♧ THIRTEEN ♧ 

[A/N]: WARNING: Mild mentions of gore down below. If extremely queasy, please be advised. Thank you!

"You interrupted my study time for Accounting for this? I don't want to be mistaken for someone out on appartment hunting with my boyfriend! Why am I even here in the first place?"

"Do the people you usually smooth talk know that you're this whiny?"

"Watch it. In case you still haven't drilled it into your head, I'm your boss."

"Well, let me remind you as well that I'm still hyung. Can it if you don't want me to tell on Grandpa."

"He's not even your--"

"Woohyun, for once, shut your mouth and don't be tactless. Don't get offended because I'm actually doing you a favor," the older one advised. "Thor landlady over here doesn't like pretty boys."

Currently, Woohyun and Sunggyu were standing outside a rundown three-storey building-- Sunggyu's old rooftop appartment. Kim Myungsoo's gold digger insult really got to him, so Sunggyu had decided to bring Woohyun along to prove that his money was being spent wisely and not for selfish, social climbing purposes. Sunggyu pressed on the buzzer and patiently waited for the front door to open.

Before Woohyun could once again question the purpose of being dragged along, the front door opened to reveal a grumpy stout lady, who still had a purple face mask and hair curlers on. "Well, well, well. I was wondering when you'd finally show yourself and beg for mercy," Mrs. Choi grunted, clearly displeased to see her former tenant there. "If you hadn't come in two more weeks, I was going to have you blottered at the police station."

"There'll be no need for that," Sunggyu replied with a plastered smile. "And I'm sorry to disappoint, but I didn't come here to grovel at your feet. I've come to pay my two months worth of debt."

The grumpy elderly lady grunted once again. "This better not be another IOU slip, you punk."

Sunggyu held his chin up high as he pulled out a thick wad of cash from his back pocket. Mrs. Choi's eyes shone with greed as he proceeded to count out the lump sum in front of her. "Cash, in full. And some compensation as an apology for my delay. Here you go."

Woohyun watched Sunggyu reduce the landlady into a stuttering mess and rolled his eyes at his companion's arrogance. Greedy, she snatched it the moment Sunggyu had finished counting. "I need to put this in the bank. Move it, pansy-face," she growled, elbowing Woohyun aside. This lady was too much. What did he ever do to her?

"Told you she was harsh," Sunggyu told him. "Come on in, I bet she left the kids unattended again. I want to see them."

Numbly, Woohyun followed Sunggyu further into the dingy appartment. After seeing it for himself, never in his life had he wanted to kick a lady so badly. He didn't mind being insulted, but this was really too much. Her five children looked like they've been starving for several days.

"GYU-HYUNG!" they exclaimed, happy to see their former neighbor there. Questions like "Where are you living now?", "Did you come over to play?", and "Can you sing for us again?" were being bombarded simultaneously, yet he still managed to answer each one.

"I've brought a friend over," Sunggyu announced. Woohyun didn't even need to be nudged forward and squatted down to meet the kids' eye level and put on his friendliest smile.

"I'm Woohyun, it's nice to meet you!"

Each one introduced himself. "Can we call you Woohyun-ahjussi?" the smallest one suggested.

"AHJUSSI? Yah... I'm younger than Sunggyu-hyung! Do I look that old?" Woohyun wailed. He blamed it on his wardrobe that day. The suit he was wearing probably made him seem a lot older to the kids.

Sunggyu burst out in amused laughter. "I like it, I like it! Call him that! Anyway, you guys must be hungry. Why don't we go get you something to eat?" he suggested, handing them some cash. "Keep this a secret from your mom, alright?"

Before he could completely hand it over to them, Woohyun stepped forward and added more cash to the pile, tripling the amount. "It's on me as well. Go, buy anything and everything you want!" Woohyun chuckled, seeing the excitement light up in the children's eyes. And run along they did, scampering hurriedly to pick out their favorite treats and toys from the nearest store. The eldest one (Woohyun presumed) looked a bit hesitant and stayed behind. "What's wrong?"

"Is it really alright to take that much money from you?"

"It's totally fine. As a mother, she shouldn't be depriving you of things." Quietly, Woohyun pulled out his own wallet and handed the little boy two of his golden calling cards. Sunggyu remembered Seulbi having the same one, and his gut instinct told him that he'd be having one with his name on it very soon. That was one of the things he dreaded. Really, the longer he stayed, the tougher it was to get out of this situation without getting caught.

The child looked at it with fascination. "Ahjussi, do you own the Woollim we see on TV?"

"A part of it. But not just yet, maybe in a few years time," the Nam heir chided with a smile. "If she asks where you went later, show her one of these. And keep the other one as back-up. If ever you're feeling hungry again, or if there's anything wrong, don't hesitate to give me a ring, alright?"

"Thank you. I'll make sure to share with the rest!" The boy, sincerely pleased, grinned up at Sunggyu, "Gyu-hyung, your Woohyun-ahjussi friend is nice." And with that, he happily skipped away to join his younger brothers at the nearest eatery and convenience store.

That compliment completely made Woohyun's day. In fact, despite receiving more insults from angry Mrs. Choi, he was in such a good mood, there was no room for banter with Sunggyu. Even he was amazed at Woohyun's 180-degree attitude change towards him-- the guy was actually pretty decent to hang with as long as protecting Seulbi wasn't in the picture.

"Speaking of which, do you have any idea on where Seulbi goes during breaks?" Woohyun hummed.

He had spoken too soon. Sunggyu's expression deadpanned. You're seriously asking me when I see you more often than I see her in school, he thought. "As what I've told the other three who asked before me, I have no answer."

"Then find out," Woohyun ordered, "Or at least, do whatever it takes to get her to hang-out at the MT, where all of us can keep a good eye over her. I'm not too keen on the idea of her running into L. He's already stabbed our family once, and frankly, the wounds have yet to fully heal. I'm not allowing him to do that again. Especially not through Seulbi."

<<<< >>>>

Everyone else was supposed to be in class by now, but Seulbi peeked into the room to double check, just to make sure there was no one around.

There was much revamping going on that the MT didn't seem like that much of a mini theatre anymore, and to think it had not been too long since Seulbi had last stepped foot in here. Woohyun and company were lucky that the area was flat and not raised, else they wouldn't have pulled it off. The first and half the second row just right in front of the small stage were retained, but had been replaced by plush lazy boy chairs. Rolled up on top of the stage was a huge projector screen for movie viewing purposes. The rest of the area had been cleared out, the floor now carpeted. To one side lay three space-saving round tables, presumably a study or dining area. The other was still empty save for the huge coffee table in the center; it must have been alloted for an equally huge couch to fill up the area.

"What are you doing?" 

It was Sunggyu, who had apparently been reclining on one of the yet-to-be-placed lazy boy chairs propped up against the wall to the far left.

Seulbi sighed as she straightened herself up, fully entering the MT. "So much for sneaking in and out unnoticed. Why are you here?"

"The professor called off classes today. Family emergency. I know I'm not supposed to be happy about that, but hey, an extra hour to catch up on sleep," Sunggyu replied with a yawn.

True enough, his eyes were reduced into thin lines right now that the heiress was unsure if they were still open. Sunggyu was clearly not in the mood for any banter, and neither was she. She only had to reclaim the calculator she had lent Sungyeol earlier. It was quite clear which spot had been previously occupied by him, given the number of laptops and mini-gaming gadgets he had left on one of the tables.

Sunggyu cleared his throat to raise up another question, which foiled Seulbi's plans on ditching right away. "I've been receiving several inquiries from the three lately and I'm really getting frustrated by their hounding. Just where do you disappear to during your breaks?"

"Relax. It's not like I play hookie. I've been around," Seulbi replied vaguely, stuffing the calculator in her bag.

Sunggyu decided that he was never going to get an answer like this, even by direct confrontation, which surprisingly the other three never even thought of. Sungyeol had tried bribing her with cream puffs, to no avail. Hoya attempted to stalk her once but with her time table a mystery, it was impossible to do so. Meanwhile, Woohyun had sent him to do the dirty work for him. "What do you even do alone anyway?"

"Homework and last-minute reading, snacks, nap," the heiress counted with her fingers, "I don't see what's so wrong with that."

He sighed heavily. After he had sworn to himself time and time that he was never going to resort to lying anymore to get things done, here he was at it again. Time and time again, he had to keep reminding himself that this was for a good purpose. "I never said it was wrong to go off on your own. But haven't you heard what's going around lately?" Sunggyu told her in an urgent whisper. "Someone managed to break free from jail last night: Slash."

"Really? That's the best you can come up with? One of the most acclaimed guitarists, played for Guns n' Roses?" Seulbi deadpanned before slipping into English. "Slash is from the United States, how'd he wind up in a South Korean jail?"

Sunggyu gave himself a mental kick in the behind. How could he have forgotten that Seulbi wasn't an idiot in that department of music?

"Alright show-off, he's obviously not the one I'm referring to. Slash is gangly tall and he smells unpleasant because he hasn't taken a bath in ages-- something that has to do with his psyche snapping. Aside from the smell, victims will know it's him because he tends to drag one foot around, forever mangled by an truck accident that almost took his life. He's called Slash, not only because he's got the same hairstyle, but also due to how he treats his victims."

That caught the girl's attention, for she had taken the free lazy boy seat beside him. Inside, Sunggyu smirked to see that she was already having difficulty in swallowing. "Is the person dangerous? What was he convicted for?"

"Organ theft and homicide. They say he lurks in musty darkness, especially in dingy alleys and dumpsters to mask his smell where he waits for his next unsuspecting prey. The smell alone is enough to knock you out and give him the chance to fully sedate you, the victim. The next thing you know, you end up waking up alone in a motel room bathtub filled with ice. Your back and side feels sore so you try to turn over, and you see red liquid seeping through the ice. Blood. Your blood."

Seulbi's eyes were wide by now. "What happens after?"

"You trace the incision on your skin that's been messily stitched up-- you're either missing a spleen or kidney. And you try to hold in a scream... but you can't. The stench is too much to take. He's already at the doorway, smiling sinisterly down on you, his bloodied tools poised once more... then..."

Sunggyu only hung his head low, leaving the heiress to speculate on her own about the fate of his unfortunate victims. "Okay, that is seriously creepy," she finally admitted, "But then why wasn't it reported on the news?"

"What, do you expect it to immediately get on CNN or something? Local news radio! Not like you listen to that anyway. I don't know about you, but I'm sticking to hanging out at someplace safe, with a lot of people too that could least likely make me a victim. So if I were you, come and hang out here at the MT. Better yet, stay somewhere we can easily see you."

"... lend me your hand."

"What are you going to do with it? Don't want to!"

Seulbi only looked away. "Relax, I won't spit on it or pick my nose with it."

"What's this? Are you finally showing me your weak side? Scared and want oppa to hold your hand?"

"I'm already embarassed enough as it is, just give me your hand."

Being touchy was just plain weird when they weren't even that close yet, even at cousin-level. The fact that they weren't the least bit related made it all the more awkward. When Sunggyu really made no move to offer it, Seulbi did not hesitate to reach out and Sunggyu felt warm, slender fingers enclose around his hand. "What are you--?" Sunggyu spluttered, feeling extremely shy at her brazen move. Seulbi only gave him a smile... and started crushing his fingers with her intentional death grip.

"Ow-- OW! LET GO!"

The girl had a devlish smirk on her face as she gripped his hand even harder. "But I'm really scared to death!" she mocked just to spite him. "I don't think I can ever let go of your hand!"

"UTTER BULL-- HEY, THAT REALLY HURTS!" Sunggyu yelped, before finally tapping out. With a grip as strong and powerful as hers, she could have possibly crushed his bones to fine powder.

With a teasing smile, Seulbi finally let go. "Let me teach you something, practice makes..."

"... perfect. Yeah, I know, I know. I don't see the relevance."

"If you'd cross your arms, please? No, I'm not going to do anything, I promise!" It took a lot of reassurance on her end before Sunggyu did as he was told with much grumbling. "Okay, now can you reverse it? With your right arm over your left this time?" He did so with much difficulty and it was uncomfortable.

"A wise man once told me that rather than perfect, practice makes permanent. You've been so used to crossing it in one way, it feels wrong when you're suddenly told to reverse it. Someday, your constant bluffing will get you into trouble, and I might not be there to help you out. So kick the habit before it you manage to dig yourself deep into a hole you can never get out of," Seulbi warned.

She just had no idea how hard those words of hers actually hit.

<<<< >>>>

"Hi, good morning."

Myungsoo did not look up from whatever he was reading. When he made no move to acknowledge her presence there, Seulbi decided not to push it, giving him his space. She bowed lightly before making her way one landing up. This day was no different-- this had started a few days ago when Jeguk's heir made landfall and decided to make the fire exit stairwell his hangout during breaks as well, simply because he didn't like being around people and girls bothered him to no end with their excessive gifts, confessions and what not. Seulbi, primary settler, didn't have the heart to shoo him away. Eventually, that gave her the problem of frequent run-ins during their common breaks.

It had been quiet for about an hour now ever since the girl had decided to give him his space. With some time to kill before his next class, Myungsoo thought that it would be a great idea to play a quick game on his smartphone. He didn't realize that he had been so caught up in it until...


"Hi, I don't mean to interrupt, but could you kindly keep your Fruit Ninja down over there? People are reading up here."

It was lame enough to have been caught playing a kid's game, what more if he had actually tossed his smartphone up in the air in surprise? Myungsoo looked up, and leaning over the fourth floor railing was one Lee Seulbi. Despite having that dimpled smile of hers on, he could tell that she was a bit irritated with the noise. The girl had a lot of nerve to tell him off like that. Besides, didn't she have a class to attend?

"My lab's only on Mondays. I have a longer break today," she continued, giving an exact reply to the question he had in mind.

Annoyed, Myungsoo put down his phone. "If you can't take the noise, then get out. No one's keeping you here."

Seulbi knew that she only had a few seconds to keep him engaged before he started walling himself off again. "I don't think you can do that."

"Don't make me repeat myself."

Feeling rather playful, the heiress tucked her hands behind her as she skipped down a few steps to meet him. “I believe you don’t have the right to shoo me away," she pointed out, her smile widening as Myungsoo bit into the bait she had laid out.

"My family owns half the stocks of this university, I believe I have every right to."

On the contrary, Seulbi wasn't the least bit threatened about that, and instead just smiled up at him. "Ah, but this fire exit doesn’t have your name on it,” she pointed out, “Which makes it communal school property. If we're looking at Section 8 of the university's student magna carta, somewhere in that clause prohibits undue denial of any form to access of welfare services and academic facilities. And if we're also considering it from a first dibs basis, this place is mine. If I remember correctly, you didn't come in on the first day. I did.”

Were they seriously playing the smart- game right now? Because two could definitely play at that game.

"You want a formal negotiation? Fine, we'll negotiate."

"Alright," Seulbi agreed, crossing her arms. "I'm all ears. Name your terms."

Myungsoo then walked over to the middle of the landing between the third and fourth floor and drew a vertical imaginary line from one end to the other with his foot, separating the two of them. "Simple. I'll let you stay, but you'll have to take the rooftop and the fourth floor. I'll be taking the third floor downwards. Border rules apply at all times and breaching of territorial borders incurs harsh consequences as specified by the invaded party, which may or may not include banishment from this stairwell. Fair enough?"

"Call."

They briefly shook on it to seal the deal. Now he just had to make sure that he wasn't going to be the first person to cross over. That seemed simple enough. He'd give Lee Seulbi around 3 days max to break it for sure, then he could banish her from ever coming here.

"Well I'm fine with taking the upper floors, but I'm not so sure about you. Haven't you heard? A convict incarcerated for organ harvesting and homicide is on the loose from the city jail. He's taken the kidneys and spleens of several victims and leaves their carcass in a bathtub full of bloody ice. They say he likes to hide himself in dark and musty areas to hide the really bad smell he emits. They call him Slash."

"You're kidding me. Slash from Guns N' Roses?" Myungsoo snapped at her, but schooled it as the girl's expression remained completely serious.

"It's not that guy. My cousin warned me about it. He says it's on local news."

Myungsoo couldn't care less about which of the cousins it was; knowing those three, that piece information alone told him that it was completely bogus. He rolled his eyes in response as he made his way to the exit door.

"Wait a minute, Myungsoo?" Seulbi called out, making him cringe at the mention of his name. "If border rules apply forever, and some sort of emergency situation happens and I need to get downstairs..."

“Then that would be your problem,” the Jeguk heir replied with a fake, plastered smile before taking his leave.

Seulbi huffed at his indifferent reply. So much for a decent conversation.

<<<< >>>>

So began their usual routine: it was always Seulbi who made the first attempt to communicate, but it ended up with Myungsoo ignoring her and they would just sit in silence on their respective landings. But that didn't make her lose any hope. She had tried each and every conversation starter known to mankind, to no avail. She even tried to bring up the HR impostor, but he still ended up shooting her down.

One time, Seulbi's pencil had unfortunately rolled off the staircase, right down to the third landing. She had peered over the railing, biting her lower lip in panic. He had only given her a gaze, challenging her to come get it before attending back to his English paper. Myungsoo thought she would finally break over that one, but the heiress was more stubborn than he remembered her to be. That must have been the final straw for her because that late afternoon, he heard the fourth floor door creak open. Seulbi had arrived and her footsteps could be heard getting farther and farther up, meaning that she had no plans to stop by the boundary line per usual just to say hi. 

Lee Seulbi had finally given up on him. Myungsoo praised himself for a job well done. His constant ignoring had finally weaned her off friendly greetings. Now that he had done so successfully, the heir quickly brushed these thoughts aside and turned to his material for his next class. And everything was well for the next half hour and onwards.

Not really.

There it was. The putrid stench of rotting objects, sweat, and garbage combined followed by a heavy dragging sound made his blood run cold. His senses heightened and his gut feeling screamed "Danger!". Myungsoo's first instinct was to drop everything, book it out of there as quickly as possible, and warn the administration. He already had his hand latched onto the door handle of the fire exit when something--no, someone-- managed to invade his thoughts.

Lee Seulbi.

He had yet to hear the fourth floor door re-open and close, signifying that she had not yet left. If she wasn't aware of the smell yet, she was probably at the rooftop. It was pretty much impractical to call her or anyone as of now-- if the perpetrator heard them, it was all over and they'd be kidney-less and in body bags come daybreak tomorrow.

That would mean that he had to cross their boundary line and go get her himself, which was pretty much against his pride. Sure, he may have something against the Lee family but did he really have the heart and the conscience to leave her to her own demise?

Myungsoo held his breath and shut his eyes before schooling it and crossing the imaginary border they had agreed on, making his way up to the fourth floor as nimbly and as quietly as possible. The hair on his nape stood once he had heard the eerie dragging sound once again, and he picked up the pace.

Seulbi was on full concentration mode, her brow in a furrow as she carefully traced each line and paragraph on her literature assignment with her pencil. She had purple headphones, and in an instant, he knew they belonged to Tinky-Winky Howon. But that was the least of his concern as of the moment. The longer they lingered at the rooftop, the lesser chances they had to escape.

"Get up," he whispered, stooping down to a squat.

"You're here?!? What--" Seulbi spoke, surprised that he was even there. It came out a rather loud and Myungsoo had to quickly hush her by pressing a finger to her lips. It was only then that she noticed that he looked rather pale and was already sweating bullets.

"We have to get out of here! Hurry, get up!" Myungsoo urged. When she didn't budge quickly enough, he grabbed her by both her shoulders, helping her up into a standing position before ushering her downstairs.

Seulbi scrunched her nose, put off by the horrid smell coming from down below before her eyes widened in realization. That can't be, she thought, It was obviously a stupid lie Sunggyu made up to coax me into staying within visual range of the rest during breaktime.

"You're being paranoid over nothing. There's no such thing as Slash," Seulbi finally admitted to him in a hushed whisper. "He's just some figment of my cousin's imagination--" She couldn't help but cut herself off. A chill ran down her spine the moment she had heard something that sounded like heavy brushing against concrete floor.

"How do you explain that, then?!?"

Attributing it to coincidence was far from reliable as an excuse, but she was sure of it and was willing to bet her whole life's inheritance down. "Listen to me: Slash is not real. I'm going to go down there and prove it to you."

"Wow, you're crazy! Maybe he'll send over a plaque of recognition to our burial mounds for sponsoring the mini-fortune he made off a nice girl-boy pair of healthy left kidneys!" Seulbi had deliberately ignored him, moving towards the foot of the staircase. "Maxene!"

She almost swore that she heard Myungsoo hiss at her. "Now you're calling me by my nickname?" she huffed. Intent on getting to the bottom of this mystery, the heiress continued on their way. Myungsoo really had no choice but to follow her, hot on her heels. As they approached the lower floor, the dragging sound got louder and louder, and the stench grew worse to the point that it was dizzying. The last landing loomed into sight. One more turn and they'd come face-to-face with the perpetrator or whatever it was that was lurking in the stairwell shadows. The two in their breaths and peered over carefully.


It was the school janitor, hauling several trash bags, piling them one by one on the empty corner of the first floor entrance. Myungsoo did not hesitate to let out a loud sigh of relief. "What are you kids doing here?" he yelped in panic as he tried to shield his dirty work.

"We were just passing by to get to our next class faster. Sir, not to be offensive or anything, but why are you storing the school's garbage over here?" Seulbi replied without hesitation, putting the pressure back on him. Nice save, Myungsoo thought.

"P-P-Please don't let the higher-ups find out! We missed a switch in the garbage collection schedule today by accident-- they said they can pick it up straight away tomorrow, but we needed a place to keep it in for the mean time."

After calming down the hysterical janitor, the two made their way back up via the main staircase. Myungsoo had already regained his composure, going back to his normal stoic, indifferent self by the time they managed to retrieve his backpack on the third landing. "I refuse to stay. I can't take the smell," he announced. Also, had been considering requesting for a complete disinfection of the fire exit stairwell.

"Okay then, see you," Seulbi said as she waved him off, making her way upstairs.

"W-Where are you going?"

"Back to the rooftop and to my reading assignment which you so politely interrupted. It's perfectly safe there."

"What?!? Where am I going to stay?!?"

"Ah, I'm sorry, but that would be your problem," Seulbi replied, throwing back what he told her earlier that week. Myungsoo shot her an icy glare, ticked off by her cheekiness and at the fact that he had unconsciously booted himself out of his bunker territory. Left with no choice, he slung his backpack around his shoulder and made his way to other (not-so) quiet place he knew of in this campus: the library.

There were still reasons why he avoided this place. People were whispering and oggling at him like a zoo animal on display wherever he walked. Even as he sat himself on one of the desks and covered his head in his arms as he pressed his face to the desk and his fists clenched, he could still feel the stares and murmurs of several people down the back of his neck. Honestly, Myungsoo was so close to wrecking havoc to school property to get himself suspended for a couple of days, but something caught his eye before he managed to flip his first table over.

He had to blink to make sure. Lee Seulbi was standing in the aisle between two bookshelves, motioning for him to quickly come over. He could have ignored her, but his dire need to get away from unecessary attention compelled him to trust her for now. She didn't even wait for him to catch up as she led him into a section at the back of the library secluded by several bookshelves. There were a couple of unused desks lining the wall in a single row, and a lone elderly librarian had just gotten up from her counter to slip off and into the staff lounge, leaving the two of them alone.

"You're unbelievable," he whispered. How many hole-in-the wall places has she found in this school?

"Four and counting." Once again, Seulbi managed to read his mind so easily, as if he was an open book for her to read.

"Are you sure you aren't Slash?"

"Why, do I smell funny to you?"

Myungsoo didn't laugh at her joke and the heiress could only clear to break the awkward silence. He had been under the assumption that she was going to leave, but instead, Seulbi pulled up a chair towards the other side of his desk and sat facing him. Myungsoo could only look away, bothered by the way she was staring at him and the proximity between them.

"My favor," she brought up, resting her cheek on her arms, which she had propped onto the chair. "You ended up breaching border rules."

"It was an emergency situation, let it go."

There was really no possible way she was going to let that slide. "When I asked you the same thing awhile back, you said it still counted. Hey, we shook on it!" When he continued ignoring her, she actually pouted in annoyance, something she rarely ever did even around her cousins. "Soo!"

If there was one thing that made him cringe more than hearing her say his name, it was hearing her say his nickname. Sighing, he closed his eyes and signalled for her to continue speaking with a wave of his hand before she could repeat it once. He could sense that the girl had straightened up, excited that he had decided to hear her out for once. He was expecting something along the lines of calling truce with Woohyun and the rest, or something that had to do with apologizing to Sunggyu (whose dynamic with Seulbi really seemed to pique his interest as of late)-- and if she was bold enough, wishful thinking that the two of them could go back to the way they were three years ago. Her next words, though, surprised him.

"Lee Sungjong," Seulbi requested thoughtfully. "By now, you must have figured out that he's the Nam family's scholarship student, so I'm asking this of you. Whatever grudge you have against our family, we can take it, but please leave Sungjong out of this."

Myungsoo's eyelids fluttered open and she held her breath for his response. "Hold up, I think it's rather unfair that I'm the only one subjected to this. Technically, you crossed over too."

Seulbi halted, spluttering. "Wha--?!? B-B-But-- I thought..."

"We haven't come to an agreement to call it off, therefore negotiations still apply." Calling it off didn't seem like a possibility, even in the near future. Seulbi swallowed with much difficulty, already expecting whatever Myungsoo was going to demand of her. "About Lee Sungjong. I never intended to bring him in in the first place. Save your end of the deal for something else," he replied in all honesty before crossing his arms. "You should be spending more time with your cousins."

She saw through the deeper meaning of his seemingly good-natured request. It was Myungsoo's indirect way of telling her to leave him alone.

"You're right," she replied softly. "Truthfully, that had been my plan weeks back. I just needed to make sure that a certain someone was doing alright. Now that that's done, I should be getting back. So you too, save your end of the deal for something else. I hope you have a restful afternoon."

And just like that, his world became quiet once again. He should be happy...

... right?

<<<< >>>>

"It's frustrating, trying to pin her exact location down."
"She's like... a rare Pokemon! With a 1% encounter rate!"
"Do you think we should send the secret service to watch over her?"
"You do know how perceptive she is on being followed."
"That'll only give her the excuse to hate us forever!"

For the past few days, the worlds of these five revolved around Seulbi, Seulbi, Seulbi, Seulbi and Seulbi; and they seemed even more antsy about her frequent absence than usual, for reasons unknown to him. Even Sungjong was joining in on the mass panic.

"Everyone should really learn how to chill. You'll be seeing her around here more often in no time," Sunggyu replied coolly over the commotion as he wagged his pen. Sungjong and the four stared at him in admiration and wonder (and maybe secret jealousy), amazed by his power to control the usually headstrong and independent Woollim heiress.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. I didn't do anything special, she willingly agreed to do it on her own."

Truth be told, he had no idea how he was going to get her to commit on that. His last-resort attempts to scare her had been futile, after all. Before Sunggyu could even jump into his fake story of how he convinced Seulbi, a distinct sound cut through the evening air. It sounded quite like heavy dragging. The eerie silence of the hallway outside coupled with it only made the hair on their arms and the back of their necks stand fully.

"S-S-Slash?" Sungyeol stammered. Sunggyu blinked at the tallest of the Lee cousins in disbelief. How on earth did Sungyeol find out about that? Had Lee Seulbi spread it to spite him?

The creepy sound only got louder as it drew closer, causing everyone else to throw their arms up in panic and scramble for a safe place to hide. Poor Dongwoo looked like he was going to pass out any second in extreme fear. "We're going to die!" he whimpered, unable to stop his trembling. "Slash is out for our kidneys, and spleens... and brains, and hearts, and intestines, and--!"

"Dongwoo, get a grip! We are not going to die! You get to hold on to your internal organs because there is no such thing as Slash!" Sunggyu roared over the commotion only to find himself hampered by several "Shhh's". The nerve of Howon, who had put his hand over Sunggyu's mouth as he proceeded dragging the older boy into the farthest corner of the theatre, away from immediate view from the door.

Everyone had huddled together, all behind Sunggyu, who looked back at them with exasperation. "Listen. There. Is. No. Slash. Okay?" Sunggyu repeated slowly to drive it into their irrational mindsets.

"Hyung, what are you doing? He'll hear you and he'll know people are here!" Sungjong hissed, pleading for him to shut up.

"Didn't you listen to what I just-- I'll prove it to you." Despite much protests of "hyung!", Sunggyu decided to step forward, each stride more confident as he made his way to the door. 

"There goes a brave, brave man," Sungyeol praised.

"That just makes him incredibly stupid to me," Woohyun muttered, holding his breath in when Sunggyu's outstretched hand managed to latch itself onto the doorknob.

Whoever was outside had beat him to it. The door creaked open and in popped someone's head.

"Hi everyone."

The six boys let out rather high-pitched screams in surprise. Their visitor jumped, equally surprised after being greeted by horrified faces and blood-curdling screaming. "EYYY, SEULBI!"

Sunggyu, pissed at the unecessary scare-off, ushered her in, not even giving her time to calm her palpitating heart. "You! You already knew Slash was complete bullcrap but you still spread it to scare the living wits out of everyone? Look at what you did to poor Dongwoo! He looks like he's about to have a heart attack!"

Realization hit her, forming into a little 'o' and he could only grit his teeth at her seemingly feigned innocence. It didn't help that Seulbi was always so well-behaved whenever her cousins were in the vicinity. It was either that, or she just really enjoyed messing around and picking on him when it was just the two of them, for reasons still undisclosed.

"I didn't spread it, I swear!" The girl was already apologizing over and over, rubbing Dongwoo's back to soothe him. "I'm sorry, it wasn't my intention to make anyone paranoid-- Dinowoo, especially. I know how scared he really gets over things like this, everyone does."

"Then explain how word got around to these chumps?" Loud protests ensued from the rest of the boys, offended from being called chumps.

"Like I said, it's always 50-50 with you and I obviously couldn't ask abeonim about it, with his existing heart problem and all, so I went to Howon," Seulbi told him as a matter-of-factly. Sunggyu craned his neck towards the older Lee sibling, giving him a pointed look.

"I wasn't sure so I shared it with Sungyeol, I thought he could look it up on the net for us," Hoya countered.

"After really thorough searching, I couldn't find anything about it online so I asked Woohyun-hyung about it. He's usually knowledgeable about local news, given that he's a part of the student council," Sungyeol immediately 

"That's Kibum's doing. This time, I wasn't able to check with him," Woohyun admitted.

"I only heard it when Sungyeol-hyung relayed it," Sungjong defended.

None of the accounts so far told them how it got relayed to Dongwoo. Now everyone turned to him in sheer panic. "H-How did you hear about it?"

He only pointed a shaky finger at Sunggyu, swallowing heavily. "I was backstage, checking out the area for Sungyeol's proposed TV and game room when I overheard you talking to Seulbi about it." All eyes were on Sunggyu now. He looked so dumbfounded to find out that Dongwoo had heard directly from the source after all. There was no one but himself to scold.

"Then you must have overheard the conclusion of that conversation!"

"I ran out the fire exit before you could finish. It was so dark, I got so scared. I thought I was going to faint," Dongwoo whimpered.

"And the dragging noise?" he asked as he turned back to Seulbi.

"Your new curved couch just got delivered. It's outside the MT because I asked them to leave it there, I signed in behalf of Dongwoo. Consider yourselves lucky that the delivery men didn't run into someone from the administration."

"But it's a little strange, Seulbi. No one's borrowed anything, and you could have called... what made you decide to come up here for once?" Sungjong questioned in utmost politeness.

"Hmmm, the people I'm supposed to be here for? Sorry to have kept you guys waiting long," Seulbi apologized before making a playful salute. "Lee Seulbi, reporting in for duty."

Happy smiles broke through everyone's faces, knowing that she was intending to stay for good this time. What an insane turnout of events today! Sunggyu couldn't believe his luck as the boys started cheering in excitement and booking specific hours and activities with her, which Seulbi wholeheartedly agreed to.

"I have a favor to ask of you though..." she brought up amidst the happy commotion.

Overjoyed, Hoya pinched both her cheeks as a sign of his affection. "And what would that be, Princess?"

"... about this weekend..."

Hoya's arms dropped to his sides. The atmosphere turned somber at Seulbi's words and their dampened spirits sent both Sunggyu and Sungjong scratching their heads in confusion. All they knew was that White Day was coming up this weekend. What could possibly be happening on that day that upset the boys so much?

The Woollim heiress took great caution with her next words now that they've become unusually quiet. "Uncle Jong-in and Auntie Soojung have already arranged for flowers to be sent over, Mama Jang too. Abeonim and Auntie Sooyeon said they'll be there earlier in the morning if you guys are interested in coming along. But if it's alright with you, can I have some time alone after?"

"Of course. Anything for you, princess," Woohyun agreed softly, speaking for the group. Seulbi mumbled her sincere thanks to him, giving him a respectful nod of her head after. Sunggyu had almost missed it, but somewhere in the middle, she had definitely mouthed a quick 'sorry' to Woohyun, who only looked down and gave a small nod as well.

Sungjong was almost hesitant to bring it up. "I'm sorry, is it a wrong time to be here for Sunggyu-hyung and I?"

"Definitely not. Though it's a little out of town, you two have to come with us this weekend," Seulbi invited, turning to Sunggyu, "You especially. They would really love to meet you... mom and dad."

It finally clicked to him. The grim atmosphere. The sudden family trip elsewhere. The flowers. It was a special day for this family, especially for the Woollim heiress. And it was sad to know that instead of enjoying chocolates and candies and whatnots, she would spend it yearly in a different aspect than expected.

March 14, White Day, was also Lee Seulbi's parents' death anniversary.

A/N: I'm sorry I left you with angst for the New Year. Next chapter will be a break from all this crackery going on, I hope you'll still read through it. Also PSA: Despite its urban legend origins, organ theft and organ trafficking is a sad reality in our world today, folks. Organs are really being sold across the black market for a huge sum. Also, there are actually people around the world that sell organs for cash. :(

PS: for those who got curious, this is Slash, lead guitarist of Guns n' Roses, who sang Sweet Child O' Mine.