Ji Yeon stared at the choices of food, scrunching her nose at the odour of the frying oil. She had never tried fried food in her 17 years of life, due to the education of that certain ‘someone’. And she had been 100% sure that there was no way an artist would give these types of food a second look.

But she doubted it as she glanced at the boy besides her.

Taehyung was already on his third odeng’s. Ji Yeon watched as he struggled with the fishcake, wondering where could he keep all the food he ate before. You might think that three odeng’s was nothing but to Ji Yeon, it was too much when he had already eaten a bowl of udon and two balls of fried mandu’s.

“Aren’t you eating?” Taehyung held out the half-bitten fishcake. Ji Yeon grimaced in disgust at his greasy lips, saying, “Seeing you right now make me want to throw up.”

Taehyung stuffed the fishcake into instantly, almost choking her. Ji Yeon stood up as she spat out the food before screaming a whole bunch of profanities at Taehyung and wiping her lips.

“Didn’t seem like you want to throw up right now.” Taehyung said with a bland face. Ji Yeon whipped her head at him furiously, saying, “Why you little—

“Oppa!”

 Both of them looked up simultaneously. A schoolgirl bounced on the heels of her feet as she stared radiantly at Taehyung. Ji Yeon rolled her eyes inwardly as she groaned, not this again.

“Oh my god, oppa! I really like your songs!” The girl gushed as she searched through her bag, pulling out a pen and a notebook. “Can I please, please get a your autograph?”

“Of course,” Taehyung grinned, taking the pen before asking her name to write down some encouragement words for the girl. As he scribbled down the words, he heard the girl’s next question, which almost makes him scratch the thin paper’s surface.

“Say, oppa, is this your girl?”

Ji Yeon made a face at Taehyung as he peeked at her from behind his fringe, before turning back to the notebook, stating the obvious, “Yeah, she’s a girl. But not mine.”

“She looks so cool,” The girl complimented Ji Yeon, although the said girl sort of ignored her as she avoided the younger girl’s eyes. “Unnie, are you by any chance a trainee or a celebrity’s relative?”

Ji Yeon glared at her, which prompted the girl to flinch back in fear. “Not that I know of.”

The girl furrowed her eyebrows in thought, murmuring, “I swear you’re maybe Min Do Hee—no—a girl from the Princess’s Man. What’s her name?”

Taehyung would never know her name because Ji Yeon stood up abruptly, grabbing the girl’s shoulder, saying, “Look, I’m not in the mood for an interrogation from a kid. So you better take this stupid autograph of yours and stay away from me!”

With that said, Ji Yeon stormed away from that place. Quickly, Taehyung bowed and apologized to the shocked girl before trying to catch up with the angry girl. Ji Yeon walked fast so it was hard for Taehyung to find her among the crowded street, but Taehyung caught sight of purple highlights and followed after it.

He was turning to a darker route when he saw the back of Ji Yeon’s navy jacket. Her hand in as if she was gulping down a medicine. Taehyung’s eyes widened as he recalled the container of pills in her possession.

Lunging out, he tried to stop her but it was too late as she had swallowed down the pills into her system. Ji Yeon gave him a threatening look, pulling down her arms from his grasp. With a sigh, she leaned against the wall with her eyes closed.

“Yah,” Taehyung said softly. “Are those—?

“Drugs?” Ji Yeon looked up at him with an insincere smile. “You caught me, huh? So what are you going to do about it?”

Taehyung stayed silent. Ji Yeon uttered out a laugh before moving past him. He suddenly seized her arm, stopping her from moving any further. Annoyance built up inside of her, she whirled around, and then she shoved Taehyung away.

“Don’t touch me like we’re close. We will never be close. In fact, this relationship we have was made by Soongi’s pathetic actions and pleading! IT’S FAKE!” Ji Yeon shouted. “You don’t know anything about me or my past, so don’t go giving me that silent treatment! And if you can’t handle ‘this’, abandon me. Abandon me like others would.”

Taehyung stared curiously at the spark of sorrow in her eyes, but it disappeared as quick as it came.

Ji Yeon was turning to limp away when she collapsed, her eyes rolling back in her head. If Taehyung hadn’t been there to catch her fall, she would’ve hit her head and god-knows what happens next. 

“Yah, yah! Min Ji Yeon!” Taehyung tapped her cheeks.

She showed no response.

Pulling his phone out, he frantically called for an ambulance. After being told to calm down and give the unconscious girl a first-aid course, the panicked boy placed Ji Yeon on her side in a recovery position, assuring she got necessary amount of air to breath.

“Are you dumb?” He muttered angrily at her. “Does it look like I’m going to abandon you?”

Ji Yeon woke up from a touch.

She frowned at the familiar touch. Warm hands engulfed her own in a manner while drawing an imaginary star on the back of her palm. A gesture she used to love in the past. She had a hunch of who it was but her mind refused to accept it.

“Ji Yeon.”

The voice confirmed her guess. Ji Yeon opened her eyes and looked at the lady in her mid-20s beside her.

“Ji.” Ji Yeon grunted as she tried to sit up. Min Ji reached out to help her little sister but Ji Yeon’s gaze stopped her from doing so. When the younger sister made herself comfortable on the bed, she turned to scrutinise Min Ji.

“Don’t you have some drama to work at?” Ji Yeon asked.

Min Ji sighed. One could see that Ji Yeon was concerned of Min Ji’s wellbeing but it was actually the other way around. Ji Yeon held a grudge against her sister.

“You know fully well I’m not working on anything at the moment.” Min Ji said.

 “What I want to know is why don’t you stop barging into my life?” Ji Yeon snapped. “You didn’t seem so anxious when you left California with dad. So why now?”

Min Ji raked a hand through her short hair. She was trying to hold her voice from rising up. She knew that arguing with Ji Yeon wouldn’t do them any good but only anger the girl, and that was the last thing Min Ji had in mind.

“You got to stop this, Ji Yeon.” Min Ji said, ignoring Ji Yeon’s last question.

“Stop what?” Ji Yeon asked, faking a confused look.

“This drug addiction!” Min Ji scrunched up her eyebrows in concern. “How can you be receiving a treatment when you won’t stop taking drugs? Do you even know how dangerous it could get?”

“I know.” Ji Yeon said with an irony smile. “I saw it with my own eyes.”

Min Ji’s frustration deflated at once. She could never imagine what Ji Yeon had gone through before coming to Korea. How much tears she had shed every night. How much pain she had endured that broke her heart, leaving a devil version of herself.

“Ji Yeon—The door creaked open, interrupting their talk.

Taehyung and Soongi walked into the room, laughing at a joke the boy had made. Their smiles fell when they sensed the gloomy atmosphere between the sisters. Noticing Ji Yeon’s gaze, the boy stared back at her.

“Why are you still here?” Ji Yeon asked in a menacing tone of voice. “Didn’t I tell you off?”

“Unnie, he was just---Min Ji held her hand up to silence Soongi before anything could get out of hand. Ji Yeon was already clenching her fists in anger, and Min Ji wouldn’t be surprise if she jumped on Soongi for interrupting.

“Soongi-ah. We better let them talk,” Min Ji stood up, beckoning the hesitating Soongi to follow her. She turned to look at Taehyung, who gave her an assuring smile while jerking his head at the door. The girl nodded, and then closed the door.

Taehyung his lips, realizing he was left alone with her. He glanced at her. Ji Yeon was unfazed by the fact although she looked pissed for some reasons. Noticing the flower vase on the bedside table, she went over to pick a rose between them.

“It’s beautiful,” Ji Yeon said as she inhaled the flower’s scent. “Did you bring it?”

Taehyung silently nodded.

“Well, it’s too bad,” Ji Yeon whispered, crushing the flower bud. “I hate roses.” She then tossed the flower vase into the wall with a smashing blow, flowers and all.

“Yah!” Taehyung yelled. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“You!” Ji Yeon yelled back, throwing whatever her hands touched at Taehyung, who was fortunately quick on his toes as he dodged from getting hit. “You should stop being nice to me! I’m a b****! A b**** that doesn’t deserve any kindness or generosity from anyone! I deserved to die! I want to die!”

“Stop! Stop it!” Taehyung took a grab of her wrists, pinning them at her sides. Ji Yeon looked at him, biting her lips to hold in her tears. They stayed that way for a while, staring into each other eyes.

Taehyung’s next move nearly scares the bejesus out of Ji Yeon as he traced the vague scar on her cheekbone. The one she had gotten not so long ago.

Ji Yeon instinctually shot up her hands to push him away, chest heaving in attempt to calm her heart. Nobody had noticed the scar before. Nobody.

“You’d go,” Ji Yeon muttered as she swallowed down her saliva.

“Where did you get that?” Taehyung inquired. “It looked like someone did it to you.”

“SHUT UP!” Ji Yeon shouted, shutting her ears. She didn’t want to remember. She was doing fine without it haunting her dreams and minds. Remembering will only drive her to insanity. “Just go, Taehyung. Just go.”

With a silent nod, Taehyung left.