JR's POV

 

As happy as I was when Ren told me that Minhyun was okay - Now I am down again. The thought of Minhyun losing his right eye kills

me. We got into fights so often and we went through so much that this seems like some kind of punishment. It has never been so

serious. So why am I, as their leader, not receiving the punishment? Minhyun is our youngest and he did nothing wrong... All because

of me. I shake my head to get rid of the depressing thoughts, Minhyun is still looking at me thoughtfully.

 

"It's not your fault you know." He then says, clearly sad, but calm. In his situation I'd probably freak out.

"I... We... Argh I don't know, but I'm your hyung and I should've taken better care of you three." But all that was on my mind was a

certain blonde boy. I want to hit myself.

 

"It's alright. I'm not mad. Rather I'm mad at the guys who beat us." I look up, with an expression full of confidence, and say to him:

 

"We will definitely bring them down." Minhyun just laughs.

 

"I don't think that's a good idea... Anyways don't worry." I nod though I still do worry, but I don't want him to notice. I have to be strong

for his sake now, because he himself is so incredibly strong right now. He hands me my phone which I threw onto the bed before.

 

"I'll tell them where you are though. Baekho and Aron will want to visit you as well." Minhyun agrees. I leave it to him how much he tells

them. A knock on the door makes me turn around. Minhyun looks puzzled for a second there, and I force a smile on my lips.

 

"Seems like there's already someone else for you..." I raise my hand as a sign of goodbye, and he returns the favor. When I open the

door, a middle aged woman is standing there, She examines me from head to toe, and then walks past me with a disgusted look on her

face.

 

"I'll contact you once there are news!" I hear Minhyun call before the door falls back into its lock.

 

"Minhyun-aaaaaah, my baby- what happened to you, dear!"

 

The voice of the woman is so piercingly loud that I hear it even through the already closed door. I am quite sure that this is the 'mother'

he told us about so often. The one he... disliked a lot. I can partly understand why now, though I still think I'd be happy if I had parents

at all. Even if they were like that. Because then I wouldn't be so alone. But they left a long time ago... At least there's still her. A

displeasing feeling arises in my stomach as soon as I think of her.

 

 

 

On my way out of the hospital I quickly text Aron (he'll tell Baekho anyway) and then leave trough the exit. They'll read my text despite

being angry at me anyway. Since about half an hour has passed already and I can't seem to make out Ren out here, I figure he's gone

after all. Too bad, I really wanted to thank him for all this - and there is already some idea on how forming in my mind.

 

"Hyung." I almost don't react to the figure appearing out of nowhere right in front of me, because he never called me that before. But

as I see that bright blonde head -

 

"Woah, you startled me! Where were you?" Ren looks around and then points to somewhere across the street. There is a bench

located there. I get it.

 

"Hm Ren-ah, I really want to thank you for today. How about we meet up tomorrow, I want to show you a place." I splutter all of it in one

go since I might've lost my courage to do so if I didn't. Ren's eyes widen a bit, but he accepts the offer.

 

"So I see you at the usual place?" Again, he nods. I just wonder why he is so reserved. Maybe he doesn't like me...? Right then, out of

the blue, as if he read my thoughts and wants to prove them wrong, a smile I never saw before sneaks onto his lips, and his eyes

sparkle.

 

"See you, hyung!" He says, and then hurries off. I watch him walk away, and his steps seem so graceful that he really could be easily

mistaken for a girl. Right, he looks and walks like this (though he doesn't behave girlish at all), so that must be why my feelings are a

bit confused. I mean, I'd never fall for a boy. So it's obviously because he is so much like a girl. But then - No need to brood over it. I'll

just see whatever tomorrow happens.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Okay, so even though I am sure that I have absolutely no feelings for him, and especially not that kind of feelings, I am terribly nervous

when I stroll through the streets to meet Ren. Though I feel a bit bad for anticipating it so much, knowing that one of my best friends is

in hospital, I can't help it. I am happy for once.

 

As soon as I arrive, Ren seems to spot me from quite far away. I wonder how he does that, the streets are busy and I'm not an

outstanding person.But it lets my heart beat faster regardless, when he stands up and casually walks towards me. Despite him wearing

his usual blank poker face, I can see that his eyes are sparkling joyfully today. It puts me at ease that I'm not the only one looking

forward to this. The place I will take him is -

 

"Hey." Ren greets and catches me off guard, since it's normally me who starts the conversation.

 

"Uh, hi." I stutter, now examining him. He looks flawless as always. What to say now? It would be so much easier if he was actually a girl.

Then I'd probably say something like: 'You look nice today' or 'I had to think of you all the time'. Like all those sweet things girls want to

hear when taking them to a date. Oh wait, this is not a date. And all I come up with is:

 

"Let's get going then!"

While we walk beside each other we neither hold hands nor touch in any way. It feels awkward. If we did a lot of people would mistake

us for a couple. Somehow I like that though, but I push it away quickly. Aish, I'm hopeless.

 

 

As soon as we enter the store, my co-worker hyung approaches me.

 

"Oh, why are you here? Isn't it a free day for you?" I nod.

 

"Yeah, but I've come for shopping." Now my hyung spots Ren behind me, and a meaningful smirk appears on his face.

 

"Aaah, I see. Who's that lovely lady behind you?" I really hate explaining anything. But I need to set things straight.

 

"That's my friend, Ren." Meanwhile Ren stares at my hyung and I can't figure out what he thinks at that moment.

 

"Nice to meet you, Ren-ah." Ren, however, does not answer, it looks like he lost interest in my hyung.

 

"Oh, typical case of cold ice princess, huh?" My hyung mumbles, seriously hurt, but I just slip past him and say:

 

"Well excuse us." Ren follows carefully and seems to be impressed by the vast amount of clothes around.

 

"Anything that you like?" I ask him, and he shakes his head. Seems like it is a bit much to handle for him. Somehow I don't expect him

to have been at a shop like this before.

 

"Then I'll look for something for you." I declare, leading the way, and Ren follows me, still in a daze. It is really hard to find something,

there are so many things that would definitely fit Ren, but it also has to match his style. And I want him to like it. A glance at his shoes

(they are black with pink shoelaces) tells me what kind of colors I'll look for. I am pretty good at advising others, so I hope I'll do well with

Ren, too. He unexpectedly stops in front of a bunch of wristbands in black and pink with some of them being spiked. He really seems to

like them.

 

"Hyung, those are pretty." He mumbles, and I nod knowingly. I've got a good reference point now.

 

"Take them with you for now." I tell him, and he happily follows my order. Like a child, somehow. I pick, matching those things, a black

scarf-like thingy, a pink t-shirt, black skinny jeans and a greyish white leopard-print vest. All together I am content with my choice. Now

to let Ren try it on...

 

"Ren-ah, follow me." I say leading him to the changing rooms. "Try this on." He looks at the clothes and smiles. He likes them. I'm glad. 

What follows then takes my breath away.

 

"Uh, do I look good?" Ren asks as he walks out of the changing room, and I can barely hinder my mouth from dangling open as I stare

at him in amazement. This. is. perfect.

 

"It looks- perfect." I say as I regain my breath. So much better than expected- or maybe not? Even though the flashy pink might seem

to fit girls only, Ren looks completely handsome in it. It doesn't even make him look girly or anything. I'm sure people would recognize

him as a boy now that he doesn't wear that loose clothing anymore. The only problem will be the price, but I am determined to buy

those clothes for him no matter what. Because I never saw him in such a happy state before.

 

 

Ren's POV

 

Looking at myself in the mirror made me uncomfortable at first. I know that people would refer to me as good-looking, but I can't really

say so myself. However as soon as JR tells me that it looks - perfect, as he said, I'm totally lighthearted. For the first time ever I am

actually thankful for my looks. Why is that? I want JR to find me handsome, though I can't explain why.

 

I don't even change back when JR pays for the clothes. I don't want to. It's a gift from him for me, I never got a gift before, and I want to

wear this forever (Uh, better not, but...). We leave soon after, not without getting a surprised look from that hyung JR talked to earlier.

JR has put his arm around my shoulders and like this, we walk towards our next direction. Which is, I wonder?

 

"Ren-ah, want to go drink something?" JR suddenly asks with a cheeky smile on his lips.

 

"Wah- but we aren't even allowed yet, are we?" I call, he chuckles.

 

"We aren't, but no one has to know. They won't notice anyway, now that you look so -" I really want to know what would've come after

the 'so', but I don't question him. I couldn't be more content.

 

"If you say so..." I don't mind since I never drank before. And somehow I wanna try now. Weird. Not long ago stuff like this didn't matter

to me at all.

 

***

 

We enter the bar unnoticed. JR orders something, and I have no idea what it is, but I gladly accept the drink. It tastes good - but

somehow burns my throat. I cough, gaining a worried gaze of JR's, but I wave it aside.

 

"It's okay." He raises an eyebrow, but doesn't respond. Instead, he empties his glass.

 

I have no idea how long we stayed in there. it might have been a few minutes, or hours, I honestly don't know. Maybe because at some

point my vision went blurry and my thoughts were a mess. I don't even remember a thing we chatted about. And then I fell asleep,

eventually. Or half asleep. Up and down. Around me, everything is spinning and so bright, not only because of the colors but also

because of the light in here. So bright, and there's also JR's face right in front of me. He's really attractive. A lot of girls fall for him for

sure. So attractive, I want to go closer...

 

 

JR's POV

 

I really need to blame myself, I think, carrying a dead drunk Ren on my back. He really can't handle alcohol, though he didn't even

drink that much he's in that state. Oh well. I can't bring myself to let him alone on the streets like this, so I decide to take him with me for

now. I can still sleep on the couch.

 

"So handsome..." Ren mumbles and moves a bit. He's been talking about a lot of weird things for a while now. Must be due to the

alcohol.

 

"Ren-ah, we're at my place soon, make sure you sleep a lot then."

 

"Neh hyung..."

 

I let him down as soon as we're inside of my apartment. First I look for some clothes for him to sleep in (so that the new clothes won't

be ruined). I find a relatively big shirt and a comfortable pair of pants, should be okay.

 

"Wear those." I say, offering him the clothes, and he takes them without asking for the purpose. Seems like that doesn't matter to him

right now. I just want to leave when he takes off his shirt in a very unique and complicated way, but as I peak at his body, I can't turn

away anymore. His waist is like, so small. Still his body is somehow athletic in its own way. I must look like a ert right now, but

seriously, wouldn't you do the same thing? I clear my throat and lower my eyes as he slips over the shirt I gave him before. He finishes

changing without me taking another peak and then stands before me in that a bit too large shirt. It looks adorable in combination with

his sleepy eyes.

 

"Where's the bed, hyung?" I avert my gaze and show him the bedroom. It's small but who cares. As soon as the bed is in sight, Ren

falls onto it, falling asleep instantly. I smile lightly.

 

"Good night." I then close the door as quiet as possible and return to the living room, where I notice something red on the table. I am

fully awake again as my heartbeat fastens to an almost impossible level.

 

 No. Not now.

 

 

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I want to say thank you to all of you subscribers and all of you who leave so nice comments >.<

If it wasn't for you, I would probably not continue this story (due to lack of motivation) :> ♥

 

So this chapter is extra-long~ (and a short intermission of all the bad happenings)

Enjoy!