Hyun Ae's eyes fluttered open. She yawned as she rubbed her eyes. Her wall clock showed 10 am. But her room was dark. Hyun Ae looked out of the window. Dark clouds had already rolled in. Hyun Ae sighed. She planned on visiting Taeyeon today. Maybe if she's fast in getting ready, Hyun Ae might make it to the hospital before it rained. Hyun Ae got up and went to the toilet. She took a shower and went back to her room. Droplets of water trickled down her bare skin. Hyun Ae took out a blue mini skirt and a white t-shirt. Tieing her hair in a braid, Hyun Ae set off to the hospital. She told her dad where she was going. Her dad offered to give her a ride but she refused.

Hyun Ae strolled down the pavement. She was thinking of buying Taeyeon a get-well-soon gift. She took a detour to the supermarket. Hyun Ae grabbed a circular tin that had butter cookies inside. She went to the cashier to pay for it. Luckily, there weren't many people in the supermarket. After paying, Hyun Ae flagged for a taxi. She told the driver her destination and sat back. She saw how everything became blurry as the taxi drove by shops and houses.

About 15 mins later, she reached the hospital. She paid the taxi driver and got out of the taxi. She took out her phone and scanned through the messages, looking for the text message sent in by Taeyeon. She finally found in. 

'Level 9 Room 10' Hyun Ae said to herself. 
She walked to the elevator and went to Level 9. As she walked to room 10, she heard people laughing. She pushed the door to see Taeyeon's friends there. Hyun Ae greeted them. She gave the get-well-soon gift to Taeyeon. 

"You didn't have to go through the trouble to get me something Hyun Ae. You coming here was already good enough," Taeyeon said.

"It's okay Taeyeon," Hyun Ae said as she handed her the gift.

Her friends decided to go out and grab something to eat since they were here since morning. Hyun Ae sat beside Taeyeon, asking her how she felt. Hyun Ae also told Taeyeon some of the things she missed out while she was hospitalized. 

"While I was away, did Baekhyun do anything wrong?" Taeyeon asked.

"I don't think so. Maybe he planning to de-" Hyun Ae stopped herself after realizing what she was about to say.

Taeyeon look at Hyun Ae. Her eyebrows furrowed as she wondered what Hyun Ae was going to say.

"I should probably go," Hyun Ae hastily as she stood up.

But Taeyeon held on to Hyun Ae's wrist. She told her to stay and tell her what Baekhyun was doing. Hyun Ae sighed. She told Taeyeon about what Baekhyun did when he found out Taeyeon was going out with Brandon. From the photos to the rumors, Baekhyun had planned it all. He was mad that someone was hanging out with his girl. Taeyeon nearly threw something out of frustration. Hyun Ae told Taeyeon to calm down. However, Taeyeon couldn't as she was really furious. How could Baekhyun do something do silly. 

At the same time, Baekhyun walked into the room with Taeyeon's friend.

"Hyun Ae, I think you should go home. Didn't you say you got some homework to do?" Taeyeon said through her gritted teeths.

Hyun Ae managed to get the signal and left. Just a few steps away from the room, Hyun Ae heard a guy screaming. 

Hyun Ae decided to go for a stroll at the nearby park since she didn't know what to do. About 10 minutes later, she went to eat at a nearby fast food restaurant. As she got out, it started to rain. Hyun Ae ran to the nearby bus stop. She was drenching. Hyun Ae grabbed the hem of her t-shirt and gave it a good squeeze. Water dripped off. Hyun Ae decided to call her father to pick her up. But when she fished out her handphone, there was only 1% of battery life left. Just as Hyun Ae dialed her Dad's number, her phone died. Hyun Ae sighed as she had to wait for the bus. 

At the same time, someone was also running to the bus stop. He was also drenched from running under the rain. He was fixing his hair. When the boy looked up, he saw the girl from his school and from Taeyeon's class.

"Oh. It's you. You're Ji Hoon right?" Hyun Ae.

Ji Hoon nodded slightly, thinking how she could have gotten his name when they have mever talked before.

"And you are?" Ji Hoon asked back.

"Park Hyun Ae," Hyun Ae replied.

Ji Hoon asked if Hyun Ae had went to see Taeyeon. Hyun Ae nodded. Then, there was that awkward silence that wraps around Hyun Ae and Ji Hoon. Ji Hoon offered to give Hyun Ae a lift home since his mother is fetching him. 

"Oh. Can I borrow your phone? My phone batteries died," Hyun Ae said while trying to turn her phone on.

Ji Hoon passed his phone to Hyun Ae. Hyun Ae called his father and told him to fetch her. Once she was done, Hyun Ae returned the phone. Both Ji Hoon and Hyun Ae continued talking a bit about school. Hyun Ae's father came first. Hyun Ae decided to exchange phone numbers as she finds Ji Hoon a nice person, not like how the rumors say about him. Hyun Ae's father looked at him. For a moment there, Ji Hoon was reminded of his own father. But he shakes it off and decided to wait for his mother to come. Ji Hoon's mother came just as Hyun Ae drove away. She caught a glimpse of Hyun Ae.

"Who were you with? What was she doing?" your mother asked.

"Oh. Just a friend of mine. We were talking while we wait for our parents to come pick us up," Ji Hoon answered.

Ji Hoon's mother stare at him through the mirror. 

"Why are you being so protective all of a sudden? She's just a friend, not a girlfriend" Ji Hoon added.

"Well I don't like you hanging out with her. Stay away from Hyun Ae. It's for your own good," Ji Hoon's mother said.

Ji Hoon didn't replied at all. When he got home, he went to his room and did his homework. His mind was focusing at all. 

"Why is my umma being like this?” Ji Hoon asked himself. 

Then, a thought strikes in Ji Hoon’s mind.

‘How in the world does umma knows the girls name is Hyun Ae?’ Ji Hoon thought.

 

The journey back home was a quiet one. Hyun Ae and her dad didn’t utter a single word. Hyun Ae was really worried if she had did something wrong. Usually, it was her dad that would initiate the conversation. But today, he didn’t.

“Hyun Ae, who was that guy?” Hyun Ae’s dad asked as they got out of the car.

“A schoolmate,” Hyun Ae said.

“You know I don’t like it that you’re making friends with guys,” Hyun Ae’s dad said.

“What?! That’s ridiculous,” Hyun Ae stated.

Hyun Ae walked into the house and went straight pass her maid. She threw herself on her bed and decided to do her homework instead. She got up and took a shower first before doing her homework. Once she completed it, Hyun Ae decided to tell Hana about her day. Hyun Ae went to bed shortly after that.

The next day, Hyun Ae walked to school. She bumped into Ji Hoon and they both made eye contact. Hyun Ae apologise shortly. They both walked together to school but there was silence which envelopes them. They didn’t even look at each other. As the school gate is finally in sight, so is Hana. Hana was shocked to see Ji Hoon with Hyun Ae. Hyun Ae muttered a goodbye and Ji Hoon nodded.

Hana asked what Hyun Ae was doing with Ji Hoon and if she told Ji Hoon everything. Hyun Ae told her that she didn’t do or say anything to him at all. It was as if they didn’t exist to the other’s eye. Hana just look at her. Just then, Yixing appeared. He pulled Hyun Ae away from Hana and dragged her all the way to the dance room. Hana followed them but Yixing locked the door to prevent Hana from coming in. Hana banged against the door, demanding to be let in. Yixing didn’t care and turned to face the confused Hyun Ae.

“I need to ask you something,” yixing said.

“What?”

“Is it true that someone is going around, telling them that Baekhyun did something wrong?” Yixing asked.

“I…I….” you said.

Hyun Ae remembered her encounter with the guys the other day. They told her the story. Hyun Ae weighed the possibilities of her admitting and not.

Yixing stood there, waiting for Hyun Ae to respond. He snap his fingers, making Hyun Ae return to reality.

“Well?”

“No, I don’t,” Hyun Ae lied.

“You hesitated. Something’s up,” Yixing sighed.

Hyun Ae stared at Yixing. He was really disappointed. Something about his expression tells her that he’s distressed. But by what? She waited for his response. Yixing asked why she would lie. Hyun Ae just stood there. She thought that people do deserve to know the truth. She felt bad that Ji Hoon was left out by his peers. In a soft voice, Hyun Ae said sorry and left the room. Hyun Ae raced to her classroom, leaving Yixing who is slumping against the wall.

Hi! OMG. It's been a while since I last updated >~< I'm SUPER DUPER SORRY T-T 

I've been really busy with preperation for my new school and settling into a new school environment. Studies have been preoccupying most of my time. However, that doesn't mean i should neglect my story. Agaian, my sincere apology. I promise to be more active in updating, especially now i'm having holidays=more update. Make sure you read my other fanfics.