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capricornwriter5 · 2 years

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Always on time - Chapter 12

Pairing: Jooheon x female OC

Genre: childhood friends to enemies, enemies to friends, friends to lovers, smut (later chapters), fluff, angst, slow burn, idol AU!

Warning: mentions of mental health issues, mentions of workaholic disorder, curse words

Words: 6k

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Chapter 12

On Saturday, Jooheon woke up with a headache. He didn’t remember how he got to the dorm the night before, but there he was, lying on his bed wanting to kill whoever was making noise in the living room. Jooheon tried to ignore the sound of pots clashing and the video game that someone was playing without headphones, but after five minutes, he jumped out of bed and left his room.

As expected, Kihyun was the one who had the concert in the kitchen and I.M. was killing aliens on a Saturday in Hyungwon’s room. There is a reason why headsets exist, dear maknae, Jooheon thought as he walked into the living room.

"But look who woke up!" Kihyun shouted when he saw Jooheon. "Good morning, sleeping beauty. Five more minutes and I would have thought that you fell into a drunken coma. You should take it slow, Jooheon-ah, Wonho almost fell trying to climb up the stars to the apartment with you on his back".

"Hphm... Whatever you say, hyung," Jooheon said. "Do you have to make noise so early?"

"Early? It’s almost four in the afternoon, Jooheon-ah," Kihyun reprimanded.

"Yeah, well... how are you so awake? We all came late yesterday".

"Well, I’m a normal person and I came to sleep after the auction. You went with Wonho to God knows where and came back looking like shit".

"Jeez, thank you, hyung" Jooheon claimed as he lay on the couch in the living room. "You always so..."

Jooheon stopped talking the second the images of the night before began to resurface in his memory. The images, and the words: he remembered the conversation with Julie, he remembered what he said, and he remembered the face she made him right after: a mixture of anger, fear, disbelief, and...

No, no, no, I couldn’t have been such an idiot, Jooheon thought. There’s no way I was stupid enough to tell her that in that context, I didn’t... SON OF A BITCH, OF COURSE I WAS AN IDIOT, FUCK, SHIT, I SHIT ON EVERYTHING.... I HAVE TO FIX IT... I HAVE TO FIX IT NOW...

Jooheon tried to stand up, but he did it too fast and everything started to spin. He tried to take a step, but he lost his balance and...

"Whooa, watch out, Jooheon-ah," Wonho said behind him. "Are you alright?"

"Hyung, what are you doing here?" Jooheon asked sitting down again.

"I was nearby," Wonho said. "I was seeing places to record my next MV and decided to check on you after yesterday. I haven’t seen you drink so much in a while".

"Ahhh, yes, yesterday... Hyung... what happened yesterday?"

"Well... you tell me, Jooheon-ah," Wonho replied. "At the end of the auction, you went to say goodbye to Julie-ssi and when you came back you just got in the car and drove to Kevin-hyung’s bar".

"Did you come with me?"

"Someone had to," Wonho continued. "You didn’t look like yourself, but I’ve never seen you like that. Tell me, did something happen with Julie-ssi?"

I guess I didn’t say anything stupid while drunk, Jooheon thought. And I guess none of them heard the conversation or talked to Jules after, otherwise they’d be all over me with questions... Well, I just have to worry about Jules and how I’m gonna fucking...

"LET’S EAT!" Kihyun shouted.

Jooheon felt as if someone pierced his head with a drill, but he said nothing and just got up to go eat what Kihyun had prepared. Maybe once after eating and after the headache had passed, he could think more clearly about how he was going to make Julie talk to him again.

"Ah, Jooheon-ah, by the way, have you spoken to anyone at the company lately?" Wonho asked.

"Not since I was sent to therapy," Jooheon replied. "Why?"

"Nothing, specifically. I was just hoping you could help me with something..."

"Tell me, hyung. What do you need?"

On Saturday Julie got up early. The night before she had been exhausted in different ways, but she kept rolling in bed, so at 7 a.m. she got up, had breakfast, and started cleaning her apartment.

In the last few weeks, she had spent little time at home, so everything was a mess and Julie had had no time at all. Five hours later, the afternoon sun was shining outside, and the apartment floors were shining inside. Exhausted, Julianne threw herself on the sofa in the living room and as she did so, she felt that she was colliding with something behind the furniture. She got up to check and found the box her mother had brought her weeks ago with her things. Julie had put the box behind the couch thinking she would deal with it later. Apparently, that later was today.

Without giving much thought to the matter, Julie opened the box and began to check what was inside. Right at the top were her medals: 2 for swimming, 1 for soccer, 1 for volleyball, and... many for kickboxing. Under the medals were photo albums of her in her high school years and her early college years. There were pictures of Julie with her parents, with Areum, with Kang-Dae... and with Jooheon. Jooheon was in more than half of Julie’s photos from her school years and Julie couldn’t help the bittersweet flavor that those memories produced, especially after the conversation the night before.

Julianne was still processing Jooheon’s words. Who did he think he was to judge her relationship? To judge her! And what was nonsense he babbled about showing her anything? He was definitely out of place, completely lost in life and totally an idiot, thought Julie as she closed the photo album and tried to calm down. She was really angry, frustrated, and disappointed, not only because of what Jooheon told her, but because she was sincerely happy with their interactions over the past few weeks. It almost felt like she got an old friend back... Ahhhh, but he had to come and shit on everything.

Just then, Julie reached the bottom of the box and saw her old kickboxing gloves. There were three pairs and all three were just as worn and slightly broken. The time and dust had not been very affectionate with them, but Julie tried them on anyway and they fit perfectly. At that point, she had an idea. An impulse, rather. She went over her phone and dialed her number without thinking twice. Today she needed to burn off anger.

An hour and a half later, Julie was arriving at Liv and I.M.’s apartment. The dancer waited for her in front of the building with a gym bag and a smile from ear to ear. I.M. was also there and both greeted Julie when she stopped in front of them for Liv to get into the car.

"Have fun, girls" said I.M. "In case you need me, I’m with the boys".

"Okay, Kyun," Liv replied. "Oh, what about Jooheon? Is he still alive?"

"Kihyun texted to me recently and apparently he’s still asleep," I.M. answered.

"God... he’s an idiot for drinking like that," Liv said, rolling her eyes. "But anyway, that’s not my problem today, is it, Julie?"

"Haha... yeah, right," Julie said a little awkward. Jooheon’s name made her tense up for a minute, but she tried to relax and concentrate on the plans she had with Liv. "Well, we’re leaving. And don’t worry, I’ll bring her back in one piece," Julie assured I.M. before saying goodbye.

"You took me by surprise, Julie," Liv said. "But it’s a good surprise, don’t think otherwise. And you saved me from spending another Saturday afternoon listening to Kihyun tell Hyungwon to take his meds for his allergies and watch Shownu sleep and eat like there’s no tomorrow".

"Hahahaha, well, I’m glad you were free," Julie said. "Did you bring what I told you?"

"Sports shoes, spare stockings, two cloths, a jump rope, a bottle of water, and a snack" Liv said. "Everything is here".

"Great!”

"And... what exactly are we going to do?" Liv asked.

"Well, I called my old coach. Some time ago I heard that he had opened a box in Seoul, so I asked him if he had a day off to give us a private introductory session and he told me that today in the afternoon he had space, so I called you," explained Julie. "Today we are going to learn only the basics. You are a beginner, and I am out of practice, so we are not going to do anything very complex. They’re probably going to be conditioning, balance, and coordination exercises. I imagine you’re used to that, but you’ll find it’s a little different".

"Okay, okay, I get it. It sounds like one of those sessions that seem harmless, but they leave you on the floor for a week".

"HAHAHAHAHA, something like that, yes. Good thing tomorrow is Sunday..."

Five minutes later, Julianne and Olivia were arriving at Julie’s coach’s box. The place was huge, had different rooms for different types of exercises and the equipment looked in perfect condition.

"Julie-ah!" a voice shouted. "Good to see you!"

Julie didn’t see Mr. Park coming and when she realized where he was, she was being hugged by a mole of pure muscle.

"I’m glad to see you too, coach," Julie replied.

"You don’t know how happy I was to get your call. And you must be Julie’s friend".

"My name is Olivia, but you can call me Liv".

"It’s a pleasure, Liv. I’m Park Seo-ho. Well, let’s not waste any more time, ready to train, girls?"

"Ready!" answered both at the same time.

"Well, that’s how I like it," the coach said with a slap. "Now let’s see how’s my former student’s condition".

*****

About an hour later...

"Well, it wasn’t so bad, girls," the coach told them when the bell rang for the last series of exercises. "Drink some water and I’ll be right back to do the final stretches".

Both Julie and Liv were lying on the floor unable to make any sound, much less move, so the only answer he got from the trainer was dead animal sounds coming from the girls.

"Julie... tell me" Liv started, "this is always... so... so…"

"Well... honestly... I don’t remember... this being so... wild.... But it may be because we are old, Liv"

"Pfff, speak for yourself," Liv answered standing up, "I’m as fresh as a 15-year-old girl".

"Sure, a 15-year-old girl who brings Omega 3 capsules and vitamin A in her purse," Julie teased her.

"Don’t you think I didn’t see the muscle relaxants and memory pills in your car".

"Yeah, but I never said I’m like a teenager," Julie laughed as she accepted the hand Liv offered her to get up. "I accept my years".

"Well, Grandma, I hope you don’t feel too bad today. I plan to come back, and it would be great if we came together".

"Yes, it was good to get back to training..." Julie replied.

"How about we make this our Saturday afternoon girl’s date?" Liv proposed. "We can come to practice and then we’ll go to lunch or shopping or watch a movie... If I’m honest, I need female company. If I keep dating guys alone, my estrogen levels are going to drop drastically".

" HAHAHAHAHA, I think it’s a great idea," Julie replied. "I’m going to tell Areum, a friend of mine, to see if she’ll join us, is it okay? I think you guys would get along".

"Sure! No problem".

"All right, girls! Are you ready?" the coach shouted from across the gym.

Julie and Liv just sighed and went to finish the last 10 minutes of the torture.

The following Wednesday Julie returned to the office. On Saturday, after training, Julie did something she hadn’t done in a long time: she asked for a vacation. She e-mailed her boss and asked for the whole week off, she thought she’d sleep in her apartment all day... But Wednesday morning, Director Kim called her, apologizing and saying that he needed her to come to the office in the afternoon for a meeting on a new project. Originally the meeting was to take place a few weeks later, but the client had a busy schedule and needed to reschedule unexpectedly.

Although she was on vacation, Julie agreed to go, mostly because she was bored in her apartment. Areum was drowning in work and Liv had canceled their afternoon coffee date because they had offered her to choreograph a group of rookies who were going to debut soon, so Julie had nothing to do and no one to talk to.

Julie arrived at the office at 1:30. The meeting was at 2:00, but she always liked to get there early to prepare. And more on that occasion when she didn’t even know the client. What she didn’t expect was to meet a familiar face:

"There you are," Areum greeted her as she entered the meeting room. "I knew you’d be here earlier than the rest, so I came to tidy up and say hi so you wouldn’t have a heart attack when you saw me... and before you say anything... calm down, okay? Everything is going to be fine".

"I don’t understand" was what Julie said. "Weren’t you working a lot on a new project?"

"That’s right... this is my new project and you’re in it".

"Right... of course..."

"Remember a few weeks ago I had to put together a list of specialists for my boss?" said Areum as they sat on the chairs at the meeting table. "Well, the specialists I had to gather were conceptual artists who could participate in the creation of a concept for the next comeback of the artist we are working with. My team wanted to use graphic designers or special effects artists, but I proposed that someone with a slightly more traditional background and experience could be a good choice... and I obviously put your name on the list. My boss came the first week of the Minhyuk-ssi exhibition to see your work and loved it, so he told me to make you an offer".

"I see, and when exactly were you planning to make me the offer?" Julie asked.

"Well, right now... what do you think? Are you in?"

"Areum-ah" sighed Julie, "I appreciate you taking me into account, but I’m not a conceptual artist. Putting together a concept for an industry artist entails processes I can’t even imagine... and it’s not like I can stop coming to the gallery just to..."

"I took care of that," Areum interrupted. "I spoke with Director Kim and this project is going to be a joint effort between our design company and the gallery. We have been negotiating options in the last few weeks and I think he has plans to expand the service offering of this place, so he agreed".

"And in all these weeks of negotiations did it not occur to you to ask me if I was comfortable with the idea?" Julie asked in a cutting tone. It really bothered her that Areum had taken the liberty of talking to her boss and proposing her name to take on a responsibility she was not aware of. "Did it ever occur to you that I might refuse?"

"Of course I thought about it, and I wanted to tell you sooner... I just didn’t find the time to tell you and..."

"That’s no excuse to just decide for me," interrupted Julie tired and upset.

"Actually, that was partly my fault, and I apologize Julie-ssi" Julie and Areum turned towards the direction of the voice and saw Wonho standing in the doorway. "Areum-ssi could not tell you anything before because my company and I did not reach an agreement until this past weekend, and everything has been a bit chaotic these days. There was nothing confirmed, and they had a confidentiality agreement to respect, so the mistake was actually mine".

"Wonho-ssi" said Julie standing. "We didn’t hear you coming in".

"No problem, I hope I didn’t scare you," Wonho replied. "And for what it’s worth, not only was Areum-ssi’s boss impressed with your work but so was I. That’s why when I saw your name on the list, I asked to work with you. I understand that you do not have time or that this project is out of your comfort zone, but I ask you to at least listen to the proposal and the ideas that we have so far. After the meeting, you can decide whether to participate or not. I will understand any decision you make".

Julie had only spoken briefly with Wonho on the day of the inauguration, but from what she could tell, he was a good person. Also, although Julie would deny it if anyone asked her, she knew a little bit about Wonho’s story with the group, and she had also seen what Wonho had accomplished as a soloist.

I’m in trouble, Julianne thought. A part of her wanted to be rational and say "no thanks" to the opportunity they were presenting her, and she had plenty of arguments to do so: she had a good job she liked, she felt calm and satisfied with her career, she wanted to rest a little after the marathon that had been the last months. But there was another part of her that screamed that this was her chance to fulfill the ambitions she had had years ago: while she loved being an art curator, Julie had dreamed of being the artist. Her mother still kept the thousands of sketchbooks she had filled as a child and in her spare time Julie liked to draw... she never went beyond that, but this could be an opportunity to show her ideas.

"Okay," Julie said. "I’m still upset that I’m the last person to hear about this, but I’ll listen to you".

"What a relief," Wonho said.

"You won’t regret it," Areum whispered in her ear just as Director Kim, Wonho’s company manager, and Areum’s boss entered the room. The meeting was starting.

*****

"Hyung, are you leaving?" asked I.M. when he saw Jooheon leave his room.

"Yes, see you later," Jooheon answered as he walked out the door.

Jooheon’s mood had been terrible the last few days. He wasn’t in a bad mood, but he was kind of lost, upset with everything and nothing at the same time. None of them knew what was going on and they had chosen to wait for the rapper to be more receptive.

The truth was that Jooheon was upset with himself. He was worried about the consequences his big mouth could have on his relationship with Julie and he had been thinking hard about how to apologize to her. He had even planned to go to the gallery to talk to her, but on Monday Rei told him that Julie was out of the office and that she would not return until next week.

That was good and bad: good because it gave time for the situation to cool down and both he and Julie could speak more clearly, bad because Jooheon’s anxiety increased each day alongside the feeling of guilt. Although he wasn’t quite sure what he felt guilty about; meaning, yes, he was a brute for saying what he said in the way he said it, but nothing was a lie... Now, what Jooheon didn’t understand was why the situation bothered him so much. True, Julie had been his friend, and he was very fond of her, but his blood boiled every time... Okay, okay, let’s calm down, Jooheon thought.

That day he had a session with Dr. Choi, and he also had a very important question to ask her. He had to concentrate, so he took a deep breath as he walked into the center and greeted everyone on the way to his psychologist’s office.

"Jooheon-ssi, good to see you, come in," Dr. Choi said when Jooheon opened the door.

"Thank you," Jooheon said as he walked in and sat on the couch.

"Well, tell me, how have you been?"

"Doc, I have a question," Jooheon said, interrupting the doctor.

"Oh, sure... go ahead".

"You said I’ve made progress," Jooheon began, "and, well, the point of all this is that, making progress, isn’t it? So... When can I go back to the studio?".

The doctor was silent for a few minutes thinking about how to respond. In fact, she had been waiting for this question for some time and was surprised that Jooheon had not asked it before. It was strange, but also very revealing that the rapper took his time to ask when he could get back what he considered the center of his life.

"What is the reason for this question?" the doctor asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Well... I mean, shouldn’t you ask your company instead?"

"They’re going to ask you, so why ask them if you can tell me directly?" Jooheon argued.

"Are you in such a hurry to get back to the studio?"

"Well... yes"

"In that case, why didn’t you ask me this question before?" she continued.

"I... I’m not sure, but that really doesn’t matter..."

Again, silence. The doctor was thinking about how to respond. While it is true that sometimes in therapy you can follow schedules to treat a patient for a certain time, that was not the methodology she was following with Jooheon, so she could not give him an estimated time. However, the psychologist had thought about this for a while, as at the time the therapy was taking place in an almost controlled environment, as Jooheon had controlled access to equipment and resources... That, plus the fact that Jooheon thought he had everything under control made the doctor’s job more difficult. Maybe if she saw Jooheon working, she would get a better idea of how to help him.

"Well, why do you want to produce music again?" Dr. Choi asked.

"Because it’s my job," Jooheon replied immediately.

"Is that all?" she continued. "You’re still young, you could change jobs. And if I’m honest, this is the first time anyone’s ever told me they want to do anything again just because it’s their job, it’s interesting..."

"I like my job," Jooheon said. "Maybe those other people you say didn’t like their job, but I do".

"Sure, sure," the doctor conceded. "And what else do you like?"

"We’re straying, aren’t we?" Jooheon replied. "If this is your way of telling me I can’t go back to work yet, I’d rather you tell me directly".

"Part of my job is not to say everything directly, Jooheon-ssi" the doctor replied. "This is a process, and processes require patience. Now, I wasn’t saying no, I just wanted to know if there was anything else you liked besides your job. Some hobby, a sport, a place you like to visit..."

"If I told you all that, can you tell me when I can go back to the studio?" insisted Jooheon, to which Doctor Choi only laughed softly and did not say anything, so eventually, the rapper relented. "Well... I like to exercise, sometimes I go to the gym, or I also train in the dorm. I like to cook, go for a walk, take pictures... lately I like art, partly because of Minhyuk-hyung and his exhibition..."

"And have you done any of that in the last few weeks? You told me that you helped Minhyuk-ssi set up the exhibit, how did that go?" asked Dr. Choi. "I went to see hiter a few days after the inauguration and I liked the tour very much".

"It was good, I think," Jooheon began. "I mean, I liked helping Minhyuk hyung do something he wanted to do for a long time, and I could also get to know him better through his paintings. It was different but good".

"What did you like best?"

"Well... I think the selection part of the art and definition of the concept" Jooheon said. "It’s a lot like composing, you know? You have all these pieces that can fit together in different ways, but the idea is to make them fit in the way that resonates most in the audience or that better conveys a message... just like the melodies and lyrics of the songs. Of course, Jules took care of almost everything, but the job itself reminded me of when I was starting".

"Jules? Someone you know?" the doctor asked.

"Ah... yes, Jules... we were friends from elementary school to high school just until before my debut" explained Jooheon. "She was the curator in charge of the project".

"Oh, I see. And you hadn’t seen each other since your debut with the group?"

"Ehhh, no... I debuted; she went to college... you know".

"Right," the doctor conceded, noting Jooheon’s discomfort in talking about his friend, so she decided to let the subject go and channel the conversation elsewhere. "Jooheon-ssi, let me ask you the question again, okay? But this time, think about your answer for a few seconds. Why do you want to produce music again? What’s the point?"

Jooheon thought about it for a moment. Music was his job, but it wasn’t just before, it was his dream. Before being a trainee, everything was new and great, then when he began to train the desire to improve and get to debut made him forget everything else and helped him to overcome the most difficult moments. When the debut was a reality, the music almost seemed unreal: the days and hours passed between commitments, photography sessions, recordings in the studio, rehearsals with the group... there wasn’t much time to think. Now, music was his job, it had been for years, but was it just that?

"When I’m in the studio," the rapper said, "I’m free. I decide, I write and compose... then I work with the team to improve the initial idea, but at first, I have no limits".

"But at the same time, you have them, don’t you?" the doctor asked. "I mean, your company has standards and conceptual lines to follow. Not to mention, as an idol, you can’t say everything you think exactly the way you think it".

"In my studio, I can say what I want," Jooheon said. "And yes, we have certain rules to follow, but I have learned to play with them... that makes it more interesting".

"Sure, I imagine," the doctor conceded. "Well, why do you ask me this now and not before?"

"There’s a project I want to work on".

"Yours? For your group?"

"Something like that..." Jooheon said. "A friend is going to do a comeback next month and wants to use a song we wrote together a long time ago. It’s not finished, and the lyrics and melody still need to be improved, so we have to work on it. I can do a lot outside of a studio, but it is way more efficient to work with the rest of the team and the tools, and the equipment…"

"I see. And what else would you work on?" the doctor asked. "I mean, would you just work on that song, or would you help him with the entire album...? Tell me a little more about this project".

"Well, Wonho is in charge of the project," Jooheon explained. "He has very specific ideas in mind and is putting together a production and management team to work together. My participation would be mostly in the musical production part, but Wonho also wants the production team to have an input in the construction of the concept, so it would be something more... wholesome?"

"And that interests you? I mean to get out of what you know and do something beyond producing music".

"I want to work with Wonho on this song, and if that means getting out of my comfort zone, that’s fine," Jooheon replied.

"Well... let me propose you something, Jooheon-ssi," said Dr. Choi. "I talk to your company so you can officially participate in this project, but you have to agree to certain conditions. First, you’re going to have at least one day off a week, and by “off” I mean you’re not going to do anything that is directly or indirectly related to the project in any way. Second, at least twice a week, you’re going to do something on this project that has nothing to do with music. Third, we’re going to keep meeting once a week and, in each session, you’re going to bring me a notebook page handwritten on both sides. You can write anything you want, it doesn’t have to make sense or have an order, but it has to be complete on both sides, no more and no less. If you agree, I will talk to your company and I will also inform them of these conditions so that they are aware. So, what do you say? You in?"

“I’m in”.

Again, Saturday arrived, and Julie was getting her things ready to go to train with Liv later. The week before she ended up almost dead, but after a week of vacation, she was ready to return to her routine and had decided to make kickboxing part of that routine... at least for now.

In any case, she didn’t know if she would be able to continue training. After Wednesday’s meeting and a lot of thought, she decided to accept Wonho’s project, so the next month was going to be full of work, especially since Julie was going to have to learn a lot of things from the industry she didn’t know.

As she searched for her shoes, she glanced over the photo albums that were in the box her mother had brought her with her things. She picked up the albums to put them on her bookshelf, but a couple of photos fell out and when Julie picked them up she realized that the three loose photos were of her and Jooheon. The photos were taken by Areum when they were about fifteen years old...

"Yah, Jules, talk to me, will you?" Jooheon demanded. "You can’t still be upset about what I told you..."

"Your head is full of air, you know that?"

"Yeah, I know, so what?"

"AIIISHHHH, you’re impossible," Julianne said as she turned to leave.

"Okay, okay, I’m sorry," Jooheon said stopping her. "Bad joke, I admit... are you really still mad?"

"Let’s see, first you got mad at me because I had a date and I couldn’t go to your place and try the ‘whatever-is-called-salsa’ that you think you invented, and then you basically called me an idiot for dating Erik, and then you arrived at the park where we were meeting, OUT OF NOWHERE, and you started talking to Erik, which made him completely ignore me, and then..."

"If he ignored you, it’s because he’s an idiot" Jooheon cut her off. "Do you think I would let you go out with any kremlin-like-face that asked you out? I’ve seen how he treats girls, and you deserve more than that mediocre wanna-be of a Romeo".

"It took me three hours to get ready".

"And you looked beautiful... but that only reinforces my point," continued Jooheon. "If he was able to ignore you looking like that, he’s an asshole".

Neither of them said anything. They didn’t know what else to say. They were friends, nothing more, but that moment felt different and...

"Arg, kiss already, would you?" Areum said while still holding the camera.

"YAH!" Jooheon and Julie shouted in unison...

I guess it’s not the first time Jooheon puts his nose in my relationships, Julie thought while putting the photos back in the album. The memory of her school years with Jooheon made her laugh and that surprised her. Maybe she was already tired of being angry, maybe she had really missed Jooheon and maybe that was his way of telling her that he still cared about her... a very idiotic way, but it was a take it or leave it situation.

The truth was that Julie didn’t want to resent Jooheon again. The last few days working with him had been fun and yes, he had crossed the line by saying what he said about her and Kang Dae, but clearly, it was not the first time and there was no point in getting angry about something that was not going to change. So, Julie decided to just forget about it and if she saw Jooheon again, which was unlikely, she would act as if nothing had happened...

Anyway, Julie didn’t have much time to think about it. Her cell phone started ringing: it was Liv, she was already waiting for her in front of her building to go training.

****

"All right, ladies!" shouted the coach. "That’s it for today".

"Mphfmpghhhhh" was the only thing the two girls managed to say after the session that Saturday.

Both were quietly lying on the floor while the coach went to meet other customers. They barely had the energy to lift the water bottle, they could barely speak, let alone move.

After 10 minutes, they regained their breath and managed to stand up to go to the showers.

"Please tell me it gets easier," Liv asked.

"I don’t know if it gets any easier, but when you start training combinations it gets more fun," Jules replied.

"Jeez, at least we have a week to recover," Liv continued. "How did you train like this every day?"

"I was young... and a masochist, apparently," Julie replied. "But I think with a couple more sessions..."

"Julie?" asked a voice behind the girls.

Julianne froze. It was definitely the last voice she expected to hear that day, especially since they hadn’t spoken since... well, since...

"Oppa?" Julianne asked back. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing".

Julie and Kang Dae were silent until Liv couldn’t take it anymore and...

"Hi, I’m Olivia" she greeted. "And you must be Julie’s boyfriend".

"Oh, yes, I’m Kang Dae, it’s a pleasure," he replied. "I see you brought Julie to a very interesting place..."

"Ehhh, yeah, well..."

"Hey, Julie! You forgot your gloves," Coach Park interrupted. "You shouldn’t be so careless, with this pair you won the last competition, remember?"

"Oh, yes, coach, thank you very much".

"Well, I’ll leave you both, the boys are waiting for me" said Mr. Park. "Until next week girls".

Again... silence. Kang Dae didn’t know what was that about "the last competition" and that phrase stuck in his head, while Julianne was looking for something to say. She didn’t want to go into details, but Kang Dae clearly wanted explanations. All this was so uncomfortable that Liv had to intervene once again:

"Well, Kang Dae, if you’ll excuse us, we’re dead and we stink. We were on our way to the toilets, so you think..."

"Oh, yes, of course," he replied. "Go ahead, I’ll wait here".

The two friends grabbed their bags and went into the bathroom. None of them said anything, but Liv could sense the nervousness in Julie’s movements. While she didn’t know the full story, it wasn’t hard to guess that Kang Dae knew nothing about Julie’s past and kickboxing, which was strange considering it had been so important to her. Also, it was clear that if Julie had not told her anything, it hadn’t been by accident: she had not wanted Kang Dae to know.

Liv had already detected that Julie and Kang Dae’s relationship was a little different from hers with I.M. Not that it was a bad thing, but she did notice that between Julie and her boyfriend there was a little distance, although when Julie talked about him, she never did it with bad intentions. Although she had not gone into details, she had told her that Kang Dae had been with her in her most difficult moments in college, he also supported her when she decided to change her professional path a bit and was the one who believed in her the most when she started as an art curator at the gallery. She had also told her that because of work Kang Dae had been under a lot of pressure for a little over a year, but that would soon pass.

"Whatever it is," Liv said before getting in the shower, "you’re not alone, Julie".

"Ah?" Julianne replied without understanding since her head was in the clouds.

"Nothing, just... if you want to jump out the window, I’ll jump with you, okay?"

Julie couldn’t stand the laugh. She had no idea where Liv’s idea was coming from, but she thanked her quietly for trying to cheer her up and not ask her questions.

After the bath, the two girls went out to meet Kang Dae... and Julie’s Saturday got even more interesting.

"Kyun? What are you doing here?" Liv asked I.M. as she approached to greet him. The boy was standing at the entrance of the box with Kang Dae and… someone else. "I thought you were going out with the boys".

"Yeah, well, that was the plan," answered I.M. putting an arm around his girlfriend’s waist, "but they all had something to do, except for Jooheon-hyung, so I convinced him to leave the house and we came to invite you to eat with us, right, hyung?"

"Right," Jooheon replied in a low tone.

If the atmosphere was tense before with Julie and Kang Dae, now it was much worse.

When Jooheon entered the gym and saw Kang Dae standing there, his back tightened. Kang Dae did not like to see the rapper either, but he put on a politically correct smile and greeted the two rappers. The girls came out just after Kang Dae and I.M. had introduced themselves and now no one knew where to look.

"Julie and I are starving," Liv replied as she separated from I.M. and ran to Julie’s side. "And while we’d love to join you, we agreed that Saturdays were girls' afternoons, so I’m sorry for the three of you, but you’ll have to excuse us... I’m sorry you drove all this way for nothing, Kyun, and it was nice to meet you Kang Dae-ssi... see you later, Kyun".

And without saying more, Olivia pushed Julie through the gym door and guide her to her car. Once they were both seated, Julie was able to breathe again.

"Thank you, Liv".

"Nah, it was nothing," the dancer said as she put on her belt. "Well, what do you want? Pizza, fried chicken, Chinese food, ice cream... alcohol...?"

"All of the above?"

"All of the above".

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