"Unrequited"

~ Part 4 ~

Hakyeon dashes out of the recording studio since he didn't want to hear anymore of Taekwoon's confession. Not only was Taekwoon's confession too shocking to bare but he can't allow his heart to waver anymore. If he wavers, what about Hyuk? Hakyeon can't allow something like his feelings to hold him down anymore.

"Hakyeon-ah!" Taekwoon chased after Hakyeon this time and grabbed onto Hakyeon's wrist.

"Let go!" Hakyeon demanded.

"No! You're the one who found me and made me this way so why are you running away now?!" 

"I didn't know, okay? I was only worried about you. I didn't come here to listen to..." Hakyeon stopped himself. "Let go of me!" 

"What are you so afraid of all of a sudden? You're the one that found me so why can't you face me?"

"If I face you, what about Sanghyuk?! I can't disappoint him again. I can't hurt him. I won't do it even if I did like you before," Hakyeon suddenly blurred out with tears flowing down uncontrollably.

"You loved me?" Taekwoon couldn't believe it," since when? Tell me!"

"No! It's already over and the only person I have is Hyuk now so let go of me. We're over Jung Taekwoon."

"Over? How can we be over when nothing's even begun?" Taekwoon pulled Hakyeon in forcefully and kissed Hakyeon.

Slap!

"Don't get out of the line Jung Taekwoon. Don't make me hate you," Hakyeon said in both anger and tears as he bit his lips so hard that he was beginning to bleed.

Hakyeon's broken expression finally made Taekwoon stop. He really was hurting Hakyeon too much and for a long time.

"S-sorry," Taekwoon finally let go of Hakyeon's wrist and with that, Hakyeon left him. Now, there really is no going back. Everything was over between them.

Hyuk woke up in the middle of the night to grab a drink and decided to peek into Hakyeon's room to check up on the older, but when he came by, the lights were off and the bed was empty. No one was there.

Where did he go? He began to worry.

And as he was, he heard the doors open from the entrance. When he came to check who it was, it was Hakyeon but with eyes red and his expression not looking very good.

"Hyung?" Hyuk asked. "What's wrong? What were you doing out so late?"

Hakyeon saw Hyuk's face and couldn't stop his tears anymore. His legs gave in and he flopped down onto the floor, sobbing.

"I'm sorry, Hyuk-ah. I'm sorry," were the only words Hakyeon could utter out of his mouth from guilt. 

Hakyeon wasn't able to say another word that night but Hyuk had a hunch about what might have happened because there's only one person who can break Hakyeon like this. 

Taekwoon didn't come back to the dorms for the next several days which proved Hyuk to be right. Hakyeon also didn't come out of his room because he wasn't able to face Hyuk.

"Is Hakyeon-hyung alright?" Jaehwan asked Hyuk. The members were all worried and clueless about what's happening. 

"Don't worry. I'll take care of him," Hyuk told them. "Have either of you seen or talked to Taekwoon-hyung recently?"

"No. I called Wonshik earlier and he didn't see Taekwoon-hyung in the studios for a while too," Hongbin said. "Where could he have gone?"

"You don't think that something happened between Hakyeon-hyung and Taekwoon-hyung, do you?" Jaehwan guessed correctly.

"Can you two look after Hakyeon-hyung for me while I go out?" Hyuk asked.

"Huh? Sure, are you going somewhere?" Hongbin asked.

"Yeah. I'll be back," Hyuk said. "If Taekwoon-hyung comes back, don't let him get near Hakyeon-hyung."

"What? What are you saying?"

"Just don't. If you don't want to see hyung hurting even more, just listen to me."

Jaehwan and Hongbin looked at one another, they wanted to ask a million questions but the irritated and serious expression on Hyuk's face told them not to ask anymore than necessary.

Hyuk left the dorms and searched for Taekwoon. If he wasn't in the dorms and he wasn't in the studio, where else could he be? Hyuk texted some of Taekwoon's friends but no one knew where the older vocalist was. He thought long and hard about where Taekwoon could be. Unlike Hakyeon, he doesn't know Taekwoon that well like the leader did but he needed to talk to Taekwoon after all.

After going through his phone a million times and contacting all those he could, he finally found that Taekwoon was staying at his sister's place.

"Come in, " Taekwoon's sister invited Hyuk inside.

"How's Taekwoon-hyung?" Hyuk asked.

"He's quiet... did something happen?"

"A little. Can I  go talk to him?"

"Of course. I'll be taking Minyul to the park so can you help that kid out? Please? It breaks my heart to see him like this," she asked as if almost in a pleading way.

"Leave it to me. Thank you."

Knock. Knock.

"Taekwoon-hyung? It's Hyuk, can we talk?"

No answer.

Hyuk knocked again, "something happened between you and Hakyeon-hyung, right? Let's talk."

Hyuk waited patiently and after awhile, Taekwoon finally opened the door but his appearance was completely disheveled - hair unwashed, unshaved and looking like a mess. Which is very different from the usual Jung Taekwoon who Hyuk remembers.

"First Hakyeon-hyung and now you too. The both of you have a thing for locking yourself in your room or something?"

Taekwoon stared at Hyuk and was completely unamused by the slightly joking tone in the younger's voice.

"What do you want?" Taekwoon asked irritatingly.

"This."

Bam!

Hyuk suddenly punched Taekwoon in the face and Taekwoon fell straight onto the floor.

"I don't know what happened between the two of you but I felt like I should give you a good beating. Now and then, just how many times do you plan on breaking Hakyeon-hyung's heart?" Hyuk said angrily. "Do you know how much pain he's always in because of you?"

Taekwoon couldn't say a word and only felt the stinging around his cheeks.

"I've always known that the two of you were close in your own way, being able to understand one another even without saying much. I looked up to be like you and be someone who can understand Hakyeon-hyung just by looking at him. I watched him fall for you and broke because of you. I respect you Taekwoon-hyung but if you continued to hurt Hakyeon-hyung like this, even I won't be able to stop myself from hating you," Hyuk warned him.

"Then what do you expect me to do?!" Taekwoon lashed out. "Do you think I don't know how much I've hurt Hakyeon? I'm hurting too! I can't stand this either! It's not my fault that I'm feeling like this!" 

Taekwoon broke down in front of the younger.

"I didn't want to come between the two of you! I love you and Hakyeon even more. I hate the fact that I have to realize the way I feel. I didn't want to know or feel this way but even I can't stop it. I tried okay?! I really did! I tried to stay away and wish the two of you happiness but this jealousy and this resentment... I don't know what to do to stop it!" Taekwoon shouted loudly at both Hyuk and himself.

Hyuk looked at Taekwoon who was in distress and sighed.

"Hyung, do you really like Hakyeon-hyung? Since when?" the younger finally calmed down and asked.

"I don't know. I thought it was only recently but if these feelings are so recent, why do I feel as if my world is falling apart just thinking about it..."

"You know, I've always thought you liked Hakyeon-hyung and Hakyeon-hyung liked you. That's why I never confessed or came in between the two of you because I knew I'd be no match for the thing you two were able to have. But when you suddenly got yourself a girlfriend and Hakyeon-hyung broke down, I made a promise to make him happy. And I don't plan on breaking that promise.

"I know..."

"Taekwoon-hyung. I love you a lot too. You're not just a member of the same group. You're a friend, a role model and also someone who's closer than family. We're not related by blood but I believe that all six of us is closer than anyone could be. I don't want what's happening between the three of us to break us apart. I don't want to lose you nor do I want to lose Hakyeon-hyung either."

"Same but what can we do?" Taekwoon asked.