On Friday morning, Ji Hoon lied in bed. He pretended to be asleep. His mother knocked on the door, asking him to get ready. When she didn't get any response, she opened the door and entered. Ji Hoon's mother walked over to Ji Hoon. She looked at him. Gently shaking Ji Hoon's shoulder, she asked why he wasn't awake.

"Eomma, I'm having a bad headache. Can I just rest in bed today?" Ji Hoon asked as he rubbed his temples.

His mother nodded and said that she'll inform the school. Once she left for work, Ji Hoon got up. He took a shower and went back into his room. He slipped on a pair of blue skinny jeans and the sleeves t-shirt he bought the other day. Ji Hoon grabbed his keys and headed for the door. The sun was shining brightly in the clear azure sky. Not a single cloud could be seen floating in the air. Ji Hoon flagged for a taxi. He got in and gave the driver the hospital's address. The driver nodded. It was a 15 mins drive to the hospital. The hospital reeks with antiseptic. Nurses were busy attending to patients. Ji Hoon went to the receptionist. He asked the nurse for Taeyeon's ward number, just to confirm with the one he got from Sooyoung. The nurse told Ji Hoon that Taeyeon had just moved to the first class ward. Ji Hoon thanked her and left. He walked briskly down hallways, passing more rooms and wards. Eventually, he made it with the help of signs. Ji Hoon stood in front of a oak wood colour door. He tooked a deep breath.

"It's only a visit," Ji Hoon said.

Slowly extending his arms, Ji Hoon's fingers curled against the cold, silver doorknob. He turned it and entered, closing the door behind him. He peered from the sides and look at Taeyeon. Surprisingly, her eyes were closed. Ji Hoon walked slowly to Taeyeon. He sat on the blue chair beside Taeyeon's bed. Ji Hoon observed her. Her chest was moving up and down in a rhythmic pattern.

"I got close to full marks for my maths test," Ji Hoon said.

But he knows Taeyeon is asleep. He waited and waited for Taeyeon to wake up from her slumber. About 10 am, Taeyeon's eyes fluttered opened. She rubbed her eyes.

"Good morning," Ji Hoon greeted. Taeyeon saw Ji Hoon sitting by the side. She asked him how did he know she was admitted to the hospital. Ji Hoon told her that Sooyoug explained the whole thing in class. Silence envelopes the whole room after Ji Hoon stopped talking. Ji Hoon decided to leave since his purpose of his visit was to see Taeyeon's condition and is she was okay. Just that. Ji Hoon got to his feet. He was about to turned when Taeyeon grabbed his wrist.

"Please don't leave. It's so lonely here," Taeyeon said.

Ji Hoon didn't know what to do. At the same time, Taeyeon's mother came in. Ji Hoon greeted her. She recognised that Ji Hoon was their neighbour.

"Ji Hoon, is it okay if you stayed for a while? I need to run some errands,' Taeyeon's mother said.

Ji Hoon didn't say anything but just nodded. Taeyeon's mother thanked him and left. Ji Hoon plopped back down onto the chair. He looked at Taeyeon. Both of them started to have a normal conversation and it felt as if they were friends again. But then...

"Ji Hoon, I'm...sorry," Taeyeon said softly.

Ji Hoon's brows furrowed.

"I'm sorry for not giving you a chance to explain yourself. I should have listened to your side of the story. I shouldn't have shouted at you. I thought I could helped you by being your friend. Instead, I simply shoved you out of my life, letting you get hurt more. Now you're being friends with Hyun Woo," Taeyeon cried.

Ji Hoon looked at Taeyeon. He was shocked by the sudden confession, if that was one. Ji Hoon sighed and said," Well, things don't work that way anymore."

Taeyeon shot a curious look. She was wondering why Ji Hoon said that.

"Ever since the rumours, things have been different. People are seeing me as a bad person. They think I'm trying to steal someone else's lady. And Exo hasn't been talking to me that often except for Kyungsoo. Some of them even said mean things to me," Ji Hoon said.

"Aigoo. I'm really sorry. I didn't know," Taeyeon apologise.

"Well, popular teenagers, or should I say singers, don't care about scums like me. They just care for themselves," Ji Hoon said, his voice being louder than usual.

"That's not true. I do care for my friends," Taeyeon said.

"No you don't,"

"Yes, I do,"

"That's what they all say,"

"Who?" Taeyeon.

"My friend," Ji Hoon answered.

There's a reason why Ji Hoon transfered to a new school. In his previous school, his used to have a best friend. He and Ji Hoon would always helped each other out. But he was smart and Ji Hoon wasn't. And he got casted into a music company. Ji Hoon was happy for him. But something change. Ji Hoon's friend started distancing himself from Ji Hoon. Eventually, he started hanging out with the popular students, leaving Ji Hoon all alone. Ji Hoon asked if there was something wrong in their friendship. His friend didn't say anything. He hurriedly left when he say his new found friends approach him. Eveyday got much more quieter. Ji Hoon looked at his friend from a distance. Seeing him so happy made Ji Hoon suffered internally. He tore his gaze away. Was there something wrong with being a non-popular friend? Ji Hoon started to barricade himself with an invisible wall. He rarely talked to anyone unless it was relevant. But things didn't stop there. He was getting bullied by the popular students because they think Ji Hoon is contaminating their "perfect" aura when he talked to his old best friend. His friend even helped out. When Ji Hoon's mother found out, she immediately pulled her son out from that school and enrolled him in another.

"Friends, they just betray you. They stab you in the back when you're not looking. Not everyone around you can be your real friend," Ji Hoon ended.

The door opened and Exo and SNSD walked in. Friday was usually a quick day unless there was supplementary classes. They were shocked to see Ji Hoon there.

"Oh Ji Hoon, you're here. We went through the maths test again. Your maths test papers are with me," Kyungsoo said as he took out his file. He handed out the test paper with the corrections completed.

Ji Hoon thanked him and left.

Hyun Ae was walking down the street with her friend Hana. They were talking about school when they walked passed a group of students from their school.

"Hey, have you heard?"

"About Baekhyun?"

"Yeap. I heard from one of Hyun Woo's friends that he was the one that spread rumours"

"Really?"

Hana couldn't help eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Hey, mind telling us too?" Hana asked one of the boys.

"Sure, I guess. You are from our school. Besides, Hyun Woo himself told us to tell everyone," he said.

About 10 mins later, Hyun Ae and Hana left. They could not believe their ears. Baekhyun was the one who took the pic of Taeyeon and Ji Hoon hugging. He spreaded it around the whole campus. Baekhyun was jealous that Ji Hoon was always hanging out with Taeyeon so he spreaded rumours saying that both of them are dating. They were discussing the possibility how true the infro they had just obtained. Hyun Woo's sources are usually reliable. Hyun Woo himself wouldn't ask his people to spread it around unless it's true. Suddenly, Hyun Ae saw a familiar guy leaving a store. He recognise him.

"Yixing?" Hyun Ae asked.

"Oh, Hyun Ae. What are you doing here? Are you going home?" Yixing asked.

"Yes!" Hana said nudging at Hyun Ae's elbow. She looked at Hyun Ae with a grin and said," I'm going to buy something. Could you accompany Hyun Ae home, Yixing?"

"What?!" Hyun Ae blurted.

"Sure. Let's go," Yixing gestured to the bus stop.

"Thanks Yixing," Hana smiled.

"That Hana. I'm going to kill her for this," Hyun Ae thought.

Hyun Ae and Yixing walked towards the bus stop. No one spoke a single word. It was an awkward silence. Finally, Yixing took the initiative to break the ice.

"Have you seen Taeyeon?" Yixing asked

"No. Not yet," Hana shooked her head.

"Maybe during the weekends," Hana added.

"Oh," Yixing cooed.

Then, the silence returns.

"How's Sunny?" Hyun Ae asked.

"I don't really know. We've broken up since that night at the night club," Yixing said.

Hyun Ae kept quiet. When she didn't respond, Yixing wondered why Hyun Ae asked about Sunny all of a sudden. Their bus came and both of them boarded it. They sat together. Slowly, Hyun Ae stared to talk about school related stuff. Things seemed to get a little bit better but it was still quite tense. Hyun Ae alighted the bus first. Yixing said goodbye. He said that he'll talk to Hyun Ae again. Hyun Ae nodded. When she reached her home, she went into her room and dumped her bag on the floor. She threw herself on her bed. Her phone rang and she answered it. Hana asked how was her date. Hyun Ae was scolding her, telling her not to do something like that again. Hana laughed and hung up. There was a knock on her bedroom door. Her dad entered and closed the door. She told Hana that they will be having dinner outside. Hyun Ae got up. She went to take a shower. She decided to wear a simple blouse with jeans and sneakers. Once Hyun Ae and her dad were ready, they left.

Her dad brought Hyun Ae to a seafood restaurant. It was packed with people. Probably because it was Friday night. Hyun Ae waited in line with her dad. Hyun Ae didn't really mind waiting. She was able to talk to her father more. They were talking about their week. As they were talking, Hyun Ae's father spotted someone in the crowd. He looked at the person. Hyun Ae followed his gaze and realised who he was looking at. It was the person that left Hyun Ae since young.

Her mother

Hyun Ae's dad tore his gaze away and decided to leave. Hyun Ae didn't want to because he saw a guy standing beside her mother. His back was facing her. Could it be here brother? It definitely is. Hyun Ae wanted to walk towards him but stopped. Hwr mother's voice boomed in her mind, saying those exact words from the letter Hyun Ae read. Her dad was already leaving. Hyun Ae walked away. She was so close to meeting her brother. Only a few steps. All those years od seeing him in her dreams. But looks like today isn't the daybshe would meet him. Maybe, just maybe, she will get another chance to reunite with her brother without their parents knowing.

A/N: Happy New Year Everyone!