Mi-young slept through most of the day, until the sun was beginning to sink to the other side of the sky. When she finally stirred the boys were meandering about the apartment in boredom, staring with unfocused eyes at the television set or goofing off on their smartphones. Mi-young yawned loudly as she sat up, raising her arms to stretch them above her head; she immediately regretted it, however, as intensely fiery pain rocketed up her entire side, making her shudder violently and gasp. The involuntary noise announced her presence to the room, and next thing she knew half the household was gathered around her, flustered and fluttering like a bunch of hens.

“Mi-young? Are you okay? Do you need anything?” Kai frowned deeply at her, holding one of her hands in his own.

“Just tell us, and we'll get it!” Sehun affirmed with a furious nod, holding her other hand. The mermaid could not help but giggle at all the attention. They care so much. How is it that I ever could have wanted to leave? She thought with a slightly pained smile. I have to make it up to them… she resolved before she smiled at all of them in turn.

“I’m fine,” she reassured them. “It just hurts when I move a certain way. Um, if it’s not too much to ask, breakfast would be nice. You don’t have to do anything fanc-" Before she could finish, the group of boys jumped to their feet and began scrambling wildly over each other to get to the kitchen, each adamant to cook the mermaid a healthy and uplifting breakfast. In their haste, Suho got knocked into a side table and knocked the lamp off of it, but thankfully it did not shatter as it landed on the thick carpet.

“We should really get rid of this thing,” he sighed as he replaced the lighting fixture onto the small wooden table. He then cried out in alarm when he realized that his companions had gotten a head start on him, and he hastily scurried into the other room. Amused, she wrapped the blanket around herself and listened to the banter drifting through the entryway to the kitchen.

“No! I say she wants toast and eggs!” Xiumin asserted firmly, and presumably slammed a skillet down on the stove with a resounding clang.

“No way!” Kai snapped back. “Mi-young is much more high-class than that! She definitely wants pancakes!” She heard him roughly ripping open something, likely the bag of pancake batter that they kept in the cabinet.

“How are pancakes high-class?” Suho cried indignantly.

“Look who's talking! You have a cereal box, for crying out loud!” Kai retorted with a huff. The disgruntled Suho briefly appeared in the entryway, glaring down at the floor as he shoved a handful of cereal into his mouth and munched on it angrily.

“Mi-young likes cereal,” she heard him mutter.

She was so absorbed in listening to the excited boys argue back and forth that she didn’t notice Baekhyun's approach until he rested his arm over the back of the couch, his other hand resting on his hip as he sniffed disapprovingly at the commotion occurring in the kitchen. Mi-young blushed brightly as soon as he appeared in her vision, recalling the passionate kiss the night before. Self-consciously, she pulled the blanket tighter around herself and edged away from him, resting awkwardly against the throw pillow. As she did, Baekhyun dropped his gaze to her, and she immediately tensed up. Why do I feel like this now? I can hardly look at him without getting all… excited and embarrassed…

“There is never a dull moment in this house, is there?” he smirked down at her. It was then that she noticed something strange about his expression, something guarded, like he was holding back. His smile was all wrong; while it was normally soft and kind, now it was almost haunted, and sad. Is he still upset about yesterday? She thought in confusion. “Hey, Mi-young, did you hear me?” She gasped as he leaned down slightly, poking her in the forehead.

“I’m sorry! I was thinking about something,” she admitted bashfully, her face glowing hot at the close contact. He was still a good foot away, but it was still enough to make her heart begin to pound wildly in her chest. He cocked an eyebrow at her, but thankfully did not inquire as to what had occupied her mind so.

“Oh. Anyway, I said that we should probably change your bandages,” he repeated. Mi-young glanced down, lifting up the side of her shirt. The bandage was now only loosely bound, stained dark with blood and fluid. Yuck. That doesn’t look good, she thought with a frown as Baekhyun walked around the side of the couch to kneel down in front of her. He unrolled a set of bandages, and Mi-young lifted the hem of her shirt so that her midriff was exposed. Her cheeks grew slightly warm, and she could not look him in the eyes as his hands brushed over her skin to pull the bandages away. This is so embarrassing… she thought as she chewed on her lip.

If Baekhyun was perturbed, he did well not to show it. Methodically, he removed the soiled bandages from around her middle and tossed them aside, pursing his lips as he examined her stitched wound. It hurt less today, and the swelling had lessened considerably; still, it was still slightly red and oozing a strange fluid.

“Is it okay…?” she asked quietly. She had never suffered such a wound, and it certainly didn’t seem like it was doing well. However, Baekhyun raised his head to smile gently up at her, and began attaching the clean bandage to her middle.

“It’s healing well. You’re going to be just fine,” he assured her, and once her was finished, he gently lowered down her shirt. His hands lingered there for a moment, resting against the bottom of her stomach, and she felt like tiny shocks of electricity were moving through her body. Without thinking about it, she found herself leaning down, bringing her face closer to his own. Abruptly, he jerked back and stood up stiffly, turning his back on her to exit the room. Blinking in confusion, she stared after him. Baekhyun?

His strange behavior continued after that. It seemed that no matter what Mi-young did, he was avoiding her completely. Any time she approached, he was brusquely answer whatever question she had thought up or attended to whatever she requested of him before making some excuse to leave. Any interaction that she did have with him was short and terse, and as the day dragged on, she grew more and more blue. Why would he act that way to me? Yesterday was so… the thought remained unfinished as here mind strayed yet again to the steaming kiss. I just don’t understand…

No amount of dwelling on the predicament yielded any answers. That evening, she sat glumly on the couch with her cheeks in her hands. She twitched slightly as she felt someone sit down beside her, and she quickly turned, half hoping it was Baekhyun; when she realized that it was only Chen, though, she sighed forlornly and sunk back into the soft cushioning of the furniture.

“Hmm. I’m not the one you wanted to see,” he mused with a slightly sad smile. “Why so glum, Mi-young?” he asked curiously. “Is it Baekhyun?” he added in a lower voice, and she went bright red as he looked at her with a knowing smile. “Come on, Mi-young. You’d have to be blind not to know. Fortunately for you, most of the guys here are pretty oblivious. I’m not, though.” The corner of Mi-young's mouth twitched uncomfortably, but she knew better than to try and lie to him. He’s seen right through me, she thought with a small smile.

“I just don’t understand why he’s avoiding me,” she admitted with pursed lips. “Yesterday it seemed like we were so close… And now it’s like he can’t bear to look at me.” Chen rubbed his chin and nodded in understanding.

“I see… Well, I can’t venture to guess what may be going on inside his head,” he admitted to her. It wasn’t what she had wanted to hear, and she looked forlornly at her lap. She felt him rest his hand on her shoulder, and she slowly peered at him through her peripheral vision. “I’m sorry. That’s just something that’s between you and Baekhyun… But, there is something I can do,” he smiled at her. She turned to look at him, growing curious. “I know something you haven’t seen yet.”

“Something… I haven’t seen yet?” she echoed. The wonder chased away her sadness as she contemplated what exactly Chen could be referring to, and she blinked slowly as he extended a hand.

“Would you like to go?” he asked, and she nodded before she could even consider the question. He smiled widely as she took the offered hand, and soon she was following quickly after him down the sidewalk. His stride was considerably larger then hers, and when he noticed her shuffling quickly to keep up, he slowed his pace. “Sorry. I just don’t want to be late,” he mused.

“Late?” she inquired, but he did not answer, only gestured forward. She followed his finger to a large building at the end of the street, flashing brightly with neon lights and crowded with a large amount of people. “What is it?” she asked as she stood on her tip-toes to see what all the commotion was about. The people seemed to be waiting patiently in line at a box-like structure.

“It’s a movie theater,” he explained matter-of-factly, taking her hand to pull her across the street. She plodded along beside him, her sea-blue eyes wide as they absorbed every detail of the strange place. Colorful posters of people in dramatic poses or cute cartoonish characters lined the building. They took their place in the line of individuals, slowly inching their way to the box. The box was just a smaller office for an worker, upon close inspection, who sold tickets to the supposed “movie.” Mi-young held the small strip of paper in her hands as she followed Chen into the noisy building, where the scents of different foods mingled in the air. They smelled so good it made water, and Chen seemed to notice, as he dragged her to one of the vendors selling food. He bought a large bag of a puffy yellow substance and grabbed a piece, holding it out to her. “Here. It’s popcorn, try!” He beamed at her, and she obediently opened so he could toss the little piece of popcorn into . It was delectably salty and soft, and crunchy. She smiled as she chewed on it, then took a handful of the popcorn and shoved it into .

“It’s so good!” she cried in delight, and he smiled happily at her reaction.

“I’m glad you like it! Come on, it’s almost time,” he mused and let her hold the bag as they walked down a dark hall. They came into an even darker room, and she gasped as she tripped over one of the steps, nearly spilling the popcorn all over the floor. Thankfully, Chen steadied her before a disaster could occur, and guided her to a row of plush seats. She settled down beside him, holding the popcorn on her lap as she devoured it hungrily. A massive white screen was stretching across the wall in front of them, and she jumped violently at it suddenly kicked into life. Chen laughed lightly at her.

“It’s like television!” she realized with glee. Indeed, images were dancing across the screen. She leaned forward in awe at the giant display, and even though she had no idea what was going on, she was enthralled.

“Mi-young, that’s just a soda commercial,” Chen mused and reached over to grab a handful of the popcorn.

“Oh,” she blinked. After the commercials were over, the screen came alive with color and song, and a little character began running across the screen happily. She gasped in delight at the little animation’s antics, and she lost all sense of time as she watched the movie. It was a heartwarming story, and by the end of it she was feeling much better. She couldn’t stop smiling as Chen escorted her out of the building and out into the night. It was much cooler now, and she shoved her hands deep in her sweater pockets. “Thank you,” she beamed to Chen. “I feel a lot better!”

“I’m glad,” he smiled back. “Don’t worry about Baekhyun. I’m sure he just has a lot on his mind. He'll come around,” he assured.

“Yeah, you’re right!” she beamed. Whatever he’s going through, he’ll tell me when he’s ready. Her smile faded when something wet plopped onto her nose. She glanced up at the sky to find that it was full of dark clouds. Rain came falling from the sky, dropping onto her hair, her clothes, her skin, and soon she became dripping wet. “Oh no!” she cried in alarm as a familiar feeling began to wash over her. “Chen! The rain! It’ll make me-" she cried out as her legs began to give way beneath her.

“Ah! I didn’t know it was going to rain! This is bad, isn’t it?!” He cried out in alarm as he looked around wildly. He grabbed her and scooped her into his arms, half-carrying and half-dragging her down the sidewalk. He stumbled as her legs glowed with bright light, and her fishy tail flopped against him and all the way down to the concrete. He managed to hold onto her though, and fumbled into a secluded alleyway before finally collapsing into a pile of trash bags.

“Oh, Chen! Are you okay?” she gasped as he groaned. He was sprawled out among the garbage with the mermaid sitting on his lap. He gingerly eased himself onto his elbows, shaking his head and blinking up at her.

“Whoa, you’re a lot heavier than you look, you know,” he laughed as he rubbed his head. “I’m okay. Are you?” When she nodded, he glanced up with a frown at the pouring rain. “Ah, this is no good. Who knows how long we'll be out here? We'll catch cold like this…” As he said it, Mi-young felt the chill seep into her bones, and she sneezed.

“I can’t believe it happened again,” she frowned miserably as she flapped her tail, splashing up the water that had already accumulated on the cobblestone alleyway.

“Hey, it’s okay. You can blame it on me!” Chen grinned up at her, making her feel a little better. “Look, it’s already lightening up. We'll just sit tight, while I call the guys to bring the car!” Promptly, he pulled out his phone. Mi-young slid off of him and leaned against the wall, watching the raindrops make ripples across the thin layer of water on the ground. I wonder if Baekhyun will be angry. I hope not. I just want him to kiss me again…