I was having a really nice sleep that night, so I was a bit bothered when the roof above me kept creaking noisily. I mumbled to myself, trying to get back to sleep but a brief change in the moonlight caught my attention. I sat up and stared at the window, waiting silently for it to happen again. And soon enough, it did. It was a shadow, followed by another noise on the roof. I looked up, a feeling of slight terror and curiosity washing briefly through me.

I pulled on a pair of warm pants and a jacket, too much in a hurry to wear an actual shirt. I went outside and looked up, but couldn’t see anything. Now how was I going to get on the roof without a ladder?

Just then, I noticed a window that was particularly close to the roof above the garage. I went to that room, opening up the window. A cold breeze blew in, making me shudder, and also making me have second thoughts. I balanced myself on the windowsill, and made the mistake of looking down.

“Holy .” I breathed. I was definitely higher up than I expected. At least the roof was within a reasonable distance. All I had to do was take a small step to the right to place my foot on the roof. I sighed in relief, the blood up in my head making me dizzy. Once both of my feet were on the roof, I realized that it was actually pretty safe. It wasn’t as slippery as I thought it would be. And when I looked out into the night, the thought of the shadow completely fleeted my mind.

The stars were beyond beautiful and were shining brightly, offering a little light on the black road that stretched down the neighborhood. Another creak made me turn around, making me focus on what I came here for in the first place. I peered at the black silhouette resting on top of the chimney and noticed a very familiar hat resting on the person’s head.

I smiled softly, knowing that it had to be Hankyung or one of the other boys. I went upwards, recognizing him to be Hankyung.

“Since when do you hang out here?” His head jerked up and I heard a laugh.

“Sorry, I should probably go now.” I quirked an eyebrow at his strange voice. It was much softer and stuffier than usual. He got off the chimney, and I knew he was just about to teleport. I picked up my pace and managed to grab his arm.

“Hankyung…” He tried twisting his arm out, but I dug my nails into his skin. He wouldn’t look up at me.

“Hankyung, look at me.” I let go of his arm for a quick moment to grab his shoulders, forcing him to face me. His nose was slightly pink and his eyes were slightly rimmed red. I widened my own eyes in realization. He successfully twisted out of my grip. I didn’t try to stop him. I didn’t even know what to say.

“So you caught me. Woo-hoo.” He said weakly, attempting a chuckle. I stood rooted to my spot, not knowing what to do.

“Why are you crying?” He didn’t answer.  I stepped closer once more. “What’s on your mind?”

He shook his head and laughed dryly.

“It’s nothing. It’s just…it’s just a side effect from having the memory wipe.” He took off the hat and thumbed the black fabric.

“What do you mean?”  He shook his head and shrugged, slowly turning back around to me.

“Night Frights. It sounds stupid…I know.” He looked up and smiled wryly. “I have absolutely no idea who I am Siwon.” He whispered softly. I stared at him curiously, waiting for him to say more. The look in his eye hurt. It showed sadness; just by looking in his eyes, I could sense the loss.

“Try waking up at night with no memories whatsoever.” He strained. I didn’t understand this situation at all.

“What do you mean?”

“They’re called Night Frights. I don’t know my parents, I don’t have a family, and I had absolutely no childhood. I was stuck in an orphanage for most of it until they took me in as one of them. After that, I don’t have any memories.”

“That’s…that’s impossible.” I said softly. Hankyung shrugged again, putting the hat back on his head.

“I only know what I need to know. I can’t remember any friends that I’ve made, if I made any at all…” I remembered him telling me how he had a memory wipe after each completed job. I never realized how much it actually affected him.

“It’s just…it’s so unfair!  For one, Night Frights are only supposed to happen during childhood. It’s only rare cases like me where it stays into adulthood. Each time when I wake up...I don’t remember anything for a short time period.” He fidgeted with the hat again. I’ve never seen him so lost or empty before. When I thought about it, it would be scary if I woke up each night without any memories.

“Hankyung, I-”

“Siwon, stop. You wouldn’t understand at all.” His voice cracked as he spat between gritted teeth. He gripped the sides of his hat more firmly and looked down. He really was like a child; complete with the stubbornness and everything.

“Hankyung, I never said I did…”

                “But the thing is, you don’t. You don’t the feeling of not knowing yourself at all, even if it is for a few moments.” I could sense the pent-up anger in his voice. And it just happened to be directed towards me. He ran his fingers through his hair under his hat and sighed.

                “I have no idea who I am, Siwon. Even after the Night Frights. You do. All the time. You’re sure of your own personality, you know what to do and how to act around people…I don’t. It’s like winging it each time and I’m completely sick of it.” I just stood there and listened, feeling sympathy for him. He was almost close to tears again; I could tell even in the dark. I absolutely hated seeing people cry.

“Well…I know who you are.” I said softly. He laughed wryly and snorted. I shook my head, not caring if he couldn’t see me. I stepped closer to him, not knowing what to say.

“You’re…you’re a person who puts others before yourself. You take care of the other boys, no matter how annoying they sometimes are.” I was planning on making things up, but I found myself automatically agreeing with what I said. And once those few words were out, I found more and more sentences popping up in my mind that I agreed with.

“You’re nice, to say the least, caring, and Henry told me that you could dance really well.” I grabbed his arm again, feeling his muscles tense. Hankyung still didn’t really look at me; it was like he was staring at my neck more than anything.

“Don’t forget that you can cook too. And…and you are annoying beyond belief.” Even when staring down his hat, I could see his mouth quirk into a bitter smile.

“How is that supposed to make me feel better?” Without thinking, I grabbed his other arm, silently hoping that he would actually look up at me.

“Because…you’re like an older brother than me.” I didn’t even realize what I said until I said it. But once again, my brain automatically agreed before I could stop it. Maybe Taeyeon was right when she had that conversation with me.

“Don’t say that.” He whispered. I could feel him starting to twist out of my grip, but I simply squeezed tighter.

“But it’s true! You’re honestly…a really great friend.”

It never truly sunk in until I actually said the words aloud. How could I have been such an airhead? It wasn’t a lie. He was becoming a close friend. I just never made the realization until I said it out loud. And I wasn’t lying either when I said that he was like a brother. I just never made the connections until I actually said that to him.

God I really was stupid.

I was thinking over this way too hard, because the next thing I know, he had wrenched out of my grasp and was standing a few feet in front of me.

“I’ve really got to go Siwon.” His voice was barely above a whisper. I stepped forward again, but he only stepped back and hid his face with his hat. I shielded my eyes from the sudden gust of wind that occurred right after he stepped away from me. I rubbed my eyes and opened them again, hoping to talk to Hankyung a little more, but he was gone.

He left me alone on top of the roof.

I managed to get down and back through the window without getting a heart attack, but I didn’t fall back asleep right away. I was just lying on the mattress, unable to forget what just happened. I shook my head and forced myself to think about another topic that’s been bugging my mind lately.

Why exactly were they here in my life?

Hankyung said it was because of “romantic dilemmas.” I snorted at the thought and rolled over to my side. Even if it sounded stupid, I believed in Hankyung enough to know that what he was saying was true. In the beginning, I was convinced that I was stuck in a quandary just because they showed up. But now I wasn’t so sure, now that I knew the whole situation and I had time to think it over.

Taeyeon, to me, was just another one of those people who I liked and would get over in a matter of weeks. I just liked her a little more than any girl that I’ve met. But I was positive that I wasn’t head over heels in love with her. I turned over to my stomach and breathed a sigh into my pillow.

I did actually recall myself actually going for her before Hankyung and the others appeared. And I could’ve sworn that my feelings for her were stronger then than now. I returned back to the position on my back and stared at the dark ceiling. Maybe it was. But if feelings for her were to cease, then what were the boys going to do? What was the point of them staying here then? The thought kind of annoyed me. And if the boys were going to leave…then that meant Hankyung was going to go along with them.

And I was going to experience a memory wipe and completely forget about him right after this whole thing blows over, which was going to happen to Hankyung himself as well.

I gritted my teeth and helplessly threw my pillow across the room, forcing myself to make my mind as blank as the wall I was currently staring at.

In the morning, I allowed Hankyung to come over to my house again, simply because things were a bit awkward between us ever since that strange encounter on the roof. Or maybe it was simply me, since Hankyung went along with his life as if nothing happened. I stayed at home doing work since Taeyeon was off visiting her parents that day.

“Don’t you have a job?”

I looked up from my desk. He was standing in the middle of the doorway with his head slightly cocked to the side.

“Of course. That’s what this is.” I gestured to the papers laid out in front of me. “I was planning on starting it sooner, but I got distracted with you guys showing up.”

He smiled sheepishly and stepped into my room.

“Sorry about that.” I shrugged and adjusted my glasses, peering down at the small text.

“It’s okay. It’s not much, and these few weeks are my breaks. My boss allowed us all to take a few weeks off because of summer.”

“Summer?” He asked softly. I stopped writing to stare at him curiously.

“Summer…one of the seasons?” I prompted. Hankyung shrugged, tracing his fingers along the wall.

“I’ve heard of it. It’s just that I’ve lost track of the seasons a long time ago. It’s pretty hard when you’re bouncing all over the place, from one time zone to the next.” I raised an eyebrow. It was strange to me how he knew so little of things that I took for granted.

“You wear glasses?!” The exclamation took me out of my deep thinking for a minute, bringing a light atmosphere with it. I broke into an amused smile and pushed up the said glasses on my nose.

“Occasionally.” He didn’t say anything more, so I started writing again. It was only when I didn’t hear any more movement that I looked back up again. Hankyung didn’t move from his spot. He was just staring curiously at my face with his fingers poised on the wall. When he caught me looking, he smiled to himself and looked away.

“You need something?” He shook his head and stumbled backwards, looking back at me.

“No…nothing. I, uh, nothing…I…” At that moment, he crashed into the doorway. I ducked my head down so he wouldn’t see me chuckle. I glanced up in time to see him pick his hat back up from the ground, rushing out the door. I shook my head and continued where I left off. Not only was he annoying, but he was pretty stupid and clumsy as well.

When I started to feel the words jumbling in my mind, I turned off the light and stretched back in my chair. Cramming all that work into one night probably wasn’t the best idea. I stood up, shutting my eyes from the sudden wooziness. I took off my glasses and inhaled deeply. I was satisfied that I could at least enjoy my break without the pressure of work.

Then again, I still had to worry about Hankyung and the others and their spontaneous music everywhere I go, though I did realize that their little “performances” were dying down a bit. All those thoughts were gone by the time a delicious aroma filled my nose. Another one of Hankyung’s contraptions? I thought as I went downstairs.  From the smell, I expected something great.

To my surprise, Hankyung turned around with a bowl full of instant noodles. I almost snorted to myself at the humor. He ran a hand across his mouth and set down his chopsticks.

“Took you long enough.” I shrugged, taking the bowl of noodles that he handed me.

“There was a lot of work to do.” I said simply. My eyes rolled back at the unhealthily fantastic taste that hit my tongue. Hankyung laughed openly and started making another bowl of ramen for himself.

“Please tell me that you can at least cook this.” He mused.

“Sometimes I add too much seasoning or water.” I responded seriously. Hankyung snickered, but he stopped when I thumped my foot against his shin.

“I told you; I don’t cook. How many times do I have to say that?”

“Alright alright, I’ll drop the subject.” To avoid an awkward silence, I moved to the topic that was bothering me all night.

“Why are you guys here anyways?” I said absentmindedly into my bowl. He twirled his chopsticks in his fingers and smiled.

“To help you with Taeyeon. I thought I told you this before!” He said jokingly. I don’t think he realized that I was being serious yet.

“But what if I don’t need your help anymore?” I lazily moved my eyes back up to his confused expression. I stuffed more noodles into my mouth so I wouldn’t have to say more.

“What do you mean?” I tried to laugh a little.

“I’m just speaking hypothetically…what if I stopped liking Taeyeon? Then what would happen?” He slurped up the last of his ramen and turned around to set the bowl in the sink.

“I don’t know. It never really happened before. I guess we would just…leave.” He the faucet to rinse out the bowl.

“And then I would lose all memory of you.” It wasn’t supposed to slip out of my mouth that easily. It really wasn’t. I guess I was just troubled with the thoughts that were haunting me up until today. And I didn’t think he would’ve heard me over the water running.

I stared at him intently as he leaned forward abruptly, a loud clattering resonating through the kitchen. I saw him pick his arm up slowly and turn off the faucet. A long silence followed which made me feel a bit regretful for saying that.

“…And…it would be the same for me.” He coughed lightly. “Us, I mean. The other guys.” He added quickly. I set down my unfinished bowl of noodles and laughed dryly.

“I’m just speaking hypothetically anyways, right?” Hankyung turned around and met my gaze. I stared at him, almost trying to mentally will him to agree with me. Fortunately, I did not need to do that.

“Yeah…of course.” He nodded absentmindedly. He tilted his hat to the side when I didn’t say anything more.

“I should be heading back now.” He said, but he didn’t move from his spot. I snorted and tried a smirk.

“Besides, what kind of idiot would miss somebody as annoying as you?” The words sounded more strained and jagged than I wanted to, but Hankyung seemed to get the joke. I caught the glimpse of the corner of his mouth quirking up right before he vanished from sight.

In the privacy of my own kitchen, I wondered if I should have told him that the idiot I was mentioning was me.

I was a bit out of it the next time I was with Taeyeon. By then, I was pretty good friends with her, but those strong feelings that I had for her in the beginning were nearly gone. I realized that she was one of my best friends, and would most likely stay that way for a long time.

“Siwon. Siwon!” She gently tapped my fingers, jerking me out of my daydreaming. I turned my head towards the waitress and smiled, a bit embarrassed.

“Just water will be fine.” I murmured. When the waitress walked away, Taeyeon leaned forward and placed her chin on her hands.

“So when can I come over?” She completely took me by surprise when those words left .

“What?!” I almost squeaked. She seemed confused.

“You said that I could come meet Hankyung just a minute ago…”

“I…I did?”

“Siwon, are you okay?” I nodded quickly, not wanting to worry her. I thought over this idea, and the more I thought over it, the more I liked the suggestion. I focused back on her and smiled.

“How about right after this meal?” Now it was her turn to be surprised.

“Really?! Are you…are you sure that it won’t affect your schedule?” I nodded, almost laughing at her excited personality.

 “Ooh! Maybe we can rent a DVD and watch a movie together!” She playfully clasped her hands together, elation written all over her face. Watching her, I was almost looking forward to the meeting. I especially want to see how Taeyeon and Hankyung would act around each other.

I didn’t have to wait very long because soon enough, we were outside my house. I told her to wait so I could go inside and see if Hankyung was there. Seeing how often he was here, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him lounging on the couch.

“Back so soon?” I jumped and whipped around, meeting Hankyung’s smile. I breathed a sigh of relief. I still wasn’t used to him randomly popping in, no matter how many times he did it. Wasting no time, I jabbed my thumb towards the front door.

“Taeyeon’s outside.” His face contorted in confusion before transforming into one of smug understanding.

“Oh. I get it. Then maybe I should leave and then you two can-” I roughly pushed him and rolled my eyes.

“That’s not what I meant. Actually, she came here because she wanted to meet you.” The center of his eyebrows disappeared under the long locks of his black hair. An intrigued smile spread across his face.

“Great! I want to meet her too!” He disappeared and reappeared in front of the door.

“Hankyung,” I warned. “You better not do that when Taeyeon-”

“Hi! Come on in!” His louder-than-normal voice made me cut off my sentence. I sighed to myself and came up behind Hankyung.

“Hi! You must be Hankyung.” Hankyung nodded and went to the kitchen.

“I’ll get us some drinks.” He called over his shoulder. Taeyeon stepped in, looking around in wonder. I helped her with her jacket and hung it on a nearby hook.

“He must come here pretty often if he knows where everything is.” She smiled at me and daintily sat on the couch. “Nice house.” She commented.

“What do you guys want?” Hankyung threw his hat towards the kitchen counter and looked straight at me. I raised both eyebrows at the sight in front of me.

It was the second time ever where I saw the long strands of black hair falling in front of his face. When he tilted his head slightly to the side, I caught the nearly invisible wisps of hair shimmering in front of the sunlight pouring through the window behind him. I was able to break out of my weird trance when his head suddenly moved. I rubbed at my neck, realizing that my head was tilted in the same direction as Hankyung’s. I probably looked retarded. How embarrassing. I thought.

“Coke is fine.” I don’t think Hankyung noticed the way my voice cracked before he had bent down again to reach for the drinks in the refrigerator.

“I’ll have coke too!” Taeyeon called out.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts, running my fingers through my hair. Taeyeon pointed towards the television and looked up at me.

“Can I look through your DVDs?” I nodded absentmindedly, taking a seat on the couch to regain some composure. Hankyung soon plopped down next to me, throwing a can into my hands.

“Taeyeon’s nice.” He said, keeping his voice low. Taeyeon didn’t seem to hear as she rummaged through piles and piles of DVDs, engrossed in her work. It sounded like he wasn’t finished.

“I hear a ‘but’ coming.” I nudged his shoulder. I opened the can of Coke when Hankyung grinned at me.

“She doesn’t seem like your type.” I stilled, curious at the unexpected answer. I never did tell him that I lost interest in her a while ago. For some reason, I still wasn’t ready to tell him. Maybe I was just the tiniest bit scared at the thought of him leaving if I revealed any information. But I wasn’t really ready to admit that just yet.

I didn’t have the chance to reply to him before Taeyeon stood up with a specific DVD in her hands.

“Let’s watch this!” As she was waving the DVD around, I caught a glimpse of the cover. It was a musical that I used to love watching as a teenager.

A musical. Out of all the movies Taeyeon could have picked.

Hankyung and I shared an ironic smile with each other, going unnoticed by Taeyeon. She slid in the DVD and nudged herself in between me and Hankyung. I reached for the remote and the T.V., settling back into the couch. It had been a long time since I relaxed like this.

I had seen this probably at least five times, and it never failed to amuse me each and every time. Even when I knew what was going to happen, I went through the emotions all over again for the fun of it.

Somewhere in the middle of the movie, I noticed Taeyeon’s and Hankyung’s head tilted towards each other in quiet conversation. In any other case, I wouldn’t have cared, but Hankyung kept glancing up at me every few seconds which stirred my curiosity. The conversation ended quickly and they both returned to their original positions. I stared suspiciously at them, but I wasn’t about to ruin the comfortable atmosphere by breaking the silence.

I didn’t really pay attention to the rest of the movie since I was wondering the whole time what they were talking about. But I waited patiently until Hankyung and I were alone, though it unnerved me that I had to wait such a long time. Taeyeon and Hankyung were chattering to themselves as Taeyeon was preparing to leave. I didn’t try to interrupt the conversation since this whole point of the meeting was for Taeyeon to actually meet Hankyung.

“Bye Siwon! Thanks for letting me stay here for a while! And letting me meet Hankyung.” She emphasized this by smiling at Hankyung. She sent me one last wave and closed the door behind her. There was a small moment of silence before Hankyung turned to me with a thoughtful expression on his face.

“She really isn’t your type.” When he saw my curious expression, he stuffed both hands in his pockets and shrugged.

“It’s only my opinion. I’m just saying that she doesn’t seem like a good match. She’s so nice and innocent. And you’re…”  I rolled my eyes at his straightforwardness with someone he barely met.

“Well I don’t know. I guess I could agree with you.” Hankyung stilled and looked at me. I returned his stare with a nonchalant expression. “I’m being serious. I’ve been thinking about it lately and I just don’t like her the way I used to back in high school.” I said blatantly.

Hankyung stared at me wide-eyed and disappeared. He reappeared right in front of me, making me jump. He grabbed my shoulders and stared into my eyes, which was a bit distracting to say the least.

Our faces were inches apart, and from this close distance, I could see the light pink that was always there on the tips of his cheekbones. His skin was tanner than I expected, and his brown eyes were darting in all different directions. It was only then that I realized that my hands were getting sweaty and slippery. I made a noise in the back of my throat, leaning backwards as much as possible.

“You’re serious!” He exclaimed, pulling away (to my relief).

“…Is that wrong?” He seemed to ignore me and went on.

“And you can see me right? Remember me?” He was pulling at his clothing as if making sure he was really there. I wasn’t sure if I should be laughing off the supposed joke or answer him and take him seriously. I decided to go with the second choice.

“…Um, yes? I do see you. And…I remember you…” I said unsurely. He slumped against the counter and scratched the side of his head.

“Then what are we doing here?”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re always here for a reason. I just…I thought the reason would include Taeyeon, since it started like that in the beginning.” His head cocked to the side in thought, his lower lip disappearing under his two front teeth. I wiped my wet hands on my pants and stared at him in confusion.

“What’s your point?”

“We came here because you and Taeyeon needed to get together. Even if it changed to the both of you not liking each other, even if that was the reason, we still would have left. The Chairman lied…”

“The who?”

“Sorry. The Chairman. He’s…he’s kind of like our boss.” The more I heard the more I wanted to know.

“And he lied how?” I inquired, leaning forward on both my arms. He chuckled nervously and scratched his face nonchalantly.

“He always gives us the objective of our jobs before we start it…he said that we were supposed to get you two together. Even if it changes, which doesn’t happen very often, it would be along the same lines…” I was tempted to shake it out of him. He was beating around the bush, and my patience was growing thin.

“Get to the point Hankyung.” I said flatly. He smiled and scratched his neck.

“I have no idea why we’re still here.” He admitted quietly. I did a small double take.

“You…uh, what?”

“I don’t know the purpose of us still being here.” 

--

A/N: So...is anyone enjoying the story so far? :) Please comment and tell me your thoughts! I'd really like to know what you think about it. (plus i feed on feedback :3)