A/N: Big mama long chapter ahead! (two more chapters to go T_T)

***

”You’re lying,” Amber snapped at me bitterly.

I threw her a look of disbelief and shook my head with a tired face expression. JB was being silent while leaning on the doorframe of my living room. My mother wasn’t at home so I could talk to them in piece without her questioning the scene.

“Does it look like I’m lying?” I asked arrogantly because she was being way too stubborn at the moment, “I don’t even see a reason to lie to you about this.”

“I do! You just want to use us to get Jin Ah back again,” she crossed her arms and glared at me.

“You have to be kidding with me,” I said to myself and rubbed my temples with my left hand.

“Amber, he is telling the truth.”

Both of us turned our heads and looked at JB who finally said something for the first time since we walked into this room. I tilted my head and rested my hands in my jeans pockets while waiting to see where this was going.

“JB, are you insane?”

“No,” he shook his head and took a few steps inside, “Haven’t you noticed that Jin Ah is avoiding us?”

“That… That’s not true,” she furrowed her eyebrows at which he only arched his.

“Really now?”

She looked away from the guy that was standing in front of us and focused her eyes on something else while thinking about the whole situation. It took her only a few minutes before she put all the pieces together. I noticed her inhale deeply before looking at me again with serious yet furious eyes.

“What can we do?”

I looked at JB and smiled weakly at him before turning my attention to Amber again.

“I got a plan but it’s not the best and safest one,” I began and took a seat on the couch, “Also, major teamwork is a must…”

***

“I’m a horrible liar…” Amber whispered as we approached Jin Ah’s house. We sent JB off to get her out of the house and distract her for the rest of the day. Oddly enough, she didn’t decline the offer and just followed JB and his new girlfriend.

This is where Amber and I had to accomplish our part of step two. I figured that, if we want Jin Ah to stay here we need a pretty good reason to, which we didn’t have at the moment. The first thought that crossed my mind was a college entrance. If we managed to secretly send her application and she actually got in, then it would be easier to convince her parents.

My plan was to send Amber off and somehow find anything related to college in Jin Ah’s room. Maybe the item she finds will help us in any possible way.

“Well, not today,” I threw her a look as I stopped walking and stood by the sidewalk, mentioning with my head to her to cross the street and knock on the door, “Just tell Mrs. Lee that you forgot something in Jin Ah’s room and need it back.”

“But what if she tells me to wait for her?”

“Just say, she was the one who sent you,” I rolled my eyes, “Goddammit Amber, you are smart. You know how to deal with situations like that.”

She let out an annoyed sigh and I slightly pushed her forward by her shoulder. She jerked my hand off but did as told. Slowly I rested my hands in my jeans pockets and walked over to a nearby bench to sit down while waiting. Standing by the road would only be too obvious.

As I leaned on the backrest of the bench, I looked across the street and caught a sight of Amber entering the house with Mrs. Lee right in front of her, obviously leading her to Jin Ah’s room. A small smirk formed onto my lips and I nodded my head to myself.

“So far so good,” I whispered and looked around in the neighborhood, not wanting anyone to get suspicious about my presence out of nowhere.

While Amber was dealing with the situation inside, I started thinking about our next step. Depending on what she finds in her room, we have to somehow prepare a somewhat good application. After we are done with that, the first thing in the morning that I will do is visit a couple of colleges here in town and try to convince them to accept Jin Ah. Waiting for the official date would be too late so I have to do it in advance since her flight is in two days.

Just as I was all into my thought I saw a smiling figure open Jin Ah’s front door and leave the house. Amber was carrying a medium sized, flat bag in her hands. I squinted my eyes as they followed her step by step. Once she crossed the street I could clearly recognize the item she was holding onto. It was a laptop.

“I knew you were the right person to send,” I commented but didn’t make any eye contact as I stood up from the bench and headed towards my house, with Amber right behind me.

As I closed the front door behind us, I reached for the laptop and immediately carried to the kitchen table. Amber and I, sat down and opened the device, praying to God that Jin Ah hasn’t password protected it. Once I hit the power button, the computer came to life and took me to her recent used programs. It wasn’t locked.

“Perfect,” I whispered and started investigating the text in front of us.

I started reading whatever she wrote on that document, and for each word that went through my mind, my eyes only grew bigger and bigger.

“Yongguk…” Amber let out from beside me, “Is this really what I think it is?”

I didn’t answer her question but only kept on reading when suddenly, without even noticing, I started smiling like a madman. This was too good to be true. This was way too perfect to be happening to me.

“That’s my girl,” I finally managed to say while tearing away my eyes from the screen, “It’s really her application.”

“That’s… amazing,” Amber’s eyes didn’t leave the screen.

I ran my free hand through my hair as realization hit me. At one point, my girlfriend did considerate on going to college here.

“Amber…” I called after her and she only looked at me with expressionless eyes, “Do you know how much time this girl just saved us?”

The younger only nodded and finally I could see her smile too, “Jin Ah’s is really no joke.”

 

***

“I’m sorry I couldn’t help you. Hope you have more luck somewhere else,” said a middle aged lady, which worked at the college we just visited.

“Alright, thank you,” I heard Amber reply before she started running after me.

I didn’t even want to stand there and act nice when clearly that woman was useless. Anger was boiling inside of me and I slowly started losing patience.

“Hey, stop!” Amber took hold onto my right arm and pulled me slightly back. I didn’t protest and only turned around to hear what she had to say, “Acting like that won’t help us right now,” she glared at me with annoyed eyes, “Do you have another place?”

“No!” I half shouted, “That is the goddamn problem. This was the last college on my list that accepts people with foreign education background without any large fees. All those others are expensive and have a more complicated applications where hundreds of, in my opinion useless, documents are needed.”

Amber closed her eyes and rubbed her temples after hearing what I had to say. She was clearly thinking and trying to come up with a solution but I already knew that she couldn’t come up with a better plan. It was that complicated.

As we started walking back to a bus stop, she inhaled deeply and turned to look at me again.

“Do you have a plan B then?”

Just as that question left , I stopped in my track and closed my eyes. I was furious. I was angry because I did have a plan B. A plan that I so hoped not to use at all. A plan that I tried to avoid by desperately talking with all those colleges but it didn’t work.

I opened my eyes again and looked at Amber, “I do have one.”

Amber widened her eyes in hope, “For real?”

“Yeah,” I rubbed the back of my neck as I started walking again, “But I’m not proud of it.”

“Don’t say you are going to sell your body or something,” she concluded ironically and earned a death glare from me.

“Very funny,” I rolled my eyes.

“I just tried to bring you on better mood, jeez. Now tell me what the real plan is?”

“My dad.”

She looked at me oddly while blinking with her eyes in confusion, “Yo-Your dad?”

“Yeah,” I looked away as we stood at the station, “Him and I had a conversation not too long ago about how he had connections with some principals here.”

“Keep talking…”

“He offered to help me with my application but I ended up declining his offer partly because I didn’t plan on studying right away and also, I didn’t want his help. Especially after everything that happened between us.”

Amber silently nodded her head at the information she received. As we entered the bus that arrived just seconds ago, I saw her furrow her eyes out of nowhere. It was obvious that she was thinking about something but I didn’t like that look on her face. I didn’t need any more problems.

“What now?” I asked as we took a seat.

“I would like to say nothing but… this needs to get fixed right away,” she tilted her head.

“What needs to get fixed?”

“A place for Jin Ah.”

“What?”

“Where is she going to live if we suddenly manage to get her into a college? And no, she can definitely not live at your place. This isn’t some kind of perfect drama or something. I don’t even think she would agree on it.”

She had a point. I looked through the window and watched the scenery that moved quickly beside me as the bus drove through the city. I tried to come up with the best and quickest way of getting hold of a nice and not too expensive place.

“Zico.”

I turned around to look at her with a questioned look.

“Didn’t Zico or his parents had a small apartment near the skatehall?”

I froze for a second as my brain processed the possible solution that Amber just suggested. It wasn’t a bad idea only that…

“It’s on the other side of town…”

She gave me a look that practically screamed “Are you kidding with me?” and slightly hit my head once.

“Yah,” I protested before picking up my phone from my back pocket, “Alright, give me a second.”

“.”

***

Your P.O.V

You were officially the worst friend someone could ever have. Avoiding your group of friends, only to leave them in less than forty-eight hours is the meanest thing you have done in your life. And you were not proud of that.

When JB called you for the second time during a couple of hours, you just couldn’t bring yourself to decline him once again so this time you agreed on meeting him and Sulli, because clearly they had some exciting news to tell you.

And so it was.

You were now on a long walk with the couple that were still in their honey-moon stage where they are so in love with each other that nothing else mattered. It reminded you of the last days in the U.S that you spend with Yongguk. It did felt really nice and you missed it so much. It was a shame that things happened and changed everything.

“Jin Ah, I really hope we can hang out more in the future,” Sulli confessed while swinging her and JB’s holding hands, “According to JB and JR, you are fun to be around, yet this is the first time that I meet you since we arrived home.”

“Ahh,” you let out nervously and glanced over at JB who at the moment was busy texting someone on his phone.

He spend most of the time tonight by his phone, typing as fast as possible that you at some point started assuming that he was perhaps in an argument with someone.

“Yeah, I have been kind of busy these days,” you continued on after a very awkward silence.

After you said that, JB looked at you with a face that you couldn’t read. His eyes, that usually give away most of his feelings, where cold as a winter morning. You secretly flinched at his expression and looked away in hope to avoid any kind of guilty feelings. You understood that he might have been angry at you for acting the way you did these days, but you didn’t understand why he didn’t just drop everything now that you are spending some time together.

“I see,” Sulli nodded her head with an innocent smile glued on her face. That girl is gorgeous.

From the corner of your eyes, you saw JB shake his head at you and right that in that moment his phone started ringing.

“I have to take this,” he said and released his grip from Sulli’s hand to step away from the two of you.

“Alright,” Sulli turned towards you as soon as JB left, “Sooo, drama in paradise?”

You furrowed your eyebrows at her sudden question, “Huh?” you asked like a lost little child.

“Yongguk, silly,” she laughed and held you by your arm while slowly walking forward, “The whole town is talking about it…”

“Really?” you widened your eyes, “No way.”

“I swear.”

“That’s insane…” you whispered.

“Well, you did date Seoul’s number one skater soo…” she laughed, “I know I have only known you for a couple of days but if there is anything you want to talk about, don’t hesitate to give me a call.”

Your face softened at her offer and you just nodded your head. Only if she knew what was about to happen in two days.

Wanting to change the mood and even the subject, you turned to look at her before asking, “By the way, how come I haven’t seen you before here in town?”

“It’s ‘cause I live on the other side. Near the skate hall, you know? I spend most of my time there actually,” she explained.

“Oh, sweet,” you nodded.

“You should come over some time so we can hang out more and maybe teach each other new tricks,” she suggested.

“That sounds like a good idea,” a small, not so real, smile crept onto your thin lips.

As the two of you continued on chatting and walking with JB a couple of steps behind you, still on the phone, you saw a sitting figure a bit further away. The person was sitting alone in the park and you couldn’t tell who it was because the darkness of the night hid most of the features.

For each step that you and Sulli took towards the bench that you had to pass by, you began seeing clearly who it was and you wished you didn’t. Gyuri was sitting with her mobile phone in her hand and a lowered head. As you approached her, you looked away to avoid any kind of eye contact because you were afraid if that happens, you wouldn’t be able to hold yourself from jumping on her.  

“Jin Ah?” you heard her calm voice whisper from beside, just as you were taking your first steps past her.

Sulli turned to look at her but you only continued on walking, not giving a damn about that .

“Jin Ah?” she raised her voice a few octaves and once again, you ignored her and pretended like she wasn’t there. “Yah!” her high pitched scream made you flinch immediately that you couldn’t help but feel the spark of anger inside of you slowly growing into something bigger.

With a very serious and cold face you slowly turned around and literally looked down at her sitting figure. Not saying a word, you waited for her to continue.

“I need to talk to you.”

You felt one of your eyebrows automatically rise as you coldly shook your head, “I don’t think so.”

“Please, Jin Ah! I have made a huge mistake,” she stood from her bench.

“Don’t you dare take a step closer to me,” you threatened, “I don’t want your disgusting face close to mine,” you spat out.

Sulli, who was silently standing beside you, watched the scene with fright. She didn’t know you for long but you knew that she could tell from the tension in the air that this situation might end in an ugly way.

“I’m sorry for everything I have done to you,” she lowered her head, “I just couldn’t control the jealousy that was burning inside of me.”

You let out an ironic laugh before putting on a serious face again, “Does it look like I care Gyuri?”

“No,” she answered right away, “But I need you to understand me. Try seeing everything from my perspective!”

“Understand you?!” you finally blurred out, “There is not a single that I can understand in your stupid actions, do you know that? I don’t even want to know why you did this but whatever it was, it’s something you have to deal with Yongguk. Involving me in your childish arguments is one of the lowest things someone can ever do,” you calmed down your voice a bit, realizing that there was no use of shouting at her.  

“I know, that was a huge mistake. That’s why I’m apologizing to you now,” she looked up and right into your eyes.

You only shook your head at the shameless human being in front of you, “And you think an apology is enough?” you said almost as a question, “What you did to me was way beyond okay so whatever you do from now on will never make me forgive you or even forget about it. That’s something you have to deal with. Reality is harsh and it was you who chose it this way. I don’t even want to waste another minute of my life on a worthless person like you. You have done enough damage to me,” you looked away from her and slowly your heel, “Just stay out of my way for the rest of my life.”

“Jin Ah, come on now!” she raised her voice but you were so done with her.

“Hey!” JB’s voice called after you from behind but even then you refused to look back.

You have promised yourself never to show the weak Jin Ah again.

“Wow,” Sulli whispered as the two of you walked away, “You handled the situation like a pro.”

You rolled your eyes at her silly comment, “It’s all practice,” you joked just as JB caught up with the two of you.

“What was that all about?” he widened his eyes and you only shook your head.

***

 “Mom,” you called from your room, “This time I’m taking my skateboards with me!” you packed your precious belongings in a small box which you planned on taking with you on the plane.

You waited for your mother’s protest but she didn’t even make a noise. Confused, you stood up from the ground and walked out of your room and towards the kitchen to see her talking on the phone.

“I’m speechless, but alright. We will talk about that tomorrow then,” she said and when she caught sight of you she immediately ended the call and looked at you nervously.

“What?” she laughed.

“I should ask you the same thing,” you said slowly.

“What? Why?” she asked nervously, “Did you ask something about your skateboards?”

“No, I didn’t ask. I just informed you that I’m taking them with me.”

“So you are packing them?” she asked confused.

You looked at her horrified, “Yeah? Common sense mother…”

“Oh,” she shook her head while rubbing her temples, “Right, for the move. Okay go ahead.”

You watched her with suspicious eyes as you slowly started walking backwards and out of the room, “Alright…”

“Just go now, and stop being silly!”

“Sometimes I really don’t understand you,” you literally face-palmed yourself and finally left to continue on whatever you were doing moments ago.

***

“Finally! I have been waiting for you all day long,” Mrs. Kwon opened the front door whole heartedly as you and your parents entered Yongguk’s house.

When your mother told you that you were having your last dinner at their place, you hated the fact that she didn’t tell you earlier. It really came as a shock that you couldn’t refuse on going with them. Also deep inside, you still wanted to see him one last time before you leave.

“Well, if you ask me. I can’t wait to taste some of your amazing dishes,” your father commented as you entered the house.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Mrs. Kwon smiled widely and guided you to their kitchen where Yongguk was already sitting.

At that moment, you didn’t know what you felt. As much as you have been avoiding any kind of contact with him, today you felt totally different. You wanted to run to him and embrace him as tightly as possible. You wanted to feel his lips on yours one more time before disappearing from his life once and for all.

Your parents didn’t hesitate on taking a seat by the dining table right away, leaving you a chair right in front of Yongguk. As you approached the table, you heart played some games on you where the craziest heartbeat wins. While you were looking down at your empty plate, you could feel Yongguk’s stare burning a hole through your soul.

“Jin Ah, please take something,” his mother offered to you to take some food, “It’s still warm.”

You quickly nodded and smiled at her before returning your attention back on the plate.

“Sorry mom, I can’t wait,” you heard Yongguk’s voice out of nowhere.

As a reflex to his dark voice, you looked up and met eyes with his. He was still looking at you with a desperate look all over his face.

“This is killing me,” he spoke again to his mother with his eyes still on you, “Guys come out!” he called out of nowhere and unexpectedly you heard footsteps coming down from the second floor.

You looked to your left when suddenly your friends started entering the kitchen one by one. You widened your eyes at the scene in front of you and if your heart was playing games with you a moment ago, you could confidently say that it lost control at this exact instant.

Your whole body started shaking as a very cold feeling crept upwards your spine. This was the last thing you needed to face before leaving. You watched everything in silence because you were lost for words.

“Jin Ah, your friends have something to tell you,” your mother spoke from beside you. You heard every single word she said but you still couldn’t look away from them.

Your eyes slowly went back to Yongguk as tears started to build up behind your lids and raising to the surface.

“Jin…” Yongguk began calmly, “I was serious when I told you that you are not going anywhere.”

Without noticing, you held your left hand in front of your mouth to cover any sobs that threatened to leave your mouth. This whole scene seemed like a crazy dream because nothing made sense anymore.

“Jin Ah, I’m so angry at you for hiding this from us,” Amber finally spoke and you turned your attention to her, “But I still love you so I can overlook that fact. What I can’t overlook instead is… you leaving us.”

“Noona, you belong here with us,” Zelo blinked innocently, “We need you and hyung needs you too.”

“It’s your fault for entering into our lives and leaving a huge impact,” JR crossed his arms in a funny way.

You closed your eyes as one tear after the other finally came to life and ran down your red and warm cheeks. You were flooded with emotions that you seriously couldn’t handle. This was too much to take in at once and you were still waiting for that one sentence to make an explosion.

No way, he could succeed… This can’t be true… Things like this never happens.

“Gin,” your father’s caring voice spoke to you, “You are staying in Seoul.”

And that was it. That sentence was everything that was needed to turn you into a crying mess. You couldn’t keep calm anymore as hot tears escaped your eyes against your will. Your sobs increased and your body shook even more.

Things like this never happens.

You felt a strong pair of arms bring you into a hug and once Yongguk’s natural sent hit your nose, you only leaned more in his embrace and let out any doubt that you ever had about him because…

He really succeeded.