“I think Ye Jin noona may have some competition for being my favorite noona,” Changmin sighs after finishing the last of the fish.

“I didn’t really do much other than cut the vegetables,” I tell him. “I’ll make something really good later this week. You’ll need to keep your energy up and of course we don’t want to waste what Jaejoong oppa bought.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Yunho says. “You’ll be just as busy as us. We can always order out.”

“Why would I let you do that when I can make better food for cheaper? I’m making you all dinner while we’re here and that’s that.”

“Just give up now,” Yoochun chuckles when Yunho tries to dissuade me again. “Once she gets an idea in her head, there’s no stopping her. Stubborn as a mule.”


“I like to call it determination,” I retort, sticking out my tongue.

“Yoochun, you never sent me the pictures of the sandcastle you two built,” Jaejoong says, interrupting our banter.

“I didn’t? Doing it now.”

“Can you send them to me too, please?” I ask. “I really want the last few.”

“Were there palm trees?” Junsu asks excitedly.

“Palm trees can’t survive here,” Changmin tells him.

“Aw, you’re so cute,_________,” Yunho smiles, looking over Jaejoong’s shoulder when Yoochun sends him the pictures.

“Impressive castle,” Changmin says, leaning over to look.

“Are you supposed to be a prince or a Power Ranger?” Junsu laughs, crowding over Changmin’s shoulder as well.

“That’s exactly what ________ asked,” Yoochun replies. “I think I looked cool.”

“These are the best,” Jaejoong laughs.

    I lean around Junsu to see. The first shows Yoochun with seaweed around his shoulders pretending to be a monster while I quake in mock fear in the castle. The next has me in Yoochun’s arms, my arms thrown around his neck as he tries not to drop me. The last one is my favorite though. We stand side by side in the castle courtyard, an arm around the other's waist, simply smiling.

“The kid we got to take the pictures for us probably thought we were crazy. We barely made it in time to catch the train back,” I giggle.

“It was your idea to take a picture together,” Yoochun reminds me.

“I only said I wished we had. You grabbed my hand and made us run back so we could. I’m glad you did though.”


“You almost look like a couple,” Changmin observes.

“We do look pretty cute together,” Yoochun grins. “What’d you say, ________? Want to elope?”

“That’s no way to propose,” I laugh, pushing him away. “Where’s the ring?”

“How about a kiss instead?” He leans over to quickly kiss my cheek.

“Oppa, stop messing around,” I scold, feeling my face burn.

“You’re such a flirt,” Yunho laughingly scolds. “Even your friend isn’t safe. What are you going to do when you have an actual girlfriend?”

My heart gives an unwanted little drop as Yoochun smiles and calmly replies, “Then I’ll only flirt with her since she’ll be the only girl in my eyes. Until then, I have ______. Right, _____?”


I smile and nod, pushing down a feeling of disappointment. “So now I’m your wing woman?” I ask wryly.

“You make it sound bad and no, you’re not. You’re just my _______.”

“Your _______?”

“Yeah. Just like that’s my Junsu, my Yunho, my Jaejoong, and my Changmin.”

“Should I be wagging my tail right now?” Changmin asks sarcastically.

“Arf,” Junsu yips, laughing, wiggling, and putting his hands to his face.

“Good boy,” Yoochun laughs, leaning over to throw a carrot slice in Junsu’s mouth.

“Just make sure he doesn’t slobber all over,” Yunho chuckles, starting to pick up the dishes.

“Not you,” Jaejoong says, laying a hand on my arm when I rise to help. “We cooked. They’ll get the dishes.”

“But...”

“It’s all right. There’s four of them.”

I look at the four in question before stifling a giggle. “And you’re sure that means it’ll get done?”

“Point taken. Yunho will keep them in line. In the meantime, what do you say we see what we can find to watch?”

“Sounds good to me.” As I sit beside Jaejoong, I hand him the remote.

“Hyung, scoot over. I want to sit beside _____ too.”

“How’d you get out of kitchen duty?” Jaejoong asks as he makes room for Junsu on the couch.

“He decided four of us was too many and he let me go. The others will get out of it another day. By the way, I think there was going to be a special or something on elephants on the nature channel, hyung.”

“Really?” Jaejoong’s face lights up as he immediately begins looking for the channel.


“Jaejoong hyung loves elephants,” Junsu explains.

“They’re magnificent creatures, don’t you think?”

I nod in agreement as I watch the elephants gracefully lumber across the screen. A little while later, my phone beeps at me. Puzzled, I take it out of my pocket. When I look at the screen, a huge grin instantly comes onto my face.

“_______?” Junsu looks at me curiously. “Something good happen?”

“It’s just a reminder,” I reply. “I forgot that I get to talk to Daniel in a few minutes.”

“Who’s Daniel?” Yoochun asks, a towel and a wet dish in his hands as he looks into the living room. “I thought you said you didn’t have a boyfriend.”

“He’s my brother, silly,” I laugh. “The youngest who wants to be a doctor. I haven’t talked to him for a couple weeks now.”

“Aren’t international calls expensive?” Jaejoong asks, temporarily taking his attention away from the show.

“We’re using an online video chat, so it’s completely free. I better go and set everything up. See you all tomorrow morning. Sweet dreams,” I call back as I quickly excuse myself and exit the room, the boys’ goodnights following me.

    Once I’m back in my room, I dig my laptop out of my luggage and turn it on. Knowing Daniel, he might have forgotten the time difference, gotten on, and already left. As my laptop powers up, I silently thank S.M for providing the dorm with internet so I don’t have to run out to find an internet cafe. Logging onto the site, I’m afraid my fear will be confirmed when Daniel appears offline. I look longingly at Tyler and my parents’ icons, wishing I could see them as well. Suddenly, a video feed pops onto the screen. Seconds later, Daniel’s smiling face appears.

“Hiya, little sis,” Daniel smiles, adjusting the laptop on his lap as he pushes his floppy hair out of his face.

“Yah, just because you’re taller doesn’t mean I’m your little sister,” I reply, laughing despite my words.

“I can’t help it if you got the short genes.”

“That’s because I got the smart genes. Don’t you have class?”

“Whatever. I just got out of advanced Biology ten minutes ago,” he says, sticking out his tongue. “Sometimes I think I’m crazy for wanting to be a doctor.”

“I think you are. Blood is gross. Just you know, it feels really, really weird to be speaking English right now.”

“I’d think so since you’ve probably been speaking only Korean for who knows how long. How’s life in Seoul by the way?”

“I’m actually in Japan right now, a little outside Tokyo.”

“What the heck are you doing there? I thought you were going to stay in Korea.”

“It’s only for a few weeks, then I go back to Seoul. I’m with a client, or rather five of them, and you’re never going to guess who one of them is.”

“Who? Jet Li?”

I roll my eyes. “Jet Li is Chinese. I don’t speak Chinese.”

“My bad. Who then?”

“Do you remember back in high school when I took that trip with Grandma?”

“Yeah. I was mad that I couldn’t go too.”

“You were still too young. When I got back I told you about a guy I met at the airport, the one who gave me the book of Korean fairytales.”

Now it’s Daniel’s turn to roll his eyes. “How could I forget? You only talked about him for six months, like everyday.”

“Did not, and keep your voice down.”

“Did too and why should I?”

“Well...he’s kind of one of the people I’m working for.”


“Seriously? So he’s a big businessman or something now?”

“Try a member of an extremely popular South Korean boy band.”

“Dang. You sure know how to pick ‘em. Did he remember you?”

“Incredibly, yes. It’s been amazing, like we knew each other for years instead of a day. He’s already like my best friend, even if he continually flirts with me.”

“Flirts with you? Do I need to come over there and play the big brother card?”

“He knows I don’t have any older brothers. I’m fine with it. His flirting’s too cheesy and silly for me to take it seriously.”

“All right, as long as he doesn’t end up hurting you. If he does, I’ll hurt him.”

“Yoochun wouldn’t hurt me, not intentionally at least.”

“You’re not falling for him are you?” Daniel asks, eyeing me. “You are, aren’t you?”

I think back to the way my heart thumped when Yoochun held me in his arms, when he kissed my cheek. “No. Maybe. A little. I can’t.”

“Why not?”


“Because I’m working for him. Completely off limits.”

“What about when you stop working for him?”

“That’s not going to be for a while. I’m with them at least until June or July. That’s when we’re coming back to the States, actually,” I say quickly, deftly changing the subject.

“You’re coming home?” Daniel’s face lights up.

“Kind of. I’m not sure exactly where in the U.S we’re going. It’ll probably be on the West coast though, so I don’t think I’ll be able to actually come home. I’m sorry.”

“Well, let me know when and where. I am in the Midwest after all. I could probably find a cheap flight to Cali if that’s where you end up.”

“No. As much as I’d love to see you, you need that money for school.”

“But I got a paid internship lined up for this summer so I’ll have the money. It’s not like you can stop me from coming anyway.”

“That’s true,” I admit. “You never were good at listening to me.”

“What are you talking about? I was an angel child.”

“Tyler was an angel. Unless you convinced him you wouldn’t get caught.”

Daniel smirks, the memories of his countless escapades flashing in his eyes. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Uh-huh.”

    Our conversation is filled with similar and familiar back and forth teasing, reminding me how much I missed my pain in the little brother. I listen intently as he catches me up with his classes, his friends, and his girlfriend, as well as a full report on Tyler and our parents. He proves just as curious about what I’ve been doing, especially when he finds out I’m staying right next to five guys. All too soon it’s time for Daniel to go to sleep. I know if he doesn’t soon, there’s no way he’ll wake up for class.

“We’l talk in a few weeks,” I promise. “Maybe we can even get Tyler in.”

“I’ll still miss you,” he yawns.

“From the sound of it, you’ll be too busy to even notice. Go to bed, little man.”

“I’m going. _______?”


“Yeah?”

“About this guy.”

“I told you already...”

“Just listen. I know you’re working for him, so no looking, and blah, blah, blah. Like I said, that’s only right now and you won’t be at some point, right? If you still like him, tell him then.”

“Daniel, I don’t even know if I do. I knew him for one day. One day. And now I’ve only been around him for another three.”

“So? Some people just...click, you know? And that’s what happened with him, right?”

“Yes, but...”

“No ‘buts.’ I won’t have my sister be stupid and sacrifice her happiness. Promise me you’ll do it.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. I know you. Part of what’s holding you back is that you’re worried how he’ll react, another is you’re too stubborn to admit you fell for him this quick, but the last part is you worried about losing your job and being unable to help me and Ty. Don’t think I don’t know you’re the reason I didn’t need to take out loans this semester.”

“I told them not to tell you,” I sigh. “Don’t think you can guilt me into this. Don’t worry. I’m fine.”

“I figured it out on my own, thanks. I know you're fine, but I still want you to promise me. If you don’t, you’ll just end up asking ‘what if?’ forever.”


“Since when did you get so smart?”

“Thank my girlfriend. She’s a lot smarter than me.”

“So it seems.”

“So? You promise?”

“Yes. Otherwise you’ll heap on the guilt.”


“I learned from the best, big sis. Listen, love doesn’t have to be that complex. Sometimes it happens in an instant and there’s nothing you can do except go with it. And trust me, you were long gone even after one day.”

“That’s fairy tale material.”

“Hey, all myths have a grain of truth. I guess I’ll go to bed. Goodnight, ______. Love you.”

“Love you too, Danny boy. Talk to you soon.”


    I sit staring at my laptop screen long after I turn it off, turning Daniel’s words over in my head. When I look at the clock, I realize I need to go to bed soon as well. As it is, I’ll get six hours of sleep if I’m lucky. I jump in the shower, rinsing quickly, before pulling on my pajamas. Just as I’m getting ready to climb under the sheets, someone knocks on my door.

==============

Annyoung lovelies! It seems I'm finally getting into the swing of this story. Oh, the things I have planned for you all! ^^ So, two things for you all. First, would you like the story to stay you and Yoochun, or should I give the main character a name? Just wondering since I saw some comments on my other story that the lines make it kind of hard to read for some people. Let me know. Also, please check out my blog to take a look at a potential U-Kiss fic. I really, really want to post it, but I'm making myself wait because writing three stories at one time would be crazy...-er. Anyhow, saranghae and enjoy!

MewNikkiChan: I can't remember where it was, but I saw a video of them waking up and poor Yoochun could barely get his eyes open. Beyond adorable!

Caribbeanpop17: As soon as I have unlimited internet for more than an hour I so will. There's five guys, how could I not get food in there somewhere? ke ke.

angelisabel: It's a phrase my mom likes to use. I think Yoochun's a little slow on the uptake but hopefully it won't be too long. Whoever ends up with Junsu in real life is going to be one lucky woman.

ChinkyKayla: Aw, thats cute. Not the breakup, the necklace I mean. Don't worry, we'll all find our Chunie someday.

PurpleangelSJ: Once the others begin their matchmaking, be prepared, ke ke. Of course he loves Ye Jin! ;)