“What are you doing?” Jungkook asked.  He had entered his room, where Jiyeong was sprawled out on the bed surrounded by several sheets of paper.

“I finally received all the surveys from the juniors and seniors today,” Jiyeong exclaimed. She was sifting through the surveys, examining each of the handwriting.

“You’re making a paper hurricane here,” the boy observed. He glanced at the sheets of paper on the floor and sighed. While the girl continued to make a mess while intent on her search, Jungkook quietly began picking up the scattered surveys.

“By the way, where were you this evening? You weren’t at dinner. Were you at the library?” Jungkook asked absentmindedly.

Jiyeong’s hand froze in the middle of tossing another survey to the floor.  “Um, yeah. You know, catching up on homework.” She tried not to make her voice sound awkward. Involuntarily, she tapped her cheeks with her fingers and stared at the tips to make sure she had erased all traces of makeup. The wig and dress had been smuggled to Taehyung’s room in advance.

Looking up, she saw Jungkook staring intently at her. “What’s wrong?” she quickly asked, self-consciously.

Jungkook pointed at her ear. “What is that? An earring?” He seemed bewildered.

Jiyeong automatically her earlobe. She had totally forgotten about the earrings Taehyung had bought for her. She face-palmed herself and removed the tiny silver crescent moon from her ear and her other earlobe. However, nothing was there. Puzzled, she lowered the one earring to the bed, wondering where the other earring had gone.

“Who gave that to you?” Jungkook asked. He knew that she wasn’t the type of girl to wear earrings. Also, she wasn’t supposed to wear earrings while disguising as a boy (although some boys did wear earrings as fashion at their school).

The girl chuckled nervously and hid the tiny earring in a fist. “Um, it’s a good luck charm from… Taehyung.” Internally, she winced.

“Taehyung?” Jungkook’s face darkened.

“Um, yeah.” She hadn’t known what else to say. She didn’t have money to buy such expensive earrings. Well, at that moment, earring.

“Why did he buy you an earring?” Her best friend’s tone had turned cold.

“Err… that’s a good question. Well, he’s a nice guy. He must like buying gifts for his friends.”

“Friends… the residents of the House of Secrets aren’t technically ‘friends.’ Well, save you and me. We’re just fellow residents who mind our own businesses. That’s the requirement to live here.” Jungkook’s words were blunt.

“Forget those stupid rules! People can’t live together without interacting! And if they can interact every day, they should get along with each other. We all can be friends! I don’t get why you guys-”

“It’s convenient for us, and we like it that way!” the boy exploded. Jiyeong was taken aback. “Since you live here too, you should abide by the rules! You don’t want people to start knowing about you! Taehyung himself is one too many! You could get kicked out! Don’t you want to find your brother?”

Jiyeong closed her eyes. She did want to stay here and find her brother. She couldn’t risk getting caught again – that was true. However, it still felt unfair and stupid to act like total strangers with the other residents while living in the same house. She heaved a sigh. “I… know. Okay.”

Jungkook went over to sit next to her and threw an arm around her. “I’m… sorry I got so mad at you, alright? But I really want to help you find your brother.”

“I know.” Jiyeong opened her eyes and gazed sadly at the surveys in front of her. She came here with the goal of finding her brother, not to make new friends. She couldn’t lose her focus.

She glanced at the survey she was holding. Her eyes widened. The flowing handwriting… this had to be her brother’s.

“He’s here!” Excitement colored her voice. “He attends Taejong High!”

“Really?” Jungkook leaned forward to get a glimpse of the survey. “It’s one of the seniors’ surveys?”

Jiyeong nodded. “I think it is. So he’s actually at this school! I might’ve passed by him without knowing it!” By just knowing that her brother was close by, her heart felt warm from the hope blossoming inside it.

Jungkook grinned. “So, now the next plan. How are we going to draw him out?”

Jiyeong clutched the paper to her chest as if it were the most precious thing in the world. “I’ll have to think on that,” she admitted. However, her lips curved upwards.

Taehyung entered his room late at night, back from the social gathering. He threw his tux jacket to the floor, exhausted. Without Jiyeong around, the party felt long and tiring, not to mention boring. He opened his closet and saw that Jiyeong had hung her blue dress along with his clothes. A small smile formed on his face as he remembered that she had looked dazzling that evening. It was his first time to see her dressed up as a girl. His heart had never beaten so quickly before.

He really hoped that Jiyeong didn’t chicken out and tell her best friend about the party. Jungkook would never forgive him.

Hoseok was lying on his bed, with something tiny and sparkling held above his face. He examined it as if he stared closely enough, a clue would pop out. Numerous questions bombarded his mind. Never having felt curious about someone before, he felt both dumbfounded and unnerved. Why was she constantly on his mind after she ran off? He rolled the earring around with his fingers. His mind drifted to Jiyeong. The girl looked so similar to him. Was she a relative? He bolted up, an idea hitting him. He would ask his dad for the guest roster the next morning.

New chapterIIII :D

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