– Key’s POV –

When I came to, I was in a traditional looking room. It looked quite magnificent, but not enough to be royal I guess. Anyhows, I tried to do a mental backtrack as far as I could. I remembered arriving at the Kim Family house and then being given our rooms. Then we went to dinner and as we were on our way back I spotted what I was certain was the head of one of the BIGBANG members. I wouldn’t be able to forget that mohawk if my life depended on it. Then I told Taemin that I saw something and ran off. I followed him around a bit and I think he heard me a couple times, but he didn’t actually spot me, which was the important thing. But because of my inattentiveness, I was grabbed from behind and taken to some room where they tied me up. A couple minutes later Doojoon and Onew were brought in and a couple minutes more, the rest of the guys got thrown in and tied up too.

Then I remember this guy coming in and bashing all of us for not telling him what we were doing at the hanok. Then they came around to me. Minho was next to me in the room and he was hurt really badly too. I tried to sit up and look around the room. It looked like an infirmary. Minho was sleeping on a bed on his side, facing away from me. He was on his side, facing away from me but his back was left exposed, showing his red and pink welts and cuts. However, something was wrong with the picture. There was a white cream over most of his back and it seemed like it was making a considerable improvement to his recovery.

I looked to the other side and found Hyunseung lying there. He had a black eye and was covered in multiple quilts, and even so, he was still shivering. He had ice-cold water poured over him periodically as they punched him and beat him with things that looked like bamboo sticks.

I looked down to my own wounds and to my horror, I was half . At least the only thing they took was my shirt and jumper. On a brighter note, most of myself was bandaged. Directly next to me, I saw a bedside table with a neatly folded sky blue hanbok, a glass of water and a small container with two aspirin in it. I was well enough to ignore the aspirin so I just gulped down the water and put the hanbok on over my shorts. I decided that I wasn’t going to take any more chances in this place. I was injured enough as I was and I didn’t want to stick around to see the worst of it. Now I know I may sound like I’m abandoning my friends, but at that moment, I couldn’t do anything for Minho or Hyunseung. They were both too big for me to carry. And I would break my precious nails too.

Anyhows, I snuck out of the room and made my way down to the rooms we were in yesterday in hopes of finding the other guys. Unfortunately, the only things there were their bags and their contents strewn all over the floor. It was much too dangerous for me to go wandering around the unfamiliar complex, looking for SHINee, Beast or BIGBANG, so my only option now was to find a way out and contact authorities. I found my phone and a random wallet before running out of the room. It took a few minutes for me to find my way out of the hanok, but I got there eventually.

I was a few hundred metres down the road when a black and red motorcycle zoomed past me. It gave me quite a scare but I quickly pulled myself back together and started walking again. And then the bike did a U-turn and started towards me. I couldn’t see who it was, because they were wearing a full head helmet, but for some reason they looked a bit familiar. I didn’t have time to think for very much longer because I seriously just took off in the opposite direction. Even though that was quite possibly one of the dumbest decision of my entire life. What was I thinking? I couldn’t out run a motorcycle. Damnit, I probably couldn’t even outrun the guy who was riding the bike. And before I knew it, the guy had picked me up and tucked me under his arm like I was some kind of a sack. In under a minute, I was back to point A.

There was a small group of people waiting for us at the entrance of the gate. I panicked. I didn’t want to be locked up. I didn’t want to be beaten up by that guy again. And I definitely, above all else, did not want to have my precious hair ruined. They already ruined my clothes and my nails that I would have tp spend a whole week fixing; I didn’t want them to take the last beautiful thing about me away as well. Well, save my face. I know I’m just gorgeous, but whatever. That’s not exactly the point here.

“Look, please. Don’t take me back there. I don’t want to die, so please. I’ll do anything you say. I started begging desperately.

I heard a deep voice chuckle from behind the helmet and for some reason, it sounded a bit familiar. But before I could say anything more, we arrived.

I squeezed my eyes shut as two more guys came around and picked me off the bike guy and set me down.

“Look, I just want to go home. I’m not here to cause anything! I’m just looking for–“

“Aish. Shut up diva boy.” A familiar voice cut me off.

I looked up. “Hyunsuk?!” I asked, astounded, before looking around me at the five other guys. “BIGBANG?”

They all grinned at me amusedly.

“WE’VE BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU GUYS EVERYWHERE. DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED TAEMIN WAS? Actually, hold up on that one. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED I WAS?! I ALMOST KILLED MYSELF BY MAKING FRIENDS WITH BEAST SO THAT WE COULD TEAM UP AND–”

“Yeah, Key. I heard all about it.” He told me, chuckling. “Come on, let’s go in. There are some things I need to tell you.” He said before turning and going in first.

I stood there, dumbfounded for a second before following behind him and saying, “DAMN RIGHT YOU HAVE SOME THINGS TO TELL ME.”

Minho and Hyunseung both woke up in the time that I was gone and we all gathered in some massive room with squishy cushions that were covered in a really, really, really nice material.

And then he told us he was a girl.

I have one word to describe the expression on my face the moment after she told us.

Minded.

Now I realise that the other guys may have told you about it already, so I’m going to skip the boring part about her explaining it to me and skip to the interesting part where I start talking.

“You’re telling me, that you, who is the most masculine, immature, boisterous idiot I know, AND YOU’RE A CHICK?”

“Uhm, I’m not sure if that was an insult or a compliment, but yes, I am a girl.” She replied.

“I cannot believe you didn’t tell me earlier!” I cried, outraged.

“Look, I’m sorry th–“

“We could have gone SHOPPING.” I almost literally yelled it in her face, trying to exaggerate the IMPORTANCE of it.

She scrunched up her nose in distaste. “Shopping? You nuts bro?” she asked me.

I stared at her blankly for a bit. She’s telling me she’s a girl and she doesn’t like shopping? “Uhm, no, I’m not nuts. But you obviously are.”

“Shopping isn’t going to define my gender.” She told me bluntly. “You’re a dude but I don’t see you playing football, or baseball, or any sport for that matter.”

Sports? Ew. “Sport is gross. You get sweaty and dirty and you get hurt often and it’s just…ew.”

She was looking at me like I was stupid. “All those things happen when you’re in a gang, Key. Sometimes I wonder why you even bother.” She said, rolling her eyes.

I was starting to feel a bit nervous for some reason.

“It’sbecausewe’reactuallyreallypoorandweneededsomethingtocoverupforusandbeingsomesortofahardcoregangwasthebestchoice.”

Now I know it was just something she said and wasn’t an actual question, but I have no idea why I said what I did. It’s probably because I got hit on the head too hard…

Sunghee looked stupefied. “Uh… Excuse me…? Could you repeat that except in a language that I understand?”

“No, it was nothing.” I quickly covered up.

“He said ‘It’s because we’re actually really poor and we needed something to cover up for us and being some sort of a hardcore gang was the best choice.’” Seungri repeated for me. Damn him and his good hearing.

I felt humiliated. I hated letting people know I was poor. I hated the pity. It was the only thing I got out of it. Everyone just thought, ‘Aww, Kibum got kicked out by his dad after his mommy died because he wanted to keep the money to himself. Oh well, we all hate him anyway. Lets pity him to death.’

“Y’know, being a gang member is a hazard to potential and current occupations.” Sunghee said casually, sipping on her tea.

“I DON’T NEED ANYONE’S PITY OKAY.” I yelled before actually hearing what the girl said. . WHY AM I SO DUMB. “I mean… Uh… I wasn’t meant to say that…”

Sunghee let out a little bit of a chuckle and patted my head. “I figured you would feel that. Don’t worry; I won’t give you pity if you don’t want it.” She said before clearing and turning her attention to everyone else in the room. “Now that everyone knows, I’d like to keep this under wraps. I’d rather not have anyone talk about this outside the hanok, and please keep calling me by ‘Hyunsuk’ outside. It’s so much more difficult being a girl.” She said.

Now, you’ve already heard my opinion on it, but everyone had different opinions about Sunghee actually being a girl and not a boy.

– Yoseob’s POV –

Hyunsuk’s actually a chick? So that’s why she wasn’t taken down by my awesome kick to the crotch…

–Hyunseung’s POV –

She’s a pretty cool person. I find chicks who can take a punch are quite admirable.

– Onew’s POV –

So… the first time she beat me up and talked crap about my … and she doesn’t actually have one?!

– Dongwoon’s POV –

She did seem somewhat feminine at times, but it wasn’t very noticeable. And next to Key, I’d still doubt that she’s a girl.

– Jonghyun’s POV –

I really can’t believe that I got beaten up by a girl. And she’s not even as muscular as me. IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE.

– Minho’s POV –

Thinking back, I believe the name of the girl who beat up my hyung did have a ‘Sung’ in there somewhere. Was it really Sunghee?

– Doojoon’s POV –

Junhyung’s been worried about possibly being bi or gay because he had this ‘crush’ on her a while back. I wonder if things will change… kekekekeke~ Matchmaking time~

– Kikwang’s POV –

GODDAMNIT. Not only is uncle’s superior younger than him, but she is now also a girl and she’s the FREAKING HEIR. Omg, I was meant to start working with my uncle but now that I know that I'm working for one of my friends, I don’t know if I can do it anymore… And one more thing… I’ve never seen her PMS…

– Junghyung’s POV –

I'm quite glad, but also terribly upset as well. Glad because it means I’m not actually gay because I liked a girl who I thought was a guy. Upset because I think I still like her. But at least now I can check her out without feeling weird. Muahahahaha~

– Taemin’s POV –

Hyunsuk hyung… Sunghee noona… Hyunsuk hyung… Sunghee noona… Sunghee noona. Does that mean it’s ok for me to like Sunghee noona?

“Yeap.” Dongwoon’s voice said from behind me. The two of us were sitting in one of many the small gardens scattered through the hanok. They were these little retreat sort of places with a small tree and some other small shrubbery with a pebble garden. It was already close to midnight and the only thing lighting the area that we were in was the moon and a traditional-looking lantern sitting just above Dongwoon’s head.

I looked at him, confused for a second. “Was I talking out loud?” I asked.

He nodded as he turned another page in his novel. Dongwoon hyung seems to like reading a lot. He’s always reading a book or a newspaper or something.

“Hyung… is it wrong if I liked Sunghee when I thought she was a guy?” I asked the other maknae.

He put down his book and looked back to me with a chuckle. “There’s nothing wrong about it. There are plenty of gay or biual people. It just means you have a wider selection plate.” He joked, ruffling my hair a bit.

“Oh… okay…” I murmured.

– Key’s POV –

I’ve been sitting on my bed for god knows how long staring at the wall and attempting to understand the mindery that Hyunsuk is actually a girl by the name of Sunghee. More importantly, why the hell do I find her masculinity y? I mean, I know I'm bi and all that, but when I thought she was a guy, I saw her as a violent, irritating bastard, but now that I know she’s a girl, I see her as a cunning, playful tomboy.I actually have a thingfor tomboys. I find something about them quite charming.

Aish. I know I shouldn’t like her more or less based on her gender, but DAMNIT WHY MUST I HAVE A THING FOR TOMBOYS.

Wait… did I just say ‘like her’? Nonononononononononono. I can’t like her. I swore to myself that I would hate her for as long as I lived. And the fact that she saved me doesn’t make it any better. ‘She saved me’. Damnit,why does sound so self-demeaning? Crap, we’re probably friendlies now. And with Beast too.

“GODDAMNIT SUNGHEE. WHY MUST YOU COMPLICATE MY ALREADY ED TO HELL LIFE?!” I yelled out loud and punched the wall beside me.

“Whoa there.” Yoseob said, waking up abruptly and sitting up straight in his bed, sufficiently hitting his head on the bunk above him. “Aish! , that hurt.” He muttered to himself before turning to me. “You ok there?” he asked me.
I was stunned for a second, but ended up chuckling. Whether it was because of his thoughtfulness or his clumsiness, I’ll never know, but it was incredibly adorable either way. I replied to him with by nodding my head. “It’s nothing.”

He studied my face for a bit before talking again. “Don’t worry if Sunghee’s screwing with your head. It’s probably got everyone else messed up as well. On top of that, she’s always been the kind of person to mind the world over a million times without it noticing.”

I laughed at that. “I guess so.” I said, before flopping back down onto my bed and letting out a big sigh.

“You know, if you’re really feeling that down about whatever it is, you should try a hot chocolate. Chocolate boosts happy hormones y’know.”

“Happy hormones?” I repeated out of confusion, and slight amusement.

He shrugged casually. “My mom used to call it that. I never learnt the actual name.”

I paused in thought for a moment. “Thinking about it now, hot chocolate sounds quite nice. You up for a midnight snack?” I asked him.

“Sounds good.” He smiled back.

So the two of us stealthily snuck out of our room, down the numerous paths that we memorised and into the dining hall where the kitchen was. We got to finding the cocoa powder quickly and were about to open the fridge to get the milk when we felt someone watching us. We turned around slowly and through the dark we saw a set of eyes watching us closely.
I was about to scream and Yoseob looked like he was as well, but the figure jumped onto us and covered our mouths before we could.

“Jeez diva boy, if you scream someone will come in and cook will shoot me for raiding the kitchen again.” Sunghee’s told me before letting me go.

“For s sake Sunghee, why do you have to me so damn creepy?” I asked angrily.

“The look on your face was enough of a reason.” She joked. “So what are you guys doing here?”

“I wanted a hot chocolate.” I said, shrugging

“In this weather?” Sunghee asked me. “Nuh uh. If you need chocolate, you’re getting it in icecream form.” She said, taking out two small tubs of chocolate icecream from the freezer and passing it to the two of us before picking up her own tub that she must’ve been eating just before we got there.

“So what about you?” I asked. Why are you up in the kitchen eating icecream by yourself? You know that usually only girls who just broke up do that?”

“I have a weakness for icecream.” She chuckled. “Plus, when I have a craving, there’s no stopping me.”

“I like marshmallows.” Yoseob randomly chimed in. “They’re so cute and fuffy. Like bunnies.” He said, smiling to himself before looking up to her in a cute way and batting his eyelashes. “Do you have any marshmallows?”

Sunghee let out a small laugh. “We’ve got everything here.” She chuckled, grabbing a jar from one of the cabinets and passing it to the rather jubilant boy.

We talked for a while about many things, but most of it was about our pasts. I told her about how my family kicked me out when I came out to them about being bi. Yoseob talked about how he had to constantly run away from homeless shelters because the caretakers at the orphanage he was left at were molesting him and were set on finding him and abusing him some more for the heck of it. And Sunghee talked about her family history and her life as a girl. I didn’t quite understand why she didn’t want to stay a normal girl. Sure, she got picked on a bit, but doesn’t everyone? And plus, she could stand up for herself just fine. I know that for a fact first hand.

 “Don’t take this as rude, because I don’t mean to be, but why didn’t you stay a girl?” I asked.

“I hated my life as a girl. Always being seen as a complete freak to all of society.” She muttered bitterly. I could understand that. “Heck, the people at my old school wouldn’t even give me a chance to say hi. I’d walk up to someone and try to ask a question and then they’d run for the hills. On top of that, there was massive gossip about me. BIGBANG was ridiculously popular at my old school and because I even associated myself with them, they called me a tryhard. Some people said that I learnt martial arts and trained and stuff so that I would seem cool to them, heck I even heard that I followed them from their old school or something.”

I snorted in distaste. “Desperate materialistic es. They never get anything right.”

She didn’t say anything more on the topic and sighed. “It’s almost 1:30. I need to turn in or I’ll have no energy for training tomorrow.” She said, grunting a bit as she stood up.

“Training?” Yoseob and I asked at the same time.

“Oh yeah, the family members who regularly participate in activities outside the hanok must train everyday so that we are fit for any sort of situation. So we have taekwondo training from 6am to 8:30. Feel free to join in or watch.” She said yawning before she left to her room.

And that was exactly how we all decided to spend our mornings from then on. We woke up bright and early, albeit rather grudgingly, and watched the training in the southern courtyard. We were allowed to climb up one of the walls and sit there to watch them and the sunrise at the same time. There was a small mountain that was just east of the place and when the sun rose over it, it just looked magnificent.

The routine that they did was exactly the same every morning. A few small stretches and then sets that one of the older men, who I assumed was their teacher, would call out at the front of the yard. What amazed me, though, was the fact that they all memorised so many sets and it was a rarity that anyone made a mistake. I decided to focus my attention on watching Sunghee, and while I was trying to find any sort of a slip up, I could only come to one conclusion. She was perfect. Maybe not personality wise, but right at that moment while she was totally focused on nothing but the movements of her body, she looked like a freaking goddess. Her movements were fluid but strong and she used the elements around her to her advantage.

At about 7:30, she would leave early and go to the courtyard right next to the South Yard. There, there would be roughly fifteen younger children who she would then train.

And that’s how we all got a whole three weeks of taekwondo training. Minho did rather well because of his previous martial arts experience and Junhyung, Doojoon and Taemin picked up on it quickly because they’re all such movie junkies. The rest of us, on the other hand, well… let’s just say we got up pretty badly by some twelve year olds.

“Onew, I don’t think you’re going to learn much martial arts before we leave.” Sunghee finally announced about a week into our stay.

“What? Why?” he asked, looking totally dejected.

“You lost, like, two second into the spar and Daegoon didn’t even do anything.” She said, gesturing to the (approximately) 12year old boy standing in front of our fallen leader.

“He so did!” the leader rebutted, pick himself up and puffing out his chest.

“Onew, you tripped over your own foot.” Sunghee chuckled, giving him the ‘Yeah right’ look.“Let’s wrap up practice for today guys.” She said, turning her attention back to all the other students in the area. “Jiyoung’s birthday party is tonight so you guys should go and help prepare the eating hall.” She smiled, shooing off the young students.

“Yes agasshi!” they replied in the same way that a soldier would to thei general.

She put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow, like a mother would to her child.

“Yes noona~” the children corrected themselves happily and ran forward to hug her before they scattered off in their numerous directions.

“GD’s birthday is today?!” Junhyung suddenly asked.

“Mhmm.” She replied casually, picking up some of the wooden practice weapons that had been left behind and putting them back in the straw basket that they belonged in.

“Omo. We didn’t bring any gifts.” Kikwang suddenly brought up.

“It’s fine. It’s not like you were expecting to staying this long anyway.” She reasoned for us.

“Aish… but I’ll feel bad if I don’t get anything for him.” Junhyung said, flopping down onto the stair.

“Well, if you really must, you can be a man and help catch some fish for the feast tonight.” Sunghee said jokingly.

“Fishing?” Junghyun repeated.

“Or you can go hunt some rabbits or a mountain goat or something.” She said, shrugging.

Junhyung was silent for a moment. “Do we get to use guns?” he asked.

“No Junhyung, you run after them with a stick and beat them until they fall into the cooking pot.” She replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

“CAN I GO HUNTING AS WELL?” practically everyone other than Dongwoon, Minho and me yelled, suddenly extremely enthusiastic to contribute to GD’s birthday bash. I sighed. Almost every man under the age of 40 will come swarming to you if you offer to let them use your gun. Me on the other hand? Well you know me.

Animals? Hunting? Blood? Gross.

___________________________________________________
hello my lovelies~
sorry for the slow update ><
i've been having crazy chinese new year celebrations
which brings me to my next opint
HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR
(to those of you who celebrate it)
to anyone else who celebrate a lunar year celebration,
happy new year to you as well ^^
i hope this new lunar year will bring you all luck, fortune and good health!
im going to turn in how so i hope you enjoyed this chapter  ^^
xxTom

p.s. i've worked out the whole plot line now so i've packed in plenty of drama and action for you ^^
and theres lots of awkward loving grandpa kim in the next chapter. kekekekeke~