Youngmi and Jungmi trudged up to their room after dinner. The rest of the affair was spent in silence. The reality of how lost the boys were finally slapped the two sisters awake. Before going into their room, Jungmi felt a soft tap on her shoulder. She spun around to find Youngjae sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Eonni, I'm spent. I'm gonna go back to sleep," Youngmi called out from inside the room.

"Okay, good night." Jungmi said as she closed the door. She turned back to Youngjae. "Yes, Youngjae?"

"I'm sorry about Yongguk-hyung, Jungmi. I know that he can be rude at times about religion..."

"It's fine, Youngjae. There is no need to worry." Jungmi gave him a small smile. Youngjae held his breath at how breathtakingly beautiful her smile was. "I'm going to turn in. See you in the morning."

She opened the door and went in. Once the door clicked shut, Youngjae exhaled and gasped for air. Damn! How is it that she can do this to me, make me lose my breath with just a smile?

Daehyun passed by Youngjae while adjusting his mask and raised an eyebrow at him. "Youngjae." Youngjae jumped a mile high and placed a palm over his chest when he realized it was only Daehyun.

"Yah! Jung Daehyun! Don't you DARE scare me like that again!"

"What are you doing in front of their room?"

Youngjae nervously chuckled and swung an arm around his best friend. "Nothing. What do you think I am, some sort of stalker? Pigs will fly before that ever happens! I'm not Himchan-hyung, for goodness sakes!" Youngjae's voice trailed away when the duo reached their room.

~:~:~:~:~

In Yongguk and Himchan's room, Yongguk laid in his bed, completely immersed in his thoughts. Himchan came into the room with a towel around his shoulders, half- once again, but this time from taking a shower. Yongguk took one look at his friend and flared up in irritation.

"Himchan, must you be half- everywhere you go? We have ladies in the house! Put on a damn shirt!"

"Are you a lady, Gukkie? I don't think so. And, I already made a mistake earlier today. I'm not going to make the same mistake twice, so don't worry about it, gee." Himchan rolled his eyes and pulled on one of Yongguk's shirts. Yongguk widened his eyes at him.

"Yah! Kim Himchan!"

"What? We're the same size! What's wrong with wearing one of your shirts?"

"Ugh, just never mind, already." Yongguk huffed as he turned over in bed. He was too preoccupied to think about Himchan and his antics. Yongguk couldn't shake the thought of Youngmi's hurt face at dinner away from his mind. So what if I don't have a religion? Why would she be hurt because of that? Shim Youngmi.

Himchan climbed up to the top bunk and flopped onto bed. There was a loud creak when he popped his head down to look at Yongguk, startling him. "Aish, kkamjjagi (*you startled me)!"

"Mian. Yah, Gukkie-ah. What do you think about the girls?"

"What do you mean?" Yongguk asked irritably.

"Just... do you think we made the right choice in having them come live with us?"

There was silence as Yongguk thought about it. DID I make the right choice in letting them live with us? They are young girls and we are young men. And we haven't known them for a very long time. Something is bound to happen between us. I don't know how in world us boys will be able to keep up our end of the deal and I doubt the girls will be any different. But, something tells me that having them live with us is the right thing to do, even if it is with boys like us. What would happen if they found out that we are gangsters?

"Gukkie-ah!" Himchan's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"What?"

"I just thought of something. Don't the girls need clothes? We should go shopping for clothes!" Himchan smiled happily. "I haven't shopped for a girl since my last girlfriend!"

"And that was just last week, wasn't it?" Yongguk mumbled, hoping to fool Himchan into thinking that he was falling asleep.

"Y-yah! Th-that was just--" Himchan paused when he saw Yongguk breathing evenly. "Aish, there's no use talking to you. Good night, Yongguk." With another loud creak, Himchan lied down on his back and stared at the ceiling. Slowly, he began to close his eyes and drift off into slumber.

Buy clothes for the girls? Not a bad idea. Not bad at all. For once, Himchan, you made perfect sense. Yongguk smiled at the thought of seeing Youngmi in a dress he chose specifically for her. Feeling content, he his side and took in a long-awaited deep breath before falling asleep.  

~:~:~:~:~

Jongup lifted up 25-pound weights in both hands and began to work out while keeping his mind on the room right across from his and Zelo's. With each lift, he didn't know why, but something bugged him about the sisters. He had never seen the two of them in his life and yet he felt a deep connection with them, mostly Youngmi. He felt drawn to her, but he was in no way ready for a relationship at the moment. Somehow, he felt the need to protect her, be there for her. He sighed as he placed his weights on the ground with a couple of thumps. Shim Youngmi. Have I heard her name before? Have I ever met her before? Impossible! I have no idea who she is! So, why does her name seem so familiar to me?

With his hair damp from showering, Zelo entered the room and plopped down next to Jongup. He sighed audibly and leaned his head against the metal ladder that led to the upper bunk. "Jongup-hyung."

"Hm?"

"What should I do?"

"About what?"

"I can't talk to the two girls. I mean, Jungmi-noona is super nice and she makes good food. I can talk to her somewhat. But, I can't seem to talk to Youngmi-- Heck, I don't even know if she's a noona. Why is it so easy to talk to noonas at school, but not at home? Is there something wrong with me?" mumbled Zelo sadly.

Jongup gave Zelo a sympathetic gaze. "No, there's nothing wrong with you, Zelo. These girls are living with us. That could be part of the reason for your nervousness around them. You've never lived with girls, except for your mother."

"How are YOU able to talk to them?"

Jongup paused for a moment. Before Zelo could become suspicious about this, he said, "Truthfully, Zelo-ah, you and I both have the same problem. It's difficult to talk to them. I mean, I am ABLE to talk to them, but it's hard. For one, I can tell that Jungmi-ssi is older than me. And Youngmi is... Well, Youngmi is--"

"Really pretty," Zelo finished for him.

The corners of Jongup's lips lifted. "Yeah, she is." He thought of a way to get (unusually) shy Zelo to talk to them. For the both of us to talk to them.

After a few minutes, Jongup snapped his fingers. "I got it. Why don't you go wake them up every morning? All you have to do is knock and say, 'Good morning!' or 'Breakfast is ready!' Something like that."

"What about you, Hyung?"

"What about me?"

"How are YOU going to talk to them?"

"I'll think of something..."

~:~:~:~:~

Youngmi opened her eyes to a brightly lit room. She rose out of bed and stretched, but as she did this, there was a knock on the door. She sighed and opened the door, only to be met with a bashful Zelo. She smiled radiantly, earning her a blush from him. He's so adorable! I wonder what it would be like to pinch his cheeks right now.

"Y-Youngmi-ssi. It's time for b-breakfast." With that, he disappeared downstairs. Youngmi ruffled her hair in confusion. Why is he always disappearing? She shrugged her shoulders and descended down the stairs and towards the kitchen.

"Good morning, Princess!" Himchan called out. This took Youngmi by surprise until Yongguk flashed her a smile and said, "Don't be surprised. He calls every girl that."

As usual, Jungmi prepared a feast. There was all the toast, bread, sausages, bacon, eggs, pancakes, cereal, and, of course, rice they could eat. Once more, everyone stared at all the food. It was unbelievable how one person could cook all that, even someone who barely knew the boys and their appetites.

"Eonni, this is DAEBAK!" Youngmi said, staring wide-eyed.

"Yeah, jjang!" smiled Himchan while ing a thumb-up at her.

"You're welcome. Now, dig in. There's plenty for everyone." The eight of them sat down and once again, while the boys began eating, the two sisters each gave a prayer of thanks to God for their food. They shared a look. How in the world are we going to get these boys to believe in God?

"So, what's the agenda for today, Hyung?" Youngjae asked through a mouth full of pancakes. Daehyun smacked him upside the head. "Ow! What, Daehyun?"

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Youngjae. And, Himchan and I planned on taking all of us shopping today." Yongguk said, staring intently at his food. He did his best to hide the desire of buying something special for Youngmi.

"But, didn't we go shopping yesterday?" Jongup asked.

"Yes, we did. But, this time, it's different. We're gonna go shopping for Youngmi and Jungmi."

Jungmi nearly choked on her food. Daehyun, who sat right beside her, gently thumped her back until her airways were cleared. Youngmi stared sympathetically at her older sister. Eonni must be shocked. No one has ever offered to buy her anything before, not even our own parents. Not that she would allow anyone to do that in the first place.

"I'm sorry, Yongguk-ssi. You don't have to waste your money on us--" Jungmi began, only to be interrupted by Himchan.

"Jungmi, you and Youngmi have no clothes. If you are expecting to board with us, cook food for us every night, AND clean the house, this is the least we can do for you!"

"Please don't worry about it. I can get a job--"

"Oh, come ON, Jungmi!"

"No, thank you, Himchan-ssi. I'm perfectly capable--"

"That's enough! We are shopping for you two and that is final!" Yongguk said, crashing his orange juice down onto the table. Jungmi flinched. He must not like me at all. It sounds like he feels obligated to do this for us. He really doesn't have to-- "Damn it, Jungmi-ssi! Why can't you accept this, instead of arguing with us? Are you always like this? If you can't even listen to what I say, what's the point of you two being here? If you are going to argue with every single thing I have planned, just get out and leave." There was a collective gasp. The boys had never heard Yongguk speak that way before, much less, to a girl. They all stared at Jungmi, who did her best to remain composed.

"Please forgive her, Yongguk-oppa. All our lives, my sister has had to work in order to make ends meet. Even though our parents were well-off, they were rarely home. They would... often buy things for me, but never for her. They would give me an allowance to spend however I wished, but never for her." Youngmi was on the verge of tears as the memories came back to her. She never realized it, but it was hurtful to know now that her parents always gave her preferential treatment, while paying no attention to her older sister.

Yongguk softened a bit. Now, he understood why Jungmi was the way she was, cold and distant, even rebellious. All his life, he too had to find his own way to obtain money, as well as raise the boys. He swallowed hard and said, "I apologize for my behavior, Jungmi-ssi. I also know how it is to be treated that way from my parents. Please don't feel burdened when we say we want to shop for you and Youngmi. It's really to repay all that you have done and will do for us."

"Thank you... And Youngmi made it out to be worse than it sounds. Our parents loved us both equally, but they just couldn't share the wealth between us four, that's all." Jungmi struggled to recover from Yongguk's harsh words. Her hands were shaking and she felt like running to her room to cry. Daehyun noticed this and took the utensils out of her hands. No one else saw this simple action, nor did anyone see how much it warmed Jungmi's heart. Her eyes met his and she felt her heart do flip-flops in her chest. The look he gave her was full of concern and tenderness. He still had his mask on and her fingers twitched to remove it.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Himchan said, breaking the spell between Daehyun and Jungmi. "Let's help clean up the table and get going!"

~:~:~:~:~

Suprisingly enough, all eight of them were able to fit into Yongguk's sedan. Youngmi laughed. Yongguk didn't strike her as the sedan type.

"Yongguk-oppa, I wouldn't think of you as the sedan type."

"He's not," chuckled Himchan. "He uses it only when the six, now eight, of us need to go somewhere together. You should have seen his face when he bought the sedan. He looked like he was about to piss in his pants!" Youngmi giggled at the thought.

Sitting in the back with the two maknaes, Jungmi remained quiet. She watched how easily Youngmi, who sat in between Daehyun and Youngjae, conversed with everyone in the front and felt a painful pang of jealousy. Ashamed of her petty jealousy, she stared out of the frosted window and hummed to keep herself occupied. This caught the attentions of the two maknaes.

"Jungmi-ssi, you have a nice voice," mused Jongup. Jungmi whipped her head at him, stunned at his observation.

"Y-yeah, Noona. Y-your voice is super smooth," Zelo stammered quietly.

Jungmi smiled softly at Zelo's aegyo. "Um, thanks."

"Yeah, Eonni was dubbed as the Hyorin of our high school. She didn't know, but she had a lot of admirers," giggled Youngmi. Daehyun and Youngjae perked up. She had a lot of admirers?

"Hm, you and Daehyun should have a duet!" Himchan suggested. "He likes to sing, too."

Daehyun's ears heated up in embarassment. Just like Jungmi, he didn't like attention. "Hyung, please don't..."

"Hey, what about me? I have a good voice, too!" Youngjae complained. Yongguk rolled his eyes and smirked.

"You may have a good voice, but you're too damn vain. You need to fix your attitude, Yoo Youngjae. Perhaps you hang around Himchan too much."

"No, I don't!" Youngjae's cry came at the same time as Himchan's, "Yah, Gukkie-ah!"

Chuckling deeply, Yongguk stopped the car and said, "We're here!"

The instant the boys got out of the car, they pushed and shoved each other in the snow outside of the shopping mall like little kids. Even melancholy Jongup was smiling brightly and Daehyun threw powdered snow at Youngjae. Jungmi hung behind everyone else and stuffed her ungloved hands into her pockets. Steam billowed out of her nostrils and enveloped her when the wind blew at her. Snow slowly drifted from the sky, looking oddly like white rose petals.

"Eonni, help me! Jebal!" Youngmi's shriek snapped her out of her momentary distraction. It was so white, Jungmi could barely make her sister out. Panicking, she began sprinting towards her outcry, only to be tackled by a strong force.

"Haha, gotcha!" came Youngjae's excited voice. There was a pause when Jungmi realized that they were in the same position as when they first met. Flushing in embarassment, she shoved him off of her and stood up.

"Is everyone alright?" Yongguk called out. Youngjae gave Jungmi a bewildered look at her sudden hostility. Jungmi cleared .

"We're fine."

~:~:~:~:~

Warmth washed over Youngmi when she entered the indoor shopping mall. She gazed around in wonder at the post-Christmas decorations and the amount of people passing by the eight of them. Parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, couples, and many more people surrounded them. Youngmi closed her eyes and inhaled the scents of barbecue, fresh vegetables, and sweets from the food court to their right. She popped open her eyes to find a store that sold pretty clothes and accessories. Almost immediately, she clutched onto someone's hand to her left and led him towards that store.

"Oh, my gosh, this is so pretty!" She squealed while pointing at a sparkling phone charm under the glass. "Imo (*Aunty), can you take that out for me please?"

"Of course! This one of our most popular items!" smiled the ahjumma behind the desk.

Youngmi turned to ask the male beside her if he could buy it for her. She gasped when she saw an unsmiling Jongup beside her. He smiled tentatively at her and she pouted in exchange. The other six trickled in, almost giving the ahjumma a heart-attack from their rugged outward appearances. When Jungmi came up from behind the boys, the ahjumma heaved a sigh of relief that a pretty girl was there.

"Shim Youngmi, do you really need any of these?" Jungmi muttered. Her cheeks flushed with irritation. As much as she loved her sister, she couldn't understand why she was so materialistic. Little did she know, the phone charm that the ahjumma pulled out was a cross.

"Yongguk-oppa! Buy this for me, please?" Youngmi ignored her sister's hidden warnings. Instead, she turned towards Yongguk and turned her aegyo on up high.

Yongguk felt a tingle of pleasure jolt down his spine when Youngmi called him Oppa. Immediately, his hand reached out to grasp it, but as he did this, he saw what the charm was. He picked it up, turned it over, and scowled. He placed the charm onto the glass and gave the ahjumma a hard look. "I don't think so."

With that, he strode out of the store and led the way to a department store. Pouting, Youngmi bowed to the ahjumma and trudged after Yongguk. Slowly the rest of the members left the store until Jongup was the last one there.

"Young man. You are attracted to that young lady, aren't you?" asked the ahjumma with an amused gaze. Jongup swiftly turned around, surprised by the ahjumma's accurate observation. She gestured to the charm. "Although it seems as though your attraction may be for naught at the moment, this may be the very thing that could win her heart. I will give this to you for free because your affections for her will soon blossom into something real."

Jongup stared wide-eyed at the phone charm. It was indeed pretty. The cross was sterling silver and a pure diamond glinted happily in the middle of it. Jongup smiled softly and looked up to thank the ahjumma, only to find that she has disappeared. That's strange. She was here a second ago.

He shrugged, pocketed the charm, and ran after the B.A.P. and the girls.

~:~:~:~:~

"Okay, we are here to buy you girls one casual outfit, a semi-formal, a formal, and a full winter outfit. Each. In all, four outfits. Oh, and some undergarments, home clothes, and shoes. How does that sound?" Himchan asked the girls. Jungmi cleared and avoided his gaze. Youngmi grinned joyfully and almost jumped up and down like a child. "Great! Let's start with Jungmi, since Youngmi will take a while to choose." Youngmi pouted, but immediately smiled at the thought of seeing her sister in something pretty.

Himchan grabbed Jungmi's hand and led her to the casual section. "Is there anything you like from here, Jungmi?"

Jungmi looked around at the selections, feeling a bit out of place. She would rather be in a thrift store. Flipping through all the shirts made her feel uncomfortable until Himchan spun her around and held up a red and ivory plaid hoodie. "Hm... You look good in plaid. Let's put this on the side!"

He accompanied that outfit with a white collared shirt, skinny denim jeans, and red and white plaid sneakers. Jungmi already felt bad from the hoodie, which was 50,000 won ($45.00 US). However, because Himchan was so insistent, she tried on the clothes. When she stepped out of the dressing room, Daehyun and Youngjae could barely speak, but the rest of the group, led by Youngmi, complimented her clothes. The following were the rest of her outfits: Semi-formal, Formal, and Winter.

As for Youngmi, it was not easy. Though it seemed hard to shop for Jungmi because of her reluctance, Youngmi was, on the other hand, picky. She knew about style, but much of her selections were too expensive. Jongup and Zelo tried to give her suggestions, but they were shot down by her logical arguments in regards to fashion. Yongguk had to put his foot down when Youngmi mentioned that she wanted 35,000 won ($31.50 US) earrings. Although he wanted to please her, he didn't believe that 35,000 won earrings was the right way. And in no way was he wasting his money on something so, in his opinion, useless. In the end, and with a pout, Youngmi settled with these outfits: Casual, Semi-formal, Formal, and Winter.

Finally satisfied with the amount he spent, Yongguk allowed the girls to choose their own undergarments and home clothes from another department store. At the end of the day, the exhausted eight made their way to the sedan, which was already caked in snow, and drove home. This time, Jungmi and Youngmi had switched seats without knowing. When everyone had fallen asleep, Yongguk looked up into the review mirror and saw Youngmi's head on Jongup's shoulder, and Jungmi's head on Daehyun's shoulder. He smiled softly at the peaceful sisters in slumber.

Yes, I think it was the right decision. 

*****Hey, all! I'm so sorry for the long update. I'm finally able to update and this long one is the result of it... Anyway, please subscribe and comment! Constructive criticism is also welcome. I appreciate it! :)*****