together. He still felt that sting from the bruise he got yesterday. Taewoon was and is a big guy that can throw mean punches. He wondered how Zico's punch would have felt like knowing how weak he could appear sometimes. But ultimately, he wondered how Chahye was at this moment. He tried texting her, asking how she was but she never answered. He thought of calling her last night but that would have been too dangerous if ever her cousins were with her.

"Hey, Kwon Hyuk!" called Millic.
"H-Huh?!" he stuttered as he came back to reality.
"You were spacing out," said Punchnello.
"I... Sorry. I was... I was just thinking," he said hesitantly.
"Thinking about Cha?" said Millic placing his head back against the table. "Me, too," he pouted.
"Where is she?" asked Colde.
"How should I know?" said Dean.
"Well, we don't know. You're the lover boy here," said 0channel.
"I don't know. She hasn't been talking to me for a while," answered Dean turning his chair around in boredom.
"Give me her phone number. I'll call her," said Millic reaching his hand out to Dean as he pulled his own phone from his pocket.
"Why you?" asked Punchnello.
"Me and Cha are friends," he said with a smirk on his face.

Dean rolled his eyes at Millic but later still gave his phone to him. Millic punched Chahye's number and dialed it, putting it on speaker so everyone could here. Dean got so excited, he got off his chair and sat on the floor beside Millic.

"Wait. Let me sit there, too!" said Punchnello getting off the couch and kneeling behind Millic to hear. All the others raised their index fingers to their lips to shut him up.

Chahye answered.

"Hello?" All their eyes went wide as they heard her voice on the other line, exhausted.
"Jin Chahye?" said Millic.
"Yes? Who is this?"
"Cha, it's me! I miss you!" smiled Millic, purposely looking at Dean then sticking his tongue out. Dean swore he would have strangled him right then and there.
"Who are you? Is this Millic?"
"Yes! How are you?"
"I'm fine. But I have to go Millic. I'll catch up with you some other time."
"Eh? But Cha..."
"Please don't tell Dean you talked to me. Bye, Millic."

And just like that, Chahye ended the call. Millic blinked before looking at Dean and raising an eyebrow at him.

"What did you do to her?" he asked.
"Huh?!" said Dean.
"What did you do to her? Why is she avoiding you?" Millic asked again.
"I did nothing," Dean lied as he stood up.
"You sure about that?" asked Colde.
"Of course, I am," answered Dean.
Offonoff looked at each other and then at Millic and Punchnello. "That cut lip of yours is telling us something otherwise," said 0channel as they all looked back at Dean, who touched his lips.
"You're not telling us things anymore," sighed Punchnello as he stood up and walked over to the door. Offonoff following him.
"Where are you three going?" asked Dean a bit irritated.
"HIGHGRND. Home. I don't know. I just don't wanna see you right now," said Punchnello.
"See you around," said Colde waving at them then walking out.

Dean sighed then sat back down on his swivel chair. He looked at Millic who was still sitting on the floor.

"Aren't you going with them?" asked Dean.
Millic sighed then stood up to sit on the couch. "What did happen, Hyuk?" he asked looking straight at him.
Dean sensed the seriousness in Millic. He's his bestfriend and he definitely knew when something was wrong whether he talked about it or not. And when Millic called him by his real name, he knew was down. "I... I screwed up," he said.
"So aside from really screwing her, where else did you screw up?" asked Millic.
"Her cousins saw us and heard me talking about it," admitted Dean. "That's why I have a cut lip."
"Well, that was unexpected," sighed Millic as he crossed his legs. "No wonder she doesn't want to talk to you."
"But I really have to talk to her, don't you think?" asked Dean.
"Obviously," said Millic standing up and walking towards the door. "I'm gonna go home. You know how to reach me."

Millic left and Dean was alone in his studio. He thought of doing work but he couldn't think straight. All he was worried about was Chahye. He decided to stand up and leave.

He spent almost an hour just leaning on the door of his car, waiting for any sign of her, his car parked just in front of the entrance. She wasn't answering her phone. He didn't notice any action coming from her apartment building either, except from people coming in and out. He was wearing a hoodie just to camouflage himself. He was thinking of coming up to her room, but the thought of seeing her cousins with her scared the out of him. He shouldn't be scared but since the air between all of them was too ty, he couldn't help it.

He looked ahead as he heard a group of women coming outside. They caught him looking and flirtatious smirks began painting themselves on their faces. He just looked and bowed, making it obvious that he wasn't interested. Chahye wasn't with them though. And as the group left, whispering to themselves. He looked back ahead and came eye to eye with a boy who was intently watching him from the entrance. He looked no more than 16 years old but tall enough to be of eye level with him. After a minute of staring, the boy started walking towards him.

"Who are you waiting for?" the boy asked as he approached him.
Dean stood straight then looked behind him from both sides. "Are you talking to me?" he asked pointing at himself.
"Is there anyone else here other than us?" the boy said.
Well, he has some air, thought Dean. "I'm just waiting for someone," he said leaning back on his car.
"If you're waiting for my sister, she won't be appearing. She's not here," said the boy.
"Sister? Who?" asked Dean surprised at how straight he was.
"You're Dean, right? The singer?"
"How did you..."
"My sister has a photo of her dance team. You were there and she told me all of their names. Jiho hyung was there, too."
"Jin Chahye... She's your sister?"
"Jin Daejung."
"Huh?"
"That's my name."
"Oh. Sorry. W-Where is she?"
"We're staying at our cousins."
"Oh."
"Are you looking for her because she didn't attend practice?"
"Uhm... Yes. Sort of."
"I don't think she'll be able to dance until next week. She's been... She's been too emotional lately."
"Why? W-what happened?"
"It's nothing."
"Why are you here?"
"I just took some shirts."
"When will you both come home?"
"I don't know. Maybe Saturday. Depends."
"I see..."
"I have to go now. Goodbye."
"Thanks."

The two bowed and Daejung walked away. Dean sighed and opened the door to his car. He looked back at the boy who was almost outside the compound.

"Hey, Daejung-ssi!" called Dean. The boy stopped and looked around. "Where are you going?" he asked.
"I'm going to meet with some friends in Hongdae," he said.
"Does your sister know you're going there?" asked Dean.
"She doesn't need to know. I'm going to be with Hyuk hyung so it's all right," Daejung said smiling then lifting a hand. "I'll go now. See you around." Dean called him one more time and the boy stopped. "Yes?"
"I'm going to Hongdae as well. Want a ride?" offered Dean.

Daejung got in the car and they drove over to Hongdae. The boy didn't talk during the travel. Dean caught glimpses of him and noticed how he had the same eyes at Chahye. But other than that, he looked a lot different from her. It made him wonder if they were really siblings or not.

It took them about 30 minutes to get to a club in the suburbs of Hongdae, away from the main road. Daejung didn't even wait for Dean before getting out of the car and running towards the door of a rundown music pub. He hasn't been to this part of Hongdae before and so it confused him how a 16-year old would have known this place.

He entered the rundown pub and a chime rang above him. There was a television mounted on one of the walls, chairs and tables of old oak around the floor. There was a small stage on one side, a microphone and a guitar stand ready. A man who looked like the owner was at the bar wiping the counter, another man sitting on one of the stools and talking to him. Dean smiled and bowed, both men doing the same to him. Dean looked around and lost sight of Daejung.

"He runs to the back every time with his friends. Door to the right," said the man at bar.

Dean nodded a smile and walked across the pub to a hall that purposely led to the comfort rooms. Down the hall was a single door to the right. It was open and light came emanating from within. He looked inside and saw railings and big lights hanging from above. He walked inside and saw that he was a floor above what seemed to be a small concert hall. He leaned over and saw a stage downstairs with band instruments set up. He saw Daejung approach the drummer and bumped shoulders with. There were 9 other boys down there and he watched Daejung get one of the guitars set up on the stage. He scanned the place and he saw stacks of chairs piled on one side. There was a pile of bags that looked as though they were owned by the boys. To the right, Dean saw the flight of stairs leading to the floor where he was standing on right now. He never imagined a run down pub to hide this much of a musical wonder.

"What brings you to this side of Hongdae, Kwon Hyuk?" a voice said coming from his right.

It was Oh Hyuk slowly ascending from the stairs with a smile on his face. Dean looked back down and realized that Inwoo was the guy on the drums, then back at Hyuk. They greeted each other just as Hyuk stood beside him and leaned against the railings as well.

"So you were the Hyuk Daejung-ssi mentioned," said Dean.
"Yeah. He said someone named Dean took him here," said Hyuk. "Thanks."
"I saw him at their apartment. Chahye wasn't there," said Dean looking at him.
"I know," smiled Hyuk.
Dean nodded then looked around the place back at the "What is this?" asked Dean as he lifted his head up and scanned the intricate medieval design sculpted on the ceiling.
Oh Hyuk looked down on the boys now divided into two groups. Most of them with a guitar in their arms, and two others sitting next to Inwoo, their arms in drumming position. "Hyunjae's dad owns the place. He learned music because this place used to house a lot of shows in the mid 80's and 90's. Not until they started building Live Hall and KT&G near the main road. Now, only indie vocal artists come here to play. We usually do some gigs here when his dad asks us. We asked him if he wanted help in promoting the place but he said that music should be appreciated more as a surprise than making people expect what to hear."
"He has a point."
"Yeah. That's what we independent artists want to achieve."
"So what's this?" asked Dean laying his hands out in front of him, pertaining to the people downstairs with instruments.
"Well, since Hyunjae's dad doesn't hold shows anymore and people seldom visit this place anymore, we thought of using it in the day as a training center. You know, kids who like music as well and knows instruments but don't have that much money to take classes or buy their own. We help them out. Hyukoh band, we learned music because of other people. We just got better. Now, we're returning the favor."
"You could earn because of this."
"We're not after the money, Kwon Hyuk. This just all started because Daejung wanted to learn the guitar. We take him here sometimes. Then he started bringing this kid he saw a year ago playing the beatbox, Minchan. He's the one in red beside Inwoo. Then Minchan brought his cousin who wanted to learn the bass. We only do this for kids who really want to learn."
"I see. So, are they learning?"
"I hope they are..."

It made both of them laugh. Then a moment of silence fell between them, the same silence when they first met at Chahye's neighborhood. It wasn't friendship. It wasn't competition as well. It was rather a silent fit of confusion.

That night they first met, Dean asked Hyuk what his relationship with Chahye was. It bothered him that Chahye was the one to ask for a hug. Hyuk didn't want to talk about details other than telling Dean that he was Chahye's ex.

"When you said you were her ex, what exactly did you mean?" Dean finally asked as he watched Daejung strum his guitar looking at Donggeun who showed them the chords on his own guitar.
"I used to be his boyfriend, obviously. But that was 6 years ago," answered Hyuk.
"Why did you break up?" asked Dean.
"Because she was only using me," said Hyuk.
"Using you?" asked Dean looking at him with confusion.
Hyuk just smiled. "Hard to believe, huh?" he said. "She looks and acts like she wouldn't be able to do it. But it happened. I couldn't really blame her. But I knew she loved me. I just wasn't her priority."
"How did she use you?" Dean asked not even with a smile. It never struck him that Chahye would be able to use people.
"We were just 16 when I fell in love with her. I met her brother who was just 9 or 10 then. I thought that if I could get Daejung's attention, I could get her, too. I didn't fail. But it turned out, rather than me using Daejung to get to her, she used me to get to her brother."
"Why?"
"Because Daejung doesn't like her."
"Eh?"
"It's a long story but it all comes down to the siblings not having enough affection for each other. After I came into their life, things started to change. Chahye finally had her priorities straight. Daejung started listening to her. Well, after I tell him to. We dated just so Daejung would have this father-brother figure."
"I see..."
"You'll learn about their sibling relationship sooner or later,"
"Yeah. Soon. I get that with almost everything about Chahye."
"She's complicated, Kwon Hyuk. But I loved Chahye. I loved her with all my heart. If anyone could have been married at the age of 16, I could have brought her to church already. And I still love her, all of her. Her future, her now, even her past."
"Her past?"
"You still don't know, huh?"
"About what?"
"Her past..."
"No. Well, no one has ever told me."
"And no one will."
"Then how did you learn about it?"
"Daejung told me things and I forced the truth out of her. She couldn't resist as long as it's Daejung. I was the first person to know aside from their cousins. I thought she trusted me already about it. Turns out she didn't."
"Why?"
"I tried to kiss her and she started freaking out. I knew right then and there that she didn't trust me. She only trusted me for her brother. She wasn't ready to trust me for herself."
"And that's when you broke up?"
"Yes."
"But you said you still love her. Will you... Will you be coming back for her?"
"I wish I could. There has been no other girl in my life but her. But I can't."
"Why?"
"Because I know I can't help her other than take care of Daejung."
"What do you mean?"

By this time, Oh Hyuk stood back away from the railings. He looked at Dean and his smile faded away.

"Chahye has too much to carry, Kwon Hyuk. I was just 16 when I learned all of that and I couldn't handle it. If I were Chahye, I could have just committed suicide. But she didn't. She is such a strong woman and I felt as though I couldn't muster up the same courage for her to believe that she could actually trust me. Even until now, I still don't think I could commit myself to her. Do you even understand me?" asked Hyuk.
"No. I don't understand," said Dean honestly.
"You'll understand when Chahye finally tells you," said Hyuk. "If you like her that much, you have to work for it harder."

With that, Hyuk bowed to Dean and went down the stairs back to the boys. Dean watched him reunite with the group Donggeun was teaching, grabbing a guitar of his own and sitting within their circle. Dean decided to leave as it was already getting dark outside. Just as he stepped out of the hall, he saw Hyunjae leaning on the wall. He smiled and bowed to him. Hyunjae stopped him before he could get any farther.

"Hyuk and Chahye looked like the perfect couple back in highschool. They loved each other. When they were together, they looked like angels," said Hyunjae.
"Uhm... Why are you telling me this?" asked Dean.
"Nothing. I just heard you two talking earlier. I didn't walk in because it might ruin the mood. Hyuk transforms into an angel everytime it's about her," smiled Hyunjae. "What he said was true. Chahye changed when she met us, Hyuk, Buckwilds and everyone else. We thought it was going to be all right. But behind Chahye's smiles were her nightmares."
"Nightmares?" wondered Dean.
"The monster, they call it. Hyuk knows," said Hyunjae.