“Seeing that Dong Ho isn’t here, I’m assuming he’s the subject of our meeting today.” Kiseop states dully as he notices the grim expressions on the managers’ faces. The managers had Dong Ho in the practicing room, practicing as he was the only “lacking” dancer.

“You guys have all heard, haven’t you?” The members exchanged glances at each other, before staring at Hoon and then nodding. The manager sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “We’re going to have to make it public. Their relationship now.”

“But-,” Soohyun protests.

“We agreed to release a statement when Dong Ho seems to be doing well. He seems to be doing just fine. He’s eating and practicing well.”  A manager states as the members exchange looks again.

“I don’t think Dong Ho is really doing well.” Hoon steps up and the managers shoot him looks. “He seems to be in a state of denial.”

“We have to release a statement about their relationship regardless.”

“Dong Ho.” He turned to see the rest of U-Kiss walking into the room with serious expressions drawn on their faces.

“Oh, where have you guys been?” Dong Ho questions, a light smile left on his face. He didn’t miss the secretive glances they sent each other before looking at him. He noticed, but he ignored it.

“The managers spoke to us about releasing a public statement about your relationship with her.” His smile faded.

“For what?” It was evident in their eyes.

“Dong Ho-.”

“Don’t.” He mutters darkly before leaving the room. The other members are left in silence and worry as they watch him leave.

“What are we going to do with him?”

Dong Ho wasn’t in a good mood. He really wasn’t. It had been so hard for him to forget about her leaving. He hadn’t been able to contact her after she left- everyone seemed to be wondering where she was. She hadn’t been attending her usual classes at college either. Hye Ri on the other hand, Dong Ho knew she must’ve known a bit. Where would Eun Joo be staying?

The past week or so, no one had bothered to speak about Eun Joo. At least, not in front of him. All the things in their house- was his. Eun Joo had left nothing of hers behind, making it seem as though she had never existed. That she had never been in his life and it made him feel, surprisingly empty. From the very beginning, it was undeniable, that he had gotten used to her quiet presence. She was never the type to bother him and he was aware of it. He was aware of her existence all along, whether he liked it or not.

Now, in the midst of his quiet home, sometimes he can’t help but believe that she was just downstairs, preparing breakfast or cleaning the house quietly. Sometimes he’d even find himself calling her name to be answered by the silence and the painful memory of their last fight.

“It’s all my fault.” He mutters as he remembers his “ideal” birthday gift from her. It was cruel of him to do so and when it came time to blow his birthday candles out, he had actually wished that he could spend his next birthday with her. He had felt bad unconsciously and with his drunk state of mind, he decided that he wanted that type of wish.

Arriving at home, he turned the lights on to the living room. Playing the memories of Eun Joo back, he smiled at the moments he had deemed to be happy and tears stung his eyes when he remembered the harsh words he had told her in other memories. The severe hatred he held towards her- how bad he had felt.

The memories faded into nothing as Dong Ho stood by his bedroom door, regretting the fact he had never bothered to take any pictures with her. He felt strangely empty at the thought that Eun Joo had disappeared from his life- forever. He found himself by his desk, opening a tiny box filled with SD cards. These were all his pictures. The pictures he had taken whenever he wanted to relieve some stress from being an idol.

He scrolled through countless of pictures of his hobbies, such as his new camera, baseball, and other sports. He had also taken countless pictures of the food he liked and selcas of himself, which he had been wanting to post it on his social media to show fans. He spent almost the whole day scrolling through the pictures, carefully looking through each picture and remembering his thoughts at the moment.

Blinking his eyes and trying to overcome the pain in his eyes (due to straining his eyes), he stood up to stretch his body- that felt slightly odd to him. Sitting back down in front of his laptop to continue scrolling, he found himself stuck on the very next picture.

A picture of a fountain with him and more importantly, Eun Joo. He continued to scroll through the pictures, until he dawned on him that there were no more pictures of them together. He went back to the picture and found his blank expression rather annoying as he stared at the only picture of them together.

“Hello?” He hit the green button on his phone as he picked it up.

“Dong Ho, Eun Joo’s grandfather is in the hospital!” His mother’s voice alerted him and a panicky feeling took over. “He seemed to be worried about Eun Joo this past week and I guess- he got weaker because of it.”

“Text me the hospital he was admitted to and I’ll go over and take care of him.”

“Alright. Don’t stay too long. You still have to practice tomorrow.” He hung up and hurried down the stairs and out the door, quickly hailing a taxi.

“Please be okay.” He whispered as he impatiently tapped his fingers against his lap.

He arrived at the Seoul Hospital within twenty minutes- after pressuring the taxi driver to drive faster. Arriving at the hospital room, he knocked on the door and after hearing a cough and a raspy, “come in”, he walked in.

“Oh, Dong Ho- my grandson-in-law.” Her grandfather coughed a couple more times and Dong Ho hurried over to the bedside table, pouring him a cup of water and giving it to her grandfather.”I’m alright, don’t you worry.”

“I heard you fainted from the nurses. Due to stress.” Dong Ho bluntly stated- not to be rude, but to show how serious it was.

“All this talk about stress! What could I possibly be stressed about?” Her grandfather asked and Dong Ho stayed silent as he thought of her. The room went silent and the grandfather cleared his throat. “Seriously- that granddaughter of mine. Rash and a good for nothing! Won’t even bother to visit her grandfather or rush over here. Hasn’t even bothered to call me. That girl!” He scolded.

“I’m sure she’ll be here soon.” Dong Ho said, in attempt to calm her grandfather.

“I’m sorry.” His eyes widened as he heard the words slip from the grandfather’s mouth. He didn’t seem to be the type to apologize. He didn’t even have a reason to apologize. “This whole marriage- I thought it’ll be good idea. I don’t blame the both of you for deciding to file a divorce- but I’m just disappointed. I wanted Eun Joo to live well and to turn out to be like her mother or father. Normal. She lost her parents in two different incidents and each more traumatizing than the last. As much as I wanted to be there for her, I knew she needed two parent figures.”

“I knew I would never be able to provide her two parent figures. It’s impossible for me to. So just like any other grandfather, I tried to supply her to the best of my ability. I lost my daughter and my son-in-law. Both I consider to be my children. I lost them. I also lost my wife a little after Eun Joo was born. I was losing everyone around me, that I wanted Eun Joo to be safe. Restricting her movements wasn’t the best, I’ll admit. I thought life would get easier for her as she grew older, but what I saw was that it was getting harder for her. I wanted her to express her emotions- any sad or angry emotions through a musical instrument, the violin.”

He began to start another coughing fit in the middle of his thoughts and Dong Ho had to rush out of the room to find a nurse to refill the pitcher of water by her grandfather’s beside table. Rushing out, he failed to see the woman who was making her way to the room.

“Grandfather.” Her voice was soft, but confident. She handed him a bottle of water that she had in her bag. His eyes traveled from her face down to her attire as he seemed completely surprise by her appearance.

“What happened to you?” He questions, forgetting that he was the patient and that she should be asking him the question. “You disappear for a week and you- your hair- you decide to cut your hair short?”

Her hair was cut to just barely touch her shoulders and was tied into a low ponytail. Her shirt was a nice yellow and was large, making it roomy. The front ends of the shirt was tucked into her pants, which were a pair of a white skinny jeans. She had yellow high tops (Converse) and her neck held a cheap, but pretty necklace to complete her new look. The Canon camera she had been given was slung around her shoulder on the strap, next to her bag.

“I decided that I didn’t want to continue living like I was. I want to experience something new. Maybe even start over.” It was nice, her grandfather had decided. That she decided to change her life. He couldn’t tell her his thoughts though. After nearly twenty years of telling her not to do this or that, he couldn’t bring himself to finally approve of it. So he responded with silence.

“Grandfather, does your legs hurt? I know you. You’re the type to pace around when you’re worried.”

“At least you know I was worried.” He grumbled like a spoiled child. “You couldn’t have called me or leave me a note?”

“I was busy deciding and rearranging my life. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to contact you for a week.” She had moved closer to her grandfather, massaging his legs.

“Alright. I heard about your divorce with Dong Ho.”

“So you did. I didn’t expect it to be hidden forever.” She responds as she continues to massage his legs.

“Why didn’t you discuss it with me at least? On what you should do?” He questions. “Dong Ho is that bad of a son-in-law and if you did- I would’ve asked Chorim to help clean up your bedroom so you could move right back in. Where have you been living?”

“With a friend’s relative. They were nice and quite hospitable. They won’t even let me help them prepare meals. I’m thankful for them.” She answers with a slight change in her voice. Her voice turned lighter and she spoke in an adoring way.

“Well, don’t burden them too much. You can move back in. Eun Joo, I’m not mad about your decision. So don’t worry about anything and move back home.” Her grandfather said, somewhat urging her to move back. The room is silent for a moment before Eun Joo speaks up.

“Grandfather, I’m not planning to move back home just yet.” He looked at her in shock and confusion.

“That’s not like you. Eun Joo, I’m only worried about you. I want you to get the best of the best and to make sure that you’re living well. If you’re not living with me- where will you be living? Are you planning on staying with that friend of yours? Don’t be a burden to them and come back home.”

“I might be a burden to them but,” she steps back from her grandfather. “With you, I feel like a bigger burden.”

“What? What are you saying?”

“I feel forced. Forced to act a certain way in order not to tick you off. Whatever I do as well, it seems as though I’ll never do good enough. I’ll never reach your standards. I feel like a burden when I’m living at home. I finally feel like I can breathe now, grandfather.” She states. “I don’t plan on staying with them forever. I’ve found another place to stay at. A place in Busan.”

“Song Eun Joo!” Her grandfather takes a gasp of air, feeling enraged and disappointed by how things turned out.

“I also don’t plan on keeping my college major in music. I’ve found my passion in another area of art.”

“Are you telling me you’re going to throw away years and years of music competitions and awards? Years and years of hard work?” He questions, his face red and his blood pressure rising.

“Yes, because compared to my happiness, they mean nothing.” She takes his hand and tries to calm him down. “I won’t be abandoning the violin though. I will play and practice to remember what I’ve learned, but I want to focus on other things I like and actually enjoy. Grandfather, all I ask is that you don’t worry about me. I’ll come back home when I’m ready to. I’ll come back home when I know I’ve exceeded your expectations. Take care, grandfather.”

She bid her goodbyes and stepped out of the room, leaving her grandfather to shakily take the bottle of water she gave him and accidentally knocking over the glass cup. The cup shattered and Dong Ho rushed into the room, concerned and worried. After Dong Ho calmed him down, the grandfather looked in Dong Ho’s way apologetically.

“I’m just so shocked by how much she’s changed. Her clothes, her hair, the way she speaks- everything about her has changed.” Her grandfather rasps as he leans back against the wall, defeated. “I’m not against anything she wants, but I can’t imagine my granddaughter not by my side. I make Eun Joo work so hard because I want her to find a safe job or live a life that’s safe. Yet, her leaving me behind like this makes me worried.”

“Don’t worry about her. She told you not to- remember?” Dong Ho gently reminded her grandfather.

“I suppose, but in my eyes- she’s still just a child. I- I know I haven’t been the best grandfather. Maybe she does deserve to take a vacation away from me.” Her grandfather said bitterly.

“No, she’s just looking for happiness and we shouldn’t stop her from doing so.” Dong Ho spoke softly.

"You heard everything, didn't you?" Her grandfather inquires and Dong Ho smiles.

"I did. I wish her the best."

I really hope you’ll be happy, Eun Joo. Find your happiness and I’ll try to find mine.

THE END

JKJKJKJK It's not the end just yet!

A/N: In two or three chapters this story will be over! I look forward to finishing it before the end of this month. Maybe? The beginning of the story is just- terrible, so those who even bothered to stick around, thank you so much! If anyone was wondering, what I had in mind for Eun Joo's hair was something like T-ARA's Jiyeon's hair during her solo promotions of One Minute One Second.