“Hyung, something is not right. Can you feel it?” Hyung joon whispered to Kyu jong and Hyun joong while they were eating some late afternoon snacks.


“Mind your own business. Don’t add fuel to the fire.” Hyun joong replied while Kyu jong just smiled. Of course he knows what was happening but he had no plans of intervening, for love is not something to be solved by a mere bystander. 


It has been a week already when Youngsaeng and Jungmin were not speaking to each other except during shows and broadcasting. They were civil when working but silent when left alone.


Flashback


“Jungmin ah, I think we should end this now.” Min Ah told Jungmin. They were talking at the porch the night after the incident at the snack shop.


“Waeyo? Min Ah please don’t close my only chance for you. I already told you that Soo Rin suddenly kiss me, I didn’t kiss back...” Jungmin asked her, shocked at her sudden decision.


“Anni. It’s not because of that.” Min Ah assured him and took a deep breath.


“Then why?” Jungmin said, sadness gleaming in his eyes.


“I made a promise to myself eight months ago that I would work hard for my name to be known in my industry. In order to surpass someone, and love was not something I had hope to encounter.” Min Ah looked at the sky above before continuing.


“I don’t think I’m ready to love just yet. It is just making things complicated, it hurts me and it hurts you as well. Mianhe.” 


“This is too sudden...Min Ah am I hurting you that badly?” Jungmin asked in a low voice.


“You want the truth? Yes. I’m hurt when I see you with her but what hurts the more is when I know that I shouldn’t even be taking notice of you, because you have responsibility to her, and I am hurting her in the process.” Min Ah said and tried to walk away but Jungmin held her hand tightly.


“I won’t let you.” 


“Let me go Jungmin.”


“I won’t!” Jungmin was now yelling.


“Let her go.” Youngsaeng’s stern voice cut through the cold night air, making Jungmin loosen his dead grip.


“This has nothing to do with you Youngsaeng.” Jungmin said, irritated by the interruption.


“Go on inside and get some rest.” Youngsaeng whispered to Min Ah.


“She still has a fever and you’re just letting her catch a cold here outside.” Youngsaeng said to Jungmin the moment he heard the door in Min Ah’s room close.


“This is our business.” Jungmin replied.


“It is mine too.”


“Tch! I was right then. You have feelings for her.”


“De, since the start but I didn’t push through because of you. What happened to your promise that you would make her happy? All she does is now is cry because of you.” Youngsaeng said, anger clearly in his voice but he was still calm.


“So she didn’t gave me the chance because she has you now? You’re going to pursue her now?!...” Jungmin said in a loud voice but he was cut off when he felt a punch slam into his chin.


“Wake up! Can’t you see that she’s hurting right now because of you and she isn’t ready for that?! You said you would make her happy but you’re only being selfish in asking her to stay by your side even though she is hurting from the inside! I am not like you; I can wait...even if that means not being able to receive back the love that I can give her. Because for now, what she needs is a friend.” Youngsaeng said and walked away.


End of Flashback


“Youngsaeng-sshi I’ll be out for a while, I’ll let you know soon.” Xin said as she was adjusting her baseball cap and her pair of sunglasses.


“Want me to drive you? You’re hand is still not well right?” Youngsaeng offered referring to her arm that was still in a cast.


“Anni. Kyu jong will be sending me.” Xin replied and whispered something in his ear. Making Hyung joong and Hyun joong curious.


“Arasso. Arasso. Be careful. I’ll kill you of you get hurt.” Youngsaeng making her chuckle.


“Ne...” Xin replied as Kyu jong was just shaking his head. He knows what this was all about.


“Ei, you guys are really up to something and leaving us out.” Hyung joon whined.


“Anni. Just be a good boy.” Xin pinched his cheeks and left with Kyu jong.


“You heard her. Be a good boy and get ready, we have to be in the studio in an hour.” Youngsaeng replied and went to his room to pack his bag.


---


“Lee what do you think about this design for the first lay out?” Min Ah walked towards Lee who was sitting pretty in his chair.


“Ya! Since when did you turn back into a work machine?” Lee complained. Though he was glad that she seems to be fine despite the ‘break up’ she had with Jungmin, he was still worried because she was burying herself with work. Especially now that the annual conference was drawing near.


“Ke Ke let’s just say if we win this project, then I can proudly face that man again.” Min Ah said and Lee’s eyes popped out when he saw the lay out and for what it was.


“OMG! We managed to qualify for the final round of the contests?!” Lee said happily. They have been working for a month now to pass the contests for elite and professional architect firms to compete for an international project.


“De. So no matter how much you hate it, I’ll be turning you into a machine too.” Min Ah and walked back to her table to continue her work while Lee studied the design.


---


“So why are you here getting drunk again?” Xin said to a now drunk Jungmin. 


It was already late at night, and Jungmin decided to drink again like the past other nights after their rehearsals two hours ago.


“Ei, it’s the brat...” Jungmin said cheerfully.


“What did you say?!” Xin hit his head real hard making him yelp in pain.


“What was that for?!” he yelled while nursing his aching head.


“To get some sense back to your alcohol polluted brain.” Xin replied and sat down beside him on the floor of his art studio.


“Tch!” Jungmin smirked.


“Aiggoo...you know Min Ah made the right choice. Everyone has dreams, and it is only normal for us to pursue that dream even if it means letting go of some things that are important to us. But we should also remember that although a person let go of our hands, it doesn’t mean that she has forgotten who you are.” She said to him when he calmed down a bit.


“What hand? Your hand? It’s booorrrken.” Jungmin said and he got a big kick from Xin.


“I should have known that talking to a drunk horse is a waste of energy.” She said and went to look for some towels and cold water like she always does for the past few days. 


She was busy most of the day doing the tasks she promised Youngsaeng and Kyu jong and her personal errands, and by night she would look after Jungmin.


“Haiiizzz I should have just picked somebody else to help.” She said out loud.


Though she hates to admit it, but she was starting to admire him. Though she knows that this would lead to nowhere.


“Who’s helping who?” she heard a shout and she just shook her head at the drunk horse that was yelling.


“Shut up Mal!!” she yelled back but she was laughing when she saw him passed out and hugging his carrot pillow.


~~~~