Onew could tell as soon as he saw Rochelle that she had been crying. Her face was neatly made up, but he could see the redness in her eyes and she kept blinking more than usual. It upset him that she didn’t greet him with at least a look in his direction like they had started doing if she was late on arriving. Instead she went over to Key and spoke with him, the copper haired boy hugging her a moment later.

“Calm down,” Minho said and Onew blinked, glancing up at his friend. “Key can’t help being the one Rochelle turns to right now.”

“I just hate this. I hate not being the one she wants to be with.”

Minhofrowned. “But you are the one she wants.”

“It’s hard to remember that with the way things are at the moment,” he admitted. Onew glanced back at Rochelle with Key and finally the girl smiled in his direction and he felt his misery lift a little.

“So what are you going to do? Seung-Eun will be angry with you if you start showing affection for Rochelle,” Minho mentioned and Onew nodded his head.

“I know all this. But it’s not much of a relationship is it?”

“So maybe you’ll have to change things.”

Onew looked at the boy in confusion. “How? I’m stuck Minho, I can’t show her anything in public and when we get home, I barely can hug her before falling asleep.”

“You’re smart, Onew-hyung. You’ll figure out what to do. I’ll be angry with you if you don’t.”

“Ugh,” he groaned and Minho smiled warmly, giving him a pat on the back. He hated it when Minho spoke in riddles. Onew let out a heavy sigh and walked across to where everyone else was.

“Hi,” Rochelle greeted and he smiled in response. “So I’m almost finished with my booklet, and next week I’m handing it in, so today’s actually the last day I’ll be coming to work.”

“You’re joking?!” Jonghyun claimed and the brunette shook her head. “Has it already been a month?”

“Almost,” Key said sadly and sighed. “Did you get accepted into that course at the university yet?”

“It relies on the booklet; they’re using it as my entrance into the course.”

“Noona, don’t be sad, you’ll still be around to see us because of Onew!” Taemin reminded and Onew closed his eyes.

“But not as much as now, as university is demanding,” he stated, reopening his eyes and looking at the girl. Rochelle held his gaze for a moment, and then nodded.

“My boss has offered me a part time job too.”

“Why didn’t you say about this earlier, Rochelle?” Minho asked and she chewed on her bottom lip again. “You wish it wasn’t the truth?”

Rochelle sniffled. “But it is the end, and there’s nothing we can do about it. If you’ll excuse me, I’m just going to go for a walk.”

He watched her rush away from them, Onew sharing a look with s before chasing after her.

He finally caught up to the girl outside of the confusing building, and in a deep breath before grabbing her arm. She visibly flinched with fright and snapped her head around to see who had her arm.

“What are you doing?!” she hissed and darted her eyes around the busy street. “Are you asking for SM to come down on you hard Jinki?!”

“I am hard working for my group, I give it my everything. I am a leader and what would I be teaching the others if I let someone who means a lot to me deal with something on her own?”

Rochelle shook her head and started walking off. “The guys know what the situation is, we all do. You need to go back now, I’m fine, really.”

“But I’m not,” he admitted, falling into step beside her. “I’m not fine at all.”

“I think it’s best that I do stay away Jinki.”

“Why?” he asked, feeling his heart thump unevenly. “We can’t give up already.”

Rochelle glanced up at him as they walked along. “You know I like you Jinki, but I didn’t really understand what I signed up for. Now I know that you don’t have the time for a girlfriend that you have to hide. We both have to be realistic. I’m a romantic at heart, and I know you are too. That’s why this is so hard on us.”

“You know I want to show you how I feel all the time Rochelle,” he told her and she nodded. “My hand wants to be in yours right now, it’s itching to grab it.”

“There are so many people around Jinki,” she pointed out worriedly and stopped walking. “Please, just go back, for me.”

“And where are you going?” he asked, the brunette shrugging. “You’re good at getting lost, I’ll be anxious all day if I leave you.”

“I’ll call a taxi,” she replied and smiled. “I’ll be fine. You need to go.”

“When will I see you next?”

“I don’t know.”

“So is this your lame attempt of breaking things off with me?” he choked out and closed his eyes. He couldn’t believe how worked up he was getting over it all, but he had fought so hard to get this far with Rochelle and now it felt like it was being torn away from him.

“I don’t want this either Jinki, but we’re making a scene. I’m going to smile at you now and wave you off,” she instructed slowly. “And then you’re going to head back to the venue and I’ll call you tonight to talk more.”

“You’re going to break up with me over the phone?!”

“Jinki!”

He shook his head. “You’re acting ridiculous.”

“I’m trying to save you from the huge story you’re creating, now please go back. Your rehearsal starts in five minutes!”

He let out a huff of air and Rochelle nodded. She forced a smile onto her face and he mumbled a farewell, walking back in the direction they had come from, his head turning so he could see Rochelle out of the corner of his eye. He noticed she had faced away from him and pulled out her phone, and he stopped walking, realising she was struggling to walk off. Before he thought about it, he strode back to Rochelle, stepping in front of the girl again.

“Jinki, what are you doing now?!” she asked exasperatedly and he took a deep breath, his hands reaching for her face.

“Giving everyone something to write about,” he stated determinedly, capturing her lips a moment later.

She stared at the dark haired boy, her heart racing after the kiss. Rochelle couldn’t believe Onew had made such a statement, but she was secretly delighted to know he cared so much about her.

“I’m going to be in so much trouble,” he mentioned and scratched the back of his head.

“This is why you should have thought it through,” she scolded lightly and then giggled as his cheeks turned red.

“I feel very weak,” he said and Rochelle placed an arm around the boy, making sure he didn’t fall over.

“Come on, we better head back before you get any other grand ideas,” she teased.

“I’m not upset that I did that Chelle.”
“I know you’re not.”

“Because I’ve wanted to do it for so long now,” he continued as they entered the building and Rochelle shot him an amused look. “Don’t laugh at me.”

“You’re babbling like a girl,” she pointed out and Onew groaned.

“I’m not normally that forward.”

“You don’t have to explain Jinki, I know you well enough now.”

He stopped walking. “You didn’t like it?”

“What?!” she exclaimed, shaking her head. “Of course I did. I want to be with you and show you how much you mean to me. Even if rationally, you shouldn’t have done that.”

“Manager-hyung is going to have a fit.”

“What’s done is done,” she reminded, yanking him towards the side door. They stepped in and Rochelle grimaced, it had become chaotic with Onew’s disappearance. She went to shift her hand away from his but he held it there, somehow finding the confidence she admired in him.

“Here you are!” cried his manager and then shook his head. “Why did you wander off?!”

“He had to sort things,” Jonghyun mentioned but Seung-Eun waited for Onew to respond. Rochelle glanced up at the boy beside her.

“SM Entertainment will have to do damage control,” Onew stated and then smiled down at Rochelle. “Because it’s out now. Rochelle and I are officially a couple.”