A couple of days have passed by, since the incident of the mysterious crash. With the idea of those people in the car targeting Himchan, Youngjae has suggested that we both stay at home for a bit, just to keep it safe. So because of this, I've had to call in 'sick' a couple of times, and also cancel a few gigs, much to my dismay. Himchan is still his usual upbeat self, but underneath all of that sass, I know he's a little extra cautious to his surroundings now. Like whenever I would plan to take out the trash, he would do it before I would get the chance to.

Or like how his eyes would instantly sharpen, whenever he would spot a shady-looking person, from nearby, when we would go out together, to buy some needed essentials.

But I'm starting to think that this whole idea is getting a little ridiculous, as nothing out of the ordinary, has taken place.

Everything is carrying on like usual, and that squirm-ish feeling inside of me, has gradually disappeared. There are still traces of the paranoia lingering around here and there though, but a majority of it, is not felt anymore. I can't exactly explain why it's just up and left me, but I feel as though I shouldn't have to worry so much. It's as though something has helped push the harm away from us, and I know this intuition may sound a little bizarre, but I'm just thankful, that Himchan's life doesn't seem to be so in danger, anymore.

"I can't believe you're going back to work," mopes Himchan, with his back currently facing me.

I continue on with my task, brushing the black dye through his light hair. "Well, we need to survive in some kind of way," I muse.

Himchan bookmarks the page of his book, just before closing it shut with a huff. "But what if those creeps come back?" he says, and then adds; "They get you, and then they get me, and then we both die, even though I'm not sure why. And it's all because you went to work!"

I pause my actions, as this makes me frown a little; "Himchan, I've told you already—"

"Yes, yes," interrupts the nagging male. "You feel like someone's helped scare those weirdos away, blah, blah; I know." Himchan then crosses his arms together, with a skeptical expression; "Not only does your guardian-angel-theory make me think of a stalker, but there's still that giant 'what if', okay?"

My combing gestures slow back down again, as I gently exhale out a small sigh. "I know..." I mumble, in defeat. "But I really do feel like things are alright, though."

Himchan doesn't say anything, and just gives me an unimpressed grunt, which makes me return back to coating his light hair, with the dark tint.

The last patch of blonde is soon brushed through, and when I'm done, I tell him, and then begin to clean up the used items. I can see Himchan inspecting himself in the mirror as I go to do this, and the vainness oozing out of him, makes me shake my head at him, in amusement.

Although, the smile on my face, soon turns into a curious expression, when the sound of my mobile phone starts chiming through the air.

So I take off my disposable gloves, and then pick up the ringing device, only to quirk up an unsure eyebrow, at the sight of a blocked number.

Himchan suddenly waltzes himself over to me, but when he sees my lack of movement, he stops his actions in mid-air, and then straightens himself out. "Aren't you going to pick that up?" he examines, with a little tilt of his head. "Who is it?"

"I...actually don't know," I slowly reply. "It's an unknown number, and according to my call history, they've been phoning me since last night, at 2am."

"What?!" exclaims Himchan, in shock. "Maybe it's that police dude?"

I blink at him. "Who, Youngjae?" I questioningly say, and when Himchan nods his head, I shake my head no at him. "If Youngjae was calling me, then it would say his name...he wouldn't use a private number."

Standing there in silence, the two of us continue to stare at the shaking device for another second or so, until Himchan holds out his palm towards me. "I'll answer it," he calmly says.

It takes me a moment to digest what he’s just said, and once it does, I take a step backwards. "But what do we do, if it's your possible murderer?!" I uneasily say.

Himchan doesn't seem to be discouraged by this possibility, and ignores my worried comment, as he continues to motion for me, to hand my phone over to him. "Yejin," he sternly says. "Let me answer it."

His weirdly combed in-the-middle-of-being-dyed hair temps me into laughing at him, but because of the unusual seriousness, currently radiating out from him, overpowers my first reaction, I reluctantly hand the vibrating device over to him.

Himchan's eyebrows uneasily draw together a little, just before his finger goes to slide over the answer button.

But as soon as he starts talking, I flinch, feeling speechless, as it's not how I imagined him to approach the situation, at all.

"Who are you, and why do you keep calling?!" demands Himchan, in an explosive voice. "My girl has told me that you've been bothering her non-stop, so you better leave her alone, unless you want to sleep with one eye open!"

Curse words now rapidly begin to fire out of Himchan’s mouth, as he angrily continues on. His free arm wildly flings all over the place, as he paces around the room, with an expression of clear annoyance. I continue to watch him, with wide eyes, as he somehow manages to keep talking (or more like threatening), and for a split second, it makes me wonder if the person on the other end, has had the chance to utter a single word out yet.

But at the rate that the roaring male is speaking at, I highly doubt that it's possible, for the other person to cut through his (slightly overwhelming) motor mouth.

"—Do you hear me?!" barks Himchan. "This better be the only time that you're calling, if you know what's good for you!"

Pulling the device away from his ear, he then angrily taps the 'end' button, just before breathing out a huff of air.

My stare can’t seem to break away from him, and when Himchan looks over at me, a goofy grin appears on his face, as he goes to happily return my phone. "There you go, problem solved," he gleefully announces.

A puzzled (yet wary) expression now occupies my face, as I go to carefully take the electronic, from his hand. "Thanks...?" I slowly, yet unsurely say. "Did you...find out who it was, though?"

My question makes Himchan blink for a bit, until he sheepishly smiles at me. "Oh, woops," he blurts out, chuckling slightly. "I guess I was too busy yelling, that I forgot to actually pause, to let them talk...ha."

Himchan’s drastic personality change makes me quiet, and the only response I have to his response, is the palm of my hand, meeting with my forehead.

"Aigoo, I feel like I haven't yelled like that in so long," mumbles Himchan. "I need a shower..." 

My eyes find themselves glancing over at the clock, and when I see that it's almost time to leave, I then look back over at Himchan, to tell him. "Anyway," I say, now grabbing a hold of my purse. "I'll be going now."

At the announcement of my leaving, it makes Himchan pout. "Aw," he sulks, while taking a step closer. "Do you really have to?"

His whiney tone makes me give him a light push backwards. "Are you really asking me this?" I say, with a small laugh.

Himchan stubbornly nods his head, with exaggerated sadness. "Yes, because you can't die on me," he mopes. "If you die, then I'll die, and then I'll kill those people who killed you."

The strange plan makes me blink a little. "That...doesn't really make any sense?" I confusedly say.

But then again, nothing ever really makes sense, when it comes to Himchan...

Himchan childishly sticks out his tongue at me, just before reaching out, to envelope me into a hug. "But really," he delicately says. "Be careful, okay?"

It takes me a second longer to react, but I end up gently nodding my head against his chest. "I will be," I hum out, in reply.

With a beam now on his face, he then pulls me away, to give my head a little pat. "Good girl," he praises, rather merrily.

And I would have laughed at his silly comment, if he didn't suddenly lean in, to give my lips a quick peck.

My rounded eyes meet with Himchan's crinkled ones, as he now chuckles to himself. "You're so cute," he says, from out of the blue. "No matter how many times I kiss you, you always seem to look so surprised."

I can feel my cheeks start to warm up at his observation, with a mixture of embarrassment, and a little bit of something else. "Hey, I think you should go and attend to your hair," I nonchalantly say, in hopes of changing the subject. "The dye should be done in a moment."

"I know," says Himchan, with a dramatic sigh. "Aigoo, what is this? While I'm tearing up about my princess leaving, you don't seem to be fazed whatsoever, about parting with your prince."

My eyes can't help but roll themselves, as I shake my head at him in slight amusement. "You're making it sound as though I'm going to war," I say, with a chortle. "Are you sure it's me who's the princess, or is it actually you? Anyway, I'll see you tonight, so—"

"Tonight, eh?" buts in Himchan, with a sly smile. "What are you implying?"

I give him a weird look. "I am...not implying anything, at all...?" I slowly say, with a puzzled frown.

But Himchan seems to have ignored my little comment, and continues on with his rambling. "I like the sound of tonight," he chirps to himself, with a clap of his hands. "Are we finally going to do what you were too tired to do, the other time?"

My eyebrows incredulously lift up at him for a bit, only to then flatten down with a sigh. "I'm leaving now," I dully infrom.

Himchan begins to snicker away, as I go to unlock the door. "Aw," he croons, while tugging on my arm. "But baby, I was just joking!"

His tiny coo makes me decide to play along with his game, and so I spin back to him, with a pleasant-looking smile, on my face. "I know dear," I voice out, in the same teasing tone. “Now behave, and I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

Giving his cheek a soft pat, I think I might have gone a tiny bit overboard, when a wink also accompanies the light gesture.

Himchan appears to be rooted to the spot at my wink, and when I finally close the door, I laugh to myself, at how stiff he suddenly looks.

Maybe it's good to give him a taste of his own medicine, at times.

———————————————

Wiping down the table, I then make my way into the back, to wash out the cloth. My feet then take me back outside, to serve a table some tea, just before passing another table's orders over to the chiefs. It's not so crazy today, to the point where I'm running from one point to another, but filled with enough customers, to have everyone working every so often. Himchan's warm words still echo through my mind here and then, and so I make sure to keep an eye out for anyone suspicious, like how he wants me to.

And thankfully, everything seems to be fine so far, that Youngjae and Himchan's worry is making me shake my head to myself.

Out of nowhere, I'm suddenly forced to break away from my thoughts, when the abrupt vibration from my phone, signals me to take it out of my pockets.

But once I see the same blocked number from before, on the screen, I let out a sigh, and hesitate for a bit.

So because of this, I then decide to cancel the call, and then return the device back into my pocket.

Although, after a couple of seconds or so, my phone starts up again, making me frown.

It's that same number, and because my grumpiness gets the better of me, I then snappily answer it.

Over on the other line, the phone seems to be tossed around or something, and I swear I heard a panicked, "She picked up this time!" being hushed out.

I'm about to hang up the phone, but they stop me, by abruptly clearing out their throat. "We're going to play a little game," speaks a strange nasal voice.

The voice is obviously not natural, and because of how bizarre it sounds, I can tell where this is heading.

And when my ears manage to pick up on the sound of them trying their hardest not to laugh, I inwardly groan, knowing that my guess is right.

My hand now rests on my forehead, as the sniggering continues on. "No," I firmly say. "I don’t have time for your prank, so I suggest you go and bother someone else." 

And with that, I then end the call once more.

I breathe out yet another sigh, and right when I tuck my phone back into my pocket, something in the corner of the room catches my attention. The backs of two very familiar looking males appear to be hunched over something, in a rather secretive manner. I manage to catch a glimpse of a mobile phone in their hold, and as soon as I spot that, my phone begins to vibrate again. Piecing two and two together, a smirk slowly forms on my face, as I've now caught the culprits responsible. This time, I don't answer my phone, and just let it buzz away, and when I see the one holding the phone huff out a sigh, I grin to myself, knowing that I'm right.

Luckily, there is no one to serve right now, (as the customers are all fine with their meals) so I take this chance, to then casually make my way over towards the two boys.

And when I tip-toe close enough, I carefully crouch down, until my lips are near their ears.

"Actually, I changed my mind," I quietly enlighten. "Is it too late for me to play your game?"

My eerie voice causes the two males to let out a terrified shriek, as they whip their heads over their shoulders, with shocked eyes. I stand back up to laugh at their comical reaction, and the combination of me catching them, with the various pairs of eyes now staring, from around the restaurant, causes them both to suddenly duck their heads down in embarrassment. Luckily for them, everyone soon returns their attentions back to their own conversations, and it's only then, that I decide to plop myself down in front of the two boys.

A pleasantly sarcastic smile now decorates my face, as I stare back at the two sheepish males.

"Hey guys, how have you been?" I ask, with a clear fake beam. The two gulp at my overly happy tone, and so I continue on and answer for them; "I bet you two are good, huh? Since you've been pranking me non-stop, from last night."

And when my eyes flicker over to the grey-blue haired boy, he immediately freezes up.

"Sorry, shut down!" he robotically says, just before hanging his head down, to avoid my scrutinizing gaze.

My skeptical expression continues on, as I then eye the other male next to him. "Jongup-ah, is this Junhong's doing?" I monotonously assume.

With his usual innocent eye-smile, the spikey-haired brunette gives me a shy nod. "Yes, noona," he obediently mumbles.

His soft comment brings the other boy back to life. "Hey, it wasn't all me!" defends Junhong. "Jongup hyung agreed, so yeah."

Hearing this, Jongup nervously chuckles to himself. "Ah, yes," he quietly reveals, with a sheepish smile. "Sorry, noona..."

I shake my head at the two of them, and then let out a sigh. "Aish, you crazy boys," I grumble. "Making me panic over nothing. You're both lucky that I just happened to have my phone on silent, when I was sleeping."

My revelation makes the two young males before me, continue their nervous expressions at me.

But it doesn't seem to last very long though, as Junhong's voice suddenly perks up. "Hey noona?" he probes.

My eyes focus on him; "Yes?"

"I've told you so many times already, but call me Zelo!" he exclaims. "Come on, say it; Ze-lo."   

I show him a look of disinterest, and then carelessly flick my wrist at him. "I'll call you Zeus when I'm in a happier mood," I tease.

Junhong pouts at this. "It's Zelo, not Zeus!" he corrects, with a frown.

For some reason, this makes me laugh at him. "I know, I was just teasing you," I reveal, with a grin. "So, what brings you two here? Aside from creeping me out with your little prank, or something."

The two boys coyly chuckle at my remark, and then go on to tell me about how their boredom and hunger combination had led them here. Apparently, the idea of this prank started during one of their class breaks together yesterday, and because I just so happened to be the first name that they clicked on, they ended up picking me as their...well, victim. I then move on to ask them about their studies, and find myself lighting up at their answers, with excitement. Jongup is in his second year of university, and is studying a music course. He's majoring in dance, and it makes me really happy to hear how he's enjoying himself.

We both then divert our attention over onto Junhong, and when I hear him tell me how he's in his first year of university, it surprises me for a moment, but then the realisation makes me let out a coo.

"Aw, I can't believe you've finally graduated from high school!" I awe out, with a grin. "Actually, I can't believe how the two of you are now uni students, because it just means that I'm getting older."

Jongup blinks at me. "But noona, you're not that much older than us..." he quietly reassures.

His comment makes Junhong ponder for a bit. "Actually, when you think about it..." he slowly says. "Noona is quite old."

My jaw drops, as I narrow my eyes at him, and these two signs make him flinch in nervousness.

Junhong then quickly waves his hands in defence at me. "B-But Yongguk hyung is older than all of us!" he hastily says. "So if you stand next to him, then you won't feel so...um...old?" The grey-blue haired boy then perks up on a different note. "Oh, but speaking of Yongguk hyung!" he chirps. "How has hyung been, anyway?"

At the mention of Yongguk, all of my grumpiness from Junhong's comment on me being old dissipates into nothingness, as curiosity now takes over me.

How has Yongguk been...?

"I actually haven't been able to speak to him lately," I say, with a frown. "But...I'm sure he's doing alright?"

My unsure words make my eyebrows draw together in thought. Yongguk has been rather quiet lately, and although they say that "no news is good news", I can't help but feel a little concerned at his absence. I force myself to tuck this thought away in another section of my mind, and then make a mental note to myself, to give him a call of some sort, a little later on.

Both Jongup and Junhong share my curious-concern face, as the two seem to be lost in their thoughts as well.

But it’s not long, before the younger male breaks the ice, by asking another question, that makes me blink.

“So when are you finally going to date hyung?” probes Junhong.

His comment earns a slight nudge from his brunette friend. “But noona already has a boyfriend,” prompts Jongup. “He was yelling at us this morning, remember?”

Chuckling slightly, Junhong then bobs his head. “Oh yeah,” he quietly says. “That was funny...and a little scary, at the same time. But noona!” cries the grey-blue haired boy. “I like Yongguk hyung, and I also like you, so I want you two to be together.”

Their innocence makes me laugh for a bit, until the two start to interrogate me.

“But anyway,” begins Junhong, with an adorable beam. “Can you tell us who your boyfriend is?”

“I bet this hyung is cool,” adds in Jongup, with a cute smile of his own.

But Junhong speaks up, before I can say anything. “He doesn’t sound very nice, though...” ponders the boy. “I bet Yongguk hyung is better.”

The younger boy’s comment makes me inwardly giggle to myself; his admiration for Yongguk is just way too obvious.

Jongup blinks a little, and then goes to bump his elbow again, at his grey-blue haired friend. “Junhong-ah, don’t say that,” says the brunette. “You haven’t met this hyung yet, so you can’t be so sure. And besides, if Yejin noona likes him, then he must be a good person, right?”

Both of their bright eyes go back to expectantly staring at me, and I slowly nod my head. “Right,” I carefully say, with a small smile.  

Jongup shows me his trademark eye-smile, as Junhong pouts a little.

Unfortunately, my time with these two eventually come to an end, when I spot a couple of people from a table, begin to rise up from their seats.  

So I quickly say my goodbye to the boys, to which they return with a wave each, just before I go to assist the customers.

And as my mind goes to do this, I somehow find my thoughts heading back to Yongguk, with a worried frown.

Hopefully, he's just been really busy with work.