~𝟰𝟬~

I tried to focus on what the girl was saying, ignoring the annoying tug in my stomach. When we get back to the dorms, I'm asking Chan if he knows what it is, I said to myself. I stayed relatively focused until the girl started crying. I noticed Lee Know taking her hand, rubbing his thumb over it softly. It set something off in my body. I didn't know why, but it made me angry to see it.

I slowly backed out of the group of boys standing around the laptop, dragging a hand through my hair. I walked to the other car and opened the door, grabbing a bottle of water off the backseat I had seen earlier. When I turned around, I almost got a heart attack from Felix suddenly standing in front of me.

"Don't sneak up on me like that," I said, smacking his arm softly. He laughed.

"Sorry. I just saw you leave and wanted to ask if everything was okay?"

I nodded before giving him a very unconvincing smile. He didn't seem to notice.

"Come on. They should be close to finished by now," he said.

His voice was like silk, soft and gentle. It calmed my tense muscles slightly, until the laptop screen came back into view. There the girl was, Lee Know's arm wrapped around her shoulder and leading her out of the door. I watched until they disappeared out of view along with Chan before turning away. It wasn't long before they got to us, Lee Know's arm still wrapped around her shoulders. I kept my head down to avoid eye contact with either Lee Know or the girl. I only looked up when he said my name.

"Ava, this is Geneviève. Geneviève, this is Ava."

Geneviève walked up to me, reaching out a hand for me to shake. I eyed it suspiciously before accepting it, shaking her hand. I kept a straight face as I looked over her features, searching for a sign of her intentions.

"Nice to meet you Ava."

She smiled at me before going to stand next to Lee Know again. She smiled up at him, and he gave her a smirk. I felt the tug in my stomach again, making me drop my gaze and move further back. I looked up when someone's arm brushed against mine. It was Hyunjin. He had a far off look in his eyes, but his face seemed pained. He didn't take his gaze off of Geneviève once. I gently touched his arm, making him look down at me.

"If you want to talk, I'm here."

He smiled at my words before moving his gaze back onto Geneviève, the same look crossing his face.

"Let's get going," Chan said, walking over to the car door and getting in.

The rest of us followed. Just before I got into the car, I saw Lee Know open the door for Geneviève, scooting in next to her before closing the door behind him. And a feeling flared inside me. I tried the whole way home, but I couldn't figure out what I was feeling. Or manage to shake it off.

...

When we got to the dorms, I headed up to my room as fast as I could. I only stopped when I heard Hyunjin speak behind me.

"Hey, you good? You seem upset."

I turned to him, standing on the threshold to my room. I didn't really know how much I could tell him, or even if I should. I hesitated; my hand clasped tightly around the door frame.

"It's okay. We don't have to talk about it."

He smiled and turned to leave, but I took his wrist.

"Wait," I said softly, him looking over his shoulder at me. He turned around; brows slightly furrowed.

I stepped back and to the side, letting him come into my room. He walked past me and took a seat on the edge of my bed. When I didn't move from my spot, he patted the matrass next to him. I slowly walked over to the bed, sitting down next to him. I sat there for what felt like forever, contemplating how I would word what I wanted to say. I wanted to bail out when my mouth seemed to have a mind of its own.

"I don't know what I'm feeling."

He looked at me, interest sparkling in his eyes.

"Could you elaborate?"

"I felt a tug in my stomach. And I felt angry for no reason."

"What brought it on? Is there something you saw that upset you?"

I hesitated. If I told him, what would he think? He would take it the wrong way.

"I... I saw a guy with a girl. A stranger."

I looked at the ground, too afraid to make eye contact and give him the wrong idea. But what is the wrong idea? I thought to myself.

"Hmm... May I ask who it is?"

I lifted my gaze to meet his, trying to send a silent message that I couldn't tell him. He seemed to catch on, turning his head away from me, as if to think.

"When did you start feeling this way?"

"A while ago. I'm not exactly sure how long."

"Sounds to me like you're-"

Just as he was about to say it, a crash echoed out through the house. I shared a look with Hyunjin before jumping up and sprinting down to the bottom floor, him not far behind. I nearly ran into the countertop when I slipped on the tiles of the kitchen. Luckily Hyunjin had somehow kept his balance and managed to stabilise me before I fell. I looked at the floor to find what looked like water and shards of glass. I looked up to find Geneviève apologising profusely to Lee Know.

"Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" I heard Hyunjin ask, pulling my attention to him. He was very close to me, making me back away out of habit. He seemed slightly hurt by that, but kept his concerned gaze trained on me.

"I'm okay. Nothing happened, thanks to you."

He smiled slightly before moving past Geneviève, grabbing a cloth. He knelt down, picking up the glass shards and placing them on the countertop. I knelt down next to him, giving him a smile before picking up a few pieces as well. After all the glass was gone, he wiped up all the water while I threw away the glass. When he moved past Geneviève again to put the cloth away, I noticed he looked at her, eyes filled with hurt. Or was it guilt? I should ask him, I thought.

That was until I saw Geneviève looking at me, lips pulling into a small smirk, eyebrows raised slightly. I scoffed and rolled my eyes before heading up to my room again, ignoring Hyunjin when he called after me. I took my phone and earphones, deciding to do some spring cleaning. I had just started when I heard a knock at my door, taking my earphones out and turning to the door. It was Lee Know. I was slightly surprised, but I tried not to show it.

"Hi," he said, hands in his pockets.

"Hi."

It came out more emotionless then I meant it to.

"So ..."

"Geneviève seems nice," I said, continuing with what I was doing. I heard Lee Know slowly come closer.

"I'm glad you like her."

"So, how long will she be here?" I asked, it coming out harsh and abrupt.

"She wants to be placed in witness protection, but they'll only be able to help her later this week."

I sighed. I didn't think Lee Know heard it, until he spoke up.

"Is there something going on here? Do you not like Geneviève?"

"It's not that. I just think... you know what? Never mind."

I tried moving past him out the door, but he blocked my way.

"No. What is wrong? You've been acting weird ever since we finished the mission."

"Just drop it. It's nothing."

"I know that's not true. What's wrong?"

I was getting very agitated. And felt backed into a corner with him blocking my only exit.

"Seriously, drop it."

"No, you've been hiding things from us for long enough. What is your problem with Geneviève?"

"My problem with her is that she just drops into your life, and you fall for her act like it's nothing."

"What act? She's helping us."

"Something is off. I don't trust her."

"You're just jealous."

"Jealous? Of what? I'm trying to protect you. Seungmin told me what it did to you last time she left. I'm just trying to prevent that from happening again. But you obviously don't need my help."

I finally managed to push past him and get into the hallway, where I almost walked into the exact person we were fighting about.

"Hi Ava-"

I pushed past her, walking to Han's room. Just as I reached for the door, I heard Lee Know call after me.

"I appreciate you trying to help, but you're not my mom. And I'm a grown man."

"Are you? Because if you were, I think you would be able to see that her intentions aren't as pure as you think."

I turned around to him, and he stalked closer until he was right in front of me. He towered over me, but I kept a poker face. I wasn't going to let him intimidate me.

"And how would you know? You haven't even tried to get to know her. How could you possibly know what her intentions are?"

"I just know, okay? You know, I would have thought you would trust me enough by now to be able to believe me when I tell you you're in danger. Guess I was wrong."

With that, I turned my back on him, opening Han's door and slamming it shut behind me. I leaned my head back against the wood, closing my eyes to try to calm my racing pulse. I felt so bad. My eyes started tearing up, but I realised I wasn't in my room. I opened my eyes to find both Hyunjin and Han in the room, staring at me intently. I hung my head and muttered a soft apology. I felt Hyunjin slip his arm around my shoulders, pulling me to Han's bed and making me sit down, taking a seat next to me. He took my one hand, Han taking the other.

"I'm so sorry you guys had to hear that. I don't know what... it just..."

"It's okay. You just focus on breathing right now. I'll go break his neck later."

I laughed slightly at Hyunjin's comment, but a tear rolled down my cheek. I wiped it off. I took a few deep breaths, waiting for my vision to clear before I said anything. When I was calm, I cleared my throat.

"How are you doing Han?" I asked, surprising myself at how stable my voice sounded.

"I'm doing better. I can sit upright all on my own and I can almost start walking again."

I smiled at how excited he sounded. He gave my hand a slight squeeze.

"But that's not what's important right now. The better question would be are you okay? You sounded pretty upset."

"I'll survive. I've been through worse."

"Hey."

I looked up at Hyunjin, his eyes filled with care and concern.

"We know you'll survive. We want to know if you're okay."

I hesitated. I knew if I started spilling, the tears would start spilling as well. I took in a breath.

"I'm angry. And sad. And genuinely confused. And I never meant for things to escalate like they did. And now he probably hates me... Maybe I should just go away for a while, until this blows over."

"I don't think that's a good idea. I think it'll be better if you two can talk about this and sort it out together. And he doesn't hate you. He isn't capable of hating you. None of us are. No matter how much you think you've messed up."

Both the boys squeezed my hands, and I let a tiny smile slide across my lips. Until the door opened and Lee Know stood there, gaze piercing and eyebrows drawn together in frustration. As soon as our eyes met, he turned his gaze away, not even sparing me a glance.

"Chan says dinner's almost ready."

With that, he left. But I could have sworn he looked at me before he was fully out the door. And the pain on his features and the guilt in his eyes made my heart ache.

---------------

A/N

i can't believe we're already on chapter forty and almost at 1K reads!! this book has gotten me through so many tough times, so i hope that for at least some of you, it will be the same:)

anyway, if i'm being completely honest, i don't like Geneviève ngl. like i don't even know why i put her in the story. maybe she'll be part of something important later, we'll have to see ;) hope this chapter wasn't too sad for you guys and i'll see you all next chapter :)