Determined

Chapter 9

HeeSoo's POV:
As i was dragged away by jaeyang oppa i saw unnie approach tao from the corner of my eye.
'Mwo? Why is she walking to him?' I mumbled under my breath. Curiosity stroke within me. I wanted to go and spy on them but i couldn't.
As soon as i entered my room i was literally attacked by my stylists. I didn't mind though as i knew i didn't have much time to get ready.

'Ah HeeSoo-ah! Get backstage now! They'll announce the winner for the best new artist' jaeyang oppa called out. He was in such a fussy state today, i couldn't blame him, he had a lot of responsibilities.
In no time i was dragged backstage where i stood waiting for the winners to be announced.
'And the winner of the best new artist award is....' The MC paused to maintain the suspense. I was expecting to be nervous at that time but on the contrary i didn't care at all. For some reason all my excitement was gone. I couldn't help but wonder why.
'Omo heesoo-ah congratulations!!' Jaeyang oppa screamed.
'Huh? Mwo?'
'Are you sleeping? You won! Now go get the award!' He pushed me and i stumbled upon stage. I was overwhelmed by the screaming fans and the bright lights. It all seemed so surreal.
I slowly walked up to the podium where my award awaited me. I was again in the spotlight and this time i was not at all rehearsed.
'Congratulations' the MC gave me a hug and handed me my award. He stepped aside, gesturing me to say a few words on the mic.
(Oh no! What do i say? I'm not prepared for this gahhhhhh i could run, but that would be weird aish someone help me)
'Ah well i really don't know what to say i didn't really prepare a thank you speech' i let out a nervous laugh and the crowd exploded with laughter. I saw jaeyang oppa face-palm himself from the corner of my eye. 'Um well i guess i could thank you all, after all you are the reason i got this award and i'd also like to thank everyone who supported me during my trainee years and now in my debut. Thank You all so much! Saranghae!!!'
I quickly bowed and walked backstage. Jaeyang oppa's expression was no longer angry like before.
'Ahhh next time only thank people, araseo?' He said
'Nae oppa, i'll try my hardest not to disappoint you' i bowed
'I'm sure you won't' he chuckled
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TAO's POV:

It was 2 am and i couldn't sleep. After 3 hours of restlessness i finally decided to get out of bed and get a glass of water.
I drank the water and went out to the balcony. The cold wind prickled my skin, making goosebumps appear. I took a deep breath trying to calm my nerves.
It wasn't possible. the conversation with Chaelin noona kept replaying inside my head making guilt rise within me more and more. I stared into the darkness recalling her words again.

[flashback:]
'Can we talk?'
'Ofcourse noona!' I replied.
'Come with me please' i nodded and followed her to a less crowded place.
'What's bothering you noona?' I questioned trying to sound as nuetral as possible. I knew it would be regarding HeeSoo and i didn't want to show much emotion.
'I have a question, i've been wanting to ask this for a long time, may i?' I nodded
'Well.. Were you by any chance the one who spread the gossips about HeeSoo's past?' She looked at me questioningly. I could feel the bile rise in my throat, how on earth could she know? Kai promised not to tell anyone that i told him but could i really trust him?
'I'm not trying to blame you or anything but you were the only one who knew apart from us four siblings' she continued. Well obviously! No one else knew before! It was obvious.
I bit my lip and looked at the ground. I couldn't meet her eyes. I felt like a murderer who had to meet the eyes of the victims mother.
'Be honest Tao, i won't tell HeeSoo-ah'
'She still doesn't know?' I suddenly looked up, shocked.
'Nae, she doesn't. Even if she does, she doesn't want to believe it' this made me feel even worse, HeeSoo trusted me so much that she's denying to obvious truth of me telling everyone. My gaze dropped to the ground again, i felt tears forming.
'Ah Tao-ssi, i hate to say this but i was actually hoping i could believe HeeSoo's denial.' She let out a heavy sigh.
'M-mwo?' I stuttered. I knew she knew the truth and obviously hated me.
'You know, after you parted from HeeSoo, she stopped trusting people, she doesn't let anyone in, even me. She has become independent. It's not that bad though, she's much stronger and i'm happy about that. Because of her rough past and present, she wanted to change, she wanted to achieve her dreams even more. She was determined.' She paused, i looked up only to meet her pained eyes.
'You guys broke her, completely shattered her, but she fixed herself. she became Strong'
'M-mianhe!' I barely whispered.
'Don't apologise to me, i'm not the one who got hurt, i was strong from the beginning. She was the one who suffered. Not me'
She was right, HeeSoo suffered too much, and i only added to her pain. I was a terrible friend and i realised that too late.
'Well anyway the past is the past but if i were you i'd apologise to HeeSoo, and if she's generous enough she'll forgive. But Tao i beg you if you'll hurt her again then don't dare talk to her, not even a word. Because i don't want my yeodongsaeng to cry anymore'
'N-nae n-noona!'
'I need to go now, bye!' She bowed and walked off.

[flashback ended]

'Ahhh mian HeeSoo-ah' i said under my breath and let out a sigh.
'Yah! Tao! What are you doing here? I thought you were afraid of being alone at night' kris hyung emerged out of the balcony door
'Nae, but i want to be alone right now' i flatly replied, still looking in the darkness.
'Wae? Gwaenchanha?' He asked worried.
'Aniyo'
'What happened?'
'It's nothing.. You should get back to bed, it's late'
'Yah! You can tell me anything! I won't tell anyone remember?' He put an arm around me.
'I betrayed my only bestfriend before, you really think you can trust me?' I said shrugging off his hand.
'What are you talking about?'
'You won't understand hyung' i said in a sad tone.
'Try me!' He patted my back to reassure me.
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Hey guys! Here's a short update! Sorry for the slow and short updates, i'm really busy these days.
Also the pic of Tao in the media makes me sad 😭😭 i just want to hug him.. Aigoo!!~