After ending her conversation with Yunho, Eunji felt a surge of something inside of her. Something she almost didn't recognize until she discovered that it was an emotion she hadn't even realized she had lost: Hope. She was feeling hopeful once again, and it was because of Ken.

She found herself smiling, and others noticed it too, looking at her curiously as she passed them. She spotted Chorong with a devious look on her face, eying Eunji and speaking in covert tones with Hakyeon and a plain faced girl named Namjoo, but Eunji didn't even care. Let them talk, she knew what was really gooing on.

She found Ken right where she had left him, and simply sat to watch him for a short while, unwilling to disturb his education. The noise of many booted feet moving caught her attention asn she watched as four squads left up the stairway, all heavily armed with the ERF's best equipment. "Reacting to information you gave Yunho," she said to Ken's still form, a note of pride in her voice.

It wasn't until that evening that she woke Ken by calling his name from where she sat, and when his eyes popped open to reveal the blue luminescence from his connection to the interface, she let out a gasp of surprise. "Disconnect," she said quickly, and right away the blue faded. Then, to her surprise, a smile formed over those full, pretty lips, and he nodded his head in her direction.

"Hello, Eunji," he greeted, his voice coming smoother than it had before: not so computer sounding and much more natural. She felt a thrill run through her and clapped her hands in excitement.

"So it worked!"

He titled his head slightly to one side, then caught her meaning and nodded. "Yes, I suppose it did. I have to admit a flaw, however: I cannot digest food and therefore when I eat, it will be a waste. Are you sure that you do not wish to simply tell your compatriots what I am?"

She was already shaking her head. "No, even Yunho agrees with me. You're a friend of mine from when we were children. The food, that's regrettable, but there's nothing we can do about it. Just eat as little as you can without seeming strange, okay?

"Okay," he agreed. Then he pushed back the blanket coverings and stood to his feet in one smooth motion, suddenly towering over her and making her lean back to look up at him. He extended a hand downward to her and after a moment, she took it to allow him to pull her to her feet.

But he tugged her a bit too close, and she caught her breath as she looked up into that too close, too handsome face. His lips were just mere inches from hers and she felt her heart begin to race at their close proximity. "Um," she began, and then another smile flashed over his lips.

"Is that human enough?" he asked quietly before releasing her hand and stepping back. She heaved air in and swatted him lightly on the shoulder, reminding herself in her mind that no, he was not human, just a pretty tool, then turned to go find something to eat. 

Ken followed and she saw Namjoon watching them with a speculative look on her face, but the younger girl said nothing and Eunji ignored her. Ken took a bare minimum of food, just as Eunji had asked, and the two of them took a seat a bit apart from anyone else. "Remember," she said as he took his first bite of food, "Don't ever tell anyone what you are. If others speak to you, act like a human. Understood?"

"Yup," he answered through a full mouth, and she had to smile at his easy response. This could work after alll!

After helping to clean up from dinner, Eunji left Ken in the clutches of two girls who had seemed to take an interest in the stranger - plain faced Namjoo and an exceptionally pretty girl named Naeun. He seemed as if he could pull off the human feel, from what she had seen, and she had to admit that she probably shouldn't have had him watch Pretty Woman. He was a little too smooth now and she figured he would do fine with the girls fawning over him.

She made her way to the stairwell and climbed to the landing, where once again Hakyeon and Hyuk were on guard and playing with a deck of cards. Hakyeon eyed her with a calculating look as she unfolded the chair she had brought with her and set it up at their table, but she ignored him. "Can I play?" she asked brightly, her infe