CHAPTER 13

"Byul, we need to talk." Yongsun states when they reach their room after a long day of promoting their album.

Yongsun didn't like the way Byul acted so rudely towards Eric, or to anyone showing even the slightest interest on Yongsun, for that matter.

"We're finally going to talk about Eric's  behavior towards you, earlier?" Moonbyul asks, taking Yongsun by surprise with the sudden turn of tables.

"I could care less about Eric. But you on the other hand..." Yongsun states, letting the rest of her sentence hang, giving Byul a chance to reflect on her actions.

"Me?" Moonbyul asks in confusion.

"The press were there and you didn't bother to act civil towards Eric." Yongsun stated, "What if the media caught on? And the poor guy was so confused as to what he did wrong to you. It was embarrassing."

"You sure seem to be thinking a lot about other people's thoughts and feelings except mine." Moonbyul snickers, "I can't say I'm surprised."

"Byul. Eric doesn't know we're together, but he was respectful the entire night." Yongsun noted.

"Look at you, defending your 'perfect boyfriend'." Moonbyul remarks sarcastically.

"Can't I have friends of my own now? He was just being friendly and you're acting like I cheated on you." Yongsun asks, her anger rising at how her words seem to fall on deaf ears.

"You can have friends but not him." Moonbyul demands, making Yongsun groan in frustration.

This has been their dynamic lately. Moonbyul making all the decisions and Yongsun complying to prevent further discussions.

She knows Moonbyul means well so she doesn't protest. But sometimes it feels like too much; whenever she has problems, Byul takes care of it for her, and while that seemed like a positive thing, Yongsun felt like she didn't have much room to grow.

"Byul, you're my girlfriend, not my owner. I'm pretty sure I have the right to choose my own friends just like you have the freedom to choose yours." Yongsun emphasizes.

"I'm just protecting you." Moonbyul reasons.

Yongsun sighs, "I'm very capable of protecting myself, Byul. I appreciate your concern but you don't have to protect me from Eric." She states. "He's my friend."

"He's your friend who happens to like you." Moonbyul shakes her head. "And don't get me started with the fact that he gets to hold you in public." The rapper admits.

"You do that all the time too." Yongsun counters.

"Yes. But people see it differently when its Eric, that sometimes I can't help but see it like that too." Moonbyul confesses.

"Byul, I'm right here. I come home with you every night. What assurance do you still need? I'm your girlfriend. I'm just his friend." Yongsun declares.

"I just want Eric to know that too so he'll stop hitting on you." Moonbyul comments.

And Yongsun sighs. Moonbyul seem to have no plans on listening to her.

"Byul, I'm tired of this." Yongsun confesses wearily as she tries to pacify Moonbyul from starting another argument.

"Tired of what? Flirting with Eric?" Moonbyul remarked, she knew Solar wouldn't purposefully flirt with Eric in front of her but the articles about them was getting on her nerves, as if their fauxmance on a tv show weren't enough.

"Are you serious right now?" Yongsun asked, crossing her arms defensively, offended with Byul's accusation. "We talked about this a hundred times. Eric's just a friend and we're both doing this for work. I thought you understood that."

"I do. But he doesn't seem to understand that when he placed his arm around your shoulder or when he placed his hand on your waist earlier." Moonbyul stated, a little agitated when she recalled the events earlier that night.

"Byul. You do that with every girl you work with and you didn't hear anything from me." Yongsun stated, recollecting the times she felt jealous of Moonbyul's co-workers on Idol Drama Operation Team.

"That's different." Moonbyul responded.

"How so?" Yongsun questioned. "Because Eric is a guy and Seulgi and YooA aren't?"

"Because I don't act like I actually like them." Moonbyul retorts. "Sure. Maybe they will find a cute moment at most that's about it, you won't see me being linked with someone constantly on news sites."

Yongsun opens in disbelief. "I do the bare minimum of acting as if I like him just so we can keep our relationship a secret and save our group from controversies, and you're going to use that against me?"

"I didn't ask you to do all that." Moonbyul whispers, but Yongsun was able to hear it.

"Are you suggesting I stop doing it then?" Yongsun asks, frustrated at how Moonbyul doesn't seem to try to see it from her point of view. She's trying to do it for them but her efforts seem to go unappreciated. "I'm tired of-"

"Then sleep. Get some rest. We'll talk tomorrow." Moonbyul cuts her off. Byul knows they didn't have a choice, maybe that's what frustrates her more. She can't do anything about it. She wish they could be selfish, but in the path they decided to take, it almost seemed illegal.

Yongsun wasn't as physically tired as she was mentally and emotionally, but as usual, Moonbyul wouldn't hear her out.

Moonbyul has this habit of pretending like everything's okay, as if, if they have a goodnight sleep, tomorrow would magically be better.

"Okay then. Let's talk tomorrow." Yongsun knows that Moonbyul is stubborn, forcing her to talk would just end up in more arguments, so Yongsun concedes; she never wins anyway.

"I just want people to know that you're my girlfriend so they would stop making a move on you." Moonbyul grumbled, sensing that Yongsun still has a lot to say.

She doesn't know how Moonbyul can be so worked up about it, when Yongsun repeatedly told Byul that she is ever only interested in her.

Yongsun's features soften. "Byul, you know we can't do that." She says, taking a calmer approach as she takes a step closer to her girlfriend, caressing Byul's arms to comfort her.

Moonbyul looks up to meet Solar's gaze. She opens to say something buy she hesitates.

"What is it?" Yongsun asks, encouraging Moonbyul to speak her mind.

"I know we can't tell the whole world yet, but maybe you can tell your parents?" Moonbyul suggested, rendering very hesitant Yongsun, "We've been together for four years. I've already told my parents. Maybe its about time we tell yours."

Its not that Yong was ashamed of her relationship with Moonbyul, but the thought of telling her parents was something she dreaded. She knows she wasn't ready, but the hopeful smile on her girlfriend's face made her nod involuntarily.

"Really?" Moonbyul asks, beaming a smile at her, as if she was reassured that Yongsun was as commited about their relationship as she is.

How could Yongsun possibly say no? She didn't want to disappoint Moonbyul; the girl risked being disowned by her parents when she brought Solar home to introduce her as Byul's girlfriend a year ago. It's only fair that Yongsun does the same.

The happiness that radiated from her girlfriend made Yongsun's knees