*double update in one chapter

Jiho was smiling to himself. Niel was getting worried because that smile was not exactly reassuring.

“Did you do it then?” Kyung asked, shuffling up to Jiho from behind. Niel pretended he heard nothing.

They were outside, in the green area of Naver Corp where they were filming their drills. Tent drills. Tendrils. Whatever.

Jiho merely nodded, giving Kyung a side-glance. “What about you?”

Kyung looked grave when he nodded. “The boy got the note, and P.O saw him using the marker on Taeil’s drink.”

“Brilliant,” said Jiho. “I suspect he’d already given it to her.”

Niel frowned. Who? What?

“He did? When?”

“Outside the bathroom. After having a little memory chat with the girl, I talked to him too.”

“Oh? Are they going to forget this time?”

“They already have,” grinned Jiho, although there was disappointment in his eyes. Casually, he brushed over the topic. “The boy came up to me.”

“He did?” gaped Kyung, looking disbelieving.

Jiho shrugged. “Got lucky. Or maybe, we’re looking over something important.”

A pause where Kyung looked worried. Niel pretended to look around the breezy area, eyes perking up when he located Ricky on the other side of the field, talking to Juniel. He lost concentration of the conversation, and immediately deemed what Ricky was doing more important.

“We are never ‘lucky’,” Kyung was brooding.

Niel was already running to his group member when Jiho snorted. “My point exactly.”

“Did you check his Heart?”

“Pray tell, not one sliver of ice.”

“No?” frowned Kyung. “But last time–”

“That was last time. Something is changing fast,” said Jiho, brains wheeling like a clock.

“Hey, I changed the sheets,” Taeil quipped up, coming up to them out of nowhere.

“Brilliant,” said Jiho just when Kyung asked, “Who wet the bed?”

U-Kwon was eyeing them suspiciously. “Are you sure we won’t get in trouble for this?”

“One can never be sure,” exclaimed Jiho as Taeil said, “Of course we will,” the the exact same time Kyung answered, “Trouble? Probably.”

U-Kwon gave up and walked away to join Jaehyo as he was chatting up a few members from Apink.

“Did we say something wrong?”

“I suspect he was asking about the papers we switched,” said Taeil.

“Hey! It’s boy-girl boy-girl for the activity-thingy,” P.O ran to them, looking nervous. “And Taeil hyung changed the original pairs.”

“I already told them,” Taeil grumbled, before turning back to Jiho. “I don’t suppose it matters who we are paired with? The damage shall cost us equally?”

Nodded Jiho, pulling out the copy of the false pairing sheet to double check. “I made sure no one from T-ara are paired with us. Better safe than sorry. I am keeping an eye out for–”

“What’s wrong with them?” P.O asked, frowning.

“Nothing.”

“What’s right with them, then?” Kyung asked, shrugging when P.O gave him a confused stare.

A pause as Jiho and Taeil eyed each other gravely. “Mermaids.”

The other two paled.

x

Zelo was the last to come out of the building. They were shooting outside now. He wondered where all the time went. It was noon, and he saw filming crews littered about the only grass area on the other side. He was about to make a run when somebody stepped in front of him.

He let out a curse before he could stop himself. After all, Zelo had almost knocked that person over.

“Hello, Junhong,” greeted Mina quietly, tilting her head to one side as the building door slid shut behind him.

“What the hell are you doing here?” snapped Zelo stonily. “Get away from me.”

Zelo tried to make his way around her, but was stopped by her disconcerting yet pretty smile. His blood boiled as the memories of all he’d done washed over him, leaving him feverish and cold. He hated her. He hated her because he hated himself and being around her now had a different affect from before. Before, she used to be his solace, some kind of a twisted replacement, a shadow, a clone, but after a while, after half a year of it, Zelo realised how sick Mina made him feel, how disgusted he was with himself and what he’d done.

If ever, Kwon Mina’s presence only accentuated Choi Junhee’s absence, and Zelo need not be reminded of that, of everything he’d lost. Nobody liked losing.

“What?” said Mina, hurt, as Zelo continued to glare at her. “Off to see to Junhee now that she’s back?”

“You talked to Junhee. What did you tell her?” hissed the bassist, stalking forward, recalling that day, a week ago, when Junhee had spoken Mina’s name. Anguish rushed over him and he found himself wanting to hit something.

“The truth.”

“Your truth is distorted,” snarled Zelo, his own hands.

“She knew what was going on,” frowned Mina, taking a deep breath. “She isn’t stupid. Junhee was the one who came to me.”

“Liar.” But even as Zelo said it, he was not certain. Could Junhee have already known? Wait, didn’t he want her to know?

Mina shook her head, staring at Zelo’s feet.

“So you told her about us?” the bassist hissed under his breath, shouldering Mina into a dark corner.

The girl let out a breath as her back hit the surface, staring up at Zelo’s restless eyes. “I, I thought you said there was no ‘us’?”

“There is no ‘us’,” confirmed the bassist, straightening up, lips twisting into a sneer. He said slowly, gaze burning. “I made a lot mistakes, Kwon Mina, and you are one of them.”

“Mistakes?” Mina breathed, pursing her lips, her pretty eyes glimmering and yet Zelo felt nothing, nothing for her as he had before. He was so stupid, he found himself thinking. How could he have tried to replace Junhee with her? “Who else were your mistakes?”

Zelo smiled, corners of his lips twisting with no humour as he leaned in.

“Anybody else my eyes ever saw, anybody my hands had ever touched, anybody who wasn’t Choi Junhee,” hissed Zelo, moving away. “Now. Stay away from her.”

“You must have made a lot of mistakes then?” said Mina brokenly, not meeting Zelo’s eyes. “If it didn’t occur to you, I’m not the only mistake around here.” She sniffed. “But I guess you were too busy staring at Junhee to see anybody else. Namjoo’s here.”

Zelo stilled as the name rattled on a hazy memory, scowling. “Who?”

“Kim Namjoo,” chuckled Mina in disbelief. “One of your mistakes. A girl you had your way with.”

“I don’t know any Namjoo,” denied Zelo childishly, stepping back. No, was Namjoo here?

Mina looked at him with disappointment. “You slept with her and you don’t even remember her name?”

“I never–”

“I should feel lucky, then? You remember me at least.”

x

Junhee was about to throw herself around Changhyun, because just by staring at his childlike face brought so much memories that she knew of nothing else, when she saw two cameramen spying on them. So, rather than a full two-arm hug, she gave him a one-arm hug with just as much enthusiasm that nobody could tell the difference anyway.

Junhee stopped worrying after she heard Changhyun laugh, returning the embrace just as excitedly. Well, they could always say the truth… that they used to know each other.

“I missed you,” they said at the same time, and then started laughing again.

“How was…school?” Junhee asked abashedly, too embarrassed to meet the former freshman’s eyes.

Despite everything Changhyun was grinning. “You sound like mum, but anyway, it was…all right.”

“Right.”

“I passed sophomore year with a B+ in literature, noona, and a B in junior year,” said Changhyun promptly.

“You did?” gaped Junhee.

Changhyun laughed, pointing at her face. “Noona, that was what my mum looked like when she saw my school report! She didn’t think I’d do well after you left. What with filming and everything in second year.” 

“Filming?”

“Yeah, I started doing commercials, and acting,” said Changhyun, ducking his head shyly.

Junhee smiled, because Changhyun’s face had not changed much. Mind, he’d grown, but not by a lot and his hairstyle was kind of the same as before. There was a certain glow to him, and also dullness that told her he was not as alive as he had been back then. It hurt just as much to see age in somebody else.

She ruffled his hair absently, like he was still a kid. “I missed sharing my sweets with you,” he said fondly.

“Me too. Where I went, nobody gave me any.” She chuckled distantly. “It wasn’t so different from before.”

Changhyun’s lips curled downward. “Other than me,” he said, his lips nervously. “I dunno if you’ve talked to anyone but…” Changhyun looked at his feet as Junhee waited. “Noona, Junhong was an absolute wreck without you.”

Junhee stilled, not knowing what to do nor say. She knew that to an extent. Tao had shown her so, but to hear it said outright felt so different entirely. It weighed heavier, because words were real. They could do everything a knife could not, and everything it could.

“Was he?” whispered Junhee absently.

“I remember him…getting back on what’s-his-name the first week you left,” Changhyun said quietly, all hint of earlier cheerfulness was gone. “That guy and his friends. Jongin? Junhong beat them up so bad for making some jokes about…um, something,” he finished lamely, clearly not wanting to recount the words from years ago. “It was during class, noona. The teacher was there. Junhong was put on probation.”

Junhee looked down at their f