JanEul turned around and saw Junsu. Everyone was silenced.
“Quit doing this crappy stuff to her! She didn’t do anything to any of you!” he commanded in a very fierce voice.
Junsu quickly took off his coat and wrapped JanEul in it. Then he helped her stand up and made her step inside the car.
Before going inside the car, Junsu took one last glare at the students which made them run back to their classrooms.
After that, Junsu went inside the car and drove away.
“So it is true…she has a relationship with one of the DBSK members,” Seohyun remarked as soon as Junsu’s car left.
“Could it be Junsu?” Sunmi asked.
“Who knows…but still, it’s a good thing that I was able to take a few pictures of what happened earlier,” Sunye stated while smirking.
“Nice job, Sunye. You should send those to Jessica-unni right away,” Seohyun said.
“I’m on it,” Sunmi indicated while taking her phone from her bag.
********************
“Gosh! those bullies just piss me off!” Junsu exclaimed while walking back and forth in their condo.
“Calm down hyung,” Changmin commanded while handing out a cup of tea to JanEul.
“I swear Changmin, if you were there, you won’t be able to calm down too!” Junsu said as he walked towards JanEul. “Are you okay now?”
JanEul nodded. “Yeah…I’m just curious as to how they found out,”
Changmin suddenly stood up and took his laptop from his room. Then he came back and showed something to JanEul. “See that? The rumors are all over the internet now,”
JanEul was surprised to see so many pictures of her with DBSK. There were also articles about her and her relationship with them.
“But how did this---“
“It’s probably Jessica and Taeyeon,” Junsu answered even before JanEul could ask her question. “They weren’t able to handle what happened yesterday,”
“I…I see…” JanEul stated as she bowed her sad face down. “Umm…where’s Jae-oppa by the way?”
The members looked at each other for a moment.
Junsu breathed deeply before answering the question. “Hyung is currently handling some business right now. He has a new project. He was actually asked to star in another movie,”
“Yeah. Jaejoong-hyung is getting more popular these days,” Yoochun commented.
“Ohh…but, does he know about all of these?” JanEul asked.
Yunho nodded. “I sent him an e-mail and told him everything about the rumors spreading on the internet. He was worried, so he asked us to look after you for a while,”
JanEul’s face saddened again. “When will he come back?”
“Probably in a week,” Yoochun answered. “He’s really busy nowadays,”
“Ahh…I understand,” JanEul said as she smiled. “Well, I better get going now. You guys are probably tired from work. You should rest,”
“Are you sure you’re gonna be alright in your apartment? You can stay here if you want,” Junsu recommended.
“Nah…it will only make the rumors bigger. It will be a disturbance for you guys. And besides, I still need to go to school early tomorrow,” JanEul replied.
“What? You’ll still go to school? What if they bully you again?” Yunho asked concernedly.
“I’ll be fine. I won’t let myself be bullied this time,”
All of the members sighed at JanEul’s decision.
“Fine…but at least let us drive you home,” Changmin pleaded.
“That would be nice,” JanEul stated with a smile.
And so they all accompanied JanEul as she went home to her apartment.
After bidding goodbye to the members, JanEul immediately proceeded to her room. Her phone rang all of a sudden.
She was happy upon seeing the name of the caller. She answered it immediately.
“Yobosaeyo? Jae-oppa?”
“Yah, JanEul…how are you? Did something bad happen?” Jaejoong asked.
“Ohh…it’s not that bad. I’m fine, so no worries.” She answered.
Jaejoong sighed in relief. “Ahh, that’s good. I saw all the rumors on the net, and I got worried. I have a suspicion that it might be Jessica and Taeyeon.”
“Yeah, it’s probably them,”
“Yep…anyways, JanEul, just ignore all of those rumors, kay? Don’t let them bring you down. Don’t let it affect your life. If they bully you, learn to defend yourself. And don’t forget that you can always call us if you need help,” Jaejoong suggested.
JanEul smiled. “Of course. I know that someday, all of these rumors will be forgotten and everything would be fine.”
“That’s the spirit. Take care of yourself always JanEul. I’ll help you solve these problems once I’m done with my business here,” Jaejoong assured. “Oh, the director is calling us now. I gotta go, bye bye!”
“Okay, you take care too. Bye,” JanEul said as they both hung up.
*********************
JanEul entered school the next day as usual.
She could feel the eyes of her classmates glaring at her, but she just avoided it and proceeded to her classroom.
While sitting at her desk, she could hear her classmates whispering about her.
“The nerve of that girl. After what happened yesterday, she still has the guts to come to school?”
“Yeah, doesn’t she have any shame?”
“Hmp! She’s probably used to shame already!”
“Such a slut!”
She wanted to cry upon hearing those hurtful remarks. But she just swallowed all of the pain and remained strong for the sake of continuing her studies.
The day ended and JanEul packed up her things and went out of the classroom immediately.
As she was walking towards the gate, she noticed someone following her from behind.
“W-who is there?” she asked without even turning around.
No one answered and so she continued walking. All of a sudden, she heard some rustling near the bushes.
This time, she turned to check what’s going on. When she turned around, no one’s there except her.
She continued on her tracks, when all of a sudden…
BANG!
Everything happened so fast. A gun was suddenly fired and it came from the bushes behind JanEul.
Good thing that it didn’t hit her. It hit a nearby tree.
JanEul went numb after what happened. She wasn’t able to move and she stared blankly at the tree.
She felt her heart trembling and her breathing went faster. The bushes rustled again as she heard some people escaping.
After a few minutes of staying still, she finally moved towards her bike with a trembling body. Slowly, she pedaled her way home and tried to forget about what happened.
“W-why are they taking it this far?” she asked herself while driving towards her apartment.
Upon arriving at her apartment, she quickly searched in her bag for the key. Then she opened the door and turned on the lights.
What she saw made her kneel on the ground and sob.
Her room looked as if it got robbed. Her furniture are scattered everywhere. And on the wall, words were written on red ink telling her to die.
She reached for her phone shakily and dialed Jaejoong’s number.
“Please…pick up…” she asked tearfully while waiting for Jaejoong to pick up.
“Yah, JanEul? What’s the matter?” Jaejoong finally answered.
JanEul sniffed as her voice trembled. “O-oppa…”
Noticing that JanEul was crying, Jaejoong got concerned. “What happened to you?”
“The…rumors…” JanEul was having a hard time uttering some words since she’s almost out of breath due to the shock.
“Yah! Jaejoong, who is that? Come on, we’ve gotta start filming!”
JanEul heard the director’s voice calling out to Jaejoong.
“Yeah, just a minute,” Jaejoong replied to the director. “JanEul, I’m really sorry about that. Anyways, I told you to just ignore the rumors right?”
“Y-yeah…but…but today…” JanEul tried explaining.
Jaejoong sighed. “JanEul, please stop crying. Calm down, take a rest, and forget about all those rumors. You said it yourself, right? All those issues will subside after a while.”
JanEul cried while trying to catch her breath. “But they’re doing too much…they---“
“JanEul, I really have to go. Director’s getting mad now. I’ll call you again. Bye,” Jaejoong stated before hanging up.
JanEul slowly placed the phone back to her back. She wiped her tears and stood up to clean her apartment.
********************
-Meanwhile-
“Jaejoong, are you ready to film now?” the director asked as he approached Jaejoong who just finished talking to JanEul.
“Yeah, I’m ready now,”
“Jaejoong-sshi! You’ve got a phone call!” an assistant called out while running towards Jaejoong with another phone.
Jaejoong sighed and took it. “Yobosaeyo?”
“Yo! Is this Jaejoong-oppa? I’m a really big fan of yours! Is it true that you and an ordinary high school girl are together?” the caller asked.
“Yah, please stop spreading weird rumors,” Jaejoong commanded coldly as he hung up.
He was just finished with the call when his other phone rang again.
“Who’s this?” Jaejoong asked irritatingly.
“Jaejoong-ah! I’m just curious…um, which DBSK member does JanEul have a relationship with?”
“Stop asking these questions! And where did you get my number?”
The caller wasn’t able to answer since Jaejoong threw the phone away.
“Jaejoong, why don’t you settle your problems first?” the director asked.
Jaejoong turned around to face him. “What do you mean?”
The director sighed. “I’m thinking about replacing you. This project is very important, and I don’t want any of my actors to mix work with their personal lives,”
“B-but…I’m sorry! I won’t answer any calls from now on,” Jaejoong pleaded.
The director just shook his head in disagreement. “The filming has already been delayed many times due to your personal problems Jaejoong,” he said as he patted Jaejoong’s back. “I’m sorry,”
Jaejoong was shocked. “But I…I’ve been very eager for this role…I’ve wanted it for a long time…”
“Again, I’m sorry. Maybe it’s better if you just settle some of your issues,” the director remarked for the last time before walking away.
After he left, Jaejoong knocked down the chair beside him and stomped his way to his car.
While driving, his phone suddenly rang and he noticed that the caller was Yunho.
He took the phone and answered it with his right hand while his left was steering the wheel.
“Yah, Yunho,”
“Jaejoong, where are you now?” Yunho asked.
“I’m on my way back to Seoul. I…I got replaced by another actor,” he replied.
“What? Why?”
“I’ll explain later. Anyways, I won’t go straight to the condo. I’ll stop by at the Seoul TV station,”
“Hmm…how come?”
Jaejoong suddenly took a glance at the picture frame which was placed in front of him. It was a picture of him and JanEul and he decided to place it at his car so that he would always remember her wherever he goes.
“I’m gonna settle this once and for all. I’m gonna protect JanEul…and DBSK as well,” he replied before putting down his phone and continued driving.
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