The Real You || Jung Sungchan

Chapter 17

Sungchan:

After studying in the library with Miyoung, I had to go to the academy today. It was a longer lesson and I wasn't going to be done until way later. I felt bad for Miyoung since this is my normal schedule and she's gonna have to deal with this, but she seems like she understands completely. I mean, her brother is also a trainee and under YG, which is the harshest training system there is in the industry, so she really does get it. I don't have time to worry about her right now, but I'll assume that she's fine since her brother is with her. I know that Mingyeom cares a lot about her because during practices he would always mention her to our teacher. When our teacher asks who our best friend is and who supported us most he would always say his sister. He must be really attached to her especially after her scandal.

When I enter the practice room, all of my friends were looking at me disappointed. They don't get mad at me often, but when they do, I just hang out with Mingyeom until the problem eases. But Mingyeom isn't here today and I have nobody to talk to. I awkwardly greet them and they roll their eyes and approach me. Chanyoung pushes me down to the ground and I wince in pain as my elbow hits the floor. I got up and gave them a glare. What is going on? What did I even do? I know I haven't talked to them all day but they were the ones avoiding me.

"Having fun with Miyoung, huh?" Byunghoon starts, scoffing as he crosses his arms and gives me a glare.

"What's your problem?" I ask.

"What's my problem? You're the problem! Do you think you can just date Miyoung out of nowhere as if you don't know how we feel about her?" He lashes out at me, I roll my eyes and step forward.

"Listen. You don't know her as well as I do." I state and look at all three of them. They just laughed and stepped closer to me too. Byunghoon was standing in the center while Chanyoung and Jaeho were on the sides. I'm 185cm and they're around 174cm-179cm so they weren't intimidating me at all.

"You don't even know her at all. Just because you're sitting together doesn't mean you know anything about-" Byunghoon continues. He knows nothing about her, the only reason he likes her is because she's pretty. Yeah she's pretty, but she's so funny and comforting. Even though she's the one who needs comfort the most, she always makes sure I'm fine and healthy.

"What do you know? Do you know her personality? I've never ever seen her talk to you before, yet you have a crush on her? The only thing you know about her is her face. You don't know anything about what's behind her mask." I cut him off and Byunghoon pushes me to the ground again. I hit my elbows again.

"I'm warning you right now, Sungchan. You don't go near Miyoung anymore. Know your place." He threatens and I laugh even though I'm in pain. I get up and take a step backward and cross my arms.

"Do you know your place? Who are you in Miyoung's life? I only knew her for a few weeks but I know way more than anyone in the school." I say, they all laugh at me.

"You wouldn't even know who Miyoung was if it weren't for us. You should just stay away from her if you don't want us to hurt you." Jaeho says and it's my turn to laugh.

"You can hurt me all you want, but you're never going to hurt Miyoung. I won't let you lay a finger on her or even date her. You don't know anything, you only care about looks." I say and Jaeho pushes me on the ground. I could tell my elbows had bruises on them since it was hurting way more now.

"Listen, Sungchan, because I'm only going to say this once. You don't go near Miyoung anymore or I'll spread rumors on the internet about you. If SM hears that you're a bully and you're dating, then you're going to get kicked out and blacklisted from the industry and you'll never be an idol. I'm serious, Sungchan. I have more resources than you think, anything I say about you will turn into a rumor and everyone will hate you before you even debut." Byunghoon threatens and I sigh. They leave the room and I stay on the ground.

I don't want to risk losing my career over Miyoung and I'd friendship. She's really important to me, but she's not as important as my career. This was the hardest decision I've made in a while, but I have to end my friendship with her. But I don't know how without breaking her trust and her heart. I could tell that I was her first friend in a while after her scandal, so if I just tell her I don't want to be near her anymore, she'll probably leave the school. The only thing I want for her is to be happy. I want her to recover from her trauma and to open up to more people. I know that it's not easy, and I wanted to be there for her for every step of the process, but I can't risk anymore. I'm pretty sure that Byunghoon has relatives who work for Dispatch so if he ever has a scandal of his own he can immediately be cleared and if he wants to blackmail someone who wants to be an idol or is an idol, he can do it. My heart started to hurt thinking about Miyoung's reaction when I stop talking to her. I really hope she realizes that this wasn't my decision. I had no choice and I never ever wanted to do this, but it had come to this and it's painful. I try not to cry because I don't want my mentor to come in any second and catch me crying, so I just get up and play it off cool, trying not to have a reaction.

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