CHAPTER 6

 

Jongup POV

I stared at Haru from across the table.

She looked like she was worried, or at least deep in thought, which would’ve been perfectly normal had she not been making neck wringing motions with her hands. She looked pissed and I mean P-I-S-S-E-D and it didn’t take a genius to see why.

Man, Daehyun was going to get it when he got home. The last time Haru had looked like this, we came home to find YoungJae on the roof, in his underwear, soaking wet and covered in Christmas lights. We never even bothered to ask how Haru had even pulled that off in the first place. Honestly, I think all of us (including most of the neighborhood) just stood there and stared at him with our mouths hanging open for half an hour, because, what can I say? You don’t come across stuff like that everyday. To this day, YoungJae still can’t look us in the eye when we bring it up (which is often) and yelps like a dog whenever Haru glares at him. 

Honestly, in the battle between Daehyun and Haru, my money was on Haru. It didn’t matter that Daehyun was two times her size and probably a lot stronger. If she can pull off completely and thoroughly humiliating YoungJae the way she did that day, then she’ll have no trouble going all Rapunzel-meets-frying pan-meets-crack on him…or worse.

I chuckled slightly at that mental image. Oh Haru XD

Daehyun, you sad little piece of alien turd. I do not wish to be in your shoes.


Haru POV

I swear to freaking Jesus if Daehyun is stealing the money, I don’t care how desperately we need it; I will personally drag him to Yongguk, chained and on his knees.

Trust me, Yongguk Oppa is like, 40x scarier than the police when he gets pissed and will not hesitate to use physical means to make him learn his lesson. It doesn’t even matter than Daehyun is only 2 years younger than him. He whipped Himchan Oppa’s tush just fine and Himchan is freaking old enough to move out.

But then again, in the whole Himchan vs Yongguk thing, it ended up looking more like a wrestling match with Himchan flailing around the whole time and making sounds that closely resembled a dying whale. Yongguk eventually gave up because Himchan was making too much noise and disturbing the whole neighborhood. (No seriously the police showed up at our door because they thought someone was being /tortured/being stabbed in the hole with a unicorn horn. That’s how much Himchan was freaking out.)

Himchan was super smug about that for weeks after that for reasons I still don’t understand.

Oh well, at least it was interesting to look at.

Anyways…

The point is I’m not letting Daehyun get away with this. In fact, I’m going to go out today and meet these “friends” that he always claims he street performs with. He better be there, or he was going to get it. I wasn’t even joking. He would meet my fists of fury and his friends would too.

I leaned across the table and tapped Jongup on the wrist. “Oppa,” I asked, “Can I borrow your clothes? I’m planning on going out today.”

He crinkled his brow at me, amusement in his eyes. “Are you planning on killing Daehyun?”

“Yup.”

“Wonderful. Take whatever you like.”

I laughed and stood up, gathering all the plates and half chucking them in the sink. Finally, I actually had an excuse to go out, and not just to work this time. When I worked, I was always stuck in the kitchen so it was pretty much just like when I was at home. And I wouldn’t have to deal with my idiot brothers, which would be a nice change.

I glanced at my brothers just in time to see Himchan laugh jovially and attempt to clap Zelo playfully on the shoulder, only to miss and whack him in the face instead. YoungJae then proceeded to laugh his off and spray water all over Jongup which just made it that much funnier.

Oh yeah, I mostly definitely needed a change in scenery.



30 minutes later…



Zelo POV

“Haru, you there?” I asked, peeking in though the door. I’d skateboarded to the shop only to find out that they were closing for the day. Great. They could’ve told me that before I skateboarded all the way there, but at least they’d given me a lollipop for my efforts. Now all I needed was to find Haru and get her to hang out with me.

Plus I was hoping she could cook for me again. For some reason, I was still starving despite the fact I’d eaten like, what, 30 minutes ago? I was hoping she could cook me some chicken…or like steak…or like meatloaf…or all of the above.

DON’T JUDGE ME. IT’S PUBERTY’S FAULT OKAY?

I looked around. Haru wasn’t anywhere. She was probably in her room or something, studying like the nerd she was.  How surprised would she be if I just randomly bursted into her room and scared the living crap out of her? Oh yes, that would be freaking hilarious. I was cracking up just thinking about it.

Holding my hand in front of my mouth, I sneaked over to her room and stood in front of her door. It was closed, which was fantastic. All the easier to scare her. It was super silent too, which meant she was probably had no idea I was in the house.

Holding my breath, I reached up and yanked the door open.

“SURPRISE!!!” I yelled, jumping up and down like an excited kindergartner. “I GOT YOU REAL GOOD DIDN’T I AHAHAHA—“

I stopped and looked around.

The room was empty.

Haru was gone.



Haru POV

I tugged at my clothes, cringing slightly at the tightness. Jongup was a hip-hop dancer so most of his clothes were really loose, which meant they were not even close to fitting me. Therefore, I had no choice but to dress in his middle school graduation clothes that he had worn one day and swore never to wear ever again. I found them in the very back of his closet under a pile of clothes that may or may not have been washed. 

It was safe to assume that he didn’t like these clothes very much.

As grateful as I was for finding these clothes, I couldn’t help but understand why Jongup hated it so much. If you’re wondering what these clothes look like, let me give you a quick rundown. They pretty much consisted of a tight white collared shirt and jacket paired with a black bolo tie and skinny jeans.

How did Jongup ever survive? These clothes were itchy as hell. 

I sighed and shrugged, looking around. I was currently in the street, which was where I assumed Daehyun would be with his friends. Everywhere, random street performers danced, sang, and played instruments, their eyes begging me for money. I reached into my pockets hesitantly. I had about 50 bucks in there, which Himchan had forced me to keep. I usually gave all my money to Yongguk but for some reason, Himchan got really sad whenever I did.

He told me that “I’d worked hard for it so it was mine and I shouldn’t just give it away so easily” and that I “deserved it” and that I should “go spend it on something I really wanted, such as bows and pretty dresses and other things girls tended to like.”

It was a cute speech though the last parts made me roll my eyes. Leave it to Himchan to ruin the moment.  

I looked around. The street performers consisted of people between the ages of 55 to even as young as 6. Usually, the people who were sort of appealing in a way made the most money. I hated to say it, but it didn’t matter how talented you were. You would always make less money than someone who was more attractive than you. Usually the people who made the most money were between the ages of 8 and 25 and all had the same thing in common. They were very talented and very cute, beautiful, or y. The younger kids made a whopping bill if they were cute and doll-like because the older women would come and dote on them while the older girls and guys would also make a lot of money because of fanboys and fangirls.

I couldn’t say the same for the uglier people though. Street performing was tough business. You never knew who your competition would be and depending on who they were was how much money you’d make for the day.

I looked up just in time to see some y dancing girl who already had 10 guys hanging off of her wink and wave at me, obviously mistaking me for a potential customer. I stuck my tongue out at her, disgusted. I was planning on giving my money away, but to someone who truly deserved it. Not to someone who would just sell her body for money. Besides, judging by how those guys were practically drooling all over her, she’d have no problem making money for the day.

I glanced up and down the aisles, looking for Daehyun. Considering I had seen Daehyun street perform before, I looked for the biggest crowds. It’s ridiculous how popular Daehyun is with the ladies. I didn’t see it to be honest, but maybe that’s because I’m his sister.  

To my disappointment, he was nowhere in sight. Well, at least if he came home with a wad of money tonight, I’d know he was lying right? I’m pretty sure I’d gone through every street performer and there was no one who remotely looked like him.

I sighed and looked down. For some reason, I felt kind of defeated. What if Daehyun was really stealing the money? As much as I hated to admit it, besides Yongguk Oppa, Daehyun was one of my biggest role models. He taught me everything I needed to know about self defense, confidence, and how to deal with the stupid people of the earth. If he was stealing money, I would seriously be crushed. It was depressing just thinking about it.

I sat down, wishing I had a phone so I can cuss him out for making me even have suspicions. He was my big brother for crying out loud. He should be worried about me making an idiot of myself and potentially ruining the family, not the other way around.

Suddenly, I felt a small hand poking me in the back, causing me to flinch a bit. 
“Mister?” a frail voice called out. “Please give me some money…I’m so hungry…”

I frowned slightly. Please tell me this wasn’t some little brat who used its cuteness to manipulate people. I didn’t have the patience or the time to deal with one right now.

I sighed and turned around, ready to give the kid a piece of my mind.

I stopped.

It wasn’t a bratty little kid at all, but something much worse. In fact, I felt like I’d just been socked in the stomach. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

The little fumbling hand and the quavering voice belonged to none other than a little homeless girl, and she was blind.  



Luhan POV

I glanced at my friends Kai and Lay who were too busy dancing and wooing the large crowd of girls to notice me, which I didn’t mind. It was fun just to watch them anyways. The fact that they were drop dead good-looking obviously helped but they really actually were really talented. Their movements were fluid yet sharp, somehow still managing to ooze out emotion at the same time. The makings of two fantastic street performers.

I sighed and leaned back. Truth is though, as talented as they were, I didn’t approve of them street performing. Street performers were usually extremely unfortunate people who had no other choice but to perform for money. Kai and Lay on the other hand, who’s parents were both rolling in dough, only did it for the fun of it which I saw as terribly unfair to the people who actually needed the money.

Of course, they were my friends and all, but I admit it did bother me to a point. Would it really hurt them to share?

I glanced at the stall next to us. As always, the little blind girl was there, strumming her violin with broken strings. Unlike us, she had no one at her stall. I reached over, stole some of the money that the fangirls were throwing at my friends, and placed them in her basket. I noticed some of the scathing glares the fangirls were sending my way, but to be honest, I didn’t give a crap. That little girl needed it a lot more than we did.

It was sad really how much this girl was ignored. Some of the things I heard these fangirls say made my blood boil and made me want to slam them against a wall. I get that the girl was a bit different but did they really have to go as far as to gossip about how gross her eyes looked and how ugly she was? I admit, she wasn’t easy on the eyes with her exposed ribs and hollow cheeks, but she was freaking 10 years old for crying out loud! She had feelings!

I shook my head at the cruelty of people. It was stupid.

I looked back at the little girl’s stall. To my surprise, she wasn’t there. After frantically scanning around the street for a moment, I located her hanging over some guy who was sitting on the ground.

“Mister,” she called, sounding near tears. “Please give me some money.”

My heart clenched and I called out to her, waving some money in my hands. I’d seen this happen a lot and usually people would just shriek and push her away, exclaiming how they didn’t have any money when obviously they did. Or, and this was worse in a way, they would throw money at her and back away, all freaked out and screaming about how freaky she looked. I didn’t have any hope that this boy would react any differently.

Gritting me teeth, I looked on, ready to pummel the boy to the ground if he even thought about hurting her. He was skinny and blonde, I’m guessing like 15 or 16 years of age. He was probably new around here because I hadn’t seen him around before. He looked tired, dark circles prominent and obvious. Probably some kid who needed to get out for a day. What was his problem? Overwhelming parents? Stupid siblings? Money problems? Considering the amount of stress in his eyes, he wasn’t the average dude just looking for a good time.

I looked him up and down. He was pretty too, I had to admit. A pretty little blonde boy. If he had talent, he could make some money around here. Actually, he didn’t even need talent. The fangirls loved flower boys after all. He just had to sit there and look pretty and the money would come rolling in. I just hoped his good looks didn’t make him narrow minded. 

I flinched, waiting for his reaction as he turned around.  

To my honest surprise, after his initial reaction of wide, astonished eyes and obvious pity, he proceeded to immediately reach into his pocket, take out a wad of bills, and press it into her little trembling hands, taking extra care to close her fist around it. It looked like a lot of money.

That act itself would’ve been enough to gain my respect but he took it to the next level.

He then stood up and took off his jacket, helping her put her arms through the holes. He then proceeded to take off his shoes and put them on her scarred, bare ones. The jacket was huge on her, looking more like a dress on her frail little body, but it looked warm and cozy; perfect cover for the windy weather of today.

I looked at the boy and wasn’t surprised to see him shivering. It was cold and he’d just given up his only jacket. The girl whispered something concernedly to him but he just smiled and assured her that he wasn’t cold. I snorted at the bull, impressed. His shirt was thin. Super thin. And it was freezing today. Who was he trying to fool? Plus, the ground was covered in glass and other sharp objects from street performers. By giving up his shoes, he was pretty much guaranteeing himself cut up and bloody feet.

To my surprise though, he didn’t look the least bit concerned with his current vulnerable state whereas anyone else would’ve been feeling at least a little sorry for themselves. I was astonished at his lack of self-pity. Did he not care how much pain he’d be in for the next few days? That wasn’t something you saw everyday…

Giving the girl a quick hug, he walked away, smiling to himself. He looked happy. Legitly happy, and I could tell he wasn’t acting. He was genuinely happy to help somebody less fortunate than himself even though it was obvious from his tired and skinny state that he didn’t have it so well either.

I stared at his retreating figure. For some reason, I had the strangest impulse to follow him. Follow him and thank him for what he did. This young boy had just selflessly given up everything on him for some girl he didn’t even know. If the girl had asked for it, I’m certain he would’ve stripped and given her those clothes too.

I glanced at Lay and Kai. They were still dancing and hadn’t noticed the scene…no surprise there. Trust me, they’re good guys, but they tend to not care about anything if it doesn’t concern them. They always thought I was crazy when I was concerned over the little girl and the other many unfortunates around. “Worrying about them won’t do anything,” they always told me, which was sadly true. Even that girl who was selling her body, she didn’t do it because she wanted to. She did it because she didn’t have a choice. I’d even heard rumors that she had a little sibling at home she needed to support.

I sighed and stood up. They surely wouldn’t notice if I disappeared for a few minutes.

I ran after the boy. “Hey you there! Blondie!” I yelled, running in the direction he had gone. Darn it, how had he disappeared so fast!? “Wait! Don’t go! I’ll buy you shoes! There’s glass everywhere! Do you want to get an infection? Where are you?”

I turned the corner. Everyone was giving me weird looks but I didn’t particularly care. For some reason, I just had to find this boy and thank him for what he did. He had just restored my faith in humanity, which didn’t happen often. When it came to people, i usually spent my time facepalming at them.

Where was he?  

I stopped, trying to catch my breath. It was no use.

The boy was gone.




A/N
Profiles of new charactors!! WHOOOOOT! 


Luhan


-18 years old
-He probably one of the nicest people you’ll meet but has parents that are ironically spawns of Satan.
-He’s sensitive though you wouldn’t know it and loves animals (especially bunnies! Whoot!)
-His parents own like a lot of chain restaurants so they’re rich
-His parents ignore him a lot though (poor boy) and because of this, he’s not really used to affection
-Really smart




Kai


-18 years old
-What can I say? He’s cocky, arrogant, and totally full of himself. He’s been spoiled his whole life and gets everything he wants, including girls.
-As you can probably tell, this kid’s a player
-His parents own the school so don’t mess with him
-He’s super freaking popular for obvious reasons 
-He’s also a dancing machine which obviously does not help with his arrogance
-HE GETS WHAT HE WANTS. NO EXCEPTIONS 

A/N (Lol you guys it's just his personality for the story. I like Kai. Trust me. Not hating. I just needed someone to play the bad boy card) 




Lay


-19 years old
-Quiet yet subtlety funny
-Also a very good dancer and attends same school as YoungJae (Seoul National)
-His mom’s a fashion designer and his dad’s a business man. They expect him to follow in their footsteps so he’s always under pressure
-Extremely forgetful but very smart 
-Likes unicorns