[Still a Flash Back]

EunJi ran from the apartment. It wasn’t fake. It was real. She was the fake part of the two relationships. She couldn’t see she just ran. Ran until she saw a cab and flagged it.

She knew he was going to be asleep. But she kept buzzing and buzzing until he answered the door.

“Who the hell, EunJi what are you doing here?” he asked her awkwardly. She just threw herself at him and started to cry. Junjin stood there and awkwardly brought her to the couch. She picked Junjin because she couldn’t go back to DBSK they would keep bothering her until she told them. Andy, Eric, and Minwoo would have pried it out of her or guessed what was wrong. Dongwan would have brought her to Erics and Hyesung lived right beneath Eric, so that wouldn’t do. Junjin wouldn’t ask any questions, so she went there. She cried and he held her. She didn’t know how long it was until she fell asleep on his couch.

“What happened?”

“I didn’t ask”

“How could you not ask?! She is crying her eyes out and you didn’t ask?”

EunJi opened her eyes to see all of Shinhwa standing in Junjin’s living room. Her head was in Andy’s lap and he was her hair. Shinhwa was like her older brother or protective cousins. They always knew what to do. There they stood staring at her. Dongwan was bringing food to the table, Hyesung was pouring water. EunJi was crying again. Now she was crying about how stupid she was. Eric looked down at a phone.

"EunJi, Yunho and Jaejoong keep calling you...." He trailed off and EunJi just shook her head, she didn't want to them to know anything. "okay, okay," She felt so stupid. This was her first love, her first heartbeak. She didn't know how to deal with this. She didn't have any girl friends or even friends her age to talk to her about it. They let her cry. Finally Andy stepped it.

"EunJi, you need to drink and eat, this isn't good, come on." He helped her sit up. She felt her face it was all puffy and her eyes were red from the look of it. The reflection in the glass showed her that she looked like a mess. "Here" Minwoo handed her a glass of water which he sipped at.

"What happened?" Hyesung asked looking at her.

"Hyun..." EunJi fiddled with her necklace. "Hyun, he....we aren't together any more." she choked out.

"Why?" EunJi could see Eric's eyes flash.

"He..."

"It was Hyori wasn't it?" Andy's soft voice washed over her. She nodded.

"But it wasn't her fault....I want him to be happy and he wasn't with me....and he picked....and...." EunJi was stuttering over her words.

"Did he break up with you over your birthday dinner?" EunJi stayed quiet. She didn't want to answer Minwoo's question.

"EunJi?" She didn't break. She wouldn't turn people against him. In some sick and twisted way she still loved him.

The secret wasn't kept for long. When she wouldn't talk, Jaejoong and Yunho were called. Jaejoong went over to HyunJoong's and he found some incriminating evidence which pretty much gave away what happened. That was reported back to Shinhwa, who was taking care of her.

She refused to leave Shinhwa, more specifically Andy, for the next three days. Everyone camped out on the floor or the beds. Jaejoong and Changmin stayed as well, with the rest of DBSK visiting when they could. She wouldn't eat. The boys would try and distract her with movies, games, books

She finally let go. No longer did she cry but she was far from okay. DBSK brought her back to the dorm and she survived. She went back to her regular schedule. If there was one thing she knew how to do was control her emotions on her face and body. Jaejoong made sure she ate, she was getting thin from the stress and anxiety. This made her feel guilty for make everyone worry. One or more members of Shinhwa checked in on her every day while DBSK babied her.

She wanted to get away from the rumors and the stress from Hyun. When her manager told her that she had been approached to do We Got Married she agreed. Everyone agreed maybe this would stop the rumors and get her peace. She saw Hyun and Hyori from a distance, but made sure to keep away. She didn’t want to see them.  In those months she slipped up once.

Just once.

EunJi had been at a shoot and had overheard the director talking.

“Yeah, I heard Kim Hyun Joong is deathly sick. He canceled his next 4 shoots.”

“Do you think he will be well enough to work with us in a few of days?”

“I hope so, we are counting on him” EunJi felt her stomach tighten. She told her manager she felt sick and that they had to reschedule before running over to Hyun’s apartment. She still had her key, she knew that she should have given it back, but a part of her still didn’t want to give up hope. The apartment was quiet when she got in, all she heard was coughing coming from the bedroom. EunJi quickly went up-stairs to see Hyun lying in bed. She felt his forehead, it was burning. EunJi went into action she went to the bathroom and got a basin on cold water and a towel to put on his forehead. She rang out the towel and put it on his forehead. She saw him open his eyes and look at her.

“Go back to sleep.” She left the room and went back down stairs. EunJi looked around the apartment it was a mess. Quickly she cleaned; she threw about the old food cartons, picked up the clothes and took out the trash. When she checked the cabinets she found that they were all empty. She went back upstairs and re-cooled the already warm towel on his head.

EunJi stepped out of the apartment and went to the super market. She bought supplies for the house. When she got back she rechecked on him before going downstairs to make food.

When he felt something cold on his forehead he had opened his eyes to be met with EunJi’s face. He had called Hyori to tell her that he was sick, but she had said that she was busy. He wasn’t expecting EunJi to be the one to come and take care of him. He didn’t even know that she knew he was sick. He fell back asleep. He woke up to her voice.

“You know Hyun, I was always so happy…” to the sound of it she had been talk to him for a while now, he decided to pretend to be asleep. “I know I wasn’t the prettiest of the girls or even your type. I didn’t even know why you paid attention to me. I was happy because you had picked me. I know I was young and I still am, but you seemed to see me for me. But I kept letting you down and I didn’t know how to fix it. I couldn’t make the food, or surprise you on the important days because I didn’t know about them. Everything I had known made me feel stupid and confused because you didn’t know about them. I tried. I wanted to be the perfect person. But I’m not Hyun. I have realized it now, and didn't want to before. I am not the perfect person for you. And you knew this right away. I’m sorry.” Hyun opened his eyes slightly to see her bend forward, as if she was going to kiss him. He closed his eyes again. But it never happened. “You would be so mad if I did that….” Hyun felt a weight on his chest, even when he was ‘unconscious’ she thought about him and she couldn’t even bring herself to kiss him, because of his past reactions. “Hyun, wake up, you need to eat,” she said in a louder voice. He opened his eyes slowly and looked at her. “Here, eat this” She brought a bowl to his lips.

“What?”

“It isn’t porridge,” he watched as EunJi flinched, as if waiting to be yelled at, “but it helps…”

“What is it?”

“Chicken noddle soup.” She slowly fed it to him. Then she had him lie down again and sleep. The next time he woke up he saw EunJi asleep sitting up, leaning against the bed near the basin of cold water. He assumed she had been changing his wet cloth on his head last night. He watched her sleep. If there was one thing he maybe missed was sleeping with EunJi. Not the ual way, but the way she would cuddle next to him and put her head on his chest. Hyori was amazing in bed, but never wanted to cuddle or anything after the . He quick closed his eyes when he saw her starting to move. He heard her get up and felt a hand on his forehead. “Your fever is gone, good,” her hand brushed the hair away from his eyes. He sat up a little and saw her in the kitchen making some food.

Soon he heard her coming back up the stairs. He heard her place the tray on the night stand. Then he heard a little sob, and something wooden fall over. They both heard the door, and he assumed EunJi had gone down to see who was here.

“What the hell are you doing here?” He knew that voice that was Hyori.

“I was just taking care of him, Jaejoong sent me over…”

“Does he know it has been you?” Hyori snapped

“No, he doesn’t seem to even recognize me his fever just broke, I think he has been delirious since I have been here.”

“Get out.” Then there was a door closing. High heels were climbing the stairs. Then someone was shaking him.

“mmmmmm?” He pretended to just be waking up.

“Good news honey, your fever broke”

“When did you get here?”

“I’ve been here all night to take care of you, don’t you remember?”

“No, I don’t remember” Hyun felt sick to his stomach again.

“Look what I cooked for you,” Hyori motioned to the tray on the night stand. She brought it over to him and opened the pot, “porridge!”

“Thanks, can you get me a spoon?” Hyori nodded and went back down stairs. He got up and looked around to see what EunJi had been looking at before Hyori had arrived. He saw a picture frame that was face down. He lifted it up; it was the only picture of him and her together. He expected to see the familiar photo, but it was gone. Instead the frame was bedazzled and there was picture of him and Hyori kissing.  He looked and saw behind where the picture had fallen was 5 torn pieces, he picked them up. It was their picture ripped to shreds. Her face had been colored on and her eyes were scratched out. He quickly lay back down as Hyori came up with the spoon.

Hyun was back up in a couple days; his apartment was cleaner than it had been in ages. Hyori didn’t believe in cleaning and he didn’t have time. The first time he left the house for a photo shoot the old lady who lived next to him stopped him.

“I was told to give this to you,” she said looking at him disappointedly. He nodded and took what was in her hand. It was a key. A normal key to anyone else, but he saw the nail polish marks on it and the scuffed edges.

“Thanks” he murmured before going to the set. In his dressing room he overheard the director talking.

“So unprofessional, first she runs out on her shoot a few days ago and then the day we reschedule she is sick.”

“I mean she did go to the hospital because of her illness, she had a good reason, we don’t want to get what she has!”

“True, but very unprofessional”

“Who are you talking about?” Hyun asked as he walked out the door of his dress room.

“Lee Eun Ji, it was a huge national campaign, but she ran out the original days saying she felt sick.”

“That day we were just talking about how we hoped you would get better for this shoot, and she runs out saying she wasn’t feeling well.”

“She must have been faking sick the first time if she is really sick now”

“We aren’t going to book her anymore, so unprofessional”

“You said she was sick?” He tried to ask normally