"Aish… Sorry for what happened earlier. I didn't think that such a topic would be brought up by Taeyang hyung himself," Thunder apologized. IU just smile as they walked back to the bus. She sighed and shook her head.

"No, no need to apologize," she responded. "I learned something very valuable today."

"Oh? What is that? Is it that you should stay and come back to your hometown?" Thunder asked. 

Jieun laughed in response. "Well, kind of. I've realized that I've been running away from my problems more than facing them. With my parents gone and the letter they sent me, all I did was follow orders." She paused, then laughed bitterly by herself. "To be honest, Thunder oppa, I'm not supposed to be there."

Thunder stopped in front of the bus stop and stared at her. "What?"

Jieun bit her bottom lip, then dug into her purse. She gave him two letters, which Thunder had accepted to read silently and carefully. 

"I never planned on telling anyone, but going to the mansion wasn't the first plan. If anything happened to my parents, I was to be sent to Wooyoung's family and they would adopt me as their daughter." She paused, then gave her old friend a faint smile. "If something happened with Wooyoung, then I would be Yoseob's sister. If Yoseob had some problems, then I would be your sister. If all didn't work out, then I would be Taeyang's younger sister." Jieun tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You know what was going in the past. Wooyoung's family had financial problems, Yoseob's family had relatives flocking over because of some family issues, and your family had trouble taking care of you and your sister because your grandfather was about to pass away. I didn't want to risk being Taeyang's step sister. It would be too painful."

"So… So you left without even telling to this me?" Thunder whispered. He glanced into IU's glistening eyes, hoping to find some kind of better and more reasonable answer. However, all he got was a simple smile with eyes hard as stone.

"Yes. I ran away from my problems, and I left to the mansion."

"No! You don't have permission to take away IU's stuff!" Sungyeol shouted. It was already night, and Sunggyu, Sungyeol, and Myungsoo had skipped school in order to save IU's items from the two other men. Yoseob and Wooyoung irritatingly glared at the three and grabbed firmly at the other end of the pink suitcase.

"Permission or not, she's still our friend! We know what's the best for her!" Yoseob yelled, tugging harder and hoping that Sungyeol would eventually let go.

"She's still a guest at our home! We can't afford to let her items get stolen by a bunch of idiotic childhood friends!" Myungsoo spat.

"This isn't stealing! This is helping your friend realize the benefits of going back home!" Wooyoung protested. At that moment, Dongwoo and Hoya approached their mansion with sweat staining their flesh. The walked up to the messy crowd, watching Myungsoo and Sungyeol team up against Yoseob and Wooyoung. They glanced at Sunggyu, who stood at the center, shrugging his shoulders as if he was trying to tell them that he didn't understand the whole deal, too. 

"Where's Sungjong?" Dongwoo asked. "Did Woohyun disappear off to somewhere?"

"Sungjong went inside two hours ago, and Woohyun said that he would come back with something," Sunggyu replied.

"Did IU come back?" Hoya asked, blushing slightly.

"She's not coming back," Yoseob blurted. "She's back home with Thunder. They aren't coming back-"

"We're home," a loud voice said. The bus, which had stopped a few minutes ago, drifted away and dropped off Thunder and IU. Every guy blinked their eyes, staring at the two as if they couldn't believe what they were saying. Suddenly, Wooyoung and Yoseob dropped the suitcase and dropped their jaws as they ran up to Thunder.

"Are you kidding me?" Yoseob yelled. "You brought IU back? Why?"

Thunder shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. It felt more like home-"

"Thunder, you've lost your mind with these seven nut heads! Come on, let's go back and catch the bus. If we start running right now we can catch the bus and ask for it to stop-"

"Wooyoung, IU isn't coming back with us."

"Of course not. That's why we're bringing her with us-"

Thunder raised his hand and shook his head. "No, Wooyoung. I mean, IU isn't going to come back with us. She's not going back with us back home and she never will. Look at her." He placed his hand firmly on Wooyoung's shoulder and gestured his chin towards IU's direction. "She's grown. Just see her for a moment. She's not our little girl anymore."

Wooyoung and Yoseob could only stare at Thunder. They understood what he meant. They examined IU, who had grown over the past few months at her stay in the large mansion. She seemed healthier, and possibly more mature. Although she looked exhausted, she definitely seemed to have found a sense of belonging and responsibility. She wasn't their little girl. She was someone else's little girl.

"B-But…" Yoseob bit his bottom lip. "I-I don't want her to go…"

Wooyoung turned around and faced Thunder. "But there's Taeyang-"

"She already met him before," Thunder interrupted "Bringing her back will hurt her even more. She can't come back."

"That's the problem! Taeyang and your sister are planning to see IU at the talent show tomorrow!" Wooyoung blurted. "They want to hear her sing! Only why would she sing when something terrible happened to her?"

Hoya looked up and widened his eyes. "S-Sing? A-Ah…" His cheeks burned red, and was too obvious for others to notice.

"I've heard IU sing," Sungyeol said. "She sings really well! She sang a song for Hoya once."

IU's eyes enlarged. "You heard? When?"

"During your first few days of school. You two were in the music room and you were singing 'Loving You.'"

"'Loving You?'" Wooyoung repeated. "That was the song she sang to Taeyang! IU…" He turned to face the woman, who only stared down at her shoes. "I thought you were never going to sing that song again!"

"Y-Yeah! I wasn't planning to, but…"

"IU, are you in love?" Yoseob asked abruptly. 

"IU's in love?" a voice asked from behind them. Woohyun and Sungjong made their appearance, staring at IU's rosy ears. All ten boys stared at IU, who turned pink like the patch of roses near the fountains. Her eyes were glued to the concrete, hoping that the boys would stop staring at her.

"IU… When did you fall in love?" Yoseob asked. IU bit her bottom lip and glanced upward at the pouting boy.

"A-Ah… During the f-first f-few weeks I've b-been here?" IU stuttered quietly.

"First few weeks? That means she visited all of us. So…" Immediately, all the seven hosts began to blush. "She's in love with one of us?"

Everyone stared at the young woman, who was as red as a tomato. Just when she was about to escape, Wooyoung grabbed her by her shirt and glared at her.

"Wait, who do you like?" Wooyoung asked, demanding an answer from the blushing girl.

"A-Ah… I won't tell!" she blurted a little too loudly. 

Yoseob, wanting to these IU, smirked and locked his arms with her left warm. "Aw, come on, Jieun! Little Jieun is too shy to say who she likes?"

"B-Be quiet!"

"It's only a guy's name. Come on, tell us," Wooyoung said, annoyed how stubborn IU was becoming.

"Why don't you tell us tomorrow?" Thunder suggested.

"Will you let me go then?" IU asked. Thunder glanced at Wooyoung, who hesitated for a moment. Then, the two boys nodded as IU quickly promised and agreed without crossing her fingers. They released her from Wooyoung's grip, but she immediately ran straight into the house, leaving everyone dumbfounded and surprised. 

"Looks like you seven have a lot to deal with tomorrow," Thunder said, laughing. "Good luck and we'll be going!"

The three other males left, leaving seven boys blushing and fantasizing in their own personal world.