There are many things that can be said about Kwon Nayoung.

Normal. Sane. Level-headed. Quiet.

Those are not on the list.

"We are not kidnapping them."

"But it would be so easy. We could put something in their drink and then—"

"No, you crazy person!"

"We could run over her cat and you can comfort her and—"

"Do you have any good ideas? When you said you had a plan, I thought you'd actually have a plan."

A snap of the fingers.

"Hypnosis!"

"What?!"

"But—"

"No."

"But!"

"No!"

"Bu—"

"Do you kids want something to eat? I have rice balls and kimchi on the dining table."

"Thank you, halmoni," Sunggyu feels weird having to be polite to something that is essentially a human balloon. Still, it would feel even weirder to not be polite to someone that looks like the perfect example of a grandmother.

They're sitting on the floor in the middle of Nayoung's living room. Their homework lay before them on the coffee table, wholly unfinished. Nayoung is too deep into her scheming to be bothered and Sunggyu just cannot concentrate when limbs are flailing precariously near his precious face. Such valuable commodity should be fiercely protected.

He ducks just in time to narrowly miss Nayoung's leg as she pushes herself in some sort of acrobatic feat and scrambles for the plates of food on the table. "What do you want to drink?" she calls over her shoulder.

"Just water, thanks."

She gives him barley tea anyway because she's like that and he can't complain because it's actually pretty good. She makes quick work of both their homeworks as she munches noisily on her kimchi. In between bites she tells him this story and she doesn't ever tell him stories. He thinks being human again is making her nostalgic so he listens to her tell him about how when she was such a late bloomer when she younger—late to learn walking and talking. But then when she finally did learn, she never stopped.

"Wait," he says suddenly, placing a hand on her arm. She stops writing looks at him expectantly. "Have you finally tried it? Dancing, I mean?"

She blinks at him a couple of times before shrugging his hand off her arm and returning to their homework. "Maybe later," she answers quietly. But the way she says it makes him think that there won't be a later and that doesn't sit well with him.

"Later," he echoes before taking up a pen for himself and finishing off his homework on his own.

An hour later and their friends are knocking on the door. Myungsoo had come over the other day to ask help from Nayoung (and no, he's not offended—much) and discovered how amazing the food was at her house and everyone's been coming by since, hoping to get a bit of food out Nayoung's robot grandmother.

"Don't you have houses to go home to?" Sunggyu whines when they've filled up all the available spaces in the living room. Sungyeol and Woohyun are a tangle of limbs as they fight over possession of the remote control. Dongwoo has comandeered the sofa, phone in hand as his fingers tap away at whatever it is that he's busy playing. Myungsoo and Nayoung are sitting side by side in front of the coffee table, their heads almost touching as they review his homework.

"You're one to talk," Nayoung mutters and Sunggyu responds by reaching over by flicking her forehead.

"Yah!" Myungsoo glares at Sunggyu, while Nayoung rubs her forehead. "Don't piss her off now that I'm finally understanding these stupid formulas. Remember what happened yesterday?"

Yesterday. When Woohyun took his flirting to another level and got them all kicked out. Woohyun spent a good hour and a half groveling at her front door. That probably wouldn't have worked except it began to rain and only then did she take pity on them and let them back in. But only after Woohyun promised to take it down several notches.

It seems to be the consensus of everyone that ticking off Nayoung is not a very good idea.

Sunggyu makes a face and crosses his arms over his chest. "Whatever," he adds for good measure and Nayoung merely snorts.

It's comfortable here in the old Lee house. Comfortable in a way that he can't quite explain. There's something about being here that relaxes him and it's not just the good food provided by the robot grandmother. Or how the house is positioned perfectly that there is never any harsh sunlight coming in, only a constant refreshing breeze. There's just a calm here that he can't find anywhere outside of the huge tree at school or the roof of his house.

Sunggyu winces as Nayoung lets out a series of expletives at Woohyun who manages to let out a debilitating fart.

"Boys are so disgusting," she spats out.

"Except for Hoya, right?"

Sunggyu's eyes go wide at Dongwoo's careless statement and then even wider when Nayoung turns to him, hands balled into fists and eyes full of fire. The sound from television has turned into white noise and everyone grows silent.

"I mean," Dongwoo continues, still absorbed in his game and unknowing of the impending doom that he's just caused, "I'm just guessing is all. I catch you looking over at him all the time. You shouldn't worry, though, he never sees you looking at him..." He puts his phone down on his stomach and turned to Nayoung who's now gaping at him. "Now that I think about it, you have about as much game as Sunggyu!"

"How did—" She turns to Sunggyu. "Am I that obvious?" She looks at Myungsoo who nods back at her. "You knew, too?"

"It's kind of hard not to know when you keep drooling over him," Woohyun points out, "That's okay, though. I'll wipe your saliva and your tears for you, babe."

"That's... disgusting, hyung," Sungyeol's face mirroring everyone's repulsion.

Nayoung covers face with both her hands but not before Sunggyu sees the bright pink blush on her cheeks. "This is so embarrassing," she whimpers from between her fingers.

Sunggyu finally lets out a chuckle then. Feeling a little brave, he pulls Nayoung toward him by her elbow until she's sitting next to him. He throws an arm about her shoulders and pats her head. "Get used to it, Nayoungie. You're not invisible."

Nayoung's mortified expression continues to amuse him, however, he is gallant enough not to laugh in her face like he really wants to. She whimpers a little and refuses to look anyone in the eye. He ruffles her hair a bit until she attempts to shove him away. His grip is tight and unrelenting, though, and he merely draws her closer and rubs his knuckles against her scalp.

"Yah!" she cries out, slapping his hand away and pushes him as she scrambles away from him, scooting over to Myungsoo who awkwardly pats her shoulder.

He feels Dongwoo's foot nudge him from the back. "Yo," he says once Sunggyu looks over his shoulder. "You sure nothing's going on between the two you?" Dongwoo asks this quietly, the question trapped between the two of them.

"Of course not," Sunggyu scoffs. "I would never fall for something like that."

"She's not so bad, though."

"Bad? She's horrible!"

Dongwoo shrugs, his eyes still skillfully maintained on his game. "Seems to me like you're in denial."

Sunggyu sputters at his best friend's conclusion and decides to ignore him and pretend that the conversation never happened. Yes. That sounds doable. And maybe it would be best to ignore Nayoung as well. You know. For good measure. Yes. That also sounds doable.

When everyone is called dinner, Sunggyu excuses himself by saying that his mother is expecting him home. He closes Nayoung's front door behind him and smiles when he hears Woohyun whine about Sungyeol hogging all the good cuts of meat then sets off for his own front door just a few meters beyond.

"Sunggyu!"

Despite himself, Sunggyu feels the beginnings of a smile pull the corners of his mouth upwards. "Go back home, Nayoung," he tells her, turning on his heel to face her, "You have guests, remember?" Even from across the narrow street that separates them, he catches her eyeroll.

"They're more like stray dogs than anything," she retorts and he can't really find fault in her argument. She skips towards him, the distance between them decreasing until she's finally standing in front of him. Smoothing out her oversized sweater so it doesn't hang dangerously off her and is, instead, obediently staying put on both her shoulders, she smiles up at him.

"What?"

She grins. "You haven't introduced me to your parents yet."

"Well. Yeah." Because he can't argue that point either. "So?"

"You should introduce me to your parents."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because." He arches an eyebrow at her. "Since when was because a logical explanation for anything?"

"Since now." She pouts and even stamps her foot in frustration. "I just wanna meet your family, okay? Don't you introduce your friends to your family?"

"I thought we weren't friends? In fact, I distinctly remember you telling me that we can't be friends."

"That's what when I was a ghost," she answers testily. "Things are different now."

"Things are different now that you're a zombie, you mean," he finishes helpfully.

She glares at him before giving him a firm pinch on his arm, making him yelp. "Yah! Kim Sunggyu—"

The front door suddenly swings open, cutting Nayoung off. Just inside the door stands Sunggyu's mother, wearing an apron and a frown. "Well? Are you just going to stand there and stare at me all night?" she asks a few moments of no one moving. Or possibly breathing. Or maybe that was just Sunggyu.

He shakes his head. "We're heading in, omma."

"Well, good for you," she says, sarcasm dripping from every word as she steps aside to let them, "It's about time you've decided to introduce us to—Wait," his mother steps back in to block Nayoung's way who's standing in front of him. "What's your name?"

Finally remembering her manners, Nayoung bows respectfully to his mother. "I'm Kwon Nayoung," she intones politely, before pulling herself up and revealing her bright smile. "I'm so happy to meet you, omonim!" Then, without warning, Nayoung pulls the Kim matriarch into her arms and gives her a fierce hug.

His mother sends him a bewildered look from over Nayoung's shoulder. "Is she okay?" she mouths to him and he merely rolls his eyes and pulls the little zombie off his mom.

Nayoung displays her white teeth again then sidesteps around the older woman and into the livingroom. "What's for dinner, omonim?" she asks casually as she walks further into the house, discarding her shoes as she goes.

"She's weird." His mother raises a finger as if in contemplation and tilts her head to side. "Weird... But somehow... oddly endearing. Your girlfriend isn't crazy, is she?" They both squint when they hear Nayoung's overly loud voice as she introduces herself then surprised sound coming from both his father and sibling at probably being in the same receiving end of a warm hug.

"No and yes," he replies, tired of having to repeatedly explain his relationship with Nayoung. He places his hands on his mother's shoulders and steers her inside.

"Well, what is it?" He can hear the irritation in his mother's voice. Thankfully, she has her back to him so he doesn't have to try so hard to hide his smile. "Yes or no?"

"Yes, she's crazy," he finally answers when they're hidden away safely in the kitchen where no one can really hear them over the volume of the television and Nayoung's upbeat chatter. "And no, she's not my girlfriend. She likes someone else. More importantly, I like someone else."

His mother tuts as she hands him five metal bowls and he obediently begins to scoop the rice out of the rice cooker. "Don't tell me you're still hung up over that classmate of yours. Your friends tell me everything, you know."

"Because you torture information out of them," he jokes, nudging his mother's hip a little who nudges him right back, "You should work for the military. They need people like you."

"I have a feeling about this one, though," she says after a moment.

"You say that about nice cuts of beef, omma. It doesn't mean anything. Plus, you've only met for like ten seconds. You need at least an hour to get the full effect of her insanity"

He hears his mother placing plates of food on the table. Noodles, he knows is one. Fish, from the smell of things, is another. "Are you still planning to conscript after high school?"

It's really the last thing he expects his mother to say but he supposes he's the one to blame for having brought up the military in the first place. He shrugs lightly even though he isn't facing her. "I guess so. It's something I want over and done with so I can get on the rest of my life. If it's something I have to do then, you know, might as well do it as soon as possible."

He turns and places the bowls on the table. His mother is carefully arranging the plates and chopsticks and spoons. She rarely has her quiet moments, much preferring to talk the ear off of anyone who is within hearing range. That's how he knows that she's worried about him. He wraps her arms around him, circling them around her middle. He remembers a time when he was smaller than her, when his arms could barely reach the whole way around and now he is taller, heavier, and stronger than she is.

When did she become so frail? When did she get so old? When did he become her protector instead of the other way around?

"It's going to be okay."

She nods slowly and he can see her raise a hand to her face and her fingers come away damp and it breaks his heart more than any girl can. "The world is crazy," she tells him softly. "Sending our boys to military service because we created this culture of fear." She shakes her head slowly then turns around in his arm and pats both his cheeks with her hand. Her eyes are glassy with fresh tears wiped away, but they make her look younger somehow as they shine a little bit of hope and despair.

"You're going to be fine," she says, and the way she says it feels like a promise.

"I—Oh, shoot! I'm sorry!" Sunggyu looks up and sees Nayoung standing there, awkwardly bowing and averting her eyes. "I was going to ask if you needed help with anything. You know. Be a polite guest and all and..." She takes a hesitant step forward. Reaching into her pocket, she pulls out a handkerchief and hands it to his mother who gratefully accepts it with a nod and smile.

"I didn't think girls carried things like this around anymore," her mother laughs, moving away from Sunggyu and dabbing the corners of her eyes.

Nayoung shrugs. "I'm an... old-fashioned girl, I guess," she says with a cheeky grin that makes Sunggyu want to laugh.

"Or just old, really," he whispers to her as he passes by, leaving Nayoung alone with his mother to head to the livingroom.

"Your girlfriend is quite odd," Sunggyu's father says, immediately as he sits down on the sofa between his dad and his sister.

"I like her!" she pipes up from his left.

His father immediately agrees. "I have a good feeling about this one."

Sunggyu groans into his hands.

...

"Does your girlfriend have a mobile number I can contact her with?"

Sunggyu blinks up at Woohyun. "She's—"

"Not your girlfriend," Woohyun finishes with a roll of the eyes. He slides into the seat across Sunggyu and pulls a couple of Sunggyu's textbooks towards him in case the school librarian decides to be her crabby self and demands students who aren't studying to leave. "Yeah yeah. Whatever. So. Can I have it?"

"What do you need it for?"

"So I can flirt with her. That's cute, right? She'll like sweet messages with those cute little smiley face and stuff," Woohyun answers confidently. "Girls fall all over themselves for that ."

"Which is why one constantly wonders why you haven't managed to land a girlfriend yet," Sunggyu mutters as he turns the page of his book. It's only a couple of weeks until they have to sit down for exams followed by the long awaited summer break. The last thing he wants is wasting his summer making up for failing marks.

"Whatever, man." Woohyun places his hands over one of the books and rests his chin on top of, all the while staring intently at Sunggyu who is trying his best to ignore him. Exept Woohyun begins to contort his face into his ridiculous face that Sunggyu hates and he tosses his pen into his bag in exasperation.

"What?"

"Her number?"

"She doesn't have a mobile. And I wouldn't hold my breath that she'll get one. She says that she will never succumb to a device whose sole purpose is to monitor and track her every move. It freaks her out or something like that."

"What the—You're kidding, right?"

"Nope," Sunggyu replies, popping the p at the end.

"Is she fifty or something?" Woohyun asks, frowning.

Sunggyu fights back a smile. "Something like that."

He begins to pack up his belongings, concentration long gone thanks to his not so helpful friend. They shuffle out of the library unscathed yet constantly under the watchful gaze of the librarian who, curiously, smelled of strawberry jam and moth balls. More perplexing than curious, now that he thinks about it.

They take turns shoving each other as they walk toward the school's football field where Myungsoo's tryouts for the track and field team is being held. While not particularly athletic, Sunggyu's cousin reasoned that there isn't any harm in trying to beef up his school standing with extracurricular activities.

"Look at that," Woohyun says along with a harsh shove, "Looks like even girls have more balls than you do."

Sunggyu shoves his friend in retaliation but Woohyun merely laughs off his attack. "What are you talking about?"

Woohyun tilts his head to the left and Sunggyu follows with his eyes until they meet the sight of Nayoung speaking to Hoya, who's dressed in the school PE uniform and about a ton of sweat. Her hands waving around in the air in huge and exaggerated gestures. The expression on Hoya's face, though, is one of polite interest. At first glance. Then Sunggyu notices how Hoya's arms are crossed over his chest and how his fingers drum incessantly against his side. How he doesn't quite meet her eyes when he replies. His blood boils a little at the thought of Hoya needing to force himself in order to have a conversation with Nayoung and he wonders just how casually he can interrupt them and convince Nayoung that it's time to go home.

Thankfully, Nayoung glances over her shoulder and in his direction. Her face breaks into a smile, one that he can't help but return. "Sunggyu!" she calls out to him, waving him over.

"What about me?" Woohyun yells back and Nayoung answers by sticking her tongue out at him. Laughing, Woohyun pulls on the sleeve of Sunggyu's uniform and pulls him along with him. "What's happening here, Nayoungie?"

Nayoung ignores Woohyun and turns to Sunggyu instead. "I was just talking to Hoya about how we should start a sort of study group to prepare for the upcoming exams. What do you think, Sunggyu?"

No.

He shakes off Woohyun's grip on his shirt and grabs Nayoung's elbow, intent on steering her away from Hoya. "C'mon, we should—"

"Hey!" Joo-hee jogs up to them, her hair flying behind her. It's almost as if she's moving in slow motion and taking his breath away in the process, the setting sun behind her setting off a marvelous back drop as she comes up to stand with them. "What's everyone talking about?"

Everyone's silent for a moment until Woohyun decides to act like an idiot and finally bursts into ridiculous peals of laughter. Clutching his stomach, he points at Sunggyu, "You."

Then to Nayoung. "You."

Hoya next. "You."

And finally Joo-hee. "And You," he manages between barks of laughter. "Wow! This whole thing is—"

Sunggyu clenches his fists and sends a death glare at his ex-best friend. He could feel the waves of rage pouring out of Nayoung from beside him and Woohyun immediately stiffens, stands straight and clears his throat. "Interesting," he finishes lamely, rubbing the back of his neck. "This is interesting."

"Okay," Hoya says slowly, "Well, this has been fun and—"

Sunggyu quickly makes up his mind, and even though he knows that it'll be something he'll regret eventually, he says it anyway. "Joo-hee-sshi, Nayoung was just suggesting that we form a study group for the upcoming exams," he explains, knowing full well that Joo-hee will quickly agree to the idea. He'd caught a glimpse of some of her test scores that they haven't been up to the standard she wishes them to be. And he does like the idea of having Joo-hee around, of course.

It's Hoya that he doesn't quite like.

True enough, Joo-hee claps her hands excitedly and Sunggyu grins at how cute she is. "Oh! Awesome! Cram school has been stressful and not at all helpful and I get so distracted when I try to study alone. I think a group study would be really help me do well. What do you think, Hoya-sshi?"

"Uh," Hoya's arms slowly come down to his sides, his closed-off stance completely gone now. "Yeah. I guess."

Joo-hee claps her hands again then loops her arm with Nayoung who looks a little shell-shocked with everything that just happened. "When do we start? Tonight?"

"Tonight," Nayoung parrots tonelessly, eyes unblinking.

"Great! Let's do it at your house, then? I heard it's just you and your grandmother over at yours. My pesky little brother's just going to get into our stuff. And I don't think I'm all that comfortable with hanging out at a guy's house even if it is just for studying..."

Images from the other night of Nayoung sitting at Sunggyu's family dinner table and laughing at one of his father's lame jokes make him smile a little to himself.

The three boys are left to look at the two girls as they take the lead and begin walking toward the school building, one animatedly talking while the other is still visibly confused.

"Awesome, another reason to come over and eat some more of halmoni's excellent cooking." Woohyun slings his arms around the shoulders of both Hoya and Sunggyu who both turn to look at him, one annoyed and the other slightly bewildered.

"Uh, who are you?" Hoya asks, slowly extricating himself from Woohyun's hold.

"I'm Woohyun," he gives a little two-finger salute, "I run this school."

Sunggyu sighs. "This is Woohyun. He talks out of his a lot."

Hoya bows his head. "Hoya," he says simply, "Nice to meet you. I guess I'll meet you guys over at Nayoung's then. I kinda have to head for the showers and stuff. You mind telling me where it is exactly, though?"

As Woohyun rattles off Nayoung's address, Myungsoo finally arrives, freshly showered and looking ready to go. "This isn't phase one of noona's kidnapping plan, is it?" he whispers to Sunggyu while brushing his fingers through his hair, sending droplets of water everywhere.

Sunggyu sighs. "God. I wish."

...

Hello!

Hope you guys enjoyed this latest chapter of the story! Sorry it's taken me so long to update! Life is keeping me busy :( but don't think I've forgotten about this story. I really try to add to it as often as I can manage!

I think we're about halfway done with the story now. Yikes! I get a little sad when I think about this ending but it's the part that everyone's waiting for. So. Yeah.

Butbutbut. I have already decided on a second story and it'll definitely still be about Infinite as a boy band instead of everyday people. I've been wanting to write something a little more RL (but of course, not really RL). Only, I am keeping myself from actually writing anything down or else I'm never going to finish this story and that is BAD.

Thanks to everyone who subscribed and commented! :)