"So you really like him?"
I am now here at Chaeryeong's room. I told her about how I first met Jaemin and how I ended up liking him. I actually don't want to tell her about it but she keeps on disturbing me
I didn't told her about Jaemin and Ji Eun's break up because of Haechan because it's not my story to tell
I was about to leave her room when she suddenly spoke
"You don't have to hide it from me. I already know that Ji Eun cheated on Jaemin with my brother because I was always there whenever they're secretly meeting up"
I froze up on my position when I heard that. I looked at her with my brows furrowed
"So you tolerated them?"
I can't stop myself from being mad. I know what is the feeling of getting cheated on. Cheaters are all trash, same way with those people who tolerated them
"No, it's not like that"
"Then what?"
"I just can't afford to see my brother lost his smile that's why I remained silent" she started to cry "I feel so bad whenever I see Jaemin but I can't do or say anything because I love my brother so much. Jaemin is always kind to me and he's important to me but my brother's happiness is more important to me"
She started to cry even more like she's keeping this for so long
I understand what she's saying but it's still wrong. No matter how many times I think about it, it's still wrong
"That's selfishness, Chaeryeong. Because of your brother's happiness, Jaemin's hurting up until now. I wasn't there when that happened but I can see on Jaemin's eyes how he was hurting because whenever he see me, he see Ji Eun in me"
"You won't understand why I did that because you never had a sibling" she said which makes me laugh sarcastically
"You also won't understand why I'm saying this because you have no idea how much it hurts to get cheated on"
I immediately felt the tears on the corner of my eyes as the memory of me crying every night flashed on my mind. I immediately turned my back against her
"I'm sorry, let's talk again later"
I opened the door and I froze up when I saw Haechan standing there. He smiled at me but his eyes is so sad
"So you already know"
"Yeah and I think this is the right time to ask this question" I looked directly at his eyes "The reason why you're being kind to me was because of Ji Eun, am I right?"
He remained silent for a moment
"I admit that it was the case at first but I realized that you're different from her and that you're kin---"
"Enough. I understand now. It's because of Ji Eun, as simple as that" I smiled weakly "I'm disappointed, I'm already starting to trust you"
"R-Ryujin-ah, it's not like that"
He tried to follow me on my room but I immediately closed the door. I looked at myself in the mirror and realized something
I'm not here to be friends with anyone because I already have a friend and it's Beomgyu, I'm here because I need to earn money for Beomgyu and I. I lost my focus on my goal because I expected that I can earn new friends, family and start a new life here but I'm wrong. I shouldn't have expected too much
Because they only see Ji Eun in me
I don't have the right to be mad at Haechan or anyone because it's me who expect something that is impossible
There's no way a monster like me would have a chance to start a new life and earn new friends
Maybe I should stop expecting something from now on. I'll just treat them kindly or the way they deserve it and don't expect something like friendship in return
I later on opened the door and Haechan was still there
"I'm sorry about what I said, I'm just not in the mood because I have a period" I smiled at him and patted his head "Forget everything that I said"
"Are you sure?" it looks like he doesn't believe me so I smiled even more
"Yeah, I'm really like this whenever I have a period" I held his wrist and grabbed him on the rooftop "Tell me what happened between the three of you"
I said and sat on the ground
"Are you sure?" he looked around to check if there's someone around us
"Yeah, I want to hear it from you. I'm really curious. Don't worry, I won't judge you"
He later on sat beside me and started to tell me everything. I'm just silently listening to him the whole time. It's so long so to cut the story short, this is what happened
Ji Eun and Jaemin are childhood friends. Haechan and his family moved on District 9 when he was 7 years old. Jaemin became his first friend in District 9. They get along really well. Jaemin introduced Ji Eun to Haechan and Haechan immediately fell inlove with Ji Eun because of her undeniable beauty and elegance. Haechan, Jaemin and Ji Eun became best friends. Haechan always find a way to tease Ji Eun because he wants to grab her attention and he loves Ji Eun's face when she's mad. He planned to confess to Ji Eun. Everything went well not until when Jaemin admitted that he likes Ji Eun. He immediately decided to not continue his confession to Ji Eun and supported Jaemin instead. He supported him to court Ji Eun even though he likes Ji Eun because he treasure Jaemin. Haechan was still inlove with Ji Eun even though she was already in a relationship with his best friend
Haechan was already prepared to give up Ji Eun when he saw how their parents are very supportive to their relationship. He asked Ji Eun to meet up with him on the garden and he told her about her feelings for her and that he's ready to let go of his feelings for her. He's expecting a plain response from Ji Eun but he received a confession from Ji Eun too. It turns out that Ji Eun used to like Haechan too ever since the first time they met and she's just waiting for him to confess to her. Haechan regret not confessing to Ji Eun that time when Ji Eun suddenly hugged him and said "I'm still inlove with you up until now, let's give us a chance". Haechan immediately thought of Jaemin but Ji Eun insisted that they can hide their relationship. He loves Ji Eun so much that's why he agreed about secretly being in a relationship with her
They started to meet each other secretly on the Lee's mansion and the mini music hall is their meeting place. They always bring Chaeryeong with them to avoid suspicions from the maids or Haechan's parents. It's like Ji Eun is with Jaemin at day and she's with Haechan at night. Haechan loves being with Ji Eun but he can't be happy because he felt sorry for Jaemin. Everything went well not until when Ji Eun suddenly stopped meeting him. He wants to meet Ji Eun to break up with her because he can't stand the fact that he's betraying his best friend. Ji Eun agreed to meet up with him in District 9's garden at 1 in the morning. He told Ji Eun that he wants to stop their relationship and Ji Eun agreed and told him that she realized that she's better with Jaemin and that she's really inlove with Jaemin. Ji Eun asked for a hug before they split up but Jaemin caught them. Jaemin cried for the first time that time. He punched Haechan and broke up with Ji Eun. Jaemin left with his mom's car and Ji Eun followed him using Taehyung's car. Jaemin doesn't know that Ji Eun followed him because he was crying not until when a he heard a loud crash behind him
It was Ji Eun, she got into a car accident
That's the reason why Ji Eun is comatose right now and it all happened 4 months ago
"It's all my fault" Haechan started to cry
I'm so shocked because of what I heard. I didn't expect that the reason why Ji Eun got into accident was because Jaemin caught her cheating on him and she followed him
"I keep on blaming myself because of what happened to her up until now"
"Shh, it's not your fault" I patted Haechan's back to comfort him
"It's her choice to follow Jaemin and not yours so don't blame yourself"
"I shouldn't have agreed to have a secret relationship with her in the first place. It's all my fault" he started to cry even more. It looks like he's been keeping this for so long
"Blaming yourself won't change anything Haechan-ah. Ji Eun will not wake up just because you're blaming yourself. Jaemin won't forgive you just because you're blaming yourself. You won't achieve anything if you keep on blaming yourself" I said and made him look at me
"You made a mistake. So don't make another mistake. Do something to fix your mistake. Ji Eun was still on comatose right now and we don't know when she will wake up. Don't you think it's a perfect chance to fix everything between you and Jaemin so that when she wakes up, there's a good thing that will welcome her"
He just stared at me while crying
He looks like a kid, he's older than me but I'm more matured than him
"Everyone makes mistakes in life, but that doesn't mean that they have to pay for it for the rest of their life. Your mistake doesn't define who you are so cheer up and do something to correct your mistake"
I can't believe that I'm giving advice to a traitor like him. I'm not mad at him, I'm mad at what he did but just like what I said, his mistake doesn't define who he is. I know that Haechan is kind
"T-Thank you, Ryujin-ah"
I froze up on my position when he suddenly hugged me
"I've been keeping this for so long. Your words made me realize a lot of things"
"You should thank Beomgyu and not me. I learned how to give advices because of him"
"Of course I will thank him when I met him"
"O-Okay, you can let me go now" I was about to stay away from him when he suddenly pulled me closer to him and hugged me tighter
"Thank you for coming to our life, Ryujin-ah"
I froze up on my position because of what he said. This is the first time that I heard this from someone
It so good to hear, it warms my heart
I might cry
I slowly wrapped my arms around him while trying myself not to cry
After that incident, I only receive hurtful words from other. I didn't expect that this time will come where someone will say these words to me
"I trust you, Haechan-ah"
====================================
"Should I curl my hair?"
"Idk. You're pretty with both" I answered boringly while watching Jaemin's piano performances
"I told you, it might probably his own composition. You won't find it there"
I've already watched all Jaemin's performance but I still can't find the one that he played that night when I first met him. I badly want to learn it but I don't know how
I am now here in Chaeryeong's room and waiting for her. We're now okay because we already settled our problem last night
We're going to watch fireworks display later at Han River by 7 PM but we're planning to go there by 5 PM to have some fun
"Yow! We're just going to Han River you don't have to curl your hair like that" Haechan, Juyeon and Mark entered the room
Haechan sat beside me and laid his head on my shoulder. I want to push him away from me but I realized that I'm always sleeping on his shoulder whenever we're going to school so I just let him lean on me. His eyes are still swollen because of crying
"You look ugly Haechan-ah, are you sure you're going outside with that face?" Juyeon said, trying to tease him
"Coming from you who looks like a panda with that two black eye" Haechan fired back which makes me laugh
"I'm still handsome, tho" Juyeon said while posing on the mirror
"Handsome your ass, you don't even have a girlfriend" Chaeryeong said which makes Haechan and I laughed
"That's a foul"
"That's a fact" Mark corrected him
We later on heard some footsteps. The door opened and it shows Mrs. Lee and Mr. Lee
"It looks like you're having fun" Mr. Lee said. He can now walk and he's already fully recovered
"They're making fun of me because I still don't have a girlfriend, dad" Juyeon said dramatically
"It's true tho" Mrs. Lee savagely said and we all started to laugh
"Mom!"
"I'm here to take a photo of you" Mrs. Lee took out a DSLR camera "Stick together" she commanded
I was hesitating if I should join them or not when Haechan dragged me closer to him
"1...2...3...smile"
The camera flashed but I forgot to smile
"Another one, Ryujin smile a little bit" Mrs. Lee so I smiled awkwardly
"Not like that, smile naturally"
I don't actually know how to smile naturally
"I heard Jaemin will also join us on watching fireworks display" Chaeryeong whispered to my ears which makes me smile
He's joining us?
"That! I like that smile. 1...2...3...smile"
"Okay! Let's take a family picture" Mr. Lee shouted
I was about to leave and take the camera when Haechan, Chaeryeong, Juyeon and Mark dragged me back
"Dad said 'family picture'. Why are you leaving?" Chaeryeong asked
"You're part of our family now" Mark said and dragged me back
"Yaya, please take a picture of us" Mrs. Lee stood beside me and hugged me
"I'm sure that she'll be happy to see this" she said
She? Who is she talking about?
"1...2...3... Smile"
"Don't forget to stick with your bodyguards, okay?"
We're now on our way to Han River together with some bodyguards. We requested them to wear a casual outfit instead of their uniforms because we don't want to grab the public's attention and we also want them to enjoy
Tteuksok Hangang Park is our meeting place and we're planning to spend our time there before we go to Yeouido Hangang Park where the fireworks display will occur. I found out that there's a lot of annual events in Yeouido. Today is October 1 and it's Seoul World Fireworks Festival
I'm just wearing a black t-shirt, a wide leg jeans and a black sandals because I really love comfortable outfits
"We're here"
Haruto immediately hugged me the moment I stepped out of the car
"Noona! I actually don't want to go here because I have plans with my friends but I heard that you're going that's why I decided to ditch them and go here instead" he said
"So you're proud that you ditched us?"
A boy who looks like Yeji and Hyunjin suddenly came out of nowhere
"Oh what are you doing here, Niki?"
Niki? So he's the youngest son of the Hwang's. He's so tall like Haruto. Why are kids these days are so tall?
"I ditched them too when I found out that you're going here" he answered and they both started to laugh
"This is my Ryujin-noona, Noona this is Niki, my best friend" Haruto introduced us to each other
"Nice to meet you, Niki" I smiled and offered my hand to him
"You're prettier in personal" he said and smiled back
I don't know why but I blushed because of what he said. I'm really blushing when a person younger than me compliments me
"Okay enough, don't steal my noona with your flowery words"
I looked around to find Jaemin but I can't find him. All the Elites are already here except Jaemin, Yeji, Hyunjin, Taehyung and Sunghoon. Sunwoo is also here even though he's not an elite. Probably because of Lia
I can feel his gaze at me but I'm just ignoring him. I started to ignore him since that day. I still consider him as my friend but I don't think it's right for me to stick with him
"If you're finding Jaemin, he's already on his way now" Chaeryeong whispered to me
"How about the Hwang twins and Sunghoon?" I asked
"Yeji can't go and I don't know why. Same with Hyunjin, I don't know if he's going or not. Sunghoon is with Jaemin and Taehyung" she explained
We later on started to have some fun. We first go to the amusement park. We're all divided into three groups since we can't roam around altogether because we might grab the attention of other people and it might cause a trouble for all of us
We played a game to divide ourselves into three groups and this is how it turns out:
The first group consist of Niki, Haruto, Yuna, Jay and Haechan
The 2nd group consist of Lia, Taehyung, Juyeon and Sunwoo
The last group consist of me, Chaeryeong, Jaemin, Sunghoon and Younghoon
Haechan wants to be on our group but the group was already decided and the first group needs an adult like him
The first group already started to have some fun except us and the second group because we still need to wait for Jaemin, Taehyung and Sunghoon
We agreed to ride the roller coaster for our first ride
"I'll buy tickets now, wait for them here" Younghoon said and left
"Me too, I'll join you" Juyeon and Sunwoo followed him
I am now left with Chaeryeong and Lia
"How are you?" I asked to Lia while Chaeryeong is busy on her phone
"I'm fine now, thanks to you" she said and smiled
I think this is the right opportunity to apologize to her for being so insensitive about her and Sunwoo's relationship
"I have something to tell you"
"What is it?"
"On my first day of school in Dream High Academy Sunwoo and I ate outside together. I asked him to hold my hand and hug me to confirm something. I'm so insensitive for asking him to do that even though I know that he already has a girlfriend that's why I wanted to apologize to you, I think you have the right to know about that because you're his fiancee. I'm really sorry" I said and bowed to her which makes her panick
"P-Please don't apologize to me. I should be the one to apologize to you" she said which makes my brows furrowed
"Why?" I asked confusedly
She remained silent and looked away
"Jaemin-ah! Here!" Chaeryeong shouted and run towards Jaemin, Sunghoon, Taehyung and Hyunjin
My heart started to race when I saw Jaemin walking on our direction. He's wearing a black shirt and a black jeans
He's so handsome
(Photos below for reference)
Taehyung's outfit is simple like Jaemin but he's still so attractive
Sunghoon looks like a prince whatever he wears
Hyunjin looks so mysterious which makes him more attractive
They grabbed the attention of the other people especially the girls because of their undeniable charisma.
I didn't know that Hyunjin will come
"Who do you think is the most handsome among them, Ryujin-ah?" someone asked beside
"Of course it's Jaem---What the? You surprised me!"
I almost cursed because of Juyeon. He started to laugh so I gave him a death glare. I didn't noticed his presence because I'm too focused on Jaemin
"I already bought our tickets" Younghoon said and wrapped the ticket on my wrist
"Sorry we're late" Jaemin said to Younghoon but Younghoon just ignored him
I wonder what's the reason why Younghoon hates Jaemin. It's impossible that it's because of Ji Eun's accident because Haechan was involved too but they're getting along well. I also don't think that Younghoon has an idea about what happened between Haechan, Jaemin and Ji Eun
Only Chaeryeong, Haechan, Jaemin and me were the only ones who knows about that
We later on started to go to the line. I can tell that Jaemin is distancing himself from me. He's also awkward around Chaeryeong because Chaeryeong keep giving us weird gazes
"I heard from your mentor that you're already near at mastering the piano. She's really amazed at you. She keeps on saying that you're going to be one of the aces in no time" Sunghoon suddenly said and gave me a candy
We're both leaning on the metal barriers as we're still on the line
"She's a good mentor and we're both getting along well that's why it became easier for me to learn" I answered and he started to laugh
"She also said that. She said that you're a good student and that you're both getting along well that's why it became easier for her to teach you" he said and we started to laugh
"Oh, I want to ask you something"
"What is it?"
"You're also an elite, right? But why does it looks like you're not interested on being an ace? Same with your brother, Jay" I asked
"Ah about that. Jay and I have different goals in life. Jay wants to pursue his career as an actor while me, I want to become a figure skater. That's my dream ever since I was young. Our parents doesn't pressure us about being an ace of Dream High Academy because they want us to do something that we love. Graduating at Dream High Academy is already a big privilege" he explained
It looks like they have a good relationship with their parents
"You're so lucky, you have a good parents" I smiled weakly
I used to have that kind of parents before
"Can you please move forward and stop chatting there? These girls behind me is so annoying" Jaemin suddenly said behind Sunghoon
He looks so annoyed
"Calm down" Sunghoon laughed and pushed me forward when Jaemin spoke
"Let's change position Sunghoon-ah" he said
"Why?"
"These girls beside me so noisy and annoying" he said
I looked behind him and saw a lot of girls secretly taking pictures of him. My brows furrowed when I saw my old schoolmates there
I immediately replaced Jaemin on his position and faced my old schoolmates. They're Beomgyu's classmates. They looked so shocked when they realized who I am
"Shin Ryujin?"
"Wah! So it's true that you're now studying at Dream High Academy?"
"Yeah" I answered and looked at Jaemin who's now staring at me with his brows furrowed
"Are you friends with Jaemin and Sunghoon?" they excitedly asked
"A-Ah I want to ask you something" I ignored their questions "How's Beomgyu?" I asked
"He's always alone at school ever since you left. He's a loner now. He's always making himself busy as the school's student president"
My heart breaks when I heard that. I am having fun right now without knowing that Beomgyu is having a hard time alone
He once had the opportunity to join Dream High Academy but he wasted that opportunity for me because he wants to stay beside me but here I am now, living an abundant life in District 9 and studying at Dream High Academy
I left him there, alone
"Ryujin-ah, it's our turn now"
I came back to my senses when Jaemin and Sunghoon called me
"A-Ah, can you please talk to him sometimes? I know it's too much to ask but can you please be friends with him? He's a a nice guy" I said and smiled weakly
"Sure! I'll tell him that we met you here" they said
"Thank you"
"I actually have a picture of him, I used this for the school's documentation"
One of them showed me a picture of Beomgyu sleeping on his desk on student's council headquarters wearing a hoodie jacket. I immediately felt the tears on the corner of my eyes when I saw the picture frame on his table
It's our picture together when we celebrated my birthday together. Written below that picture was our promise to each other
'Beomgyu will never left Ryujin's side, Ryujin will never left Beomgyu's side because we only have each other'
It hurts to admit that I already forgot about that promise that we made
M
y tears was about to fall when Jaemin grabbed me. We both sat on the last row
"You're almost left behin---"
"W-Wait, are you crying?" he asked
I immediately looked away and secretly wiped the tears on my eyes
"Idiot. I'm not" I said and laughed
He remained silent after that but I can feel his gaze at me. The ride started and I'm just silent the whole ride. Jaemin is the same
"I almost passed out up there" Chaeryeong said after the ride
"Younghoon is so loud" Hyunjin complained
"It's been a long time since the last time I ride this" Taehyung said after puking on the restroom
"Where should we go next?" Taehyung asked
"Horror house!" they all shouted except me
"Don't you think, carousel is better?" I asked nervously
"Carousel? That's only for kids" Hyunjin said and laughed
"Wait Ryujin-ah, don't tell me you're scared?" Chaeryeong asked, trying to tease me
It's not that I'm scared of ghost or anything. It's just that it's so dark inside the horror house and I can't tell if the whole place is small or not. I might panick inside
"O-Of course not, l-let's go"
I'm fucked up
I breathe heavily before I entered the horror house when Jaemin grabbed my wrist
"Don't go inside if you're scared, no one is forcing you" he said
I looked back and saw that they already entered the horror house
"I'm also scared to go inside. I just dragged you here because I need someone to protect me from those girls who keeps on following us since earlier" he said and pointed out the girls hiding behind the trees near us
"I didn't know that I'm you're protector now" I said sarcastically
"So are we just going to stand here and wait for them?" I asked
"Base on my calculations, it might took them 20 minutes to go out since they still need to complete the missions. Hyunjin is the only one who might complete the missions because he's smart and the rest are all dumb" he explained which makes me laugh
He's so straightforward
"It's so boring to just wait here, let's play some games" I said and pointed out some stalls near us
"Let's make a bet, then" he said
"Are you sure?"
"Yes"
"Then what's the bet?"
"If you got the most wins then I'll do whatever you want"
"Cool. Then what if you win?"
"I will ask you to stop liking me" he said with a poker face
I smirked
"You just encouraged me to win"
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