Jaejoong entered his dorm room that night, a huge grin plastered on his face. He had just come back from a date with Boa, and it went really well.

[Flashback]

Boa shivered as cold breeze passed by. She was walking around town, on a date with Jaejoong.

“Cold?” Jaejoong asked.
“Absolutely freezing,” she replied.

Jaejoong chuckled and shrugged his jacket off, offering it to Boa.

They beamed and laughed at each other, knowing that they were thinking the same thing.

Jaejoong’s action reminded them about the time when he offered his jacket to Boa when they were at the cinema.

Boa breathed in the scent of his jacket and smiled. Some things never change.

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the lips. “Thanks,” she said.

Jaejoong looked at her with a sly expression. “You know, you have a lot of things to thank me for,” he said as he puckered his lips and closed his eyes, leaning forward, waiting for his girlfriend to kiss him again.

Boa playfully pushed his face away. “Don’t push it.”

Jaejoong pouted cutely and Boa gave in. “Okay…” she said, as she planted another sweet kiss on his lips again.

Jaejoong beamed and put his arm around her waist, as they continued walking.

“So, what do you think of Jae Beom?” she asked him as they strolled down the street.

Jaejoong gave her a big smile. “He’s really cool! Aside from the fact that our names both start with Jae, we have so much in common!!!”

Boa pouted cutely. “So you’d rather spend more time with him than me?”
Jaejoong tightened his grip around her waist and rested his chin on her head. “Silly. Of course not.”

Boa beamed and gave him another thank-you kiss. “That’s what I thought.”

They continued walking and talking to each other as the night flew by.

[End Of Flashback]

Jaejoong sighed happily as he plopped backwards on his bed.

Donghae, who was sitting on his bed, looked at him wistfully. “There was once a time when I was the happy one out of the bunch,” he said, looking out the window, as if he were telling a story.

Jaejoong raised an eyebrow and looked at him questioningly. “Not drinking tonight?”
Donghae shook his head. “Didn’t feel like it,” he answered simply.

He looked out of the window to collect his thoughts again and Jaejoong smiled to himself.

“This is the third night in a row and he hasn’t even touched a bottle of alcohol,” he thought. Then he thought back to what happened three days ago, when he and Hyojoo were assigned to be study partners. He’s slowly getting healed,” he told himself. He was thankful for that.

He looked at the figure of Yunho, sleeping peacefully (well, from what it looked like) on his bed and sighed. “I wonder when you will start to heal?”

He knew Yunho need Seulgi more than ever.

…

Seulgi entered homeroom and took her seat in front of Jae Beom.

“Morning,” she greeted in English. She was used to greeting him that way when she stayed in his house in the states.
Jae Beom greeted her back the same way and they started chatting with each other.

Yunho then came in the room and saw the pair happily engaged in conversation. A happy Jaejoong ad a scruffy Donghae followed and the three of them took their seats.

“I think that Jae Beom guy is bad news,” Yunho said to his two friends, his voice only loud enough for them to hear.
“I thin k he’s pretty cool,” Jaejoong said. “Did you know that he’s met all the a-list celebs in Hollywood?” he stated.
Yunho gave him a glare. “He can be your friend then!”
“Okay, Mianhae, no need to get all sour on me.”

Donghae just looked at them and his attention turned to the door as Hyojoo walked in. he caught her eye and they looked at each other for a fraction of a second. Their eye-contact broke when she gave him a slight nod and he acknowledged her back with the same act.

Yunho was sulking about Jae Beom, while Jaejoong caught the exchange between the used-to-be-couple. Well, at least they were communicating in some way. Something’s better than nothing, right?

He sighed and just went about his own business, hoping that all their troubles would just simply end.

Ms. Park came into the room as usual, hearing the typical greetings and making the class take their seats afterwards.

After going through a list of the normal morning announcements, in which she knew that the class wasn’t really listening to, she called for their full attention.

“Class, since you’re in your senior year of high school, it means that you will graduate this year, correct?”

There was silence in the class.

“CORRECT?” Ms. Park repeated loudly, and somewhat more scarily.

“Yes!” the class shouted, suddenly frightened

Ms. Park regained her posture and smiled.

“As I was saying,” she continued. “The senior year students always go on a trip, as a treat before they leave the school.”

She had them at the word ‘trip’. The class immediately gave her their full and undivided attention.

Ms. Park grinned triumphantly.

“And the school always makes the students decide on where to go. So, I want all of you to discuss among yourselves! You can go anywhere you like!”

The class immediately started to chatter and talk about potential places, where they could go to. All around the room, there were talks about Paris, Rome, Spain and other countries that would spark their interests.

Yunho, on the other hand, couldn’t be bothered. He was too busy fuming over the pair that was chatting away behind him.

“Jung Yunho, what the hell is wrong with you?!?!” his head shouted for the umpteenth time. “You’re over her! Can’t you see that she’s happily talking to that douche bag behind her?!?!”

As Seulgi was talking to her friend, she couldn’t help but think of the boy sitting in front of her. She mentally slapped herself. “Stupid, of course he’s not thinking of you! He’s a pig-headed jerk who thinks of nothing but himself!”

As Jae Beom’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts, Seulgi smiled. He was the reason she was healed.

“But am I truly healed?” she asked herself, biting her lower lip. She snuck a tiny glance at Yunho, who looked moody, for some reason. She mentally sighed, and just went back to her conversation with Jae Beom.

…

Donghae sat beside Hyojoo in math class, listening to his teacher, who was ending his lecture.

Then came the part of the lesson where they had to discuss with study partners.

“So, the value of x is actually 5 over 2 times 50 then find the square root of that answer and divide it by 5,” he finished his explanation quietly, while Hyojoo was silently listening.

“So, any questions?” he asked.

Hyojoo silently shook her head and they just sat there in silence.

Things were really uncomfortable.

…

A few weeks passed by and the senior students decided that they wanted to go to Venice, in Italy.

“I am so excited!!!” Boa said. “Venice is the most romantic city in the world!!”. She thought for a while. “Okay, maybe next to Paris. Oh, and Milan!”

Seulgi laughed at her friend and even Hyojoo managed to crack a smile.

They were packing that night, as they had to head to the airport the next day. Seulgi was excited too, but not as excited as Boa was. And Hyojoo could care less. She only cared about Donghae these days. Although she wasn’t as depressed as she was before Donghae became her study partner.

They continued chatting away about Venice and all the things they would do there.

And so, there they were, the next day, at the airport, awaiting their flight for Italy.

Yunho tapped his foot impatiently. The line at the baggage check-in was taking way too long.

Jaejoong, sensing his impatience, patted him on the shoulder. “Hang in there, dude,” was all he said. He then walked away to accompany his girlfriend, who was all jumpy with excitement.

Seulgi shivered. It was really cold in the airport.

“You okay?” JaeBeom, who was next to her, asked, concerned.

Seulgi smiled, still shivering. “Define ‘okay’.”

JaeBeom gave her a warm look. He looked around and saw a souvenir store. “Wait here,” he told, her.

Seulgi watched with a puzzled look on her face, as she watched him walk away from her. He was in there for a few minutes and walked back out with a bag in his hands, beaming at her.

“Here,” he said, opening the bag and taking something out.

It was a scarf.

And it was darn pretty one, too. It was a creamy white color, made of a smooth, silky material.

JaeBeom had the scarf in his hands, and all of a sudden, he wound it carefully around Seulgi’s neck. He pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Warm now?”

Seulgi grew red at his touch and shyly nodded. “Thanks,” she said, bashfully.

Yunho watched from a distance as he witnessed the scene unravel in front of him. His blood boiled. He quickly finished up with the check-in counter and hurried to the bathroom.

He looked at himself in the bathroom mirror. “Snap out of it, Jung Yunho!” he scolded his reflection, pointing a finger at it. “She’s not worth it!”

“Who are you trying to fool??”

Yunho stared at the mirror, dumbfounded, surprised at his own reflection talking to him.

“What the hell?” he exclaimed.
His reflection scoffed. “You still love her, and you know it!” 
He still continued to stare at it.
“Just admit it to yourself, stupid! You’re whipped!”

Yunho rapidly blinked a few times and saw his normal, non-answering reflection.

“AAAARGH!” he screamed. “I’m going crazy!!!”

He ran out of the bathroom, breathing heavily.

“Woah, what happened?’ Jaejoong asked seeing him in his breathless state.
Yunho dismissively waved his hand. “You don’t wanna know.”

…

As the students filed out of the airport in Venice, Boa breathed in the Venice air. “I can’t believe we’re here!” she exclaimed.

They were walking to their bus, which was surprisingly far away.

Jaejoong, who was struggling with both their luggage, cracked a smile. “Yeah…” he said, breathing heavily as he stowed Boa’s unusually huge suitcase, along with his own.

Seulgi, witnessing the sight, laughed, while she pulled her own suitcase. JaeBeom, who was next to her, was also watching Jaejoong.

“Here, let me carry that,” he offered, taking her suitcase from her.
Seulgi pulled back. “Nah, it’s okay,” she said. “I don’t want you to suffer like Jae.”
“Naw, I’ll be fine. You’re suitcase isn’t as big as Boa’s,” he said.

Seulgi blushed, but gave him her suitcase anyway. “He’s so nice,” she thought, watching him.

She suddenly felt Boa’s arm wrap around her shoulders.

“So, where do you want to go to in this fine old city, my good friend?” she asked.

Seulgi thought for a while. “Well, I really wanna ride one of the gondola boats in the water village,” she replied, thinking of the beautiful village with the famous canal and the romantic feeling the boat ride presents.

Jae Beom, who was behind the girls the whole time, was listening. To be honest, he hated boats. Ever since he went sailing with his father when he was a kid and got sea sick, he never went near a water vehicle ever again. He bit his lip. “I’m just gonna have to face my fears in this trip,” he said to himself.

“Wait…for…me…” Jaejoong gasped, still dragging his girlfriend’s suitcase. He gave up on carrying his own suitcase along with Boa’s because they were too heavy, with their combined weight. Yunho was the one carrying his suitcase now, along with the task of dragging a not-so-happy Donghae around. And Jaejoong was still struggling with Boa’s things, being the good boyfriend he was.

“Y’know, oppa…” Boa began, walking towards her boyfriend. “You can just tell me if you’re having a hard time with my luggage!”

Jaejoong struggled to give her a smile. “Gwenchana!” he said, his voice straining. “Just go ahead!”

Boa gave him an unsure look and pecked him on the cheek before turning her attention back to her friends.

“Aw, c’mon Hyojoo, lighten up!!!” Seulgi said optimistically. It was heartbreaking to see her all emotional, touring an extremely romantic city with a broken heart, and with her ex just happening to be there too.

Hyojoo just sighed and continued to walk to their bus, suitcase in tow.

Seulgi sighed as she watched a cheerless Hyojoo walk away.

“She’s not exactly having a blast, huh?” she heard a voice in her ear.
A shocked Seulgi jumped in surprise and found a grinning JaeBeom next to her.

“You almost gave me a heart attack!” she said, playfully slapping his shoulder.
“Haha! Okay, okay sorry!” he said in English.

And the two just walked the rest of the way to the bus together, talking and laughing as they did so.

Much to Yunho’s disappointment, though.

He sighed, turned to Donghae, and put an arm around his shoulders. “Well, I guess it’s just you and me, buddy.”

Donghae looked at him with a dead look and walked away.

“Okay, then maybe it’s just me,” Yunho said to himself and made his way to the bus to catch up with his friends.

…

The San Clemente Palace Hotel and Resort was absolutely gorgeous.

The three girls were dumbstruck as they entered their luxurious hotel room.

“Can you believe that we’re actually gonna stay here for a whole week?!?!” Boa squealed excitedly. “I can just imagine Jaejoong oppa and I, walking through Piazza San Marco, feeding each other little bits of Italian food, and going on those romantic gondola rides!!!”

Seulgi laughed. “I just can’t wait to visit the museums, art galleries, and of course, the gondola ride!”

“What is it with you guys and gondola rides?” Hyojoo asked, tiredly lying down on the bed.

Boa had a shocked look on her face. “Are you kidding me?!?! It’s the most romantic part of this trip!”

Hyojoo’s eyes began to tear up when she heard ‘romantic’.

“Oh, Hyojoo, I didn’t mean it that way!!!” Boa said, immediately flying to her side, regretting what she said.
Hyojoo sniffed. “It’s okay…” she managed to crack a fake smile. “Really…”

Boa had the guiltiest look on her face while she was apologizing to Hyojoo.

There was a knock on the door and Seulgi stood up from her bed to open it. She saw a smiling JaeBeom, twirling his room keys, and leaning on the door frame.

“Lunch?” he suggested.

Seulgi looked at Boa, who was comforting Hyojoo. She gave her a ‘just-go-and-I’ll-take-care-of-this’ look and went back to consoling their hurting friend.

There was an American bar in the hotel, and that’s where JaeBeom took Seulgi. To be honest, all she wanted to eat in that trip was pasta, pasta, and more pasta. Plus, after being in the U.S. for so long, she got sick of American food. But JaeBeom wanted to go in there so much, that she just couldn’t say no.

Yunho was at the Le Maschere restaurant, at the hotel, eating his favorite dish- pasta.

The image if Seulgi and JaeBeom walking, chatting and laughing together just wouldn’t leave his head. He dug deeper into his food, trying to pay more attention to it.

Suddenly, he saw a familiar figure walking towards the restaurant.

It was Seulgi. And she was alone.

The restaurant was packed and there were no ore available seats, aside from one, and it was on Yunho’s table.

Seulgi had no choice. As much as she didn’t want to eat with that pig-headed jerk, she had to, if she didn’t want to starve.

Putting on a scowl, he marched toward his table and sat down on the empty seat in front of him.

Yunho gave her one of his famous haughty stares. “What are you doing here?” he asked coldly.
Seulgi looked at him with the same cold glare. “I wan to eat. And the only seat left in this restaurant is on your table.”

Yunho just looked at her. “How come you’re not with that JaeBeom guy?” he asked. He just had to know.

“He already ate at the American Bar,” she answered simply. After leaving the bar, JaeBeom went to his room and Seulgi scurried her way towards the Le Maschere restaurant so she could have some real Italian food.

The waiter cam and Seulgi ordered her favorite beef lasagna.

Yunho looked at his plate. He was also eating his favorite pasta.

“You like lasagna, too?” he asked.
Seulgi nodded and looked at his plate. She actually cracked a small smile.

And even though they didn’t say another word to each other after that, the atmosphere surprisingly became more comfortable.

…

On the first day of their week-long trip, the students just rested and explored the hotel. They weren’t allowed to go out into the city, because heavy showers suddenly came out of nowhere. And as a result, students were not allowed to go outdoors, due to the heavy rain.

Hyojoo was sitting in a lounge, reading a book to pass the time. After reading for an incredibly long time, she rested her eyes and looked out of the window. She saw something that caught her attention, even if it was in the heavy rain.

It was a view of someone’s back.

And it wasn’t just any someone. She would know the back view of that guy anywhere.

She grabbed a random umbrella from an umbrella rack next to her and walked outside. It was extremely cold, but she didn’t care. She wanted to know why he was standing in the rain, with no umbrella.

“Donghae?” she called out from a distance

He turned back to give her a cold look.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. “You might get sick!”

Donghae’s stare turned icier. “Why would you care if I was sick or not?” he said, just as coldly. “You were the one who broke up with me, so why would you even bother.”

His words pierced Hyojoo’s heart like a thousand knives. Tears began to from in her eyes and the hand that was holding her umbrella was shaking.

“Just leave me alone,” Donghae said, turning back. He felt tears sting his eyes but he just let the rain wash them away.

But Hyojoo wasn’t going to back down.

“YAH!!!” she called out.

Donghae turned to look at her again. “What?”

“Do you know how hard it is, to pretend not seeing you like this?!?!” she asked, tears running down her face. “And do you know how much it hurts to pretend that I don’t care about you when all I wanna do is run into your arms again?!?!”

He looked at her, shocked.

“Once I broke up with you, I regretted it immediately!!!” she admitted. “And after that, I just couldn’t face you again! I felt so ashamed and I felt I didn’t deserve you, after what I’ve done!!! I don’t even know why I did it in the first place!” she screamed, still clutching the umbrella tightly.

“I’M STILL IN LOVE WITH YOU, LEE DONGHAE!!! DAMMIT, I STILL LOVE YOU!! AND I THINK I’LL NEVER BE ABLE TO GET OVER YOU!!!” she yelled, shaking uncontrollably, the tears falling in large amounts. “HAPPY NOW?!?!?!”

Donghae walked towards her, not caring that he was drenched in freezing rain water. He just wanted to hold her again, to feel her in his arms, and to just be with her.

He quickened his pace as he walked, and grabbed her, kissing her passionately.

Hyojoo closed her eyes as she got lost in the kiss. She even dropped the umbrella, not caring that the rain would drench her too.

After they pulled apart, she was in Donghae’s tight embrace.

“Mianhae…oppa,” she said, tears flowing down her cheeks again.

Donghae chuckled as he rested his chin on her head. “I can never get mad at you.”

And just like that, HyoHae was reborn again.

They walked back to the hotel, hand in hand, ignoring the fact that they were in the pouring rain.

Oh, and the umbrella was just left there…;D

<3--------------------------------

~~~~****SNEAK PEEK****~~~~

COMING UP NEXT!!!

Chapter 19:

Seulgi waited and waited for him at the water village. Thirty minutes passed. Then, it stretched into an hour. And then, it became two. And she was still waiting.