Hani took a deep breath and gazed at the girl across from her with a reluctant sigh. She was here to atone for her sins and try to make everything right. But if Saerim was not going to be competent with whatever she wished to, it was going to be harder than she thought. Folding her hands together across the table and leaning towards the younger individual, Hani tried to lighten up the atmosphere by saying, “You look great, Sae”

 

“Cut the crap” Saerim snapped from across the table, “What is it that you really want?”

 

“I want to make things right” Hani sighed, “Everything we had planned against Soa, just stop it”

 

“Why?” Saerim scoffed, “I made a choice once Soa woke up, and that was to make her pay for everything I went through”

 

“She never did anything to you”

 

“She was always the favorite” Her eyes gleamed with a jealousy that couldn’t be ignored, “She always got all the attention even though I was right there. I thought that moving in with their family would be something nice, something special that I’d get to know. But now, they just wanted me there because someone else died”

 

“Are you seriously going to hold a grudge against her forever?” Hani shot back with annoyance, “It’s such immature acts. Don’t think that they’re so stupid. Hoseok would never give in to you”

 

The younger girl’s lips quirked up into a sadistic smile, “You want to bet?”

 

Hani was baffled by the fact that the girl across her did not contain any sanity whatsoever. She wondered how in the past had she managed to work along with her to ruin Soa’s life. Looking back, she felt sorry for having been such a bad , for having realized a little bit too late that Soa was not the one to be blamed, but that it was her own and unique fault. That was why she was trying to repent herself, to be good again and to help that particular individual.

 

But she felt the storm that Saerim was trying to stir as well, and she swore it wasn’t going to be something pretty. It would be stupid of her to actually believe that Saerim could be a good person.

 

“She probably brainwashed you as well, seeing that you stuck by her side when appa decided to reprimand her” Saerim chuckled darkly, “It was entertaining to watch, it felt good to know that I’m not the one suffering alone”

 

“Saerim she didn’t brainwash me, I made the choice by myself,” Hani’s eyes flashed with pain, “Because I realized that what I was doing was wrong, everything was just wrong and I wasn’t going to get anything out of it. More truthfully, I felt like I was hurting everyone because of my foolish acts”

 

“Oh cut the crap Hani! You were damn brainwashed by that witch! That’s what she does to everyone around her!” Saerim shouted with anger, a temple throbbing at her forehead.

 

“Soa is a good person” Hani replied flatly, “You’re just too blinded by jealousy to see it”

 

“Where are you going? Hey!” Saerim cried as the other girl started gathering her things and stood up, “Stop!”

 

“I’m done with you” Hani rolled her eyes, “Do whatever you want, but I’ll make sure Soa doesn’t get hurt by your stupid plans”

 

“Oh yeah!?” the younger girl hollered from behind her back. Her next statement caused the hairs at the back of Hani’s neck to stand on end, “Well I wonder how she will react once she finds out you’ve been in on my plans to ruin her!”

 

She wished she hadn’t heard the last part, because a little bit more and she might’ve strangled her.

 

 

---

 

 

 

It had been days since the incident and yet the boy hadn’t said so much as a word to her since. He always left early in the morning before Soa woke up and came in late at night, so drained and tired that the girl feared asking him anything for fear that he’d snap, because a tired Hoseok was someone not to be messed with. She tried every time they saw each other, but he would either just avert his gaze and continue walking like he hadn’t heard anything, or he’d say something along the lines of ‘we’ll talk later’. Obviously that later never came. He was always busy, or kept himself busy so as not to think about it. But she saw the small changes in his demeanor; he wasn’t smiling as much and was always staring into space like he was gazing at something, which just wasn’t there. It was scaring her to say the least and Soa did not know what to do anymore. She felt like she needed to do something, but what? It was impossible to get through to him when he was pushing her away. In a way, Soa felt like she wasn’t trusted. After everything they had been through, she’d have thought that he would be more reliant on her and communication would get better between them, but on the contrary, Hoseok seemed to have retreated into this unbreakable shell.

 

It was so frustrating she wished to pull her hair out.

 

“Are you okay?” Chohee would even ask about him, “How is he?”

 

Soa would just reply with a shake of her head, “No better”

 

Another thing that she took notice of was the fact that he never embraced her or kissed her anymore. Soa was just like another human being he had to tolerate. No more of those morning kisses and cajoling lullabies to wake her up, no backhugs as she attempted to whip up some omelets, no sweet pecks when she was in the middle of doing something. It had been annoying for the girl but she had grown fond of it. Because of Hoseok’s reticence and his changed actions, Soa had started missing all of them like she was missing the particular boy’s spirit.

 

Because she was worried about him, every day after school she kept passing by his dance studio only to see him already gone. Every time she would be looking through his empty practice room with a heavy heart, then sigh like the world was pressing down on her shoulders.

 

“Looking for Hoseok again?”

 

She turned to see Kai crossing his arms over his chest, “He went early today as well?”

 

The boy nodded, brown locks swishing, “Did you guys have like a fight or something? He really seems distressed”

 

“No” Soa sighed for the millionth time today and wringed her hands together, “I don’t know what’s up with him. He won’t tell me”

 

“Well if that’s any help I don’t think it’s your fault”

 

Soa smiled slightly, “Thanks Jongin" she then turned with dejected footsteps to escape from all the pressure and the stress that had been building up inside of her from the day Hoseok started acting like something was off. No matter how hard she tried, she felt like he didn’t trust her enough to share his problems and that was the black hole in their relationship; the ability to trust.

 

Of course she trusted him, of course she knew that he’d never cheat on her.

 

He wouldn’t, right?

 

“Hey Soa” The younger boy jogged up behind her and slipped his arm so suddenly around her own that Soa stumbled at his touch, causing him to grin slightly and tug her towards the door. If Jongin had been a puppy, his tail would’ve been wagging like hell-hard on the floor by now. She blinked at him in confusion as he jerked his head towards the door, “I’m hungry, want to join me?”

 

She hesitated. Hoseok would not be happy to see her with another man; he’d probably throw a fit.

 

But then again, he had been the one hurting her by keeping secrets of his own. Why couldn’t she hurt him back? It was her life after all, her friends, and her decisions to hang out with certain people.

 

So returning his smile, the girl replied a confident, “Let’s go”

 

 

---

 

 

Namjoon ushered Hani outside and tossed her a helmet before settling himself on the Motorbike. Hani had told him everything; about Saerim’s plans to ruin them, her encounter with the said girl, and how both individuals were in danger of a misunderstanding especially that Soa has started talking to Jongin now, and he needed to go see Hoseok. Because the said individual at hand wasn’t making an effort to reply his cellphone, the blonde-haired boy had to find a method of tracking him down, which obviously did not succeed. Hani had opted that they went to his house and that was where they were heading.

 

He turned and cocked a brow at the girl from his seat on the motorbike, “What are you waiting for?”

 

Hani fumbled with the straps of her helmet and mumbled a sharp, “Well I’m not used to riding motorcycles like you, how the hell do we tie those?”

 

“Oh god” He rolled his eyes and beckoned her to come closer, taking a hold of her straps and pulling her in so that his breath wafted over her face. It was then that Hani realized just how close they were, the proximity where their noses were almost touching, and instinctively her orbs flickered down to his lips who looked so soft and supple. Man, he has thick lips; she thought to herself, I wonder what they taste like- NO! She wanted to slap herself at the mere thought of it, embarrassment crawling up her face because never in her life had she seen Namjoon that way until just now.

 

What was wrong with her? Namjoon was practically her blood-related brother!

Just the thought of it seemed too !

 

The boy finished adjusting her straps and knocked her head slightly to regain her attention, “Stop daydreaming” he chuckled and sat back down on the vehicle, motioning her to follow his movements. Hesitantly, she placed herself behind him and wrapped her hands around his waist, for fear that he’d find her touching him weird. It was to her, because although Namjoon had always been the brother she never had, thinking about him in an attractive way just a few seconds ago brought an awkward fluttering to her heart.

Maybe she was coming down with the flu, which was why she was probably getting hallucinations.

 

They traveled across the street and Hani tightened her grip when she realized she was going to fall off, causing Namjoon to take a deep breath and try to think of other things. Ever since a few nights ago, he had started to see her as just more, and the thought of it was infuriating to him.

 

They were zooming pas the local hospital when the girl suddenly caught sight of a familiar mop of black hair, “Hey!” She cried in Namjoon’s ear while pointing towards the said individual, “Isn’t that Hoseok oppa?”

 

The blonde-haired boy frowned when he noticed that Hoseok was indeed on his way to enter the hospital. Could it be his injuries to his knees again? The former was aware that Hoseok had some kind of joint problems ever since he started dancing himself to death so seeing him at the hospital wasn’t something out of the ordinary. However, at this time of day, it made things a little more suspicious.

 

They followed him inside quickly and tried not to be suspicious – the people kept sweeping them curious and weirded-out glances as they hid behind a wall when Hoseok turned- before the boy finally stopped at a particular room.

Namjoon squinted at the panel, ‘ room 504’.

 

Hmm weirder and weirder, he thought to himself.

“Who do you think it could be?” Hani whispered from behind, her chin propping between his neck and shoulder.

 

He looked back at her and furrowed his brows, “I really can’t think of anyone”

 

The nurses passing by noticed the two individuals crouching by the room and one of them blinked in confusion, asking slowly, “Kids are you here to see Mr. Jung?”

 

“Mr …Jung?” they both blinked like lost rabbits before Namjoon caught on to the event. Like a lightbulb, his face lighted up so suddenly the nurse retreated back with a surprised look, “Yes!” He said with a bit too much excitement, “Yes we’re waiting for Mr Jung! Actually, we’re here to see Jung Hoseok”

 

“You mean, his son?”

 

“Yes!” he nodded vigorously, “Actually, we’re not really sure what happened to Mr Jung since Hoseok doesn’t want to tell us so we came to see for ourselves’

 

“How about I call his son for you?” she proposed kindly.

 

“That would be really nice of you”

 

A few moments later came out a very grumpy and cold Hoseok. He looked like he hadn’t gotten himself any sleep considering the fact that huge eye bags were circling his eyes. It wasn’t helping that a bright red pimple was starting to form in the middle of his nose from the stress of it all. He regarded them with a very cautious and guarded expression, his stance stoic, a warrior going for battle.

 

“What are you guys doing here? How did you find me?” Was the first thing that came out of his mouth.

 

Namjoon scratched the back of his neck, suddenly nervous because of the former’s temper, “We saw you and followed you here” His eyes darkened with seriousness, “What happened, Hoseok?’

 

The latter sighed and ruffled his hair, “It’s none of your business”

 

“I will go in there and see for myself if you’re not going to tell me” Namjoon’s face flashed with annoyance, “You can’t keep pushing people away like that”

 

Hoseok shook his head and raked his fingers through his black locks, “It’s…my father. He’s had a heart attack”

 

A pregnant pause silenced the atmosphere before Hani spoke up tentatively, “Is he going to be okay?”

 

“They’re keeping him for now, his heart’s still unstable”

“And let me guess” Namjoon folded his arms across his chest, “You didn’t tell anything to Soa right? Nor do you plan on telling her”

 

Hoseok just gave him a flat stare; “I don’t want to worry her with my problems”

 

“Hobi, she’s worried sick about you. Can’t you see that?”

 

Hani intervened before the conversation got too hot. She stepped up and said, “Hobi oppa, Soa’s even skipping school to go see you. Every time she goes to the dance academy and you’re not there. Do you know how that makes her feel?” She bit her lip, “She’s not someone that would doubt another, but it’s wrong not to tell her when she’s doing everything she can to help you”

 

“And what do you know?” He snapped back, “You hurt her more than I ever did”

 

“This is not the problem here” Namjoon pushed Hani behind him, eyes fixed solely on his friend and begging him to understand, “the problem is, you’re going to lose her if you continue acting like a jackass”

 

“This is none of your business”

 

“It may not be my business but I damn well can take charge of it better than you ever would” Namjoon’s hiss felt like a strike to the latter’s ego. For a minute, the boy was at loss with what to say. The prospect of losing Soa seemed to tear at his heart. What would happen if she really believed that it wasn’t worth it staying with him? Would she just up and leave him like everyone had done in the past? Would she abandon him just like how Hani had? Thoughts like these flew about his head and stuck to his thoughts like glue, never searing themselves off his brain and trying to lodge themselves in a permanent place.

His knuckles suddenly clenched in fear, turning deathly white as he looked up into Namjoon’s eyes with something that looked like fierce determination, “Leave. Me. Alone.” He made sure to separate each word with a decisive punctuation before swiveling on his feet and stalking away from them.

 

The blonde-haired boy just sighed some more and ruffled his hair lightly as Hani looked back up at him with worried eyes, “What now?” She said with slight desperation.

 

“I don’t know, I’m hoping we got through to him”

 

“This is Hoseok” Hani exhaled softly in exasperation, “you know how dense he can be”

 

“I know, but I’m sure whether we try or not, Soa will be there” Namjoon’s lips tilted up into a smile at the thought, “She will snap now or later”

 

“Hmm” she hummed softly before suddenly pouncing on him and grabbing onto his hand. When he jumped in response and looked back at her with surprise flashing across his features, she just smiled brightly and pulled him down the hospital corridor, “I’m hungry! Namjoon, buy me some lunch!”

 

Rolling his eyes, the boy murmured loud enough for her to hear, “You’re such a cow”

“Yah!” Hani hit him across the head, “I heard that!”

 

He winced, “I was only telling the truth woman”

 

“Come on. We haven’t been eating for hours and I’m starving!~”

 

 

 

---

 

 

The light of Soa’s apartment flickered on to cast a yellow soft glow around the flat, shining over his surroundings and making it sound even more dreamlike. It had been ages since he just stopped to admire every single speck of what he now called his home, and somehow he felt his heart tug slightly as his gaze travelled throughout the room; to the soft, slightly bent sofa, the unstably stool chairs, the kitchen countertops that had always assisted him during his cooking. Just until recently, Hoseok would be up at the break of dawn and back just before midnight everyday, spending the rest of his hours in the dance studio or in hospital. He was sure Soa was worried about him and yet, he couldn’t get himself to open up about it. Maybe it was the fear, the fear of seeing the un-acceptance in her gaze, in those beautiful maroon orbs that he loved losing himself into. But she wasn’t like that, he knew that much, Soa was passionate and would help him in every way possible, but it wasn’t easy as well for the boy to say his feelings out loud so easily. It was what he found the most difficult, expressing himself through words. Hoseok was always and will eternally live like an awkward penguin trying to put together the puzzle fo words floating around his head, that was not his strong point.

 

And yet…his memory flashed back to the day where he had run from home and found his sanctuary in her arms. She had been nothing but comforting, cradling his head to her body while his back like everything would be okay. And for a minute, Hoseok believed it; he believed that she would make everything okay so long as he had her.

 

Then, maybe it was time to open up to her. Really open up.

 

Finding his way to her room and slowly opening the door so as not to disturb her, he found her figure lying on her bed, chest slowly rising and falling into even breaths. Now that he thought about it, it had really been ages since he held her in his arms. When was the last time they had kissed?

 

The memory was so vague that it was fuzzy.

He his lips at the thought then shook his head, walking towards her and crouching down so that he got a closer look at her expression.

Not to his surprise, a frown was pushing her eyebrows to the center and with a sigh, the boy’s finger reached up to smoothen out the crease.

What he wasn’t expecting was for her eyes to open so suddenly flying straight to his as shock ran through her features like ice-cold water.

 

“Ho…Hoseok?” She whispered as if she was dreaming.

He flashed a timid smile, “Hey”

 

“Am I dreaming?” Soa squinted her eyes and then smiled drowsily, her arms suddenly looping themselves around his neck to pull him closer, “Ah, I love dreams like these. Where have you been?”

 

More than a little amused by her sleeping habits, it was all too clear that Soa was still wrapped in dreamland, not really here entirely. Damn, he had been thinking about spilling all the beans and here she was sleeping, how stupid could he be?

 

“Hoseok, I missed you” she continued rubbing her face in the space between the crook of his neck and shoulder, her breaths hitting his flesh and alighting a million little stars behind his eyes.

It had been too long since they’d share that much contact and Hoseok realized just how much he missed her; missed the warmth encircling her body and the scent wrapping around his nostrils like a perfume.

 

He was the bee, she was the flower and nothing could tear him away from her.

 

“Pabo, Pabo Hoseok. Why do you do this to me?” Soa continued her mumbling, strings of sentences that jabbed at Hoseok’s heart. I’m sorry, he felt like saying, I’m so sorry for never being here, for always being a to you. He wanted nothing more at this moment for him to relish in the safe haven of her arms.

 

Without another thought, the boy laced his own arms around the Soa’s frame and cuddled into her, his nose tickled by her hair as he breathed in the soft peach buttery smell. Nothing could matter more than her right this minute, nothing was as important. As he closed his eyes, he felt all his worries fade away like a wave had crashed onto the sand and gathered every negative vibe.

 

Soa pulled him ever closer if possible, “Please don’t go…Hoseok…Don’t….Go…”

 

Leaning away slightly from her, he brushed a strand of hair out of her closed eyes and placed her back in her own bed, leaning over to press a chaste kiss upon her forehead, “Forgive me”

 

---

 

Long time no see guys~ ! 

How have you all been? :) I hope you are all doing well :) 

This chapter prolonges the problems betweeen Soa and Hoseok as well as development between namjoon and Hani. What do you think about them? LIKE OMG NAMNI IS LIKE THE CUTEST THING EVER OTL /slaps self and runs into a corner/. I'm so embarassed to fangirl about my own characters, it's crazy! Remember when you guys used to hate Hani? Plot twist eh? ;) hehehe ~

 

What do you think about HobiSoa? Do you think they'll be able to communicate well after this? What about Kai? And Saerim? What exactly is her plan? Comment down your thoughts below! ~

 

As usual, i know i can't reply to all comments but i do my best when i have time :S You guys know i love you all with all my heart and my and all the excess fat there is in my body as well <3 Welcome to new subbies and thank you for supporting my story! You guys are the best. 

Muah! <3 xxx