"Oppa, are you alright? You seem ..quiet," Hana asked softly, concerned.

Chen hastily modified his face. "Uh no, I was just thinking," he forced out a laugh.

"About ..?"

"My noona." It came out in a flow.

"You have a noona?" Hana asked, surprised. She thought she knew everything about him.

Chen nodded, not bothering to explain further.

"I'm sure she will be alright. She's older and all-"

"Sometimes I think I'm older than her," Chen laughed genuinely this time, his eyes softening at once. Hana paused, again surprised to see the change in mood.

Chen seemed to have realised, for he stopped laughing. Then, he remembered Hyori telling him about Zico's confession and jealousy burned through him once again. He thought about how his friends set him up to be with this girl that he can't get rid of.

Never had he felt so trapped in his entire life before.

Screwed up.

It was all screwed up.

It would be even more screwed up if Hyori accepted Zico's confession.

He had to talk her out of it.

That's it! He WILL talk her out of it.

"I got to go," Chen said abruptly and ran off, leaving Hana blinking after him.

"Oppa .. why are you so unpredictable?" She wondered.

*

"Noona, have you thought about it?" Chen asked. Hyori didn't have to ask him what "it" was; it had been the only thing running through her mind.

Zico. Woo Jiho. 

Her childhood enemy who had annoyed the living daylights out of her, but soon turned into her friend and now .. she can't even explain what they are right now.

She knew they were more than just friends, and she knew she did feel differently about him. After his confession, she began to see the little things he had done, which she hadn't notice before. And she knew his feelings for her were real. 

She just doesn't know what she's feeling now ..

"I guess I need more time to figure myself out," she mumbled.

This isn't going well, Chen thought. Before he could open his mouth, his phone rang. He looked at the called ID and cursed. It was Hana.

"Screw that girl!" He yelled, startling Hyori.

"What's up?" She asked in shock. Chen cursed again. As his thumb made to move and reject the call, he remembered Hanbin's words.

"By the way, you can't break up with her, I heard she's suicidal. She really likes you also."

For the third time, Chen cursed again and caught the blank look on Hyori's face. He sighed.

"Give me a moment. I'll explain everything later." 

Then, he walked out.

"Annyeong-hasaeyo, Hana-sshi," he greeted politely despite cursing so much earlier.

"Hi oppa, I was getting worried about you, so I decided to drop by at your place!" Hana's cheerful voice made Chen really consider if her suicidal personality was just an act to gain attention. Then, he froze.

Wait .. what? She's here?

UGH.

"I'll be there," Chen said listlessly before he hung up. He had to tell her to go. Or he could go away, he would gladly do that.

He went back in. "Mianhae noona, I have to go for awhile. Apparently there's a sasaeng fan waiting right outside my house, I have to tell her to go away," he lied. Well, it was true, in a way, he thought. 

Hyori's mouth opened in shock. Temporarily forgetting about Zico, she ran to the window and looked out and saw Hana.

"Oh my goodness! Your fans are so scary," she shook her head. Chen laughed without humour. "I'll be back," he gave her a small smile. 

"Are you sure you'll be alright handling her alone?" Hyori asked with concern. Chen chuckled. "Worry about yourself first."

*

"Oppa, that's your house?" Hana asked when she saw Chen coming out of Hyori's house instead of his. 

"No, this is my noona's house."

"You and your noona live in separate houses? And you both are just beside each other? That's so weird!"

Chen stared at the sky.

"She's not my real noona."

Hana let that information sink in. Suddenly, she felt a pang of jealousy. Who is this "noona" that her boyfriend cared so much about, even after they're attached? She had to get his attention away from her.

"Oppa," she whined, tugging on his arm. When he didn't respond, she tugged at his arm.

"Oppa, we should get to know each other better, shouldn't we? Take me on a date!"

Chen inwardly rolled his eyes. He wasn't behind physically behind bars, but he felt that even prison was more bearable than this mental torture.

"Hmm okay, where do you want to go?" He asked, forced. Hana's eyes lighted up.

"Let's go to the movies! And then the amusement park!"

"Arasso," he agreed, causing her to squeal. "Thank you oppa!" Then, she suddenly grabbed him, tiptoed, and ..

Kissed him.

Time seemed to freeze. Chen's eyes widened in shock, and he quickly pushed her away. Hana faltered.

"Sorry .. I got too excited," she mumbled apologetically.

Chen simply shook his head. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said a little too frostily. Then, he walked away to Hyori's house again without looking back.

"Oppa!" Hana called. Chen stopped but didn't look back.

"Why are you going back to your noona's house?"

He turned, biting back the urge to scream at her. "She needs me," he said flatly before walking back again.

Hana pouted again. 

*

Unknown to him, Hyori had witnessed everything. When Hana kissed him, her hand had automatically covered and she had backed away, thus not seeing Chen pushing her away shortly after that.

He told me she was a sasaeng fan .. but he let her kiss him .. are they a couple? She was really confused. Then, she heard a knock on her door. Quickly fixing her emotions, she called out "Come in!" A little too cheerfully.

It was Chen. Her eyes faltered for a split second before she composed herself. "So how did it go?"

"I managed to drive her away," Chen sounded relieved. Hyori bit her lip. He's still lying so smoothly ..

"That's good! You're gonna get more of them, I believe," Hyori forced out a laugh. Chen smiled sheepishly and rubbed his neck. "So, where did we stop?" He plopped himself next to her and automatically placed his hand around her shoulder, causing her to stiffen. He was so close to her .. but this is so wrong, after what she saw earlier ..

"I .. kinda made up my mind," Hyori said suddenly, causing Chen to raise his eyebrows. No way.

"What are you gonna tell him?"

Hyori looked at him painfully. I'm sorry Kim Jongdae, I have to forget about you. And you definitely have to stop being so close to me because you have a girlfriend now .. and you didn't even tell me. I don't know which to feel more upset about. Since you don't want me to know about her, I shall play along too. Maybe this is for the better. 

"I'm going to say yes."

*

Hi everyone, it's been more than a year since I've updated and I'm truly sorry about that. I'm honestly touched that I'm still receiving comments, asking me to update this story. Thanks for your continuous support, the old and the new. (: I will try my best to finish this. I'll be more free after next Feb, so stay with me a little longer yeah? 

I hope this chapter is good enough to those who have been waiting!