Hyejoo was starting to hate her life more and more with everything that kept happening to her. Even more so when every time she wanted to sleep and forget about the world someone came knocking on her door, preventing her from doing exactly that. If it was Jiwoo again with another stupid order to have her go meet that she was going to slam the door on her face.

She was about to close the door on the person’s face regardless once the rookie saw who it was. Why was it that Loona always crossed her when she wasn’t feeling like entertaining anyone? Why couldn't she just mind her own business?

“What the ?” Hyejoo said when the famous idol side stepped and made her way inside like she owned the place.

“I should be the one saying that. Just— what the hell? Why... How... Baek Taehwan? Really? The guy is such a tool!” Hyejoo had never seen Loona so worked up.

Was she really upset with her right now? How did she have the nerve to feeling bothered when she wasn't the one that had to personally deal with this mess? What gave her the right to just barge in here whenever she pleased? Just because she helped her once now she thinks she's some kind of superhero? Hyejoo could feel her blood starting to simmer.

Hyejoo didn’t bother to close the door and held it wide open. “Leave.”

The blonde didn’t budge. “No. We have to talk. There’s no way. You don’t even know him. I know you haven’t even talked with him before.”

Hyejoo’s grip on the knob tightened. “You don’t know me. I won’t say it again, get out.”

Loona closed her eyes and thought of what she should say to difuse the tension. She seriously only wanted to talk. Hyejoo wasn’t answering her calls earlier so she had put on her Loona ensemble and came to her dorm first thing. When she opened her eyes Hyejoo was glaring at her while she tried to steady her breathing. She looked like she was about to explode.

Go Won tried to make her voice more gentle. “You can talk to me. I know they set you up. I can help you, Hyejoo.”

“You’ve done enough! Just leave me alone!”

The blonde flinched at the unexpected outburst. The least she wanted to do was cause Hyejoo more trouble. Go Won wasn’t thinking and acted impulsively again by coming here unannounced. Hyejoo must be under so much stress as is. She just got expelled from school, her company uses her as a puppet, and now this scandal.

“I’m sorry.” Loona stepped forward but Hyejoo instinctively took a step back.

The navy-haired idol shook her head. “I don’t need your pity or your charity.”

Now Go Won was hurt at the insinuation. “You’re not an act of charity for me. I’m trying to help you...” because you’re my best friend, “because I care about you.” What more did she have to do to make Hyejoo understand that she wasn't doing this to get something out of it?

Loona stared the rookie in the eyes. Hyejoo felt something weird in her chest when she saw there was no hesitation in her words. There were no lies the taller girl could detect coming from the famous idol and that’s what scared her. Why would someone like Loona want to waste her time on some like her? Why would a succesful artist be interested in a low-class rookie like her?

Hyejoo wanted to believe her like she had before, but the doubts in her head were overpowering every positive thought she tried to conjure. She didn’t want to get hurt again. It was always the same thing over and over again. Even if people didn’t mean to, she was always the one that ended up losing everything in the end. She was simply trying to save herself. All she was doing was trying to survive in a cruel world that showed no mercy.

“Please go,” Hyejoo barely got out.

Her emotions were starting to overwhelm her, . She blinked back tears and looked away so the blonde wouldn’t catch the droplets rolling down her cheeks. The last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of her again.

Go Won's heart felt like breaking every time she saw the younger girl holding back everything until it became too much and she released all her stress with tears. How much she wanted to wipe Hyejoo's worries away. To bring the taller girl in her embrace and have her soak her shirt instead of crying alone.

She wanted to reach out, and in that moment she wanted to tell her everything. She wanted to tell her that she was Chaewon. She was her friend. She didn’t have to shut her out every time something happened for her sake. Hyejoo didn’t always have to protect her because she didn’t need protecting.

The swelling in her chest was getting too much to bear. The sight of Hyejoo so broken and defeated always clouded her senses and no other thoughts registered in her mind other than making her smile again. But she couldn’t make her happy. Hyejoo didn’t trust her. How could she convey her feelings if every time she spoke her words were just empty promises in the eyes of the younger girl?

Her stomach was in knots and it was getting harder to breathe properly the longer she stared. In that moment Hyejoo was the only one in her line of vision, her surroundings becoming a blurry haze that didn't matter. Slowly, as to not scare her, the blonde placed a careful hand on her cheek. Hyejoo widened her eyes at the intimate touch yet the back of her mind was telling her the contact felt so familiar for some unknown reason. Those eyes, they were screaming something at her but Hyejoo couldn’t decipher their message.

Go Won could feel how tense the younger girl had become at the touch. How unfamiliar and strange this must be for her. There was nothing she could say to make Hyejoo trust her. Nothing she told her was getting through her and everything she did was always met with doubt and questioning. Hyejoo didn't believe she wanted to become close to her without there being some ulterior motive.

"Please be careful."

The older idol didn't know where that was coming from. There was just this horrible feeling in her chest like something bad was going to happen. It was like life had this deep rancor and had an intricate plan to have its revenge on the younger girl.

As if in a trance, Hyejoo silently nodded, because that was all she could do.

She could feel it too. She knew things weren't going to be okay. Nothing about this situation was okay and she didn't know if things would ever get better. She could only hope. As Loona finally left her apartment and Hyejoo closed the door after her, all she could do was slide down to the floor and break down fully. She was weeping her anguish loud and clear but there was no one to hear. No one ever stays long enough to hear her cries for help.

—☆★°•°•°★☆—☆★°•°•°★☆—

Go Won's schedules had always been very free and laid-back precisely because her real identity was still a secret to the public, and therefore she didn't do multiple events one after the other. That meant the demand for her to appear anywhere really was extremely high and offers were always available for her to choose freely. Her company didn't choose her schedule, she did. A freedom she knew almost everyone didn't have in this industry.

What did that mean then? That Go Won would automatically book every single show and schedule Baek Taehwan was obligated to attend. She knew this wasn't healthy, and that it could be boderline stalking, but Go Won actually had a reason to want to keep such a close eye on him. She may not know Taehwan on a personal level but she knew enough. His reputation with the public may be that of an untouchable god, but the guy in real life was psychotic.

She herself had gotten to experience his advances first hand when she had the misfortune of working with him when she was still a rookie herself. It was a couple photo shoot in which they endorsed school uniforms. They spent the whole day together, changing into multiple different outfits for the whole  and posed until she muscles got numb. After the job was done, he thought the two had great chemistry and that they should get to know each other more.

Go Won was flattered, really, but she had to say no for obvious reasons. Too risky. She couldn't put her secret identity in danger for a guy she just met today. She politely rejected him and she thought that would be the end of it, but how wrong she had been. The model didn't know how to take no for an answer. He actually dared to stalk her into going out with her. Every schedule she had (which weren't many at the time) he was there to antagonize her.

Back then, she didn't have the power or connections she does now so there wasn't much she could do. However, she wasn't going to take the abuse either and she told her company what was going on. They then took the matters in their own hands and had a meeting with his company, one in which Go Won couldn't be present herself for safety reasons. Who knew if the crazy guy was planning on hurting her if she showed up anywhere near him?

The only way they managed to stop her from filing a restraining order was with mutual agreement, which was his company paying her a large sum of money to keep quiet and he would also leave her alone. She really didn't want to accept, but what other option did she have? She couldn't sue, the justice system was a corrupted one when it crossed paths with the entertainment industry. Go Won was sure he could just pay his way out of any possible punishment, just like he was paying her.

Baek Taehwan was the one that made a name out of his company. They went from nothing to raking in millions upon millions. Them bribing her wouldn't put a dent in their stocks, as long as the nation's model kept his flawless reputation intact. That's when Go Won realized this must happen often. Taehwan could do whatever the hell he wanted without fear of any consequences because he had the money to sweep things under the rug.

Go Won wasn't paranoid, she was certain. She had reasonable belief that nothing good would come to Hyejoo by being near the dangerous model. All that mess happened by Go Won simply rejecting him. She can't even imagine how much worse things