How it all began...

Prologue

Her two best friends were there with her when she had to confront the man who kept her hopes up.

“Sam, it’s past a month already,” Ailee spoke first glancing from Samantha to Dongwoon. “He’s kept you waiting long enough. We both think it’s time to say something.”

Samantha grew uneasy. “Guys, I really don’t know about this…”

Dongwoon sighed settling beside her, he spoke,  “Look Sam, I’m not speaking as your best friend but as a guy I think what he’s doing to you is messed up and you deserve an answer whether you like it or not.”

“He’s right,” Ailee agreed. “That’s why we’re here to help you.”

Samantha hated to admit defeat but her two best friends made a valid point. She confessed to this guy she liked but made the mistake of giving him an out. He never exactly told her how he felt so for the past month of feigning indifference, she grew impatient and had to make her point known to her two best friends. Ailee and Dongwoon saw this as no surprise knowing he was always on their best friend’s mind.

The man, in general, was this older guy Samantha had met through a mutual friend. While her best friends were off pursuing their music careers, Samantha started talking to him as a way to distract herself. For about three months, she and Jeremy kept in touch and soon, it was no surprise she would develop feelings for him. She had to tell Ailee and Dongwoon about it and it sure was tough. “Why was it so complicated?” Every one wondered. It was complicated because the guy was seven years older than Samantha.

They did not want her to get hurt. And the guy was at a different point in his life where he’s had way more experience than their best friend. He was just getting his life together whereas Samantha was at an age where she had to start figuring herself out.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Samantha asked.

“Yes,” her best friends replied in unison.

Before sending him the text message, she read it aloud one last time: “Look, I don’t know what’s going on in that head of yours but do you have any feelings for me at all? Because I don’t deserve to be strung along and I really don’t want to waste my time.”

“Sounds good,” Ailee gave her a reassuring smile.

Taking a deep breath, Samantha finally sent it then tossed her phone to Dongwoon. “Here,” she said. “You hold onto it in case he responds. I can’t bring myself to look at my phone after what I just sent.” So it was Dongwoon’s job to monitor while Ailee consoled Samantha.

Fifteen minutes later, Dongwoon went over to Samantha. “You have a text message,” he said.

Samantha froze and then started hyperventilating. “Take a deep breath and try to relax,” Ailee her best friend’s hand. Turning to Dongwoon, she asked, “What does it say?”

Not accustomed to Samantha’s standard phone that had an old school key pad (he was more used to smart phones), he struggled to open the inbox. “Your phone is so confusing, Sam!” he became flustered.

“Oh for the love of—“ Ailee got up and snatched the phone from him—“give it to me!”

“Geez, Miss Bossy,” Dongwoon sneered then assumed his position beside Samantha, who was really anxious at that point.

“You can relax now,” Ailee looked up from Samantha’s phone. “It’s just a text from Nicky.”

Samantha grew irritated but then at the same time, she was relieved. She sure wasn’t ready to hear Jeremy’s answer yet. “Thanks, that makes me feel A LOT better…” she replied dryly. “… NOT.” She immediately regretted what she said upon realizing how harsh she sounded. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to be hostile to you guys. I’m just really anxious right now. I hope you understand.”

“We forgive you,” Ailee smiled. “Even though Dongwoon and I may not understand your situation all that much but we know you did the right thing.”

Before they knew it, Samantha’s phone vibrated again and this time, Dongwoon did the honors.

“You sure you got it, Dongwoon?” Ailee .

Dongwoon narrowed his eyes at her, then faked a laugh. “Haha! Very funny!”

“Alright, enough!” exclaimed a very impatient, Samantha. “Can’t you guys see that your best friend here might die from a freakin’ panic attack?!”

Dongwoon went to the inbox and read the message to himself. He stood still for a long moment prompting Ailee to walk over to him to see for herself. She too had gone silent. By the looks of it, Samantha knew this wasn’t looking good. “What is it?” she tried her best to remain calm. “What does it say?”

Standing up, she walked over to her two best friends then grabbing the phone from Ailee, she read the message: “Whoa! Where is all of this coming from?! I’ve been too busy with at work and the business. I didn’t think not talking to you all week was this big of a deal. And I’m sorry if it seems like I might have led you on, that wasn’t my intention at all. But let me ask you something first, how do you see this playing out knowing we don’t see each other and how busy my schedules are?”

“He’s confused,” Ailee broke the silence. “What’s even more frustrating is he didn’t even give you an answer.”

“Gosh, he always does this to me! He can ever give me a straight answer to anything! Ugh!” She clenched her phone angrily.

Soon, she began typing a response: “I don’t know either. I wasn’t supposed to feel this way about you but it happened. I can’t just turn off my feelings for you and what’s done is done. Just so you know, I’m just as confused as you are.” Message sent.

A/N: Hello everyone! Here's the first part to the story... Basically, Samantha's situation with Jeremy was enough to start out the plot. I plan on introducing other characters soon. I plan on making revisions to the Foreword once I figure out where I want this to go. As you all know, some of the elements of this story is true, especially the situation with Jeremy. Yes, he really was older than me and I felt there was a bit of a connection with him but some things just aren't meant to be. I'm not sure who I want to pair the main character with even though I did include Peniel into the story. He'll appear soon along with other characters. :D