Ending up back at D&W after the confrontation with her mother was only natural. It was her safe place.

At least, it had been.

Haru inhaled the warm spring air into her lungs and opened the door to D&W, ready for a warm welcome from any one of her boys. As Haru looked up from the carpeted floor of the café, she felt herself stiffen at the sight in front of her.

If she had thought things through from the beginning, maybe she wouldn’t have made such a rash decision. Maybe she would have remembered what today was if she hadn’t been so distracted, because what was standing in front of her was the last thing she wanted to see.

Her black hands were now mixed with a deep purple.

One glimpse at the ghastly hue was enough for her to momentarily lose her resolve and Haru quickly fisted them behind her back, digging her nails into her palms to shut off her racing thoughts. She had forgotten about the keys in her right hand and felt them also dig into her flesh painfully, but she welcomed it at this point.

“H-Hey guys,” She squeaked out. Unfortunately, the first to turn toward her was Hoseok and he was quick to pick up on everything. Haru mentally cursed herself for slipping up so easily, but it didn’t help that she was completely caught off guard.

“Haru!” Jungkook bounded toward her at full speed, knocking the breath out of her as soon as he made contact and squeezed her so hard, she thought she’d pass out. Perhaps it was a preferable option.

He spun her around in the air - which was hardly an easy task because of how tall she was – giggling about how much he had missed her and how he had honestly wished she and the rest of them could have gone with him. Unbeknownst to him, it would have been a hard pass on her part either way. Settling her back on the ground as a dizzy mess, he latched onto her once more and whispered into her hair, “I really missed you, Roo.” Haru immediately felt go dry.

Before she could reply anything in return, a feminine voice spoke up behind Jungkook. A familiar, sweet voice that Haru had memorized all too well. “He wouldn’t shut up about how much he missed you all on the plane ride back.”

“Mei!” Jungkook whined.

Haru was starting to feel sick. Could it have been all the spinning?

Then, as if on cue, her favorite Tiger Army song began to blast in the background. Haru tuned out everything and looked around, only to find the person she shared a bond with to the song missing. Yoongi must be getting the venue ready for the night.

“How is it that things turned out this way?
What you hold most dear has come and gone
Since the time that everything was right
And now it just feels wrong, oh so wrong”

“Haru?”

Feeling a tug on her hand, she took her gaze which had been fixed on the ceiling’s speakers to Hoseok’s worried eyes.

“And you're still dreaming of the time
When the day will come, it was meant to be
And you're still dreaming of a way
To reach that place that you've never been”

“Are you okay?” He whispered into her ear, all while not letting go of her hand. She inhaled a sharp breath and prepared herself for her next rash decision. “Yeah. I came to tell you that everything went great with my family.” The painful, forced smile she gave him only made him frown. “Why is your left cheek so red?” He scowled at it, brushing his fingers across it which made her flinch. The slap had been a hard one and her skin was still sensitive. “Haru…”

“I have to go.”

“Are you leaving already, Haru?” Jungkook bounced over to her and Hoseok, Mei in tow. “Yeah, I should get going or I’m gonna be late to my photoshop class.”

“Okay,” Jungkook nodded, brows furrowed as he stared at her a bit longer. If she could just leave-

“Wait, what’s wrong with your cheek Haru?” Biting his lip in concentration under the dim light, he reached out for her. She swiftly dodged the attempt and took a quick glance toward Mei, who seemed bewildered and a bit miffed.

The exhaustion was seeping into her bones and all Haru wanted was to ditch school and go home.

“It’s fine. I should go before I’m late.” She summoned the last of her energy to make at least one of them less suspicious. “See you guys later!” Waving goodbye to all of them as she pushed the door open, she could make out the last lyrics of the song.

“Pain
Hurt for so long
I've felt this way for so long”

Laying in her bed with Butter curled up on her stomach, Haru flipped through the day’s events in her mind.

Jungkook was back and had brought Mei along with him. He brought Mei to the one safe place that had been hers, the only thing that had been hers that Mei hadn’t invaded, hadn’t seen. It made her want to cry like a ing baby, even though it was beyond ridiculous. Haru knew she was being stupid, and it wasn’t Mei’s or Jungkook’s fault.

The meet up with her family hadn’t gone well either.

Haru huffed out a breath that seemingly angered Butter. He was a cranky cat, especially when she didn’t let him sleep. “Sorry Butter.” She petted his soft orange head, scratching his cheek for good measure.

Her phone vibrated next to her and she halted her movements, leaving Butter with half open, unsatisfied eyes. “Okay, okay. Hold on one second lil’ buddy.”

When she saw that the notification was a text and who it was from, she couldn’t help but be surprised.

Kihyun

Hey, you missed class today.

Is everything alright?

9:51 pm

Right. She had forgotten she was Kihyun’s partner for their photoshop project. If the professor had started counting their work together and not separately at this stage, she could imagine how annoyed he’d be with her. Haru knew she would be.

Butter was lying in wait for affection, staring at Haru with big gold-green eyes that she could never refuse. “Fine. You always get your way,” She muttered, pressing the call button next to Kihyun’s name.

“Hello?”

“Kihyun? I’m so sorry about today. Did the professor say anything? I emailed him about my absence, but I don’t know if he’s read it yet,” She rushed out in one breath, feeling terrible about how much of an awful partner she had been so far. She was unprepared, had to use his camera because hers was broken, and now she had left him hanging on their first assignment.

“The professor?” Kihyun pensively replied, evidently taken aback at the sudden barrage of information.

Haru waited for him to reply, soothing Butter back into his slumber.

“I- Hold on,” She heard before a distant scream was heard followed by Kihyun’s voice, who was obviously covering the speaker as he yelled, “Why does it smell like something’s burning?!” She could only make out a mumbled reply before he lost it. “Why the hell would you cook ramen in the microwave without water?!”

Wow. His place sure did seem lively.

“No! Don’t just throw it in the trash! It’s hot! Put it in the sink and I’ll dispose of it later!” Which was then followed by, “It’s not my fault you’re such a , Hyungwon!”

At that, Haru could just imagine Kihyun’s frustrated expression in her head and before she knew it, she burst into laughter. She was laughing so hard she had woken up Butter yet again. Fed up, he slid off her stomach and made his way over to his much more comfortable cat tree by the window.

“Sorry,” He said, nearly breathless. The picture of Kihyun yelling and throwing a fit was so vivid, Haru couldn’t help but continue to giggle. “You heard all of that, didn’t you?” He groaned. “Yeah, but it’s fine. Sounds lively on your end. A stark contrast to my place.”

“Lively,” He paused in thought, “I guess that’s one way to put it.” Haru could hear the clang of dishes in the background. “Is this a bad time?”

“Kind of, yeah. Wonho just got released from the hospital, so we’re cleaning the whole house before he gets home.” Haru felt relief and excitement bubble up in the pit of her stomach. “That’s great news! I wish I could have visited today, but I had a few things to take care of.”

“Well, why don’t you come over tomorrow? He still has to rest for a few days and we can talk about what you missed then, too.” The clang of dishes continued as she contemplated the sudden offer. She wanted to make it up to Kihyun and she didn’t want to fail the class either.

“Okay,” She said, a genuine smile plastered on her face for what felt like the first time that day.

Last night had been a world wind of emotions.

Haru could hardly keep up with how she was feeling these days. She often felt like she needed to look at her hands, just to show her how she was doing.

As she took steps into the breezy warm spring air on her way to Kihyun’s apartment, her hands flowed a calm, mellow yellow. The complete opposite of what they had been last night.

Hoseok had texted her earlier in the morning, asking if everything was truly okay. She had lied through her teeth, of course. Telling him what had happened with her mother, which would eventually reach the other boys, benefitted no one. It was better this way, to reassure him that everything was fine and that she was relatively okay with the surprise from Jungkook.

He had the right to do whatever he wanted with his life and D&W.

But that also meant that she didn’t have to stick around and fake a smile in front of him and Mei.

Her steps slowed as she arrived at the apartment building, which to Haru’s surprise wasn’t that far from hers. It was much fancier though, with shining glass windows lining the entire building and a huge cherry blossom tree in the middle of the courtyard swaying beautifully in the breeze. A bright orange revealed itself on her hands, a color that she hadn’t seen often, expressing her excitement and curiosity.

Haru breathed in deeply and walked up and into the apartment's entrance, swiftly eyeing where the elevators could be. Kihyun had told her it was the 8th floor.

After a few seconds of searching, she slipped her way into one of the elevators and pressed the number 8, watching as it lit up under her orange ribboned finger. By now, the orange had flowed up to her elbows in wild waves, which she had never remembered seeing before. This event could hardly be any better than when she hung out with her own boys.

Why were the colors so damn different, then?

The doors opened and Haru stepped out awkwardly, the quiet hallway only having three doors from which to choose from. She momentarily gaped at the gorgeous open space half of the hallway allowed, where plants and flowers decorated the walls and vines encircled the railings. On the enclosed side was a lone window with a nook, which caught her attention the most. It looked peaceful here.

After getting her fill of observing her surroundings, Haru grabbed her phone to confirm the apartment number from the text Kihyun had sent. With a subtle smile, she walked up to apartment 8706 and rang the doorbell.

“Ah! Who’s gonna get the door!? I’m busy!” Kihyun shouted from the kitchen. Standing at the counter slicing tofu, the next thing he heard was the immense shuffling of feet against the marble floors. Not just one person, either. He leaned back from the counter the slightest bit to see five of his brothers fighting their way to open the door, piling up on each other as if their brains weren’t communicating with their bodies.

“Hey! Are you all planning on opening that door or what? You’ll scare her!” He yelled pointlessly. They weren’t remotely paying attention to him.

“Move out of the way daddy long legs, I’m getting the door!” Minhyuk said as he flung Hyungwon to the side, effectively landing him on the floor and out of the way. “I’m getting the door! I have to say hi before I leave!” Shouted Jooheon as he grabbed hold of Minhyuk’s face and shoved it away from the intercom, where Haru could be seen smiling faintly, patiently waiting for someone to open said door. Changkyun stood behind Jooheon on his tip toes, trying to catch a glimpse of Haru while Shownu wrestled Minhyuk for the door knob.

Kihyun sighed heavily and slammed the knife he was holding down onto his prized cutting tablet. Hanging his head low and gripping the edge of the counter to gather himself and not lose his complete , he breathed in and headed straight for the door, swiftly making his way toward Shownu and Minhyuk who were holding onto the door knob for dear life.

He wasted no time in opening the door, revealing the chaos that was on the floor for Haru to enjoy. “Hi Haru,” Kihyun smiled as he grabbed Minhyuk by the collar and made him stand up, Shownu following suit along with Hyungwon, who had quickly given up for the fight of the door and had laid on the floor comfortably. “Welcome!” Shouted Jooheon from behind Kihyun, making him flinch at the sudden loud noise near his ear.

All of them popped out from behind the door now, staring at Haru with wonder, as if they’d never seen a girl in their lives.

“I’m starting to think this was a mistake,” Kihyun bitterly said under his breath.

The sight that greeted Haru once they opened the door was hardly what she had expected. She couldn’t help the light giggle that came out of as she looked around at the bedlam that surrounded Kihyun, who was blatantly trying to hold back from smacking someone into oblivion.

“Hi Haru,” Kihyun smiled exasperatedly, grabbing Minhyuk by the collar of his shirt and yanking him upwards into a standing position. Minhyuk’s hair was standing up in all sorts of directions as he beamingly grinned at her, followed by an unbothered Shownu and a frazzled, shy boy whom she couldn’t quite remember the name of.

“Welcome!” Shouted one of the boys right behind Kihyun, who she also couldn’t quite place. She only remembered Shownu because of the encounter they had at the hospital.

Kihyun visibly muttered something under his breath as he composed himself enough to shove everyone behind him, giving her enough room to walk inside.

“Thanks for having me guys,” She smiled up at all of them lightly. Haru could tell exactly why Wonho worked himself so hard just by looking around at the lavish apartment.

“Have a seat!” Kihyun said animatedly. Bowing slightly in thanks, she timidly sat down on the gray couch in the spacious living room with bright cream-colored walls, ogling the spotless marble floors. She could practically see her reflection in them. “Would you like anything to drink?” Kihyun asked. Haru jolted minutely in her seat as she glanced up from the shiny floors, quickly nodding and asking for water awkwardly.

The rest of the boys sat on the couch opposite her or on the floor, eagerly but quietly staring at her in wonder. They all seemed curious which made Haru nervous, the amber hue mixing in with the orange in a strange split of colors. It was understandable, but it didn’t make it less nerve-wracking.

One of the boys suddenly stood up from the couch with keys in hand, hesitantly walking toward Haru. Seeing that he was just as nervous as she was made her feel the slightest bit better. “I have to get to work, but it was nice seeing you again, princess,” He shined a bright, deep-dimpled smile her way and Haru couldn’t help but feel bad that she didn’t know his name, all cringy pet names aside. “Hurry up and leave or you’ll be late,” Kihyun scolded as he handed his brother a bag with what seemed like food. “Alright, alright.”

As Kihyun handed Haru the water carefully, she felt a pair of lips settle on her cheek for a second. She stared at Kihyun wide-eyed as the water slipped through her fingers and fell to the ground in a shattered mess. Mortified, Haru didn’t know what to do or stare at first - the boy who she still didn’t remember the name of, the glass of water that was now spilled all over the floor at Kihyun’s feet, the boys that were both teasing and laughing at them, or at Kihyun himself. “What the hell!? Jooheon! Get back here and apologize!” Kihyun screamed after a fleeing Jooheon.

“I’m sorry Haru! I’m running late, but I’ll apologize properly later!” He exclaimed as he ran out the door. Haru’s ‘it’s okay!’ died in as she watched him leave at the speed of light.

“Haru, I-” Kihyun began with a sigh. “I-It’s really okay. I was just caught so off guard. I’m so sorry about the glass of water, I completely soaked you! Are you hurt anywhere?!” Haru rapidly be