There was an awkward silence as all four of them stared at each other. Jiyeon recovered first; she gave an awkward smile, bowing to the lady. “Annyeonghaseyo, Park Jiyeon-imni-”

“Don’t bother.” JB interrupted, his voice cold as the Arctic. He pushed his mother roughly towards the elevators. “Leave.”

His mother hesitated. Her eyes flickered to Suzy and Jiyeon, and she bowed her head, making her way quietly to the elevators.

Suzy and Jiyeon exchanged a mystified glance, united for once in their confusion and surprise.

As the elevator went down, JB turned to the two girls – his face was relaxed, but Jiyeon could see the tension in his eyes as he forced a smile. “Hey. So what are you guys doing here?”

“…I wanted to talk to you.” Both girls blurted out at the same time. They turned to glare at each other, and JB suppressed a chuckle at their antics.

At that moment, the door to JJ Project’s apartment swung open, and Jr strode out. “Is she gone yet?”

He froze suddenly at the sight of Suzy and Jiyeon, and his eyes narrowed. Without paying any mind to Suzy, he turned to Jiyeon. “Noona! It’s really late, what are you doing here? Come, come on in.” He took her by the hand, practically dragging her into the house.

Suzy and JB stood awkwardly outside the house, staring at each other. After a moment, JB spoke up, “Eh…sorry about Jr’s behavior, he’s a little…well, you know how Jr’s like. He’s outspoken.”

Suzy forced herself to smile. “No, that’s quite all right. I was wondering – would you like to go for a walk?”

JB hesitated again. Before he could reply, Jr came trooping out once more, his voice exceptionally loud as he ignored Suzy, “Hyung! Come on, we’re waiting for you!” He grabbed JB, pulling him back into the house.

The door slammed shut, leaving Suzy standing alone outside.

JB turned to Jr, his expression displeased. “That was rude, Jr. She’s your sunbae, you shouldn’t treat her like that.”

Jr rolled his eyes. “She’s a , the whole world knows that, and I’ll treat her as like, hyung.”

“Since I’m your sunbae shouldn’t you be paying more attention to me, then?” Jiyeon’s voice interrupted.

JB glanced at her, his cheeks suddenly reddening. “Eh…yes. So…what did you want to talk about?”

Jr hid a grin behind his hand as he sneaked back to his room.

“…Well, I just wanted to thank you for accompanying me to see Myungsoo today. Your presence was…comforting to me.” Jiyeon admitted with a small smile.

JB sat down next to her. “Glad I could help.”

They sat in silence for a few moments before JB started again, a little hesitant, “You know…have you considered…”

Jiyeon didn’t let him continue. “You want me to give Myungsoo another chance? But…why?”

JB hesitated, not sure of how to answer. There was a pause before Jiyeon reached out and took his hand. “You know, you really confuse me, JB.”

JB looked up, startled. “I do? I-”

“Do you like me or not?”

JB gaped at her.

In his room, Jr giggled like a fangirl. It was a good thing Jiyeon-noona was so forthcoming, especially since JB had always been a bit more cautious and less open.

And in the living room, JB was still staring at Jiyeon with his mouth half open.

Jiyeon raised her eyebrow. “No answer? Is that a no, then?”

“It’s not…I don’t…I’m…I…” JB stammered, his brain struggling to find an answer to her sudden question.

Jiyeon bit back a laugh. “It’s just a one word question, you know. Yes or no.”

“…Yes. Yes, I like you.” JB finally admitted.

It was a relief, to be able to express his feelings at last. He’d kept them bottled up for ages, just being a friend to Jiyeon because he was afraid that, after Myungsoo, she wouldn’t want anyone else. But she’d finally asked, and he could finally give an honest answer and admit it.

“So why do you want me to go back to Myungsoo?”

“Because I think he made a mistake, but honestly regrets it, and deserves a second chance.” JB replied honestly.

Jiyeon watched him silently for a moment. Then, her lips curving into a half-smile, she spoke, “You’re strange, Im Jaebum. But that’s what I like about you. And you’re honest, too.”

JB’s face flushed under her praise. After a moment, he asked the question that had been troubling him, “So…will you give Myungsoo a second chance?”

“…It depends.”

“On what?”

“Whether or not you’ll tell me what’s up with your mother?”

JB’s face suddenly turned gray. “You…Why are you suddenly bringing this up?”

“Don’t you think you were awfully rude to your mother? She seems like quite a pleasant woman, so why-”

“I don’t want to talk about this.” JB cut her off rudely, his expression cold.

“JB, I’m just trying to help-”

“Leave now, please.” JB was trying to maintain a calm composure, but Jiyeon could see the anger in his eyes.

After a moment, she rose, her expression upset. “I was just worried, but I guess you don’t need it, do you?”

She strode out of the house, and slammed the door behind her.

JB gazed at the door silently, his face brooding.

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

The doorbell rang repeatedly, like a broken recorder. At once, Jiyeon perked up. Could it be him? It had been three whole days since they’d spoken to each other, had he come to apologise?

She scrambled off the bed, practically running for the door as Soyeon called after her, “If it’s JB, don’t appear too eager. It’ll make you look desperate!”

It was Eunjung who reached the door first, though. She opened the door with a bright smile, expecting to see JB.

There was a resounding slap.

Jiyeon skidded to a halt, staring at Eunjung in shock. Did she just slap JB?

Then Eunjung stepped aside, only to reveal Myungsoo.

Myungsoo looked at Jiyeon, his expression chagrined. The other T-ara members were also coming out of their rooms, staring at Myungsoo in anger or dislike.

Hyomin took an aggressive step forward and slapped Myungsoo again.

Myungsoo’s head whipped to the side from the strength of the blow, but he took it silently, without a word of complaint. After a moment, he looked up at Jiyeon. “Can we talk?”

“…Let’s go to my room.” Jiyeon replied, turning to enter her room. Eunjung took a step forward, but Boram restrained her. “Let them be, Eunjung. We can’t be like mother hens all the time.”

Jiyeon sat down on her chair, folding her arms as she turned to look at Myungsoo. “Well?”

“You’re really not going to give me a second chance, are you?” Myungsoo asked, his voice a little melancholy.

“Why do you deserve a second chance? Because you regretted it? But that doesn’t mean you won’t do it again, right?” Jiyeon’s voice was sharp.

“I guess I deserved those two slaps.” Myungsoo said ruefully.

Jiyeon just looked at him.

“I’m sorry. Not for cheating on you, but for taking you for granted. For hurting you. And for all those insincere apologies and excuses I gave earlier on.”

There was a long silence. When Jiyeon spoke again, her tone was softer, “You’ve changed, Myungsoo.”

Myungsoo gave a small laugh, “Well, I got a severe scolding from Hoya and Woohyun about not taking care of girls’ feelings and acting like a total bastard so…” He looked at her, his gaze affectionate. “I’m not asking that we get back together. I understand that I’ve ruined all that, and I know that even if we got back together you probably wouldn’t be able to trust me again. That’s not what either of us want, so all I’m asking is that you’ll let me be your friend.” He held his hand out.

There was a pause. Then Jiyeon took his hand. “Friends?”

Myungsoo smiled. “Friends.” 

------------------------------------------------------

Jesus...it's been more than a month since my last update...

I'm so sorry guys! But I've been focusing on my competition stories, and I kinda lost inspiration for this one...but not to fear, I'm back, and I'll be updating more regularly now! 

(On a sidenote, Myungyeon readers can go check out my other stories: Through Coloured Lenses, Prejudices and The Path Not Taken. Yeah, I've been busy with Myungyeon)

So, this chapter marks another change - JB and Jiyeon start arguing for real, whereas, for the first time, Myungsoo and Jiyeon's relationship takes a turn for the better. 

I noticed that a lot of the readers were actually still supporting Myungsoo, and I (and my cousin, who betas my chapters) were kinda surprised. The thing is, Myungsoo never really made a sincere apology or did anything to make up to Jiyeon, which is why Jiyeon never really forgave him. And yet there were readers still hoping that Jiyeon would just go ahead and ignore everything he'd done -.- (Sorry, but it just made me kinda upset, cos I felt as if some readers were disregarding Jiyeon's feelings completely. Like really, how would you feel if your boyfriend cheated on you, then ran away and refused to clear things up with you? I don't think things would be that easily resolved.)

So although the Myungyeon relationship has taken a turn for the better, there's still more to go before Jiyeon can really forgive Myungsoo. At least Myungsoo is able to face up to what he did and apologise sincerely, and in a way they're kinda starting over. 

But JJCouple...what's going to happen to them??? 

Wait for the next chapter to find out! It should be out within a week (I want to update some of my other stories too)

And remember guys, comment and subscribe!