“That’s it! I’m done!”
“I forgot your birthday, so what?”
“So what?!?  I’ve been telling you it’s been coming up all week!”
“Ya, I’ve been busy.  You know what my schedule’s like.”
“But you couldn’t even give me an hour to go to dinner.  You even said you were available.”
“Well, something came up.”
“Something ALWAYS comes up doesn’t it?  You couldn’t even get me a present or even send me a text?  What is wrong with you?”
“Wae are you acting up all of a sudden?!  You didn’t care if I went or not anyways.  I heard about you going out with that other man of yours.  As far as I know you could be cheating on me.”
“I’ve told you, he’s just a friend!  The only reason I went out with him was because you blew me off!  I’m happy I did too because he actually bought me dinner unlike SOME people.  Some boyfriend you are…”
“You know how lucky you are to have me?!  You know how many women line up wanting to date me?  I could have cheated on you a million times by now but I’m still here when you keep contacting other men.”
“Lucky to have you?  Don’t even give me that speech!  So what if you’re this big Kpop superstar, everyone knows you’re just a pabo.”    
“What did you call me?!  You know I hate being called that!”
“Well I hate how unimportant I am to you.  I’m not even allowed to tell anyone we’re dating!  Are you that ashamed to be with me?”
“With the way you’re acting I should be.”
“Wow, okay, goodbye Changsun.  Thanks for wasting five months of my life!”
“Ya, if you leave right now, I won’t allow you to come back!”
“Fine by me.”

*

It happened almost 11 months ago that we ended our relationship.  After countless fights I finally lost it over something that seemed simple in the scheme of things.  It didn’t make sense for us to date in the first place; him being a huge Kpop celebrity and me being a student from outside the country.  I had moved to South Korea temporarily to advance my degree at a top notch university like I had always dreamt.  I never expected I’d even meet someone that would want to date a foreigner.  Alas, it was a few days before Christmas when our paths crossed.  I was on the subway headed to get some last minute gifts for my new university friends.  The subway was fairly empty other than a few ajummas and ajusshis scattered about.  I was minding my own business off in a corner playing my DS when he came rolling in.  He was playing with his phone when the train hit a bump and he fell right onto my lap.  I’ll never forget how he looked when he crawled off and sat beside me.  His face was bright red with embarrassment but he looked so cute.  I couldn’t help but smile at his attempt to apologize by ruffling his hands on my lap trying to straighten the bottom of my shirt.
“Uh..sorry,” he shyly said in English.  He was clearly unaware I could understand Korean since I looked out of place.  I couldn’t help but giggle at his sweet attempt to speak to me. 
“Where are you headed?” He asked. 
“Seoul, you?” 
“Uh yes, me too.”  We both glanced around elsewhere, unsure of what to say next.  I couldn’t help but keep looking back.  I had never seen a man so handsome before in my life.  His hair was the color of wine with bangs cut to drape ever so perfectly on his forehead.  He removed his sunglasses to reveal his dark brown eyes.  After a while I noticed he kept checking me out as well.  When I caught him doing it to me I felt like I had to say something.
“I’m Alex.  Nice to meet you.”
“Call me Changsun.”  His smile was welcoming.  He reached out to shake my hand.  He had such a soft touch.  At the feel of his skin I ducked my head trying to hide my expression.  He started laughing.  It all started from that moment.  We talked the entire ride then he walked with me off the subway.  I revealed to him I could actually speak Korean and he was taken aback.  When we reached our stop we got off together.  He asked me for my number then we went our separate ways.  I never expected it to go anywhere until he called me for a date.  By New Year’s he officially called me his girlfriend.  I thought it would be a fun and simple relationship but I was clearly naïve in the beginning. 

It took me five months to say goodbye. 

--

“Jagiya,” I heard Seungho call from the other room.  About a month after ending the relationship I started another.  It’s not like I was searching for someone new, Seungho just appeared in my life.  Our eyes met eachother from across the bar and he headed my way.  It’s funny how a five minute argument could depress me for a whole month.  He could see I was frowning and said words to cheer me up.  He bought me a drink then leaned in close.  “Baby,” he whispered in my ear at the time.  “I can treat you right.”  I appreciated his direct approach even though he was clearly tipsy.  By the end of the night we decided to jump into a relationship.

Now, we were at the fifth month point in our relationship but it was going strong.  He had already introduced me to his family and tonight he was about to introduce me to his friends.  I understood he had to be hesitant due to the bad publicity it could cause if it got out.  The difference was atleast some people were aware we were dating.
“I’m in here, sweetheart.”  He snuck up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist while I checked my appearance in the mirror.  He smirked at my reflection and kissed me on the cheek.
“You look beautiful.” 
“Thanks,” I blushed.  “You look as handsome as ever.”  He held me tighter placing another kiss then resting his head on my shoulder.  His short hair spikes brushed against my neck and it tickled me.  Before I could tell him to move his phone started singing from his pocket.  He let go of me to answer it. 

“Yoboseyo?”
“Are you coming?” I could faintly make out the voice on the other line. 
“Yeah we’ll be there in about 20 minutes.”  He hung up. 

“Are you ready to leave?” He asked. 
“Yes, I guess.”  He could hear the hesitation in my voice. 
“Are you nervous to meet them?” 
“A little bit.”
“Don’t worry,” he grabbed my hand, turning me towards him.  “They’ll like you.” 
“I hope so.”

***

Joon’s POV

“But I want cake!” Mir whined.
“Wait a little longer,” G.O. responded.  I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

We were all waiting for Seungho to show up.  He wasn’t aware but we had planned a surprise party for his birthday.  He thought we were just all hanging out like any other night but we had to do something.  It wasn’t anything extensive but we did get cake and put up a few decorations.  I even made the effort to buy him a fairly expensive present I’m sure he would appreciate.  None of us knew what was taking him so long.  Maybe Mir let this whole surprise party slip.  He can’t exactly keep a secret. 

“I’m so boorrreeeddd.”  Mir poked me in the side. 
“Here’s a balloon to play with now leave me alone.”  I smacked his hand then handed him one from beside me.  He took it happily but didn’t go away, instead bouncing the balloon against my head.  Aish, this kid. 

“Ugh, where is he?” I said rather annoyed. 
“I heard Seungho hyung might have a girlfriend,” Thunder commented.  He tends to enjoy creating gossip.
“Yeah, he might,” G.O. was easily convinced.  “He did say the other day he had something big to tell me.” 
“Really?”  I was rather surprised.  Usually Seungho ran things by me pretty quickly.  I hadn’t been around as often because of my schedule so maybe he just didn’t want to bother me. 
“Now that you mention it he’s been on the phone more often,” Mir chimed in.  He gave up on playing with the balloon.  “He’s been smiling a lot more too.”
“I guess we’ll find out when he shows up.”  I wanted to drop the subject.  I wondered if it was true. 

We didn’t need to wait much longer for him to show up.  He gave G.O. a call once he pulled in so we shut off all the lights and hid, waiting for him to walk in.  As soon as the door opened Thunder and Mir popped party poppers making ribbons and confetti fill the air.  I lit the candles on the cake and started walking Seungho’s way.  We instantaneously started singing ‘Happy Birthday’ and watching his happy reaction.  He closed his eyes and made a wish then blew out the candles; we all clapped.  G.O. was quick to switch the lights back on and I noticed someone was standing behind his back. 
“Thank you everyone!  I wasn’t expecting that.”  Seungho was overjoyed. 
“Who is that hiding behind you?” Mir pointed, noticing the person as well.  They moved up to Seungho’s side with their face hiding in her hands. 
“Don’t be so shy dear,” Seungho patted them on the back.  It was clearly a woman.  She revealed her face.  I couldn’t believe it!  “This is my girlfriend Alex,” he introduced her.  I knew exactly who she was.  My jaw dropped completely shocked to see her in front of me.  My heart was in pain.    

“Hello everyone,” she greeted with a shy grin on her face.  She looked so gorgeous in her light blue dress.  I knew she was aware I was standing there but tried to dodge her eyes from looking directly at me.  I slowly paced backwards wanting to escape out the window. 
“Wow noona’s so hot!” Mir overreacted. 
“Hey, she’s my girlfriend don’t even think about it.” Seungho shot him a glare with his laser eyes partially joking around. 
“I’m G.O, nice to meet you.”  He was the first to reach out to her.  I stood with my arms crossed waiting till I had no other choice but greet myself.  When it got to me I shrugged, only mumbling “I’m Lee Joon,” to her.  Her acting was superb to pretend this was a first time introduction. 
“What’s with that?” Seungho noticed my attitude.  Trying to think of something I caught the look in her eyes telling me that we needed to talk.    
“I’m just tired,” I lied.  I tried again to sound a little nicer just to please Seungho.  He was content. 
“Now, let’s eat some cake,” Seungho instructed.
“Yay!”  Mir cheered running to grab a fork and plop down at the kitchen table.  While the rest headed out there I took a seat on the living room couch.  The last thing I wanted to do was celebrate.  Once she grabbed a piece of cake she quickly joined me.  I couldn’t help but look at her in disgust. 

“Wae are you here?” I said under my voice, crossing my arms keeping my face away. 
“It was Seungho’s decision.  I couldn’t tell him no.”  She took a bite of cake. 
“He doesn’t know does he…” it was the first thing on my mind this whole time. 
“No and I don’t plan on him knowing.”
“Of course you didn’t.  You didn’t think about how I’d feel either clearly.”
“It’s been six months already it shouldn’t matter anymore.”
“Shouldn’t matter?  I meant that little?”  I could feel my anger building inside of me.
“You didn’t even care enough to introduce me to your group mates.  It’s pretty sad none of them knew me until now.”  Her voice was starting to get louder.  The last thing I wanted was anyone in the other room to be suspicious.  I whispered to bring back down the tone.
“Well I hope you’re happy with him.”  I can’t believe I said that.
“He definitely makes me happier than you did.” 

“Hey, what are you doing out here?”  Seungho appeared.  Alex pulled off her innocent façade as he approached her sitting between us and swinging his arm around her.  She was quick to rest her head on his chest and intertwine her fingers with his.  She was trying to rub it in making me sick to the stomach.  Seungho bumped me in the arm seemingly wanting me to smile but I couldn’t even fake one. 
“Are things going okay?” He asked me.  My stomach suddenly started to ache. 
“I think I’m going to go to bed early.  I’m not feeling so well.”  I got up.  “I’m sorry Seungho, we’ll celebrate together later.” 
“Okay, feel better.”  He put her attention back on her. 

Of all people, why did he have to date her?