Felix smiled as he leaned down and planted a kiss on her forehead. "I would never hurt you Aera. Come back to school okay. I'm going to announce to everyone that I was the one in the video. I'm going to clear your name with you by my side. You're not a cheater and you're not a whore."
"If you truly didn't do it, why haven't you cleared my name yet then?" she asked, stepping away from him. Crying like that was only a momentary sign of weakness. She needed to do it. To let out her anger and disappointment. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand, taking a few more steps away from him. "You claim you love me, Felix. Why haven't you cleared my name huh? What's stopping you?"
Felix faceplamed, knowing that was a huge mistake on his part. He had tried to once or twice but something or someone always interrupted him or distracted him somehow. He didn't know how to explain it to her. He groaned, feeling frustrated. "I'm sorry Aera. I'm sorry. Okay, look, the first thing I'll do tomorrow morning is clear your name. I promise."
Aera scoffed. "But why tomorrow? Why not the day this thing happened? Why not the day I confronted you in class?"
"You weren't ready to listen to me," Felix said, exasperated. "You didn't give me a chance to explain myself. No one did. I-I wanted to but somehow, something always comes up-"
"Yeah right. Like there was anything more important than my reputation this stupid week." She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You know what, Felix, just leave okay. I do not want you here right now. I can't deal with all this shit. Go."
But Felix didn't want to leave. "I can't leave you like this Aera. We haven't-"
"Just go!" she suddenly shouted. "Leave! Get out, Felix! I don't want you here! What part of that don't you understand? Do I have to spell it out for you? Go and don't come back until you clear this shit up!"
Felix knew she wasn't joking and before things became worse, it was better to leave. He didn't want to but he had to. He took a step towards her to hug her goodbye but she stepped back and pointed at the door.
He sighed and left. What did he expect? That he'd explain and she'd understand? They'd hug and get back together? Things weren't that easy. Aera had trusted him and he broke her trust. Although he wasn't the one who filmed them, he didn't tell the truth when he was supposed to.
********
"You told my parents?!" Felix shouted, glaring at Jisung who was sitting on a couch in their living room. He had just gotten home after seeing Aera. He was already in a bad mood and Jisung made it worse.
Jisung gazed at anywhere but Felix, feeling guilty. "I-I had no choice."
"Unbelievable!" Felix exclaimed. "Yes, you did! You could have kept your stupid mouth shut!"
"Hey don't talk to him like that." Mr Lee said. He was sitting on the couch across from Jisung, giving Felix a disappointed look. "He did the right thing by telling us. What were you going to do? Hide it from us until we see it in the news or something?"
"No" Felix denied. "This incident was never going to make the news in the first place so the plan was to keep it from you guys forever!"
Mrs Lee sighed. She was sitting beside Felix so she side-hugged him. "Oh honey, the media finds out everything. You're too young to be handling matters like this. Jisung did the right thing and we're going to help you fix the situation immediately."
"God, Mum, there's nothing to fix." He groaned, pulling on his hair. "Everything is under control. We've taken down the videos. I've handled it."
"Someone re-uploaded them, Felix" Jisung suddenly said.
Felix raised his head, staring at him in disbelief. "What?" After all their hard work?
"Minho and the others are working on it but it's spreading too fast." Jisung continued. "I'm afraid that it'll reach the media this time that's why I told your parents. I'm sorry Felix."
"Before you say anything, son," Mr Lee cut in. "Look at the bright side here. Nobody knows you're the one in the video but everybody knows she's your girlfriend.
"Ex-girlfriend." Mrs Lee corrected.
Mr Lee nodded. "Yes, Ex-girlfriend. The worst that can happen is that the media will think your girlfriend cheated on you which is better than them knowing you were the one in the video. I won't say the publicity will be good for you as I don't want anyone to know my son as the guy who was cheated on but it's better than the truth and, you'll gain sympathy points from the public which will wash away your initial horrible image as a bad boy."
Felix couldn't believe what he was hearing. He stared at his father, mouth open as he wondered how he could live with such thoughts.
"Yes honey," Mrs Lee said with a wide smile as she gently rubbed Felix's hair, speaking sweetly. "I've always wanted you to be known as the perfect gentleman. The sweet boy every woman wants as her son-in-law. The dream boy of every girl on the planet. This is the perfect chance for you to redeem yourself."
Jisung nodded. "I think it's a great idea, Felix. You also shouldn't date or sleep with anyone for a while. That way, people will think you're heartbroken and can't move on from her which will make the public see that you're not some heartless jerk."
"Oh my God" Felix whispered. He was completely, utterly shocked by their ideas and mindset. How could they have come up with such things anyway? Who uploaded the video again? Right after he had told Aera that he would make things right. That he would clear her name. "Unbelievable."
"I know right," Mrs Lee laughed. "We're amazing, aren't we? Do not worry sweetie. You do not have to lift a single finger. We'll take care of everything." She reached out to hug him but he bolted off the chair before she could touch him.
"I-I can't believe this," he said, pulling his hair in frustration. "I seriously can't believe this. I-I, w-well I can expect it from Mum and Dad but you?" He gazed at Jisung in disbelief. "Aera is your friend! How can you say all that?"
"Aera is my friend," Jisung said. "I agree Felix, but you're much more. When things get messy, you know I'll always be on your side. I can't let you get in trouble."
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