Next morning Minji woke up in an unfamiliar surrounding, feeling as if the weight of the world had fallen on her shoulders. Every single muscle in her body ached. She groaned softly and rolled over, too bad she noticed a second late that she wasn’t in a bed, but a couch. She fell off and landed on her back. A shock of pain shot through out her whole body. Instead of getting up she just stay on the ground, not sure if getting on her feet was worth the effort. She closed her eyes and sighed gloomily.

“Are you dead?” Someone poked her head with a tip of a shoe. Minji fluttered her eyelids open and found Himchan staring down at her.

“Don’t know. Am I?” Minji rubbed her temples.

“Doesn’t seem like it.” He shrugged.

“It sure as hell feels like it.” It took a supernatural effort only to sit herself up. She combed her hair with her fingers, stretched her arms and finally stood up. She felt disoriented at first, but then remembered she had slept over the DF’s place.

“Where is everyone?” She looked around the room that, aside from Himchan, was completely deserted.

“School.” Himchan smirked seductively. “Why? Worried I’ll do something to you, bunny?” He approached Minji slowly with his hands in his pockets. The playboy was trying hard to keep from laughing, but looking at the girl’s expression in that moment was making it impossible.

“Stop playing around.” She placed a restraining hand on his chest. Himchan, knowing this game all too well, grabbed the hand and pressed it against his cheek.

“Stop playing around?” He winked. As he spoke his lips grazed Minji’s fingers, making her blush profusely. He leaned over Minji’s shoulder and purred in her ear. “You don’t know me very well do ya’? Playing around is all I do. Let’s have a little fun while the others are at school okay? I’ll be real gentle with you.”

“SCHOOL!” She snapped out of Himchan’s spell and pushed her way past him.

“Ouch! What the hell?” Himchan rubbed his shoulder. “Did you just completely ignored me?!”

“Shut your mouth for a sec.” She responded harshly. Himchan was pissed and looked like he wanted to say something, but he kept it to himself.

Minji searched for her things and ran for to the door. Before rushing out she waved a simple goodbye at the dumfounded blond who wasn’t quite sure about what just happened.

Himchan was left all by himself. He closed the door that Minji had carelessly left wide open and the plopped his aching body on the couch. The hit he received in his back still made every movement painful. He pulled out a hand mirror from under the couch and checked the bruises on his face.

‘So there are still girls who can resist my charm’, he chuckled at his reflection, ‘Who knew?’

As Minji ran through the busy streets of Seoul, she tried to come up with a way to explain the fact that she never returned home yesterday. She halted abruptly when she caught a glimpse of her reflection on a restaurant’s glass door. She gawked horrified at what she saw.

The bloodstains in her uniform had turned some sort a brown color and couldn’t be told apart from the actual dirt satins. The bruises on her face were practically gone, but a huge Band Aid was still awkwardly plastered on her forehead.

It was quite obvious that she couldn’t arrive like that to school, so she took a detour to her house. She walked past the guards, who bowed respectfully, and sneaked in through the back door in the kitchen. She tip toed her way to her room and closed the door.

The battered girl took a long shower, slipped into clean pajamas, and hid her old uniform under her bed.

“Minji! Is that you?” Someone knocked desperately on her door.

“Yes, mom.” She jumped to bed and pulled the covers up to her neck, careful not to show any injuries that could give her away. Her mom came rushing in seconds after.

“Why are you not at school? And why-“ Her mother scolded. “What happened to your forehead, young lady?!”

“I ran into a pole. I’m not feeling well so I decided to skip school today.” Minji lied.

“How can you be so careless? What am I going to do with you…” Mrs. Jeung sighed. “Oh, I have great news!” Her mother’s face lit up once again.

“Can’t wait to hear them…”

“Your brother came back this morning!”

“He what?!” Minji shouted. “Why?”

“You could at least pretend to be happy to see me again, sis.” A male figure materialized in the room. The man was leaning on the doorframe as if he was a model of some sort.

“I’m ecstatic.” Minji rolled her eyes.

“I’ll leave you two alone so you can catch up, okay?” Mrs. Jeung said. When she left, the man walked to Minji and sat on her bedside. “Long time no see.”

“Not long enough.” Minji muttered.

“As sweet as always.” He patted his little sister’s head.

“Stop it, Il Sung.” Minji slapped his hand away. “Why are you here, anyways? Harvard got tired of your stuck up already? I’m actually surprised it took them this long.”

“Funny.” Il Sung shook the pain away form his hand. “I came to help dad with some company issues.”

“How stupid of me to ask such an obvious question.” Minji crossed her arms the way she did whenever she fought with her brother. “You wouldn’t be here for any other reason than the company.”

-Minji POV’s-

After all I went through last night, I still had to meet with my brother. I don’t hate him or anything, but for me he is nothing but a traitor. The whole family has had high expectations for him from the very beginning. He is the smart, handsome and charismatic son and most importantly, he is perfect heir material. However, no one ever knew about Il Sung secret life. Believe it or not, he was his school’s most feared fighter. Not that my parents ever knew, of course. He had a way with lies a deceit. The strange part is that I loved him the most during his “dark days”.

“Why are you angry?” He asked me.

“I can’t believe you have the guts to still ask me that after so many years.”

“Is it because I left for college?”

“I’m angry because you abandoned me. You left me with them.” I hissed.

“They are you mother and father, Minji. Staying with them is the natural thing for you to do.” He said in his lecturing tone. I absolutely hate that tone.

“Don’t play stupid. You know what I mean.” I snapped. “It used to be you and me against them. You promised you would never play along their rules or become a puppet for the company like mom and dad. And yet, here you are, playing the role of the nice lap dog.”  

Il Sung’s face became stern. He clenched his jaw and his fists, but relaxed seconds after.

“The world is not as simple as you think. You will learn that after you grow up a little, especially since you’re a daughter of this family.” He walked out quietly after saying that.

What does he mean by ‘especially since you’re a daughter of this family’?

-With the Deadly Six-

The four boys had just finished school and were returning back to the base where Himchan was waiting.

“I just ing knew some would steal it!” Taemin punched every wall he saw, trying to vent his anger.

“Who told you to leave it in the middle of the streets with the keys in the ignition?” Henry hugged Taemin from the back. “You shouldn’t move around so much until you get better.”

“You think I left it there on purpose?!” Taemin elbowed Henry in the stomach so he would let him go. “Yeah, next time I’m kidnapped I’ll say ‘hey just give me a sec while I chain my bike somewhere safe’. DO YOU THINK THAT WILL WORK?”

“Yah, I was just saying…” Henry slumped his shoulders.

“Chill, Taemin. You’ll get a new bike in no time.” L tried to comfort the young boy.

“I spent, like, a billion bucks on that thing.” Taemin pulled his hair in frustration.

“Let’s just go home and try to think of something, alright?” Gikwang suggested. The rest of the walk everyone kept silent. When the finally made it back, Joon noticed a familiar object leaning on the front door.

“Hey, isn’t that-“ He squirmed his eyes.

“Taemin, it’s your bike!” Henry pushed Taemin forward. The exited boy sprinted forward and wrapped his arms around the bike.

“Oh God, it’s a miracle!” Temin laughed while kissing the handles.

“Wait. Look at this.” L ripped a note that was taped carefully to the back wheel of the bike. Gikwang snatched in from his hands and read out loud.

Don’t be so careless next time okay?

-Minji

“Woah.” Henry jumped up and down with a huge smile. “Minji brought your bike back!”

“What? Give me that!” Taemin took the note and read it for himself a few times. Joon and L peeked over his shoulders to take a look as well.

“That girl is really something.” L whistled.

“Why the hell would she go through the trouble of brining it all the way here?” Joon asked., but no one answer. No one could think of a real explanation.

Taemin stuffed the note in his pocket and proceeded to push his bike inside.

“You’re back!” Himchan ran to receive the others with a warm embrace.

“Don’t touch me.” Everyone said in a chorus.

“Fine, there is no need to be so mean.” Himchan pouted.

Unconsciously, everyone started to look around to see if Minji was still around, but there were no traces of her.

“Did she left already?” Taemin asked Himchan.

“Yep, she left a while ago.”

“You didn’t try anything weird on her, did ya?” Henry eyed the playboy suspiciously.

“I would be lying if I said I didn’t tried.” Himchan said innocently. “But that girl just ignored me like I was a poster in the wall and rushed out.”

“Hah. Serves you right.” Henry pointed at Himchan and laughed scornfully.

“Seriously, how embarrassing can you get?” Gikwang tore open a chocolate bar and started to devour it.

“Was she okay when she left?” Joon asked. Everyone was taken back by his sudden act of concern. “What? She brought that idiot’s bike back. I’m just being polite.”

“She was alright. Her clothes looked like someone had puked on her, but that’s about it.” Himchan said.

L was the only one that stayed quiet. He lay on the floor while he contemplated the scene. Curiosity started to take over his mind. He had never seen Taemin, Henry and even less Joon worry about some stranger. That girl is turning everyone’s head upside down, he thought, maybe it’s time I find out first hand what is it about her that is driving everyone nuts.