Sungjong

In an instant, my hopes shattered right in front of me. Why was Sungyeol saying Kibum's name instead of mine? Wasn't it me who had done all the work on this project? Dumbfounded, I had no idea what my next action was going to be. Do I cry? Do I applaud? Do I go on stage anyways and say that it was a mistake? The thoughts crisscrossed and jumbled inside my head, but ultimately I told Kibum to accept credit and go up onto the runway.

"W-wow...it was a great honor to be working with Sungyeol on this p-project," he began shakily. Kibum was always a bad liar, and I could sense how hard he was struggling up there. But the audience probably thought he was just nervous at the attention, so he would get a free pass anyways. I could see him try to get his next words out, but Sungyeol decided to cut him off.

"Give it up for Kibum everybody!" The roar of the audience was heard, crushing any of my remaining spirits.  A hand grasped around my shoulder, and I knew that it was Sunggyu's after being manhandled by it so often. I leaned back into him, hoping that he would ease the sadness I felt.

By the time Kibum and Sungyeol had returned backstage and the rest of the audience dispersed, tears were beginning to well up in my eyes.  "Why did you do that Sungyeol?" I said through my quiet sniffles.

"Because of this," he said, handing me his phone to see what was on it. It seemed to be a recent celebrity gossip, and I read it with Sunggyu over my shoulder. 

EXCLUSIVE: Actor Lee Sungyeol in a Gay Relationship?

Lee Sungyeol was found in the park, kissing an unknown male. The two were spotted walking together on what it seems to be a date, as reported by fans who saw, when they stopped by a fountain and engaged in a kiss. Due to the actor's current rise in fame....

I immediately stopped reading as I saw a picture of our kiss at the bottom of the screen. A tear drop of mine accidentally fell on the screen, but I wiped it off and returned the phone to Sungyeol. "So is that what your manager told you on stage?" I questioned.

He nodded slowly with bitterness. "The pictures are damaging my reputation enough. If people find out that you were the one who did my new clothing line, then there'd be even more backlash." Taking a deep sigh, Sungyeol continued. "And on top of that, there's more. You can't be working at Infinite Corps. for a while, until everything clears up and the scandal goes away. If people found out that you worked there, you'd be in deep trouble and possibly danger."

At this point the rest of my tears spilled out, falling in huge streaks down my cheeks. Sunggyu only tightened his grip around me, and reassuringly pat my back to help me relax. Looking up, I saw the rest of the guys, except Myungsoo, gathered around us. Suddenly, realization dawned over me.  I pointed at Dongwoo, looking for some sort of scapegoat. "It was you, wasn't it!" I tried to raise my sad voice, but it kept on turning back into sobs.

"What? Why me?" He asked in defense.

"You told me that you saw us there....and Hoya too! W-why would you do this to me?" I was on the verge of breaking down.

"It wasn't only us! Woohyun and Sunggyu were there too!" Hoya replied.

"Were you really there too?" I turned around to look up at his face.

"Yeah, but we didn't take any pictures at all," Sunggyu responded.

Woohyun nodded in agreement to back Sunggyu up. "What about them?" I asked, pointing over to Dongwoo and Hoya.

"We don't know....we were too busy watching you and Sungyeol," Woohyun said nervously.

I coldly glared at the two. "Were you worried that I was going to leave you guys?" I sniffled out, using my sleeves to wipe my face clear of the tears.

"No, Sungjong! We'd never think that! Sure we had concerns that you might forget us when you become famous, but we would never do anything to hurt you!" Dongwoo pleaded. He inched forward towards me, but Sunggyu pulled me back a few steps away from him.

"I-I need time to think without you guys. Please, I don't want to see you now." I finally said. They gave me a sad gesture of acknowledgement, and left the building with their heads down. I had guilt for making them sad, but I was just so close that I could taste it...and then it disappeared.

My dreams, my hopes, my goals were just crushed right when I could touch them. Being a top name and being recognized as an amazing designer were the best things I could ever wish for. But like usual, love had to get in the way to ruin it. It's not that I directed the blame to the men who loved me, but I mostly blamed myself for being stupid and falling into the things that love promised. 

"Sunggyu, can I stay with you for a while?" I asked hopefully.

"Of course, you can stay whenever you feel the need to," He responded. I removed myself from his arms for a minute to speak to Kibum and Sungyeol, as I might not be seeing them for a while. 

"Kibum," I started out. "Just take the credit for me. I know that you need exposure as much as I do, and you helped me a lot with it so you deserve it too."

"But Sungjong -"

"No. Do what I say, and take the credit so at least one of us benefits from it." I gave him a short hug, and stepped to the side in front of Sungyeol.

"I guess I won't get to see yo