“Agio Italian?”

“Well, yeah, that’s the plan for tonight’s dinner,” Yo Seob scratched his head and admitted. He bit his lips and added on, “I remember you telling me you like Italian food.”

“You… remember?” Ji Hyun repeated and was pleased on the inside. She remembered herself just passing a harmless remark about liking Italian cuisine but never expected an insensitive guy like Yo Seob to actually remember it in his heart.

They were inside the CUBE recording studio again, reviewing their video posted on YouTube on their very first duet. There were mixed feelings about the duet by their fans but they had learnt to take it in stride.

At one point of the video, Yo Seob was caught peeking at Ji Hyun singing her lines secretly and blushing madly. When Ji Hyun looked up, Yo Seob sneakily looked into the camera and successfully avoiding her eyes. However, everything was caught on camera.

Ji Hyun pretended to be unbothered by the little act by Yo Seob. She stayed silent and watched the video.

She smiled and said, “Alright, let’s go to that restaurant… but I heard it’s expensive.”

“Well, I guess I can make use of this chance to splurge on something! And to celebrate our duet together.” Yo Seob joked freely.

Ji Hyun stood up and packed her stuff, “Ah, I need to get down to the convenience store to buy some items for the members. I’ll meet you back in an hour!”

Somehow, Yo Seob felt uneasy as if something was wrong, “Ji Hyun, your manager isn’t here today. Do you need me to accompany you to the store? It’s just a block away.”

Feeling confused, she replied back, “Exactly. It’s just a block away. I’ll see you later.”

With that, she left the room. Yo Seob paced around the room and felt alone. Stretching his arms out wide, he decided to go out and take a breather. Along the hallway, he was just looking at the view outside the building and looked down to see some girls outside the CUBE building – as usual. The fans would never fail to be waiting for them outside.

However, this time, the fans seemed to be different.

The girls were no longer smiling and anticipating eagerly like before. Unlike their cheery and excited faces, their expressions were dull and surprisingly dark. He narrowed his eyes to see the words on the banners, perhaps they could give a better clue on what’s happening.

He read the words out loud, “Nam Ji Hyun, you ! Get away from our Yo Seob!”

“Oh no.” Yo Seob said to himself and dropped everything he was holding and ran downstairs.

Ji Hyun was already at the first floor, ready to go out of the CUBE Building. Being ignorant about the whole scenario, she exited without a worry to be surrounded with overprotective fans. “Yah, she’s out!” One of the girls yelled and pointed at Ji Hyun, “Get her! She was flirting with Yo Seob!”

Ji Hyun asked, “What’s going on?!”

No one bothered to reply her. Without a warning, they charged towards her like a group of crazy bulls on strike. Ji Hyun screamed and tried to get back into the building but someone pulled her ponytail recklessly.

Squealing with pain, Ji Hyun was helpless as they pushed her to the wall. They took a step back and smirked. One, who seemed to be the leader of the pack, said to the rest, “Girls, you know what to do…”

All of them took out tomatoes and eggs out of their bags. Ji Hyun had nowhere to go and she knew calling for help would not do a thing for her since they were already prepared. “3, 2, 1! Throw!” The leader of the pack said.

Ji Hyun covered her face and turned back to face the wall. Suddenly, she felt a shadow was casted behind her, protecting her from all the antics by the fans.

She was clueless but secretly thankful.

The actions of the fans stopped abruptly when the person came over to protect her. Gasps and whispers were heard until one of the girls mentioned his name.

“Doo Joon Oppa…”

Doo Joon?

The person backed away from Ji Hyun and placed one arm protectively around her shoulder. He glared into the eyes of the fans who were fearful. Doo Joon retorted, “What are you guys doing to her?!”

At that moment, Yo Seob had already reached the first floor and spotted Doo Joon covering Ji Hyun. Doo Joon was already drenched with tomato juice and broken eggs. He took a step back, not sure whether to intervene. After all, Doo Joon was better at handling this stuff – including protecting the woman he loved.

“She was… Yo Seob Oppa…”

“It’s entirely fine if you want to come right at us but find a legitimate reason to do so. Ganging up on a vulnerable girl like Ji Hyun is definitely too much!” Doo Joon yelled at them and calmly said, “I’m calling the police.”

“Oppa, no! No! Please don’t! Our parents can never know about this!”

“You should have thought of that before doing all these crazy things,” Doo Joon was already whipping out his phone, dialling for the number.

Ji Hyun took away his phone and shook her head, “I believe they are just young and naïve. Let’s not blow this out of proportion.”

“But…”

“Doo Joon Oppa, please?” Ji Hyun begged and looked at the apologetic fans.

“Alright,” Doo Joon stepped forward and looked straight at the leader of the pack, “Listen, I’m letting you all go on Ji Hyun’s account. If I ever encounter this again, I’ll make sure you guys get the punishment you deserve – even if you are our fans, get it?”

“Yes, Oppa,” The leader bowed and the rest followed, “We’re sorry.”

“Leave.” Doo Joon ordered and they followed.

Doo Joon sighed and went back to Ji Hyun. Suddenly, he noticed Ji Hyun was shivering in fear and her face turned extremely pale. The incident was too much for her to bear. It was the first time she had encountered such actions from fans.

“Ji Hyun! Are you okay?” He asked with concern and made sure Ji Hyun was unhurt. Ji Hyun burst into tears and started sobbing. “Ji Hyun! Why are you crying? Where are you hurt?!” His tone became anxious when Ji Hyun was in panic and her tears flowed.

“Doo Joon Oppa… Doo Joon…” She stammered and hugged him tightly, needing the security from Doo Joon.

Although he was taken aback, he hugged her back with assurance and patted her head softly, “It’s okay. I have chased them away. They will not bother you again. Shh, it’s okay. Don’t cry anymore. I’m right here with you.”

“I’m right here with you,” Doo Joon’s words lingered in Yo Seob’s mind. He had a feeling of anger and other mixed emotions inside him which was indescribable. It became intolerable to see Ji Hyun in Doo Joon’s embrace.

He clenched his fists to calm his nerves, knowing that he had to be rationale.

All of a sudden, Ji Hyun’s cries were unheard and her legs gave way. Doo Joon tried to get her back up but her eyes were already tight shut. “Ji Hyun! Ji Hyun!” He called out.

Realising something was amiss, Yo Seob rushed down the stairs to check on Ji Hyun. Yo Seob touched Doo Joon’s shoulder and noticed it was damped, “Doo Joon, your shirt…”

Doo Joon looked over and saw red patches – of blood. Ji Hyun was bleeding. And her blood might have gotten on his shirt when they were hugging. Yo Seob lifted her head and spotted her forehead to be dripping with blood.

He was confused.

And then, he spotted a rock stained with blood at a corner.

Someone had thrown a rock at her instead of eggs and tomatoes.