The clock showed the time of quarter to twelve when Joohyeon and Jae entered the house. Only a few lights were left open and the silence told them that everyone had already gone to their rooms to rest for the night.

Joohyeon removed her shoes quietly followed by Jae. Her mind was still filled with the events that had taken place just a few hours ago, causing her to almost trip as she took a step to enter the living room. Luckily, Jae was just behind her to keep her stable.

“Are you okay?” He asked and she nodded sheepishly, her cheeks a tint of pink.

Without turning, she asked, “Do you want to drink something before going to sleep?” She started walking to the kitchen when she felt arms surround her body, making her body stiffen for a second before her heart started beating a little fast until it returned to its normal pace.

“Uhm… How about we just go to bed and snuggle together for the night?” The suggestion made Joohyeon turn red on the face as Jae’s breath tickled the skin on her neck.

Before she could reply, a voice startled the two of them, making Jae let go of her. “At last, you two are home… Did interrupt something?” Joonmyeon asked, his eyebrows raised, a mischievous smile about to spread on his lips.

“N-No. Why are you still up, oppa?” Joohyeon said nervously, a small smile on her lips.

Joonmyeon decided to cut them some slack before he shrugged. “I was waiting for you two,” he said and her eyebrows knitted in the middle, her heart feeling uneasy in her chest.

“Why hyung?” Jae said and Joonmyeon nodded off to the kitchen counter where stools stood. Getting the hint, they walked and sat around the counter, Joohyeon deciding on getting themselves a glass of juice which the two males accepted gratefully.

A sheet of silence covered the room as they took a sip from their drinks until Joonmyeon placed the glass on the table. Joohyeon watched her brother, trying to know what he was about to say but the straight face her brother wore showed nothing to ease her growing worries. For some reason, she had this hint that it will be about something she dreaded talking about.

“So…” Joonmyeon began as he looked up at the two. Jae looked at him, and Joonmyeon returned the look. With it, Jae knew what he had to say and he looked down on his drink.

“Is this something important, oppa?” Joohyeon asked.

“Kind of. Sort of. Yeah,” Joonmyeon said, nodding a little and Joohyeon nodded back. “New Year’s just a day away. Remember when I told you that we’ll be going back to States before New Year?” Joohyeon couldn’t do anything but nod. “I’ve talked with mom and dad about our stay here and they told me that we should stay until the New Year’s over. As much as I want us to go back to our lives there, I didn’t want to disappoint appa and omma so we’ll be staying ‘til then but we’re living the earliest flight back the next day.”

Joohyeon chewed on her lower lip as she listened to all that her brother was saying. She wanted to say something but she knew that once her brother decided on something, hardly anything could change that. Nobody could even help her convince her brother otherwise because all of them said that it’ll be better for her to live in US than in her motherland, but that’s not the case for her. She wanted to stay. She wanted to know where she grew up. She wanted to know more about who she really is. Especially now that she knows people who could help her remember.

Her thoughts was cut short when she felt a hand on her shoulder and she tilted to her head to meet Jae’s worried ones.

“Are you okay?”

“Ah… Yeah. Sorry. Were you saying something?” She said, turning to her brother and Joonmyeon gave her a look as if trying to read through her before he shook his head. She felt embarrassed for zoning out but she can’t help it.

“You guys should go rest now. For sure you had a long night,” he said, standing up from his stool. Joohyeon and Jae nodded, going down their seats.

“Alright. Good night, oppa,” Joohyeon softly smiled and Joonmyeon nodded. The two males exchanged a nod before Joonmyeon went off to his room. The two followed shortly after putting away their used glasses.

They separated to their rooms later and Joohyeon proceeded to take a hot shower before changing to her pajamas. It was a refreshing way to clear up her mind for a little before her mind would be invaded with countless of thoughts as she gets on her bed.

And she was right because as soon as she hit her pillows, faces of the seven boys and Haejin appeared in her mind. She wouldn’t deny how  made her feel happy in those awkward hours. Even though it was their first formal meeting, she felt so easy with them, as if she had known them for so long.

“But what if I really know them?” The thought slipped out of the window and a sigh replaced the hope in her voice as she remembered how Hoseok asked for their names early that night. “But then, they don’t seem to know me at all.”

She then remembered the guy who she had an eye contact for a few times that night. She doesn’t know if it’s coincidence at all but whenever her eyes would find its way to him, she would catch him looking back or he would suddenly turn her way, as if he knew she was looking at him. And weirdly, her heart would react to it. She knew it was not right. She had a boyfriend for goodness sake but she couldn’t possibly tell her heart what to do, unlike how she could control what her mind should think. She wasn't thinking it as something like attraction although the boy really looked handsome. She decided to settle with surprise that's why her heart reacted that way, and that was more pleasing to hear than other else.

The sharp eyed boy just gave her a kind of aura she couldn’t really put a finger on. And for some odd reason, as she looked him in the eye even with the stoic expression she wore, she knew it was hiding something. And those eyes… It looked so familiar that she thought she had seen it somewhere—she had stared at it somewhere.

The night was getting deep but she found her mind restless even in her dreams as it replayed a series of events that seemed real but at the same time, surreal.

The next morning, she found herself waking up early, which was not so often. She tried going back to sleep but she couldn’t so she decided to freshen up and go for a morning walk around the neighborhood.

Her hood was up on her head as her hands were tucked inside her jacket’s pockets. It was a really cold morning. She was lucky it wasn’t raining snow or else it’ll be colder. She kicked on the snow path as she walked until she remembered the dream she had that night.

She wasn’t a person to remember her dreams so vividly. Sometimes, when she wakes up, she wouldn’t even remember a single thing but there were dreams that would just struck her and it would be something she would think about for minutes or even hours when she wakes up. And the dream she had that night happened to be one of those.

She couldn’t remember everything but she remembers most of it as the dream itself wasn’t even clear to her. She could recall being in what looks like a dance room, given that some walls were covered with glass. She stood by the door as she watched a group of young boys dancing in the middle of the room. They were really good and she found herself watching them. They practiced for what seemed to be an hour before they stopped to take a rest. Then suddenly, the door at the other part of the room burst open and she turned her head to see a girl lively step in, followed by another girl who, even though not as jumpy as the other, smiled.

The boys seemed to be happy to see them, greeting them. Then he heard one of the boys say, “Hey, aren’t you going to greet your girlfriend?” The other boys smirked while the girl seemed to turn shy and the boy snickered at his friends before approaching the girl and greeting her with a very bright smile. They then gathered in the middle of the room as they ate the snacks the two girls brought with them, talking about so many things but she found herself watching the boy and girl who seemed to be in a relationship.

The small gestures of the guy made her smile as she watched them. He would offer her food then suddenly eat it making the girl frown and hit him playfully before the boy would lreally put a snack in . What they were talking about was vague in her ears as she tried to listen. Their faces were even a little blurred to her vision. Before she woke up, she could remember the boy secretly grabbing the girl’s hand and intertwining them, hiding it from their friends.

The memory of the dream placed a small genuine smile on her face. The odd thing about that is that the boys and the girls looked familiar to her. The girl in the relationship with the boy even looked like her and it really gave her goosebumps just thinking about it. Another thing was that she was sure it wasn’t just the first time she saw the same faces in her dreams. The thought of it made her wonder if it was even just a dream and not something more.

She shook her head as she tried taking it out of her head. That was impossible. It was just a dream. Maybe she was so much hoping to remember something in her past that she started picturing herself with friends and so on.

But why would she picture herself in a relationship with a guy?

The thought made her stomach twist. She took a deep breath to calm herself. “Easy, Joohyeon. You don’t want collapsing here right?”

“And why would you collapse?” She jumped at the voice as she turned and found Jae eyebrows raised, staring at her.

“You surprised me!” She said and Jae grinned.

“Sorry not sorry?” She rolled her eyes and continued on walking. “C’mon. I’m just joking,” he said keeping up with her pace.

“Yeah, yeah, okay,” she said, pretending to be mad.

“You’re not mad, are you?” He said peering on her face. She shrugged and Jae frowned. “Yah, why do you get so mad easily these days?” She turned to him and shrugged again.

“Am not.”

“You do. Are you on your period or what?” This earned him a smack on the arm. “Oww hey! That hurts.” Joohyeon stuck her tongue out before a small smile reached her lips. Jae soon had a smile on his face before he took one of her hands and intertwine it with his, startling Joohyeon a little but not letting go. “You owe me because of that.”

“Owe you what?”

“You hit me.”

“That wasn’t even hard!”

“But you still hit me.”

“Whatever. I don’t owe you anything.”

“You do so you need to treat me.”

“No, you treat me.”

And the bickering continued as they reached a near convenience store but reigning Joohyeon as the winner.

Taehyung woke up the next day feeling a little groggy. His parents had left early to buy food for the new year’s so he was alone at home. Checking their fridge, he couldn’t find anything he would want to eat and drink so he decided to go and buy outside and probably have a morning stroll as well.

He was walking, his eyes half-lidded as he yawned when he heard someone shouting behind him. He ignored it until someone latched herself on him.

“Y-Yah! Who are you?!” Taehyung almost shouted as he tried to push the girl away. The girl looked up and grinned.

“Hi. Long time no see Mr. Crab.” His eyebrows knitted as his eyes narrowed on her. He tried to remember who the girl and when he did, he snickered.

“Go away. I don’t know you.” He tried wriggling out of her grasp but she wouldn’t let go.

“You haven’t changed and it’s almost new year’s!” She said, jutting her lower lip out.

“I don’t need to change but I think you needed it more than I do. You shouldn’t go taking someone else’s arm. That’s rude,” he said and successfully, he was able to free himself.

“Well, if we’re talking about rude then you should consider yourself too. You just left after I saved your before!” The girl frowned, her eyebrow arched as her arms were folded over her chest. Taehyung was irked at how this girl was acting so high on him. He knew he should be thankful but then, he already said thank you to her back then and he made it clear that he didn’t want any business with her since then. Having that in mind, he rolled his eyes.

“I have no time with your childish games, little girl. I already said thank you back then and I think that is enough so can’t you just leave me alone?”

“No.” Taehyung’s eyes almost widened as the girl stood unfazed in front of him. “You still owe me.”

Taehyung gawked. “Wow. I owe you now? I didn’t ask you to take care of me before." Then he remembered what he told her before about paying her once they meet and he groaned. "But fine. I’m going to treat you but after this, don’t ever approach me again, okay?” The girl shrugged. Taehyung rolled his eyes once again, the girl getting on his nerves. He started to walk and the girl walked with him. It annoys him but he knew that the girl wouldn’t stop until he pays her what he owes.

They reached the convenience store in a few minutes. The place weren’t filled since it was still so early and he proceeded to walk around the aisles. “Go and pick whatever you want. And only one!” Taehyung said as he left the girl alone and went to get himself a cup of hot coffee and bread.

He was already done and was on his way to the cashier when he saw the girl looking like she was doing a panic buying. His eyes widened at the piles of snacks in her basket as he walked over to her.

“Yah! I already said you could buy only one! And what are you doing? Are you planning to buy all the snacks in this store?!”

“But one isn’t enough. I’m hungry. I skipped dinner and I haven’t taken breakfast,” the girl innocently grinned and Taehyung gritted his teeth. He wanted to strangle the girl out of annoyance but he wasn’t a type to hurt a girl. Groaning, he grabbed the basket and strode away.

“That is enough. You’re already taking advantage of my goodness,” Taehyung said and the girl scoffed.

“Goodness? I don’t think it rings perfectly with you, Mr. Crab,” the girl said, smirking and Taehyung glared at her.

“Forget it. I’m not paying for you,” he said as he put the basket down and walked to the cashier. As he placed his purchase down, taking his wallet out, the girl suddenly placed her basket in front of him and the man behind the cashier looked up at them both. The girl grinned while Taehyung snickered.

“Are you paying for this too?” The cashier asked and with a heavy breath, Taehyung nodded.

“Yes he is!” The girl smiled cheerily and Taehyung rolled his eyes. By the time they were done, they exit the store with the girl holding two plastic bags while Taehyung held his coffee and bread. He was sure his parents would question him later on when they see his card bill.

Taehyung stopped in front of the store and faced the girl. “Now I don’t owe you so go away and leave me alone,” Taehyung said grumpily and the girl smiled, shrugging. Taehyung almost burst up if not he heard a familiar voice nearby.

“Taehyung-ssi?” His heart skipped a beat as he turned his head to look. The girl noticed the change in his expression almost immediately and she frowned, turning to look at the person who came. “Oh, it’s you. Good morning,” Joohyeon greeted, a small smile on her face. Jae nodded to him in acknowledgement. He nodded, completely forgetting about the girl with him until she heard her voice.

“Are you oppa’s friends?” He almost gagged at her as Joohyeon’s eyes blinked in confusion. Jae watched in amusement, not really expecting that.

“What are you saying?! AND WHAT OPPA?!” He hissed and the girl didn’t even turn to look at him. “Don’t believe her—“

“Hi, I’m Jaeha . And you are?”

A/N:

HIIIIIIIIIIII

AT LAST! I got to update. =_= 

I'm really sorry it took me this long to update. I would be honest and tell you that I really had some writer's block. I kept on trying to update but I just couldn't get anything out of my head. Thankfully, I was able to type up something today. Thank you for staying with me if you are reading this right now. ^^

What do you think will happen next that Joohyeon is about to leave? Do you think she'll let that happen? Would they let that happen? And oh oh, Jaeha has appeared again. Lololol. A little roller coaster ride, maybe? ^^

See you on the next chapter! I love you!!! :)

Taehyung is just so cute >ㅅ<