There was a stunned, almost disbelieving silence. Siwoo and Ailee’s mouths had fallen open, and they were gaping at Haesung like she was an alien from outer space. Both Yoojin and Nana stared at Haesung for a moment, before their gazes flickered over to Rian’s face.

Rian looked thunderstruck; she could only stare, stunned at her once-rival.

Haesung swallowed awkwardly before entering the room, pulling the door shut behind her. Her eyes travelled across the room, studying the face of each person, and finding acceptance in none of them. Even Yoojin was eying her coldly.

She looked down, unable to meet their eyes any longer. But before any of them could say a word, the door opened again, and the EXO boys filed in. They were rowdy, all of them chattering at the same time. JB was at the back with Baekhyun and Luhan; they were laughing about something, Baekhyun’s arms slung over the other two’s shoulders as they strode in.

Kris, who was in the lead, stopped abruptly at the sight of the unusually full dressing room. “Woah. What are you guys all doing here?”

Ailee pranced up with a smile. “Oh, we were supposed to come here to give you guys our support, but we were a little late, so we missed you by a bit…”

“Oh. Well, thanks for the thought.” Suho smiled pleasantly.

Lay was standing quietly in a corner with Tao; his sharp eyes noted the extra non-trainee in the room. “Miss, I don’t think you belong in this room, this is EXO’s dressing room. Fans aren’t allowed here. I’m sorry.”

Haesung looked startled that she was being addressed; her arms raised in a slightly defensive manner. “Oh no, I’m not a fan. Well, I mean I am, just that I…uh…”

“I asked her to meet me.” JB’s voice interrupted; all the EXO members turned and stared at him in surprise. Baekhyun’s mouth opened slightly; his eyes following JB as he walked over to Haesung. In a single fluid motion, he slung his arm over Haesung’s shoulder; with a small smile towards Rian, he spoke up, “This is Shin Haesung, she’s my girlfriend.”

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

Luhan leaned against the sink as JB splashed water over his face. “Was what you said true?”

JB blinked rapidly, wiping the water from his eyes. “Was what I said true?”

Luhan shot him a look. “What you said about that girl, Shin Haesung. About her being your girlfriend. Is it true?”

JB straightened up. “Why wouldn’t it be true?”

“Because the company doesn’t allow us to debut if we are already dating someone. We’ll have to break up with them. You know that. They forced Yixing to break up with his girlfriend of seven years. There’s no way they would let you continue dating your girlfriend, it’s against the rules.” Luhan spoke in a matter-of-fact way, but his sharp eyes were fixed on the younger man. He waited for a few moments, but when JB did not speak, he asked, “Well?”

“We…share a past. But no, we’re not dating.” JB responded, almost reluctantly, his arms folded over his chest.

Luhan’s expression turned contemplative. “You share a past. Like you share a past with the Superdols?”

JB started. “How did you-”

“Anyone paying attention can tell. Siwoo, Nana and Ailee are always looking for chances to talk to you although you never give it to them, Yoojin’s always glaring at you like you murdered his parents and when you and Rian are together, the tension in the room is so thick you can’t even walk.” Luhan listed off.

JB stiffened, then let out a small laugh. “Is it that obvious?”

Luhan grinned. “Pretty much. Need to learn to keep secrets better, bro.”

JB shrugged. “So, if you guys all know about everything, then why’re you still bothering to ask me.”

“Now there, I didn’t say everyone knew everything. Only a couple of us, those who…well, pay attention enough.”

JB’s eyebrow quirked. “Are you sure that describes you, Lu?”

“Well, Lay has been discussing some of his observations with me…” Luhan admitted with a guilty little grin, looking very much like a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. JB grinned as well; Luhan’s smile was infectious.

After a moment, Luhan’s smile faded slightly, his voice more serious as he spoke again. “All I’m saying is…don’t hurt yourself, JB. I don’t know what happened between all of you last time, but anyone with eyes can tell that it’s not simple. It’s all very well to play with fire – just make sure you don’t get burnt, all right?”

JB stayed quiet, contemplative. Luhan clapped his shoulder. “Just think about it, bro.” He left the toilet, and JB stared after him, still quiet as before. Finally, he sighed, straightening up and wiping his hands against his pants, although they were already dry.

It was easier to talk then it was to act.

As he strode back to the EXO dressing room, he was surprised to see Haesung waiting outside. She looked up at him; he felt sorry for her, seeing the spark of joy in her eyes.

The door was open, and through it, JB could see Yoojin and Rian chatting with Suho and Kris. Rian kept her eye on the door; she looked distracted as JB appeared.

Knowing Rian was watching him, he took Haesung’s hand. “Come with me for a moment.”

Rian’s frown deepened considerably, but she said nothing. Suho followed her gaze; quietly, so that none of the others would hear, he spoke up, “I doubt there’s anything going on between them, and you know that too.”

Rian looked at Suho in surprise. He gave her a reassuring smile. “You know we’re not allowed to debut if we’re dating, right? Company rule; JB may be one of the oldest trainees, but even he doesn’t get to bend the rules. So don’t be so upset.”

Rian nodded, smiling back, feeling slightly reassured by the leader’s words.

Haesung’s heart was palpitating as JB pulled her into an unused dressing room. He sat her down on a chair, then turned away, staying ominously silent. Haesung just waited.

It’d been years since she’d seen him. She’d been stagnating for the past three years; she had begun to teach some children in her father’s church, although she wasn’t very good at it, but there was no other choice she had – she wasn’t talented enough to join a company like the Superdols, nor could her father afford to send her off to university. Even Soon-doong and Seul had left her behind; Seul’s father guaranteed her a place in a prestigious university, and Soon-doong had gone through a reflective state, suddenly improving her grades so much so that she got a scholarship for Seul’s university as well. And so Haesung spent her time teaching, watching old clips of JB, reminiscing of her old school days and hoping that he would come back and perhaps even remember her. And now…now…was it possible that her hopes were finally being realized?

After a long moment of silence, JB finally turned back to her. But his expression was cold, albeit slightly apologetic. “I’m sorry for calling you here and wasting your time, Haesung-sshi.”

Haesung’s hopes sank.

‘So your suspicions were right after all; he was just using you to make Rian jealous. It’s still Rian whom he cares about most after all…’ her mind whispered. But she forced a smile, feigning foolishness. “I’m not sure what you mean, JB.”

“I know why you think I called you here, and I’m sorry, but it’s not that. I just, well. I know I’m using you, and I’m sorry to you, but I don’t regret it. So now hit me.” JB finished quickly.

Haesung stared at him silently, forcing the tears from coming. At last, she took a deep breath, and sighed. “Hit you? For what? I should have known from the start, she’s all you ever cared about, isn’t she?”

JB’s expression darkened. “Care? I’m afraid not. All I care about is getting back at her. Giving her what she deserves. Caring for her? As if.”

Haesung gave him a small, sad smile. “Whatever you say. It doesn’t matter.” She reached out, and took JB’s hand. “Whatever you want to do with me, I’ll do it. Even if you want to use me, I don’t mind. As long as it’s what you want.”

JB stared at Haesung, disbelieving at first. He almost asked why, but then he stopped himself, understanding sparking in his eyes. “Thank you, Haesung-sshi.”

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

The Superdols languished around the training room, doing their own things. Rian was still feeling unsettled; she couldn’t seem to get that image of JB pulling Haesung along out of her head. After a few moments, she stood up with an impatient sigh. “I’m going out for a while.”

Yoojin made to follow her, but Jr grabbed his hand. “Just let her be, she needs time alone. You can’t follow her everywhere all the time.”

Reluctantly, Yoojin sat back down.

Rian stormed through the hallway, running a hand through her hair. As she turned the corner, she crashed into someone, hard, falling backwards with a gasp.

A hand reached out to grab her; whoever it was pulled her upright, then released her abruptly. JB’s voice snapped, “Can’t you see where you’re going?”

Rian opened her eyes to glare at him. “Why don’t you watch where you’re going?”

If he was going to be mean and nasty, then two can play at this game. She kept her eyes cold and angry, putting her training as an actress to good use.

JB’s eyes were just as steady. “What’s your problem, Lee Jikyung?”

“None, what’s yours?” Rian retorted. JB just rolled his eyes and made to walk past her, but Rian grabbed hold of her before he could. “You pulled that stunt yesterday to make me jealous, didn’t you?”

JB rolled his eyes. “A little self-centered, aren’t we?”

Rian shot him a icy glare, and JB countered it.

All of a sudden, a voice spoke up from the left. “Can you take this somewhere else so you guys aren’t blocking the whole hallway?”

Both turned to their left, surprised to see a woman slightly older than them; she had long, straight brown hair and a cold, emotionless expression that put theirs to shame. Both of them thought she looked familiar, but couldn’t place her.

Rian snapped, “Mind your own business.”

The girl took a step forward, her aura overwhelmingly scary, making both of them take a step back. “What did you just say to me?”

“Yah, Hyemi! Stop scaring the juniors!”

A voice rang out from somewhere behind the woman, a male whom neither of them could see. Both of them stared at the woman before them in shock. “Go Hyemi?!”

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Woohoo, here comes the Dream High idols! And it's Hyemi who appears first, with her usual face XD

Tension is rising between JB and Rian, and Rian has clearly decided that if JB's going to play evil, then she can do just the same. Is this misunderstanding jut going to continue deepening? Yoojin is still showing consistent flashes of jealousy but at least he hasn't done anything particularly evil. And Haesugn is just being her usual predictable self. Oh well. 

EXO members were my favourite in this chapter. Luhan was so caring for JB and he totally didn't mind that JB lied to them about Haesung at first, and Suho gently comforting Rian...EXO boys are pretty good matchmakers ^^

In any case, I hope you guys can comment and subscribe! Thanks!

P.S: Please check out my new story, Where the Wild Things Are, an Kris/OC/Lay fanfiction and show your support by commenting or subscribing! Thanks!