Sungmin carelessly sorted through rack after rack, Donghae and Zhou Mi babbling behind her. All she wanted was a nice top, maybe even a new pair of jeans. And probably some shoes.

"..And so she said, "Where did you get your shoes? The Gucci store? And I was like, Nah, the thrift shop!" The two girls burst into laughter. "You should have seen the look on her face!" More laughter. "But seriously, there are some really good things at thrift shops, you just have to dig past all the crap and junk-"

"Hey guys, what do you think about this?" Sungmin held up a pink, long-sleeved top. Donghae took it from her. "Min, your whole closet is full of pink. Try something different, something unique-"

"Something y!" Zhou Mi pulled a short form-fitting, red dress from seemingly nowhere. Donghae squealed and clapped, showing her approval.

Sungmin took it from her hesitantly. "It looks.."

"Amazing?"

"Drool-worthy?"

"Kind of ty?" Sungmin suggested meekly. Zhou Mi gasped. "Min, it's not the clothes, it's the people! And you're definitely not a , so don't worry about it!"

"Will I even fit in it?" Sungmin gulped at the thought. Donghae looked at her worriedly.

"How could you not? You're a ballerina, you're the definition of slender!" Sungmin didn't feel that way, especially standing next to Zhou Mi.

But she replied, "Just kidding, I'll be fine. I still think it's kind of short, though."

Zhou Mi tsked, taking the dress and adding it to their 'try-on' pile. "I think it'll reach your fingertips, stop worrying. Let's go look at shoes!"

Donghae and Zhou Mi tried on heel after heel, while Sungmin searched for short boots. "It's just a concert and party, I want to be comfortable."

"Suit yourself," Donghae shrugged.

"Still an excuse to look fabulous!" Zhou Mi disregarded her opinion.

They got a large dressing room to share ("We're all girls here!") and unceremoniously dropped the pile of clothes and shoes. "Take your pic," Donghae stated. "Except you have to try the dress, Min," she sternly told Sungmin. Sungmin took the dress, a leather jacket, and a pair of ankle boots she picked out and retreated into the corner. Donghae and Zhou Mi held different clothes up to each other, organizing outfits and seeing what would match.

A few minutes later, Sungmin turned around. "Well.. what do you guys think?" she asked nervously.

"Girl, you look hot!" Donghae whistled. Sungmin swatted at her as she laughed.

"I knew that was a good pick the moment I saw it!" Zhou Mi looked triumphant. "My fashion intuition never fails."

Sungmin agreed; Zhou Mi's black skinny jeans made her legs look even longer; paired with a grunge-y top, cargo jacket, and black platforms, there was no denying the girl knew how to dress to impress (which they all already knew, of course).

Donghae's style was spot-on as well; she could easily pull of the tight leather skirt (Sungmin easily imagined Hyukjae drooling) and mesh long-sleeved top overlaying a tanktop. Her high-heeled sneakers added an edge similar to her personality.

They all looked in the mirror, posing.

Sungmin gaped at herself. "This dress is not fingertip-length! It's like wrist-length!"

Zhou Mi rolled her eyes. "Still long enough, as long as your isn't hanging out, right?"

"Good luck staying away from Jonghyun," Donghae snorted. "I don't think that boy will be able to keep his hands off!"

Sungmin blushed. "There's gonna be other girls there too, Hae, and they'll be wearing less than me," she rolled her eyes.

"It's not about the quantity, but the quality of the clothes," she reminded. "And I think it's safe to say that you are looking high-quality, girl!"

Zhou Mi nodded ferently. "This is definitely a new look for you Min, I think you'll be the talk of the party!"

Sungmin mentally face-palmed; that was the last thing she wanted. "I'd rather not be. Let's go check out." 

"So, how was your shopping trip?" Heechul was at her daugher's side the moment she and her husband walked through the door.

"Not bad." Sungmin sighed, preparing for her mother's reaction to her purchases. "Zhou Mi picked something out for me."

"Really? She is so darling, and I trust her fashion sense so let's see.. you didn't get something pink, did you?" She threw a sideways look.

"No, I actually didn't," Sungmin pulled out the jacket first, then the shoes. 

"Wah, these are great, I'm gonna have to borrow them sometime!" Heechul exclaimed. "Leather's always a good look. That's not all you got, is it?" she raised an eyebrow.

Sungmin hesitantly pulled out the dress. "This is what Mi chose.."

"Aigoo, it looks short! And tight!" Heechul took it, examining it. "Great, you never wear anything like this and you're already 17, I knew I could trust Seasoning!" (A/N: Heechul's legit nickname for Zhou Mi in case anyone didn't know.)

Hangeng walked by with to get to the kitchen. He took one look. "Better wear tights under that," he said sternly. Sungmin was relieved- at least one person shared a similar thought process as her.

"Aish, always ruining the fun," Heechul tsked. "Want to borrow my fishnets?"

"Er, no it's alright umma, I have something." Sungmin rejected the offer.

"Suit yourself." She stuffed the clothes back into the bag. "Your dad's making fried rice, tell Jongwoon to come down in a few minutes."

Sungmin knocked on her brother's door. 

"Yes?" He opened it a bit; soft, ballad music slowly filtered out. Sungmin thought it was a bit strange that unlike other boys, who enjoyed heavy metal and rap, her brother liked ballads and emotional songs. He really was an old soul.

"Oppa. dinner's ready in a few."

"Okay." He moved to close the door again, but Sungmin interrupted hesitantly. "Oppa?"

"Yes?" This time he opened it fully. "What is it?" 

"I missed you," she whispered. Her brother had been at college for a couple of years already (majoring in Musical Composition, of course), only coming home for summer and Christmas. Sungmin had always taken her brother's silent but comforting presence in her life for granted; during the short breaks he had, sometimes she barely even saw or spoke to him.

He stood there in his awkward, silent way for a moment. "You're such a baby," he said quietly after a while before taking her into his arms. Sungmin felt the sudden urge to cry but didn't.

He steered her to his bed. Sungmin laughed softly upon seeing his turtles still on his nightstand, where they usually were. 

"What?" 

"It's just, they're still there.. you brought them with you," she chuckled. 

"Of course I did," his eyebrows furrowed, as if he couldn't fathom the reason behind her statement. "If I left them in my dorm, who knows what could've happened to them."

"What could have happened?"

"Like, they could have started a fire, or eaten all of my textbooks. Things like that." Sungmin stared at him but didn't question it; this was her brother, after all.

"So, now that you're here, you have to talk about something. Otherwise we'd just sit awkwardly- well, for you it would be awkward. It' doesn't really bother me," he laid down on the bed, spreading his arms out.

"Oppa, what would you do if I told you I had a crush?"

He stared at the wall. "I would ask who it is."

"I have a crush."

"Who is it?" 

Sungmin hesitated.

"Kyuhyunnie?"

Sungmin sighed. "How the hell does everyone know."

"How would we not know?"

"Well, just- whatever. What do you think?"

"I think that's alright, Kyuhyun can be a bit of an at times but you can handle yourself."

"You're really laid-back for an older brother with a naive, teenage little sister."

"You're really laid-back for a girl who has feelings for a guy she's grown up with her entire life."

"I can't really do anything about that."

"Sure you can. Say, 'I like you,' then he'll admit that he likes you too, then you guys date then bam. Problem solved." He laid back, staring at the ceiling now.

"Oppa, he doesn't even like me back."

"Sure he does, how do you know?"

"Aren't you supposed to be worried that he might like me too?"

"I think you're more worried than I am," he pointed out. Sungmin shut . "And like I said, you can handle yourself. If things get serious, like to the point that your tear ducts produce saline water and your heart is not functioning, then yeah, I'll step in. Of course," he ruffled her hair. She laid down on his arm.

"Have you been working out?"

"No." 

"Really?"

"No." 

"Yes or no?"

"Yes." Sungmin smiled to herself; her brother was virtually the same since when they were children.

"Ryeowookie's fifteen now."

She barely felt a muscle ripple underneath her head. "Yeah." 

"She's growing up so fast," Sungmin sighed.

"Sure is. Almost didn't recognize her."

"She missed you too," she hinted.

"Of course. I'm her favorite oppa."

"Maybe you should go take her for ice cream or something."

"Maybe." 

"Oppa, you're so frustrating," Sungmin sighed, staring at the ceiling.

But she wouldn't have it any other way.

The bell rang and students immediately leapt up from their desks, not bothering with the teacher's last minute assignment due on Monday for a major grade. Nobody cared; it was Friday, after all.

"Sungmin!" Donghae squealed, running down the hallway, an amusing Hyukjae trailing behind. "You're coming home with me!"

"I am?" Sungmin blinked, grabbing her backpack and shutting her locker.

"Yep! Your mom called mine and said that you probably wouldn't know how to dress appropriately for a party so obviously you're going with me! And Mimi, of course."

"Is he coming?" Sungmin tossed a sidelong glance at her boyfriend. "No, he isn't. He's going to hang out with Kyuhyun and the dudes to do dude stuff," Donghae waved it off.

"Speaking of which, gotta run! Kyuhyun won't wait, that ," Hyukjae rolled his eyes. "Bye babe, see you in a few!" He kissed Donghae quickly before jogging out. 

"After all this time, you still blush," Sungmin elbowed her. Donghae spluttered. "Pfft. At least I don't make goo-goo eyes whenever he walks in the room," she stuck her tongue out.

"Sure, sure, whatever," Sungmin led her out to the car. "Where's Mi?"

"Picking up makeup and last minute wardrobe options from her house. Girl's gotta be prepared," Donghae slid into the driver's seat. Sungmin shut the passenger side door, making sure to put her seatbelt on (Donghae's driving was comparable to Jonghyun's).

"Will this poison me in any way?" Sungmin tried to stop blinking, but she was definitely not used to liquid eyeliner.

"Of course not! You wear eyeliner all the time," Zhou Mi pointed out, winging the line past Sungmin's lashline. 

"Pencil. It's not chemical," Sungmin argued weakly. 

"Oh hush. You look good! And it doesn't rub off easily," Donghae powdered some eyeshadow on. "You're so lucky you don't have to wear tons of concealer like me. Your skin is so nice," she sighed enviously, poking Sungmin's cheek.

"Hey, I don't stay up late at night to play video games and eat ramen with my boyfriend," she retorted. 

"That's right. You don't have a boyfriend."

"Yeah, I don't!" Sungmin shot back, lacking a better comeback. Donghae laughed. 

"That will change though. Once all the boys see you tonight-"

Her two friends catcalled and Sungmin resisted the urge to slam her head into the vanity. 

"Done!" Zhou Mi swiped some lip gloss on. "You look fabulous, Min!"

Sungmin got up, looking at herself in the full mirror. With her new outfit, bangs styled, slight smoky eye, and pouty lips glossed, she looked.. different.

"It's obviously me, but at the same time.."

"It's a new you. Oh, Jonghyun will like this!" Donghae grinned. 

"Jonghyun? As in, Lee Jonghyun? I didn't know he was into you!" Zhou Mi gasped.

"He isn't," Sungmin shook her head, turning away from the almost-stranger in the reflection. "Donghae is just delusional."

"Sure. If you run off tonight, and coincidentally Jonghyun isn't around either.." Donghae winked. Zhou Mi cracked up. Sungmin rolled her eyes.

"Let's just go."