More than half the period, Jiyong was lying down on the teacher's desk, quietly snoring. Although some students snickered and tried to wake him up by tossing small balls of paper, Jieun found herself blushing as she continued to stare at him. She noticed that his hair, which was neatly combed a while ago, was slightly messy like those businessmen who came home late at work and just wanted to sleep.

"How lazy," Jiho muttered quietly. His pen scribbled across the paper. "I know he's a substitute, but really? Why does he get to sleep and we don't?"

"He already did this when he was a kid. Besides, it looks like he has it rough. He doesn't look so well," Jieun commented.

"How do you know?" Jiho squinted his eyes. "He looks perfectly normal to me."

"Really?" Jieun blinked her eyes. "He looks a lot more tired and pale… It's like he's been up all night thinking about something serious."

"I think it's just all in your head," Jiho said. He scooted closer to Jieun, almost touching her arm. He blushed, but she didn't. "Hey, show me how you solved problem thirteen—"

Before he had the chance to point at the problem, a thin ruler slid between their arms. They looked up and saw Jiyong almost glaring at Jiho. Jiho frowned, but he scooted back, knowing exactly why Jiyong decided to wake up and intercept them now.

"I was just going to ask her how to do a question," Jiho muttered, shifting in his seat.

"Still," Jiyong said. He yawned. "I can't let you stay that close to her. You have to give her some personal space."

Jiho pouted. "It's enough space…"

"You seem really tired," Jieun told him. "Did something happen last night?"

Jiyong stared at Jieun. He kept quiet, wondering if he should tell her his current situation. He knew that it would be best to tell her, but the way she looked at him—so innocently and so worriedly—made him only smile and gently her head.

"It's no big deal. It's just that working as a substitute is twice as difficult than working at the store. I'm still adjusting," Jiyong said. 

"Hey, hey!" Jiho exclaimed, swatting away Jiyong's hand from Jieun. "What happened to personal space? Do I have to remind you that you're a teacher here? ual harassment is unacceptable!"

"Of course I know that it's unacceptable," Jiyong said. He rolled his eyes and turned around, looking at the autumn leaves that fell to the ground. "What kind of idiot doesn't understand that?"

* * *

After school, Minah came by to Jiho's and Jieun's classroom. Usually what would happen is that the three would meet at the gate, so it surprised the two when they spotted Minah waiting for them at the door. She looked up and smiled when she made eye-contact and waved until they finally approached her.

"Are we not going to meet at our usual spot?" Jieun asked.

"We are, but I just wanted to ask you something," Minah said, still smiling. She glanced over at Jiho, who stared at her with a questionable expression. "I'm not going to do anything, Jiho. I just want to have a girl's talk in the bathroom."

"Oh," Jieun said. "Does it have to be private?"

"Yes. That's why it's a girls' talk." Minah rolled her eyes and grabbed ahold of Jieun's hands. "Honestly, you need a better understanding about social situations. Come on!"

"How private is this?" Jieun asked, biting her bottom lip.

Minah paused, then whispered, "It's about Jiyong. Haven't you noticed that he hasn't been looking too well lately?"

Jieun widened her eyes. "You noticed, too?"

"Of course," she said. I've been watching him ever since I discovered that he really likes you. 

"Wait, so why do you have to hide this from me?" Jiho asked them.

Minah stared. I don't want you to listen to this kind of conversation. You'll get hurt.

"Because it's a girl's talk!" Minah repeated. "Geez, haven't you been listening to me?"

Jiho shifted his weight to one side and grimaced. "Well, yeah, but…"

"So, are you coming or not?" Minah asked, raising her eyebrows at Jieun. Jieun just nodded, causing Minah to smile. "Good! Follow me!"

"Wait, then what do I do?" Jiho asked them.

"You can wait around," Minah said. "We'll be back in like, five minutes?"

Jiho only watched the two scurry away to the bathroom. As he looked, he grumbled something under his breath, cursing Minah for taking away Jieun from his grasp.

What's up with girls and needing to talk in private like that? he wondered. A solemn expression masked his face. I already know what's going on with Jieun and Jiyong, anyway…

He walked along the halls, making his way to the front of the school. As he went deeper into the school to get to the exit, he noticed that it was unusually empty. He walked carefully, finding it odd how there was no sign of teachers or janitors or…

Adults, he finished in his head. His eyes widened and he stopped. His brown orbs rolled over to his shoulder, catching on to the sound of some sneakers squeaking. 

He turned and made a fist. His eyes narrowed, glaring at particular nothing.

"Who's there?" he asked loudly. "What do you want from me?"

"…Was our cover blown?"

"Idiot! Shut up and don't talk!"

Unfamiliar voices struck him. Whispers began to echo in the halls. There was more than two strangers in the room. Jiho wasn't sure if he should run back or run forward. Which one would be safe?

I should contact Kyungsoo, Wonshik, and Changshik, he thought. He pulled out his phone, but a projectile came flying out of nowhere. A large rock about the size of his hand hit his fingers, causing Jiho to let go of his phone. The mobile fell to the ground and the screen cracked. Anger fumed in his blood.

"Damn it!" he cursed loudly. He looked around. "Where the hell are you people? Do you know how much that phone costs?" He turned his body. "What do you want? You want to fight? If you want to fight, that's what I'll give you!"

He only got silence as their response. He waited, hoping to hear someone say something. When he heard nothing, he leaned his back against the wall of the halls.

"Okay, fine," he said. He crossed his arms. "I'll wait."

He waited and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he was shocked to see a group of boys—older, younger, and the same age—gathered around him. Jiho mentally cursed himself, knowing that he was cornered.

"Sorry you had to wait so long," one of the seniors said, rotating his neck. "It took a while for our friend to contact us."

"Your friend…?" Jiho repeated, frowning. He continued making a fist, trying to show that he was not afraid of them.

"Now, what did you say earlier? Oh yeah, what did we want? A fight."

Before Jiho had the chance to do anything else, a fist came flying right across his face. He was quickly pinned to the wall as the boys took turns kneeing his tomcat and throwing fists against his cheek. New bruises formed and blood spat out of his mouth.

Damn it, Jiho thought in the middle of getting punched. He gasped for air until someone punched his thigh. He let out a painful scream until someone stuffed a dirty gym sock in his mouth. He tried to spit it out, but another sock was shoved into his mouth. This was a trap!

"Why are we doing this again?" one guy from behind the crowd asked. By chance, Jiho was able to catch onto their conversation in the middle of letting out groans and throat-aching screams.

"To distract him. When did Chanyeol say that he would be done with the girls?" another asked.

Jiho caught a strange expression on a couple of the guy's face. 

"Who cares? I just can't wait to see the pictures Chanyeol would send us of Minah," someone else said. "She does have a great body, anyway."

His eyes widened. His veins boiled with fury. Wrath shadowed his gaze. Letting out a war cry, he managed to push one guy away from his with his leg. He kicked another guy near the back of the knee and bit someone's hand. In return, someone else boxed Jiho's ear.

"Gah!" someone yelled. 

Jiho wasn't able to figure out where the the sound was coming from anymore. He gave them a dark glare, but it was no use. Someone else kicked him to the ground while another attempted to trip him. He fell and was about to crawl away until someone stomped on his hand and prevented him from moving.

"That's right, punk," someone whispered next to his deafened ear. "There's no way for you to save them, and there's no way of escape. It's over."

"Should've gave Jieun up in the first place," someone said, cracking up. "You guys never matched one bit. Chanyeol fits her. Chanyeol can treat her right."

No. Jiho's eyes watered, but he refused to cry. He had no right to cry. He couldn't cry. Neither Chanyeol nor I match with Jieun. Jiyong does.

He always did.

* * *

Something was wrong.

Something was terribly wrong.

Minah protectively held one arm over Jieun, who had her hands clasped together and staring fearfully at the three complete strangers who surrounded them. Except, to Minah, these girls were no strangers. They were her friends when she was still working for Chanyeol—"friends."

She decided to act friendly and innocent with them. She flashed them a brilliant smile and slightly tilted her head to the side.

"Hey guys! How have you been doing?" she asked in a chirpy manner.

"Don't act friendly around us, Minah. We've been through so much after you left us. It's sad, almost," one of the girls retorted.

Well, that's entirely your fault. If you haven't told on me, then I'd probably still be doing all your dirty works, Minah thought cruelly. "Okay, okay. I got it. You don't want to talk to me. That's good! I'll just be on my way with my friend over here and…"

Suddenly, one of the girls grabbed Minah by the throat and pinned her against the wall. Jieun almost screamed, but something was caught in . The two other girls grabbed ahold of Jieun by her hair and forced her to kneel. Minah's eyes grew large at the sight of her friend being forcefully submitting to them. She clenched her teeth and glowered at the girl in front of her.

"What do you want?" Minah managed to breathe out.

"It's not me. It's him," she said. The two glanced over her shoulder. To Minah's surprise, Chanyeol had came into the girls' bathroom with ease. He came in, admiring every inch and corner of the private room.

"So this is how the girls' restrooms look like, eh," Chanyeol muttered. "You guys have more stalls than us!"

"Why… This is the girls' restroom! Guys aren't allowed to be here!" Minah shouted. She was quickly hushed when Chanyeol rolled his eyes over to her. The way he locked eyes with her caused her to pale and have cold shudders. 

He smiled, satisfied with her response.

"Good job," Chanyeol said, praising the three girls. They melted at his smirk. Jieun and Minah only cringed. "What were they talking about before I got here?"

"Something about some guy," one of the girl who was holding onto Jieun said. "They were talking about something being wrong with a guy they knew. We weren't really listening. It was boring as—"

"Shut the hell up," Chanyeol muttered coldly. His smirk changed to a devil's frown. The girls frozen in place, their legs shaking when they realized that Chanyeol was different. He turned to Minah, his hands still in his pocket. "So you were talking about me, hm? Are you trying to taint Jieun's mind with your absolute nonsense?"

Minah trembled, but she did not stop glaring at him. "We weren't talking about you. We were talking about another boy."

"Who? Jiho?" Chanyeol laughed. "You're right. There is something wrong with him. I had my boys check him out. He's going through a healing process. Want to see?" 

He took out his phone and flipped through some texts. Then, he showed Minah the recent picture of Jiho getting beaten up just a few floors below then. Her eyes enlarged and she struggled to grasp out of the girl's hand. 

"Let go of me!" Minah cried out, trying to kick the girl. She grimaced at Chanyeol. "You have no right to hurt Jiho like that! He's not like you!"

Chanyeol looked at Minah, unamused. He glanced at Jieun, who flinched when their eyes met. His gaze softened, but quickly hardened when he noticed that Jieun kept staring at him with those fearful, stupid eyes…

"You haven't changed," he remarked calmly. "You're still an idiot. You need me. You depend on me." 

He bent down besides Jieun, motioning the two girls to grab tighter to Jieun's hair in order to restrain her from resisting too much. His thumb ran across her lips, but her eyes did not move to his thumb. They were still staring straight through his eyes, as if she was trying to search for something. 

"I…" Her voice cracked at first and was small, but she pressed on with her trembling speech. "I… do not need you anymore. I do…I don't need you to help me. I do not need to depend on you anymore. I learned that, now." She sniffed, almost crying. "I understand that, now."

His eyes were filled with dead hope. He grabbed her chin, but his eyes still stared at her lips.

"You were so much more beautiful when you like a doll," he breathed cruelly. "It's such a shame that you think you have a sense of independence…" 

He motioned the two girls to let go of Jieun's hair. They did, but what he did next shocked them. He grabbed a handful of Jieun's hair and pushed her to the ground. Fortunately, she remembered all the pain she had to face when she was with Chanyeol. She managed to catch herself before she could get hurt anymore. She looked up at Chanyeol, her messy hair grazing across her face.

"You and I are over," Chanyeol declared in a callous manner. "Don't come crying to me when you need help with your life."

"I won't," she said weakly. Tears spilled from the corner of her eyes. "I'll never ask for your help. I swear."

He got up. He walked over to Minah, who had been trying to fight the girl who was strangling her. He snapped her fingers, and the girl released. Minah gasped for hair, but quickly stopped when Chanyeol had his hands cautiously wrapped around her neck. This time, Minah wasn't able to move. Her knees buckled, but she found enough support to stand. She wasn't sure what she was more afraid of: Chanyeol strangling her (because she knew that he would really do it), or Chanyeol pretending to strangle her (the wait made her madly anxious).

"I'll give you a choice," Chanyeol said. He glanced through his phone. "You have the choice of letting Jieun and Jiho go, but you're going to be with me for a bit longer. I promised something to the boys and you're involved with it." He smiled. "I'll even add a better deal: If you choose to let these two guys go, I will never touch them ever again. However, you also have the choice of us letting you go and messing around with Jiho and Jieun. It's your choice." He smirked. "It's all up to you…"

Minah looked at Chanyeol with disbelief. She pressed her lips, trying to think about what she should do.

What would the old Minah do? she wondered. She didn't have time to answer that question. The words slipped out of like soap: "Let those two go." She forced a smile. "I'll play a bit with you instead."

A wide grin appeared on his face. He gave a quick kick to Jieun, who yelped in pain. 

"You heard her," Chanyeol said, still smiling with his eyes wide with pleasure. "Get out of her. You're being a nuisance to us."

Jieun slowly got up, but her ankle shook with pain. "Minah, don't. Take that back. Y-You don't understand what this guy has the potential of doing. You can't handle him."

"It's okay, Jieun," Minah stated firmly, her eyes on Chanyeol's hand around her neck. "This guy can't do much to me. I've been working for him for a long time. He can't throw me away like that."

"No!" Jieun exclaimed. "Y-You don't understand! I can usually tell what Chanyeol is planning just by looking at him. I can't see that anymore. I can't understand him anymore. That means he's going to do something. He's planning something. He's planning something unimaginable. You can't—"

"Damn it, woman," Chanyeol muttered. "You have ten seconds to run before I hurt you, too."

Jieun gulped. She stared at Minah, firmly standing her ground. Minah only glared at her.

"Jieun. Think rationally for once," Minah said quickly, trying to get her words out in less than ten seconds. "Find Jiho. Get help. I'll probably still be here."

"But—"

"Now!" Minah yelled. Jieun flinched, but nodded her head. She dashed out of the bathroom, searching for help.

When Minah was alone with the three girls and Chanyeol, she knew that she was in hot waters. She was cornered in the bathroom with no way to run. Her plan was to talk to Chanyeol and the girls and to stall them until Jieun came back with help.

However, she was immediately dragged into one of the largest stalls in the bathroom. Chanyeol pushed her down to the ground, causing Minah to yelp in pain. She was about to get up until two girls pinned her wrist to the ground. 

"You told me," Chanyeol started slowly. He took out his phone, then added the flash. Minah's eyes widened. "You told me that I had stripped you down to the core. Now, I don't think I've actually done that, yet."

Minah quickly caught onto what he was saying. "You don't mean it… Y-You're not serious—"

"I also heard that you want to be famous," he remarked. The girls bursted into laughter. Her cheeks burned, turning to a dangerous color of red. "You wanted to be a singer, right? Lately, I heard that a lot of people become famous through the internet. So…" He looked over to the one girl standing at the side. "You, strip her."

The girls froze in place. They stared at him with wide eyes, appalled by his new orders.

"U-Um, Chanyeol," the girl doing nothing stuttered. "You aren't serious about this, right?"

"I mean, I thought we were going to just scare her or something. We're not going that far, right? We never go that far," one of the girls pinning Minah down said.

"B-Besides!" the first girl stuttered again. "What's the point of us doing this? This is just a small threat to her, right? It's—"

Before she had the chance to finish her sentence, Chanyeol grabbed ahold of her neck and pushed her against the bathroom stall. The girl's eyes widened with fear as her skin actually turned blue. The two other girls, unable to say anything, only cried at the sight of their friend about to be killed.

"Strip. Her." His words roared in her ears. He slowly released her, trying to find any signs of rebellion. She coughed, holding onto her dear neck, looking at Chanyeol as if he was some sort of monster. He smiled. "Strip her, and I'll take the pictures. Or do you want to take the pictures while I strip her?"

Minah looked at the terrified girl. "Please. Don't do this. You're not like this. You can't do this to me."

The girl looked at her friends, who gave her a look of uncertainty. Chanyeol continued to smile, but his grin was no longer attractive to her. With her shaky hands and quivering lips, she slowly took the phone from Chanyeol's grip.

"I…I can just take the pictures, right?" she asked quietly, dry. Minah widened while Chanyeol beamed. 

"Of course," he said. He bent down to Minah's side and grabbed her clothes. "It's for the boys who helped heal Jiho, after all. Oh…" He turned to the girl. "Make sure you don't get me in the picture, okay? Or I'll ruin your life, too?"

The girl nodded, much to Minah's horror. She screamed, but it was quickly silenced with the sound of cameras clicking and the flashes flashing:

Snap! Snap! Snap!

With each photo taken and clothes stripped away, she only felt like her life was snapping apart.

Snap!

* * *

Midnight fell. Jiyong yawned as he finished up grading the papers. As much as he wanted to sleep because of what happened last night, he knew that his job came first. 

I hope those three aren't mad at me for not being there in the afternoon, he thought. I did tell the principal that I had to leave early because of family matters. Well, that was a total lie, but I really needed the day off… He sighed. Working at the store was so much easier than this.

Suddenly, he heard someone knock on his door. He looked up with his eyes wide, his eyebrows raised, and his ears perked. He heard someone knock on the door again. He slowly got up from the floor, and crept closer to the door.

His heart raced. What if it was her and him? What if those two figured out his location and came for him? What if—

"Jiyong…Jiyong, please!" Someone sobbed. Jiyong didn't wait a second. He recognized that voice immediately. He unlocked the locks and swung the door open. He dropped his jaws when he saw Jiho nearly beaten to death, Jieun with red eyes and tears streaming down her face, and Minah looking dead.

"What the hell happened?" Jiyong asked, helping Jieun push Jiho into the room. He gestured Minah to come in, but she stared emptily at the room. Jieun pushed Jiho to Jiyong and went over to Minah, gently grabbing her wrist.

"Oh god, I told you this would happen," Jieun whispered in the middle of her tears. "Come on, come in… This is okay, okay? This place is safe. Come on…"

As Jiyong laid Jiho down on the ground, Jieun softly encouraged Minah to step inside. When the girls were finally inside, Jiyong closed the door and locked it. He turned around, trying to find a first-aids kit. Once he found one, he gave it to Jieun, who knew exactly what to do.

"What happened, Jieun?" Jiyong repeated. He turned to Minah, who slumped and looked straight at the ground. "What happened to Minah? What's wrong with her clothes? Why are they so messy? It doesn't even look like she tried to wear her clothes!"

Before Jieun got the chance to explain, Jiho weakly pounded his fist against the ground. He brought one hand over his eyes, trying to cover his face as he cried.

"Damn it!" Jiho cursed. "It was that bastard! Bastard, bastard, bastard!"

"Chanyeol?" Jiyong grabbing Jieun's wrist before she had the chance to do anything else. "What. Happened."

"Chan…Chan…" Jieun hiccuped until Jiyong managed to give her a glass of water. She took a large gulp of water and placed the glass to the side. "Chanyeol told his guy buddies to beat Jiho up while he was in the girl's restroom doing something with Minah…" Her blood-shot eyes were clouded with tears. "I don't know what they did with Minah. I came back for her after I brought Jiho and I saw her in the bathroom almost … Her clothes were stripped down and I don't know, I don't know, I don't know—"

"What the hell." Jiyong looked at Minah. "What happened to you."

He wasn't even asking them questions anymore. He was demanding it. He was forcing them to say it, whether they wanted to or not. Veins popped up on his skin as he tightened his fist. 

Minah looked at him with eyes filled with misery and agony.

"I don't want to be queen," she whispered, her voice quivering.

Jieun was shaking in distress, Jiho was crying like never before, and Minah did not want to dream anymore.

Jiyong got up. He walked over to the door, but he was stopped when Jieun asked him where he was going.

"I'm going to find that punk and beat him up," Jiyong stated precariously. 

Jieun slowly shook her head. "You can't…"

"What? I can hurt him. Forget about my substitute job," Jiyong said in a hostile manner.

Jieun continued to shake her head. "There's a damage that you can't fix…"

"What? What do you mean?" Jiyong asked bitterly. Was she looking down on him?

A notification rang on Jieun's phone. She glanced over at the screen, then closed her eyes as she handed it to Jiyong.

"The damage is done," she whispered, looking at Minah with guilt. "This is the damage that must be fixed, but it can never be fixed."

Jiyong swapped the phone away from Jieun. He looked at the screen. Stunned, he quickly locked the screen and handed it back to Jieun. He turned to Minah, who huddled herself in the corner of the room.

Chanyeol had already sent several photos of Jiho looking weak and Minah half-. Everything was on the internet. There was absolutely nothing that Jiyong could do. He could beat Chanyeol up, but what good would that do? It would only make Jiyong get in trouble.

"See?" Jieun whispered, tending Jiho's wounds. She looked up at Jiyong with dread grief. "There is absolutely nothing you can do at this state."

Jiyong stared at her phone for a second. He stared at the black screen, which reflected his reflection. He stared at himself through the screen, thinking about his power. He was limited, and Jieun was right. There was nothing he could do in his current state.

But, he thought, his eyes slowly opening. He looked at the wall that had blood stains earlier in the stain. The current me can't do anything, but the past me can do it…

He unlocked the door. He grabbed his phone, slipped on his shoes, and walked outside. Jieun tried to call him, asking him to come back and to stay with the group. He gave her a quick reassuring smile before closing the door behind him.

He flipped his phone. He looked through his contacts and dialed Changmin's number. He waited for the ringing to stop, anxiously pacing back and forward. When he heard a click, he waited for someone to respond. When there was no voice, Jiyong knew exactly who he was talking to.

"I know you two are still there with Changmin," Jiyong said. "I'm not an idiot to call you back without knowing that." He took a deep breath. "I'll give you guys my locations—all of it. I'll give you the address to where I live and my workplace. Heck, I'll even set up an appointment to meet with you guys. All I am asking is for detective Choi Seunghyun to come here with his best crew now. Seunghyun, bring whoever the hell you want. Just bring your best technology and crew." He paused. Then, after a long, hesitant silence, he added, "You can even bring her, too."

Silence. Jiyong worried, but he waited. Then, he heard someone clearing his throat.

"Okay, fine," the familiar voice said. "I'll do that. Tell me where your address is, stupid."

Jiyong grimaced, but he read his address allowed. Afterwards, he heard another click followed by long annoying beeps. He hung up and folded his hands, praying for the new guests to come any time soon.

* * *

Nearly forty minutes later, the group heard the doorbell ring. Jiyong scrambled up on his feet, reaching for the door. Jieun looked at him, confused. He hadn't told her anything about what was going on and why he had stepped outside. The children looked up, watching Jiyong open the door without even waiting for a response.

 Men in professional suits stood behind a certain good-looking man standing next to an attractive woman. They were surprised, not expecting more guests to come. Before Jiyong had the chance to greet them, the handsome man threw a punch against Jiyong's cheek. Jiyong groaned and stumbled back, falling on his bottom.

"Jiyong!" Jieun exclaimed, running over to him. She stood in front of him, her arms stretching to a "T" shape. "Why did you punch him? Don't hurt him!"

"I-It's okay, Jieun," Jiyong managed to say. He groaned and touched his cheek. "This guy is going to save us." He looked at Minah. "He's going to help us."

The tall man stepped inside, followed by the beautiful woman. She smiled awkwardly at Jieun, but when she saw Jiyong, she pushed her aside and threw her arms around Jiyong's neck.

"Oh my gosh. Jiyong!" she cried out, her lips grazing against his cheek. "I'm so glad to see that you're safe! You're so pale and… Oh my gosh!"

"Jiyong, what's going on?" Jieun asked, staring at the beautiful woman in fear of him being taken away.

"I am detective Choi Seunghyun. Here's my card." The man took out a business card and handed it to Jieun. "Also, I am unfortunately Jiyong's best friend."

"Introductions are for later. Seunghyun, I need you to do me a huge favor," Jiyong said, dragging Seunghyun into the room. The men in black suits followed, squeezing into the rooms as they set up an area for connections. They took out their laptops and began typing with their speedy hands, waiting for Seunghyun's orders.

"What do you need me to do? What did you get yourself into?" Seunghyun looked at Jiho and Minah. "What's wrong with them?"

"I'll explain later. Can you get a picture off the internet?" Jiyong asked.

"Depends on how fast it spreads, but I'm pretty sure that it's going to be impossible," Seunghyun commented.  "What's going on? What's wrong with those kids?"

"Minah." She looked up at Jiyong. "Can I show the picture to him?"

Her eyes watered and she hung her head low. She gave him a small nod before burying her head in her arms. Understanding that she gave him permission, Jiyong got Jieun's phone and showed him the picture. Seunghyun raised his eyebrows.

"What the hell is that?" he asked brashly. "What's wrong with kids these days?"

"Shut up and help me get rid of it from the internet," Jiyong snapped. "You're not keeping your end of the deal. I said questions later."

"You deserved that punch," Seunghyun said, taking out his laptop. He hooked the phone to the laptop. "How long has this been posted?"

"Couple of hours, I think."

"Do you know who sent it?"

"I know that it's being sent to everyone in the school except for the adults. I also heard that the image was leaked online, but I don't know where."

"Uh… This is so much work. How far do you want me to go with this?"

"To the extreme."

"Typical," Seunghyun muttered. "That's what you always want: the best and the extreme."

"Shut up and work."

"You shut up and let me work."

As Jiyong and Seunghyun quarreled, Jieun watched the two with amazement. She was kneeling next to the stunning woman, who smiled gently and stared at Jiyong with a look Jieun was awfully familiar with.

"Those two are close," Jieun commented awkwardly.

"Of course," the woman said. "They've been best friends when they were babies."

"Then what's your connection to them?" Jieun asked slowly. The woman looked at her, causing Jieun to turn a bit pale. "I-I don't mean to ask you in a rude way. It's just…"

The woman laughed. "It's fine, it's fine! I completely understand."

Jieun carefully looked at the radiant woman. "Are you the detective's wife?"

The woman stared at her with surprise. "Well, no. You're wrong."

Jieun frowned. "Then what's your relationship with them?"

The woman's cheeks turned slightly red. She pointed at Seunghyun, whose eyes were glued to the screen.

"That man over there is also my friend." She dropped her hand to the side and smiled. "He's been trying to find Jiyong for me for the past five years."

"Oh…" Jieun slowly looked back at the woman again. "Then what's your relationship with Jiyong?"

The woman graciously smiled. It was the kind of smile that told Jieun to brace herself, but it was also the type of smile where she wasn't able to get the message. The woman looked down at her forth finger, where there was an engagement ring. She reached down into her bag and pulled out a folded napkin. There, a pair of wedding rings were nicely tucked in between the handkerchief.

"It's beautiful," Jieun commented, her eyes falling down at the rings.

"Thank you." The woman giggled. "Jiyong bought it for me."

Jieun looked up at her with wide eyes. Her heart raced and she could no longer hear what the boys were arguing about. She stared right at the woman, who knew exactly what was going on with her feelings. The woman still smiled, then let out a soft chuckle.

"Jiyong," she started in a light tone, "is my fiancé."