Chapter 61

“Surprise!” Yongnam greeted her with a chuckle before pulling her close for an embrace.

Annie awkwardly returned the hug. “What are you doing here?” she asked nervously, pulling away from him.

“Is that a proper way to greet your future brother-in-law?” he joked with a wink. “Whatever happened to 'Good morning, Yongnam! How are you this morning? Enjoying your stay? Has your brother been giving you a hard time?'” He chuckled at first but immediately stopped himself when Annie didn't join in on the laughter. “Okay, I'm kidding,” he said, still grinning. “And to answer your question, I asked my brother if it'd be okay if you joined us for breakfast this morning. Let me assure you, before you get angry at him, this was all my doing. He had nothing to do with this. I mean I remember you telling him to spend some quality brother-to-brother time with me but since you're the new edition to our little family, I figured, 'Why not take the time to get to know you a little better before I leave?'”

“Right. Where is your brother?” she asked cautiously, glancing around the hallway for a sign of Yongguk.

He glanced towards the entrance. “He should be on his way up,” he turned back to her. “I never knew it'd be this difficult to find parking in this neighborhood,” he remarked looking around the old dingy building. “I don't see why a nice girl like you would live in a place like this.”

“It's what I can only afford,” she shrugged. “And besides, I actually happened to find this place to be very humble, thank you very much.”

“So,” he began, looking back at her. “Are you gonna let me into your humble home or what? I can stand out here all day if you want.”

Annie rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “Gosh, you guys both sound alike,” she muttered under her breath.

“We're twins, what'd you expect? A big dramatic difference?” he remarked smugly. “So, am I allowed inside or...?”

Annie's eyes widened, momentarily forgetting about Himchan's presence inside. If Yongguk saw Himchan, things would not turn out well knowing he was still making his way up to her apartment right this second. “I don't think that's a good idea,” she shook her head.

“Why not?” asked Yongnam, furrowing his brows in confusion. “If this is about coming on such short notice, Annie, I'm terribly sorry...”

“No! Of course not!” she exclaimed, chuckling nervously improvising a very plausible excuse in the hopes of stalling him. “It's okay. It's just—it's just very messy inside and since I didn't expect to have any guests, I haven't exactly tidied up,” she lied.

“That's fine,” he insisted. “I'm not a picky person.”

“I already ate breakfast, so you and your brother go eat without me!” she continued.

He eyed her suspiciously. “Why are you insistent on not inviting us inside? If I didn't know any better, you were hiding something,” he pointed out.

Annie felt the color drain from her face. “What? Nonsense!” she exclaimed defiantly. “I'm not hiding anything!”

“Are you sure about that?” he asked, narrowing his eyes towards her. “If you're not hiding anything, then you should just let us in!” he pushed his way past her before making his way inside. “Your place looks fine! It's not messy at all!” He exclaimed observing the tiny two-bedroom apartment. “I don't see what's-- Himchan! What are you doing here? I didn't know you knew Annie.”

“Yongnam? I didn't know you were in town,” Himchan's voice rang out, sounding clearly surprised, from inside upon seeing Yongguk's older twin brother.

“I'm only visiting for the weekend,” he explained.

Annie's eyes widened. Before long, another deep voice rang out from the staircase, panting. “Damn it, Yongnam! I told you to wait up for me! I knew I shouldn't have told you her house number!” Yongguk grumbled before turning to Annie, grinning. “I'm so sorry about my brother, Annie. I never knew he'd be this shameless.” He greeted her with a brief kiss on the forehead.

“It's okay,” she briefly grinned upon seeing him before frowning once again. Yongguk could sense that something was up.

“What's wrong?” he asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

She shook her head before making her way inside with Yongguk following close behind. His eyes widened upon spotting his best friend conversing with his older twin brother. Yongguk then turned to narrow his eyes at Annie, who in turn looked away sheepishly. “What is he doing here?” he asked immediately.

“I just stopped by to grab breakfast,” Himchan answered promptly. Yongguk caught on right away sensing there was more to this than what Himchan was actually giving off. He was beginning to assume the worst.

“Well, that's great! We were just about to grab breakfast ourselves,” Yongnam spoke up, hoping to liven up the tense atmosphere. “Let's all eat together!”

“Help yourself,” Annie chuckled nervously. “The bowls are located in that cabinet above the microwave. I made porridge, to help with the hangovers, and some eggs and bacon along with toast. There's plenty of food to go around so I hope you guys are hungry...”

“Thanks, Annie. You have no idea how hungry I was. Some little brother you are, Yonggukie, leaving me all famished and stuff,” said Yongnam before he made his way into the kitchen.

“Hyung,” Yongguk turned to his brother with a darkened expression.

“Huh?” Yongnam turned back around, looking over his shoulder.

“Stay right where you are,” demanded Yongguk.

“Sure thing, little brother,” Yongnam nodded obediently, complying with his brother's wishes, proceeding to settle onto the nearest bar stool by the counter.

“Hey Annie, since it's my day off, I may as well just catch up on a bunch of housework that needs to be done,” Lucy emerged from behind the kitchen wall. “Come to think of it, we really need to do laundry—Omo!” Her eyes widened, as if she was a deer caught in headlights. “I didn't know we had company! Hi Yongguk!” she greeted before turning to find a familiar face in the crowd. She gasped. “You!” She pointed an accusing finger particularly at Yongnam.

“Good morning to you too, Luce,” Yongnam grinned back at her in amusement. “I didn't know you lived here.”

“Well, yeah,” she scoffed. “It's my apartment! Annie,” she gestured to her stunned best friend, “Just so happens to be my roommate.”

“Ah,” he nodded slowly in understanding, clearly astonished at this sudden realization. “That makes perfect sense.”

Annie, Himchan, and Yongguk eyed the interaction before them in confusion. “You two know each other?” Annie managed to speak up finally.

“Long story,” Lucy immediately spoke up beating Yongnam to the punch.

“Now you have a bunch of explaining to do,” Annie said sneeringly, pointing to her best friend, who looked away sheepishly.

“How's your head?” Yongnam asked, looking over at Lucy.

“Why does my head concern you?” Lucy barked back.

“I'm just an utterly concerned man,” he mused in astonishment.

“Wait, don't tell me Yongnam is the mystery guy!” exclaimed Annie.

“You were with Lucy last night?!” exclaimed Yongguk, looking over at his brother.

Yongguk and Annie then turned to one another and shook their heads slowly. Himchan, eying the scene in confusion, finally managed to clear his throat. “Maybe I should just get going,” he spoke up before proceeding to make his way out.

“Wait,” Yongguk's deep voice rang out once again. The tone of his voice was indescribable but it seemed to intimidate Annie to no end. Even the whole room grew silent. Himchan eventually turned around to face his best friend. “Now,” he turned to Annie. “The both of you are going to tell me what's been going on.”

“Yongguk, it's not what you think,” Annie said promptly.

“Really,” his ice cold stare was enough to bore into Annie and Himchan. “You don't pour your heart out to me the night before then sneak around with my best friend. Do you not realize the position you're right now, Annie?”

Annie's eyes widened as she looked back up at him. Was he really accusing her of screwing around with Himchan? The thought itself was already ridiculous as it is. “What?” she uttered. “Is that what you think this is?”

“It's true, isn't it?” he asked, glancing from her to Himchan.

“Oh ,” Lucy muttered, eyes widening before she pulled out her phone. “Things are about to get serious... I should let Daehyun and Youngjae know.”

Yongguk reached out to stop her. “That won't be necessary,” he told her before turning back to watch the scene unfold before them.

“A fight is about to erupt in my apartment, you idiot!” she hissed, clearly panicking. “Do you think I'm just gonna sit back and let this happen?!”

He sighed. “Don't you remember? I'm the brother, here, I'll intervene when it's necessary,” he assured her. She relaxed slightly, taking his word for it as she continued to watch the scene unfold wearily.

Annie scoffed. “I can't believe you,” she said through gritted teeth, blinking back her tears. “There's nothing going on between me and Himchan. Tell him, Himchan,” she pleaded.

“She's right, Bang,” Himchan spoke up. “There really is nothing going on.”

“Oh really? Then are you really gonna tell me what you're doing at her apartment this morning?” Yongguk asked angrily. “Be honest with me. I know you're not just here for a simple breakfast. There's more, isn't there?”

Himchan and Annie stood still for a long moment before she slightly tugged at his shirtsleeve. “Tell him,” she said softly, allowing a single teardrop to fall.

“Annie,” Lucy spoke up, prompting Annie to turn to her best friend. “What's really going on? Is there something you're not telling us?”

Annie chose to ignore her best friend's question as she stared back at Himchan expectantly. “He has to know what's going on,” she continued pleadingly.

“What is going on?” Yongguk asked impatiently.

“Patience, little brother,” Yongnam spoke up.

“You stay out of this,” Yongguk pointed to his older twin brother. Yongnam sat back continuing to stay focus on the scene at hand. Lucy turned to him wearily.

Soon, the whole room turned their attention to Himchan, who stayed focus on the floor beneath them. “I—I--” He began, trailing off, refusing to look his best friend in the eyes, “I've been sleeping with Miranda.” he finally said, feeling utterly ashamed at his own confession.

The whole room grew silent. Lucy gasped loudly. “What?” Yongguk finally uttered, looking up at his best friend, stunned.

“Things just got serious,” remarked a very stunned Lucy.

“I think this is our cue to leave,” Yongnam whispered, promptly standing up. “Have you eaten yet?”

“What?” Lucy furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

“Let's grab breakfast, come on,” he said promptly before grabbing her wrist, taking her by surprise.

“Wait!” she exclaimed as he led her out of the apartment without another word.

The slam of the door echoed throughout the apartment slightly startling Annie, who flinched in return. “You heard me,” said Himchan finally breaking the tense silence that ensued between the three of them.

Yongguk turned to Annie. “So this whole time, Himchan has been the other guy?” he asked. She nodded, looking away from him. “Why—why didn't you tell me?” he turned back to his best friend.

“It was a stupid mistake that I'm not proud of,” Himchan answered honestly, stone-faced.

Before long, Yongguk balled his fist before swinging it towards Himchan's jaw. Annie gasped. “Himchan!” she cried out before running over to him.

The impact itself caused Himchan to land on the floor. He remained still as Yongguk walked over to him, yanking him by the collar angrily. “That was for Danny,” he spat out angrily before raising his right fist once again. This time, Annie stopped him.

“Please don't, Yongguk...” she pleaded, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

“It's okay, Annie,” Himchan managed to speak up once again. “I may have deserved it. So go ahead, Bang. Do what you have to do.”

“Miranda?! Seriously, Himchan?!” Yongguk hissed angrily. “What is wrong with you? You're the kid's music teacher for crying out loud!” He balled his fist once again but decided to restrain himself only because Annie was standing in the room between the two of them as a sort of barrier. She was sobbing silently to herself. Yongguk hated having to see her cry and he had to fight the urge to hold her close to comfort her.

“I know,” said Himchan, looking away sadly. “I can explain everything.” He managed to stand up, straightening up his clothing along the way.

“Hear him out,” Annie said taking Yongguk's left hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

He relaxed before eventually nodding in agreement. Instinctively, he reached out to wipe away Annie's tears with his thumb, taking her by surprise. “Don't cry,” he told her. She sniffled wiping away her own tears before leading him to the living room followed by Himchan. “You disgust me,” Yongguk spat out angrily looking over his shoulder.

“Yongguk...” Annie said firmly, coming to Himchan's defense.

“It's okay, Annie,” said Himchan once again. “I deserve every bit of insults thrown at me.”

Sighing, she led Yongguk to the love seat while Himchan settled for the sofa adjacent from them. From what Himchan was observing, no explanation was needed about Yongguk and Annie's relationship. The chemistry was always there and he had to admit it broke his heart having to see them being so tender towards one another. He remembered his own drunken confession from the night before in her bedroom and he had meant it, but he was a bit surprised she didn't bring it up yet. Now wasn't a great time to let his feelings for Annie be known given the fact that his own secret had been revealed. He also knew that Yongguk would be capable of murder if he'd known about what happened the previous night.

“Why are you looking around? Is someone following you?” Yongnam eyed Lucy curiously before glancing around. He had to admit, she looked ridiculous wearing Yongguk's baseball cap and a pair of large sunglasses, but it was still an amusing sight.

“I'm hiding in case my boss sees me,” she whispered.

“Why are we whispering?” he whispered, leaning closer to her.

Lucy sighed, looking up at him through his younger brother's sunglasses. “I'm supposed to be sick, remember?” she reminded him, clearly annoyed at having to repeat herself.

“Sick from what?” he furrowed his brows in confusion.

“I'M FREAKIN' HUNGOVER AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!” she exclaimed angrily causing the whole room to go silent. The whole room soon turned their attention over to them. Lucy coughed loudly. “Sorry!” she apologized. “My throat was sore and I just wanted to test out my voice to see if I'm okay to scream loud enough at the upcoming Beast concert,” she chuckled nervously. “Keep doing what it is you guys were doing...” She blushed looking down at the menu.

Yongnam snickered, shaking his head. “Nice one,” he crudely remarked.

“Shut up,” she hissed.

“Hey, I wasn't the one who agreed to that drinking game last night,” he mused. “Just be glad you didn't go home with any of those guys. They were a bunch of creeps anyways. You know, the ones who only care about getting laid? Clearly, you need to get laid but that's beside the point--”

“Whoa!” she perked up, glaring at him. “I need to get laid?! Says the one who likes to pry into my personal life!”

“Oh gosh,” Yongnam groaned. “You seriously need to get over that.” He shook his head before turning back to her. “But seriously, you should get laid but not with any of those losers.”

“Whatever,” she muttered before proceeding to look back down at her menu.

“What's good here?” he asked.

“Everything,” she replied abruptly.

“Anything in particular?”

“Anything,” she continued.

Yongnam gaped at her in astonishment. He saw a hint of a smile forming onto the girl's lips. He fond himself smiling as well. Clearly, Lucy was trying to get under his skin like he had been doing to her these past few nights. “Fine, I see how it is, I'll just ask one of those guys to come over here for their recommendation,” he looked up then motioned for Jongup to come over to them.

Lucy panicked. “What?” she fumbled. “What the hell are you doing?”

“What do you think I'm doing?” he countered. “You're no help so I'm asking another expert. Hey, how's it going? Jongup, right?” The young man nodded in return.

“Hi Yongnam hyung,” Jongup greeted, grinning from ear-to-ear. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Yes, there is, actually,” he smirked, looking over at Lucy. “My friend, here is feeling sick, so is there anything you recommend for someone who's not feeling well?”

Lucy raised her eyebrows. “What?”

Jongup turned to face her, leaning closer. “Lucy noona?” his eyes widened. “I thought you were sick!”

“Shh!!!” she shushed him reaching up to cover his mouth with her hand. “Don't tell anyone I'm here! Got it?” He nodded obediently. “Just go make whatever your heart desires and please, burn the hell out his food,” she cocked her head towards Yongnam.

“I heard that,” Yongnam spoke up.

“Whatever,” she muttered, rolling her eyes at him before turning back to Jongup. “Just go make something decent just to shut him up!” She demanded. Jongup nodded then walked off without another word.

“Gosh, I'm surprised you still have a job with the way you treat your staff not to mention your customers,” he mused, shaking his head.

“Oh shut up!” she hissed, slumping back against her chair.

“Whoa,” a familiar voice interrupted their abrupt silence. “Why are you all covered up?”

Yongnam and Lucy turned to find Daehyun and Youngjae gaping over at them in astonishment. The voice had belonged to Youngjae. “There's not much to cover up,” remarked Daehyun. “There are no paparazzi around.”

“Oh great,” grumbled Lucy. “My morning just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?”

“Oh hey Yongnam hyung!” greeted Daehyun once he turned to the guy across from Lucy. “So I see, you've met Lucy?”

“Yes, I have,” the older guy nodded matter-of-factly glancing over at Lucy. “Interesting character, she is.” He said flashing his dimpled grin.

Lucy sneered in return. “Whatever,” she frowned.

“You know, you'd be a lot cuter if you smiled more,” he winked. “Ow!” he yelped. She had kicked him in the shin from under the table.

Youngjae and Daehyun both glanced at each other knowingly but decided to keep their mouths shut. Clearly, Lucy was just as scary as Annie if they both decide to get under her skin. Before long, they gathered two more chairs to join Lucy and Yongnam for breakfast.

After an abrupt silence once their food arrived, Lucy spoke up, thinking back to the events that transpired earlier at her apartment, “I wonder what's going on.”

“What happened?” Youngjae asked curiously.

“Well, I just found out that Himchan was having an affair with a married woman,” Lucy replied.

Daehyun choked on his own drink. “Wait, what?!” he exclaimed, eyes widening. “Himchan, screwing around with a married woman? What the hell?!”

Lucy nodded. “It's Miranda,” she said.

“Holy cow,” uttered a stunned Youngjae, shaking his head.

“It seems like Annie was the only one who knew the whole time,” Lucy continued.

“That explains why she was angry at him,” Youngjae remarked.

Lucy nodded. “Which also explains why I'm here with Bang's older twin brother--”

“I have a name, you know,” Yongnam chimed in.

She chose to ignore him, continuing her little spiel: “--while Annie, Yongguk, and Himchan are at my place talking this whole thing out as we speak.”

“,” Daehyun leaned back against his chair, suddenly losing his appetite. “I'm—I'm just a little shocked by this...”

“Aren't we all,” Youngjae added.

“I knew my weekend in town was gonna be an interesting one,” mused Yongnam, smiling in satisfaction. Lucy shot him a look. “What?” She shook her head and rolled her eyes at him.

A/N: Hello again! Here's another update! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter despite the drama-filled stuff I had in here lol. However, as a bit of comic relief, I added more Lucy and Yongnam moments. I hope you enjoyed them! I've been having way too much fun writing their moments lol. I'm glad you guys are actually enjoying the direction I'm going with this. You guys have all been kind to me. XD I'm taking a break from watching "Safe Haven" just to work on this so that means I'm going back to watching the movie after this is posted. Don't forget to comment! I enjoy hearing your comments lol. They're so much fun to read! XD Okay I'll stop talking. Happy reading! ^^

P.S. don't mind the minor errors, I'll come back and edit it later. I was having way too much fun typing this chapter, I forgot to read over it lol.