• • •

One Year Ago

"Victoria, I need to talk to you in private." I state, grabbing her arm and pulling her with me.

Victoria, Mark, and I were hanging out at my house after school. I was a bit upset in the moment after catching Mark and Y/n kissing, but I tried to look past it.

I drag Victoria into the bathroom and turn on the light. I shut the door and lock it, so no one can hear what I was about to say.

"What's wrong? Why are you being so pushy?" She asks, shoving me away from her.

I let go of her arm and stare at her with a crucial expression. I didn't want to say this, but I had to. In order to protect her.

"You need to leave."

"What?"

"I said, you need to leave, Seoul." I repeat, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Yugyeom, I just got here. Why do I need to leave?" She questions as she's only been back for a day, "Mark and I just started talking again, I don't want to leave him."

"I don't want you to go either, but you have to, noona." I say in a more softer tone.

I missed hanging out with her, she's my older sister after-all. I barely even get to see her.

"Why? Why do I need to leave?"

"I overheard our dad, talking to one of his business partners. Dad was talking to him about making you marry his coworker's son." I explain, knowing this would upset her.

"What the hell?! Why would he say that?" She questions in disbelief.

"He said something about it being able to strengthen his business. And I know how much you don't want to do that." I inform and she frowns, clearly hurt by what I was saying.

"How could he do that to me? He knows that I would never want to be forced into a marriage." She voices in disappointment, not wanting to believe it.

"I don't know, either. But I do know how much you love Mark and I don't want to see either of you getting hurt by my father's doing." I state, with pursed lips, "That's why you need to go back to France."

"Okay.." She sighs.

"You can't tell anyone about this, not even Mark. It'll only make things more complicated." I assert, making sure she'll keep this a secret.

"I don't want to leave Mark, but it'll hurt even more if I stay and marry someone else that's not him." Victoria looks down at the floor, sullenly.

"You have three weeks to prepare to leave. If my dad finds out about this, he'll do everything in his power to make you stay." I warn her and she nods, letting out a huff.

"I'll leave the day after my birthday. It'll be easier for me to just quickly back my bags and go back to France. I don't want to drag it out."

"I'm really sorry this is happening to you." I apologize, genuinely feeling bad for her.

"Me too."

• I •

Present Day

"Thanks for driving me to school."

"What are older brother's for?" Kai speaks smugly and I just roll my eyes at his remark.

It's been a week since school has started up again and I can say it's been going pretty good.

I got caught up with everything that's happened with Jisoo and Jennie, as well as Yugyeom and Bambam. The only thing that feels off is that Mark and Jackson aren't here anymore.

On the bright side, I've gotten closer with Kai and Baekhyun. The beef between us has been cleared as we talked it out and I'm glad.

"Walk me to class?" I ask Baekhyun, since his classroom is a few doors down from mine.

"Of course."

"I'll catch you two after school." Kai states, heading towards his car.

Usually, I would question where he's going, but after seeing what he does everyday, I know that he's skipping again.

"Kay." I smile, waving him off and linking my arm with Baekhyun's.

We walk inside the school building, making our way to our classes. I look around and see a few students staring, but it's not out of the norm. I've been getting all kinds of glances from people since I moved here.

"You're first class is dance, right?" He asks and I nod.

"Yes, I've told you this two times already." I laugh lightly at his forgetfulness.

"Sorry, I'm a little dumb." He scratches the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Yeah, you are, but it's okay because I like dumb people." I grin up at him and he couldn't help but laugh.

"Y/n? I've been meaning to ask you something." He states suddenly, catching my attention.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Ever since you came back from Japan, I've been feeling more and more nervous around you." He says, and I could hear the shakiness in his voice.

"Okay and..?" I state, wanting him to get to the point.

He clears his throat, before preparing to say what's been on his mind.

"Well, I was wondering if I could take you on a date?" He questions and I raise my brows, not expecting that from him.

"Um.."

"It doesn't have to be anything serious..we can still go on acting like we have with each other." He voices, clearing things out.

"..Uh—I don't know.." I say, unsure, but when I see the way his head lowers in embarrassment and shame, I couldn't help but feel bad.

"..you know what, on second thought..that sounds like a good idea." I agree with a crooked smile.

"Really? You really want to?"

"Yeah, why not? It's sounds like fun!" I exclaim and he beams with joy.

He's just a rebound.

I try to ignore the little voice in my head. I just broken up with Jinyoung not even two weeks ago. I'm not sure going on a date with Baekhyun is the best idea, but I don't want to hurt his feelings.

"Oh, we're here." I state, spotting my dance class.

"Right, I'll pick you up after school then?" He asks and I nod with a small smile.

"Yeah."

I walk inside the dance-room without another word. I do not have any romantic feelings towards Baekhyun at all, I only see him as a friend. I'm only agreeing, so I don't ruin the newly formed friendship between him, Kai, and I.

"Hey, Y/n."

I look up from the ground to see Momo greeting me, shyly. My eyes widen for a split-second before returning to normal.

"Oh, hi?" I say awkwardly, still not used to speaking to her after so long.

"Who was that you were talking to just now?" She asks cheerily as we walk to sit down on the floor next to Jisoo, Jennie, and Bambam.

"That was Baekhyun." I reply timidly and she just smiles.

"He's pretty cute, don't you think?" She question, and I shrug.

"Why? Are you gonna try to steal my man again?" I ask jokingly and she just laughs.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I have my own boyfriend, now." She informs and my lips tilt downwards, surprised.

"Who? And since when?"

"Since July, but I can't say who it is. He asked me to keep the relationship private, I don't know why though." She explains and I furrow my brows.

"Are you sure he's not hiding anything from you? I don't think there should be a need to make your relationship private." I voice my opinion and she shakes her head.

"No, I don't think so."

"But to answer your question before, I do kind of think Baekhyun's cute." I state and she begins to smile, teasingly.

"Wow, really?"

"Yep, he even asked me on a date." I say and suddenly Bambam butts his head into the conversation.

"Baekhyun asked you out?!"

"Bambam, quiet down! I'm trying to teach these dance moves." Mr. Jeong shushes him.

"My fault, sorry." Bambam apologizes and the teacher continues his lesson.

"So, Baekhyun asked you out?" He whispers this time and I just snicker at him.

"Yes, but it's not like I'm taking it serious." I state, noticing a suspicious look fell on his face.

"You better not tell anyone." I demand, pointing a finger at him.

"..I won't." He swears.

• II •

"Y/n's going on a date with Baekhyun."

"What?!" Yugyeom exclaims, "How do you know?"

"She told me herself." I state and he stares at me like I just said the worse news in the world.

"Why would she even do that?" He asks in shock, feeling as if he has more competition.

"I don't know, but I overheard Y/n telling Momo that she thought he was cute." I inform and see Yugyeom's facial expressions turn into a more serious one.

"Maybe, I should follow them." He suggests and I gaze at him like he's crazy.

"Stalker much?"

"It's not like that. I just want to make sure Baekhyun doesn't do anything inappropriate with her." He says, making up an excuse.

"Dude, I don't think you should. I swore to her I wasn't gonna tell anybody, but you're one of the bros, so I had to tell you." I explain, feeling more anxious.

"I'll be cautious, they won't even know I'm there." He states, which makes me cringe at his stupidness.

"Are you fucking slow? You sound like a jealous boyfriend and last I checked you and Y/n aren't dating anymore." I try to interfere on his plans.

"Wow, Bam, that was harsh."

"It had to be said."

"Is there really nothing I can say to talk you out of this?" I question, making sure, but he just shakes his head.

"Nope, I'm going."

"Fine, but if something goes wrong, don't come running to me for help." I say, letting him know I won't get caught in the middle of his drama.

"Nothing is going to go wrong." He voices confidently.

"Whatever you say."

• III •

"This food is amazing."

"It's a good thing we went to a restaurant, cause I can't cook." Baekhyun says, which makes you smile.

"I was meaning to ask, but do you know where Kai goes when he skips school?" I question, seeing as he never gets home until 6pm.

"He goes to our group's hangout, it's about ten minutes away from school. I can take you there sometime..if you want." He offers timidly and I nod with bright eyes.

"Sure! It'll be fun, we can go tomorrow." I beam with happiness.

Really? I-I mean..that's cool." He states, trying to play it off in an unenthusiastic manner.

"You're such a loser." I laugh at his awkward state, causing him to laugh as well.

My gaze shifts to someone behind Baekhyun. The man was sitting in a booth and he had a black snap-back on.

Something about him seemed familiar. Before I could even get a good look at him, he covered his face with his menu.

I just shrug it off and look back at Baekhyun, "You ready to go?" He asks, noticing how both our plates are almost empty.

"Yes, I'm so full." I stand from my seat and begin stretching.

Baekhyun pays the check, making sure to leave a tip, and we walk out the restaurant. Lucky for me, my house is only a five minutes walk from the restaurant.

"Come on, I'll walk you home." Baekhyun says as we head down the street.

"No thanks, I was planning on walking myself home." I state with a blank face, causing him to freeze as he felt embarrassed.

"I'm kidding!" I grin at his confused expression, taking his hand, "I'm not about to walk home alone, especially not at night."

"O-Oh, right..just a joke." He mutters, as I continued to tease him.

"Y/n, you know what I noticed?" He question and I shake my head.

"What?"

"Ever since you've been back, you seem a lot more cheery and playful." He admits and I raise my brows at his observation.

"Really? I haven't noticed."

"Do you like that I'm happier?" I ask, looking up at him.

"Well, if you enjoy being happy, then I don't see a problem with it." He says and I roll my eyes.

"Typical."

"What do you want me to say? No, I prefer when you're sad?" He question, making me scoff.

"When you phrase it that way, I can't really argue." I state, crossing my arms like a child.

Suddenly, I felt shivers running down my spine. I had a random urge to turn around, feeling as if someone else is following us.

I turn my head slightly and out of the corner of my eyes I see the same man with that black cap. He was looking down at the ground while standing by a parked car. I still wasn't able to see his face.

"What's wrong?" Baekhyun asks as he felt my grip tighten around his hand.

"Nothing, I just thought I saw someone." I speak in a quiet voice.

We both turn around to look and that man was gone. I was starting to think I was crazy for a second.

"There's no one here." He states, turning back around, "And anyways, we're here."

"Thanks for walking me home." I state gratefully while leaning my back against the giant gate.

"You're welcome."

He takes a step closer to me, which confuses me. I didn't know what he was doing at first until he placed his arms on the gate, trapping me.

"I-I should probably go inside." I speak hesitantly.

"Yeah, you probably should.." He whispers, slowly leaning in, closing the space between us.

I squeeze my eyes shut, waiting for his lips to make contact with mine. That was until I felt his body being pulled away, abruptly.

My eyes pop open when I see Yugyeom throw a punch to Baekhyun's face. My brain was too slow to process what just happened.

"Yugyeom! Why in the hell did you hit him?!" I shout, pushing him back.

I stand in-between the two boys, making sure another fight won't be started. I turn to Baekhyun, grabbing his face and turning it to the side

"Are you okay?" I ask, observing his right cheek.

"I'm good." He nods and I turn back around to look at Yugyeom.

"He was about to kiss you!" Yugyeom shouts, defending hisself.

"So what! That has nothing to do with you." I assert angrily.

I'm tired of everyone always fighting and arguing over stupid shit. I just want to live in peace for once.

"It does have everything to do with me! Mark told me that you chose me." He states, causing my brows to furrow.

"Sorry to tell you, but he lied. I chose neither one of you. After finding out how you all lied to me about all that gang stuff, I didn't want to pick anymore. That's why I left in the first place." I confess my feelings.

"Y/n, I already told you that I didn't want to keep all that stuff from you. Jaebum said we had to." He says, and I let out a deep sigh.

Suddenly, I look at his outfit, noticing what he was wearing. He had that same black cap on and the same outfit of that guy earlier.

"Hold on, were you following us?"

"Yes?"

"That little—I told Bambam not to tell anyone." I groan in irritation.

"Why would you follow us?! You do know what privacy is, right?" I question in annoyance.

"Yes, I know what privacy is. I just wanted to make sure that he didn't do anything to you." He mutters, making me more pissed off.

"You're fucking crazy!" Baekhyun yells out.

"Yah! What'd you say?!" Yugyeom hollers back, stepping closer.

I hold my hands up, pressing them on their chests as I try to stop them from getting any closer to each other.

"Guys! Calm down!"

"First, you sent Kai to stalk her and now you're following us on our date." Baekhyun spat out, and my eyes widen.

I gaze over at Yugyeom slowly, not believing what I just heard.

"Y-You did what?"

Yugyeom's eyes soften at my shocked state, he looked so guilty. It couldn't be true, could it?

"No, you're lying." I shake my head, letting my hands fall to my sides, "Yugyeom, tell me that he's lying."

"..I'm sorry.."

"You're—You're sorry?!." I swallow the hard lump in my throat.

It felt like I just got hit by a giant truck. I just wanted to curl up into a ball and never get up again.

"I didn't know who you were at the time. It was only meant to hurt, Jinyoung." He states, trying to justify his actions.

"Sorry to break it to you, but I'm the only one who got hurt!" I yell in aggravation.

Even though I forgave Kai for doing all that stuff to me, it doesn't mean my experiences are any less traumatizing.

Finding out Yugyeom is the one who hired Kai to do that to me just makes it worse.

"You know what? I can't do this. You can leave..both of you." I demand, opening the gate and slamming it shut.

I head inside the house, feeling tears forming in my eyes.

"Is everything alright?" My dad asks and I purse my lips.

"Yeah.." I nod, and run up the stair, entering my room.

I slam the door shut, leaning my head against the cold wood. I slide my back down the door and sit on the floor.

Why would he do this to me?

I hug my knees to my chest, resting my forehead on them. I don't ever want to leave this room again.

First Mark, now Yugyeom, I don't know who else to trust anymore. I thought we were closer than that.

I thought I was doing good so far. I didn't want anymore drama this year. After everything that's happened, I don't think I can take anymore.

I just want to be happy.

• • •