The next morning, IU came down the stairs and was greeted by an awkward silence. She watched seven boys all stand up at the same time when she arrived at the kitchen, and followed their every move. They were all unusually synchronized and dumped their plates one by one, lining up behind each other and eager to escape the discomfort of the atmosphere. Even Woohyun, who usually never cared about these kinds of events, was extremely nervous, too. 

“Where did Yoseob, Wooyoung, and Thunder go?” IU asked, glancing around the room.

“They left yesterday night, saying that they weren’t going to let Taeyang hear you sing or something,” Sungjong responded without looking at her eyes. IU, who noticed this, only nodded her head and sat at the head of the table by herself, slowly eating her eggs alone.

“I’m going first,” Myungsoo said, grabbing his backpack. The rest followed, either getting ready for work or for school. IU watched them leave the large house, not being able to bid them a goodbye. She was eventually left alone, having at least forty minutes left until school had started. Once the house became as silent as night, she groaned and banged her forehead against the kitchen table.

What have I done? she cried in her mind. She sighed and checked her phone, which was usually filled with messages from Sungyeol or Myungsoo. Today, there was nothing except past messages she had saved for her own benefit. Maybe I should just disappear like sea foam…

At that very moment, an idea popped into her head as she texted her three childhood friends to pick her up.

It’s not me. I’ve already gotten rejected. So why am I thinking that the chance of her lover could be me? Sungjong wondered. He had skipped breakfast, only filling his stomach with a crunchy, red apple. He sighed depressingly and puffed his cheeks, noticing the strange atmosphere between everybody. He glanced at each and every member, examining then and checking who could be the person that IU might have a crush on.

Sunggyu can’t be it. He hardly had any romantic moments with Jieun. Actually, maybe he did when I wasn’t looking. Dongwoo… He already went on a date with her. I doubt he might like her. Then again, he’s Dongwoo. It could be him. Definitely not Sungyeol since he’s the type who would go girl to girl. Well, maybe Jieun’s taste in guys might’ve changed. She can’t possibly love Woohyun, though. He made her cry over and over again. Or maybe she purposely made him get angry at her in order for him to at least talk to her. It could be Hoya. He’s a gentleman. Though he’s too shy, but he could be it. She could also love Myungsoo. It’s Myungsoo for crying out loud. Who wouldn’t love the romantic guy?

Sungjong sighed and glanced at all the boys. He knew, from the bottom of his heart, that IU was in love with one of these men. What hurt him the most was how the man she loved couldn’t possibly be him.

“Hoya! Hoya, stop day dreaming and focus! Gosh, what are you going to do when we win the talent show? Are you ready to confess to IU if you win? Heck, if you keep this up, we probably won’t win. We’re gaining the most popular votes for the talent show just cause I’m the teacher teaching you how to dance. Hoya, hello?” Dongwoo snapped his fingers annoyingly in front of Hoya’s face. He noticed that Hoya had somewhat been gloomy ever since IU had confessed that she was in love. Hoya looked up at Dongwoo, and heaved a sigh.

“Hyung, what if she doesn’t love me?” Hoya asked. 

“Get your head straight, Hoya. Let’s do this once more!” Dongwoo exclaimed, ignoring what Hoya’s question was.

“What if she likes you?” Hoya asked again. “What if she likes someone else? What if I embarrass myself?”

“You won’t if you dance well today. Here,” Dongwoo said, tossing Hoya his towel. “Wipe your worry and get back to dancing.”

“Hyung.”

“What?”

“If IU ever confesses to you, can you please reject her?” Hoya pleaded quietly. An unusual, bitter feeling began to scatter around Hoya’s heart. Dongwoo looked up, then laughed lightly.

“I can’t promise anything Hoya. I really can’t.”

“That will be one thousand won, please,” Sunggyu said, handing a woman a cup of coffee. The woman paid the exact amount and left, allowing the man behind her to approach him.

“Hi. Can I have a medium-sized black coffee?” the customer asked. Sunggyu nodded his head and began to calculate the price.

“Two thousand and five hundred won, please,” Sunggyu said, holding his hand to grab the money. The man paid in cash and coins, and Sunggyu immediately got started with the drink. He pressed the button which automatically filled the coffee inside the cup, sighing deeply as he thought about what IU had said yesterday.

IU, IU. You’ve grown so much since the day you came here.

“Look.”

“Oh my gosh.”

“They aren’t fighting.”

“What a miracle.”

Myungsoo and Woohyun sat next to each other uncomfortably, staring out the window and watching time pass by. Woohyun felt a bit irritated, knowing how he was known as the “bad guy” and should be getting into an argument with Myungsoo. However, Myungsoo didn’t do anything when Woohyun tried to start up the conversation. Instead, Myungsoo would gaze out the window, staring at the leaves fall down to the ground.

“Hey Myungsoo,” Woohyun said, leaning his chair back. “What are you going to do if Jieun says that she loves you?”

Myungsoo paused, then glanced at Woohyun. “I don’t know. What are you going to do?”

Woohyun gasped and groaned when he fell back and banged his head against the table behind him. Fortunately, being the tough man he was, the impact against his head and the desk wasn’t as painful for him as he thought it would be. He rubbed the back of his head and glanced at Myungsoo, who shadowed the sun’s rays for him.

“You weren’t expecting me to ask such a thing, were you?” Myungsoo asked. Woohyun could only nod his head. Myungsoo laughed warmly and smiled. “I wasn’t expecting for IU to fall in love with one of us, too.”

“It’s only a confession. Just reject her and leave her be,” Woohyun replied easily.

“It’s not that easy, Woohyun,” Myungsoo replied. “Love…is something that we all must accept and be gentle with. One irrational action can damage it.”

After hearing Myungsoo’s deep words, Woohyun didn’t know what to do with IU if she ever confessed her feelings towards him.

Sungyeol walked around the school, gathering more and more girls around. He wanted to surround himself with girls, and make sure that IU could never get past them. He couldn’t get over the thought of IU possibly liking him. It was possible, yes? 

"Sungyeol oppa, your ideal type is someone who's cute and nice, right?"

"No! His idea type is someone cute and is true to themselves, like me? Hm?" 

"Nu-uh. He likes girls who are true to themselves and are kind."

The girls around him began to argue and fight for their pride, snapping at each other and grabbing handful of hairs. Sungyeol sighed and sunk low as he secretly escaped from the messy mob. His cheeks began to burn as he thought about IU, who had done nothing but just hang around with him.

My ideal type? he wondered. What makes her my ideal type…

"This is hard." Jieun pouted. "How am I supposed to tell them that they are all rejected while I only love one of them?"

"Well, who is it that you like?" Thunder asked, chewing on some popcorn. Yoseob played with Jieun's silky hair, admiring how soft her ponytail was. 

"Can I tug your hair?" he asked, his eyes shining with plead. Jieun frowned as Wooyoung pushed him away. Yoseob scowled in response, and threw a pillow at Wooyoung. Soon, the two boys were getting themselves into a pillow fight, ignoring Thunder's loud chewing sounds and Jieun's distress feelings.

"Argh! You guys are useless!" Jieun whined.

"Why don't you just live with us if the pressure is too much for you?" Thunder suggested. Time froze and the pillow fight stopped. They all stared at Thunder, then back at IU, who kept her eyes on the intelligent man. Soon, all three boy's eyes glowed with hope, as the woman's expression seemed to have a brilliant idea.

"Yeah… I might just do that…" she mumbled quietly to herself. 

Wooyoung put a hand on her shoulder. "Want us to help you pack before they come from school?"

IU glanced at Wooyoung, then at Yoseob who sat next to her with a soft smile. She gave a curious look at Thunder, who only gave her a simple shrug. A smile crawled up on her lips, and for once, she felt that her three best friends were bonding with her ideas.

"Sure!" she answered enthusiastically. "Let's go and pack up before they come."

Myungsoo came back home with Sunggyu looking horrified and pale. The rest came early, too enthusiastic to know what IU's answer was. He was about to ask Sunggyu what was wrong until the oldest handed Woohyun a small note. The note, decorated with the cutest collections of stickers, wasn't as long as Woohyun expected it to be. He carefully read over the handwriting, noticing how it was IU's before he needed to know who signed it. Suddenly, his eyes enlarged and his hands lost grip of the paper.

"Let me see!" Sungjong exclaimed, grabbing the paper before Dongwoo could reach for it. He snickered victoriously and gleefully read the the note. However, his smile slowly vanished and he, too, lost grip of the paper. From seeing the three boy's reaction, the others knew that it wasn't good news. Dongwoo finally got his hands on the note, and when he skimmed over it, his eyes read over the letter more than twice.

"Give it to me," Hoya said, anxious to know what was said. Dongwoo shook his head and crumbled it up. He tossed it to Sungyeol, expecting him not to read it. 

"No Hoya," Dongwoo said, "don't read it."

Hoya scowled. "Why not?"

"IU LEFT?" Sungyeol screamed. Myungsoo rushed upstairs to IU's room, only to find the room empty and clean. It was exactly how the room was before: clean and simple, like how a girl's room should be. He was even disappointed how IU didn't leave a single thing behind, as if she wasn't planning to return. He ran down the stairs, and gave everyone a worried look.

"Nothing's in her bedroom," he announced. "It's clean!"

"W-Why did she leave?" Sungjong whispered. He looked up at everyone and paled. "I think she left because I confessed to her! Maybe I scared her away!"

"You did what?" Sungyeol exclaimed. 

"When did you confess?" Sunggyu asked, equally as shocked as everyone else was. Then, he shook his head and scowled. "Maybe she left because I kissed her knee and she thought I was some kind of creeper…"

Dongwoon widened his eyes. "You kissed her? Never mind that, I think she left because she didn't like going on a date with me. Maybe I should've done something else…"

"I think she left because of Woohyun's bad attitude," Sungyeol commented. Woohyun gave him a glare and hissed.

"Well, I think she left because Sungyeol is a erted guy," Woohyun counter-attacked, sticking his tongue out with victory. 

"No, she probably left because she never wanted anyone to hear her sing that song, but I ended up hearing her sing it," Hoya muttered.

"I think I scared her away," Myungsoo confessed.

"And how could you scare a girl away? You're the kindest guy in our group!" Sungjong pointed out.

"I attempted to kiss her." He paused, then added, "On the lips."

Silence filled the atmosphere. Then, Woohyun ran straight up to Myungsoo like a bull and pushed him against the wall. Woohyun was breathing hard, furious with what he had heard. Hoya felt sick in his stomach, and fell down on the couch. Sunggyu groaned, and Dongwoo slapped his face. Sungjong and Sungyeol went up to break the two guys apart, but failed when Woohyun roughly punched them away.

"Guys! Stop!" Sunggyu screamed. All attention was focused on him, and every object that was moving froze. Sunggyu slowly picked up the letter and pointed at a sentence. "She said that she would leave in about ten minutes. If we can catch the bus in less than ten minutes, we can see her off…"

Seven pairs of legs raced out of the house.

IU took a deep breath. She stared at the empty street, where she had walked to school and came back from school. Her eyes brimmed with tears and memories, yet she continued to keep silent. Wooyoung helped her by grabbing her luggage, and Sanghyun grabbed her purse to hold it for her. Yoseob, who had nothing to carry, held hands with IU, smiling and confidently looking at her with admiration in her eyes.

"You're not going to regret it if you come with us, right?" Yoseob asked carefully.

"I'm not going to regret, guys," IU said, laughing. "If I was, why would I come with you?"

"Because it was a reckless decision and you just wanted to escape from confession your feelings," Wooyoung bluntly reasoned. He was rewarded with a slap against the back of his head by Thunder. 

"Idiot," Thunder muttered. "Are you trying to make her leave us or what?"

Wooyoung said nothing. Instead, he dropped the luggage in his car and Thunder carelessly tossed IU's purse in the back of the car. He smiled sadly at Jieun and sighed.

"I know you want to stay just a little longer, so I called an extra taxi for you," Wooyoung told her. IU looked equally surprised as the rest were. 

"B-But I thought I was going to take the bus-"

"No, I got you a taxi. It's okay, it's not that expensive. If the taxi doesn't come, call me, alright?" Wooyoung said.

"But I wanted to ride with IU!" Yoseob complained. Thunder dragged Yoseob by the ear and pushed him inside the car. Wooyoung tossed him the keys, and Thunder hopped into the vehicle and started the engine. Slowly, Wooyoung raised his arm and gently placed them on IU's thin shoulders. He smiled softly, and kissed her on her forehead.

"You've grown up so thin, yet so strong," Wooyoung whispered. "Take your time, and call me when the taxi doesn't come. Remember, you are oppa's little girl, okay?"

IU awkwardly nodded her head and watched her three childhood friends take off. Once the left, the bus came carefully around the corner. She looked to her right and left, making sure that Thunder's car was not seen. Then, she hopped into the bus, paying with her own money and taking a seat. She sighed and rested her head against the window pane, gently closing her eyes. Her mind was greeted with memories of her first thoughts of the boys and to the moments she had with them. They were all so sweet; so innocent. So…

"IU!" a group of voices shouted. Jieun widened her eyes, recognizing the voices. She looked out the window, and saw all seven boys, even Woohyun, stand outside of the bus. However, they were unable to get in because the bus was already on its way to the next to stop. Her eyes watered and her chest began to feel heavy.

She could not leave.

This was home.

Each and every man watched the bus fade away into the horizon. That was it. They were too late to stop her. She had made her mind and left them, lost and dumbfounded. A sigh escaped from their lips and their shoulders sank. Seven boys, depressed and lonely, turned their backs against the sun and decided to go back and live how it was without IU besides them. 

"Wait!" The boys turned around, widening their eyes when the young woman started to run towards them. Hearts leaped, and cheeks burned in crimson red. Tears escaped from the IU's glistening eyes, and she jumped towards the man she had loved all the weeks she had been here -- home.

"I love you…"

THE END

HAHAHA! I LEFT A CLIFF HANGING. Who was IU saying "I love you" to? We shall never know… O_O Anyways, this story has come to an end. No, I'm probably not going to do individual endings. X) I don't know, if you want an individual ending, you can write one for yourselves. :D

I know I rushed this. I rushed it so badly that it's a sudden and abrupt ending. I apologize greatly for that. T_T On the other hand, thank you for those who had been supporting this story! I really appreciate it! Everyone rocks! ^^ Does anyone find it ironic how I'm ending this story on the date where the world is "supposed to end?" X)