Dongwoo placed the herbal tea in front of Chaerin.  All eight of them sat in her room - staring at nothing, deep in thought.  Slowly, Sungyeol lay on his tummy and placed his lips to his pink, swirly straw - sipping the orange juice and tapping  his heels together in the air.  Chaerin stared at the boy and smiled at his childlike behaviour.  "Aish...  this boy.  Even in the most serious of situations, he looks so young and full of life."

 

"Chaerin-ah," Sunggyu tapped her shoulders, causing her to flinch and stare up at him.

 

"Mi...  Mianhae, oppa...  I was daydreaming," she smiled and rubbed her arms nervously.  She hadn't even heard him talking before, had he been calling her for long?  "Great, now I look helpless, stupid, and deaf..." she sulked against the wall, holding onto her mug tightly for the warmth coming from her tea.

 

"Ani, it's okay," he smiled, concern obvious in his face, "Did you recognise the man, though?  Have you seen him before?"  He asked, curiosity visible in his eyes which were fixated onto hers, smiling reasuringly.  She just looked down at her tea as she let her finger trail around the edges of her mug - nervously thinking back to the event.

 

"N...  Ne..." she looked at Woohyun who was sitting on the window ledge, staring out at the mountains with glossy, un-focussed eyes, "he...  I...  I mean...  him and his friends...  they tried to hurt me before, I think."

 

"Mwo?  Who's they?"  Myungsoo sat up quickly and stared at Chaerin.

 

Chaerin blushed, "I...  I don't know who they are..."

 

Woohyun stood, stretching his arms above his head and then rubbing his eyes.  "You found her, have you seen them before?"  Sunggyu posed the question at Woohyun, looking up hopefully at his namdongsaeng.

 

"I'm not sure," he whispered, sitting between Dongwoo and Hoya.  "I think I might have seen him before, but I don't know where from.  I recognised them the last time they tried to hurt her, too,"

 

"You were there the last time, too!?  When did that happen?  Why didn't we know!?"  Myungsoo gawked at Woohyun.  Sungyeol reached up and tapped the bottom of his hyung's jaw line, closing his mouth before it hit the ground.  Woohyun only looked at Chaerin.

 

"Are you sure you don't know them?  Is there anyone who'd want to hurt you?  Anyone who'd have a reason to hold a grudge against you?  Any family enimies?  Any..."  he went on, fear showing purely in Chaerin's eyes.  She was trying so hard to think on where she had seen those faces from, but could only think of the ally.  She knew they were the same, but she had seen them before then...  She knew them before the incident in the kitchen and before the incident in the ally-way...  but from where?  She wasn't popular, she didn't meet new people, not enough to lose connections or forget faces and names...

 

Sungjong slung his arms around Chaerin and pulled her close, "I think that's enough for tonight - look at her face," he brushed her hair behind her left ear, smiling at her comfortingly and then turning to Sunggyu, "Hyung, with your permission, may I sleep in here with Chaerin tonight?  Just to keep an eye on her - I don't think we should leave her alone just now, not knowing that there's a possibility of someone wanting to hurt her."

 

"Ne, good idea Sungjong-ah," Sunggyu chirped, "if that's alright with you?" he turned to Chaerin.

 

"I...  I'd like that, gomawo oppa." she bowed her head slightly.

 

"Then let's go, everyone.  We'll discuss this further in the morning, but for now we should all get some well-deserved rest."  Sunggyu stated, showing his leader's authority to which everyone obeyed and followed him out the room.  Woohyun turned and watched Sungjong bouncing into the bed and pulling the covers over him and Chaerin before sighing and closing the door quietly behind him.

 

"If you want, Woohyun, we'll sleep up here?  So that you can watch over her also?"  Woohyun turned, smiling at his hyung.

 

"Ani, hyung, you should go join the others - you've been busy lately, you must be tired."  Sunggyu nodded, smiling and walked downstairs, leaving Woohyun to perch in the study room beside Chaerin's bedroom.  He wasn't feeling tired and he knew he wouldn't rest well while danger was afoot.

 

Not when Chaerin was involved.

 

-

 

"You're so pretty, oppa~  Why can't I look as pretty as you?"

 

"No-one can," Sungjong smiled, placing his hands on his cheeks and tilting his head to the side, using his best aegyo then laughing hysterically as Chaerin giggled and pushed his shoulder pitifully.  "Yah," he pouted, holding his shoulder.

 

Giggling, Chaerin leaned in and kissed his shoulder "Mianhae, oppa, I didn't mean to hurt you," she giggled as she placed her hands above her head in the shape of a love-heart, returning the aegyo he used before.

 

"Chaerin-ah, can I ask you something?"

 

"Ne, oppa, anything," she smiled, taking the movie they had just to watched, 200 Pounds of Beauty, out of the DVD player and sitting cross-legged on the bed opposite Sungjong who was taking a sip of his juice.

 

"Do you know who they are?"  He phased seriously, staring at Chaerin - searching for something, anything in her face which would show that she knew.  She just looked down, pain in her eyes.  Sungjong knew that the situation was getting to her and he felt sorrowfully for her.  "It's okay, Chaerin-ah, let's sleep now - we'll talk about it in the morning," he smiled, tilting her head up then jumping under the covers.

 

The both of them lay there beside each other, eyes closed and drifted off to dreamland.  Woohyun stood at the door, listening 'till all he could hear was the faint sound of their breaths and Sungjong's occasional snore.

 

-

 

Chaerin sat in the cold tree house, the barely-warm blanket wrapped tightly around her small, shivering body as she read the letter again for, what must have been, only the one-hundredth time...

 

"And so, I want to remind you to follow your dreams!  Continue to dance, I still long to see you perform.  Rest well and work hard for what you want, Chaerin-ah, we'll meet again...

 

Jongmal dangshinul saranghamnida,

Woohyun oppa~ <3"

 

She held the letter close to her chest and breathed in deeply, listening to the small group of boys running around in the forest shouting her name, calling her for all the "freaks" and "nerds" then giggling.

 

Sungjong returned from the bathroom.  He looked at the Pucca clock on Chaerin's wall, "3am," he whispered with a groan as he crawled back into bed.  He placed his hand across Chaerin's forehead, checking her temprature before pulling the covers over her shoulders and tucking her in.

 

"Ne, oppa.  I'll wait for you, I promise I'll work hard...  nado saranghae, Woohyun oppa," Chaerin whispered, smiling.  Sungjong stared at her peacefully sleeping body and gasped silently.

 

"Chaerin-ah's in love with Woohyun hyung?"  He thought, eyes wide and body frozen as he watched Chaerin turn on her side and pull the covers into her chest to cuddle.  He felt himself smile, however.  "Is this why he acts so strangely around her?  Does hyung have feelings for our dongsaeng, also?  Omo!  Maybe they'll find great love within each other and hyung will be happy again!?"  Sungjong layed down, facing the window and closed his eyes.  "I hope Woohyun hyung loves Chaerin-ah, too,"

 

--

 

(A/N:  Annyeong-haseyo :$  I think it's safe to say I've had major writer's block.  >,<  I'm so, so, so sorry :$ I hope this chapter isn't as bad as I think it is.  >,<  x

 

I want to thank all of you for the support so far :$ Even the silent readers, the higher the number of viewers/subscribers go the more I want to write and the more motivated I feel :$  My exam's have just finished, maybe that's why I felt so blank everytime I tried to write more on this?  The stress was really getting to me :$ But now it's over!  And I hope to write much more~  x

 

Gomapseumnida,

Kang HyeKyo~<3 ) xxx