"Nah. I'm meeting the guys." G.O replied, turning to her with a grin.

 

 

"Ok then." she smiled.

 

 

"In fact, I have to get going right now." he stated, taking a sip of his fresh cup of coffee and leaving it on the kitchen counter.

 

 

"Alright then. Have fun." she beamed cheerfully as he hastily grabbed his coat and keys.

 

 

Before he could disappear for the rest of the night without a trace, she held his wrist, stopping him in his tracks, and gave him a peck on the cheek.

 

 

"Be safe." she whispered lovingly as he hurried out the door.

 

 

This has been the daily routine for Jiyul. Waking up at five in the morning so she could make her boyfriend breakfast, go to school, and return to an empty house. When she was lucky, she'd be home early enough to bid him goodbye before he left to meet the guys. But it didn't make a difference, since his goodbyes were always fleeting.

 

 

"I'm on my way, Seungho. Don't start without me!" G.O said through the phone as he drove to their usual hangout. Ten minutes later, he finally arrived.

 

 

"Hyung, what took you so long?!" Mir shouted across the basketball court.

 

 

"Jiyul was home. I couldn't just leave as soon as I got home." he explained, taking the ball out of Chundung's hands.

 

 

"Why?" Mir pressed on.

 

 

"You don't have a girlfriend, Mir, you won't understand." Seungho cut in.

 

 

G.O's brows furrowed as he tried to understand what Seungho meant, and if it was right. And by the mocking look in Seungho's eyes, he knew they weren't thinking the same thing. Seungho misunderstood his excuse for being late as a hint of Jiyul being clingy or troublesome. But she was nothing of that sort.

 

 

"I just didn't want to leave her so abruptly." G.O spoke, hoping they'd change their thinking. He didn't like it when the guys tried to imply that his relationship was burdensome, even though there were times he felt just that.

 

 

"Then why didn't you just bring her?" Chundung asked, taking the chance to take the ball back from G.O.

 

 

"Can we stop talking about girlfriends and just play?" Joon grumbled, causing laughter among the guys, with the exception of G.O.

 

 

The thought of bringing Jiyul along had crossed his mind a couple of times. Which guy wouldn't want to flaunt his athletic skills infront of his girlfriend? He thought he was being considerate for sparing her the boredom of watching them play. What he didn't know was that as his girlfriend sat in the silence of their living room every night, waiting for his return, not once had she not wished she could tag along like she used to when they first got together. But not one word about this was spoken. In fact, not many words were spoken at all.

 

 

"Byunghee, are you coming home anytime soon?" Jiyul asked after G.O finally picked up.

 

 

"I'm still with the guys." he simply replied, without any explanation or apology.

 

 

"It's already 11pm. You have class tomorrow, don't you?"

 

 

He let out a frustrated sigh.

 

 

"Just go sleep, Jiyul. Goodnight." he spurted, hanging up without hearing one more word.

 

 

"Ya, why so mean?" Mir questioned disapprovingly.

 

 

"She's like my mom sometimes." G.O muttered under his breath, showing his annoyance for the first time.

 

 

"Having a girlfriend is like this, G.O. Are you only realizing it after three years?" Seungho laughed.

 

 

"She's just worried, hyung. You should be glad she cares." Chundung said.

 

 

"I wish Jiyul noona was my girlfriend." Mir added.

 

 

"Shut up!" G.O snapped, "Go get your own girlfriend!"

 

 

G.O was possessive. Even if he knew his maknae was only trying to emphasize how great a girlfriend Jiyul was, he just couldn't keep his anger in. He hated hearing words of envy, because he feared having his property taken away from him. And he didn't see the need to hide his possessive side in front of the guys. They had to know his girl was untouchable. But not once had he made this known to Jiyul. No girl would be able to stand a possessive boyfriend. He thought was giving Jiyul freedom by being so detached. But he was doing more than giving her freedom.

 

 

He was practically giving her away.