"Oh look," Kikwang uttered suddenly. "The crosswalk sign's lit. Kaja."

His face brought my thoughts back to earth. Blinking a good couple of times, I walked forward to follow Kikwang, leaving Hyunseung and all my thougts of him behind momentarily. In no time, the two of us reached the convenience store. We walked towards the back and I listened to Kikwang hum an incoherent tune as we browsed through the selection. In the end, we chose the most expensive brand we could afford with the money (because according to KwangLogic, more money means better quality). Paying for the beer, we went back outside and walked back to the crosswalk when something a bit farther off caught Kikwang's eye.

"Min Ah-yah!" he said suddenly, his eyes lighting up. "Look over there! Sushi! Let's get some, neh?"

Looking at him, I couldn't help but smile at his excited expression. It seemed as if the smallest of things gave him sheer joy, so I didn't wanna take that sparkle of happiness away from him. I liked it when he smiled; it made me feel like smiling too. Plus, I could use some sushi right now. How could I say no to him? He DID save my hide twice already. "Of course! I'd love to get some sushi!"

"Assa!" he cheered as we crossed the other crosswalk.

"I've got about ₩35,000 on me right now. I think it'll cover it," I smiled.

"Who said that you were paying?" replied Kikwang, looking bewildered as we walked inside.

"I did, since you aren't. Look, I don't want you to think I'm some kind of charity case or--" I started.

"Charity case, shmarity case. Nothing is too big for The Kwang!" he said breezily, holding his head up proudly. "Now, pick anything-- anything--  and I'll get it. Uh-uh-uh, no buts." I tried protesting, but he held up a finger. "No buts. Min Ah, just pick!" I furrowed my brows and was about to complain, but he put his finger on my lips. "No. Complaining. I'm gonna pick for you if you do."

Sighing, I stuck my tongue out to his finger. He retreated and wiped it on his forest green wifebeater, looking at me with a shocked but playful expression. It tasted salty. Ick, I thought. Kwang germs. Which reminded me...he touched all that stuff at the convenience store. Did that mean convenience store germs were on my tongue?! Ewwwwww. I quickly wiped my tongue off with my Gina unnie's shirt. Sorry, unnie, I'll wash it.

"Fiiiiiine," I gave in. "Just order for me, then."

"Geurae? Well, then..." he mused as we stepped up.

"Welcome to Ai Sushi, what would you like?" the ancient-looking cashier asked.

"Hmm...I'll take the tuna sashimi, please!" he announced.

"Sure thing!" the cashier said, then she looked at me. "And what would you like?"

"Do you guys have fugu?"

My heart nearly stopped cold after the word 'fugu' left his lips. FUGU?! AS IN PUFFERFISH?! What was he thinking? I thought he wanted to rescue me, not kill me! I have a pretty strong stomach and almost nothing bothers me, but if I had to die, I certainly wouldn't die eating a freaking pufferfish. Pufferfish, I decided, are only cool in Pokemon form, NOT as a delicacy. I don't care if someone paid me a million dollars to eat it; I wouldn't even go near it. (Okay, a million dollars? I would. But still, you get the point.) Lee Kikwang, I know that you're famous for making girls freak out, but NOT IN THIS WAY!

"Just kidding," he grinned after the cashier told them that they, indeed, served fugu. "Hmm, I'll take your sushi combo, then. Wow, Min Ah, you should have seen the look on your face. PRICELESS."

My mouth dropped open. "WOW, oppa. Just...wow. You watch out; I'll get you back for this."

Once we got our food, he paid (against my grudging wishes) and we walked back to the noraebang to give Junhyung his precious beer and to pig out on our sushi. Once we reached the room, Junhyung's face lit up like a child's on Christmas morning as he took the six-pack from my hands. I noticed that Hyunseung's eyes didn't even lift from the screen, where the lyrics to 'Candy' by H.O.T flashed, accompanied by Aesook and Jongsu's singing. Instantly feeling bad, I accepted my food from Kikwang and sat next to him and Yoseob.

"Anyone want sushi?" I asked to no one in particular, but directed it to Hyunseung.

"Don't mind if I do," Yoseob answered instead, grinning down at me like a creep.

That was definitely not the person I was expecting an answer from. The person I WAS expecting an answer from just glanced at the pieces of raw fish and rice in my hands. He looked like he wanted some, but he didn't say a word. Just stared. Looking back at Yoseob, I narrowed my gaze.

"Alright, alright, you may have ONE piece. Mind you, oppa, that one piece equals ONE PIECE. Not two, not five," I clarified, then in English, "ONE. Hana. Ichi. Uno. ONE."

"Assa! Kumawo, my favorite cousin in the whole wide world!" he cheered as he popped one piece of sushi and his mouth and proceeded to glomp me.

I rolled my eyes. Of COURSE he would say something like that when I give him food. Just a few hours ago, he was arguing with me in the car. What a loser. Playfully pushing him off, I munched on my sushi as I checked my phone. It was now 9PM and every other second, boisterous laughter would explode from either Junhung or Jongsu. To tell you the truth, I longed to just have just one sip of that beer. I mean, I freaking bought it for them. My prayers were soon answered, as Junhyung took pity on my craving look and let me finish off his first bottle. Only half of its contents were left, but hey, I wasn't complaining.

Getting up, I hi-fived Junhyung as I earned a death glare from Yoseob. Shrugging, I took a sip. I found it bitter at first, and I thought to myself why people enjoyed drinking this stuff. The alcohol stung my throat a little, but after getting used to the little aftertaste, I gradually began to sip a bit more. Yoseob kept on giving me the evil eye every time I picked up the bottle, but what did he know? I didn't come to get my singing made fun of, I came here to party.

Of course, the amount that I drank wasn't enough to even intoxicate me, but after an hour or so passed by, I was beginning to think that Yoseob and Kikwang were right. Why do I never listen? Beer and sushi do not mix, not well at least. It was like a chemical reaction gone wrong. I began to feel sick to the stomach at around 10PM because everytime I tried to laugh or even talk, I felt like there was a whirlpool in my stomach.

"Min Ah-yah, you look pale. Gwenchana?" Kikwang asked, coming over to feel my forehead.

"Don't, oppa, I'm fi--" I cut my lie off immediately with the gut feeling that the little fishies in my stomach were about to swim back upstream.

Pursing my lips, I acted in a split second and quickly bolted out of the room and down the hall to the ladies' room. Luckily, I made it in time. I barely made it inside the stall before I threw up in the damn toilet. Ugh, I am so disappointed in myself. Now, I feel like a wuss with terrible alcohol tolerance. Whatever happened to not drawing a scene, huh, Min Ah? Stupid, stupid, stupid.

After a few minutes, I emerged from the bathroom feeling exhausted. Throwing up really took a lot out of a person. Scared that another episode like this might happen again, I decided that I wanted to go back to the hotel. I started feeling like a terrible friend to Doo Joon since I was missing for most of his party, but it was better than staying behind and rushing to the bathroom every other minute. Gah, I hope he wouldn't be too disappointed in me.

I walked in to Junhyung rapping to some random DJ Doc song . Staggering towards Doo Joon, I had to wait until he was done laughing with Kyubeom until I finally got a word in.

"Doo Joon oppa," I began, trying to keep my voice low. "Is it okay if I leave early? I hate to do this, but I'm feeling nauseous and I really don't want to puke my guts out all over your--"

"Way too much info, Min Ah-yah," Doo Joon scrunched up his face. "If that's how you feel like. I didn't know my party was THAT bad."

"You know I don't mean it like that," I whined.

"Hey, I'm kidding. You had fun, though, right?"

I nodded. "I had a blast."

"Yah, Yang Yoseob, Min Ah's leaving!" Doo Joon called out as I was halfway out the door.

"Wae?! It's only ten! Why do I have to take her back already? I WON'T DO IT. I was gonna sing next!" complained Yoseob.

"Then sing. I'm just gonna take the bus back by myself. Have fun," I said, then exited the room.

Dongwoon suddenly rushed out of the door and hugged me as hard as he could. "NUUUU, MIN AH, DON'T LEAVE!"

"Woonie, I don't--"

"Gajima! I want to hear you sing one last time!" He squeezed me harder.

Dongwoon is Dongwoon, so on any normal day, this would have been our normal parting routine. However, I was beginning to feel even more queasy as he continued to hug me like this. I mean, I could FEEL my face turning green as I tried releasing his grip on me. Finally, I heard the door open again and a voice behind me said, "Son Dongwoon."

He let go of me. "Sorry, hyung."

"You're lucky you stopped. If you didn't, she might have projectile vomited all over the halls," Hyunseung said as he looked at me with a vacant look.

I didn't even know whether to thank him or take it as an insult. Was he mad or was he saving me? Gazing at him, puzzled, I could see his doe eyes pondering over something. What goes on inside this 4D person's head? Ahh, the mysteries of life.

"I'll take you back," he said after a moment of silence. "You can go back inside, Dongwoon-ah."

Obliging, Dongwoon gave me a parting wave and opened the door, only take a step backwards as Kikwang stepped out into the hallway as well. The door swung closed yet again.

"Min Ah," he said. "I can take you back; it's no big deal."

"That's alright. Haven't you done enough, anyway? After all, YOU were the one that bought her the sushi to put her in this state,"  Hyunseung said carelessly.

My eyes widened. WHOAAAA. Okay, this is Hyunseung. He sometimes says stuff without thought and consideration of the consequences. Regardless, I did not like where this was going. My stomach churned even more, so I brought a hand to my lips to help purse them together. Switching my gaze to Kikwang, I could see him open his mouth like he was going to respond, but he remained silent. I looked to Dongwoon, praying he would help break the tension but sensing the awkward mood, he decided to quickly run back into the noraebang room. Thanks, Woonie. You're a great help.

Hyunseung broke the silence and, in a nonchalant way, said, "Come on."

I knew that he was as stubborn as a bull, so I couldn't object. Sending Kikwang an apologetic wave to Kikwang (at least, I hoped it looked apologetic), I had no choice but to follow Hyunseung out. Jesus Christ, why was my vacation turning out like this? I couldn't help but feel bad for Kikwang. It's not like it was his fault. I really hoped he didn't take the comment to heart; he knew that Hyunseung has the tendency to say stuff like that without actually meaning it. Stepping out into the street, I followed Hyunseung to the bus stop. The bus was already there, so we stepped on, paid the fare and sat towards the front of the bus.

"Min Ah-yah, gwenchana?" he asked as I leaned against the window.

"Neh," I lied, trying not to double over to ease the pain of my gurgling stomach acids.

"You're lying to me," he stated, seeing past my facade. "Look at how pale you are; you look like you're about to faint. You know, I read this one book about this one girl who passed out on a bus alone and the bus driver didn't even notice, so when she woke up, she was all the way in--hey, are you okay? Sit up and breathe normally."

"I'm fine," I told him, trying to sit back up.

"Liar," he declared again. "You're shivering and you look like Dongwoon after he lost his Brown Eyed Girls CD. Do you want my jacket?"

"It's okay, I'll live. I'm fine," I told him.

He was right, though. I was shivering. I mean, what the hell. Sure, it was summer, but why did the bus have to be like, zero degrees? It was like Alaska in here. Trust me, Alaska is COLD. My parents and I spent a couple weeks in Alaska over winter vacation once. Seriously, who goes there in the wintertime? When I came back, I had the biggest cold and--

"Look, it's only about 22 degrees in here. That's like...71 degrees in Fahrenheit, and you're shivering? Are you still going to tell me that you're fine?" he questioned.

"Actually, I-I'm perfectly--"

"Sick. Give it up, Min Ah-yah," he said stubbornly as he draped his jacket over me. "Don't take it off. You seem like you're gonna shiver your pants off."

Oh, wouldn't YOU like to see THAT again, Seungie. He always hyperbolizes everything to a great extent. I admit, at least he cared about me. I wondered why. Oh yeah, that's because he likes me. I didn't want him to get the wrong idea, but I did feel cold, so I pushed my hands through the sleeves. In the silence that followed, I realized how nice and tolerant Hyunseung was. It took a lot to put up with me, at least in my opinion. I guess the only way to battle stubbornness is with with equal stubbornness. Fight fire with fire. We arrived at the hotel after a while and we were in my suite in no time.

"Thanks for taking me back, oppa. I'm sorry that you had to leave Doo Joon's birthday party because of me," I mumbled as I gave him back his jacket.

"No biggie. It's not like I've never been to a noraebang before," he shrugged.

Saying our goodnights, I trudged to my room to change into the only clean pair of pajamas I had, a white camisole and grey, cotton shorts. I threw on my oversized, white 'I <3 Seoul' hoodie and slipped on my frog-shaped bedroom slippers. I was feeling a bit better, so I decided that I would watch a zombie movie on television before heading off to bed. Imagine my surprise when I found Hyunseung still there, standing in the kitchen.

"I thought you left," I mused out loud.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily," he scoffed.

"I didn't even mean it like that," I countered.

"Shouldn't you be getting some sleep? You need your sleep. You nearly died today," he nagged as I popped in Resident Evil: Extinction.

"I'm not even sleepy," I told him, then I involuntarily yawned. My body hates me, I swear.

"You lie so well," he mocked sarcastically, then set down a steaming mug in front of me. "I made this tea for you, so drink up. It'll help soothe your tummy. Be careful though, it's still really hot."

Blowing on the torrid liquid, I decided to . "How do I know it isn't poisoned?"

"You don't," he replied casually as he plopped down on the couch next to me.

Rolling my eyes, I drank it anyway. "You wouldn't."

Grinning, he cocked his head to the side. "You know, I knew someone who didn't believe me when I said that I didn't poison their drink. Notice how I said the word 'knew'."

"You are such a bullter."

"Oh, look who's talking."

Drinking the tea, I continued to watch the undead get their heads blown apart until I began to get drowsy. As time passed, I noticed that Hyunseung was right. The tea really did help my stomach settle down. Towards the of the movie, I could feel myself nodding off into dreamland as I felt a giant wave of fatigue hit me. My eyelids drooped closed and I heard the TV being turned off. Too tired to protest, I continued to lose consciousness as I felt myself being carried back to my room.

In a matter of time, I was in my bed again. Briefly hovering in the limbo state between consciousness and unconsciousness, I barely felt a pair of warm lips make contact with my forehead. In other words, a kiss. As I succumbed to slumber's sweet allure, I heard him mumble softly, "If you only knew how I felt..."

But I do know.

---

Sorry that I had to make you guys wait so long! But here it is, the eleventh installment! Hyunseung is such a sweetie! But, what happens next? Let's just say that Kikwang will be playing a much bigger part over the next few chapters. Continue to keep reading and commenting, please! I hope you guys enjoyed it. I love you all! Until next time, annyeong(: mystery signing off.