A/N: Yay!  I updated!  By the way, I just found a person to portray Jaehwa.  It's the ulzzang, Jung Roo.  Do you think her image fits Jaehwa's?  If not, do you have any other suggestions?  Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

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“Sugohasyeosseumnida.” Jaehwa bowed, thanking the production crew after a KBS Music Bank recording.

Hyuna, still in her stage outfit for the ‘Volume Up’ performance, appeared beside her friend.  “Nice job, Jaehwa,” she cheerfully greeted.

“Thanks, unnie,” Jaehwa said softly before turning to the dressing room to change.

Hyuna’s eyes narrowed, noticing her dongsaeng’s strange behavior immediately.  “Yah,” she quickly said, grabbing hold Jaehwa’s wrist, “What’s going on?”

“Noth–”

“Don’t you dare say it’s nothing!” Hyuna suddenly barked, stopping Jaehwa in her tracks.  “Why are you acting like this?  I can’t stand to see this side of you!  What happened to the optimistic girl I used to know?”

“Unnie, I–” was all Jaehwa managed to say before a tear slid down her face.  Then, all the stress caught up to her and tore down the wall she had managed to build in the recent weeks.  Jaehwa broke down in tears.

Hyuna stared, shocked.  Never in the years that she had known her had she ever seen Jaehwa cry.  With her personality, it didn’t seem physically possible.  She wrapped her arms around the younger girl, letting her cry on her shoulder, not caring if the tears ruined her dress.  Something was seriously wrong, and Hyuna had every intention to find out and fix it.

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Hyuna stormed into Beast’s practice room, not caring if she was interrupting.  She grabbed Yoseob by the collar and dragged the shocked boy out of the room.  “Yah!” he shouted when she released him.  “What the hell was that for?”

“What’s wrong with Jaehwa?” she demanded.  She had only asked Yoseob because as far as she knew, he and Jaehwa were still the best of friends.  “You must know something about that.”

“I have no idea!” Yoseob remarked angrily, “Why does everyone assume that I know everything about Jaehwa?”

“Because you’re her best friend!” Hyuna exclaimed in disbelief.

“You may not know, but Jaehwa’s only like this because of you,” Dujun said, shutting the door behind him.

“You’re not going to spout that nonsense again, are you?” Yoseob protested, glaring at his hyung, who just smirked.  “I’m not going to stay around to hear it then,” the younger boy said through gritted teeth, storming back into the practice room.

Hyuna suddenly realized what Dujun was implying.  “Oppa, how do you know?”

Dujun shook his head.  “It’s been pretty obvious to me for a while now.  But it seems that Yoseob, that stubborn kid, refuses to believe it.”

“He’s dating IU though.”

“I know, but in my opinion, he’s only dating her to satisfy the media.  Of course he’s not doing it on purpose.  It’s just that everyone’s been talking about SeobIU for so long, I think he’s started to believe it himself.”

Hyuna nodded in understanding.  “I see.  But what about Jaehwa?”

“Don’t worry.  Yoseob will realize it soon enough.  It’ll just take some time.”

“I hope it doesn’t take too long.  I can’t stand seeing Jaehwa like this,” Hyuna sighed.

“Me too,” Dujun muttered before rejoining his group members.

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CEO Hong tapped his pencil against the table thoughtfully as he considered new subunits for the groups in his company.  He had already successfully debuted Hyuna and Hyunseung with Troublemaker.  This time, however, he wanted a ballad group.  A duo that could evoke emotions from the audience with their passionate vocals.

At first, he thought of pairing the 4Minute and Beast members again, but he suddenly remembered his newest solo singer.  A smile formed on his face as if he had just connected two pieces of a puzzle.  Immediately, he dialed a number on his phone.

“Yoboseyo?  Ne, I just thought of the perfect subunit.”