"God, I swear one day I'm going to just snap and hit her," Wonpil says through his gritted teeth, and Jae responds with silence.

They're currently in Sungjin's car, he's driving while Wonpil and Jae are in the backseat.

"How could she just slap you like that?! Who does she think she is! That's assult, I can sue her for that, right?"

"Wonpil, calm down," Jae says and the lack of anger in his voice worries him. 

"Oh, c'mon. You can't possibly expect me to be calm after she just slapped you!" Wonpil yells. 

Sungjin decides it's best not to ask questions at this point, but to simply drive them to where they need to be. 

Wonpil groans, runs a hand through his hair and exhales. 

"How come you're not upset?", he sounds less anger driven, more concerned,

"Don't tell me you think you deserve it"

"I am upset, and why the Hell would I think that?" Jae replies,

"I just don't know what to say or do, considering you dragged me out of there. And it's not like I can just hit her back, that's Brian's mom for God's sake,"

Jae has a point. 

Hitting her back isn't ideal for his image but he's also a bigger person than to stoop that low. 

"Sungjin," Wonpil says and he almost jumps.

"Can you just take us to my apartment, please?"

Sungjin nods and it's quiet. It's an awkward, silent car ride before Jae breaks it.

"Wait.." he starts and Wonpil looks at him, his eyebrows raised prompting Jae to continue,

"How does Sungjin know where you live?" he asks, with an amused smile.

Wonpil deadpans as Sungjin's eyes widen slightly but remain on the road.

"U-Uh, that's- that's because," Wonpil doesn't know why he's stuttering but Jae laughs.

"I was gone for like 2 weeks!" Jae says, as if that's supposed to mean something.

Wonpil slaps Jae in the arm, and Sungjin flushes a faint pink, as Jae's amused, annoying laughter fills the car. 

Meanwhile, things aren't so funny in Brian's car. 

It's quiet, and Brian's just thankful his mom came in her own car because there was absolutely no way he was about to drive her home after what just happened.

"Brian.." Minri starts, and isn't sure if it's okay to continue. And it's evident because she's quiet for a while, biting her lip as she thinks of what to say.

"Can we just talk when we get home?" Brian asks, his voice tired. 

She nods, agreeing that that's probably the best option to avoid any fighting and raising of voices and blood pressures.

"Sorry for telling your mom..." she finds herself saying,

"No, no, don't apologize... It's fine. Thank you for coming to pick me up," he says and that's all the words they exchange for the rest of the ride.

They arrive at their apartment and Brian doesn't let Minri help him with his luggage, telling her he's fine and a lady shouldn't lift. Minri gives him a faint smile and even the elevator ride up is silent and awkward, just like their car ride.

He's unpacking, and she's just sitting on their bed.

"How was your trip?" she decides to start off as casually as she can.

"It was good, much needed I think." he replies.

It gets quiet again and Minri's contemplating whether or not she should just straight up ask him.

"Hey, Bri?" she says, and he figures he might as well just tell her when she asks again,

"Who's Younghyun?"

He exhales and thinks of how to explain it without sounding like he's been deceiving her for 3 years. 

"Me." he starts,

"Min-ah, this is going to sound weird and you're may not believe me, because I certaintly didn't want to," he scoffs.

"When I had a reset in memory when I was about 20... My parents started calling me Brian, and that's what they told me my name was. I had no notion to question, and so I trusted them. But, before that reset," he pauses a bit, and Minri's just listening in silence,

"I was referred to as Younghyun, which was- is?" he scoffs at how uncertain he sounds about his own identity,

"My birth name."

Minri doesn't see such a big deal in it, so her

"Oh," is a lot less dramatic than what Brian had expected.

"That- that's it? Just an 'oh'?" he says, a bit amazed.

"Well, yeah," Minri replies, getting up to go help him,

"I thought she said the name of like a girl you were cheating on me with," 

"My name wasn't girly..." Brian says, wondering how things turned out like this.

"I mean... Do you remember anything about being Younghyun?" Minri asks, and Brian sadly replies with,

"No. I don't," 

"Then, what's so bad about it?"

"Min, my parents lied to me for 4 years"

"Maybe it was to protect you from something,"

"Protect-" Brian echoes and laughs but it sounds harsh,

"That's not why they lied to me.." he says, quietly, and he thanks whatever higher power up in the skies that Minri doesn't hear him. Mainly because, frankly, he's not really sure he wants to explain to Minri that the lies were because he loved Jae.

"I'm just saying, Bri..." she says and Brian just nods, trying to seem indifferent.

"Are you upset with your life now?" Min asks, almost scared of his answer

"What? No, no.. It's nothing like that," he assures, habitually making his way infront of her and snaking an arm around her waist.

"Then, what's so bad about leaving it in the past?" she says, almost in a whisper as their faces draw closer.

Minri gives him a kiss, and whispers against his lips,

"I missed you," and Brian subconsciously wonders if Jae would've done the same thing.

For what feels like the first time, the atmosphere in the cafe is awkward. Sungjin is just wiping some mugs dry, while Brian is working on a drink.

Sungjin clears his throat before asking,

"Did you see the headlines today?" 

"No, why?" Brian asks, apparently forgetting what had happened at the airport yesterday.

"It's-" Sungjin's about to tell him but gets cut off by the noisy entrance of Jae, hiding his face within his hoodie and under his hat, Wonpil following close behind, asking people to respectfully keep their distance.

"God, I told you not to go out in public," Wonpil scolds, and Jae just walks up to the counter as if he wasn't just being chased by some paparazzi trying to find some answers.

"I wanted some coffee," he replies and removes his hood and hat, and Brian thinks he looks significantly different without glasses.

"I could've made you some," Wonpil comments,

"Yeah, yeah, just go talk to Sungjin, okay?" Jae says with a laugh, and Wonpil hits him in the arm before walking over to Sungjin,

"Hey," he says with a smile and Sungjin returns one, as he replies,

"Hey."

Jae rolls his eyes with a teasing smile as he goes to talk to Brian. 

"Hey," Brian says to Jae,

" 'Sup?" he replies and but interrupts Sungjin and Wonpil's conversation,

"Sorry, but Sungjin could I get an Iced Americano?"

"Get Brian to make it," Wonpil argues and Sungjin laughs before saying,

"I'll have it ready in a few," 

Jae gives him a thankful smile before sticking his tongue out at Wonpil.

"So, uh.. Sorry about.." Brian doesn't have the heart to look him in the eye,

"Sorry about my mom... doing that thing..."

"Slapping me?" Jae asks, almost amused at the way Brian couldn't find the word,

"Yeah, that." he replies, and its quiet before they both laugh at how ridiculous they just sounded.

"Don't..." Jae exhales as he remembers the stinging of his cheek,

"Don't worry about it.. It's not your fault,"

"You say that a lot. You tell me it's not my fault, but it seems like you're always suffering 'cause of me." Brian finds himself saying, and Jae doesn't know how to respond.

Sungjin gives him his Americano and says,

"Have you read the articles?"

Jae takes a sip before nodding,

"Wonpil and I were reading some of them this morning."

"What articles?" Brian asks, and Wonpil throws him a magazine from the stand outisde

On the cover is a perfect still-shot of his mother's hand landing on Jae's cheek, no one else in frame. 

"It's kind of funny, people are thinking it's a crazy ex-girlfriend," Wonpil comments,

"Which is weird because why would I date someone the same age as my mom," Jae says and adds,

"My favourite assumption was it being a mom who was mad at me for ruining her daughter's idea of love,"

Brian doesn't feel comfortable enough to joke about it, because it was his mom on that cover along with Jae. He's grateful that Sungjin didn't ask about why she would do such a thing, because like with Minri, he doesn't know how to explain it's because he was in love with Jae.

"Things are a mess, though." Jae says,

"My manager started blowing up my phone, asking what I did to get a slap in the face."

"Just lay low for now. I mean, that's what I said before we came here," Wonpil says, still unamused of the mini-ambush he had to deal with.

"Sorry," Brian says again,

"I didn't know she would do that.." 

"Neither did I," Jae replies.

Sungjin gives them a curious look before looking at Wonpil who just shakes his head with a comforting smile, and mouths

"I'll tell you later." when he really means 'one day'. 

The pairs go back to their conversations, and Brian decides the repetitive apology would get annoying, so he decides to ask,

"Where are your glasses?"

"Decided to not wear 'em. I feel like I would get recognized more if I had them on," Jae says,

"You look different without them" Brian comments and Jae jokes around,

"I look cuter, don't I?" he asks with a bright smile, and Brian scoffs while shaking his head but not exactly vocalizing a 'no'. 

Jae takes another sip of his Americano, and Brian says it again,

"Seriously Jae, sorry"

"Not your fault," 

"But-"

"Hey, help me think of an explanation to reporters" Jae cuts off, a slightly evil smile on his face,

"Don't say anything! I told you to just lay low, it'll die down" Wonpil scolds, and Sungjin laughs at the way he sounds so fed up with Jae. Sungjin gets back Wonpil's attention and Brian manages to smile.

"Hey, did..." Jae starts,

"Did your mom say anything?"

"Accused us of going on a trip together," Brian replies, and then adds,

"Oh, she also said the name..."

"The name," Jae mocks and laughs a bit,

"Geez, didn't know I was in love with Voldemort" and Brian responds with laughter.

"So she said it, huh" Jae says, and takes a sip of his coffee,

"Did Minri hear?"

"Yeah,"

"And how'd you explain that?" 

"Told her the truth,"

"Oh, so she knows that we-"

"No, nope, not that part" Brian says and shakes his head, and Jae nods in acknowledgement.

"Understandable. I mean, how would you tell your girlfriend that you used to love me, right?" Jae says, but he sounds fairly sad, as he just plays with his straw.

It gets quiet again, and Brian's about to ask something when Jae's phone goes off.

"Hello?" he answers and the voice on the other line says some words that Brian can't decipher.

"Wha-what? You can't just decide that for me, that's..." Jae says, and now Wonpil is curious,

"Where are you?" he says, and starts getting up from his seat, and Wonpil almost habitually follows, 

"I'm going there right now." and Jae's already heading for the door,

"Where you going?" Wonpil asks as Jae puts his hat and hood back on,

"Meet with Jinhae," he answers,

"I'll be back," he adds, and then he's out the door. 

It's quiet before Brian asks,

"Who's Jinhae?"

"His manager.." Wonpil answers,

"I didn't like his expression when he left..." he adds and bites his bottom lip before shaking his head but then turning his attention to Sungjin.

Brian doesn't know how many hours has passed but it's getting darker outside. Wonpil's still there, probably waiting for Jae which is exactly what Brian's subconsciously doing.

And then he comes back in, his steps irritated and evident when Jae groans as he sits down beside Wonpil.

"God, I hate this~" he whines.

"What happened?" Brian and Wonpil ask in unison, 

"My manager and publisher are trying to take attention off me getting slapped." he answers, and Wonpil already has a bad feeling about it.

"And how do they plan on doing that?"

"Are they making you release a new book?" Brian asks, and Jae laughs,

"Oh man, I wish that's how they dealt with it."

"Dealt?" Wonpil asks, and adds

"So they already did something?"

"Yeah, and apparently there isn't much I can do about it." he answers. 

He sighs and runs his hands through his hair and lets it fall back on his forehead. 

"So, are you gonna tell us?" Brian asks, and Sungjin laughs a bit. Jae thinks a bit before saying,

"I, now," he takes a dramatic pause and Wonpil nudges him to continue,

"Have a girlfriend."

It has everyone quiet,

"You're joking, right?" Wonpil is the first to speak,

"No, that's how they plan to distract my 'fans' from the unknown woman whipping her hand across my face" 

"What the Hell were they thinking? They can't just go and set you up-"

"Well, they did. When I met Jinhae, she was with them.."

"Whoa, wait, you met her already?"

"Unintentionally, yeah.I didn't know she would be there..."

"What's her name?" Brian finds himself asking,

"Forgot."

"What does she look like?"

"Simply pretty," he answers,

"Long black hair, fair skin, and she's not too skinny." 

"How does she feel about this?" Sungjin joins in on the questions,

"Apparently, she's being offered enough money to deal with being my girlfriend for a while,"

"How long is a while?" Brian asks,

"Long enough until things start to fade." Jae answers. And there's something in his words that seems like he doesn't just mean the rumours and scandals.

"It's nothing too serious," the author says,

"We just need to be seen on dates, holding hands..." 

"Nothing too serious?" Wonpil asks,

"Jae, in your recent interview you said you've never dated anyone. So, to your fans, this is a huge deal. This is your first girlfriend, your first relationship."

It's quiet again and Jae's just staring at the counter, while Brian stares at him.

"God, this is such a mess." the author groans, and the other 3 boys can't help but agree.

The cafe a few days later isn't as tense or awkward. More anticipating, if anything, as Sungjin and Wonpil discuss how the headlines were now replaced with the news of Park Jaehyung and his new significant other.

Brian's just finished serving a customer, and is about to greet the one entering through the door when he realizes it's Jae and some girl following behind him. Their linked at their hands and Brian watches as they smile to the people with their phones out, almost following them into the cafe. 

And she is simply pretty. She doesn't look like she's trying too hard, doesn't look like she's wearing layers of make-up. 

She's wearing a flowy, light coral romper that compliments her pink lips and black hair.

They walk to take Jae's usual place at the counter, Jae setting himself beside Wonpil as he just stares at them.

"The usual please" Jae says, letting the girl's hand go, and Sungjin nods.

"And for you?" he asks her,

"Oh, I'll have an Iced Americano please" she replies, and Jae looks at her.

"It's your first time back here in a few days, and you're not gonna introduce your guest?" Wonpil asks with a mischievous smile.

"This is Kim Eunyi" he says and she smiles while bowing slightly

"Hi, I'm Sungjin" he says, placing her order infront of her with a friendly smile

"I'm Wonpil," 

Jae just lets his friends introduce themselves, 

"I'm Brian,"

"You're cute" she comments, catching most of them off guard,

"His girlfriend thinks so too.." Jae says while nodding and then taking a sip of his coffee. 

"Can't blame her," Eunyi says, 

"So, you're Jae's girlfriend?" Wonpil asks,

"Fake girlfriend." they both correct in unison and Wonpil shows an amused smile. 

"Who knows, maybe it'll turn real sooner or later," 

"I'd prefer later..." Jae says, and Eunyi nods,

"Or never." she adds with a laugh and Wonpil doesn't hate the way she jokes a lot and isn't offended by Jae's attitude.

"So, what's your theory?" Sungjin asks,

"On?"

"On why your boyfriend got slapped."

"I don't know. I mean, in all honesty I don't think he did anything wrong." Eunyi responds,

"I've seen the pictures, and if anything his face looks surprised and hurt rather than guilty.."

"That's pretty creepy that you could tell that from the photo," Jae says, smiling naturally

"Are you saying I'm right?" Eunyi replies and smiles back, her eyebrows raised curiously.

"There's a lot you don't know about me." he replies,

"Looking forward to learn."

Brian eyes their exchange of words. Jae doesn't look as irritated as he did a couple of days ago, and Eunyi isn't annoying, but she's funny and relates to Jae's humour. The author's smile is sincere, but so is his 'girlfriend's' and even Brian can see that.

"Oh, we should get going" Jae says, after looking at his watch,

"Where are you headed?" Wonpil asks,

"Catching a movie." Jae answers, and Eunyi gets up from the barstool, and waves a goodbye to the boys.

Jae outstretches his hand and Eunyi's fingers intertwine with his, and Wonpil giggles like a little girl.

"Nothing's funny," Jae and Eunyi say in unison and Wonpil starts to question of this is scripted.

"You guys are a good looking couple," Brian comments, and they both say in tandem

"Thanks to me.", and then again in unison,

"Stop copying me."

"I'm not copying you, you're unoriginal," Eunyi says as they start walking towards the exit,

"Excuse me, I'm an author" Jae says,

"Your books arent that great,"

"Yeah, okay, please tell that to the 3.7 million people that bought a copy of my latest novel," he argues with laughter and then the two are off, hand in hand

The 3 watch as the couple is followed by some people with their phones out.

"She's pretty." Sungjin comments,

"Yeah.." Brian says as he nods, and wonders if something true, and positive could maybe come out of this mess. 

But something deep inside him is telling him that part of him doesn't want that to happen.

AUTHOR'S NOTE;

rip sucH A LATE UPDATE I'M SORRY! ! ! it's late right now, so this A/N is probably gonna be of poor quality but ! :D i tried. guys, i start school in a week and i'm sTRESSING OH MY GOSH.

but anyway !! woot, new character who is gonna be pretty significant, so, remember her name !! xD lmfao but ! hope this chapter was too bad, and oh my gosh guys. thANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 66 COMMENTS. THAT'S AMAZING, LIKE I'M... :D so thankFUL!!! 

please please please comment any thoughts or opinions about this chapter, or the story in general! :D upvote if you're enjoying the story and please subscribe to keep updated!! (: i appreciate every single little thing you guys do, even if you're a silent reader. <3 ^_^ thanks for the support, and i hope i don't disappoint too much with my y writing D: love you all ! THANKS FOR ALWAYS BEING PATIENT. seriously, it means a lot that you guys understand my horrible updating time. i'll try and update soon, but until then, PEACE! - Zen