A Live Midnight

9.1 (Ink and Iron)

A week has passed since the incident about Stella. But there is still a mystery as to who is behind the abduction of Stella and what is his or her purpose.

Right now, the band has no scheduled performances. They've been on a two-month break, giving them time to focus on their academics.

Inside a room, five guys were hanging out.

"So you finally did it, huh?" one of them said. "You actually made her fall in love with you?" another chimed in.

"Bro, listen. I didn't do it because of our bet, okay?" one guy replied. "Ey! Don't be humble. You did it for the 100,000 won, right?" said the guy who was still smiling.

"Now that you made Audrey fall for you, the 100,000 won is officially yours!" The four guys clapped and laughed—except for one who couldn't bring himself to smile or laugh.

"Ey! Why don't you look happy? Don't tell me you feel guilty about it? Isn't that your thing—playing girls? That's why you should be proud of yourself, Asher!" one of them joked.

Moments later...

Kenvie and Audrey were walking down the hallway together, heading to the canteen to eat. Suddenly, Audrey stopped.

"What's wrong?" Kenvie asked. "Oh no, I forgot my wallet in my bag. Wait here—I'll go back to the room and get it," Audrey said, hurrying off. "W-wait, I'll come with you," Kenvie called out, but Audrey didn't hear him.

Audrey reached their room. The door was closed. But before she could open it, she paused—she heard the guys talking inside.

The door had a screen, so it wasn't easy to see who was inside or outside, but you could make out silhouettes.

Audrey didn't try to open the door. She froze when she heard her name being mentioned—and the real reason behind Asher's caring behavior. She and Asher had been in a relationship for about two weeks, something they hadn't told the other band members because of the band's rules.

But who would've thought it all happened because of a bet?

Tears began to fall as Audrey heard one of the guys say: "Who would've thought she'd break one of the band's rules just to be in a relationship with you—without knowing it was all because of our bet? HAHAHA!"

Audrey didn't know that she wasn't the only one who heard the conversation. Kenvie, who had been standing behind her the whole time, heard it too.

Audrey slowly let go of the doorknob and turned around. When she faced Kenvie, she saw the sympathy in his eyes. Kenvie saw the tears streaming down her face—he knew she was deeply hurt by what she heard.

"I don't feel like eating anymore," Audrey said, walking away from the room. "Audrey," Kenvie called out, but she kept walking. He followed her.

Back in the room...

"Can you guys not understand? We didn't become a couple because of the bet. I just want to make it clear—I did it because of how I truly feel about her, okay? Keep the 100,000 won. But I'm telling you—I love Audrey, and that's the truth." After saying that, Asher stood up and walked out of the room.

"Ey, Asher!" one of his friends called after him.

______________________

"Audrey!" Kenvie called out as he followed her. Audrey stopped walking. They were at the side of the building, where there weren't many people around. She slowly turned to face Kenvie, and he saw her cheeks soaked with tears.