Eunjung's P.O.V

God, where was the waiter to save me now?

Seunghyun stared at me expectantly and I wanted no more than to run away from this situation. I should have known that something like this would have likely happened. Of course, the oh-so-curious Choi Seung Hyun didn’t miss a chance to fluster me.

I had two options, it was whether to lie or say the truth and as much as I wanted to lie a part of me didn’t like the idea. I started to feel suffocated. What I’m going to do?

“So?” Seunghyun pressured me.

\I turned to stare up at him and let out a sigh before parting my lips without thinking straight about my final response. “The reason is you.”

There I said it loud and clear. I couldn’t take back my words as much as I started to regret. For once I was being honest and I really didn’t deserve that stupid nickname, Cute Liar blah my .

I scanned his expression as he seemed surprised and slightly taken aback by my unexpected response.

Some awkward seconds sank into the dead, empty silence and I grew anxious fearing his next reaction, but I was expecting him to at least say something. Why wasn’t he already teasing me?

Just as I was about to part my lips he decided to react and started to chuckle. Yeah, right…what was so funny?

“Well…” I cut in.

He turned to stare at me directly into the eyes and there was something so loving about his melting, brown eyes that I found myself utterly lost in the intensity of his stare.

“I am the reason?” He pointed at himself.

Those words are not coming out again from my mouth. “Don’t make me repeat myself, you already heard once.”

He seemed to ignore my last remark and express his surprise by my earlier statement. “It didn’t even cross through my mind that of all you could have cried for, you cried about me.” He started. “Seriously what did I did to you? I really want to know, and I sincerely apologize.”

“I’m not telling you. You don’t know how much of an internal fight I was put through just to answer honestly, and now you are demanding for more?” I asked him not expecting a response and proceeded. “I’m mentally exhausted, is enough.”

“You started this.” He asserted, “but why were you fighting internally? Why didn’t you wanted to let me know? Is there something else I should know?”

“You know just enough,” I stated. There was no way in hell I was going to explain to him why was I crying for him. The fact that he knows that I was crying for him is embarrassing enough. He might start getting weird ideas about it. What if he thinks I like him?

God, what have I done?

He was still looking surprised after I told him I was crying for him, but it was now my turn to ask, and, this time, I am going to put him on the spot.

“Okay, answer me sincerely” I started, “is my turn now.”

“Go ahead.” He ushered me.

I think for a moment what was I going to ask, and when I finally thought about a compromising question I couldn’t help but smile. “Okay, that same night we last met Soohyuk was trying to convince me you were jealous of him. Is that true?”

He didn’t expect this question, he seriously didn’t. It was evident in the sudden change of his expression. He didn’t want to answer, but I was going to force an answer out of him, if necessary.

Just as I thought he was flustered by my sudden question his confident side kicked in again and I saw a smirk grazed his lips. This bastard is seriously arrogant. “Yes.”

Wait what? Did he just say yes? “W-What did you say?”

“I’m not going to repeat myself, you heard me once,” He responded me with the words I used before.

“It doesn’t count because I didn’t actually heard.” I argued.

“Okay,” He smirked again. “I answered no.”

That wasn’t what I heard. “But you said yes before.”

He chuckled loudly at my argument. “But you just tell me you didn’t hear.” He started to laugh and I lightly slapped my forehead.

I’m so damn great at embarrassing myself. “Whatever.” I cut in.

He stopped laughing and ended up smirking at me, and my depressing expression was enough to explain how frustrated I was at myself.

“Lighten up a bit,” He said. “But to be honest with you, the truth is that I was jealous. Is that what you wanted to hear?” His smirk widened.

He was teasing me and I didn’t know if he was lying or actually saying the truth, but that didn’t stop my heart from starting to race rapidly. I felt my heart thump loudly and I cleared my throat trying to ignore how his response was affecting me.

At my silence reply, he turned his stare away and nodded his head. “Since you are so interested I will let you go without asking you back a question, so you have a free question.”

So he was not going to ask any more questions? Great.

I cleared my throat and exhaling out my anxiousness I parted my lips. “This is my last question.”

“Great, I’m listening,” He answered simply.

I clicked my tongue and tilted my head. I knew I was going to ask something stupid, but I needed to disappoint myself one last time. “Do you like me?”

I did a wrong move, maybe that was a bit too straightforward.

I expected him to chuckle or start laughing but he instead just jerked his head up and met my stare. He stared at me without muttering a word and the neutrality of his expression was telling me I would regret his answer.

He parted his lips to respond, and time seemed to sink back as he breathed in and out. “...I”

I? I, so? I "Yeah?" was pressuring him to answer.

“I do.” He suddenly said.

I shut my eyes and then my eyes shot open when his words sank into me. Did he just admit he like me?

My heart wanted to jump out of my chest, and I felt not only butterflies but the whole zoo in my stomach as I stared back into his eyes. I was shocked, utterly shock.

He likes me like I like him? Did he confess to me? If that was an affirmation? Did he share the same feelings I have for him?

This all felt so surreal and I thought it was my imagination pulling a dirty trick on me, but his expression didn’t even waver he just stared back at me with that neutral expression of his. I was starting to feel hot all of a sudden, but then his deep voice came like a splash of cold water.

“I like you as a friend.” He corrected turning his stare away from me.

Once again I was disappointed. I thought that he was actually admitting that he like me, but it turned out he was just teasing me with that unnecessary, long pause between his first statement and the last.

I became suddenly irritated, instead of saying ‘I do like you as a friend’ he decided to step on my sanity and play with my feelings, by letting a long pause sink in before breaking to me he just like me as a friend. I hate him, I simply hate him.

I HATE YOU CHOI SEUNG HYUN.  

God, I am so annoyed. I just want to slap him for toying with my feels, for making my heart jump out of my chest, for disappointing me, for teasing me, for making me believe for a moment that he actually felt the same way I do. God, I hate him so damn much.

But then again, it is not his fault. He didn’t force me to have feels for him, it just happened. I don’t know when it happened, but it did, and since that moment I was screwed. How could I think that the oh-so-great Choi Seung Hyun was going to like me back? I’m not seriously that charming or that appealing, so why would he like such a simple, gullible, embarrassing girl like me?

I’m such a fool, and the worst part is that I have come to this realization more than one time before. I was a fool, a dumb fool. How could I fell for that? Of course, he was just teasing me. Of course, he doesn’t like me. Of course, he might just think of me as a friend. Why was it so hard to get the fact that he didn’t like me to register inside my mind?

I felt completely stupid, utterly stupid.

“Eunjung?” Seunghyun waved a hand in front of me.

I drifted back to reality and I realized I was gone, lost in my thoughts for quite a while until now. Again, why did I needed to space out staring at him? I’m not only foolish and stupid, I’m also embarrassing.

I wanted the evening to end now.

“Sorry, what were you saying?” I tried to act like I was listening to whatever he was saying when I spaced out.

“Nothing, I was just staring at you,” He stated. “Are you okay? You seemed gone a minute ago.”

“No, I’m okay. I was just thinking about some things bothering me, not a big deal at all.” I replied.

He parted his lips to say something else, but just then my phone started to ring.

I was surprised by the sudden noise, but I turned to my purse and pulled out my phone. I stared at the caller’s I.D and I swallow hard. Just what I needed at this moment, I thought sarcastically. It was a call from my manager that I obviously didn’t want to answer, but what option did I have?

“Aren’t you going to answer,” Seunghyun asked me, and he seemed to note the uneasiness in my expression as I let the phone ring and vibrate in my hand.

I just hummed and inhaling a short breath I slid my finger through the screen answering the call.

“Hello.” My voice came out cuter than intended, and the cuter my voice was the more suspicious my manager tends to become.

“Hi, Eunjung,” He answered back not remarking my tone of voice. “Where are you?”

“I am just out spending my free time you know.” I answered and bit into my lip. “And you?”

“I’m fine, but where are you?” He asked again.

“I’m in a restaurant.” I started. “I would have called you to join me, but I’m out with a... girlfriend, you know just spending time outside." I smoothly lied. "Why?”

“No, is nothing.” He started. “Is that the others reported to me what they were doing, and since you have been the public eye target I need to look out for you a bit more.”

“Who is it?” Seunghyun suddenly asked, and I rapidly tapped my phone coughing awkwardly. I hope my manager didn’t hear his voice.

“What was that?” My manager asked, but before he could question me further I just started to speak again. “It was nothing. Thank you for worrying about me, I promise I won’t be out for too long and I will reach the dorm early.” I said. “Anyways I was going to contact you, but you beat me to it.” I laughed awkwardly after slipping in a smooth lie. “You are the best, but I need to go, bye.”

“Okay, bye,” He said, and without leaving him space to say another thing I just ended the call.

After I put down my phone I smiled as I sighed in relief. I stared up at Seunghyun and his brows were furrowed. He stared back at me and I tilted my head. 

"Who was him?" He started. “And also, why didn’t you want to respond? Is he troubling you?” He proceeded, I parted my lips but his voice cut in again. “And why did you lie about being with me, is that your boyfriend or something?”

What was his problem? What's up with all the sudden questions? Why did he care? “Do you expect me to answer you?”

“Well…” He pressed on.

I grabbed the cup of water at my side and pressing the border to my lips I let the cold liquid penetrated down my throat as I swallow. I place the cup down again, and I stared up at him. “Don’t worry about him.” I responded.

“Who’s him?” He insisted.

“He is not my brother, neither some random guy. And why I’m even answering.” I started as I frowned. Why was he so suddenly interested? “Is not a big deal, okay?”

He did not seem satisfied with my response. “Is he troubling you?”

Why did he annoy himself? “No, not at all.” I answered.

“Really?”

I just hummed.

I could simply have said he was my manager, but I didn’t want him to know. Since I was annoy he made me believe he like me for a moment, then why not I have a little fun and let him hanging with the question of who the guy is. I seriously didn’t know why he cared, or why did he bother to ask, but as long as it annoys him it was good for me.

“If he is not some random guy and he is not your brother…then he is a friend?” He kept on insisting on knowing who the guy was.

“He is not a friend…” I started wanting to push on further.

“Then is he your boyfriend?” He asked.

Bingo. “He could be, who knows?” I smirked at his expression and shrugged my shoulders.

He scoffed and darted up an eyebrow. “So you lie to that guy about me? What if he knew? What is going to happen then?”

“Nothing.” I lied. My manager would be mad at me and tortured me with long speeches about how important is my position in the media and what not.

“Then why did you lie?’ He wasn’t letting the topic die just like that, was he?

“Because I don’t want him to think weird things about us, because there is seriously nothing happening here. I don’t want him to be mad, so a simple lie doesn’t kill.” I actually said the truth. I really didn’t want my manager to be mad for this dinner with Seunghyun. “He trusts me, but he can also doubt so I better not do this again.” I wanted him to be as uncomfortable as he made me felt. He toyed with my feelings before, so why not annoy him a little?

“If that guy is troubling you to the point of you not wanting to answer the call then you better re-think about your relationship with him.” Seunghyun ended up saying.

I really want to see through his head and read his thoughts because I want to know what is crossing his mind this instant. One moment he makes me feel like crap by playing with my feelings, then the other he cares about me and even worries. What the hell is wrong with him? I can’t deal with his bipolar sides. Minutes ago I hate him, a