“Look at the response from the fans!” Manager Kim said excitedly the very next evening as he showed you his phone.

You glanced at it, clearly not interested as you continued jogging along the track. You had your day off today and ever since you woke up in the afternoon, you had decided to jog at the park near your dorm. It was a secluded park and not much people frequented this area. Jonghyun had told you that the members of CN Blue often exercise here and that you and Jimin were welcome to do so too.

The moment you had woken up this afternoon, Yonghwa’s face had flashed across your mind and you felt a flare of anger. How dare he ignore you last night. How dare he pretend like you didn’t exist. The more you thought about him, the angrier you felt and before you knew it, you had pulled your hair into a long ponytail, changed into your sports attire and headed to the park to jog.

You concentrated on your jogging and every time his face cross your mind, you forced yourself to run even faster, hoping that he too, will disappear at the speed that you were running. It was silly, you know that, but you needed a way to channel your anger before it starts eating you alive.

“Yah, ______-ah!” Manager Kim shouted as he ran to catch up with you. “Stop running for a minute!”

You finally stopped and let yourself catch a breath as Manager Kim jogged up to you, breathless.

“It’s almost six!” He wheezed and handed you a bottle of water. “You’ve been here since two! Aren’t you tired?”

“I’m fine.” You said as you drank from the bottle deeply.

“Yah, the fans love you, take a look.” Manager Kim said and shoved his phone into your hands.

You scrolled through the KPOP news site and found that you seemed to have gained more fans ever since the pictures of you and Jonghyun at Hongdae have spread through the internet like wild fire last night.

“That’s great.” You replied half-heartedly.

You were happy that in just one night, you seemed to have gained a lot more fans but you weren’t in a celebratory mood at all. Something, or rather someone, seemed to have all the happy energy out of you.

You were about to hand Manager Kim his phone back when a figure appeared.

“Yonghwa-ah!” Manager Kim called out as Yonghwa stopped walking in his tracks as he spotted the both of you.

You caught Yonghwa’s eyes for a moment but he quickly averted his eyes from you as he cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. He was dressed in his sports attire and you were sure he must have come to the park to exercise too. Without saying a word, Yonghwa turned around abruptly and left as Manager Kim gaped at him.

“Yah, Yonghwa!” Manager Kim shouted and ran after him. “Don’t go yet! I have to tell you about tomorrow’s schedule!”

You watched as the both of them disappeared as you gritted your teeth in anger. If he had regretted that kiss so much, then couldn’t he just forget about it? Why did he have to keep avoiding you?

A sudden vibration on your hand broke you out of your thoughts and you realized that Manager Kim’s phone was still with you. With a sigh, you jogged along the path they just took.

You knew you were near them as you heard Yonghwa’s and Manager Kim’s voice. They didn’t see you approaching as you stood behind some trees and watched them. You were about to call out to Manager Kim when their conversation made you hang back.

“Yonghwa-ah, come on, don’t be difficult. Just attend the variety show with ______.” Manager Kim cajoled.

“I’m busy. Ask Jonghyun to go instead. They’re a couple now, aren’t they?” Yonghwa replied, annoyed.

“You know that is all just made up,” Manager Kim said. “Come on, just attend the variety show with her.”

“No,” Yonghwa replied firmly. “She is nothing but trouble. I don’t want myself to be associated with a troublesome girl like her.”

Manager Kim seemed surprised by Yonghwa’s choice of words, “Yah punk, do you have to be so mean?”

“It’s the truth.” Yonghwa replied as he continued walking away with Manager Kim following him.

You felt yourself swallow hard as Yonghwa’s words continued to echo in your mind.

Nothing but trouble… Troublesome girl… I don’t want to be associated with her…

Again, the prickly feeling followed by a dull ache began to surface within you and before you could stop yourself, you cried for the very first time in so many years. The ache in your chest hurt so much and you found yourself crouching down as you sobbed harder. Just that few words from Yonghwa and you had been reduced to a sobbing mess. How pathetic.

How stupid you were to think that the both of you were getting along now. Images of Yonghwa coaching you on your song and the playful dinner the both of you had the other night and the kiss you both shared flashed across your mind as your chest ached even more. You didn’t even understand why it hurt so much.

================================================

Yonghwa looked out at the pouring rain as he sighed. It had been two hours since Manager Kim had bugged him to attend a variety show with you. He knew he shouldn’t have avoided you like that but he couldn’t help it. When he stepped into the park and saw you, the kiss from the other day came back to him. He couldn’t let himself think of the kiss again. So the only thing he thought of was to get away from you as soon as possible.

He remembered the harsh words he said about you to Manager Kim earlier and knew that it wasn’t the truth. You weren’t that much of a trouble, really. It’s just that… when he’s around you, he seemed to be getting into trouble. Take the kissing, for example. He couldn’t even trust himself when he was around you anymore.

Yonghwa stared out into the dark sky just as his hand phone started ringing. ‘Manager Kim’ flashed across the screen and he rolled his eyes. Is Manager Kim trying to bug him again?

Irritated, he picked up and Manager Kim’s worried voice filled his ear, “Yonghwa-ah, has ______ returned to her dorm? I’m at FNC now and I left my phone with her. I kept calling her but there was no answer.”

Yonghwa sat upright in his chair instantly as he listened to Manager Kim ramble on, “It’s pouring right now, where could she be? I hope she’s just asleep or something…”

“I’ll check on her.” Yonghwa found himself saying and he hung up.

================================================

You didn’t know how long you’ve cried but you could feel yourself shivering as your wet clothes clung to your body like a second skin. It had started raining heavily moments after you watched Yonghwa and Manager Kim leave. The ache in your chest still have not subsided and the tears didn’t seem like they were about to stop too.

Your phone started ringing for the umpteenth time that evening and you finally pulled it out of your pocket.

“Where are you? Are you okay?” Jonghyun’s worried voice filled your ear as soon as you answered.

“Jonghyun…” You called out to him through your sobs.

“What happened?” Jonghyun asked, panicked. “Are you hurt?”

You couldn’t reply as you choked back a sob hearing his comforting voice.

“Where are you? I’ll pick you up!” Jonghyun said frantically.

“Park.” You replied tearfully.

“Wait there. I’ll be there in a bit.” Jonghyun replied and hung up.

Slipping the phone back into your pocket, you continued to crouch on the ground, letting your tears mix with the rain that was pelting onto your face.

“Yah!” A voice came out of nowhere and you looked up.

Yonghwa appeared with an umbrella as he walked towards you hurriedly.

“Why are you still here? Do you know that Manager Kim was-

He stopped in mid-sentence as he noticed your crying face. His annoyed expression was instantly replaced by a worried one as he stood in front of you, holding the umbrella over you.

“What happened?” Yonghwa asked and crouched down to face you directly.

You quickly wiped the tears and rain from your face and looked away as you muttered, “Nothing.”

“Are you hurt? Are you sick?” Yonghwa asked immediately as he felt your forehead.

You flinched from his touch as the pain from your chest seemed to have increased tenfold instantly.

“Leave me alone, please.” You said bitterly.

He seemed slightly taken aback by your response but said nothing.

“Come on,” He said as he stood up and pulled you up. “Let’s head back.”

You stood in front of him and twisted your hand away from his grasp as you said coldly, “Don’t touch me.”

“What is wrong with you?” Yonghwa exploded as he flung the umbrella on to the ground.

You flinched from his outburst but continued to look away defiantly.

“You’re coming with me now, you get it?” Yonghwa said angrily as he grabbed your hand in his and dragged you along.

“Stop it!” You shouted as you tried to twist your hand away. “Stop treating me like this!”

Yonghwa paused in his tracks abruptly as he turned to face you. He was still holding on to your hand tightly and you winced from the pain.

“Stop behaving like a spoilt child.” Yonghwa snarled. “You’re giving all of us trouble if you fall sick.”

“I won’t give Yonghwa-ssi any trouble at all,” You said as fresh tears sprang into your eyes. “Yonghwa-ssi doesn’t have to trouble himself because of me. I will take responsibility for myself.”

Yonghwa seemed confused as he stared back at you in anger, “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Please leave me alone from now on, Yonghwa-ssi,” You continued as tears cascaded down your face. “I’ll stay out of your way and I apologise for all the trouble I’ve caused you.”

You felt his grip on your hand tighten but he didn’t say a word as he stared back at you, furious. The rain was falling down hard and he too, was drenched from head to toe.

A sudden rushing of footsteps interrupted the both of you as Jonghyun came running towards you.

“______-ah! Are you alright?” Jonghyun asked as he stopped in front of you and then turned to Yonghwa, surprised. “Hyung, you’re here.”

As though he had been scalded, Yonghwa dropped your hand immediately and said nothing as Jonghyun looked at you worriedly.

“Are you sick?” Jonghyun asked as he draped his coat over your freezing body. “Come, I’ll bring you back.”

You let Jonghyun lead you away but before you left, you thought you saw Yonghwa staring back at you, hurt, but you couldn’t be sure. How could he when he clearly detests you so much?

During the walk back to the dorm, your crying had ceased as Jonghyun kept darting worried glances towards you. You opened your dorm door and Jonghyun stepped in with you.

“Are you feeling better now?” Jonghyun asked softly as he went to your kitchen and made you a cup of warm tea.

You accepted the tea as you sat down on the living room floor. Jonghyun’s coat was still on you and you felt oddly comforted by the faint cologne smell that clearly belonged to Jonghyun.

“What was hyung doing there? Did you two have a fight?” Jonghyun asked softly as he sat beside you.

“No,” You muttered and took another sip of tea. “What do we even have to fight about?”

It was true. During the silent walk back with Jonghyun, you realized that you were the one who was complicating things. Yonghwa had clearly stated before that you were a troublemaker so what difference does it make when he was just repeating it now?

Did you expect him to treat you better or like you a little more just because of the dinner that night? Or maybe when he had grabbed your waist before you could fall down during filming the other day? Or perhaps the way he had held on to your arm and kissed you?

You tried to push away the nasty little voice in your brain as another tear trickled down your face. You were about to brush it off when Jonghyun cupped your face in his hands as he wiped away the tears with his thumb as he stared into your watery eyes.

“Why won’t you tell me what’s hurting you?” He asked softly.

You said nothing as you stared back into his eyes. He looked so worried and upset that you felt gui