Chapter 42

The whole room shifted their attention over to her. “What is it?” asked Lucy. She glanced down at the caller ID and froze. “Oh ...”

“What now?” asked Daehyun, annoyed then decided to walk over to see for himself. He softened. “Aren't you gonna answer it?” He eyed her curiously.

“Oh, of course I would,” Annie said sarcastically. “If only I knew what to say.”

Youngjae soon came over to see for himself. “Just pick it up and see what she wants,” he advised her.

“It's Miranda, isn't it?” Himchan suddenly asked.

The four friends looked up at him and nodded. “What do you think she wants?” Annie asked his input.

Himchan shrugged. “Beats the hell out of me,” he muttered. Annie noted the bitter tone but decided to brush it off anyways.

“Like Youngjae said, you should just answer it to see for yourself,” Yongguk told her. “You don't know for sure what she wants.”

Annie took a deep breath. “Wish me luck, guys,” she finally said.

“Here you go, noona,” Zelo held out a glass of water to her. “You're gonna need this.”

“Thanks, Zelo,” she said, appreciating the thoughtful gesture from the young man. Taking a huge gulp of it, she clicked the SEND button on her phone before pressing it against her ear. “H-hello? Hi Miranda!” she said feigning cheerfulness. Everyone caught on right away and listened intently to the conversation. “Tomorrow? Not at all? I don't mind. Sure thing, see you tomorrow! Good night, Miranda!” She said before clicking the END button. Grunting in frustration, she nearly hurled her phone at Jongup, not realizing he was there. He flinched, nearly falling over. “Sorry!” she apologized immediately running over to check up on him. “I didn't mean to do that. Please forgive me, Jongup.”

“It's okay, noona,” he managed to say, giving her a slight grin.

Sighing in relief, she slumped back against Daehyun's sofa. She tossed her phone on the cushion beside her barely acknowledging it's existence at that moment.

“What did she want?” asked Daehyun, breaking the awkward silence.

“She just called to see if I can come in early in the morning,” she answered with another sigh. “I seriously thought I did something wrong.”

“You didn't,” muttered Himchan.

“Huh?” she perked up glancing over at him.

“Nothing,” he said, immediately shaking his head.

“You guys should have heard her tone though. She makes it sound like I'm in for a scolding tomorrow morning,” she flinched. “I'm dreading it...”

“Well if you did nothing wrong, then there's no reason for you to feel guilty,” Himchan responded, settling beside her. “There's a huge difference between feeling guilty and being guilty.” He pointed out firmly.

“He's right, you know,” Yongguk chimed in, nodding in agreement.

Annie sighed. “Gah! I'm starting to really hate this job,” she grumbled ruffling her hair in frustration.

“If you hate it so much, then why don't you just quit?” Daehyun asked as if it was the easiest solution in the world.

Annie looked up at him. “Dae, do you not realize how stuck I am at the moment?” she retorted back. “Didn't you remember what I said before? I don't care so much about the money anymore. I care more about Danny. I can't just leave him in the care of someone else knowing his parents have their own problems to deal with. It's not as easy as it sounds.”

“Well as your best friends/only-family-in-the-world, you know we hate seeing you like this,” he said glancing back at Youngjae and Lucy, both of whom nodded in agreement.

“Wow, you're actually concerned for once,” she said as if it was a huge shock, gaping back at her best friend.

“Shut up before I take it back!” he exclaimed immediately. He sighed. “Look, we may have a love-hate relationship but you know I'll always love you at the end of the day even though you're a pain in the sometimes.” He muttered bitterly.

“Sometimes, Daehyun? Sometimes?” Youngjae asked, a dramatic tone to his voice. Annie shot him a look, which immediately shut him up. She chose to ignore him since she was used to Youngjae's snide remarks anyways.

“Likewise, Daehyun. Likewise,” she mused, patting him on the shoulder tenderly.

“Wow, you two are actually chummy for once,” Lucy said, amazed.

“Even I'm amazed, Luce,” added Youngjae with a chuckle.

“And of course, someone tends to ruin a good moment,” Daehyun said sneeringly at Lucy.

Lucy shrugged. “I'm just telling it like it is,” she said bluntly. “I swear the whole world goes round when you and Annie are actually getting along for once.”

“Whatever,” Annie muttered. “Anyways, we should head home so I can sleep because it seems like I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow.”

“Alright, let's get going,” Lucy announced standing up to grab her keys and bag. “Good night, boys! Thanks for having us over, Dae!” She said walking over to playfully shove him and Youngjae but then turned to give Jongup and Zelo each a hug. “See you at work, boys. Be good,” she said finally pulling away from them.

“Will do, noona,” beamed Zelo.

“I'll walk with you guys,” Jongup offered.

“Okay, sure thing, Jongup,” Lucy nodded in agreement then turned to glance at Annie. “We'll leave after she's done.”

Annie, on the other hand, was busy saying her goodbyes to Daehyun and Youngjae. “Thanks for having us over, Dae,” she said hugging him tightly.

“Anytime,” he said tenderly pulling away from her.

“It was fun,” she said beaming. “We should all do this again.” She glanced over at Yongguk and Himchan, both of whom were saying their friendly goodbyes to the younger boys and Lucy

Youngjae scoffed. “Yeah, despite the fact that we both nearly died in your hands tonight, I'd say it wasn't too shabby,” he remarked as she hugged him tightly.

Annie broke away from him, her expression was flat. “Consider it your lucky night,” she replied nonchalantly.

Next, she soon came face to face with Himchan and Yongguk. Unsure of whether to hug them or give them a brief handshake, they stood still momentarily. “Have a safe trip home,” Himchan began, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Um, thank you,” she said curtly.

“I should get going too! Good night, Annie!” he quickly hugged her then pulled away turning to everyone else and waving goodbye. “Night, everybody!”

“Good night, Himchan,” everyone murmured.

He soon made his way out the door, shutting it behind him. Then, Annie was now facing Yongguk, who was still watching his best friend's retreating figure leave. “Good night, party pooper!” she said teasingly.

“I'm not a party pooper,” he retorted back.

“Sure thing, party pooper,” she smirked mischievously. She was clearly amused at that point. Who knew teasing him in such a manner would be so fun? Youngjae has taught her well, she thought with a chuckle.

“Whatever,” he muttered bitterly, then his expression soon softened. “Anyways, hopefully we'll run into each other again tomorrow.”

“Of course,” she grinned. For a moment, they stared at one another unsure of their next plan of action. Little did they know, their friends were busy gawking away at them. One little movement from the friends would surely ruin the moment so they stood still. “Drive safely,” she told him, breaking the awkward silence.

“Thanks,” he said, returning with his own gummy smile. “Good night, Annie.” Instinctively, he extended his arm to hug her briefly. “Good night, everyone!” Pulling away from her, he waved goodbye to the others before glancing briefly back at Annie grinning tenderly as he left.

Annie found herself grinning like an idiot. Soon, she felt multiple pairs of eyes staring at her. “What?” she asked.

“Nothing,” everyone murmured.

However, Lucy stepped forward along with Jongup giving her best friend a knowing look. “I saw that,” she said softly, with a hint of mischief in her tone.

“Saw what?” Annie asked in confusion.

“Don't think I'm dumb, Annie,” Lucy retorted back. “I saw those two hotties showering you with all that attention tonight! And, don't get me started on that hug I witnessed from the both of them!” she sighed dreamily. “Look at you! My little Annie is growing up!” she sniffled insincerely.

Annie sneered. “It's really nothing,” she pointed out.

“Oh sure it's not,” said Lucy. “Eventually, it will turn into something soon. I know it.”

She sighed. “Whatever, let's just go home,” she said as they made their way to the car. “I'm getting tired. Thanks for walking with us, Jongup.” She turned to the younger boy and hugged him tightly.

“Anytime, noona,” he beamed. “Have a safe trip!”

“You too,” Lucy said hugging him as well. “See you at work, okay?”

“Okay, good night!” he waved goodbye as the girls got into the car. Lucy started up the engine and began to drive away as Jongup watched them leave.

The next morning, Annie found herself sipping hot coffee from very expensive fine china as she sat before Miranda in the living room. “I'm sure you're wondering why I called you here this early in the morning,” she said curtly. “I wanted to talk to you about Danny's birthday coming up.”

“Oh?” Annie perked up setting the cup down on the matching plate sitting on the coffee table. A part of her was relieved that she was not in any trouble. She didn't feel as anxious anymore.

“Yes, I need you to make some preparations,” she told her, her lips forming into a thin line. She took an envelope that was sealed with a golden sticker and handed it over to Annie. “This is for you.”

Annie accepted it politely. “What is this?” she asked curiously examining it's crispness and fancy seal. It feels expensive, she thought in amazement.

“Go ahead and open it,” she gestured for Annie to open the envelope. Annie did as she was told. Her jaw dropped upon seeing what appeared to be a very long list. “It's a list, I'm sure you know that by now.”

“I see,” Annie nodded slowly as she reviewed the contents of the list which contained food items as well as a list of potential entertainment choices. Very extravagant for a kid's birthday party, she thought.

“My secretary typed it all up for you,” she informed her. “Any questions?”

“Not at all,” Annie shook her head immediately.

“Great, I need you to get started on it today,” she said standing up. “I trust that you're able to handle all of this, am I correct?”

“Of course! You can count on me!” Annie said with sheer determination.

Miranda gave her a look of satisfaction. Standing up, she finally said, “I should be on my way now.” As she made her way towards the door, Himchan had entered the apartment to proceed with his lesson for Daniel. Miranda stopped briefly to glance at him. “Hello, Himchan,” she said curtly.

“Good morning, Miranda,” he muttered, barely acknowledging her then made his way into the living room.

Annie, on the other hand, was a little too focused on reading through the list to notice the tension between her friend and her employer. Miranda found herself studying Himchan as he made his way over to Annie, he caught the girl by surprise prompting her to drop the list as a result. “Hi,” she said chuckling in relief. He bent over to pick up the list then handing it to her in which she muttered a short thanks. She soon stiffened upon sensing a pair of eyes staring at her. Glancing over at Miranda, Annie smiled briefly. “I should go see what he's up to before you start your lesson,” she said turning to Himchan.

“Sure thing,” he nodded. His expression soon darkened once Annie was out of the room as he fixed his stare towards Miranda. “Leave her alone.” He said threateningly.

“Maybe,” she said finally before grabbing her bag and sunglasses then exited the apartment, leaving Himchan alone to ambiguously stew over his thoughts.

His agitation soon went away when he heard footsteps coming in. “Alright, little man, ready for your lesson?” Annie's voice echoed into the living room as she entered with Daniel. He nodded then turned to see Himchan waiting for him.

“Himchannie hyung!” Daniel beamed running over to greet the older guy, who lifted him in his arms.

“Hey little man!” Himchan greeted him. “Ready for your lesson?"

A/N: Hello again! Sorry... I was kind of stuck on this chapter. It wasn't my best... :/ I've been busy with work. I felt like I didn't even try in this chapter so again, I'm so sorry! I still hope you enjoy it. :D