Just This Much

33: Lies

Wait, is there something she's supposed to know?

Before she could ask, sounds from the entrance door's keypad reached her ears. Someone is inputting the code, and eventually succeeded the first time. The door was pushed open and in came Hei-won, who now got himself some company—his girlfriend.

They both stood up to greet Aera, but it turns out the girl is closer to the boys than she thought. She went towards Asher and hugged him. When she released him and stepped back, she turned to her next and smiled.

"I heard what happened," Aera then worriedly said. "Is he still asleep?"

"Yeah, the sedative was quite strong," Ash replied, mirroring her expression.

The girl nodded and glanced at her boyfriend, "let Hei and I look after him, for now. Is Yohan inside? How about Haneul?"

"Haneul is cooking dinner, Yohan is still inside. We tried convincing him to leave Kio but he's too stubborn. I guess, he's blaming himself, and probably thinking he failed as a leader."

"We'll try and talk to him," Hei-won said. "He needs to rest too."

"We'll quickly inform you the moment he wakes up," Aera looked straight at Lilac, before knowingly adding; "surely, he'll ask for you."

The latter's eyes widened, feeling the heat on her cheeks. Why do they keep implying there's something between Ki-Ryeong and I?! Didn't Manager Chen already clear things up?

"I'll greet Haneul first," Aera gestured towards the kitchen.

"Yeah, let me put these in the sink too," Ash reached for the empty cups before they both walked away.

Lilac turned to the person who's left with her. Finally, she can ask someone about Asher's cryptic words. Everything is just not adding up!

"Senior, what did you tell them?" She swallowed before making her question much clearer; "The reason of Kio's anxiety attack, did you tell them about his..." She warily looked around, checking if there's someone else who could hear their conversation. Fortunately, there's no one, "...his ex girlfriend?"

"They won't believe me if I say that," Hei replied with no hesitation.

His nonchalance made her feel more comfortable to talk freely. "Then what did you tell them? I spoke with Asher, and he said... whatever reason you gave them was still hard to believe, nonetheless. What's the difference between the actual truth and your lie, then?"

"My lie..." he drawled, tilting his head, "actually has an actual evidence—a living proof. The truth doesn't have one."

She frowned, "I don't understand."

"I told them Kio has been in love with you for years, and he got the anxiety from a nightmare that includes you."

"What?!" she involuntarily stepped back, disbelief all over her doll-like face. "Why would you say that?!"

Hei-won smiled, and she somehow felt annoyed. How can he smile in this situation?

"Like I said, I have a living proof with me—you. There are more evidences that can make my lie believable. Just think about it, Lilac, where's that ex-girlfriend he's talking about? We both have no idea who she is! Do you think the others will believe us? White lies are sometimes needed during certain situations."

She closed her eyes and sighed exasperatedly, "Kio will be pissed."

The guy held her shoulder, and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Don't jump into conclusions, Li."

What kind of mess did she just find herself in? Where's that 'calm before the storm' everyone's talking about? Why does it seem like there's only storm after storm?!

   

°.•⏳.°•

    

It was magical.

Her dream. It was the first time she had such a vivid one, and it was an amazing one—fit to call a dream.

It happened during a wonderful night in Paris, and she wasn't alone. She was having an intimate dinner in an intricately decorated balcony, where the shimmering Eiffel Tower can be seen clearly. Every color of roses and ferns were adorning the balcony's concrete balustrade, and fairy lights hung from the wooden trellis overhead. Still, the lights wasn't able to outshine the star-filled sky—her favorite part. The night sky was clear enough for the billions of stars to appear right before their eyes.

Everything was beautiful, even the man in front of her. She was happily smiling and her date was, too. She can't see his face clearly but that smile... the arch of his lips, the small dimple on his cheek and the straight set of teeth were very, very familiar.

She woke up with a startled gasp, her heart racing inside her chest. That certainly felt more of a memory than a dream.

"Good morning."

It was too late when she realized she is lying on a bed instead of a couch. Her head snapped towards a freshly showered Kio, wearing a matching sweatshirt and sweatpants, barefoot and hair still damp.

"Why am I here?," she frowned.

So after that mind-boggling conversation with Hei-won, Asher offered to drive her home so she can pack some clothes, check on her cats and take a quick shower. Of course, she agreed to it, considering that she needed some time to process her thoughts too. The guy was also kind enough to accompany her on bringing her kids to the cat hotel.

It was past midnight when they returned and she was spent from being driven from one place to another, not to mention, with all that is happening. The moment she hit Kio's couch, she was out like a light.

"Ahh... I fell asleep," she concluded herself. Raking her fingers through her hair in the hopes of making herself somewhat presentable.

"You must've been really tired," Kio sat on the edge of his bed, right beside her. "I'm sorry. Haneul told me everything that happened..."

"Shh... there's nothing you should apologize for, we both never knew this will happen. Who would've thought we'd be photographed that day?"

"No, it's not about that... I should've been with you earlier but instead, I was here lying on my bed—"

She held his hand, shutting him up. "You didn't know. Right? You didn't."

"I knew I wasn't okay, but not to this extent."

"Did they ask you?"

"Not yet," he scratched the back of his head and audibly sighed. "But I've talked to Hei-won, he said he made something up."

Another wave of embarrassment hit Lilac, causing almost her entire face to blush. Her eyes wandered around, refusing to look at the boy. The change in her reaction didn't escape Kio's attention, making his eyebrow raise in suspicion.

"What is it? Why do you look uneasy all of a sudden?"

"Listen," she exhaled. "It was Hei-won's idea, okay? I didn't know he'll tell everyone that... that you've been in love with me! And that you dreamt of me! That's why you—you know, you had an anxiety attack. I don't know what suddenly came into his mind to make shit up! Now you have to pretend like you like me... but it's fine if you don't want to! Actually, you don't really have to..."

Her rant ended with a soft mumble towards the end, and the whole time, Kio stayed quiet—just watching her intently. He suddenly smiled, the same smile as the one in her recent dream.

She went still.

"Li..."

"Hmm?"

"What made you think that I have to pretend?"