By the time Soojung’s band mates came, Myungsoo had long gone, only leaving a small Post-It on the table, saying that he had things to do and could not promise he will come back anytime soon. Victoria read the note in a quick glance and nodded her head, mouthing a silent thank you toward the male. Her gaze then landed at Soojung, a hint of pity flashed on her visage. After a moment, Soojung’s eyes fluttered open and she eyed her eonnis with droopy gaze, still trying to gather her consciousness.

“Where am I?” Soojung’s voice was a tad bit above a whisper, and her eonnis needed to step closer so they could hear it clearer.

“Hospital, Soojung. You fainted on the park and Myungsoo brought you here.” Victoria replied with a calm tone, and at the mention of the man’s name, Soojung sat up straight with widened eyes. She found herself looking at Victoria in full surprise, ignoring the protest from her body.

“Ice oppa!? Where is he now?”

“Excuse me, Princess, but what did you just call the man with?” Amber cut Soojung off, accidentally using English to express her astonishment. Soojung shifted her gaze at Amber, completely taken aback with the fact that she just blurted out the secret nickname.

“It’s nothing, Amber, it’s nothing,” Soojung replied hastily, feeling abashed of her own words. It was an utter surprise, for she knew it that someone like Myungsoo would never do such a thing. Yet, he did help her when she passed out and she felt thankful. “I just want to thank him for… taking care of me.” She added matter-of-factly. Her eonnis exchanged looks, and they nodded at the youngest’s words, choosing to shrug it off.

It took three days for Soojung to recover and Myungsoo had not come since. Not even contacting her, and it made her feel restless. She wanted to see him, at least, once, but he apparently did not feel the same. Soojung kept staring at the door, hoping that Myungsoo would come and ask about her condition, but it was always her eonnis or the doctors and nurses who came to check on her. She had the will to contact the male, but no courage to do so. She was aware he helped her because he was the only person who was capable of helping her; others would have spread the news and caused a ruckus, hence the need to deliver her gratitude.

On the other hand, Myungsoo felt restless as well for not being able to see the girl. His schedules got even more hectic, he could not even touch his phone the whole day. Whenever the schedules or the practices finished, he would be too tired to do anything aside from sleeping and forgot about everything else, including Soojung. He somehow found it strange, as for why did he have to worry over the girl? She could take care of herself and there were her eonnis as well, she would be okay in no time, though. With the new reassurance, he chose to forget Soojung and continued his packed routine.

On the next day, the doctors finally allowed Soojung to go home, along with a warning that she should not overwork herself if she wanted to stay healthy. Soojung had no choice but to obey the doctors or else her group schedules would be in a total catastrophe if she got admitted to the hospital again. As she and her eonnis were on the way to home, she did not talk at all and chose to be the listener instead, occasionally laughed or smiled if necessary. When they finally reached the dorm, Soojung went straight to her room and continued her rest. She did not want to speak, nor did she want to meet anyone for now. She only wanted to lock herself up in her room and sleep for a million years.

But she could not sleep at all.

Soojung crawled on her bed and leaned her body on the wall, her arms hugging a pillow as she glanced upward at the ceiling. She kept wondering what she should do to express her gratitude toward the male, yet she could not think straight due to the dizziness occupying her head. She got up from the bed and snatched her medicines and vitamins from her bag to drink it, hoping it would reduce the symptoms. Soojung then sat on the edge of her bed, her eyes wandered around her room, and in a sudden, she knew what she had to do.

It was another tiring day for Myungsoo and INFINITE. Their packed schedules drained their stamina and it came up on the news, stating that Sunggyu and Myungsoo suffered from intestines problems. Myungsoo could actually eat anything—and he indeed liked to eat, too—but perhaps he and the boys did not watch after their foods. Sunggyu and Myungsoo had to undergo the doctors’ examinations and decided to prescribed medicines for them. INFINITE then came back to their agency’s building with sour faces.

“You know you can’t eat spicy foods, hyung,” Woohyun started off. He was no longer playful as his expression became a lot more serious. “Myungsoo, too. Please watch what you’re going to eat. It’s not like your digestive system can hold all the incoming foods.” He continued, exhaled a sigh right after. “I’m not the leader, I know, but Sunggyu hyung sometimes acts like he is the youngest.” And it earned him chuckles from the other members.

Except Myungsoo.

He was not even listening. He only nodded twice when Woohyun warned him and promised to be more careful in the future, then he went off with his thoughts. His body was there, indeed, but not with his mind. It was like endless questions circled around his mind, why did he have to think about that particular girl, why did he have to be sick, all that. He ignored it all and the drowsiness soon struck upon him.

When he woke up, the car had parked and Sungjong was about to wake him up. Myungsoo pulled up a thin, thankful smile toward the younger male and got off the car, striding straight to the couch to rest there.

“Myungsoo, since when did you get close to Krystal?” The question jolted him up and his eyes widened as Woohyun showed lunch boxes, along with a letter. The good thing was the envelope was still sealed. He immediately stood up and snatched the boxes and the letter in an instant.

“I am never close to anyone, as long as I can remember. Except you guys.” He muttered under his breath as he tore off the envelope to read the letter. The boys could only stare at him; Myungsoo was never the type to focus on anything over foods.

Hello, Myungsoo-ssi

I read in on the news that you and Sunggyu-ssi were sick. Please be more careful in the future. Here, I made lunch for you and the members. Eat well.

P.S. Thank you for helping me that day. Had you not come to the park, the news would have spread to the entire country. You saved me, and I owe you that.

Regards,

Jung Soojung/Krystal

“You’re welcome.” Myungsoo mumbled after he finished reading the letter, folding it again and put it inside the envelope. He intended to keep it, no one—aside of his band mates—had been so sincere to him. He was glad that he saved someone’s life though he did not want Soojung to feel that she owed him for it. He then examined the lunch boxes one by one before he gave it to the others. “Krystal made it for you all. She read the news.”

“So, actually it was for me and you only, Soo.” Sunggyu interrupted. He looked like he was ready to devour all the foods. Myungsoo only gave him a small chuckle as a response.

“No, hyung. I don’t think you can eat it all, though.” The younger male then stormed up to the studio, choosing to hide there while eating on the foods. He never knew that the girl could cook, and if it tasted bad, he would complain to her right away. Wait, why would he do that, anyway? Just enjoy the foods and say thanks, he thought as he opened the lid, seeing his favorite pork belly cutlet inside.

“How did she know, though?” He muttered the question, but without any second thought, he ate it right away—turned out the taste was good as well. He enjoyed all the dishes since he was hungry, and when he finished eating, he took out his phone and sent a text message to the girl right away.

In seconds, the reply came.

A light smile painted across Myungsoo’s lips, willing to reply the message later when he reached home. He felt both jovial and blessed, for it had been a long time since someone actually cared for him to the extent they took care of him and cooked for him. He exhaled a soft sigh and packed all the lunch boxes in a flash and abruptly went home, followed by questioning gazes from his band mates.

“What is wrong with him, seriously?” Sungyeol could not help himself to ask while chewing on his kimbab. The rest only shook their heads in unison.

Once Myungsoo arrived home, he washed the lunch boxes and began contemplating on what should he give in return. The male could not really cook, but he was sure he would try his best. He did not want to live under debts, although Soojung had stated it that she cooked the foods to thank the raven-haired male for saving her that day. Myungsoo then sat on the dining chair and took out his phone, starting to search easy, but delectable food recipes that he thought he would able to do. He did not know what Soojung liked, so he did a wild guess and decided to make hamburgers since it seemed easy to make. He, in seconds, dashed off to a nearby supermarket to buy the needed things—according to the recipe he’s currently reading—and ran back to home to make the hamburgers for the girl whom he had been frequently talking too since the keychain accident. He still wondered why did he want to talk to Soojung again, even if he knew his heart would always belong to his late girlfriend? He shrugged the thoughts off his mind, not wanting to think about it awhile. He was certain, though, that he would not develop any kind of feelings toward Soojung. The male proceeded to make the hamburgers, four for each girl, an extra for Soojung, and put it inside the lunch boxes Soojung had used to give the foods to him earlier. The problem now was he did not want to be seen delivering the foods, so he would have to sneak out to SM building later.

As the sun rose, Myungsoo got up earlier than he usually did and prepared himself to go to the building, intending the hamburgers to be their brunch. He went by car, and when he arrived at the building, he could not help himself to feel nervous. This was his first time doing such a thing, and the least thing he wanted was to get caught on his first—maybe last attempt. Myungsoo glanced around, making sure there were no one at the moment, and stormed off toward the building. One thing he forgot was he did not know where f(x) is now and he had no choice but to give it to the receptionist, telling her that it was for f(x) from INFINITE L.

Meanwhile, f(x) was doing their daily practice by the time Myungsoo delivered the foods. When they took a break, the receptionist came to their practice room and told them straightaway that L gave some foods for them and handed the lunch boxes—which was accepted by Soojung herself. She thanked the receptionist and went to her eonnis, her expression was unreadable.

“What’s that, Soojung?” Luna asked, her eyes glued at the lunch boxes. Soojung shook her head—she had not opened it yet. She sat down first and opened it all—revealing the hamburgers inside. Without further ado, the girls devoured the foods for they were hungry as well, and the hamburgers vanished in minutes. However, Soojung kept the extra one for later, hoping that her face would not bloat on the next morning. She checked all the boxes and tried to find any letter or note inside—but she found nothing alike. Perhaps Myungsoo did not even bother to write such things, Soojung thought as she put the boxes inside her bag. She was about to begin the practice again when her phone buzzed, noting that a notification just arrived. She fished out her phone and opened it to see a message from Myungsoo.

Soojung drew a small smile upon her lips, inwardly thanking the male for looking after her. Her fingers swiftly typed on the keyboard to reply the message.

To her surprise, the reply came faster than she thought, but she had to join the practice again, noting that she would reply it soon.

On the other side, Myungsoo leaned against the wall, holding his phone tightly. He really did not want to let any girl take the spot he had secured for his dear Yoojung, but now he found himself caring for—practically—a stranger only because she returned his lost keychain weeks ago.

“You know, you bothered my life,” he mumbled to himself, his eyes were looking at the ceiling. “But you were the first girl to come into my life after Yoojung’s death. I don’t know how to feel, and I think I might have to push you away.”

A/N: Hello! First, I'd like to apologize for the super late update. T_T I will try to update the story frequently before the new semester starts! :D Once again, I'm sorry orz ;;; happy reading~