Chapter 25

“I never knew hyung had it in him to be good with kids,” Youngjae noted as they watched Yongguk with Daniel plopped on his lap sitting on the swivel chair by the control panel. They were messing around with the control panels and Yongguk even allowed Daniel to press some random buttons while explaining its purpose as well.

“I'm right with you on that one, Jae,” Daehyun nodded in agreement.

“Really?” Annie glanced at her best friends then back at Daniel and Yongguk. She soon found herself spellbound by the adorable interaction. The bond between those two never ceased to amaze her. “Well, you'd be surprised. Daniel adores Bang. Even I'm amazed since the kid tends to listen to him more than me.” she frowned muttering bitterly. “And I'm his nanny for crying out loud! I mean what does Bang have that I don't have?!”

“Someone's jealous,” Youngjae muttered sneeringly at Annie, who in turn shot him a look.

“Me?” Annie scoffed at how ridiculous the accusation sounded. “Please! Why would I be jealous?!”

“You're just mad because Yongguk hyung is stealing the attention away from you,” Youngjae pointed out. “There's no reason to be bitter, Annie. Danny's just a little boy for crying out loud!” Daehyun burst into laughter followed by Youngjae.

“What?!” she exclaimed, suddenly finding herself blushing. Youngjae caught on right away smirking at Daehyun giving him a knowing nod. “I have no idea what you're talking about! I'm NOT jealous!”

“Oh sure you're not,” Daehyun gave her a wink. “I mean look at you! You're turning pink!”

“Shut up, Daehyun!” she flushed, becoming flustered all of a sudden. To keep her face from becoming heated, she fanned herself frantically with her hands.

“OoOoOoh...” both guys mused, laughing together.

“What's going on?” a deep voice rang out. It was Yongguk eyeing the three best friends curiously.

“Nothing!” Annie exclaimed immediately trying to keep her breathing steady.

He was convinced otherwise noting Daehyun and Youngjae snickering and giving him looks here and there. He grew suspicious nevertheless. “Nanny, why is your face pink?” Daniel asked suddenly noting his nanny's flustered behavior.

“Nanny is very hot right now and she's in need of fresh air,” she answered looking down at the little boy as she tried to keep her breath steady.

“Hot for Yongguk hyung,” Daehyun muttered softly to Youngjae, who in turn snickered. Annie had heard him and shot him a murderous glare.

“I hate you,” she muttered to her best friend.

“I love you too, Annie,” Daehyun smiled gleefully blowing a kiss her way. Annie wanted nothing more than to wipe that grin off his handsome face along with Youngjae's.

“Whatever,” she grumbled. “I'm going outside for fresh air.” And then, she made her way out the door running into Himchan in the process. “Excuse me.” she said abruptly pushing past him.

“What's the matter with her?” he asked once he stepped into the room.

“Oh nothing,” Daehyun and Youngjae gave each other knowing smiles.

“Nanny was feeling hot and wanted to go out for fresh air,” Daniel answered matter-of-factly.

“Ah,” Himchan nodded in understanding, “I see. Maybe I should go check up on her,” he finally said grabbing a water bottle then making his way out the door before anyone could stop him.

“I think she'll be fine, hyung!” Daehyun called after him but he was already too late. Himchan suddenly disappeared once Daehyun peered his head out the door. “He just disappeared!” As if he was -hurt by Himchan's sudden departure.

“Let him be, Dae,” Youngjae patted his best friend's shoulder. “What can you do about it?” He glanced out the door.

Yongguk felt a sense of discomfort upon seeing his best friend go off to check on Annie. Suddenly standing up, Daehyun and Youngjae looked over at their leader with raised eyebrows. “Maybe I should go check on her too.”

“Hyung, I think she's in good--” The door shut before Daehyun could finish his sentence. “--hands.” He turned to Youngjae with a look of confusion. “What the hell was that all about?”

“Don't tell me they're both interested in Annie...” Youngjae found himself laughing at how ridiculous his testimony sounded.

“You don't think...?” Daehyun pointed a finger towards the door with widened eyes.

“Oh ,” Youngjae's eyes widened. “I think that's exactly what it is, Dae...”

“Hey,” Zelo and Jongup entered the room out of breath setting down paper bags at the table by the door. “We brought some food... Hey! Where did everyone go?” Jongup looked around curiously.

“Outside,” Daehyun and Youngjae answered in unison.

“I just saw Yongguk hyung,” Zelo looked at them in confusion. “He looked like he was in a rush to go somewhere.”

Shifting his attention over to the food, Daehyun spoke up. “Anyways... what did you guys bring?”

“I made sure to bring cheesecake, hyung,” Zelo said taking a box out of the bag.

“Wow... it's as if you read my mind, Zelo,” he beamed.

“Boys, are you sure I'm allowed in here?” a female voice rang out entering the room. “I could seriously get lost in this building. It's so confusing!” The source of the voice was none other than Lucy.

“Luce, what are you doing here?” Youngjae furrowed his brows in confusion.

“Where'd you think the food came from? Did you think it just magically appeared?” Lucy retorted back, placing her hands on her hips. “It was dead slow today so I decided to close up shop for the day and give our boys a day off. You guys have worked hard and you deserve it,” she praised Zelo and Jongup.

“Thank you, noona,” they replied simultaneously.

“Anyways, where's my best friend?” Lucy asked suddenly looking around.

“She went outside for some fresh air,” Daehyun said as he took a bite of his cheesecake. “She'll be back soon.”

“I see,” Lucy nodded slowly then soon her attention was shifted over to a certain four year old plopped on the leather couch playing a game on Youngjae's iPad. “And who do we have here?” She grinned from ear-to-ear making her way over to him. “Hi there!”

Daniel looked up at her curiously with his doe-like eyes then went back to playing his game. “Who are you?” he asked without looking up.

“My name is Lucy,” she said. “What's your name?”

“Danny,” he answered.

“Oh so you're Danny!” she exclaimed. “I'm your nanny's best friend. I'm sure you've heard about me.”

Daniel shook his head innocently. Youngjae and Daehyun watching the scene unfold before them found themselves snickering at a four year old becoming dismissive towards Lucy. She, in turn, shot them a look pouting slightly. “Don't worry, Luce. He'll warm up to you,” Daehyun assured her.

Sighing, Lucy leaned back against the couch. “I sure hope so.”

Himchan found her on the rooftop of the building. Annie grew startled slightly upon seeing him. “Hey...” he greeted her as he made his way to her. “What do you think? Nice view, huh?” he stood beside her.

“Yeah,” she nodded in agreement shifting her attention back to the view of the city. “What are you doing out here?”

“What are you doing out here?” he in turn directed the question over to her. “I came to get some fresh air.”

“Well, so did I,” she pointed out.

“I figured you were parched so I brought this over to you,” he said handing her a bottle of water.

“Why, thank you,” she gave him a slight bow. “You went through all that trouble just to bring me some water. How sweet of you. I feel so special.”

“Well, you should be,” he said suavely. “Looking for you was quite a trip.”

Annie rolled her eyes. “Anyways, thank you. That's really sweet of you,” she said.

“Anytime,” he said giving her a warm smile. A comfortable silence ensued between them.

Finally, Annie decided to break it for once. “I had a nice time today,” she said sincerely.

“I'm glad you did,” he said.

“Yeah, for once I actually get to see Daehyun and Youngjae doing work as opposed to seeing them bother me or Lucy all the time,” she said with a chuckle. “And, it was nice seeing Zelo and Jongup showcase their talents finally. I see them going places.”

Himchan chuckled. “That, I agree with,” he nodded in agreement. “Bang, knows how to scout talent so I get the feeling we'll be seeing more of them in the future.”

“That makes me feel a lot better,” she said considering the bright future that lies ahead for Zelo and Jongup. The thought, in general, was exciting. “I'd love to hear more from you guys sometime.”

“I'm sure Bang would be fine with it,” he said turning to her. “I came to ask you something.”

“Oh,” Annie uttered looking up at him, “Sure. What's up?”

“I was actually wondering if--” he started to say but was cut off by a phone call.

Annie reached into her pocket to see who it was. Himchan watched the color fade on the girl's face when he saw the name on the caller ID: Miranda calling... “...” she whispered softly to herself contemplating on what she would do next.

Just then, the door burst opened and Yongguk emerged in time to see Himchan and Annie alone together. He frowned. “What's going on up here?” he asked but was taken aback when Annie walked past him with a panicked expression evident on her face.

She didn't seem to acknowledge him. He then looked back at Himchan, who seemed down about something. His curiosity got the better of him but Yongguk decided to let this slide for now. “I think I should take them back,” Himchan said absent-mindedly. “I'll see you later, man.” He gave Yongguk a brief pat on the back then brushed past him into the building.

Scratching his head in confusion, he looked from the balcony to the door replaying the brief scene in his head between Annie and Himchan. He soon started to feel upset for some reason but didnt' seem to know the reasoning. Sighing, he made his way back into the building.

A/N: Hello again! I had to rewrite this chapter a few times too. I hope you like it. It's about time Danny met Lucy, right? She's clearly smitten with the adorable 4 year old lol. Then of course, there's that brief scene towards the end with our three leads. Yongguk clearly doesn't feel comfortable about Himchan's friendship with Annie. OoOoOoh...