Zenaku made his way home his head lifted up to the sky. It had been such a sunny day until a couple hours ago. Dark, heavy clouds littered the afternoon sky. There were no longer birds singing or flying about either.

 

"Zenaku!" An angry voice shouted at him.

 

     He snapped out of his thoughts and looked around. His feet had carried him all the way faster than he had expected. His grandfather was standing on the other side of the gate staring at him his eyes furious. Zenaku entered the home garage, passed the fountain and stood in front of his father his head bowed.

 

"Yes grandfather?" He said his voice low.

 

     The family estate was in complete silence. Zenaku he held his throbbing face. His grandfather had just slapped him across the face with all his strength. Zenaku had wobbled back a little and held his face but didn't look up.

 

"You useless boy you're late! I told you to be back home before six! What if someone saw you?!" His grandfather turned around and went back into the living room where he had been before. He sat down in his favorite spot on the couch. Turning on the television he mumbled to himself calling his grandson names and cursing him while he walked away.

 

     Zenaku bowed to him before he left the room. It was the best way to avoid another scolding. It was obvious to him even as a little boy that his grandfather hated him. In his eyes he was just a nuisance to the family, a child who wasn't needed and was only a burden. He didn't have thoughts about it anymore, he had gotten so use to his grandfather's treatment that he could just ignore it. Sadly his body was human so he felt all the pain that was inflicted on him he could feel.

 

      He made his way to the kitchen where a couple maids were getting dinner ready. The moment they saw him they bowed and moved out of his way. He smiled sweetly to them. A few of them blushed but he didn't really notice. He grabbed a ready ice pack from the freezer and put it on his left cheek.

 

"Ah..." He mumbled as the ice made contact with his hot skin making a small pang of pain shot through his body.

 

"Are you alright?" One of them asked avoiding using his name. He nodded and went over to her. He ruffled her hair affectionately then straightened it.

 

"I'm alright Jun Mi. Don't worry just finish what you were doing so you don't get in trouble." He said smiling sadly at her. She nodded and said nothing else while he left the kitchen.

 

     He slowly walked to the other side of the estate where it was darker. Outside the rain started to pour down on the city muffling his steps. Thunder crashed down on the earth and he stopped walking for a moment before continuing. He stood in front of a large oak wood door.

 

     Hesitantly he opened the door. His ears were filled with the soft snores of his little brother. His king sized bed didn't overpower the room at all. It was twice the size of his own, almost the same size of the living room. Walking inside he moved away the canopy that shielded him from the rest of the room. He leaned over and his jet black hair which was identical to his own. He sighed as he continued to touch his hair. His eyes listlessly roamed the dimly lit room. He couldn't remember the last time he had been in here. There had honestly been no need to and his grandfather wouldn't let him. The days of sneaking in here were long gone but today he had the urge to just come and see him. When he felt him stir he decided it was time for him to go. His room was right down the hall but his brother had never visited him since they got into middle school. He started to take off his cloths to change into something more comfortable when he remembered that he had his contacts in. He really disliked them so whenever he came back from being out he took them off immediately. He stood in front of his mirror in the bathroom and carefully took out his contacts and set his round glasses on his face. He stared at himself in the mirror for a moment and touched his face then he went on with his routine.

 

"Kya! Kyung!!" Angela shouted in shock pulling down her skirt.

 

     She glared weakly as the older guy laughed at her. She had been dusting off the t.v furniture because after just a couple days the dust had caked on it like dry mud. Kyung had suggested she wear some type of uniform so her regular cloths didn't get dirty. She would have been completely fine with an apron and old cloths but he had insisted so she agreed. Immedietly she regretted that decision. He had given her a skimpy maid outfit to wear. A classical black and white uniform, a white apron and even the head piece. The skirt was shorter than her school uniform so she wore some pajama pants underneath to cover her underwear. But Kyung like a school boy came over to her while she was standing on a stool and dusting flipped her skirt then ran away.

 

"Park Kyung!" She said coming off the stool. In response all he did was laugh. "Mwo!" She stomped her foot on the floor with little beads of tears in her eyes as she tried to glare at his retreating back.

 

"I warned you not to listen to him. He's a real ert." B-Bomb said not looking away from the television screen.

 

"Noona what's wrong? Are you crying?" P.O asked coming into the living room confused. He had a pile of papers in his hands along with a notebook and pencil.

 

"I'm ok." She replied rubbing her eyes. "What's in your hands?"

 

"Oh..." his ears turned a bright red as he looked down at the papers. He came over to her and showed it to her.

 

"Korean..." She looked up at him. "Ji Hoon your doing your homework?" She asked completely surprised. She had never seen any of the boys in the house doing any type of homework.

 

     He nodded and sat at the living room table.

 

"My room is really quite its annoying. Noona can you help me?" He asked peering up at her through his long eyelashes like an innocent child.

 

"Let me finish my chores and I'll help you ok? Do as much as you can right now." She said kindly going over and patting his head. His ears were still red  but he nodded non the less.

 

     B-Bomb was watching them for a moment until Angela turned around to get back on the stool. He noticed that she had been silent while doing her work but now she was humming. P.O hated doing school work, he didn't get it and even if his hyungs tried to help him he would throw a tantrum. Because he was the youngest they wanted to do their best to help him. They might have been in a gang going around beating up people but that didn't mean they wanted their members to be uneducated. This wouldn't last forever but their school work would even if they took it lightly now. Angela finished up her dusting, cleaned the rest of the living room and went to help P.O. While he did more exercises she continued cleaning the kitchen and stopped when he needed help. The other boys came to and from the living room and kitchen wondering if dinner was ready and giving P.O surprised looks. Fortunately he was too engrossed in his work to notice them. Angela glanced at him every so often and was glad he was alright with the work.  After about an hour all the housework was done and dinner was ready.

 

"Ji Hoon do you mind getting Zico?" She asked brushing her hands on her apron. She made a mental note to hide it after today.

 

     P.O nodded and put down his math homework. Thanks to Angela he had gotten through both Korean and Science which weren't as hard as he thought they would be. When he made his way up the stairs she took his homework and put it on the coffee table in the living room.

 

"Come on boys lets go." She said standing in front of the tv. "You guys should follow Ji Hoon's example and get some homework done." She said shaking her head.

 

"Unless you want your skirt flipped I suggest you move from the tv Angel." Kyung replied that big mischievous smile gracing his lips. She blushed and held her skirt down.
 

"Stop teasing her." Taeil reprimanded glaring at him and fixing his glasses.

 

P.O knocked on Zico's door several times without an answer. He tried again for a couple more seconds but he had the same result. Annoyed he went back down stairs. Zico had a bad habit of ignoring others when he wanted to be left alone. It was understandable but ignoring the peple around you could rub them the wrong way.

 

"Noona can we eat now?" He asked sitting back down where he had been doing his homework.

 

Hearing his voice Angela gave Kyung a glare that failed miserable. But it served its purpose because he got up and moved to the dinning room.

 

"Where is Zico?" She asked P.O while setthing the food on the table. Noticing this Taeil sighed shaking his head.

 

"Angela," Taiel said shaking his head and taking away the things in her hands.. "I told you to ask for help."

 

"Ah," She whispered giggling a bit. "I'm sorry."

 

"Zico ignored me." P.O said butting into Taeil and Angela's exchanged. He looked down at the table his brows furrowed obviously annoyed. "He's in his room and he completely ignored me."

 

"Are you sure he was in his room?" Angela asked biting her lip when he glared at her.

 

"Don't be so offended." Jaehyo said putting some rice in his bowl. "You know how he is."

 

"Doesn't make it any less annoying." P.O mumbled moving his gaze from Angela back down to the now full table.

 

"Where did Angela go?" Ukwon asked  looking around the living room. She had completely disappeared without a single sound.

    

     Angela stood in front of Zico's door just like P.O had moments ago. She knocked several times with no result. She couldn't understand why he couldn't even open the door. She turned the knob and was surprised it was unlocked. Opening the door she noticed the room was completely dark. He wasn't there and neither was his laptop. She went on to search the other rooms. The second floor had so many rooms and because of that she wasn't able to clean it properly. So half of the floor was done and the other half was not. In a room she had yet to clean she heard noise coming out. It sounded like music. Slowly opening the door she saw a glass window. In front of it were different colored buttons and knobs on a panel with a office chair. Behind the glass stood Zico his laptop propped beside him. He had humongous head phones covering his ears. He tapped them twice before pressing something on his computer. A low, sensual yet relaxing melody came from invisible speakers.

 

     Zico took several deep breaths for a moment as the music started to pick up the pace and become more upbeat. He closed different applications on his computer until only one was left, the one where all his lyrics for the current song were. He minimized this window and his breath stopped. It had been a long time since he had changed his wallpaper. He wasn't fond of putting anything over emotional so everyone could see but this time he did just that. He also put a lock on the computer so no one would try and look at it. He stared at the girl who Angela reminded him so much of. Angela's hair was midnight black and so long it passed the small of her back. But the girl on his computer had a short pixie cut bob the same color. Angela's eyes were hazel green, it was as if he could look through a beach stone that looked like a pearl which held lustrous haunting colors. This girl only had regular brown eyes. Yet the one thing that made them so similar was the look. It was fear mixed with compassion and a hint of something else he could never pin point. The shape of their face was exactly the same, their mouths small and their skin soft. Closing his eyes he looked up and saw her standing there.

 

     Startled Angela jumped in her own skin. She turned her back to him hoping he would just ignore her. But that wasn't going to happen. He took off his headphones and stared at her back from behind the glass. His eyes sad looking at her pitch black hair, it looked so short now; just like in the picture on his computer screen.  He walked out of the studio but allowed the music to continue to play.

 

"Get out." He said coming right behind her. He was so close that she could feel his body radiating heat.

 

"I made d-dinner. Everyone is waiting for you." She replied her voice shaky. Why couldn't she turn around? Why was she so scared of him?

 

"Shizuka." He said with a sigh. He leaned in some more and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "Just listen to me this once. Shizu please just leave me alone."

 

     Her back stiffened at the mention of someone else's name. Her right hand lifted on its own and rested on his arms. His breath tickled her neck as he tightened his hold on her. Her heart started to beat wildly he was hugging her so intimately but this was wrong.

 

"Ji Hoo," She whispered her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

 

"Hm?" He replied still in his own world.

 

     He inhaled her scent and smiled. She smelled the same as always. A rose with beautiful long lush petals bloomed its fragrance intoxicating any person. But this rose had many, many thorns that made her untrustworthy. But how could someone deny something that was so beautiful. He felt his world tilt then sway but he didn't let go of her.

 

"I'm not Shizuka." She said. Their heartbeats were audible along with the slow sensuous music in the background.

 

     He lifted up his head and turned her around. The illusion melted away and his world was set right side up. Her hair became long again and her eyes turned from dark brown to hazel green. He could no longer smell roses.

 

"Angela...." He whispered horrified with himself.

 

     The corners of her lips lifted into a smile as tears escaped her eyelids. She had no idea why she was crying but this hurt. It hurt more than when he had slammed her against the wall and demanded she take off Zen's hoodie. Her heart was so heavy she could barely stand but still she did. She stood there and smiled.

 

"Annyeong Ji Hoo." She said her voice barely reaching the proper decibel for the human ear to pick up sound. Then she turned around, ran out the room and slammed the door shut.

 

"Angela!" He shouted. She flinched and ran down the hallway. She didn't want to see him. Why was this Shizuka so special that he mistook her for her? Why was he able to treat her so much more gently just now?

 

     Zico went back behind the glass and stared at the picture on his wallpaper again. He shut down everything and just sat there in the darkness.

 

     The next morning Angela woke up bright and early. She did her morning chorus and prepared their breakfast before 6am then headed out the door. When the boys came down to eat they were dumbfounded as to why she wasn't there in the house. Their breakfast was ready and wrapped up on the table so it wouldn't get cold as fast. They looked at each other strangely but eventually sat down to eat.

 

"She didn't come back down after she went to get Zico." P.O said picking at his breakfast. He looked up at the person in question but he ate silently. "She didn't even eat last night." His voice was monotone as he waited for him to answer. The others stayed silent as well. Annoyed again P.O slammed his hands down on the table and gave their leader a death glare. "If anything happens to Noona I won't forgive you Hyung, ever."

 

     He got up not bothering to push his chair in he left the house. Zico stopped eating and stared down at his plate for a second but then continued his meal.

 

"He's really attached to her." Jaehyo said putting his chopsticks down. He had lost his appetite. P.O wasn't the type to get angry and fight.

 

"He'll get over it." B-Bomb answered putting his dishes in the sink.

 

"Wash your dishes man. We can't have her doing all of the work." Taeil said glaring at him. B-bomb glared back.

 

"She's a maid. They're supposed to do all the work."  He replied rolling his eyes then heading upstairs to get his things.

 

     Angela sat down right outside the schools stable. Her head was down caught between her knees as she cried silently. Her belly growled in protest and she held it but made no move to go get something to eat. After her encounter with Zico she didn't return downstairs to eat. She made breakfast for everyone but saved none for herself. She was in no mood to eat although her body said otherwise. She felt a wet nudge on her cheek and swatted whatever it was away. But the nudging persisted. She looked up and saw the horse she petted the other day looking down at her. It sat down so her back was on its ribcage and snuggled its head in her hand.

 

"I'm not supposed to be touching you." She whispered caressing its mane. "Sorry Akane Ringo." She tried to stand up but the horse neighed in protest so she sat back down. "You're pretty demanding you know that?" She said with a laugh but soon her laughter turned into tears as she cried into Akane Ringo's mane. The horse continued to neigh and nudge her doing all it could to cheer her up but she just continued to cry.

 

     Up in his tree Zenaku stared down at the red horse. It was a good 20 feet away but he could see its shiny coat and the girl sitting near it. She stood up and walked away from the horse not turning back to say good bye. Her head was down as her tears continued to flow His sea green eyes carefully watched each step she took but he made no moves to go to her. He held a cold pack to his cheek and sighed, he hadn't realized his grandfather had rings on until he took off his contacts last night. Now there were ridges, long and thick going horizontally from his ear to his nose. It would take a couple days for it to heal and until then he had to bear the questioning of his gang members.

 

     At lunch time Angela stayed in her seat looking listlessly through her notebook reviewing the days notes. She couldn't pay much attention in class because her mind kept replaying what had transpired between her and Zico last night. Just the thought of it made tears sting the back of her eyes. So she really had no choice but to go out to the bathroom. She kept her head down and avoided eye contact with everyone but she bumped into someone and nearly lost her balance.

 

"Ah!" She exclaimed shutting her eyes tightly ready to feel her body against the tiled hallway floors. But she didn't feel anything. Opening her eyes she came face to face with him. "Z-Zico...." She whispered. No other words seem to be able to escape her lips. He didn't say a word. Indifferently he let her go abruptly making her stumble a bit. Then just as if she wasn't there in the first place he side stepped her and continued to walk to his destination. A couple people snickered at the small transaction. Her chest welled up with emotion. A large sticky ball lodged itself in . All she wanted to do was cough and cry to make the icky feeling leave to wrap herself in the biggest, warmest blanket she could find to make her shaking subside. Inside of her it felt as if winter had just passed by.

 

"Noona!" Came a familiar voice. She turned and saw P.O make his way towards her. He was so tall that he towered over his classmates like a sky scarper. It was hard to miss him. "Noona are you...." He saw how red her eyes were and decided his question had already been answered. "Come on." He said taking her hand and tugging her in the opposite direction Zico had headed into.

 

"W-Where? P.O I don't want to." She protested weakly.

 

"I won't let anyone else see you cry." He replied stubbornly leading her on.

 

    They made their way up to the roof of the school. She had yet to stop shaking so he draped his school sweater over her shoulders. Thinking it wasn't enough he helped her put her arms through his sleeves and pulled the sweater down. Now it looked like she was wearing an oversized dress and in a different situation he would have laughed. Before he could say anything she spoke first.

 

"Who's Shizuka?" She asked wrapping her arms around herself trying her best to get warm.

 

     Someone had been making their way up as well. Just when they were going to open the door the person heard her voice and stopped short, their hand on the nob the door slightly ajar. Those same sea green eyes that watched her before watched her now, her back hunched, her body shivering and her hair playing with the wind.

 

"Noona what happened to you? What did hyung do?"  P.O said trying to avoid the topic of the other female.

 

"He called me Shizu." She said closing her eyes. She heard the soft soothing sensual music from invisible speakers as if the wind had kept the song safe in its folds and released it only now when she was hurting so bad to torment her.

 

"Damn it." P.O ran his hands through his hair as the curse left his mouth. Damn it Zico.

 

"Tell me why....he thought that I was her. Who is she? P.O please....."

 

     Zenaku placed his back against the wall and listened quietly. His mind manipulated the features on her face so that he could see her sad, upset and crying. His chest felt heavy, as if someone was sitting on it. Damn it Zico.

 

"I'm sorry-" P.O started to say but Angela cut him off.

 

"Who is she?" She asked again refusing to be deterred.

 

     This was something he couldn't tell her. It wasn't as if it was forbidden but it was something they didn't talk about. Shizuka wasn't something anyone wanted to remember not even Zenaku. Just thinking about it made P.O want to retch.

 

"Ji Hoon please." She begged looking up at him. "Tell me. I-I can't stay like this. I can't stay not knowing what's going on."

 

"Shizuka..." He inhaled and exhaled. "She was....not she is...." He bit his lip he was about to make her cry even more. It was so obvious to him that she liked Zico but she had no idea what she was getting herself into. She didn't have the slightest clue. "She is someone that Zico loves more than his own life. She was a foreign exchange student but....." He looked up at the sky. The clouds were so pure white it blinded him a bit. He lowered his face and took a few steps towards her. "She....she went back to Japan so she isn't here.....she isn't here anymore."

 

     Angela hadn't been aware that Zico already had a significant other. Someone that he missed so much that he mistook her for her. It didn't ease the pain in her heart. The lump in grew larger. Zenaku's chest grew heavier and the sky became even more clouded. Angela shivered violently and P.O embraced her trying to warm her up.

 

"It's so cold Ji Hoon," She whispered.

 

P.O gave her a squeeze, it was the beginning of the summer.