Chapter 71

“Hey, you're back!” Daehyun exclaimed as soon as he saw them coming in together. “Did you two kiss and make up?”

Annie shot him a look before grinning widely at everyone else. “Of course we did!” she exclaimed. “There was never a problem to begin with! Right Yongguk?” she elbowed him.

He flinched before clearing his throat. “Right,” he said, focusing his attention on Himchan. “Nice of you to join us, Himchan.”

Himchan sat up, staring back at his best friend. “It's nice of you guys to invite me,” he grinned.

“You ought to thank my sister for that,” he said pointedly, glancing at his older sister.

“Of course!” she playfully elbowed Himchan. “You're like another little brother to me.”

He chuckled, blushing slightly. “Right, thanks again for having me, noona,” he replied cheekily. “I feel so special.” For the first time, Annie had never seen Himchan become cheeky before. And she had to admit, it was an adorable yet amusing sight to see given the fact that he always appeared so dapper and polished whenever he came around.

Soon, she took a seat beside him with Yongguk settling beside her, away from Himchan. It was a better idea since she could come to Himchan's defense if Yongguk decided to act upon his own actions. Either way, she'd prepare for battle nonetheless. The air was tense. Annie, as well as the other guys, seemed to make note of it as they eyed each best friend carefully.

Natasha seemed to have noted the tense silence, eying her brother, Annie, and Himchan suspiciously. “Alright, spill it,” she huffed, narrowing her eyes at the three of them. “What the hell is the matter with you three? You guys have been acting strange. Particularly, you two,” she shifted her attention to Annie and Yongguk before turning to Himchan, “And once Himchan came into the picture, you guys have been acting really weird. What's going on? Am I missing something?”

Annie gulped, glancing at the two best friends wearily. Himchan clenched his jaw, looking down at the plate before him whereas, Yongguk remained stoic nonetheless.

“I think this is our queue to leave,” Daehyun whispered loudly for the other guys to hear.

Clearly, the who table heard him as they shifted looked over at them. Daehyun's eyes widened. “Way to go, Captain Obvious,” Youngjae hissed back at him.

Daehyun chuckled nervously before feigning a yawn. “Would you look at that?” he announced, glancing down at his watch. “It's getting late. I think I should call it a night!” He stood up, tapping on Zelo's shoulder.

“Right,” Zelo stood up immediately.

“Alright, we should all get going, night everyone!” Daehyun waved before heading out, followed by Zelo.

Youngjae and Jongup glanced at one another before shifting their attention back to the others. “I should get going too,” Youngjae said, chuckling nervously. “I just remembered, say, Jongup? That offer to show me a few new steps in that choreography of yours. Does that offer still stand?”

“Of course, it does,” nodded Jongup, with his own nervous chuckle.

“Let's head out to discuss this, hmm?” offered Youngjae.

“Sounds like an excellent plan, hyung!” Jongup grinned as they both stood up at once.

“See you guys later!” Youngjae waved before heading out, followed by Jongup.

Without another word, they were both gone. Annie buried her face in her hands, shaking her head. Lucy emerged from behind, giving Annie a knowing yet concerned look. Standing up straight, she immediately made her way out the door to follow the guys. Annie knew exactly what was to come next. A part of her was unsure whether it was the right time to scare the four guys but as of right now, the most important part was explaining to Natasha what was going on. Even that sounded like a bad idea because Annie was unsure of where to start.

“Okay, what's going on?” Natasha asked directly. “I can smell the tension in the air.”

Annie spoke up first. “Well—“

“Himchan and I are not on the best of terms at the moment,” Yongguk cut her off, glaring intently at Himchan. “I thought I made it clear that I don't want you near me or Annie.”

Himchan cleared his throat. “I know—“

“Then, why are you here?” he rudely cut him off which angered Annie.

“Stop it, Yongguk,” she demanded through gritted teeth before turning to Himchan, softening. “I'm so sorry about that, Himchan.” She looked away apologetically.

He gave her a warm smile, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “It's okay, Annie,” he said, “He's angry at me and I deserve every bit of it.”

“I'm waiting,” Natasha sang out impatiently, staring at the three friends expectantly.

Yongguk sighed before speaking up. “Himchan and I are in love with the same girl and you're looking right at her,” he announced, gazing intently at Annie. “So, what have you got to say for yourself, Annie?”

“Whew!” Daehyun breathed out as soon as he and the others were out the door, breathing a sigh of relief. “Is it just me or was it seriously getting stuffy in there?” He didn't mean it literally, of course. He meant it in another way but the other guys didn't seem to catch on.

“If you're referring to the atmosphere then, it's just you,” Youngjae remarked dryly. “However, if you were referring to the tension... Then, that's another story...”

Daehyun chuckled. “Glad we were out of there before it could get ugly,” he sneered.

“So what now?” Jongup asked curiously, staring back at the two older guys expectantly.

“Yeah,” Zelo nodded in agreement. “Where are we going?”

“We go where the wind decides to take us,” Daehyun mused on poetically staring straight off into the distance.

“Not so fast,” a female voice rang out from behind. The four guys did not need to guess who it was knowing right away the icy yet dark stare boring into their souls. Doom awaits them. Slowly, they each turned around one by one to find Lucy staring back at them coldly, placing both her hands at her hips. “Where do you idiots think you're going?”

Daehyun chuckled nervously. “Luce, what a surprise!” he exclaimed uneasily. “We were just about to head out for some—some,” he took a moment to come up with a viable excuse but clearly ran out of options when Lucy held up her hand to stop him from insinuating any further.

“Cut the crap, Daehyun,” Lucy hissed prompting him to clam up right away. “You idiots aren't going anywhere.” Without warning, she immediately walked over to Daehyun and Youngjae grabbing both best friends by their ears.

“Ow—ow—ow! Lucy!” Daehyun cried out in pain. “Easy! Easy! Ah! You're hurting me!” His demands only permitted Lucy to tug harder allowing Daehyun to let out a louder cry. “Zelo! Jongup! Help!”

“Lucy... You don't have to do thi—Ow!” Youngjae tried to reason which only permitted her to tug harder at his own ear. “You two!” he called out to Jongup and Zelo. “Run! Run away and never come back!”

Jongup and Zelo froze, gulping in fear. Before they could react, Lucy soon looked over her shoulder. “Don't you dare...” she warned them before shifting her attention back to Daehyun and Youngjae. “And you two idiots better be glad that it's me doing this and not Annie.”

Daehyun and Youngjae remained silent knowing Lucy made a valid point. Annie sure knew how to inflict the worst pain possible. Lucy was just around to pick up where Annie had left off. For some reason, Annie's brief absence from earlier told them she had been plotting this with Lucy all along only to put the pieces of the puzzle together now when they were trapped. It was expected nonetheless.

Eventually, the younger boys soon followed Lucy and the older guys inside bowing down their heads in defeat. “We told you to run,” Daehyun muttered, rubbing the ear Lucy grabbed.

“We couldn't just leave you guys,” Zelo said softly, looking away apologetically.

“Yeah, if you go down then we're going down with you,” Jongup declared, grinning widely yet reassuringly.

Daehyun and Youngjae glanced at one another and sighed, smiling slightly. They were touched by the fact that Jongup and Zelo willing to stick around no matter what the consequences. It was the one thing they admired from the younger guys.

“Aw, as touching as it is to watch your new-found little bond. As if I didn't see this coming before,” Lucy remarked with feigned empathy, her expression soon turned into a grave one. “All of you, inside. Towards the back. NOW!” she pushed them all inside where Daehyun led the pack towards the corner.

“There's no way out of this, isn't there?” Daehyun asked, looking over his shoulder at Youngjae.

Youngjae sighed. “I don't think so,” he said, “Just roll with it. You keep your mouth shut and I'll be the voice of reason.”

“As expected,” Daehyun muttered, nodding in agreement. “You got it, captain.”

Youngjae then turned to Jongup and Zelo. “Whatever you two do,” he whispered softly to them. “Keep your mouths shut. I do the talking. Got it?”

Both Jongup and Zelo nodded in unison.

“Now,” Lucy announced as the boys lined up side by side like a bunch of soldiers called for duty. Lucy was acting as a drill sergeant. A very scary one at that. “Let's play a game.” There was a menacing smile creeping onto her naturally beautiful face.

“Uh-oh,” Daehyun uttered, not liking the sinister look plastered onto Lucy's face.

“Well, well, gentlemen,” she sang out, walking over to stand before Daehyun. “I think we found our first lucky contestant.”

“I don't like where this is going,” Daehyun said flatly, huffing his chest to ensure he was not afraid of her.

“Well actually, now that you mention it,” Lucy said, pulling him by the collar. “You are disqualified.” She then turned to Youngjae. “So are you, Jae.”

Youngjae's eyes widened. “What?” he uttered in confusion. “Lucy, what do you think you're doing?”

“You two,” she turned to Daehyun and Youngjae. “Sit down and shut up!” she hissed, pointing to two nearby chairs at a table. Gulping in fear, Daehyun and Youngjae did as they were told then proceeded to settle down as they were told. Soon, Lucy turned to Jongup and Zelo. “I'm gonna be asking you two a series of questions. Let's see where your loyalties lie now. Hmm?”

It was now Jongup and Zelo's turn to gulp in fear, anticipating Lucy's next plan of action. Soon they stood up straight, refusing to bat an eyelash as Lucy paced back and forth, eying them from head to toe suspiciously. “Okay, here are the rules of the game,” she finally announced. “The winner of the game gets a supply of fresh cherry tomatoes from the farmer's market!” Zelo's face lit up as soon as he heard her. Jongup scoffed in return. “But that's not all,” she continued. “The winner not only goes home with cherry tomatoes but also, I think a customer left behind a gift card to some burger joint I just found out about not too long ago! I mean you do love burgers, right Jonguppie?” Jongup soon sat up, seemingly interested.

“No, no, no!” Daehyun whined, burying his face in his hands shaking his head frantically. “Don't do it, guys! She's trying to turn you against us! I thought we swore an oath!”

“Uh, Dae?” Youngjae garnered his attention. “We never swore an oath.” He said flatly.

“Oh, whatever!” Daehyun barked back before turning to Zelo and Jongup. “Don't do it! It's a trap!”

Lucy then turned to face him. “Say, Dae?” She garnered his attention. “I believe Annie owes you a whole cheesecake again, right?”

Daehyun soon grew silent, leaning back against his chair. “You're good,” he mused.

Youngjae snickered. “I should have known there was a catch,” he scoffed, shaking his head.

“I do know that those prizes sound tempting but in order to attain those prizes,” she began, pacing around. “You must answer some questions. Even if it means selling out your precious hyungs...” She stared particularly at Daehyun and Youngjae for emphasis. “So what do you say?”

Jongup and Zelo glanced at one another before turning back to face Lucy wearily. Daehyun and Youngjae bowed their heads in defeat, knowing full well what was about to happen.

“Well,” Natasha cleared , speaking up after hearing the story. “I see.”

“Okay,” Yongguk announced, standing up. “That being said, I'm gonna get going.” He glared down at Annie and Himchan. “Call me when you're ready to have that talk, Annie.” Without another word, he was out the door. The slam of the door echoed throughout the building, startling Annie in the process.

Gazing back at Annie, Himchan too stood up. “I should also get going,” he said softly before pushing his chair back in from under the table. “Goodbye Annie.”

As soon as they were gone, Annie was unable to bring herself to run after them. Was it a good idea? Well, since both best friends are still not getting along, it wouldn't have been nonetheless. Before long, Annie finally mustered up the courage to face Natasha. “I'm really, really sorry about all of this, unnie,” she cried, biting her bottom lip in the hopes of holding back her tears.

Sighing, Natasha stood up before assuming what would have been Yongguk's seat as she settled beside Annie placing a comforting hand on the young girl's shoulder. “For what?” she asked, puzzled.

“For everything,” Annie said, her voice shaking. “I unintentionally hurt your brother. I caused a riff between him and his best friend and worst of all, I ruined your visit even though I was trying my best to make it peaceful.”

“Oh, Annie,” Natasha groaned, embracing Annie tightly. “Don't cry. Okay? It's not your fault and there's no need for an apology.”

“But, I feel so horrible,” Annie sniffled.

“There's no reason to feel horrible,” Natasha assured her. “So my brother and his best friend are in love with the same girl. Stuff like this gets solved all the time.”

Natasha's optimism seemed to have taken Annie by surprise as she looked back up at her. “You think so?”

“I know so,” Natasha nodded. “Look, my brother and Himchan have been friends for a very long time so this whole falling for the same girl thing is kind of new given the fact that their tastes in girls are a little—different, if that's the right word for it.”

“Different?” Annie asked with a befuddled expression.

“Yeah,” Natasha nodded, deep in thought. “If anything, you must be very special for them to be at war with one another.”

“I really didn't mean for all of this to happen,” Annie assured her. “The last thing I want is for you to think horribly of me...”

“Why would I think horribly of you?” Natasha asked in bewilderment. “Look Annie, I think you're being a little too critical on yourself. None of this is your fault. You tried your best to make this as peaceful and accommodating to me as possible and I commend you for it. You're really sweet, you know that?”

For the first time that night, Annie found herself smiling through her tears. “Thanks, unnie,” she said hugging Natasha tightly.

“Wanna know something else?”

Annie pulled away from her. “Sure,” she said.

“I sort of knew there was something up,” Natasha finally said. “I was just waiting for one of you guys to say something. When you didn't, I just had to point it out.”

“How?” Annie furrowed her brows in confusion.

Natasha gave her a knowing smirk. “I could just tell,” she said, with an assuring wink. “Sisterly intuition is what I call it. An older sister knows all, Annie. Remember that.”

Annie chuckled, “Right. I'll remember that.”

“Good,” she beamed. “Now, what are you waiting for? Are we gonna go fix this or what?”

“Do you think that's a good idea?” Annie asked wearily. She was taken aback at how sudden Natasha was willing to help Annie.

“Of course it is,” Natasha answered as if it was a trick question. Then, standing up, she extended her hand to Annie. “Come on. Let's go see how much of a retard my brother really is.”

Once Annie stood up to follow Natasha's lead, her phone had gone off. She sighed upon reading the caller ID: Miranda calling... “Hold that thought, unnie,” she said.

“What is it? Is everything okay?” Natasha asked curiously. Noting Annie's agitation, she soon grew concerned.

“It's my boss,” Annie answered wearily before speaking into the phone. “Hello?”

“Let's talk,” Himchan said as soon as he caught up with Yongguk outside.

Yongguk stopped in his tracks to look over his shoulder. “Fine,” he sighed before making his way to his car. “Meet me at the bar down the street. I could use a drink or two.”

As soon as they arrived at the bar, Himchan and Yongguk made their way towards the edge of the bar, settling onto a pair of bar stools. The bartender approached them, gave them their drinks, then went about his usual business.

After a moment of silence, Himchan sighed, speaking up first. “Bang, I'm really sorry,” he began, trailing off. “I didn't mean for all of this to happen either.”

“But it did,” Yongguk pointed out.

“I know and I feel like ,” Himchan countered back. “I should have known better knowing she was with you. I was being really selfish. Despite all the I'd been dealing with, I only thought of myself. I thought I was gonna go through this ordeal alone. You know, about the pregnancy and all?”

Yongguk nodded slowly, waiting expectantly for Himchan to continue.

“Annie assured me she wouldn't leave my side, willing to stick around when I needed her,” he resumed. “She saw me as more than just that flirty and charming guy that seems to attract all the other women... For once, she saw me as a human being and that's when I realized that she was different from the rest. She didn't seem to care about my background or any other superficial thing about me... And I just wanted her all to myself. But then seeing you two together, I became embittered knowing that I'd lost an amazing girl to my best friend.”

Yongguk scoffed, nodding in agreement. “You got that part down to a tee,” he remarked with a sly grin.

“You're a lucky guy, Bang,” Himchan chuckled wryly. “I'm still really, really sorry. And as a favor to you, I'm willing to back off. For your sake. But protect Annie for all it's worth. If you don't do your job, I won't hesitate to swoop in and steal her away from you.” He warned his best friend with an arrogant smirk.

Yongguk chuckled wryly in return. “That won't be happening because I'll be protecting her with my own pride and honor,” he firmly declared.

“Good,” Himchan replied curtly. “Again, I sincerely apologize for all of this.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Yongguk brushed him off, a sheepish grin plastering onto his face. He was not one to act all chummy especially when it came to his best friend.

“So is everything cool between us?” Himchan asked with a hopeful look in his feline-like eyes.

“I never said it wasn't,” Yongguk muttered.

“Gee, that makes me feel a lot better,” Himchan said, shaking his head. “So, are you buying the next round or what?”

“Count me in,” a voice rang out from behind. Both guys turned around to find Natasha standing before them with a smirk on her face. She was ignoring all those whistles and howling from around the room. Himchan and Yongguk seemed to have taken notice but decided to ignore it nonetheless. Natasha was no stranger to the attention. She didn't seem to care either way.

“How did you find us?” Yongguk inquired curiously.

Natasha shrugged, pointing to her temple. “Sisterly intuition,” she answered matter-of-factly, as if it was a trick question. “One of the other guys may have guessed the direction your cars were headed so we followed you here.”

“Be our guest,” Himchan offered, motioning for her to settle onto the stool beside him.

“Oh and I brought company too,” she announced making way for Daehyun, Youngjae, Jongup, Zelo, and last but certainly not least, Lucy.

“Where did Annie go?” Yongguk inquired curiously, searching behind the friends for any sign of her.

“She had a work emergency,” Lucy informed him. “She says she'll meet us here later on.”

“Is everything okay?” Himchan asked, his tone full of concern.

Lucy nodded. “I believe so,” she assured him. “I'm sure she'll call if something comes up.”

Himchan and Yongguk glanced at one another wearily before relaxing slightly. Work emergency? They wondered. Instead of dwelling on the problem itself, Yongguk remembered his sister's presence and he had to make the most out of the time he was spending with her along with his friends. Eventually, they all settled onto a corner booth.

Himchan remained unsettled, wondering what Annie was up to at that moment. But of course, he was sure she'd be fine like she would usually assure him. Nonetheless, it was clouding his mind. His thoughts were soon interrupted when Daehyun had broken the silence.

“Say, Yongguk,” he said, smirking mischievously. “Are your balls okay?”

He grew silent as the rest of the table burst into a fit of giggles. Himchan and Natasha eyed him curiously. “They're fine,” he muttered wryly.

“What happened?” Natasha asked curiously.

“Annie may have kneed him in the groin earlier,” Youngjae snickered.

Himchan chuckled. “She did?” he asked, turning to Yongguk for confirmation.

“So that's why we heard a loud grunt in the recording room,” Zelo added, snickering.

The latter sneered, choosing to ignore the question. Himchan shook his head knowing right away that it was true. “I'd hate to break it to you, Bang but I'm quite impressed,” Himchan mused.

“Are you done?” he asked flatly.

“My question is, where did she learn to do that?” Himchan inquired, glancing at Annie's three best friends.

“Well,” Lucy began, fiddling with her own glass. “My ex-boyfriend was a fighter and he happened to introduce Annie to a bunch of his friends. Before Yongguk came around, Annie was into another phase...”

Daehyun chimed in, scoffing. “Yeah, the fighter phase.”

Lucy continued, choosing to ignore him. “And let's just say a bunch of these guys taught her a few moves. But one guy in particular taught her the kneeing technique. I didn't think she'd use it on you, Yongguk...” she said, giving him an apologetic look before mouthing: “I'm sorry.”

“Don't mention it,” Yongguk muttered sneeringly, he found himself turning a deep shade of red as the others laughed at him.

“Oh, little brother,” Natasha mused with a chuckle. “You have to admit, it's pretty funny.”

“Yeah, go ahead and laugh while I'm in agony,” Yongguk remarked before taking another swig of his drink.

“Well, you said your balls were okay,” Daehyun said before bursting into laughter followed by everyone else.

“Alright enough!” Yongguk exclaimed. “Next person who laughs again, buys the next round. Who will it be?”

The table then grew silent, trying their best to stifle their laughter.

A/N: Hi guys! Here's another update! Sorry if it's boring to you... I may have half-assed it. I'll try to make up for it in the next chapter. Happy reading! ^^