“Myungsoo-ah! There’s fried chicken!” Sandeul cried. He walked over, biting into a chicken drumstick. “This is our friend Jinyoung,” he introduced grandly.

   “Nice to meet you,” Jinyoung said politely.

   Myungsoo broke our shocked eye contact first, looking over from me to Jinyoung. “Oh, yeah, nice to meet you, too.”

   “This is _______,” said Jinyoung, nodding his head towards me.

   “We’ve met,” I said in a level tone, pasting a small smile on my face.

   “You two know each other?” questioned Sandeul, still digging into his chicken. CNU, Gongchan and Baro were over at the table somewhere, pigging out also.

   “We used to go out,” replied Myungsoo, seemingly recovering.

   “W-what?” blurted Jinyoung, looking back and forth between Myungsoo and I.

   “It’s really been so long,” smirked Myungsoo. “Have you found a new boy toy?”

   My mouth popped open in surprise and embarrassment. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Myungsoo.”

   “Have you stopped calling me L?”

   I paused, remembering the nickname that I used to call him affectionately. Trying to draw in my courage, I straightened out. “Have you stopped naming me “hunny bunny” in your phone?”

   All the boys in the room seemed to pause, watching us exchange remarks.

   Myungsoo suddenly looked embarrassed, but he recovered quickly. “I know it’s been six months, but let’s not forget who broke up with who.”

   I froze, speechless. I stood there as I remembered exactly how he broke up with me. His harsh yell echoed in my memory:  “You’re just too clingy for me!”

   “I remember who broke up with who. I remember the necklace, too. I remember January 12^th.” January 12^th had been our anniversary; the day that we had started going out as an official couple. I knew that he remembered by the flash of recognition and slight hurt on his face. “I also remember everything you said.”

   Myungsoo was the speechless one this time, opening then closing his mouth. His eyes softened, melting into a warm brown.

   “I’m going down to Vic,” I mumbled to Jinyoung, feeling my eyes start to water. “Nice meeting you guys,” I struggled to keep my voice even and my eyes dry as I waved and smiled at rest of the boys, everybody except Myungsoo. I felt Jinyoung’s hand brush against my arm as I turned and attempted to calmly walk out the door of the practice room.

   I had only made it past four more rooms in the hall before the first tear spilled from my eyes. I grabbed the handle and barged into a random room, slamming the door shut, relieved that it was empty. Flickering on the lights, I sat and hugged my knees on one of the bean bags in the corner. I started to sob as memories of my past relationship crowded my mind.

*Flashback*

   “Hey, bunny,” Myungsoo called out from the bathroom.

   “Hmm, what is it?” I replied in a sing-song voice.

   He plopped beside me on his bed, where I was lying on my stomach while playing around on his laptop.

   “What do you want to do today?”I asked as he adjusted himself so that he was lying on his stomach also. “It’s Valentine’s Day.”

   He turned to look at me thoughtfully. “I don’t really mind as long as we’re spending it together.”

   “We could just stay in and watch a movie.”

   “Let’s watch the Hangover.”

   “No! Something romantic, you dummy.”

   “I was just joking. Sure. But first…”

   He got off the bed, rummaging something out of his bag. “Close your eyes,” he ordered. I shut my eyes, confused over why I couldn’t see what movie he was trying to get out.

  “Open,” he commanded, and I obeyed. I flinched at the chain dangling before my eyes, before realizing that it was a chain to a necklace.

  “Oh, my God,” I whispered. We both stood up from the bed as I stared in awe.  There were two necklaces connected together, making a heart. The two halves were connected by a tiny magnetic latch. “It’s so beautiful.”

   “Like you,” Myungsoo murmured, nuzzling his face into my hair. He took the necklaces apart, placing one on the bed. “One for you, and one for me,” he said quietly. We both fell silent as I held up my hair and he put the necklace on for me, his hands lingering on my shoulders.

   “It’s so pretty,” I commented, letting my hair down and feeling the smooth surface. “This looks so expensive – are you sure?”

   “I’m sure. You complete me,” he said cheesily. Knocking his forehead against mine, a blissful smile spread itself on both of our faces. “Two halves of a whole.”

*/end*

   The entire room was silent, apart from my occasional sniffs and sobs as tears continued to stream down my face. “You were once just as clingy as I was,” I sobbed to myself, as if Myungsoo could hear me. “What did you even mean when you said I was too needy?” Burying my face in my arms, I sat there, huddled in my own ball of misery.

--- Meanwhile, back in the practice room…

   “What was that…all about?” Baro asked Jinyoung and Myungsoo nosily.

   “I have no idea what just happened,” Gongchan said, popping up behind Baro. “Myungsoo-hyung, why’d you make her cry?”

   “She was not crying,” defended Myungsoo. “We just…have a past, that’s all,” he added distractedly.

   “Yeah right, she was crying and you know it,” Jinyoung interjected somewhat coldly.

   “Hey, Jinyoung…” Sandeul put an arm on Jinyoung’s arm as a reminder to stay calm, but Jinyoung just shook his hand off.

   “I don’t know what kind of past you had, but that was just too cruel. Who makes a lady cry?” Jinyoung spoke to Myungsoo.

   “You don’t know what kind of past we had, so you shouldn’t be nosy,” Myungsoo replied coolly.

   “Tch. I’m going.” Jinyoung turned and left the room, slamming the door behind him. Perplexed, CNU, Gongchan, Sandeul and Baro simply looked at each other blankly.

   Myungsoo on the other hand, followed Jinyoung out the door, stopping him before he had even gotten past the next room.

   “Listen, really, why does it sound like I’m the bad guy? We broke up because she was clingy and obsessive,” Myungsoo tried to explain.

   “What? I’m sorry, but she is in no way obsessive. I’ve only met her for three days, and even I know that much,” Jinyoung said, starting to get pissed off.

   “It’s because you only met her for three days that you don’t know yet. She followed you here, didn’t she?”

   “I brought her here.”

   “Well, you’re going to regret it. I’m just saying, I’m not 100% evil.”

   “Don’t you know you missed out?”

   Myungsoo looked surprised as he blurted, “Missed out on what?”

   “On such an…amazing girl. But I’m glad you did – or I wouldn’t have had a chance with her.”

   “Oh, so you like her?”

   Jinyoung paused, momentarily stuck. Did he have feelings for you? He wasn’t even sure himself – why was he defending you so badly? Why did he feel so protective of you, and why did he feel so angry at Myungsoo for making you cry? Then again, he had only known you for three days…pushing his mixed feelings aside, Jinyoung avoided the question.

   “Whatever. Just – I’m glad for both her and I that you’re out of the picture.”

   “She’d fall for me again in an instant, y’know,” smirked Myungsoo.

   “How are you so confident? You said that it’s been half a year.” Jinyoung was starting to get more and more annoyed by the minute.

   “It has – but she was in love with me.” A small voice at the back of Myungsoo’s head whispered, we were in love.

   “That was in the past.”

   “Maybe we still have feelings for each other.”

   Jinyoung stared, feeling that something was up. “Are you planning something?”

   Myungsoo smirked, taking a few steps towards Jinyoung menacingly. “You’re just a boy toy to her – you really mean nothing. She’s not even over me, or else she wouldn’t have cried.”

   Jinyoung, instead of stepping back, stepped forward to meet Myungsoo. Both boys stared grumpily at the other for a second, both exactly 178cm tall.

   “Just leave her alone,” Jinyoung whispered icily. “Know when to back off.”

   Myungsoo paused. In reality, seeing you again had hurt him slightly, also. He had his own reasons for breaking up with you; you weren’t actually clingy or needy. You were perfect – but he knew that coming off as the bad guy had been the best choice at the time.  He had known that he wouldn’t be able to go back and fix the things that he had said, because that would involve telling you why he had to break up with you in the first place. Things were a lot better for him now, which was why he was back at the dance studio, starting practices again.

   I still have feelings for her, Myungsoo thought. Seeing her with this guy…how could she move on, when I still haven’t?

   “Aren’t you just scared that if I went after her again, she’d lose interest in you immediately?” Myungsoo said challengingly to Jinyoung, tilting his head to the side.

   Jinyoung wasn’t 100% sure if you had feelings for him, but he was sure that you were at least friends, and he was also starting to guess at his feelings for you. He felt strangely angry that Myungsoo was trying to get you back as a mere challenge, a simple game. “Back off,” he almost growled. “If you do anything to hurt her –“

   “Why don’t we just let her choose who she wants to be with?” Myungsoo suggested.

   “You’re confident that she’d choose you, even though you made her cry?”

   Myungsoo knew that he probably wasn’t on your top five friends list right now, but he was determined to rekindle your feelings, now that he didn’t have anything stopping him from going out with you. He wanted to do something before you ran off and fell in love with Jinyoung.

   “Are you scared that she’ll choose me, even though she just saw me again after six months?”

   Jinyoung and Myungsoo stared each other down, but neither backed off.

   “May the best man win,” Jinyoung said, reaching out his hand. If you hurt her, you’ll die, he thought.

   “May the best man win,” repeated Myungsoo, giving Jinyoung’s hand a short shake. I’ll win her back, his mind whispered determinedly.