"Can we make this quick? The girls are waiting at the hotel, and I still have a million things to sort out." Aerin's voice was laced with impatience as she sat across from Jeonghan. In the past twenty minutes, they'd gone from strangers to having an uneasy truce, both clutching cups of coffee they'd likely finish in a few gulps.
The café held too many memories for her—first clues about Hyunjae's schemes, a mix-up that led to one of her most enjoyable days, and, to top it off, the place she'd realized her feelings for Seungcheol. Now, she was about to hear why Jeonghan, who had been so deeply involved in the drama, decided to help Hyunjae try to ruin her life.
"I thought you said you had time," Jeonghan teased, his signature smirk pulling at his lips. Aerin could feel the irritation bubbling up, but she bit it back, choosing to roll her eyes instead.
"Quit it. Just get to the point." His smirk only grew wider, but he didn't respond right away, taking a slow sip from his coffee.
"I'm getting to it." Before Aerin could say anything else, Jeonghan took another exaggerated sip, as though savoring the moment.
"Hyunjae and I go way back. We've known each other since we were nine. And honestly? A lot of the connections I have are thanks to her. She practically handed them to me, so I owed her. Or at least, she made it sound like I did," Jeonghan admitted, his tone uncharacteristically flat. Aerin was taken aback but kept her composure.
He paused again, savoring the moment, which only made Aerin want to shout at him to hurry up. He took his time.
"She asked me to help with those articles years ago, around the time of your group's press conference," he said, his words trailing off, clearly expecting her to finish the sentence. Aerin surprised herself by doing so, her mind racing.
"Yoon Dohan is my cousin," Jeonghan went on. "He's a pretty well-known writer, and since I was the one who got him the job, it wasn't hard for him to write that ridiculous article. But to be honest, I didn't know what it was about until it was too late. Hyunjae and Dohan were handling that, and I wasn't involved in the specifics." He leaned back, glancing at her. "I think Hyunjae realized the article was too much, so she tried to back off. But when that didn't work, she pulled out all the stops. That match was her last-ditch effort."
The shock of his confession hung in the air. Aerin's mind swirled with new questions, but she couldn't bring herself to ask just yet. Jeonghan's calmness was unsettling, his hands casually cradling his cup as if he were talking about an ordinary day.
"I know you have questions," he added with a knowing look. She rolled her eyes, though he was right. There was so much to unpack.
"Why did you switch sides, though?" Aerin asked, her voice softer now, tinged with confusion. She had to know.
Jeonghan seemed momentarily thrown by the question, looking at her as if unsure how to answer. Finally, he sighed, almost as if he were speaking to himself more than her.
"Well, I don't think anyone deserves to go through what Hyunjae was planning for you. After all the shit I've done, I figured I owed you at least some kind of decency. I checked with my cousin earlier today about those articles and—" He paused, his jaw tightening. "—I had him delete everything. Not just the one about you, but the other one too, the one where she was going to out me for 'betraying' her."
Aerin's heart stilled for a second. Jeonghan had done all that for her? She hadn't expected it, not after everything. Her voice softened.
"Thank you, Jeonghan," she said, a real smile tugging at her lips as she met his eyes. It felt good to know someone had her back, even if that someone wasn't exactly a saint.
"Anytime," Jeonghan replied with a lazy grin. "I might be a pain in the ass, but I at least have some morals."
Aerin chuckled, the tension easing between them. There was still a lot of complexity in their relationship, but for the first time, she didn't feel entirely wary of him.
Back at the hotel, her mind kept spinning. The girls were trying to make sense of everything too, their own shock evident as they gathered in the suite. The news of the fire had shaken them, but they'd found refuge in each other. Aerin let out a deep breath. It was a relief to finally have the truth, to finally understand the web they'd all been tangled in.
Just then, her phone buzzed, cutting through the quiet.
Before she could react, Aki grabbed it from her hand.
"Aki, give it back!" Aerin's voice was sharp, but it was too late. Aki had already seen the contact name and was gaping in mock horror.
"CHERRY CHEOL? HELLO?"
Aerin groaned as her members erupted in laughter, clearly more synchronized in teasing her than in practice.
"Rin, you should pick up your boyfriend's call," Yuna teased.
"He's not my boyfriend," Aerin muttered, though the flurry of teasing only got louder.
"Please, you think we didn't notice you sneaking around with S.Coups every day?" Xia added, grinning mischievously.
Aerin's face turned beet red. "Am I really that obvious?" she groaned, the laughter from her members only growing louder.
"Pick it up already!" they chorused, and Aerin couldn't fight it anymore. She grabbed the phone and made a hasty exit from the room, already dreading what would happen if she answered with them still within earshot.
"Seungcheol, hey," she said, trying to steady her breath.
"OH MY GOD YOU RESPONDED!" His voice practically shattered her eardrums, and Aerin had to pull the phone away for a second to recover.
"Why are you so relieved?" she asked, a laugh bubbling up despite herself.
"Are you serious?" His voice softened. "I just saw on the news that your dorm caught on fire. What do you expect? Of course, I'm relieved!" His tone dropped, more serious now. "But are you okay? You don't know how worried I was."
Aerin felt a flutter in her chest, the raw concern in his voice making her heart race. She smiled.
"I'm fine, Seungcheol. I promise."
There was a long pause on the other end, followed by a sigh of relief. "Good. But where are you now? Are you safe?"
Aerin couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips. "I'm 100% safe. But there is one thing you can do for me."
"What? What is it?" His voice was eager, and she could hear his hopefulness.
Aerin's breath hitched as she finally let herself say it.
"You promised me a date, right? So take me on it. "
