Changing his flight plans at the last minute was easy when you had money and status. It was much more difficult finding a way to cancel on the Resident Evil co-workers Joon Gi had promised to meet. With elbows resting on his knees, he fiddled with his phone, spinning it between his fingers as he mentally composed the message he would send.

He ignored the constant vibrations coming from his phone, indicating the wild wave of notifications from his social media accounts. After the initial scroll through of the comments, that didn't look like it would slow down any time soon, Joon Gi knew things were only going to go downhill.

His fans, Jieun's fans, and fans of Scarlet Heart: Ryeo were leaving him comments to "please date IU." It's not that he wasn't happy with the support because he was, but it would ultimately lead to a scandal and to a negative image of both him and Jieun to the public. After so many years of being in the industry, he knew this without a doubt.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Sang Hyun asked from beside him.

Joon Gi turned to look at him. "I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

His hyung simply nodded and crossed his arms before leaning back in his seat. The flight change meant they had a longer wait at the airport, since it was a later departure time. They both had hours to spare. To wait. To think.

He wanted to text or call Jieun, but he didn't want her to know what he was doing until he got back to Seoul. If she knew ahead of time, she would worry endlessly and lay a lifetime of guilt upon herself. None of this was her fault to begin with, but he knew she wouldn't think of it that way.

Rolling his shoulders back to loosen his tense muscles, Joon Gi finally sent a message to Milla.

"Sending my deepest apologies to you and Paul. I will not be going to LA for the premiere anymore. My girl needs me right now, so I am going home."

Her response came almost immediately, making him smile.

"Best wishes to you both! Please bring her with you to LA next time. Paul and I would love to show you both around."

He sent a quick reply text of appreciation and gratitude, then pocketed his phone. Side glancing Sang Hyun, Joon Gi mimicked his posture and closed his eyes, finally allowing his haywire thoughts to take over.

Jieun's relationship had already been rocky for a number of reasons when they had first met. At the time, she often came to the filming set with a preoccupied or worn look upon her face, but had never let it affect her. Jieun's continuous display of utmost professionalism was one of the first things that had thoroughly impressed him.

When she and Kiha had made the final decision to part ways back in July, Joon Gi hadn't even known until days later when Kang Han Na had accidentally mentioned it to him. She had been so sure that he knew, Joon Gi ended up wondering why he didn't.

But Jieun had wanted to keep the break up a secret since it was what they had mutually decided on. Kiha didn't want it to affect his music since his band had just made a comeback after two years while Jieun didn't want it to negatively affect the drama when it began airing.

And yet, when both events came and went, they still made no moves to reveal their break up to the public. Joon Gi had asked Jieun one day out of curiosity and learned it was because Kiha hadn't wanted to risk losing out on a possible Best Band nomination or win from Seoul Music Awards.

Not too long after, Jieun revealed plans for a music comeback and the timing just didn't seem right again. Over and over, for one reason or another, both Jieun and Kiha kept pushing back the release date, trying to find the perfect timing for them both.

So what had changed? What made Kiha go back on his word? To betray Jieun like this?

Joon Gi sighed, repeatedly twisting potential scenarios and possibilities around in his mind. If he was being honest with himself, he had plenty of suspicions and none of them good. He wanted to be completely wrong though, because the one person that would get hurt the most was the one person Joon Gi would do anything to protect.

Feeling restless, Joon Gi opened his eyes and pulled out his phone again, checking both the time and his new notifications. His lips pulled flat into a grim line when, just as he had predicted, the situation had already escalated.

"IU cheats on Jang Kiha with Lee Joon Gi."

"IU dating Lee Joon Gi?"

"Lee Joon Gi causes break up of IU and Jang Kiha."

He swore under his breath, suddenly wanting to chuck his phone across the VIP waiting area, prompting Sang Hyun to ask what was wrong.

"Hyung… this is going to be bad, isn't it?" Joon Gi rhetorically asked, showing him the latest update.

Sang Hyun frowned as he scrolled through the explosive, accusatory comments. All sorts of words were being tossed around, like "fox" and "shameless." "Cheater" and "disgusting." There were also plenty of other offending words or phrases that made Joon Gi's blood boil.

"It could," Sang Hyun admitted. "But we all know this is groundless. Jieun-ssi and Kiha-ssi broke up long before the two of you began dating. The question is, how did the break up news turn out like this?"

"If I knew…," Joon Gi replied, jaw flexing in anger.

"Well, the more important question is, just how far and deep are your feelings for her? Is it enough for you to take the risks, to stand by Jieun-ssi's side?" Sang Hyun passed the phone back to him and stared him straight in the eyes. "You need to consider this carefully, Joon Gi-yah. No matter what your decision is, you know I will stand behind you."

Joon Gi flickered his gaze across Sang Hyun's face, taking in his expression, his question, the smallest hint of his doubt. Logically, he knew his hyung didn't ask to offend, but to get a straightforward answer, to try and help, but Joon Gi couldn't help the flash of ire that rose within him.

His eyes sparkled with fire and determination. "Jieunie is the most important person in my life. The one person I would put over my career if the situation came to it."

Joon Gi hastily stood up and glared down at Sang Hyun. "There is no room for doubt." He impatiently glanced down at his watch with a scowl, missing the proud smirk that appeared on Sang Hyun's face, then looked back up just in time for Sang Hyun's face to fall neutral again. "Come on, hyung. It's time to go."

Plastering a smile on his face, Joon Gi walked out of the waiting area and towards the crowd of waiting fans. Try as he might though, Joon Gi couldn't muster up the genuine giddiness he had felt earlier and knew his tight smile looked as fake as it really was.

The deafening screams of his fans were instantaneous the moment they spotted him and Joon Gi waved, posing for photos every couple of steps or so, thankful that he had kept his sunglasses on. He blew kisses and showed the aegyo his fans always seemed to love.

Still, his heart wasn't as invested as it usually was. He couldn't keep his mind off of Jieun and how she was doing. If she was suffering from the backlash. Or blaming herself. Or worrying about him.

Sang Hyun subtly nudged him with an elbow, whispering through his teeth that Joon Gi needed to look happier for his fans. "It looks like you're in mourning," he added as an afterthought.

Blowing a breath of air out from between his lips, Joon Gi spontaneously threw both hands up above his head, placing them side by side with his thumbs touching. Fluttering his fingers up and down, he mimicked the steady beating of a bird's wings.

"What are you doing?" Sang Hyun asked, a bit startled.

"Taking a risk," Joon Gi replied.