"I am so sorry about that. I have no idea what's wrong with them today. Honestly, things could've went better if I was more prepared. I think they're just shocked that you three suddenly appeared in our lives. Really, I'm very sorry. I'll make it up to you in some way! I promise! Maybe I'll take you to the amusement park. I-" IU quickly stopped when Wooyoung grabbed her hands and folded them together. He smiled and gently gripped his hands over IU's fragile, pale hands. IU blushed, embarrassed by Wooyoung's intense gaze. Yoseob threw his arm over IU's back and grinned cheekily, while Thunder stood by the side, smiling softly at her.

"It's okay, no big deal. It's not like they wrecked our lives or anything," Wooyoung assured her. He grimaced, then forced a bitter smile. "Well, I guess in ways they did ruin our lives."

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I'll make it up to you with something. Erm, maybe cookies or we can go play at the amusement park-"

Yoseob squeezed IU into a tighter hug. "Amusement park sounds fun. Why don't you bring the cookies to the amusement park?"

IU paused for a moment, then gave them a small smile. "You guys haven't changed, did you?"

The three kept quiet. The silence caused IU to be suspicious, but then her friends quickly gave her a smile. Wooyoung stopped holding her hands and Yoseob pulled himself away. Thunder grabbed a random hat in the room and placed it on her head until it covered her eyes. IU scowled, and quickly pulled the hat away from her head.

"Here, let's go watch some television downstairs. I'm sure the rest of the guys are waiting, right?" Thunder suggested. IU beamed and nodded her head anxiously as she opened the door and left her room. She stopped when she was on top of the staircase and stared at the three. Her eyes slightly widened once she caught the cold expressions on their face, surprised how dark and gloomy they looked.

"Guys… A-Are you guys coming?" IU stuttered. Thunder glanced at Wooyoung and Yoseob, who stood in silence. Then, Thunder gave IU a small smile.

"We'll be down in a few minutes. We need to have a discussion," Thunder told her. 

"About what?"

Thunder walked towards the door, and slowly began to push the door to close it. Right before he closed the wooden door, he breathed, "About home."

The last word left IU stunned as the door shut closed and locked itself. 

"Gah! I hate them! I hate this, I hate them, I hate her!"

"Shut up, Woohyun. It was your fault that we're in this huge mess."

"My fault? If you weren't the one who hit me, then we would've been in a perfectly good situation!"

"You didn't have to embarrass me in front of her! Laugh silently to yourself! Don't sputter out nonsense and girly giggles!"

"Girly? Are you looking for a fight, Kim Myungsoo?"

"Bring it on-"

"Guys! Woohyun, Myungsoo, stop!" Sunggyu cried. Dongwoo pushed Woohyun down on one end of the sofa and Hoya grabbed Myungsoo and dragged him to a sofa across from where Woohyun was sitting. Sunggyu heaved a sigh and sat at the head of the table, as everyone else took their seats. Sungyeol and Sungjong uncomfortably stared around the room, knowing that everything was becoming chaotic. Sunggyu gritted his teeth, then heaved a sigh.

"Alright. IU is mad at us. We can't do anything about it," Sungyeol slowly started. This caused all the boys to twitch, including himself. Sungyeoll took another deep breath. "So now what?"

"We leave the house," Sunggyu stated. Myungsoo's eyes popped out like two brown buttons.

"What? Sunggyu, are you crazy-"

Woohyun stood up from his seat. "Yeah! Are you crazy-"

"Didn't I tell you to close your mouth?" Myungsoo asked, frowning.

"You want another fight?" Woohyun threatened. Myungsoo was up until Hoya pulled him down.

"Gosh you two! Just behave like an adult for once! You guys act like little babies!" Sunggyu exclaimed tiredly.

"Isn't this how it always was before IU came?" Sungjong spoke up. Everyone stared at the youngest boy, who stared down at his hands. He began to play with his fingers and gave more than half his attention to his little hands "Myungsoo and Woohyun always fought, Sunggyu didn't have the guts to tell Woohyun or anyone to stop fighting, Hoya and Dongwoo were always dancing every single minute, Sungyeol kept flirting and cares less about our situation, and I was always the happy, cheery boy who didn't really have a huge part of the family."

Sungyeol raised two hands up in the air. "I object! I did not flirt, and I did care about our situation!"

"Be quiet, Sungyeol," Dongwoo said, waving his hand. "The young one is trying to say something wise here."

Sungjong flushed in embarrassment. "I-I'm just saying that we should behave and appreciate IU and her friends. I-I mean, don't get me wrong. I hate her friends, and they seem so strange, but she wants us to appreciate them and that's what we should do. We changed. She changed us. I mean, look at us. Look at how we treated each other in the pass. We're connected with each other. We're actually having a discussion between the seven of us. Woohyun is even here with us today! Isn't that amazing?"

"I-I'm only here because IU kept forcing me to come down and eat dinner," Woohyun protested, his cheeks turning slightly pink. "S-She gets annoying."

"I have to say something about that," Sungyeol said. He pointed at Myungsoo, who slightly widened his eyes in surprised. "He didn't change. He's still the same. He's still taking care of the opposite gender with care, and he doesn't hesitate to boss us around. He's the same."

"Wait, why am I on the spotlight now? Stop pointing at me. It's rude," Myungsoo grunted. Sungyeol smirked.

"You're just embarrassed because you didn't change and I made you realized that."

"No I'm not. Stop saying weird things, Sungyeol. I changed," he declared. He stood up from his seat and cleared his throat. "Anyways, I have a feeling that Sungjong is right. I'm going to apologize to IU and to her three friends. You guys should prepare an apology and get the guest room set up. They might want to sleep overnight for today."

Hoya, Dongwoo, and Sungyeol immediately went to the guest room while Sunggyu, Woohyun, and Sungjong traveled to the kitchen to do their chores and decide how to apologize to IU. Myungsoo sighed, and walked up the staircase. 

I did change. I changed a lot, right? Myungsoo thought. However, no matter how much he tried to convince that he changed, he couldn't think of one good example to prove that he wasn't the same guy he used to be. He irritatingly scowled and continued to stomp up the stairs. Then, for a brief moment, is footsteps stopped. The pounding echo of his footsteps faded away and was replaced by silence itself. He looked up, and spotted IU only a few steps away from him. IU turned around, noticed Myungsoo, and slightly widened her eyes.

"Oh, Myungsoo. I didn't see you there," she said. Her cheeks turned to a light shade of red, and she began to fidget her feet. All Myungsoo did was stare into her deep, bright eyes that seemed to beam every time she made eye contact with him. His lips slightly parted, and he continued to step up the chair.

Why haven't he noticed this before? She looked dazzling under the sunlight coming through from the windows all over the house. Her light, brown hair swayed every moment she made with her head, and her pink lips sparkled. As Myungsoo towered over her, he lost control of his instincts and stopped his tracks until he was inches away from her face. IU gulped as his shadow covered her from the sun. He slowly leaned towards her lips, but stopped when heard a loud, disturbing noise. It was a deep sound that echoed in his ears. His chest began to hurt, and he understood that his heart was beating irregularly. The corner of his lips twitched until he sensed his cheeks getting warmer. He noticed how red she was, and how she looked so shocked to see him so close to her. His heart was beating loudly, and this time it began to bother him. His eyes gazed down to her lips, and that sight caused Myungsoo's heart to pound faster and harder.

"M-M-Myung…soo?" she whispered. Her breath gently caressed Myungsoo's lips, causing him to stare at her in daze. Why did he want to lean closer? It was like he had an inner beast that feasted on her lips. IU shut her eyes, her tiny hands clenched near her chest. This caused Myungsoo to smirk, then peck IU's cheeks. He leaned back, and IU shot her eyes wide open. Her lips trembled, speechless at Myungsoo's action. Myungsoo stared down at the ground, then looked up to smile at her.

"I'll be in my room, alright?" he said in a low, raspy voice. IU nodded her head as Myungsoo walked away, his steps echoing on the second floor. Once he reached his room, his eyes enlarged and he quickly covered his lips with his hand. His heart was beating uncontrollably, and he felt like it would explode any minute now. He slid his back down against his door and collapsed on his knees. How could he have not noticed this before?

Lee Jieun, I think I'm in love with you.