It was late by the time Yong Hwa reached home, “Home sweet home…” Yong Hwa mumbled. “Goodnight Hyung” Min Hyuk said as he headed for his room. “Goodnight kid” Yong Hwa replied as he too headed for his room. Yong Hwa plopped down on his bed as soon as he got in. He was tired but he knew he needed to call Seo Hyun before he went to bed. Yong Hwa reached for his phone to check if she had replied his messages. He’s been trying to call and text her for the past hour but couldn’t get in touch with her. Hmm… No reply and no calls.. Could she still be out? But it’s already past 1AM, Yong Hwa thought to himself.

Yong Hwa pulled himself out of bed and went to Jong Hyun’s room. “Jong Hyun-ah… Sorry, but can I get Yoona’s number from you please? Joo Hyun isn’t answering her phone and it’s already so late. I’m worried for her” Yong Hwa confessed. “Oh hyung, sure.. wait a moment. Shouldn’t she be back from the musical by now?” Jong Hyun asked as he reached for his phone. “Yeah, the musical should have ended by 11PM and even if she waited for Sunny, or went for supper with them, she should be back by now. She doesn’t like to sleep late so it’s just not like her to be out at this time. That’s why I’m worried…” Yong Hwa replied, furrowing his brows.

“Hello? Yoona? Sorry, I know it’s really late. This is Yong Hwa. I’ve been trying to call Joo Hyun but she hasn’t picked up nor has she replied my texts and I’m worried. Is she home?” Yong Hwa asked. “Oh Jung seobang, Joo Hyunnie… Err… Joo Hyunnie…. Is… Asleep? Yeah! She’s asleep! Sorry! Maybe she’s really tired. I’ll get her to contact you tomorrow?” Yoona was trying her best to cover the lie. “Ahh.. is that so? Is she sick? Please help me look after her. I’ll call her again tomorrow. Please do let her know I called. And again, sorry for calling so late at night. Goodnight Yoona” Yong Hwa apologized before hanging up.

Yoona hung up quickly and looked at Seo Hyun. “He said he was just worried about you and asked if you were sick. And then he told me to please look after you” Yoona relayed Yong Hwa’s messages to Seo Hyun. Seo Hyun had been crying for the past hour and the girls were trying to make her feel better. “Joo Hyun-ah, you should talk to him to clear it up” Hyo Yeon advised. “Unnie, I’m scared…” Seo Hyun admitted. Seo Hyun sighed…

“The last time, we argued about Shin Hye unnie. This time, it’s about Shin Hye unnie again.. Won’t it seem like I’m jealous of Shin Hye unnie? If I talk to him about it, he will come to the conclusion that I’m jealous of Shin Hye unnie. And that’s not true. I’m not jealous of Shin Hye unnie. Rather than it being a problem because of Shin Hye unnie, I think the issue here is that he isn’t completely honest with me. Jin Woon said Shin Hye unnie said she and Yong oppa always contact each other. But Yong oppa never told me that” Seo Hyun said sadly.

The girls didn’t know what to say. They couldn’t defend Yong Hwa and didn’t know how to make Seo Hyun felt any better. “Joo Hyun-ah, we don’t know what Jung seobang is thinking. So the best is, if you can talk to him” Tiffany said gently. Seo Hyun shook her head, “I don’t feel like seeing him or talking to him in the near future.” “But Hyunnie, are you just going to ignore him?” Tae Yeon asked. “I will probably reply his text briefly tomorrow morning” Seo Hyun shrugged. “And what if he calls? What are you going to do then?” Soo Young asked. “I’ll just tell him we have started practicing for our second Japanese album” Seo Hyun replied.

The girls were speechless. She seemed adamant to not have any contact with Yong Hwa. “Hyunnie, what you need right now is rest and sleep. You’ll figure it out tomorrow, when your head is clear and you’ve had enough rest. Ok?” Sunny suggested. Seo Hyun nodded absently and let Hyo Yeon lead her to their room. “Goodnight my dear” Hyo Yeon said as she tucked Seo Hyun into bed.

Seo Hyun slept surprisingly well through the night and woke up refreshed but her foul mood came right back the moment she checked her phone. There were dozens of missed calls from Yong Hwa and heaps of text messages. She sighed… She really did not want to deal with him right now so she just ignored her phone while she took a shower and prepared for school. She was glad she had school to look forward to. She’s always enjoyed learning and it would be a great distraction for her, not to mention a great excuse to avoid Yong Hwa. Just as she was leaving her dorm, Seo Hyun decided she couldn’t be mean and replied Yong Hwa’s text:

Sorry Oppa, I was very tired yesterday. Thank you for your concern. I got to go, I’m late for school. Bye.

Yong Hwa woke up late and shuffled to the kitchen to get something to eat. “Hyung, did you manage to get Hyungsoonim?” Jong Hyun asked Yong Hwa the moment he saw him. “Oh! That’s right!” Yong Hwa exclaimed as he ran back to his room to retrieve his phone. “What’s this???” Yong Hwa said loudly, he was puzzled. Seo Hyun had never replied his texts so vague and short before. He had a bad feeling about this. “Hyung, what’s wrong?” Jung Shin called from the kitchen.

Yong Hwa walked back to the kitchen clutching his phone, still trying to decipher what’s wrong with Seo Hyun. “Here… Look at this and tell me what’s wrong” Yong Hwa said as he handed his phone over to Jung Shin and Min Hyuk. “Erm…. Don’t know… What’s wrong?” Jung Shin asked as passed the phone over to Jong Hyun. “Her reply is too short and vague, don’t you think?” Yong Hwa asked while biting into his toast. “But hyung, she said she was in a hurry…” Min Hyuk suggested. “Even then.. It’s not right” Yong Hwa was still suspicious.

“Hyung, did you tell Hyungsoonim you were going to give flowers to Shin Hye” Jong Hyun asked suddenly. “No.. Why would I?” Yong Hwa replied. “That’s your problem right there” Jung Shin pointed out. “But her unnies were the ones who suggested to us to ‘fan the flames the wrong way’. I’m just following their advice” Yong Hwa defended himself.

Yong Hwa tried unsuccessfully for the rest of the day to contact Seo Hyun. All his calls were left unanswered and all texts were ignored. Ahhh.. I have to fix this fast, Yong Hwa thought to himself. “Hello? Yoona, it’s Yong Hwa. Joo Hyun is mad at me, right?” Yong Hwa asked. “Oh hello Jung seobang. What are you talking about? Why would she be mad at you?” Yoona feigned ignorance. “I’m guessing it’s because of the flowers I gave Shin Hye last night?” Yong Hwa tried his luck. “Jung seobang, I have no idea what you’re talking about” Yoona tried her best to deflect. “Yoona, please.. I need to fix this.. Please…” Yong Hwa pleaded. “Jung seobang, you better have a damned good explanation for that. And yes, she’s mad at you but you didn’t hear it from me, ok?” Yoona warned.