Chapter 63

“You know,” she spoke up, breaking the awkward silence in the elevator. “That day, when I met up with her for lunch, I actually stood up for you.”

“Really?” he perked up, looking at her, clearly surprised.

“Mhmm,” she nodded with a warm grin. “I just threw everything out in the open. I told her that Danny's feelings were on the line and yours too. I said that even though we weren't on speaking terms, I still know that deep down you're a good guy not to mention the outcome of this whole affair could ruin your life along with hers too and I didn't want to see that all happen.”She sighed. “Maybe my words have gotten through to her.” She grinned triumphantly.

“You did that for me?” he asked curiously, gaping at her in astonishment. “You really didn't have to.”

“I did what I felt was right,” she assured him. “I would do that for anyone and you know that.”

That statement of hers he would agree with. “Thank you,” he finally said.

“Yeah, anytime,” she said, giving him a warm smile. “What are friends for?”

It was now or never, he thought. His heart started to beat more rapidly the longer he was with her and it felt surreal. He wanted to tell her that everything he had said to her the night before was real but he had to fight the urge to do so. Why would he even consider it? She was already happy with his best friend and he knew better than to ruin everything. Annie had already forgiven him and he couldn't afford to lose her again. “Hey Annie,” he spoke up.

“Hmm?” she perked up.

“There's something I've been meaning to tell you,” he replied, wiping his sweaty hand against his pants, looking away from her shyly.

“Sure,” she nodded, staring back at him curiously. “Anything. What's up?”

He took a deep breath. “I don't know how to tell you but Annie, I think I'm--”

They were soon interrupted by the ding of the elevator doors opening. “We're here,” she announced before stepping out. He followed not to far behind. She turned back around. “Right,” she remembered, “You were saying?”

“Um,” he considered it for a moment, looking down at her naturally beautiful face, along with her cheeky grin. The kind that would light up the whole room once she entered. It's not often he came across girls like that. She may not be the most beautiful girl in the room but to Himchan, she oozed grace and beauty no other girl would be able to pull off. Yongguk was one lucky guy, he thought becoming envious of his own best friend. “Nothing,” he shook his head. “I'll talk to you about it later.”

Annie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, nodding slowly. “Okay,” she frowned before knocking on the door to the apartment.

“Does that mean we can finally kick his ?” Daehyun asked as they were pulling into a quiet neighborhood. Driving around the block, they eventually found a parking spot across the street from their destination. Lucy finally decided it was time for closure and as soon as Annie had given her the go-ahead on returning to the apartment, she made it her first priority to rid the apartment of any reminder of Jesse once and for all. It was the best for both of them. Even Daehyun and Youngjae were taken by surprise but they were still supportive nevertheless. Of course, they gave her the typical lecture consisting of I-told-you-so's, etc. I should have known, she thought, rolling her eyes.

“No! I want no violence!” Lucy hissed back at him. “I just want to drop off his things and leave. Simple as that. End of story.”

“That won't be so hard,” Youngjae chimed in, glancing over at Jongup and Zelo. “You guys know what you're supposed to do, right?”

The younger boys both nodded. “Get in, get out,” repeated Jongup.

“We intervene when it's necessary,” Zelo added.

“Good job,” Youngjae smirked in satisfaction. “We taught you boys well.”

“Now,” Lucy turned back to face them. “Are you guys ready?”

Daehyun looked to the other guys before all nodding in agreement. “We are but are you ready?” he asked worriedly.

Lucy took a deep breath, shutting her eyes momentarily. “I don't know,” she answered wearily.

Youngjae groaned. “Luce, we went over this so many times,” he reasoned. “Eventually, you're gonna have to face him. It's gonna be scary and you're gonna be anxious, much like you are right now but it has to happen. The both of you guys need to end this for good. You know you can do so much better without him. It's his loss, not yours.”

Her lips quivered as she was deemed speechless by Youngjae. “I hate when you're right,” she muttered.

“What do you expect? I'm always right,” he boasted, huffing smugly.

Lucy shoved him in return. “Shut up, Youngjae,” she sneered, glancing over at Daehyun. “I think Daehyun's behavior is beginning to rub off on you.”

“What did I do?” whined Daehyun, perking up glancing at his two best friends in confusion.

They both chose to ignore him. “And yet, you and Annie love me a lot more than you love him,” Youngjae mused, shaking his head at his dumbfounded best friend. “Now let me ask again: are you ready?”

She took a deep breath once again, shutting her eyes briefly. “As ready as I'll ever be,” she finally said, with a triumphant grin.

“That's the spirit!” Youngjae exclaimed enthusiastically. “Now go in there and show him who's boss! Right, guys?” He looked to the younger boys. “Chant with me: Lucy! Lucy! Lucy!”

Together, Daehyun, Jongup, and Zelo joined Youngjae, raising their fists and cheering for their friend: “Lucy! Lucy! Lucy!” they exclaimed, gleaming over at her.

Lucy chuckled, shaking her head. Who was she kidding? They were right. She was better without him. Jesse was the one who broke up with her and gave her no reason to take him back. The relationship would only go down from there and as much as she was often annoyed at Daehyun and Youngjae's constant criticism towards him, they only meant well. She had to learn to appreciate it since they only wanted to help. She was also relieved to have Jongup and Zelo with her. Even though they were left out of the loop, she appreciated the loyalty they showed towards her and Annie. She made a mental note to remind Annie a way of repaying them for their selflessness.

Before long, Daehyun stepped forward to ring the doorbell. The sound of shuffling could be heard from inside along with a high-pitched yelp. Lucy froze. Daehyun and Youngjae glanced at each other knowingly before turning to see the color draining from Lucy's face. On impulse, Jongup and Zelo both reached out to place a comforting hand on Lucy's shoulders. She tried her best to blink back tears. Daehyun and Youngjae both clenched their fists in anger before ringing the doorbell once again. “I'm coming!” Jesse's voice could be heard in the background. “Hurry up and get dressed!”

“You two,” Daehyun turned to instruct the younger boys. “Please, refrain Lucy from murdering someone. That's our job,” he glanced at Youngjae, who nodded in agreement.

“That won't happen,” Lucy finally spoke up. “I'll be fine.”

“Are you sure?” Youngjae asked cautiously.

She nodded, giving them a reassuring smile. “I'm sure,” she finally said with mischievous gleam in her eyes. “Just go in there and trash his place. That'll make me feel A LOT better.”

“Oh, don't mind if we do,” Youngjae chuckled cynically, before looking over at Daehyun, who also returned with his own mischievous grin.

Suddenly, the door flew open and soon, the five friends came face to face with a very flustered Jesse, half- with another girl standing right behind him. “What the hell are you guys doing here?” he asked angrily, glaring at Daehyun and Youngjae.

Both best friends, with raised eyebrows, glanced at one another knowingly before moving aside as if to present Lucy, her eyes full of hatred as she glared back at her now ex-boyfriend. “Surprise,” Daehyun said dryly.

His eyes widened. “Luce...” he uttered. “What are you doing here?”

From the looks of it, seeing Lucy along with Daehyun, Youngjae, and the two younger guys he knew who worked with Lucy at the cafe, Jesse's gut feeling was telling him that this won't end well.

To make it up to Yongnam, Yongguk eventually decided to take him to the sports center to blow off a bit of steam. This was the same sports center where Annie had injured herself. After that disastrous fiasco, the place itself had offered Yongguk a bunch of coupons and free days in the hopes of not filing a lawsuit for what happened.

“Seriously, little brother,” Yongnam remarked as they were making their way inside. “Out of all places, you've decided to take me to the batting cages?”

“Why? What's wrong with the batting cages?” Yongguk countered snidely. “Last time I checked, you actually wanted to come here.”

Yongnam scoffed. “Yeah, preferably with more people,” the older twin retorted back.

Yongguk shot him a look. “Well, beggars can't be choosers, hyung,” he said as they made their way to the front. “You're only in town for the weekend and I couldn't exactly invite more people since this was all spontaneous as it is. So let's just use this time to blow off a bit of steam and have some much needed brotherly bonding time like I'd promised Annie, huh?”

“So this is why you've decided to want to spend time with me? For Annie's sake?” Yongnam chuckled, shaking his head. “We should have just brought her along.”

“Can't,” Yongguk said flatly. “She has to return to work.”

“With Himchan?” Yongnam raised an eyebrow. “You sure you can trust him with her? You didn't seem to feel that way when you saw them together this morning.”

“They work together, Yongnam,” Yongguk pointed out. “I was just being an idiot for assuming the worst. She's the nanny and he's just the kid's music teacher.”

“The music teacher who is screwing around with the kid's mom,” Yongnam added. “Sounds like something out of those melodramas Mom likes to watch, if you asked me.”

“No one asked,” Yongguk muttered before they finally reached the counter.

“Hey! Bang Yongguk!” an employee, who also happened to be a huge fan of Yongguk's underground music, greeted him cheerily as soon as he saw them.

Yongguk looked over at the young man and grinned. “Hey!” he waved slightly. “How's it going?”

“Great to see you again!” the young man beamed. “How can I help you today?”

Yongguk glanced over at Yongnam, who in turn glanced around the venue curiously, before glancing back at the employee. “Just thought I'd bring my brother along, this time around,” he responded matter-of-factly patting his brother's back. Yongnam was soon alerted as he turned his attention back to his brother.

Yongnam turned to greet the employee. “Hello,” he grinned at the young man. “I'm Yongnam.”

The young man glanced from brother to brother as he gaped over at them in astonishment. “Oh, hello,” the young man bowed slightly. “I hope you guys enjoy yourselves. If you need anything, you know where I am.” He finally said before handing off the necessary equipments.

“Thanks,” both brothers replied in unison before turning to leave.

“Right, I forgot to ask,” the young man remembered, garnered the attention of Yongguk once again. “How's your girlfriend doing, if you don't mind me asking?”

Yongguk turned around once again. The young man sounded genuinely concerned from what he was observing. “She's doing fine, thank you for asking,” he answered with an assuring grin.

“Is her, um, eye okay?” he asked sheepishly, trailing off.

Yongnam furrowed his brows in confusion as he gave his brother a sideways glance. “Yep, her eye's fine,” Yongguk nodded.

“Is she, um, going to, uh, you know...” the young man trailed off.

Yongguk chuckled patting the young man on the back, knowing exactly what he was going to ask before deciding to interrupt him. “No, she isn't,” he replied reassuringly. “Don't worry about it.”

The employee sighed in relief. “Okay,” he grinned once again. “That's great to hear! Tell her she'll be in our thoughts and that she's welcomed here anytime! Her visits will be free of charge for a whole year!”

Yongguk chuckled. “Thanks, man,” he finally said. “I'll be sure to let her know.”

“Alright, you guys enjoy yourselves!” he exclaimed cheerily.

“Thanks again, don't work too hard,” Yongguk waved back at the young man before facing his brother, who gave his brother an astonished grin in return. “What?” he asked wryly.

“Care to tell me what that was all about? You have a girlfriend I don't know about?” Yongnam raised an eyebrow. “Does Annie know about her? I never knew my kid brother had it in him to be a two-timer...”

Yongguk sighed, shooting his older twin brother a look. “Relax,” he cleared the air, “It's not what you think.”

“Not what I think?” Yongnam repeated shooting his brother an inquisitive look. “Care to elaborate on that?”

“That kid was referring to Annie,” Yongguk finally said.

“Ah, gotcha,” Yongnam nodded slowly in understanding. “What happened?” he inquired curiously.

“Well, I decided to bring her, along with Danny, here just to blow off a bit of steam figuring it would be fun and all,” began Yongguk as soon as they made it to the dugout towards the back. “Turns out, she was afraid of balls shooting out of machines coming at her...”

Yongnam chuckled. “I get it. I'm guessing she panicked?”

He nodded. “Yep,” Yongguk replied before continuing. “I was about to step in to help her her but she kept assuring me that she was fine until one of the other guys nearby advised me to help her. And of course, I finally stepped in and even gave her a little lesson on Baseball 101. Soon, she finally got the hang of it until suddenly a ball came shooting out of the machine so fast, she had no time to react and as a result, the ball came smacking her in the face.” He finished with a curt nod. “Yeah, it was anything but pretty.”

“Ouch,” Yongnam cringed. “I'm surprised it didn't leave any brain damage.”

“She was wearing a helmet,” Yongguk countered. “But it did leave a massive black eye. She had to wear an eye patch for a week. She wasn't a happy camper about it.”

“She was hit in the face, Yongguk,” Yongnam pointed out. “Any girl wouldn't be happy if they were hit in the face by an incoming fly ball. But I admit, that was pretty funny.” He snickered.

Yongguk sneered. “If she saw you laughing at her like you are right now,” Yongguk stated, shaking his head. “You would probably be dead by now.”

“I'm surprised you're not laughing about this,” Yongnam softened a bit.

“It wasn't so funny the first time because, well,” he trailed off. “She hated me for a few days...”

Yongnam soon burst into laughter, clutching his chest as a result. Yongguk stood still with a flattened expression as he allowed his brother to laugh hysterically. “I'm so sorry, little brother...” he snickered.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Yongguk muttered before putting on his helmet as he entered the cages with a bat in hand. “Let's just get this day over with before our voucher expires.”

“Patience, little brother,” Yongnam said calmly before putting on his helmet then entering his own little cage.

After a few swings, the brothers decided to take a short break by settling onto the nearby benches. “This is just like old times,” Yongnam mused, sighing dreamily. “Good times.”

“Yeah,” Yongguk nodded in agreement. “This sure does bring back a lot of memories, doesn't it?”

“If I knew you'd get a free pass every time you come here, I'd come visit more often,” Yongnam said, playfully shoving his brother.

Yongguk swiped his hand away. “Wow, use me to get free stuff? Whatever happened to visiting me simply because you want to?” he barked back.

“What do you think I'm doing?” Yongnam sneered.

Yongguk shrugged. “I don't know,” he shook his head. “It seems to me that you seem more interested in Lucy than hanging out with me.”

“Says the one who just had her best friend confess her feelings to him the day before,” Yongnam retorted back. “You know, you should be the one thanking me because none of this would have happened if it weren't for me.” He huffed smugly with chuckle. “You should have been to the studio earlier when Annie came bursting in and mistakenly confessed her feelings to me--” His eyes widened. “Oops...” He chuckled nervously.

“She did what?” Yongguk perked up, narrowing his eyes towards his brother.

“Nothing,” Yongnam shook his head immediately.

“Tell me,” demanded Yongguk.

Before long, Yongnam eventually caved. “Alright,” he leaned back against the bench. “She must have mistaken me as you and told me she had feelings for you. That may have pushed me to, you know, tell you myself...”

“Huh,” Yongguk hummed bemusedly before relaxing finally. “Thanks.”

“Anytime, little brother,” he reached over to pat his brother on the back. “Anything for family. And besides, you're gonna look back at this and laugh when you tell your kids about how you and their mom finally got together.” He snickered.

Yongguk shoved him, laughing wryly. “Haha, funny,” he said flatly. “Let's not think ahead of ourselves...”

“Right, I totally forgot that you and Annie had literally gotten together last night so it's too soon to think ahead, am I correct?”

Yongguk nodded before finally deciding to shift the topic. “So,” he began, after an abrupt silence ensuing between him and his brother, “You and Lucy... Care to tell me what's going on?”

Yongnam groaned, shaking his head. “This again,” he sighed heavily. “I should have known this was coming.”

“Well,” Yongguk shrugged. “You're gonna have to fess up about it now. What happened last night?”

Yongnam sighed. “We just went out for drinks, that's all. Nothing happened,” he answered curtly.

“How did that come about?” Yongguk raised an eyebrow.

“After I left you and Annie alone,” he replied. “I was roaming around the city like a lost soul.” He mused dreamily before chuckling. “Who am I kidding? My phone died and there no payphone in sight so I came across a lighted building and saw Lucy. She looked like she was in trouble so me being the good Samaritan that I am decided to help her out. In turn, she helped me out by letting me use her phone--”

“Why didn't you call me?” Yongguk interrupted him.

“I didn't call you because you were with Annie and I didn't want to impose...”

“But you're my brother, Annie would understand,” Yongguk argued back.

“Little brother,” Yongnam said firmly, choosing to ignore him. “Let me finish...”

Yongguk relaxed then nodded. “Go on...”

“Okay so after that I couldn't get in touch with anyone so Lucy decided to give me a ride,” he continued. “Her emotions, however, seemed to have been all over the place so of course, I left an invitation for drinks out in the open and she took me up on the offer.”

“I see,” Yongguk nodded slowly in understanding before turning back to face him. “What happened to her? Is she okay?”

“She's fine,” Yongnam answered. “From what I can tell, she and her boyfriend broke up and he stopped by her work to try to talk to her but she seemed to want nothing to do with him and then, I came in time and told him to leave.”

“Huh, that makes sense,” he finally said. “Now, who's the hero now?” He chuckled, shaking his head eying his brother admiringly.

Before long, Yongnam checked his phone to find a text message from Daehyun: It's been done. :) Upon reading the message, he chuckled before responding. Great! How is she holding up?

Daehyun: She's taking this a lot more well than I thought. It's kind of scary... O_O

“What's so funny?” Yongguk inquired curiously studying his brother.

Yongnam looked up. “Hmm?” He shook his head. “Nothing.”

Yongguk continued to eye his brother suspiciously but decided to let this go just once since he was here to enjoy himself, not inquire into his brother's personal life. In a way, they both owed each other an explanation for what was going on nonetheless which would come later on. As for now, they still had a voucher to use before it expired. “Are you coming or what?” he asked, eying Yongnam expectantly.

“Yeah,” Yongnam replied placing his phone into his back pocket before following his brother to the batting cage.

Annie found herself pacing up and down the hall as she waited for Himchan. He was talking to Miranda alone. Gazing at the door, she had to fight the urge to eavesdrop but she knew better. He would tell her what was going on, right? At least that's what she hoped. Daniel was still eating his breakfast along with watching his morning cartoons. She initially wanted to join him but Miranda had insisted on seeing her and Himchan alone. Like a good comrade, she stuck by Himchan's side nevertheless.

Daniel's faint gigging could be heard from the dining room as he sang along with whatever it was he was watching.

The longer she waited, the more anxious she became. But before long, the door soon burst opened with a dazed Himchan emerging from inside. “Hey,” she said with a relieved smile. “How was it?” When she realized his stunned demeanor, she was alerted that something was up. “What's wrong?” she asked, her tone full of concern.

“I—I can't leave,” he croaked finally.

Annie's eyes widened. “What? Why?” she asked, furrowing her brows in confusion. “What happened, Himchan?”

Himchan finally managed to look her in the eyes. Despite the lack of emotion shown, she could see the look of fear and hurt evident in his eyes. Her heart began to beat rapidly, anticipating what was to come next. “She's pregnant,” he finally said.

A/N: Hi guys!!! Here's another update for you guys!!!! Sorry for making you wait... I've been pretty busy lately... >.< I took my exam yesterday and yeah... I winged it lol. I got too lazy to study. And right now, I'm currently taking a break from another assignment due tomorrow to work on this chapter because I know you guys are all patiently waiting and again, I'm sorry... >.< Anyways, sorry if this chapter isn't my best one, I had trouble writing it out. As you all can see, all of our characters make an appearance in this chapter and you see what they were up to. With the ending of this chapter, I'm so sorry!!!! PLEASE DON'T HATE ME! I'll try to update soon once again... Happy reading! ^^

P.S. Don't mind the minor errors, I'll come back and fix them. XD