CHAPTER 9

But . . . without giving a chance to breathe . . . in a blink of an eye . . . Shin Hye was caught back by Jong Hyun by her wrist, placing her in her previous position . . . in his arms. However, instead of being held tightly and being wrapped around by his arms, she feels her head being held by his strong hands, his lips touching hers, hard and strong.

Shin Hye felt the eagerness in Jong Hyun’s touch. He literally pulled the hell out of her, almost crushing her insides. She can’t breathe although she struggles to. She is suffocating from the absence of air Jong Hyun deprived from her.

Little more seconds passed but Jong Hyun did not bother to even loosen his grip for a while, he continued to deprive her more.

Shin hye finally felt nauseous, mixed from different reasons; from the air dispossession brought by the unwanted kiss; from the disgust she feels towards the man in front of her; and from the remembrance of Yong Hwa, thinking she did something wrong to him. She feels guilty, although she knows she has nothing to do with the feelings Jong Hyun has confessed a while ago, she still feels she has cheated from him. She feels she is “The Bad Girl”.

She composed herself after the mere registration of Yong Hwa’s name in her mind. She can’t afford to see the face of Yong Hwa again, plastered with pain and agony, once he knows about these things, from Jong Hyun’s confession to this kiss.

If and only if someone will catch them doing such shameful acts and that someone will tell Yong Hwa, verily, her man will be in great pain and remorse. She never wanted that, never. She needs to see only smile and laughter from him, not those pains anymore, not those.

She gathered every little energy that is left from her body and tried to push Jong Hyun harder than earlier, harsher, and fiercer. “Let me go!” Shin Hye shouted when she was able to garner her lips back from Jong Hyun’s.

The next thing her body did was out of instinct, raising her right hand in the air and directly traps it in Jong Hyun’s left cheek. Her body made it sure to produce sound when the contact will be made, loud and clear. The impact made red marks on his pretty face, making him look sick.

Jong Hyun immediately touched the part of his face where Shin Hye’s hand just landed. It gave him a sort of sheering pain around that part, but the pain in his chest was bolder, more painful. The only words he was able to say was . . .

“Shin Hye~ah,”

“How can you do this to me, Jong Hyun? I trusted you, Yong Hwa trusted you, everyone trusted you, but you still . . .” Shin Hye remarked, crying. Tears started to flow down her pretty cheek, asking for answers. She intuitively erased the tears that flowed from her cheek, just to make her comfortable.

“I thought . . .” Jong Hyun was fast to answer, but in the middle of his line, things became hard for him to say, he felt sudden shame and disgust for himself, so before adding more remarks, he stopped.

But Shin Hye’s next words gave him a shock.

“That’s it, “You Thought . . .” do you know how many people have been victimized because of that “I thought” thing?

. . . What? You thought that I fell for you too? You thought that I could give up Yong Hwa just like that, just because he couldn’t tell everyone yet about our relationship? Just because he made a stupid song for the other girl? Just because he accepts gifts from their fandom? Just because he allowed this foolish partnership of ours? Jong Hyun, you just thought that”, Shin Hye shouted, without caring to breathe a little, all she wants is to explain to Jong Hyun everything.

“But we make a great couple, don’t we? Everyone thinks we look good together.”, Jong Hyun objected, struggling from the inside.

“ Tch. There are two beautiful reasons why we make a great couple, Jong Hyun. First, because you fell for me and you think everything that we do is true. Second, like Yong Hwa said before . . . I am a great actress, and acting as if I am in love with you or any other man is just like breathing air for me, no sweat.”

Shin Hye stopped her tears and replaced them with chuckles, the sarcastic and a matter-of-fact way. She has no intention of allowing Jong Hyun to stay stupid like this, he needs to be awakened.

“It’s Yong Hwa I love”, Shin Hye concluded. She turned around, leaving the shocked Jong Hyun, alone.

~~

Shin Hye was found by the manager walking alone the side beach, thinking deeply. However, when CNBLUE’s manager told her about the picture from the man in black plus the threat, Shin Hye was back on earth. She, without hesitation, packed her luggage and solely went to the airport back to Seoul.

~~

“Yong!” Shin Hye opened the CNBLUE’s main door, her eyes looking for Yong Hwa. He wasn’t there. Her heart skipped a beat, making her more anxious than ever, but she tried to stay calm, just like what she did before. She looked for him in the kitchen, no sign of him either. Finally, she opened Yong Hwa’s door, but the knob was locked. She tried again, she failed.

“Yong Hwa~yah, are you in there, let’s talk about this, please open the door.” Shin Hye shouted at his door, almost banging.

Yet, no answer.

“Yong! Open the door, please, we can still think for a solution, open up, please.” Shin Hye almost begged.

Again, no answer.

While trying her very best to open his door, different scenarios went playing inside her mind, some are good, others are bad. But the BADs occupy the most part of her brain thinking he may had hung his neck inside his bathroom, or took a handful of drugs from his medication cabinet or even beat himself to death using his guitar, such things and they made her even more scared. So, making up her mind, she opened up her bag and got the key Yong Hwa gave her, the key for his room.

Yong Hwa was there, sitting on his chair in front of his working table, fixing his gaze to infinity. He is not talking, not even moving, he was just staring, staring at the picture she couldn’t see clearly. Then, Yong Hwa dashly covered the picture and put it inside his drawer, without turning his face towards her.

Shin Hye isn’t sure about the picture, but the idea just went away after remembering the news she just heard from the manager.

“Yong Hwa~yah, gwenchannah?” she asked. “I thought something happened to you in here so I had no choice but to open this up. Are you alright?”

“What are you doing here?” Yong Hwa, with his poker face on, asked.

“Did you hear about the news?” Shin Hye completely went in, unmindful of the cold atmosphere around.

“I did.” He answered, coldly.

However, deep inside him, the pain is unbearable; all he sees is his girl friend kissing his brother. He may have fought against Seo Hyun a minute ago about her challenge of giving proofs when did she loved him, but all of his answers were all from his mind, from the experiences he had with her. He was so sure that time, but after seeing again the pictures Seo Hyun left to him, he doesn’t know anymore. He started to resurface his insecurities again, this time, it is more painful, more agonizing, more insufferable.

“Oetokhe? What are we going to do this time, they have pictures.”She said worriedly. She could not see Yong Hwa’s face entirely because he hasn’t turned towards her yet, and although she already sensed the tension between them, she did not mind at all, not this time. They have to think about the scandal first, for its solution, for a better way this time.

Shin Hye started to think for one but her mind went black when YH said something.

“Do not worry, I’ll deny it.” He said, not moving at all. Tears started to form around his eyelids when he worded DENY. He wanted to just not deny it, to just tell everyone about his love for her, to just confess to people around them that they are together and they will be, forever, but now, doing so is next to impossibility. So unable to stop, tears flowed down.

“They have pictures, how can you let them believe that? What will you say? That you and I are just friends again? Do you think they are stupid?” Shin Hye has no other choice but to shout that out loud. She currently thinks Yong Hwa can not grasp what is happening yet, so she tried again.

“They won’t believe you, they won’t.”

“They will.” Yong Hwa harshly said.

“How? What are you going to say? Huh? What?”Shin Hye is as frustrated as ever. She needs to challenge this kid now, wanting to hear what stupid thing he has thought of, but little did she know, Yong Hwa’s answer will be the last thing she ever wanted to hear from his mouth, the last thing.

“I will tell them . . . . . . I am dating SNSD’s Seo Hyun.”

~~

“I will tell them . . . . . . I am dating SNSD’s Seo Hyun.” Yong Hwa hardly pronounce the name of that girl, like if he is to ask to swallow her name, he will just straightly refuse to do so, but right now, he has to, he ought to. Especially after he remembers Seo Hyun’s utterance earlier.

If you won’t date me publicly, I will release these two photos, and by next day, you won’t see any Park Shin Hye in the list of the actresses anymore, she’ll be gone.

“Bwah? You are kidding, right?”Shin Hye felt her sudden drop of blood pressure. She felt dizzy, and cold all over. She clearly heard Yong Hwa, but his words didn’t welcomed by her brain, and up until now, she is still denying, quietly.

~~

Yong Hwa felt Shin Hye almost drop to the floor. He wisher he could just catch her and directly put her in his arms, and tell her he is just kidding, but Seo Hyun’s statement made it so difficult for him to think straight. Her words kept on repeating inside his mind, like a pirated CD, annoying him the most. So he held himself more, tighter, stronger.

If you won’t date me publicly, I will release these two photos, and by next day, you won’t see any Park Shin Hye in the list of the actresses anymore, she’ll be gone.

“I am not kidding . . . I really am dating her and I am planning to announce it the next two days. We will be dating . . . publicly.” He made up his mind.

Shin Hye shut her eyes down trying to filter his word for the second time. “What is he talking about? Has he gone crazy or what? He must be, we are dating, not him and Seo Hyun.

He must be crazy. He has gone crazy.”

“You are crazy.” She managed to say.

“Yes I am. Please help me.”

“I am not, I am telling you the truth.” He said, straight to the point.

Shin Hye just exploded.

“Then what about us? What were we all these time, baboo~yah! What were we? Tell me, what were we?” she shouted at his back. She is now angry, cursing the hell out of him. She wants clarity from this crazy man in front of her, she wants answers, she demands them now.

~~

The anger he hears from her words made him so weak inside, but things needs to be placed in their right places. He has to be the one to do it. He has to save her.

Yong Hwa will never forgive himself if something bad happens to Shin Hye in any aspect of her life. He only wants the best for her, just like how she wanted those for him, and seeing her career fall down in front of him will just make him blame himself forever. So before it’s too late, he has to do something for her, something he and she won’t regret, hopefully.

So he answered. “We were just friends, all these time.”

“We were just friends, all these time.” “We were just friends, all these time.” “We were just friends, all these time.” “We were just friends, all these time.” “We were just friends, all these time.”, his words echoed in her ears.

“Liar!” Shin Hye whispered but she knew Yong Hwa heard it. “Can you please be a man and talk to me face to face, not like this.” She begged, her energy almost consumed.

Yong Hwa was startled when she requested for a face to face talk. He knew she knows him very well, so he got worried she will know the truth. He relaxed himself for a moment, breathed and prepared his best facial expression. He has to be careful, or else, everything will be ruined.

Yong Hwa turned, facing her. He saw the most frightening thing he ever saw, the crying Shin Hye. For the *th times, he wanted to just squeeze her tight, kiss and tell her everything will be ok, instead of showing stupid, fake and bull**** faces to make her believe about his stupid words. He only wanted one thing, HER.

“So tell me the truth, in my face, in my eyes, what you said a while ago, that you don’t love me any more, that you love Seo hyun more, is it true?” Shin Hye stepped forward, searching for his eyes.

No answer.

“Is it true?” she asked again, now that their eye contact has established, she became more confident. She knew Yong Hwa will never lie in her eyes because she sees him right through, all of him.

Yong Hwa saw those two sparkling eyes and within seconds, the facial expression he practiced earlier is nowhere to be found, instead, he hold her two shoulder simultaneously, pushing her to the wall of his room, eager and hungry.

He then put his left hand in her right jaw and neck, while his right hand positioned against the wall, as if making a fence.

Without blinking, he has placed her inside . . . almost kissing. He breathed heavily, tempted with just the sight of her pink lips. He closed his eyes, firm.

“Tell me now, oppa.” Shin Hye whispered, looking at his closed eyes. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer to her, feeling his heat, hearing his heartbeat.

“I love you, I did, I still do and will always do. That will never change, remember that, always. And I never had any interest in Seo Hyun, she is just . . . no one.”

But these words didn’t come out from Yong Hwa’s mouth. Those line were just inside his mind, because, the pirated CD began playing again, ruining his emotion.

If you won’t date me publicly, I will release these two photos, and by next day, you won’t see any Park Shin Hye in the list of the actresses anymore, she’ll be gone.(echo)

If you won’t date me publicly, I will release these two photos, and by next day, you won’t see any Park Shin Hye in the list of the actresses anymore, she’ll be gone. (echo)

If you won’t date me publicly, I will release these two photos, and by next day, you won’t see any Park Shin Hye in the list of the actresses anymore, she’ll be gone. (echo)

He opened his eyes, meeting her sparkling ones.

“I don’t love you anymore, because I love . . .(gulped) like Seo Hyun more . . .” Yong Hwa couldn’t look into her eyes anymore because he’s afraid that any moment, he might just give up and change his words back. So he turned his gaze to the side, completing his statement.

“And I will date her . . . publicly.” He released her, turned around, got one of his jackets and went out, leaving her, frozen.