JB’s expression twisted into an ugly scowl. Rian stared down at Yoojin in utter shock, stunned by his sudden confession.

Haesung’s jaw fell open, as she stared at the boy who had once professed the utmost hate for all idols, yet now was confessing his love for Rian, one of the most stuckup, arrogant idols in the industry. Had he gone mad?

Rian hesitated, unsure of how to react. Then her eyes flickered to JB, his expression one of hatred as he gazed at Yoojin. And Rian smiled sweetly at Yoojin, helping him up, “Get up and talk, Yoojin-ah.”

Siwoo’s eyes widened, “What the…is she actually gonna accept him or something?” He and Nana exchanged a nervous glance.

JB slammed his tray down before standing up abruptly. Siwoo looked over at him, alarmed, “JB, don’t be so-”

Before Siwoo could finish, JB strode out of the canteen angrily. Siwoo groaned, facepalming.

Haesung stared after her idol. After a few moments, she hurried after him worriedly.

Rian felt a pang as she saw Shin Haesung running after JB. She should be the one comforting JB, the one staying by his side. Not Shin Haesung! And yet now she was hurting him, hurting him so badly that it hurt her too, but she had no choice…she had to do this.

Yoojin did not notice Rian’s internal struggle, “Lee Jikyung…you do remember me, don’t you?”

Rian forced a smile, “Of course I do, Jin Yoojin. We dated in our first year.”

“I can’t believe how stupid I was to hurt you like that…Jikyung…I’m sorry. I’m sorry for hurting you back then, and I’m sorry for not recognizing you sooner. Can you give me another chance?” Yoojin pleaded.

Rian hesitated. Her eyes flickered to where JB and Haesung had disappeared. Taking a deep breath, she replied, “Yoojin, you’re a nice guy, and I’ve always treated you as a friend. But…I…I really need some time to sort out some things in my life, I just-”

“I understand.” Yoojin interrupted with an understanding smile, “But no matter what, I’ll still be here waiting for you, as long as you need me. So that when you’re ready, I’ll be here for you. Don’t forget that.” With that, he strode away.

Rian stared silently after him.

As Yoojin rounded the corner to where Jr was waiting, he immediately asked excitedly, “How was it? Was I cool?”

Jr gave him a thumbs up, grinning. Yoojin punched his fist into the air in triumph, “All right!” He smirked, “Just you wait, Jang Woojae. I’ll take back everything you stole from me back then, and show you who’s the real winner.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

JB stormed to the staircase, boiling in anger. As he looked up at the staircase, he remembered the hug that he and Rian had shared here…that stupid Jin Yoojin. Who did he think he was, coming between them like that?

Someone behind him cleared softly, almost nervously.

JB spun around. Then he relaxed, “Shin Haesung. What are you doing here?”

“I saw you run here, so I…” her voice trailed off and she stared down at her hands, “You…You really love her, don’t you? Rian-sshi, I mean.”

JB’s expression darkened, “I don’t want to talk about that.” He turned to leave, but Haesung suddenly blurted out, “Do you like apples?”

JB stopped, startled by her sudden awkward question, “Apples? Yeah, I guess. They’re my favourite fruit. Why?”

Haesung looked cheery at that, “My dad has an apple farm, and the apples are really sweet! I have some in my locker now, do you want to try them?”

JB hesitated for a moment. Then he shrugged, “Why not?” He followed her to her locker, where she pulled out a red apple and handed it to him proudly, “Here, take a bite.”

He took it from her and took a large bite; his eyes widened, “Wow, this is really good stuff!”

Haesung looked delighted, “You like it, then?”

Just at that moment, Siwoo rushed up to them. He glanced at Haesung and frowned, “What are you doing hanging out with a sasaeng, JB?”

JB shot him a look that told him to shut up, “She’s not a sasaeng, she’s a friend.”

Haesung smiled at JB’s words, but Siwoo just shrugged, “Whatever. Look, nothing happened between Rian and that guy, okay, so just calm down will you?”

JB’s expression became angry, “I don’t want to know. It’s none of my business anyway.”

Siwoo rolled his eyes, “JB, come on. Just because Rian’s being a little weird doesn’t mean you have to act like this. In fact, you should work even harder and not give up!”

JB turned and walked back to his room, ignoring Siwoo. Siwoo shook his head in exasperation, but hurried after his leader, keeping up a constant stream of persuasion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, JB decided to go and look for Rian. He hadn’t slept the whole night, thinking instead about Siwoo’s words, and wondering just what had gone wrong between him and Rian. And he decided to look for her, to clear things up with her.

But as he reached her room, Jin Yoojin was already waiting there for her. The door opened, and Rian walked out; she did not look surprised at the sight of Yoojin. Yoojin grinned, “Shall we catch a quick breakfast?”

JB growled. Three long strides, and he was in front of them; roughly, he shoved Yoojin back. Yoojin swore, “What the hell, man?” He took a challenging step forward, then stopped abruptly, his body frozen.

Something about the murderous anger in JB’s eyes told him to get the hell out of his way. And, seeing JB in this unbalanced, almost unhinged state, Yoojin was more than willing to do so. He opened his mouth to address Rian, but before he could say a word, JB shoved him again. The idol grabbed Rian’s hand roughly, dragging her away against her will.

Rian snapped, “Yah, Jang Woojae, let go of me! What the hell is wrong with you?!”

JB let go of Rian’s hand; whirling around, he slammed her against the door, “Goddammit, Rian. How long more are you going to do this?”

Rian stared up at JB’s furious face, only centimeters away from hers; she looked away, unable to hold his gaze, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Rian flinched as JB punched the wall, hard; there was an ominous crack, but if his hand hurt, he did not give any indication of it, “You know what I’m talking about. Ignoring me all the time, and now going around with that little bastard, acting as if the two of you are dating, just to piss me off. Just stop it, Rian. It makes me sick.”

Rian’s eyes narrowed, “You’re thinking too highly of yourself, Jang Woojae. I wouldn’t bother to do all those things just for you. You’re not worth my time.”

JB’s expression became even more dangerous, “Don’t lie to me, Rian. You can tell all the lies you want, but you know that none of your lies can fool me. Just like that time at the staircase. Just like all those other times you tried to lie.”

Rian sneered at him, “Say whatever you want to inflate your own ego, Jang Woojae.”

There was a pause as he stared down at her. Then, in a more subdued voice, he asked, “Why, Rian? Why break up with me? What did I do to make you so angry with me? You obviously still love me, so why?”

“I’ve told you time and time again, Jang Woojae, you’re the one who broke up with me.” Rian replied coolly.

JB’s tone became angry again, “Just because I lied back then, for you-”

“Everyone knows you broke up with me. You dumped me for your debut. Ailee knows it, Nana knows it, Siwoo knows it. Everyone in our company knows it. Why make excuses for yourself and accuse me of breaking up with you, JB?” Rian gave him a look of mock pity.

“Then get back together with me.” JB demanded.

There was a long silence as Rian gazed at JB, as if at a loss for what to say. Her lips trembled for a moment. Then she gave a ‘hmph’, “Get together with you, only to be dumped by you again? You have to be kidding me. We both know your career is more important than me. Your father-”

“I don’t want to talk about my father!” JB roared, slamming the wall next to Rian’s head.

Rian smirked, “Why? Feeling guilty? Do you feel bad that you’re disappointing your father by trying to get together with me? Don’t forget, for an idol to reveal that he or she is dating another idol, would be equivalent to suicide. You would ruin your career by doing that. You would be breaking your promise to your father. Is that why you don’t want to talk about him?”

“Goddammit Rian!” JB screamed. He pounded the wall, again and again, his rage impotent as he released all his pent-up frustration. The hard cement wall seemed to shake as he hit it, screaming in anger. Rian flinched, her eyes shut tight as she stood stock-still in front of him.

After what seemed like an eternity, the pounding finally stopped, and Rian dared to open her eyes again. JB stood in front of her, his body lifeless, his expression tired and frustrated as he stared at her. She could see the regret in his eyes for having lost his temper, the pain and frustration as she pushed him away again and again, and, most of all, his love for her, the love that he couldn’t seem to control.

There was nothing to say. Wordlessly, he turned away and trudged back from where they had come. She stared after his lifeless, zombie-like frame. She was relieved, almost happy for him, for she knew that this way how he was. That he would always hide beneath a mask of cold restraint, burying the frustration, the pain within him till it became too much for him to bear, and he would explode in anger. She hoped this was the last of it; she didn’t want him to suffer silently anymore. But somehow, somehow she had an uneasy feeling that that explosion had simply been too tame. That he had withheld some of his rage and frustration simply because she was Rian, and he did not want to hurt her with his fury.

A small, melancholy smile crossed Rian’s face, “You always did have a bad temper, JB.”

Then she sank to the ground, her small frame shaking as she wept bitterly. 

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Hey guys, I'm back! There's quite a bit of development in this chapter; JJJ triangle starts full force, and Haesung/JB's relationship is sort of developed.

A huge part of the story was the JJCouple confrontation. JB's getting very frustrated, and his hot temper is showing itself. JB usually hides under a cover of calm and quiet, but like Rian knows, he's just keeping everything bottled inside until he explodes. Spoiler: This is only the small explosion. The big one comes in the next chapter. But no matter what, JB just wants to be with Rian and he doesn't want to hurt her, so he's just getting angrier and more frustrated as Rian pushes him away and hangs out with Yoojin. 

After the next chapter, the storyline will deviate, and so the angst is only just beginning. Is anyone else excited? I know I am :)

And guys, remember, comment and subscribe!