For the next few days, everyone tip-toed around JB. It was almost as if he was on a short fuse; he would blow up at anyone who did anything to annoy him in the slightest. Even Siwoo had to be careful around him; he had nearly gotten punched for borrowing JB’s underwear (Nana had argued that that was a serious thing that really pissed JB off, but Siwoo really didn’t see how, so…)

Rian and JB did not speak to each other either. Rian spent almost all her time in her room, or with Nana and Ailee, and she studiously avoided JB, to the point that she would literally run when JB approached.

But today, there was no more running to be done. It was the annual ball, and every male student had to ask a female student out. On stage.

Yeah, on stage. An absolute embarrassment for the females who didn’t get chosen, and the males who got rejected.

Jinwoon was still groaning about having to get a suit and all, but Jr, who was hoping to ask Seul out, insisted that the “G-minor!” boy follow him to the shop. They checked out a couple of suits, but they were way to expensive, and they ended up purchasing suits at a second-hand stall in the end.

JB and Siwoo, on the other hand, had more than enough suits to choose from. JB chose a simple button-up shirt with a black jacket and pants, leaving the top three buttons ed. It was formal, but incredibly hot. Siwoo, on the other hand, went for the casual look, with a simple shirt and jeans. It was a formal dance, but he was, after all, Eden’s Siwoo, and he was expected to break some rules.

Rian, Nana and Ailee, too, wore beautiful dresses; they literally looked like angels from heaven. The other students could only stare at them with envy. Soon-Doong was still gushing over the dress that Rian had chosen to wear, “It was designed by Paris Hilton herself, you know! I wish I had that kind of luck.” She complained to Haesung.

Haesung, who was simply wearing a white dress that her father had bought for her to go to church, was jealous as well. She had seen how beautiful Rian looked; in that instant, she could not help but think: No wonder JB was so in love with her. But Haesung was terribly, terribly nervous. JB would ask Rian, that was for sure. The question was…what would Rian’s reaction be?

Before they knew it, it was time for the ball. The girls were lined up on the huge stage, nervously waiting to be chosen. Slowly, the boys went up with their roses in hand, and began to choose their partners. A huge line formed before Nana, Ailee and Rian at once; Rian had almost fifty people in line already. There were also a number of boys in front of Lee Seul; she stared at them in shock, as if at a loss. The President watched all this carefully, and had to fight to keep a satisfied smile off his face. He just knew that his daughter was attractive, so it was no wonder there were boys fighting for her.

Soon-Doong’s line was conspicuously empty; every boy knew of and feared the crazy witch who claimed to know magic. Haesung’s too was empty. But she didn’t care. She kept her eye out for JB, worrying about him as she always did.

Jr entered the hall. He strode purposefully to Lee Seul, a bright grin on his face. Seul raised an eyebrow and waited. Jr stood in front of Seul, ignoring the other boys. There was a pause; then, from somewhere, rock music began to play. Seul rolled her eyes, but as Jr began to dance, she couldn’t keep the smile off her face.

Jr ended with a slid on the knees, in front of Seul. He held the rose up to her, grinning. And, without hesitation, she took it from him. Jr bounced up like a cute little ball, and hugged her. There was a cheer as the other students watched this cute couple, while the other boys who had chosen Seul shifted away miserably.

Siwoo was next up; he strode in with a swagger, his face covered by a pair of expensive sunglasses. His eyes were already fixed on one girl, and he smirked as he walked towards her. He could hear the whispers of the other girls, but this time, he ignored them; they weren’t the ones he was looking for anymore.

Ailee nudged Nana, “The big fish is coming.” She giggled, and Nana couldn’t help but laughed. The boys in front of her shifted to the side automatically – they knew when they didn’t stand a chance.

Siwoo knelt down before Nana, and tilted the rose he held, “Surely you’re not going to reject me, right? My pride couldn’t possibly take it?”

Nana glanced down at him, “And if I did reject you?”

Siwoo grinned, “Then I’ll knock out whoever you choose, kidnap you, and bring you to a party of my own.”

Nana laughed, “All right, all right, scared of you!” And she reached out and took his rose. Siwoo whooped, leaping up to swing his arm around Nana; the other boys who had chosen Nana were already moving to other girls, knowing there was no way they could compete with Siwoo. As they did, Siwoo gave Nana a high-five, “I think this is the first time since our trainee days that we’ve been paired up like that. Sure brings back the old times, huh?”

Nana could only laugh.

Yoojin entered quietly, unlike the other two before him. He looked down at himself, making sure he was presentable, then walked towards Rian. Rian stiffened upon seeing Yoojin she cast her eyes about for JB, but could see him nowhere.

As Yoojin reached the stage, the double doors were thrown open, and JB appeared. The girls began to cheer at the sight of him.

Rian stared silently at him. He was just as handsome as the day they had first met, but the icy detachment in his eyes frightened her. What was going through JB’s mind?

JB walked quickly, silently. He made it to Rian at the same time as Yoojin$, and both knelt down before her, waiting for her to make her choice. Everyone waited with bated breath.

Rian hesitated, stunned. She stared down at JB for a moment…and then she turned, and took Yoojin’s rose.

There was a gasp of shock, and Haesung stared at Rian in utter disbelief.

JB’s body was frozen, but his face did not register surprise. Somehow, somehow he had known this would happen.

Siwoo stood up, his face worried as he stared at his best friend. Beside him, Nana hissed, “What the hell is Rian thinking?”

Rian reached down, and took Yoojin’s arm gently, “You don’t have to keep kneeling, you know.”

And that was the last straw.

With a roar of rage, JB threw himself at Yoojin in a flurry of fists. His first punch caught Yoojin on the jaw and threw Yoojin right to the floor; the second was a powerful uppercut, and Yoojin’s head snapped back so hard that it slammed brutally into the ground. With a scream of rage, JB began to kick Yoojin with all the force he had. Yoojin curled up into a ball, desperately trying to hide from JB’s rage. In his mind he was stunned, still unable to process what had just happened. All he could think was ‘What the hell?!’

Siwoo and Jr both gave yells of shock; they ran up to the stage, trying to pull JB off, but JB was in such a rage that he shoved both of them hard enough to push them off their feet. And, as if he had not been interrupted, he continued to brutally assault Yoojin, his face a mask of anger and hatred.

Rian was rooted to the ground, staring at JB in horror. Haesung’s eyes were wide as she watched a side of her idol that she had never seen before.

Almost a good five minutes passed before anyone thought to do anything. Then, at the same time, almost as if they had planned it, the boys surged forward, pulling JB off him; even JB’s rage could not help him fight against nearly a hundred boys trying to drag him off Yoojin.

Jr knelt beside Yoojin, but he was out cold. His face was bloody and bruised, several teeth had been knocked out, and there was blood on his head. Jr was stunned.

JB was still screaming in anger as he struggled to reach Yoojin; he was conscious of only one thing: He wanted to kill that ing bastard.

“Enough!” The President’s voice rang out, with enough authority that JB stopped struggling for a moment, his eyes flickering to the President. Then his eyes widened in shock and he stared down at Yoojin, as if he had only just realized what he had done.

“Call the ambulance.” The President’s voice was tight, “And the three of you. Bring JB to my office.” He pointed at two random boys and Siwoo, before turning away grimly.

Siwoo looked worriedly at JB, but the idol looked stunned by what he had done, his body limp as his expression horrified as if he couldn’t believe his own actions. Silently, the three boys dragged JB along after the President.

Rian stared silently after JB. Her thoughts were not on Yoojin at all; it sounded cruel, but there was no room in her mind for anything else. She could only think of JB; the way he had looked after she had chosen Yoojin, the shock and stark anguish in his eyes. And then his furious, almost insane expression as he went after Yoojin, screaming and wanting to beat him bloody. She had known that she was pushing JB, but she had not registered just how much he must have been hurting, how much she must have hurt him, for him to explode like this.

As she turned away, she caught Shin Haesung’s gaze.

And Haesung stared back at her with pure hatred in her eyes. 

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Here's the next chapter and JB's explosion!

This chapter was almost all about his explosion; JB's been trying to control himself for a very long time, but he's only become more and more frustrated. I chose to emphasize on Jr/Seul and Siwoo/Nana as a contrast; these two couples are all happy and loving, and JB is actually envious of them. He wants to be chosen by Rian, but when he sees these couples getting together, and is himself rejected by Rian, it literally pushes him over the edge, which leads to Yoojin nearly getting beaten to death.

Haesung's hatred finally gets a justification, too. Now she doesn't just hate Rian because JB loves her, but also because Rian keeps on hurting JB. But don't worry, the story's is so not going to become JB/Haesung. 

The angst comes full force in the next chapter; JB is going to find himself lost and drifting, and Rian will start to regret. Please anticipate it! And remember, comment and subscribe!