When Chae finally pulled herself out of Wonshik's embrace, the boy pouted, body following after her.

 

She snorted at him, patting his head like a puppy, and stood. Chae dusted off her skirt and offered Wonshik a hand. "C'mon. Let's not spend the night down here in the dirt. I live just down the street. Besides, Wonshik-ah… you need a bath. No offense, but you're starting to smell a bit too much like the boys' locker room.

 

"That," Wonshik began, looking sheepish, "is an exaggeration. I don't smell quite that terrible… but you're right. I need a shower."

 

"Then I'll do us both a favor and let you use mine. Hope you like the smell of strawberries – I don't keep with that 3-in-1 men's crap."

 

"Hey!" Wonshik looked a bit offended. "I use that."

 

Chae gave him a pitying look.

 

Wonshik pouted again.

 

They fell into a surprisingly comfortable silence as they navigated the streets to Chae's house, Wonshik looking at the neighboring houses with appreciation.

 

The white stone wall around the Jeon residence reflected gold in the dying sunlight and Chae stopped in front of the gate.

 

"Welcome to Jeon Manor." she said, spreading her arms out to encompass the view before them. Chae dropped her arms to her sides and offered Wonshik a shy grin. "Feel free to make yourself at home."

 

She entered the pass code and led her tentative friend inside.

 

"Pretty." Wonshik hummed, looking at the garden in awe.

 

"You think?" Chae made a face. "I love it, but it's a real to maintain. Especially since it's just me doing it."

 

"Your parents don't help you?" Wonshik asked in surprise. "Is that like a chore or a punishment thing? Seems kind of mean of them…"

 

Chae laughed, looking away from him awkwardly. "No, it's not a punishment or anything. I planted all this myself so I'd have a fit if anyone messed with it. Dad doesn't mind, anyway."

 

"And your mom?" Wonshik asked curiously as he admired the massive day-lilly plant by the gate.

 

When Chae did not respond right away, Wonshik looked back up at her with a furrowed brow.

 

Chae smiled slightly, rather sadly, as she fiddled with her house keys. She headed for the house slowly, Wonshik following a step behind her. When she spoke, he could not see her expression. "My mom… She passed away. A long time ago."

 

"I'm sorry…" Wonshik stopped mid-step, feeling like a jerk for even bringing it up.

 

"Thank you, Wonshik, but don't worry. It's been a long time and I don't feel so bad about explaining anymore. It's just a question…"

 

Wonshik still looked guilty and unsure whether or not Chae was being honest about how she felt about her mother's loss.

 

Chae smiled, endeared by how he managed to look so much like a child while still towering over her. She reached out and took his hand, tugging Wonshik after her as she opened the front door.

 

"It's nice." Wonshik complimented, admiring the spacious living room and the shiny wooden floors. He was almost afraid to walk on them in his dirty socks.

 

A long, brown leather sofa sat across from a large flat screen TV on its stand. Across the back of the couch was a multitude of jacket and pants, wrinkled shirts and soft looking blankets. DVD cases were scattered across the top of the TV stand, a few stray discs lingering outside of their cases. Between the couch and the TV was a coffee table littered with school supplies, books and magazines that covered every inch of its surface.

 

Chae hurried to organize her mess, grinning sheepishly. "Thanks. Sorry about the mess. Usually I don't worry about it since I'm the only one here. If I knew I'd be having you over, I'd have cleaned up…"

 

Wonshik snorted. "Chae. I live with five other boys – this is nothing compared to our place before Hakyeon-hyung snaps at us to clean up."

 

Chae laughed at that, disappearing down the hall for a moment, and returned with arms free of her dirty laundry. "I just put some clothes in the washer – do you want me to wash yours while you're here? Some of my dad's clothes will fit you."

 

"If you don't mind me hanging around here for a while longer."

 

"Nah." Chae waved his worries aside and led him down the hall and up a staircase to a large bedroom that seemed rather empty aside from the furniture in there. Unlike the rest of the house that Wonshik had seen, the master bedroom carried no trace of having someone spend a lot of time there. The bed was made perfectly and the dresser top was bare apart from a light layer of dust. Chae opened a drawer to reveal stacks of T-shirts and sweatpants and pulled Wonshik out a pair, giving them a quick sniff to check if they still smelled fresh, and handed them over to him.

 

"You'll have to use my bathroom's shower." Chae frowned thoughtfully at the closed door to what was probably the master bath. "I don't think Dad left any soap or shampoo in there when he left for his trip…"

 

"How long ago was that?" Wonshik asked under his breath, taking in the dust and sense of abandonment in the room. He found that he was not very fond of the idea of Mr. Jeon.

 

Chae was very nice and obviously starved for attention. She was at the top of their class and friendly to everyone.

 

She was a child to be proud of. Not to be abandoned.

 

Wonshik sighed and trailed after her as she headed back out of the room, clicking the light off as he went and sending the room back into darkness and gloom.

 

Chae led Wonshik back out into the hallway and down to another room, this one's door left wide open to reveal the girl's bedroom.

 

It was in a similar, if not worse, state as the living room. Clothes and blankets were draped over the bed frames and the dressers. A desk was pushed into the corner of the room, covered with papers and books and an entire rainbow of sticky notes. A few potted plants sat in the window, cacti and pretty flowers turned happily towards the sun. Only her bed seemed in control, the blankets smoothed nicely and her overabundance of pillows stacked in order.

 

Wonshik felt the urge to flop down on her bed and make it as messy as everything else.

 

"You may have a washing machine, but do you actually use it?"

 

Chae shoved him lightly, snatching up some of the scattered clothes and shoving them in a half-full hamper. "Oh hush. At least my bed is made. Besides, I live alone. Who's gonna care? Here, go take a shower."

 

She shoved him into her bathroom and Wonshik was immediately surrounded by the familiar smell of Chae's apple scented shampoo and something like strawberries and sweetness. Makeup and lotions and perfumes filled up the counter on either side of the sink. Chae's entire bathroom seemed rather girlish, but the toothbrush in the holder was bright red and adorned with Spider-man’s face and an Avengers beach towel was folded on display on a shelf by the shower.

 

"You can use any of the towels on the shelves – and there ought to be some washcloths there below them." Chae piped up, poking her head around the curtain to make sure she had not left anything behind that morning. She patted Wonshik on the shoulder and stepped out of the bathroom to leave him to his own devices. "I'm gonna order something to eat. Pizza sound good to you?"

 

"Sounds great."

 

"Cool." Chae grinned at him and closed the door, waiting to hear the water turn on before heading to her dresser for a pair of athletic shorts and a tank top to change into for lounging around. She would take a shower of her own in the morning.

 

Chae dumped her uniform into the hamper and piled on some more dirty clothes before setting it down beside the door to take downstairs. She folded her throw blankets and put them back into place on the shelves by her bed. The desk was left alone, being just the right amount of organized chaos for Chae to find what she needed with ease. She glanced at the bathroom door once again and grabbed the hamper to carry downstairs to the laundry room.

 

She would start another load once Wonshik gave her his dirty uniform and get some of her own things washed along with his.

 

Once the washing machine was loaded up with clothes and detergent, Chae left it alone and headed for the kitchen to find the takeout menus for the local restaurants. Then, after she ordered their pizza, Chae hurried over to the sink to shove what she could into the dishwasher. Wonshik had not seen that room, at least. Chae could pretend that she was not completely lazy when it came to tidying up. Besides, the kitchen was not in terrible condition. (Chae always rinsed off her dishes at least, after a very horrifying afternoon when she came home to find a mixing bowl crawling with maggots. She cried and threw the bowl and the pot holders she held it with away.)

 

By the time Wonshik came back downstairs, Chae had the living room transformed into an appropriate movie watching center, the coffee table turned and pushed to the side so that it would not be in the way of the TV. She had pulled all of her throw blankets onto the floor and made a palette with them and the pillows from the couch and her bedroom.

 

Chae sat in the middle of it all, contemplating the book they were reading in their Literature class. When she heard Wonshik pad into the room, his damp and bare feet sticking to the hardwood floors with a soft sound, she jumped in surprise, the book nearly slipping from her finger.

 

She placed it on the coffee table and raised her eyebrows at him.

 

"That was a short shower. Were you even in there long enough for the water to get hot?" she teased lightly, scooting to the side to make room for him.

 

Wonshik flopped down onto a pile of pillows. "I'm used to short showers – considering how many people I share a bathroom with, I have to be."

 

"Sounds like something out of a horror film." Chae snorted. She waved a hand at the TV. "Speaking of which, if you've got a problem with horror movies tell me now so I can avoid that genre. I thought we'd watch a movie while we wait for the pizza to get here."

 

Wonshik grimaced. "Yeah, not my favorite type of movie. Nothing too gory please."

 

Chae shrugged. "I don't mind." A thought occurred to her and she turned to squint at him thoughtfully. "… how do you feel about a Harry Potter marathon?"

 

"That book series you got Bin and Hyuk hooked on?"

 

"Yep." Chae crawled over to the TV stand, digging through the cabinet beneath it for the box set. She presented it to Wonshik with a flourish. "The three of you can argue about the differences between the books and the movies later. Ought to be healthier than – well, what you were arguing about before."

 

"I'll take whatever option I can get." Wonshik gathered up a pillow and propped his chin up. "Besides, I don't know if I'll ever get around to actually reading those books or not."

 

"Harry Potter it is, then!" Chae hummed happily as she inserted the first DVD into the player.

 

By the time the pizza arrived, they were halfway through the movie and Wonshik was so transfixed he did not even notice the buzz from the security system. Chae managed to check the security cam and let the delivery boy in, pay for the pizza, and convert the coffee table into a dining area before he finally looked away from the TV, eyes wide and glazed. It was cute and Chae fell over herself with giggles at the sight of his childlike wonder over the movie, finding her gaze straying more towards him than the screen as they pigged out on pizza and soda.

 

When the first movie was over, Wonshik was practically rolling around on the floor in his enthusiasm and Chae hastily wiped her greasy fingers off before starting the next one. While the trailers played through, she darted into the laundry room to empty the washer and load the wet clothes into the dryer.

 

However, with full bellies and the night setting in, the teenagers found themselves drifting off at the slower parts of the film. By the time Harry and Ron were crashing into the Whomping Willow, Wonshik had passed out in his cushion pile, snoring and drooling against one of the couch pillows. Chae jerked awake at the sudden increase in volume from the TV and glanced over the boy with a bemused expression.

 

She never imagined that Wonshik would be the first friend to come over to her house in years.

 

She considered him a moment longer before rising to her feet, snagging a fluffy blanket covered in cartoon puppies and draped it over his sleeping form.

 

Chae snapped a quick picture for future reference and stepped out into the hall, fingers typing in the now familiar number for the boys' home.

 

For once, she got an answer.

 

"Hello?" The voice was tired and not the person she had been expecting, but just as welcome to hear.

 

"Hakyeon-sunbae!" Chae said brightly, smiling at the sound of the older boy's voice.

 

"Jeon Chaeyeongie?" He seemed surprised that she had their number.

 

"Ah, I'm so glad I finally caught you at home. I've been calling all day."

 

"I'm sorry. Things have been… hectic around here." Hakyeon sounded tired and older than he was.

 

"Because of Wonshik, right?" Chae hummed, hitting the nail on the head. She peeked back into the living room at the sleeping boy. "I take it he avoided you guys all day?"

 

"Have you seen him?" Hakyeon exclaimed excitedly and there was a great commotion on his side of the line, the rest of the boys' voices mingling with his.

 

Chae laughed a bit and waited for them to calm down before answering. "I'm actually looking at him right now. I ran into him around the shops by my house looking like a kicked puppy. We're at my house now."

 

"Wonshik – is he alright?" Hakyeon breathed, relief obvious. "I mean, Hongbin said he was very upset when he saw him last…"

 

"He's calmed down a lot. We had a talk. I think things are going to work out on our part. And I think he's ready to talk to Hongbin about what they've been fighting about." Chae reassured, wandering back down the hall towards the staircase, not wanting to chance Wonshik waking and overhearing her talk about him. "How is Hongbin, by the way?"

 

"Chae?" The boy in question asked, a bit of static passing through the line as the phone was handed off to him. "You found Wonshik? Can I talk to him?"

 

"Hey, Bin." A pleasant rush went through her at the sound of her best friend's voice, a smile tugging at her lips. "I found him and brought him home with me. He fell asleep a few minutes ago, but I think he's gonna wanna talk to you first thing tomorrow."

 

"Thank you, Chae." Hongbin sighed. "He hasn't been rude or anything, has he?"

 

"Nah," Chae sat down on the stairs. "He's revealed himself as a cream puff."

 

Hongbin laughed at that. "I'm glad you're getting along then. Just make sure he doesn't run away in the night, kay? Cause I'm gonna kick his for making me worry."

 

"Then prepare yourself," Chae teased. "Because you had me worrying all day too. None of you showed up or answered the phone. I was getting ready to start dragging the river if I didn't find Wonshik when I did."

 

Hongbin laughed again. The sound trailed off after a moment. "Chae…"

 

"Hm?" She waited patiently for him to continue, hearing the hesitation in his voice.

 

"Did Wonshik say anything? About me, I mean. Is he still mad at me?"

 

Chae wanted to wrap both of the boys up in a hug and give them a stern talking to about being open with each other.

 

"Oh, Bin." She said sadly. "He loves you. And he's just scared to lose you. We talked it out, better this time, and I don't hold it against him. I hope you won't either."

 

"Wonshik means the world to me," Hongbin said softly. "I'll do anything to prove that to him."

 

"I think he'd ready to listen to you now," Chae smiled into the receiver, feeling a small ache in her chest. The love Hongbin had for Wonshik radiated from him. Chae wanted something like that to call her own. "If you want, you guys can come over and get him in the morning. We can meet you in the shopping center if Hyuk remembers how to get there."

 

The maknae's voice spoke up in the background, his faint words confirming his memory on how to get to Chae's neighborhood.

 

She wondered if she was on speaker phone or if they were all crowded around the phone. The thought of the five boys squished together around a phone made her smile.

 

Hakyeon spoke in the background and the phone was passed back to him, Hongbin calling a quick goodbye to his friend before he relinquished the phone.

 

"Chaeyeong-ah? Wonshikie's asleep right? It might be a good idea to give him something to hold or else he'll roll around all over the place. And he snores too. Like a freight train."

 

Chae laughed. "So I noticed. Anything else I ought to know about?"

 

"Waking him up is near impossible?" Hakyeon snorted. "Don't worry about him getting ready for school in the morning. There's things that we all need to talk about, so we're gonna take another day off. I'll bring a change of clothes for him. Thank you for watching over him. I can't tell you how worried I was. How we all were…"

 

"You guys are a good family," Chae said gently, knowing it was the truth as she said it. "Wonshik's lucky to have you. I'll make sure he gets back to you safely, Sunbae."

 

"Call me Oppa," Hakyeon insisted. "You've been too kind for us to just be a junior and a senior to each other, Chaeyeong-ah."

 

"Hakyeon-oppa." Chae hummed, a bubbly feeling in her chest at the change in address. "But like I told Hongbin – you can drop the formalities with me. I don't see the need for them when it comes to me."

 

"Yaaaah," Hakyeon drawled playfully. "When you encounter a real life Disney princess, then you ought to treat her like one. But, if it makes you happy, I'll just call you Chaeyeongie from now on. It sounds cute – just like you~"

 

A chorus of groans rang out over the line as the maknaes began berating their eldest hyung for being so cheesy.

 

Chae burst out into laughter and tried to muffle the sound by burying her face in her knees, shoulders shaking with giggles.

 

"Chae!" Hongbin called suddenly, sounding like he was wrestling Hakyeon for the phone. "We've gotta go now – my ears are gonna fall off if Hakyeon-hyung keeps being greasy!"

 

She could hear Jaehwan and Hakyeon screeching in the background as Hyuk egged them on, the youngest boy calling out a quick, 'Bye, Noona!', before the phone clicked out into silence.

 

Chae unlocked her phone and left the phone app, smiling in amusement at her screen. Upon seeing the time, she decided that it was a good of a time as ever to go on to bed, as she had no homework and Wonshik was already asleep.

 

She padded back down the hall to the living room and switched off the TV, tucking a large teddy bear under Wonshik's arm that she had brought down from her room with the pillows. The normally tough looking boy curled around it immediately, burying his face against the soft, fake fur and looking more like a child than Chae had ever seen him look like before.

 

She cooed at the sight and took another picture, planning on showing them to Hongbin in the morning.

 

Chae stopped in the laundry room again, ignoring everything in the dryer apart from Wonshik's uniform. She pulled it out and gave the shirt a sniff, wanting to make sure that it smelled nice. Satisfied, she folded his clothes and set them on top of the dryer.

 

With Wonshik settled, Chae turned the lights off and headed back upstairs to her own bed, collapsing onto the bed with a huff before wiggling her way beneath the covers. The room was cold and the sheets felt nice against her bare arms and legs, the perfect recipe for bedtime, and Chae drifted off to sleep quickly, smiling against her pillow.

 

Somehow, just having one more person in the house was enough to make it more welcoming than it had been in a long time.

 

Outside, however, stood someone who did not feel the same warmth about Wonshik's presence in the house that Chae did.

 

An old, squat woman stood on the sidewalk, just out of the range of the streetlight's glow. Her eyes were fixed on a second floor window on the side of the house, having seen the silhouette of a young girl moving about before the light switched off.

 

Mari frowned at the house, the wrinkles on her face shifting and twisting her face into an unpleasant expression.

 

She had seen the girl with yet another boy whose aura was shrouded in darkness, oblivious to the dark magic that followed him wherever he went.

 

It did not make for a good future for the girl if they kept up these interactions and Mari did not want the hard work she had put into luring the girl to her side to go to waste.

 

Mari would take things into her own hands from here on… and getting rid of these boys was the first step to that.

 

 

Ravi woke with a jolt as he rolled off his pile of pillows and the blanket palette Chae had laid out for them, his borrowed shirt riding up and making his belly vulnerable to the cold hardwood floor.

 

He sat up with a grimace, straightening out the shirt where it was twisted around his torso and tugging it back down over his stomach protectively.

 

The room was dark, a sliver of light illuminating things just enough to see. A quick glance down the hall showed that Chae had left the laundry room light on. He wondered if it was for his sake and peered into the room to find his clothes folded neatly on the dryer.

 

Ravi sighed at the sight, wondering if he had done something heroic in his past life to deserve all the chances and kindness Chae gave him. He certainly had not acted heroic in this strange half-life he had been forced into this time around.

 

He left the laundry room and headed back to the couch, clicking the light on as he entered the living room. Ravi felt strangely awake, despite waking up before the sun rose. The clock on the wall told him that it was only five in the morning but Ravi felt like he had slept for days. It was weird, considering that he usually had trouble falling asleep without one of his lovers to snuggle with.

 

He flopped down on the couch and considered turning the TV back on. There would not be anything to do for a while now, as school was still hours away, but Ravi hesitated.

 

He did not want to make a sudden racket and wake Chae up, especially when she had been so accommodating to him last night.

 

Ravi decided against turning the TV on and let his eyes wander over the mantle piece instead.

 

It looked like something out of a typical movie or television show, lined with photos of Chae and her family and little trophies and certificates. There were even a few picture frames on the side tables on either side of the couch and Ravi reached out his arm to pick one up.

 

A little girl grinned up at him from the picture, her features unmistakably Chae’s, but smaller and rounded with youth. Both Hongbin and Leo would lose their minds over the adorable toddler that Chae had been, as she was three times as adorable as she was as a teenager. Even chubbier cheeks and a tiny button nose sat beneath her wide doe eyes, only slightly hidden by bangs she no longer had. A few flowers were tucked haphazardly into her hair, matching the one she was holding up for the camera person, likely her mother or father.

 

It was an adorable moment and Ravi had no doubt that her parents had been glad to capture it on film.

 

Upon further inspection, most of the photos went along the same lines, mostly candid shots of Chae being precious (and, on occasion, being ridiculously cute even in tears), sometimes joined by a woman with her face and nose or a man with the shape of and wide eyes like hers.

 

Ravi guessed that they were her parents and that Chae, as it seemed in the pictures at least, was rather adored by them.

 

He noticed, however, that as Chae grew up through the series of pictures, the feeling of them changed. In the last photo on the mantle of Chae and her mother, the girl seemed about eight or nine and delighted to be posing with her mother for the shot.

 

After that, Chae’s mother seemed to vanish and Ravi could only guess that the picture was one of the last ones taken before the woman passed away.

 

There were still school photos showing how Chae aged, how her haircuts bounced between flattering and terrible choices, how her face had cleared up after a bad year of acne, how she had grown her hair out since the last photo taken.

 

Ravi pulled that last photo down from the mantle, eyes taking in Chae’s slight smile behind the glass. He had seen the girl’s genuine smiles, how they lit up her whole face and made her nose crinkle. The smile she wore in the photo was entirely fake.

 

He could see what she meant by being lonely.

 

Ravi carefully returned the photo and left the living room behind, feeling the sudden urge to run away once more.

 

There was not all that much to see apart from another bedroom, likely for guests, the kitchen and its connecting dining room on the ground floor. In the kitchen, he found another door leading to stairs that twisted down below and he hesitated.

 

A basement.

 

He wanted to explore, but he could still recall every detail about Saetbyeol’s basement and all the negative connotations that came with those memories. They made him queasy and he had to lean against the counter for a moment to ground himself.

 

Suddenly, all he could imagine down there was another dungeon and his heart rate kicked up.

 

The air conditioning kicked back on with a low thump and Ravi jumped so badly he nearly fell on his . He huffed at himself and clicked on the kitchen light.

 

From what he could see of the stairs to the basement, they did not seem so threatening, just shiny hardwood steps and a railing. The light switch was at the top and Ravi slapped it on in a moment of bravery and peeked down.

 

The stairs turned out of sight and the boy hesitated, curiosity and fear warring inside of him. He decided to just go down the first set of steps to see what was around the turn. If he got too upset, he would just run back to the living room.

 

Ravi crept down the stairs, wincing every time one creaked beneath his foot, and poked his head around the corner.

 

In all honesty, it just looked like another bedroom.

 

What looked like some antique furniture was pushed against the far wall along with some things that would look right at home in a nursery. A pretty white crib caught his eye and Ravi’s lips quirked up.

 

Chae’s parents had kept her baby things.

 

The innocent picture of the crib lured him in, the little piece of furniture chasing away anything ominous, and Ravi ran a hand over the side of it lightly, marveling at how small Chae must have been in it.

 

She already seemed tiny enough, the idea of her being any smaller was bizarre.

 

Apart from the nursery furniture, everything was made of warm, heavy looking wood with pretty gold handles. A couple of bedside tables sat on either side of a bed frame and matching headboard, adjacent to a long dresser with a large mirror and a standing cupboard.

 

Ravi opened the doors in curiosity and was hit by the strong smell of lavender. A jewelry box sat alone on the top shelf, a delicate, lovely thing. On the shelf beneath it were stacks of books.

 

He picked up one with thin, gold writing on the cover.

 

Jeon Chaeyeong

1^st year

 

It was a photo album, the first page greeting him with a picture of a rather red looking baby in the hospital. Below it was a wristband with Chae’s name and a date and time. March 6^th, 199X. 7:23 am.

 

Ravi’s eyebrows rose in surprise. They had started school at Boseon late, the day right after Chae’s seventeenth birthday. He laughed lightly. What a gift that must have been for her.

 

He flipped through a few pages, seeing the infant form of his friend being held by unfamiliar people, only two of which he recognized as her parents, who looked like they had just found the center of their universe in their newborn child.

 

Ravi paused on the photo of Chae’s father, wondering how he could look at his daughter with so much love on the day she was born and then practically abandon her as she grew up.

 

Ravi loved the family that he and his lovers made so much that he could not even bear the thought of missing a moment of their lives together.

 

He felt terribly guilty over how he had run away from them the other day.

 

Looking at the photo of Chae and her father, Ravi resolved to follow the girl’s advice and be open with his lovers – and, should he ever be lucky enough to have children of his own one day, to be there with them every step of the way as they grew up. To give them a father and a family that would never leave them if he had anything to say about it.

 

 

The smell of something burning roused her from sleep and Chae bolted out of bed as the smoke detector went off. She practically threw herself down the staircase, tripping over the last step and skidding down the hall in a panic. Chae could see smoke drifting out of the kitchen and a quick glance at the living room floor showed her that Wonshik was no longer there. She hurried into the kitchen to find the source of the smoke and Wonshik.

 

The boy smiled sheepishly at her through his coughing, waving his hands around his face in an attempt to disperse the smoke. "Breakfast is ready?"

 

Chae did not know whether to cry or laugh, feeling suddenly weak without the adrenaline coursing through her, and she chose to enter the kitchen and take the frying pan off the stove. Whatever Wonshik had tried to cook was now just a pan full of ash and charred… something. Chae threw the pan into the sink and turned the faucet on, the metal hissing angrily beneath the cold spray. With that taken care of, she switched the stove off and opened the window above the sink, clicking the kitchen's ceiling fan on with the switch by the sink.

 

She coughed a bit and quirked a brow at Wonshik. "So, I take it you're not the cook back at home."

 

His shoulders slumped glumly. "No. I'm sorry. I wanted to make you breakfast to say thanks – instead I almost burned down your kitchen…"

 

Chae ruffled his hair lightly. "And I appreciate it very much, Wonshik-ah. But, let's go with cereal today, hm?" She turned him around and pointed him to a cabinet above the counter. "Get a couple of bowls and spoons and bring 'em to the living room. I'll get the cereal and the milk. Lucky Charms good with you?"

 

"Better than my crispy eggs." Wonshik said glumly and Chae eyed the frying pan dubiously.

 

Those eggs had been burned beyond recognition.

 

"Lucky Charms it is then." she said breezily, brandishing the box before her. She pulled the milk out of the refrigerator and led him back into the living room, kicking the blanket out of her way and plopping down on the floor unceremoniously. She grinned up at Wonshik and patted the patch of floor beside her. "Well? Have a seat! Unless you're the kind of person who stands up to eat their breakfast…"

 

Wonshik snorted and joined her on the floor. "No. At least, I don't eat breakfast enough to have tried that."

 

Chae gave him a disapproving look. "Wonshik-ah, eating something in the morning brings up your energy so you don't fall asleep in class. No wonder you take so many naps in school."

 

"No wonder you're just a little energizer bunny." Wonshik mocked, poking at her chubby cheeks.

 

Chae huffed and slapped at his hands, shoving the box of cereal in his hands to make him leave her alone. "Not little…" she muttered, making Wonshik laugh.

 

"Chae, you're the tiniest of all of us." he teased as he passed the cereal back to her. She glared up at him. "Don't be angry, Chaeyeongie~" He batted his eyes at her and looked startlingly like Hakyeon for a moment.

 

Chae looked unimpressed. "Eat your cereal Wonshik. You're in trouble now." She turned away from him and pointedly the television.

 

Wonshik laughed at her pouty demeanor and scooted closer, ignoring his milk-less cereal for a moment as he tried to get back in her good graces. He knew that she was not actually angry with him because he had seen her act that way with Hongbin before. Chae was a bit put out at having to crane her neck back to look at all of her friends and Hongbin, being the mischief maker that he was, liked to rile her up occasionally. Wonshik could see the appeal, as picking on Chae was a bit safer than riling up Hyuk or Hakyeon, who had a tendency to hit when they got too excited.

 

He dropped his head onto the table beside her arm, pouting up at her playfully. "Chaeyeongie~ What happened to being friendly? Don't be mad."

 

Chae glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and felt her lips twitch. She shoved a spoonful of cereal in to disguise her amusement.

 

Wonshik grinned and ducked around to her other side, batting his eyes again. "Chae." he drawled, dragging out her name. "You look like a rabbit."

 

Chae nearly choked on her cereal. She slapped at Wonshik's arm and the boy yelped and rolled away from her laughing. "Kim Wonshik! Enough with the bunny talk! Eat your breakfast before I call Hongbin to get you early!"

 

Wonshik rolled back over to the coffee table, sprawling out next to her instead of heading back to his bowl. "Hongbin's coming to get me?"

 

"Yeah. Well, not here at my house but at the shopping center when we get ready to go to school. I mean, I'm going to school. You guys are all going home to have a talk." She quirked a brow at him. "If you decide to run away again, come back here instead of disappearing into the night. I won't say anything and you can stay in the guest room this time."

 

Wonshik grimaced at the reminder of his disappearing act and sat up, rubbing at his face. He sighed. "No, I think I've run long enough. Tell me when you're ready to go and I'll get ready too." He propped his chin up on his hand as he poured his milk, carefully watching it as he filled his bowl. He could mess up eggs and be alright with it. Messing up cereal was just sad.

 

"Kay." Chae hummed, flipping through the TV channels. "You can keep the clothes for now. There's no sense in changing into your uniform if you're not going to school today. You can just give 'em back whenever you want." She paused on a news channel, frowning at the headline which was announcing another animal attack.

 

Wonshik peered over her shoulder curiously, listening to the details of the attack. This time, instead of being close to the local college, the latest attack fell closer to Chae's side of the river, just three streets over from the shopping center.

 

The teens exchanged a wide-eyed look, startled by how close they had been to the attack, especially since they had been out in the open so close to night.

 

"I think," Chae said slowly, using her spoon to chase around the last few pieces of her cereal. "That I will just be going straight home from now on. At least, until that animal is caught. I don't feel so good about being out at night anymore."

 

"Maybe it'd be a good idea for you to have someone walk you home," Wonshik puffed out a breath, brow furrowed. Chae's small stature and doe-like eyes were suddenly less endearing and more worrying. Something about the animal attacks did not sit quite right with him, as if there were something more to it that ran along the boundaries of his world and hers. Chae did not seem like she could fight off a normal animal if it came down to it, let alone one that was rabid or of the supernatural sort. "Hongbin and I could walk you home. And I don't think Jaehwan-hyung or Hyuk would mind if you asked them, either."

 

Chae flushed. "Oh. Well, that's not really necessary. I can just go home before dark when there's still people out."

 

Wonshik quirked a brow at her, mimicking her expression from earlier. "And on days when you work? The sun was already setting when you got off yesterday."

 

"We'll talk about it," she said lightly, trying to put off the conversation. "Anyway… finish your cereal! I'm gonna go shower and start getting ready." She hurried to her feet, taking her empty bowl and the milk and cereal with her to the kitchen before fleeing upstairs.

 

The memory of Jaehwan walking her home the other night had gotten her flustered and she was not comfortable with letting Wonshik in on her potential feelings about Jaehwan. She did not have a crush on the elder boy, per say, but she could not deny that he was attractive, both in personality and looks. Anything she felt for him that was more than friendly was not anything to concern Wonshik with, especially since she was not sure of what exactly it was that she was feeling, and she did not want to ruin anything now that they had reached some peace in their friendship.

 

Chae seemed to take forever in the shower. During the time she was in the bathroom, Wonshik found the time to eat the rest of his breakfast, wash their dishes and pick up the blanket pile from the living room floor. With the folded blankets and pillows stacked on one side of the couch and the coffee table back in its proper place, he flopped down on the empty side of the couch to wait.

 

By the time the girl wandered out of the hallway, school bag slung over her shoulder as she fiddled with her tie, Wonshik had finished an entire episode of some children's show about a penguin and his friends.

 

The sound of Chae humming along to the show's ending song pulled him out of the trance he had fallen into while watching the show and he looked at her curiously.

 

"Ready to go?" he asked, stretching languidly as he rose from the couch. He felt peaceful for once in her presence and had to resist the urge to lay back across the couch and go back to sleep. Chae's home was the first place he had been in to feel so warm and welcoming. He almost did not want to leave and go back to the motel and its lack of personality. However, Wonshik was ready to finally get out everything in the open between him and the other boys and, while Chae was a surprising comfort to him, she could not compare to the feeling that the rest of the boys gave him.

 

Chae straightened her tie and held out her arms, doing a quick spin for outfit inspection. "Yep!" she said, popping her 'p'. "How do I look? Here's your clothes by the way." She held out a bag for him, his uniform folded neatly inside.

 

"Thanks. And you look the same as you do everyday." Wonshik snorted, not finding any difference in her appearance as he accepted the bag.

 

Chae pouted. "I'm wearing my new lip gloss. And I got a new button for my bag!" She held up her satchel, showing off the new button she got, a pale pink one with a cute cartoon cat on it.

 

"Oh, that's cute." Wonshik smiled at it, stepping closer to see. "Where'd you get it?"

 

"In the shopping center!" Chae smiled brightly. "You want one too? I'll show you the store when we get there if you want."

 

"Yeah." Wonshik fell into step with her as they headed out, pausing for a moment to wait on her as she locked the door and the gate behind them. "Are they all kittens or do they have puppies too?"

 

Chae tilted her head thoughtfully. "I'm not sure if they had any dog buttons, but I saw a lot of different cat ones. Do you like dogs better than cats?"

 

The pair of teens fell into step together, chatting idly about the pros and cons of cats and dogs as they made their way out of the neighborhood. They were just passing the park when a familiar voice rang out in the morning air.

 

"There you guys are!" Jaehwan yelled happily, leaping off the swing set where he had been sitting and nearly tripping in his haste to reach them.

 

Behind him, the rest of the boys turned to the approaching pair as well, the maknaes and Hakyeon yelling happily as the youngest two jumped down from the jungle gym and ran towards them. Taekwoon trailed after them, quieter in his motions but his relief at Wonshik's return evident on his face.

 

Jaehwan reached them first, Hongbin and Hyuk at his heels.

 

Wonshik was swept up in a flurry of hugs and chatter as the rest of the boys finally got their hands back on him after his one day, two nights running away episode.

 

Chae stepped back and watched fondly as the group excitedly welcomed back their missing member.

 

Hakyeon was the first to break away from the cuddle pile, leaving Wonshik where he was, Jaehwan flitting around him like a fussy mother while Taekwoon and the maknaes hung off of Wonshik like koalas. Chae turned and smiled at Hakyeon as he approached, accepting the elder's hug happily.

 

"Hey, oppa." she hummed, relishing in the contact. Hakyeon hugged like a pro and Chae was not about to turn down a hug from him. "I thought you guys were gonna wait in the shopping center."

 

"Well, that was the plan." the eldest boy laughed, pulling her over to the cuddle pile without letting go. "But these guys were so excited to see you that when Jaehwan said he remembered the way to your house they insisted on coming to you instead. But we got lost. Because Jaehwannie didn't remember the way after all~" He grinned teasingly at Jaehwan, who whirled around pouting.

 

"I got us to the right neighborhood though, didn't I?" he whined, shoving Hakyeon off of Chae so he could hug her himself. "I could have found it eventually. You believe me, right, Chaeyeongie?" He pouted down at her, making the girl giggle.

 

"Nope." she teased, sticking her tongue out at him playfully. "Not after only coming by once."

 

Jaehwan wailed in despair, shoving her at the cuddle pile and covering his face dramatically. "How could you? I thought we were friends!"

 

"Why would she want a weirdo like you when she has us?" Hongbin snorted, shuffling them closer to Chae in order to pull her into the group hug.

 

Both Chae and Taekwoon jumped in alarm when they found themselves nose to nose, the teens jerking back instinctively. Chae's head banged against Hyuk's chin and she whirled around.

 

"Oh, Sanghyuk-ah! I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, hands catching his face between them and pulling him closer so she could inspect the damage.

 

The boy flushed at the close proximity and his eyes flickered to Wonshik, who seemed strangely unbothered by the evidence of Hyuk's crush.

 

Even more strangely, the older boy was smirking at them. "Don't worry, Chae. You're not tall enough to hurt his face for real."

 

She bristled cutely, swatting at Wonshik who had no way to escape, still weighted down by the clingy maknaes and Taekwoon. The boy yelped and tried to run away, instead only managing to knock all four of them to the ground.

 

Chae blinked down at them in surprise, lips parting into an 'o' and eyes going wide. "I'm sorry!"

 

Hakyeon and Jaehwan laughed uproariously at the sight, the pair of third years pulling the girl back into their embrace as she looked over the four on the ground anxiously.

 

Surprisingly, it was Taekwoon who had something to say about the situation.

 

"I guess you could say that Chaeyeong-ssi swept us off our feet with her presence." he said quietly, almost inaudibly, but it did not go unheard.

 

The maknaes gaped at him.

 

"Hyung, that was terrible!" Hyuk gasped, rolling away from him.

 

Hongbin shook his head disbelievingly. "I can't believe it. And I thought you were one of the better hyungs. Wonshik-ah, get away from him quickly! That bad sense of humor is spreading."

 

Taekwoon made a distressed noise as Hongbin tried to pull Wonshik away from him.

 

Chae quirked a brow as the pair proceeded to fight over Wonshik like a pair of toddlers with a toy. She wondered if the fall knocked them silly. However, Wonshik looked happy where he was, so she guessed that there was nothing to worry about.

 

(Unless the fall had knocked them silly after all and Wonshik's judgment of the situation had become impaired. Meaning that there could be something to worry about. Mainly, the possibility that Chae was responsible for causing them brain damage.)

 

She looked at Taekwoon anxiously.

 

It was possible. She had never heard the older boy attempt any humor before, so she did not have a way to judge if she was right or not.

 

"Did I break Taekwoon-sunbae?" Chae asked Hakyeon worriedly.

 

"He's just happy to have Wonshikkie back." Hakyeon reassured, patting her on the back. "He's delirious with relief. Believe it or not, but he's as much of a mother hen as Jaehwannie and me. And, as a mother hen, it's my duty to remind you that you still have class to get to! I assume you were going to go to school since you're wearing the uniform, right? Unless you just like wearing it that much." He grinned at her teasingly.

 

Chae glanced down at her outfit like she had forgotten that she was in it. "Oh! That's right – I still have to go catch my bus!"

 

"We're going with you!" Wonshik reminded, referring back to what he said about escorting her earlier. "There was an animal attack close to here. It's not safe to go alone."

 

"It's daytime now –" she began, only to have Hyuk jump to his feet and rush to her side, interrupting her protests.

 

"Noona!" he exclaimed, taking her bag and putting it on his shoulder instead. "I'll carry your things for you. Oh, you got a new button! Hyungs, isn't this cat cute?"

 

The boys on the ground rose to their feet, converging on Hyuk and Chae's satchel, Jaehwan joining them a second after.

 

Hakyeon linked arms with the girl, patting her hand lightly. "Come on, Chaeyeongie~ Let's get you to class."

 

Bewildered, the girl could find no words to protest as she was dragged off towards the bus stop.

 

As it turned out, the boys did not do things half-way. Instead of just leading her up onto the bus and seeing her off, they marched onto it right along with her, chattering happily as they paid for their fares and piled into seats, putting Chae and Wonshik square in the middle of them.

 

Their joy was tangible, everyone glad to have Wonshik back and in better spirits and all were grateful to Chae for finding him and caring for him when he needed a friend.

 

Chae herself was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the boys' energy and chose to be a bit more reserved that morning, watching rather than contributing to the chaos, but still finding herself enjoying their company nonetheless.

 

Still, she was a bit relieved to step off the bus without them, allowing herself to be passed around for a few quick hugs and good-byes before hurrying off the bus to join the rest of the students heading up the road to the school.

 

A few of her first-year fans spotted her and rushed to join the older girl as she waved good-bye to her friends.

 

The boys stayed in their seats, waiting for a stop closer to their motel before departing. They still had things to talk about.

 

Serious things about the state of their relationship and their futures and their lives.

 

But Wonshik was back in their throng and seemed less harried than he had the other day, leaving everyone optimistic about what was to come.

 

 

The second day of the boys’ absence went easier than the first. Chae was able to relax and ignore her phone now that she was no longer anxious about her friends’ disappearing act.

 

(The thought that she actually had friends to worry about was enough to make her giddy.)

 

Her good attitude did not go unnoticed by her classmates. Hyejeong cooed over Chae’s kitten button while the Song Twins failed to see what was so great about it. The trio of friends, seeing that Chae’s demeanor had relaxed and that she seemed happier than she had the previous day, found the chance to ask her about Wonshik and Hongbin’s absence.

 

“I saw them this morning. They’ll probably be back in class soon – I wouldn’t worry about it.” she explained easily, the boys’ empty desks seeming less like chasms of loneliness. “Though, we may have to rethink our lunch table arrangement when they get back. Yesterday was ridiculous.”

 

“Well if you weren’t so popular over in the nursery section…” Bomi teased, grinning at her. “Jeon Chaeyeong: Mother Duck.”

 

Beomseok made an appropriate quacking sound to accommodate his sister.

 

Chae snorted at him and pushed him off the desktop where he was sitting.

 

Hyejeong and Bomi laughed at the boy’s incredulous expression.

 

“Chae, I think that Hongbin boy’s attitude is rubbing off on you!” Hyejeong giggled. “It’s nice having you play around with us now. You always seemed so shy and reserved before.”

 

“I figured out that you have to be loud to be heard with Hongbin’s friends. Well, with the exception of Taekwoon.” Chae snorted, offering Beomseok a hand up.

 

“I think it’s a good change for you.” Bomi said bluntly. “You needed some friends, girl. Though, maybe you oughta find a couple of girl friends too – boys can be a real pain in the if you spend too much time around ‘em.”

 

Chae laughed loudly at that, as Beomseok’s face twisted into a strange expression between annoyed and amused. Once again, he launched himself into another argument with his twin, both of them forgetting about their surroundings as they butted heads.

 

Hyejeong just sighed long-sufferingly.

 

Chae giggled at her expression as she stood. “I think I’ll run away to the restroom now. Want to come with me to avoid getting caught in the crossfire?”

 

“I think I’d better stay here, actually.” Hyejeong sighed, looking over the twins fondly. Even with all their arguing, Hyejeong and the Song Twins always seemed to be in good regards to one another, the twins’ childish disagreements aside. “Damage control and all that.”

 

“Suit yourself.” Chae grinned, leaving the three of them to their own devices.

 

As she left the room, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she turned instinctively to find herself being watched.

 

Moon Aera glared at her, her followers whispering furiously to one another in their seats around her.

 

Chae offered her a bright smile and slipped out the classroom door, hurrying to get in and out of the bathroom before the break ended.

 

“Girls,” Aera said coldly as she stood. She glanced over at Hyejeong and the twins to see if they were watching. Satisfied that they were distracted enough, she moved to follow Chae. “Let’s go.”

 

By the time they reached the bathroom, Jeon Chae had disappeared into one of the stalls.

 

Aera pulled her head back from where she had peeked into the room and held the door carefully to avoid making any noise and giving away their position. Two of the girls were sent off to the ends of the hallway to watch for teachers and another was left just outside the door.

 

The rest followed Aera inside, crowding around the door to keep Chae from escaping.

 

When Chae emerged from her stall, the girl’s eyebrows rose so far that they were in danger of disappearing into her hair line. The second year sighed and rolled her eyes, an apathetic expression on her face as she moved towards the sink.

 

“Let me guess,” she drawled, surveying them through the mirror. She forced herself to stay relaxed as the girls converged on her, blocking her in against the sinks. Her pulse jumped, body portraying her nervousness. “You’re gonna tell me to back off again, the boys are yours and I’ll regret it if I keep hanging out with them? Am I right? You guys oughta get some new material.”

 

Aera glared at her. “Shut your mouth.”

 

“Why should I?” Chae scoffed. It seemed like a bad idea to keep talking, to keep pushing and egging them on, but her pulse was racing and her body felt hot with anger. She couldn’t stop herself. “Because I’m saying things you don’t want to hear? How’s this then – Wonshik stayed over at my house last night. Jaehwan took me home the other day. All of them went out of their way to bring me to school this morning.”

 

Aera seemed to snap at that, her face going nearly purple with anger and her hand shot out.

 

The force of the slap made Chae’s head snap to the side.

 

It was like a dam broke then, all of the girls converging on Chae at once. For the first time since Aera and Somi threatened her, Chae felt afraid.

 

There were hands slapping and hitting against her, some of the hits padded by the thickness of her blazer, the skin-on-skin smacks hurting the worst. Every time an open palm landed on her skin, it felt like the area was catching fire, each blow that came after making her cry out in pain. Someone pulled her hair, making her neck jerk and her muscles seize with pain.

 

Chae made a strangled noise in and started hitting back as her shock wore off.

 

The bathroom filled with the sounds of shrieks and shouts, their garbled words and the sounds of fighting echoing off the tiled floors and walls.

 

Chae’s phone slipped out of her pocket and went under her foot, sending her off balance and onto the ground. She landed hard on her knees and screamed at the pain, elbow going up as she fell and landing against someone’s nose.

 

Aera cried out, stumbling away from Chae to clutch at her bloody face.

 

The rest of the girls fell away from her too, watching their leader in shock.

 

Chae ignored them all, in pain as she doubled over, turning onto her side to get off of her knees. They throbbed and stung at the sudden air on them. She felt lightheaded. A quick glance at her knees showed that the skin on her right knee had split open in her fall, oozing dark blood onto the tiles below.

 

Chae whimpered, the sight of her injuries making the pain all the more unbearable. Her wrist ached, as did her neck, and her whole body seemed to be throbbing in time to her heartbeat.

 

Thump! Pain. Thump! Pain.

 

Moon Aera glared down at her through watery eyes.

 

“You little !” she cried, words muffled by the hands pressed against her face. She made a distressed noise as her nose dripped blood into . “You’ll regret this!”

 

Aera dashed out of the bathroom with a sob, her lackeys hot on her heels.

 

“I already regret it.” Chae wheezed, rocking back and forth as she tried to deal with the pain and failed. “Me and my in’ mouth.”

 

She tried to extend her leg, testing her range of movement, and immediately regretted it. Chae rolled back into the fetal position, gasping against the floor as pain wracked her body. She hit the floor a few times with her good hand to release some tension.

 

Behind her, the door creaked open.

 

“Oh my god!” an unfamiliar voice yelped, loud about the sound of shoes clacking hurriedly across the tile. “ man – what happened?”

 

A girl knelt before Chae, hands fluttering over her like she wanted to help but was too afraid to touch her.

 

Chae laughed weakly. “My big mouth got me into more trouble than I could handle. That’s what happened.”

 

“The girls that just came out – they did this?”

 

“You just figured that out? Someone oughta get you a gold star.” Chae snorted. She frowned. “Wait, sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude.”

 

The girl laughed incredulously at her. “You’re bleeding out here on the floor and you’re worried about offending me? You hit your head too or are you just weird by nature?”

 

“Now who’s the rude one?” Chae clucked disapprovingly. She took a deep breath and pressed her good hand against the floor, shoving herself up into a sitting position all at once. She cried out at the movement, feeling her eyes well up with tears. She blinked them away stubbornly.

 

“Oh !” the girl yelped, hands going to Chae’s shoulders to steady her. “Are you nuts? Lay back down – I’ll go get a teacher! Or better yet, the nurse.”

 

“Don’t bother.” Chae ordered, batting her hands away. “I’m bleeding – not dying. What’s a little blood going to hurt? It’s not so bad. If you wanna help, wet me a paper towel so I can clean myself up.”

 

The girl hurried to do just that. “You don’t want to get back at those girls? Are you scared of them or something? Because I’m sure they’d get suspended for this. Maybe even expelled.” She handed Chae the wet towel.

 

“Thanks,” she muttered, hissing as she dabbed at her knees. Chae shook her head. “I’m not afraid of them. Well, maybe a little – considering what just happened and all. But that’s not what this is about. Getting them suspended or even expelled won’t change things. You can’t deal with people like them that way.”

 

“And keeping quiet and letting them get away with attacking you is?” The girl scoffed incredulously at her.

 

“They’re ignorant bullies who think they can get their way by a show of force or scaring people into submission. Suspending them will get rid of them for a while, but it won’t change the way they think. Their minds are made up in that they don’t like me. Don’t like the fact that I won’t bend to their hand. The best thing I can do is to keep standing up to them and standing in their way.” Chae said, lifting her eyes to meet the stranger’s.

 

The girl looked surprised. “In the way of what?”

 

Chae grimaced, using the sink to pull herself up on her feet. The girl grabbed her elbow, steadying Chae when she wobbled. They were about the same height, the unfamiliar girl only slightly taller.

 

“In the way between them and my friends.” Chae said firmly, a fire burning in her eyes. “I won’t let them hurt my friends for whatever reason or in any way. So I can’t let myself be run off. I care too much to do that. I won’t back down or abandon Hongbin and the others because I’m afraid. Running away doesn’t get you anywhere when it comes to the things you love. For once, I’ll stand my ground – even if it means I’ll have to learn to throw a punch against people too stupid to understand that.”

 

“You realize you sound like a character in an anime, right?” the girl said faintly, looking at Chae with a strange expression.

 

Chae grinned impishly at her. “Well, I do love One Piece.” She took a moment to look around for her phone, wobbling over to it when she saw it near the bathroom stalls.

 

The screen was cracked but the buttons still worked and she could still use the touch screen, even if she did have to press a little harder than normal.

 

Chae counted that as a win.

 

She shot off a quick text to Hyejeong asking the girl to hold onto her bag until tomorrow and slipped her phone back into her blazer pocket.

 

Chae turned to the girl again. “Thank you for your help. I appreciate it. If you don’t mind, I’d like to keep this between us.”

 

“The hell I do!” the girl cried, crossing her arms defiantly. She gave Chae a hard look. “I still think you oughta tell a teacher. But! I’m interested to see how things go. Just don’t count on me keeping my mouth shut if this happens again.”

 

The girl rolled her eyes at the ridiculousness of the situation and turned to leave the bathroom.

 

“Hey,” Chae called, making the other girl pause. “What’s your name? I’m Jeon Chae, a second year.”

 

“Boyeon,” the girl said. “A first year. C Class.”

 

“Nice to meet you, Boyeon-ah.”

 

Boyeon gave her a judging look. “See you around, sunbae.”

 

She stepped out of the bathroom, leaving Chae behind.

 

Boyeon ruffled her hair in frustration, scowling as she stomped back to class.

 

That girl was crazy!

 

But, she thought as she glanced back again. She was kind of cool. And pretty cute too.

 

Chae waited a few moments longer after Boyeon left the restroom, the older girl leaning heavily on the sink as she contemplated the state of her legs. It hurt to stand, but her legs held her weight, if a bit shakily. She could walk, hopefully long enough to get to the bus stop and then home. She grimaced at the thought of the long walk between the bus stop and her house.

 

It would hurt but what else could she do? Chae certainly wasn't going to go back to class after what happened, even for her bag. She trusted Hyejeong to hold onto it for her and her most important things, her wallet, her keys, and her phone, were in her pockets. Chae had everything she needed to get home. It would not hurt too much to skip a day – or two. She may not be willing to tell a teacher, but she would be a fool not to see a doctor.

 

She would go to the clinic tomorrow and get checked over. The landing had not been easy on her knees and her neck and wrist had been hurt in the fight as well. Seeing the doctor would at least excuse part of her absence from school.

 

Chae sighed heavily, sliding her tie from around her neck and using it as a makeshift bandage for her knee. She had another at home anyway.

 

She steeled herself and began the long limp out of the school.

 

It was slow going and she had to hold onto the wall to keep herself on her feet, her whole body twinging with pain every time she took a breath. Her skin felt tender, likely bruising something fierce, and her wrist looked like it was beginning to swell.

 

Her biggest obstacle, however, were the steps leading out the side exit of the building. Chae glared at them balefully. It would not matter what exit she went to – they all had steps leading down.

 

"Noona?"

 

Chae jumped a bit, yelping at the strain it put on her injuries, and turned to find Sanghyuk staring at her with wide eyes.

 

"Sanghyuk-ah!" she said in surprise, having expected not to see any of the boys again that day. "When did you come to school? I thought you were all going home to talk."

 

"We finished our talk a little while ago." Sanghyuk murmured, distracted by her disheveled appearance. "So Hakyeon-hyung decided he wanted to come to class. Wonshik and Hongbin stayed home but the rest of us came – that's not important though. Noona, what happened to you?" he exclaimed suddenly, taking hold of her chin and tilting her head up.

 

Chae flinched as the angle made her neck hurt and the younger boy froze, eyes narrowing at the redness blossoming on her cheek. He could see the outline of someone's fingers and the idea of someone striking Chae made his blood boil.

 

Sanghyuk forced himself to drop his hand and he looked away from her face to her legs, seeing her bloody tie and making a noise in the back of his throat.

 

"I fell." Chae finally said, voice quiet. "In the bathroom. The floor was wet."

 

"The nurse -"

 

"I've got a first aid kit at home." she interrupted. "I can take care of it for now. I'm going to see the doctor in the morning – well, once I call and make sure I can."

 

"You're going to wait until you get home?" Sanghyuk asked flatly, eyes traveling to her wrist. "The point of first aid is to do it right away, Chaeyeong. And how do you plan on getting home anyway? You're going to walk to the bus stop like that?"

 

Chae frowned at him. "Well I'm not going to crawl there. I can still walk, Sanghyuk. I'm not hurt that badly."

 

The younger boy growled in frustration, hands going back to her face. He seemed angry, but his touch was gentle against her jaw, tilting her face up again to look at her face.

 

"No, you're just bloody and bruised. Must have been some strange floors to hit your face like that. Tell me, when did the school get hand shaped floors?" he snapped, eyes flashing angrily.

 

Chae shoved his hand off her face, swaying dangerously as the movement upset her balance. "Just leave it alone, Sanghyuk! It's none of your business."

 

"It's my business when my friend is so hurt she can't even stand up without help." the younger shot back, hands holding her waist to steady her. "You know what – to hell with this. I'll take you home myself and make sure you take care of all this."

 

"What?" Chae asked blankly, only having a moment to think about what he was saying before she was swept off her feet.

 

Chae shrieked in surprise as Sanghyuk slipped an arm beneath her knees and behind her back, pulling her up into his arms in one swift movement. Her head spun at the sudden change and fell back against the younger boy's shoulder. Sanghyuk looked at her in alarm, having to twist his neck to an odd angle to see her.

 

"Noona?" he asked frantically, worry replacing his anger. "Are you alright? I should take you to the nurse after all!"

 

Chae tugged at his ear sharply, scowling at him. "Yah, Han Sanghyuk! Put me down!"

 

Sanghyuk rolled his eyes at her, using his shoulder to push the door open. "Not a chance. What if you make your injuries worse trying to walk all over the place? And I thought that you were supposed to be smart, Noona. Just deal with it."

 

Chae squirmed defiantly, glaring at Sanghyuk's jaw, the only place she could see clearly. "And I didn't think you were so bratty, Sanghyuk-ah. I don't need you to carry me."

 

"Then make me put you down." he drawled lazily, squeezing her a bit to show off his strength.

 

Chae yelped, hands going to his shoulders and pushing lightly. "Okay! Okay!" she exclaimed, relaxing back into his hold. "You're a baby brute. Don't squish me."

 

"Ah – I didn't hurt you, did I?" he worried, looking down at her again. "I'm sorry!"

 

"You didn't hurt me." Chae sighed, dropping her head onto his shoulder again. "Y'know, you and Wonshik are more alike than I thought. Both of you have terrible mood swings."

 

Sanghyuk chuckled at that, the vibrations traveling through his chest. Chae startled at the feeling, suddenly aware of how close he was to her. She looked up at him with wide eyes.

 

Being carried this way seemed even more intimate than the way Jaehwan had done before.

 

Until that moment, Chae had only looked at Sanghyuk as a cute dongsaeng, taller than her but young and puppy-like all the same. She joked about him being a baby but it did not change the fact that his hands swamped her own, his big palms wrapped over most of her hips and thighs where he held her in his arms. Had his shoulders always been so broad, his chest so firm? Chae reached out and squeezed his bicep experimentally.

 

Sanghyuk was definitely a manly sort of guy.

 

He quirked a brow at her and Chae blushed, coughing awkwardly and turning her head. Sanghyuk grinned, flexing his arms playfully. "What, Noona? Surprised I'm so y? Didn't you know I've got a lot to offer?"

 

Chae's eyes went as wide as saucers, a blush creeping up her neck at what he was implying.

 

Sanghyuk yelped in alarm as he thought about what he said, nearly dropping Chae as he tried to correct himself. "Oh, sorry!" he exclaimed, hoisting her back up into a better carrying position. "I meant, muscles, Noona! I've got a lot of muscle! Not that! Wait, that's not right either. I mean, I don't mean to say that I don't have – I mean! I wasn't trying to imply anything (even if it is true). I – Aw, hell." He whined, hiding his face in her hair, having nowhere else to hide.

 

Chae could not help but laugh at him, even with her own face feeling like it was on fire. She tucked her face against his neck, giggles shaking her body helplessly. "Sanghyuk-ah, you poor thing. Nothing you say is gonna help you now."

 

He groaned pathetically. "Can we forget that happened? Oh my god, I'm such an idiot."

 

"Just walk to the bus," Chae instructed, suddenly feeling better. Even if it had been at the expense of Sanghyuk's embarrassment, the mood between them had lightened, neither so angry or frustrated with the other.

 

Sanghyuk did as he was told, walking in silence and only peeking out from his hiding place enough to watch where he was going. His breaths were even and hot against her hair, the small puffs making Chae's ear and jaw grow hot and damp as a result.

 

She shivered at the feeling, a familiar warmth blossoming in her chest and stomach.

 

Chae wanted to hit herself.

 

She seriously had to stop being so attracted to her friends. Being attracted to one was one thing, but two of them? It made her squirm in discomfort. She did not want to date either of them, even if she thought that Jaehwan would make good boyfriend material and that Sanghyuk (and Jaehwan) was kind of hot. Dating friends was a bad idea – breakups not only ended romantic relationships, but also the friendships that had come before them. And Chae had no desire to loose any more friends.

 

Letting a crush build on either Jaehwan or Sanghyuk was a bad idea.

 

But… there was a bit of a difference in what she was realizing in her feelings for both boys.

 

Jaehwan was the one she did not know as well, but so far he seemed ideal to her. Kind and compassionate, able to get her out of her shell with ease. Apart from Hongbin, he had been the first to welcome her into their group, even going out of his way to ask her along that first time. He made her feel welcome and reassured her when she felt bad.

 

But Sanghyuk was the one she was a little more familiar with. She could read him like a book and was able to talk to him about his feelings of isolation and share her own without feeling like she would be judged. They shared an understanding on that front. Chae liked the way he was open with her. Liked the way he got when he was flustered, blushing and frantic to regain control of the situation. She liked the fact that just a comment from her could send him into a stuttering mess and the way his ears turned red. She liked the way his hand fit in her own, big enough to cover but never squeezing enough to hurt. The way he was strong enough to hurt others, which he admitted to having done accidentally, but cared enough about others to not abuse his strength (at least, among anyone outside the rest of the boys they were friends with). It said a lot about his character.

 

His attitude appealed to her too. He could be both sweet and shy at times and then turn around and become the pinnacle of mischief, teasing her and the others when he found the opportunity. She liked to rile him up in return, watching him spit and sputter beneath her teasing.

 

And, even if she was reluctant to admit it, Chae found Sanghyuk to be very cute.

 

She liked the curl of his lips and the way his eyes scrunched up when he smiled. The sharpness of his cheekbones always stood out to her, so unlike her own, and made his face look older when he wasn't smiling. More mature and adult-like. Sanghyuk's cheeks held a charm of their own. His ears were cute.

 

Chae made a distressed noise and nosed at the boy's neck, making him jump. She felt his skin grow hot beneath her own.

 

Okay, so maybe she did have a small crush on Sanghyuk. It did not mean anything and would likely go away with time. Just a passing affection that she could mistake for something romantic in the right light. She had nothing to worry about.

 

Unless she was just lying to herself. Chae could not help but admit that she liked the way she felt pressed against Sanghyuk, soaking in the warmth he provided. Could not deny the fluttering in her chest and stomach.

 

But she had felt the same way when Jaehwan carried her too.

 

Would she have to squash a crush on both of them? Could she even manage that?

 

She would have to reflect on things again later. Preferably when she was not so biased by the feeling of Sanghyuk's body.

 

"We're at the bus stop, Noona." Sanghyuk murmured, breaking her out of her thoughts.

 

Chae lifted her head from his shoulder and felt a surge of relief at the sight of the bus. "Ah, thank you for bringing me, Sanghyuk-ah. I can take it from here."

 

"Weren't you listening earlier?" Sanghyuk raised a brow at her. "For one thing, we all decided that it wasn't safe for you to walk home alone with the animal attack being so close to your house. And another thing is that you're hurt. You can't walk very fast as it is. What if you met that animal and couldn't run away? You want me to live the rest of my life in a guilty haze because I put you on the bus and sent you home without another care? Wah, what a cruel person you are, Noona."

 

Chae slapped his arm, scowling. "Oh my gosh, Sanghyuk-ah! I just can't win with you, can I?"

 

"Consider it payback for the other night." he grinned, recalling the way she refused to let him win the argument about him being a baby.

 

Chae pouted.

 

Sanghyuk's ears went red, his eyes flickering to before he turned his head away. Chae felt his heart rate speed up beneath the hand she had on his chest.

 

She looked at him thoughtfully as he walked them towards the bus.

 

They had arrived just in time to board the latest bus and Sanghyuk was careful not to let her bump into the rails as he carried her up the steps, setting her down in the closest seat for a moment so he could pay their fare. Chae hurried to pull out her bus card and threw it at the boy's head when it seemed like he was going to insist on paying for her fare with his own money.

 

Sanghyuk swiped her card with a scowl, practically throwing it back at her.

 

Chae looked out the window smugly.

 

"How did the talk go this morning?" Chae asked after a few minutes of silence, turning back to the boy. "I mean, things haven't gotten worse have they?"

 

Sanghyuk flopped back against the seat with a heavy sigh and Chae panicked for a moment, thinking that it was a bad idea to ask.

 

"Well," the younger boy began, turning to look at her. "It couldn't have gone worse than it did the other day. No one ran away this time – though, Hongbin did lock himself in the bathroom for a little while. He cried a lot. So did Wonshik. And Taekwoon. I'm pretty sure that Hakyeon-hyung cried too, but he doesn't let us see him cry unless it's over something stupid. Like a movie or something like that."

 

Chae looked his face over intently, raising a hand to touch at the skin beneath his eyes. It was a little puffy. "You cried too."

 

Sanghyuk did not deny it, but turned away awkwardly. "Yeah."

 

"My mom used to say that crying was our body's way of turning all our sadness and bad feelings into something we could get rid of." Chae smiled wanly, ducking her head. "When we get too full of them, it wells over and turns into tears. And crying is our way of getting rid of all that negativity."

 

"That's an interesting way to put it." Sanghyuk murmured, letting his head droop down onto hers.

 

Chae hummed, leaning her shoulder against his. He picked up her swollen wrist, careful not to jostle it, and rested it in his lap. He prodded it gently, pressing along her muscles to find where it was sore. Chae hissed as he pressed on a particularly painful spot and he let her hand go, leaving it resting on his leg.

 

"I don't think it's broken. Just sprained. Still, go to the doctor like you said, okay? Call us in the morning and one of us will walk you there." Sanghyuk insisted, voice quiet. "We're just worried about you, Noona. You're our friend and we don't want anything bad to happen to you. That's why I was so mad earlier. Someone hit you, didn't they?"

 

Chae did not answer, eyes fixed on the back of the seat in front of them.

 

Sanghyuk sighed wearily, slipping an arm around her shoulders and holding her close. He would make sure that it did not happen again.

 

"You don't have to do things alone, Noona," he murmured into her hair, just barely loud enough to hear. Chae stiffened beneath his touch and he knew that she had heard him. "You have us now."

 

"... thank you, Sanghyuk-ah." she said quietly, slipping her hand into his. He squeezed it lightly, threading their fingers together in a show of solidarity.

 

Sanghyuk was not helping her to squash her crush, but Chae could not bring herself to mind.

 

A quiet sort of melancholy settled over the pair as they fell back into silence, though not so terrible as long as they were holding on to one another.

 

Chae did not protest when he lifted her out of the seat and left the bus once they were on her side of the river, choosing to hold onto the younger teen's neck as he carried her through the streets. The silence was broken as they reached the playground, Sanghyuk needing her to direct him the rest of the way to her house, her quiet words seeming to echo through the air around them as he wandered on. Chae pulled away from him for a moment when they reached the gate, punching the security code in quickly, and sunk back into Sanghyuk's embrace as he carried her up the path to the house.

 

He finally set her down as they reached the door, giving Chae the space she needed to dig through her pockets for her house keys and let them in.

 

Sanghyuk's awe of her home was not unlike Wonshik's, the boy staring wide-eyed at everything and admiring. Chae watched him, brow furrowing.

 

She wondered just what kind of home they had to be so impressed by her own. Chae loved her home and its familiarity, but for all its spaciousness and shiny interests, it was not all that impressive to her. It was just an ordinary house.

 

Still, the boys had treated it like a palace.

 

"My first aid kit's upstairs in my bathroom." Chae finally said once Sanghyuk had a little time to poke around the living room, startling him out of his daze. She held her arms up like a child when he came back to pick her up again, the boy chuckling at her. "Down the hall, if you please."

 

"M'lady." He bowed with flourish before sweeping her back up into his arms.

 

His steps only faltered once they reached her room, eyes wide at the sight of her room. Chae had a very nice and girlish air about her at school, but it was muted by the mundane and dark uniform that they wore everyday. Her room was painted in soft pastel blues and pinkish purples, accented in white curtains and bedspreads. It was like a reflection of the gentle nature she portrayed and Sanghyuk was surprised by how much he liked the feel the room gave off.

 

"Y'know, no one's gonna jump out and bite you if you go in?" Chae teased, raising a brow at him.

 

"I've never been in a girl's room before." he admitted shyly, ears going red, but he walked into the room nonetheless. The smell of Chae's perfume wafted over him and he was startled to find that the scent had been lingering on Wonshik that morning. For a moment, he felt jealous. Though, who he was jealous of he could not say. It was confusing. He coughed awkwardly. "Your first aid kit?"

 

"In the bathroom cabinet," she directed, pointing out the door to him. "I don't want to get my blanket dirty so just set me down in the desk chair."

 

"It might be a good idea for you to shower first," Sanghyuk frowned thoughtfully. "You said this happened in the bathroom, right? I doubt it was clean."

 

Chae frowned at him. "You need to go back to class soon, Sanghyuk-ah. I won't make you wait on me longer than you have to."

 

"I've missed most of the day already." he rolled his eyes. "Is there really any point in going now? Go shower first, Noona. Waiting's no problem."

 

"Irresponsible baby." Chae accused, huffing as he set her back on her feet. She wanted to stomp over to the dresser but her legs hurt too much. She settled for scowling heavily instead.

 

Sanghyuk smiled as he watched her grumble to herself about him, rifling irritably through her drawers for a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. She hesitated over a drawer for a moment, looking at Sanghyuk nervously and he could understand why until she hurried to snatch something out and hide it against her chest.

 

His ears burned, going bright scarlet at the sight of her underwear.

 

He was suddenly very aware that he was about to be in the same house as his crush while she showered. He spun around on his heel as she shuffled into the bathroom, her face just as red as his.

 

The door shut behind her and Sanghyuk collapsed onto her bed, hands covering his burning face and a whine building in his throat.

 

He felt like such an idiot today. The talk from that morning had completely burned down his barriers and made him painfully honest. His filter was completely destroyed and Chae probably thought he was some sort of ert now. What would his hyungs say if they found out? What did he mean by 'if'? The question should be 'when' they found out, as he would surely have to tell them everything after they agreed to be more honest and open with each other during their talk.

 

Sanghyuk continued to stew in his feelings of dread and embarrassment until Chae emerged from the bathroom again, hair damp and plastered against her neck, the smell of apples wafting out and over Sanghyuk.

 

Her bare face was shiny and just as lovely as it was when she wore her makeup. Chae always looked nice.

 

Sanghyuk resisted the urge to hide his face in his hands again.

 

Chae waved the first aid kit at him. "Please be gentle when you clean it – I'm kind of a sissy about that part."

 

"Don't you mean that you're a baby about it?" Sanghyuk snorted, leaving the bed to sit cross-legged before her as she sat down in her desk chair. He pulled her leg into his lap, sliding his fingers curiously over the soft skin on her shin before he could stop himself and feeling a huge surge of guilt for it. Chae went red and Sanghyuk cleared his throat, pointedly pulling his hand away to reach for the kit.

 

They avoided each other's eyes as he worked on bandaging her, the boy focusing all of his attention on cleaning her knee and wrapping it with gauze without cutting off her circulation.

 

A lock of hair fell in his eyes as he was working and he felt Chae's slender fingers comb through his hair. He looked up at her, startled, and their eyes met.

 

It felt like something electric passed through them and Sanghyuk swallowed thickly, fingers twitching where they were wrapped around her legs. Chae's hand was still buried in his hair, fingers fiddling with his soft locks as she fidgeted unconsciously. Sanghyuk his lips out of habit and felt a hot rush in his stomach when her gaze dropped down to his mouth. He watched Chae's lips part and felt the urge to cover them with his own.

 

He jerked back to his senses abruptly, jaw clenching and eyes going back to her knee as he taped off her bandages. His eyes were wide and panicked and Chae's hand fell away from his hair.

 

"Thank you, Sanghyuk-ah." she breathed, looking away from him.

 

"No problem." he said hoarsely, grimacing at the way his voice sounded. He cleared his throat again. "Remember to call one us about going to the doctor's tomorrow. If you don't, we'll all show up on your doorstep. Kay? I'm gonna go now. Before one of the hyungs panics."

 

"Yeah," Chae nodded furiously, looking like a frazzled bobble-head doll. "It's not good for them to worry so much. You don't want them to get upset again like that."

 

"Right."

 

"Good."

 

The air between them grew terribly awkward as Sanghyuk rose to his feet, both teens avoiding looking in the other's direction.

 

"See you, Noona."

 

"Be careful going back, Sanghyuk-ah." Chae urged, glancing at him. Luckily, he was already turned away, saving them both more embarrassment. "Don't dawdle."

 

"I won't." he promised, chancing a quick look at her before fleeing the room.

 

Chae slumped against her desk in relief.

 

How was she meant to deal with her crush now?