Chapter Eight

Jeremy called Ye Eun late this morning, telling her to hurry up and throw clothes on. She did so groggily, grumpy that she was losing out on sleeping in before work. Whatever he was talking about sounded urgent. She knew she couldn't stay long with him since she had work, but they hadn't hung out with each other in a while. Ye Eun looked decent minus the fact that she wasn't matching, something she hadn't noticed until Jeremy pointed it out. Out of the long striped shirt and purple jeans she was wearing, her fault was two different colored converses.

Jeremy woke up quite differently on the other hand, indirectly by Shin Woo. Shin Woo left early to meet with Coordinator for breakfast and told Tae Kyung to do it. Tae Kyung didn't feel like it and so for his greater amusement told Go Mi Nam to do it. Mi Nam smacked him in the face with a pillow. Jeremy thought it was someone trying to suffocate him and instinctively hit back.

His half-asleep senses wore off quickly when he was struck back in the face. "Ow! What the-?"

"How dare you hit me?"

"I thought you were trying to suffocate me!" He mumbled in defense.

"Nonsense! I'm saving that for another day. I'm just the messenger. Tae Kyung told me to tell you to get up and go meet Shin Woo."

"Can't you do things in a non-violent way?" He yawned, pushing Mi Nam aside.

Mi Nam chuckled in disbelief. "I can't believe you really just asked that question."

Jeremy shook out of his flashback. He was clad in a blue hoodie and sweatpants, hair flying in every which direction. Like his cousin, Jeremy really liked to sleep in and being out at 8am in the morning for a reason other than work was nearly devastating. The city was barely alive yet.

They met at the bus stop and walked on to the supermarket down the street, arm in arm.

"What does this have to do with me, again?" Ye Eun asked.

"I figured that you would like to help me plan a surprise party for Mi Nam and his sister."

"For the twins? Well, I guess so. I mean, I do love surprises. As long as we're done by eleven."

"Don't worry, we'll be done by then. I think. And if we're not I'll talk to your boss personally." Jeremy paused before changing subjects. "So tell me, what was Mi Nyu like in high school?"

"Jeremy, you asked me hundreds of times before." She groaned. "She really hasn't changed at all."

"You and Mi Nam weren't close were you?" It all made sense to Jeremy now, the reasons why she asked him regularly about Mi Nam. She must've had a crush on him in high school? Sure she told him she "knew" Mi Nam, but not how well.

Ye Eun prayed that her cousin wouldn't keep talking about him; but she knew that the conversation would, no matter what, get steered in that direction. "We were friends, sort of." She half-lied to her cousin. "He was arrogant, but also sweet when he wanted to be."

"I can't believe you just used 'sweet and Go Mi Nam' in the same sentence." Jeremy could feel his good mood dying already.

"Well, he was. At least when we were dating." Ye Eun covered her mouth. Shit. She had just told her cousin that they were just friends. Now he knew that she lied. Ye Eun's mouth had once again said too much. She never wanted him to find out about them dating. If she started talking about them dating, it would inevitably lead him closer to finding out more. "I mean, Jeremy-the weather is supposed to be really nice today, you know?"

"Don't you dare try to change the subject! Did just say that you dated that? I thought you weren't close! You told me you were just friends!"

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you. It's just, I know you would've done this."

He broke his arm away from hers. "This is unacceptable." Jeremy acted like she was speaking pure blasphemy. The fact that she hadn't told him made him even madder than the fact that she dated him.

"But Jeremy-"

"Your lips touched his lips, which have touched my cheek numerous times. It's like I've been indirectly kissed by the devil."

"On Yu!" She yelled, a little bubble of irritation rising in her stomach. "You are being so immature!"

"I am not! You have Go Mi Nam cooties and I don't have a shot! They haven't even invented a medicine for what he's got." The worst part of it all, was how absolutely serious Jeremy was when he was saying it. "And they probably never will."

"Stop acting like this, Jeremy. Mi Nam isn't the worst guy on the planet."

"I never said he was the worst. He's just one of worst."

"Why don't you give him a second chance?" Even if she couldn't salvage her relationship with Go Mi Nam, Jeremy still could. "He used to pick on me a lot. He would call me things like 'butterfingers' and 'motormouth'. But, it's just a sign of how much he likes you. Go Mi Nam is just that type of person. So when he insults you, just think of it as sort of an indirect compliment. It took awhile for him to treat me well also…so, it's not just you. He and his best friends hated each other before."

"Then, you really think I should forgive him for everything?" He stopped in his tracks, turning to Ye Eun. He noticed that his cousin now seemed distressed, her expression completely different. It seemed...sad? "Ye Eun, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She forced a smile. "I'm just tired. I'll be even better after I have a coffee."

"I know I overreact sometimes. I can't help myself."

"It's fine, really. Do whatever you feel is right."

Even though the air between Jeremy and his cousin felt uncomfortable at the moment, there was still one question that the boy couldn't let go unanswered. "Ye Eun, what happened between you and Go Mi Nam?"

"I don't want to talk about it." She responded instantly, continuing to walk on towards the supermarket.

Her reaction made him uneasy and worried. "Why?" He asked, catching up to her.

"We need to get to the supermarket don't we?"

"Yeah but-"

"Then come on." Ye Eun beckoned them on.

The silence that composed the rest of their trip let Jeremy think. Seriously think. What happened between my cousin and Go Mi Nam to the extent she doesn't even want to tell me about it? If he did anything to her-

Ye Eun hit Jeremy on the shoulder. "We're here. See there goes Stylist Wang and Shin Woo?"

It was quite a sight to behold: Coordinator Wang dressed down in sweats with her hair tied back, standing next to a half disguised Shin Woo with glasses.

Ye Eun and Jeremy looked skeptically at each other while Coordinator Wang began to pace in front of them like an army general.

"Welcome to Operation B.I.R.T.H.D.A.Y! As you know, Idols have public birthdays thrown where their fans can come and celebrate with them. But this year Mi Nam asked that we not throw him a party at all. Of course, you know we can't just leave him alone right?"

"Right!" Ye Eun and Jeremy yelled in unison.

"Together as a collaborative front we will create a magnificent surprise birthday party for both Go Mi Nam and Go Mi Nyu! Our first objective is grocery shopping." She stopped in front of them, pulling ou

Coordinator pulled a note from her pocket. "We put together a list. It's your job to get all the things on this list and call us when we are done." She handed it to Ye Eun.

"I call dibs for buggy-ridding!" Jeremy shouted, making a dive for the buggies inside.

"No fair! You always get to buggy ride." Ye Eun him aside to get inside first.

Coordinator rolled her eyes as she looked to Shin Woo. "Are we dealing with a bunch of teenagers here or what?"

Shin Woo just laughed. "Yeah, but they're so cute."

After the shopping and some other party preparations, Jeremy and Shin Woo returned home around eleven that morning.

Jeremy headed up the stairs to the dorm determined to find out what happened between his cousin. He was going to find out even if he had to do some snooping.

Luckily for Jeremy, the man he needed to talk to the most was right in front of him. Mi Nam was reading a book at the table. It's weird to see him doing something like that. It makes him look so peaceful.

"Do you know a girl named Cho Ye Eun?" He slammed his hands down on the table, trying to get Mi Nam's attention. The younger didn't move a muscle- except to turn a page of his book.

"Why?" His eyes didn't leave the novel. He tried to block out what Jeremy said, but it was impossible. Why is this guy asking about my ex? "Answer my question." Mi Nam demanded.

"Not before you answer mine."

Mi Nam put his book down, eyes narrowed. "Yes, I knew a girl named Ye Eun. She was my sister's friend in high school."

"That's all?"

"Yes, that's all. Now could you leave? I would like to continue reading."

"It's not like you were really reading! I know how you like to look at the words and pretend you understand to make yourself feel smart."

"Jeremy, I'm not in the mood to deal with you." Mi Nam snapped. "And how dare you call me illiterate when you nearly misspelled the whole song you wanted to put on our new mini-album? It was like decoding a message."

"Hey! That's not even fair! I wrote that song when I was half-sleep!" Jeremy attempted to defend himself.

"I bet you can't even spell half the things you say."

"Mi-" Jeremy groaned. No, we're not here to start a fight. We're here to find out what happened to Ye Eun! "Fine. Okay. If you tell me why you and Ye Eun broke up, I'll be out your way."

"That is none of your business. And who is she to you anyway, huh?"

"My cousin."

Go Mi Nam nearly choked on his spit. "Excuse me?"

"Cho Ye Eun is my cousin. She's like my best friend, my sister. But I think I know why she never bothered to tell me that she dated you." He began to walk away. What a waste of my time. It's no-brainer why no one would want to deal with him.

Go Mi Nam shot up out of his seat and ran in front of Jeremy, blocking attempt to get back into the dorm. "You have no idea what happened between us! So don't go around assuming that I did anything to her!"

"If you're determined to make yourself not look like a bad guy, explain."

"You really want to know? I don't want to tarnish the angelic view you have of your dear cousin."

"Just tell me."

With a hesitant sigh he started, "She…"It was always hard for him to explain to people what happened. "…left me. We were together for over four years and she dropped me like a bad habit." It was hard, in part, because no one ever believed that someone would do that to him. Leave Go Mi Nam? They had to be crazy. And yet it happened. The light that Ye Eun brought to his life leaving him cold and alone.

"What?" It didn't make any sense to him.

"After we got out of high school, we were supposed to live together. She was so excited- and every time I was off work and she wasn't in school, we'd go look at apartments. We finally found 'the one' after about a month of searching. God, she was picky when it came anything that had to do with that apartment. 'Go Mi Nam, this is our first place together. Everything has to be perfect. It's the beginning to our new lives.' "Jeremy could tell that Mi Nam's feelings for his cousin were strong."What bullshit."

He had never seen Go Mi Nam like this before. His emotions were clearly showing in his eyes, even though he tried to act like he wasn't hurt.

"Around the same time," Mi Nam continued, "I met Manager Ma and I knew things were really going to get better. Then all of a sudden, she disappeared. She didn't answer her phone calls or texts. I went by her family's home and nobody knew where she went either. Really, I knew they weren't telling me something. Hell, I even called all of her friends. Finally, I was told she had ran off with some guy and called it 'studying abroad'."

"Oh." That was really bad. He couldn't believe Ye Eun did such a thing. It was so unlike her.

"What really got me was that she just left without a word. I wouldn't even have been mad if she told me. I just can't figure her out." He stopped himself before he got angry. "Now that you know don't ask me about her again. Don't even mention her name in front of me unless you really want to die. And, don't you dare bring her around me. I don't want to see her face."

Jeremy inwardly groaned. I guess her showing up at the party isn't a good idea. She must still care about him though. The way she talked about him showed it.

He remembered the year Go Mi Nam raved about. So, that year she said was going 'abroad' she was doing this? No. Something about this picture doesn't seem right at all. Go Mi Nam was really the one hurt? How could he be...the victim?

Go Mi Nam is really a deeply troubled soul.