♠ FOURTEEN ♠ 

"Good morning, doryeonim, it is time for you to wake up."

When the huge lump in the middle of the king size bed didn't move the slightest, the servant of the house sighed and walked over to the curtains, pulling them open, allowing morning daylight to flood into the wide room. Their young master had always been quite the heavy sleeper, but he was proving to be much more difficult to usher out of bed today.

"Young master?" Leo repeated. "You'll be late for your first class."

"... playing hookie today..." came a mumble from underneath the comforter.

"Today of all days, Young Master? It is an important day and sajangnim will have none of that." Half-asleep, young master of the Jeguk house, Kim Myungsoo finally dragged himself up into a sitting position, his sense of duty winning him over and it brought a smile onto his attendant's face. "Your breakfast is being readied as we speak. The traditional seaweed soup, however, shall be served a bit later than expected."

"No need. Send in some scones together with my morning tea, that's all I'll be having. Today's agenda?"

"Your business agenda have been postponed as per your mother's request. She wanted you to go out and have fun today."

There goes his plan to ditch school. "She's not my mom, Leo," he reminded, grabbing his towel from the rack. "But do send her my thanks when she calls again, and tell her to say hi to the little duck for me. They should be asleep by now."

"My deepest apologies, doryeonim, for my careless choice of words. I will make sure that your message would get across. If that would be all, we shall be awaiting your presence at the dining hall after you've washed up. Your father has already left for work."

Myungsoo blew on his bangs momentarily. Nothing new there. Why'd he think that today would be any different?

"Neverthless, Happy Birthday, doryeonim."

"Thank you, Leo."

With a polite bow, his attendant left to take care of other tasks. Myungsoo, dragged his still-stuporous self into the bathroom, closing his eyes as he proceeded to rinse his face with running water.

It had been so vivid, he could have sworn it was real. He could still hear the chorus of the birthday song ringing in his head. He could still smell it-- there was a huge cream puff tower cake ("Croquembouche, Myungsoo!", he could still hear her insist) with a single sparkling candle ready for him to blow, the person carrying it looking very eager to devour it herself. He could hear his mother's hearty laughter as she hugged him and ushered him for picture-taking purposes. There were several more faces he couldn't make out; none could compare to those two that were as clear as crystal, as if they were really there in the flesh. He still felt warm...

... loved.

After that incident with their "escaped convict", she held her word and had stopped coming to the fire exit altogether. The possibility of the entire female species of the world, except her, somehow slipping in their greetings and unnecessary gifts before the clock struck midnight had a much better chance of occuring. There was just no way that she would randomly pop back into his life with a "Hello, Happy Birthday!" just as easily. His mother was also in a much better place now. It was wishful thinking on his part. 


"A dream, huh?"

<<<< >>>>

Red. All she saw was red when she came to. Her vision was blurry, her head was throbbing pretty badly and she couldn't feel her legs, but she was sure everything bleeded in the eerie color.

She was brought to her senses when something blazing hot crackled above her, and she managed to roll out of the way and into a sitting position before she could be hit with falling debris-- a part of the beam had fallen, now charred black. It only took her seconds to notice that the whole room was in the same state, crumbling.

Burning.

How she even got here, she couldn't remember. No one else was around-- no perpetrator, no companion, nothing. The immediate survival instinct of her gut told her to get out of danger fast. She tried to move her surprisingly numb and uncooperative legs, only to find out that they had been crushed beneath a heavy metal cabinet that had fallen. Attempting to push the cabinet off of herself, let alone lift it, proved to be too heavy a task for her. The girl was trapped, half under it, half out. No sound escaped despite numerous attempts to scream as loud as she could for help. Thick and heavy smoke was starting to fill and settle into her lungs, suffocating her to the point that she found herself on the verge of blacking out.



"Princess. Hey, Princess, are you alright?"
"Bee? Seulbi. Oi, Lee Seulbi, wake up!"


At the mention of her name, Seulbi's eyes finally shot open. Lee Sungyeol swam into view a good distance above her, a heavily concerned look etched on his face. Seulbi immediately bolted up from the couch, taking in a deep gasp, hunching over as she breathed heavily, in dire need to take in more air to calm her panicked lungs. Beads of cold sweat ran down her face, making her bangs stick to her temples and forehead. It took awhile for her to process that this was a school day, and that she was at the MT. Sungyeol, the only one left with her for that afternoon, had told her to take a nap before her next class, promising to keep watch over her while she did, and after an all-nighter, she was more than happy to indulge.

A pair of warm hands began rubbing over her back, soothing her. "Hey," the concerned Sungyeol greeted softly, his voice wavering and unsure. "You were tossing and turning pretty badly, I had to wake you up. Sorry."

"Really, really bad dream," she barely managed to choke. "It's okay. I'm awake now, I should be okay."

As much as Sungyeol wanted to believe in her words, Seulbi looking extremely drained made it impossible for him to just sit there and take everything as it is. It had been several years ago since she'd last had nightmares this bad. She had been calling out for her mom and dad in harsh wheezes for breath. Although Sungyeol had wanted to ask about it so badly, he kept his questions to himself, continuing to soothe her.

"Yeol, I think I need more room to breathe. Excuse me," she told her older cousin before getting up from her couch, stumbling a bit. After such a horrid dream, her legs felt like jelly. Realizing that she still hadn't come out from her nightmare because she was still so jumpy, Sungyeol quickly scrambled after her, following her out of the MT. Seulbi was making her way towards the building's fire exit.



Kim Myungsoo managed to slip into the second landing of the Art Building's fire exit unnoticed, ditching his Humanities class seconds before the bell rang and before more people could shove their gifts of unnecessary extravagance into his face. It had been that way the whole morning, and by the looks of it, so far, so good.

He heard the door on the higher level open, followed by rushed footsteps. Someone sounded like she was hyperventilating up there. It was followed by another set of footsteps.

"Oi, Seulbi--"

Myungsoo cursed inwardly. Of all the people, it had to be her and her monkey cousin, Sungyeol! What if they made their way down to where he was? He panicked, wondering if he should get back outside and face his fangirl army or carry on and risk getting caught. In the end, he chose the latter, trying to move silently. As he made his way down, it was impossible to not overhear their conversation.

"I thought I made it clear that I needed time alone!" Her words came out gritty, half-irritated.

"I can't do that," Sungyeol replied, shaking his head. "Family obligations. I can't leave you. Especially not now..."

He reached out towards her, gently wiping something off her cheek. With trembling hands, Seulbi reached up and only noticed now that hot, panicked tears were streaming down her face. "Sorry," she apologized, trying to blink them away, but they wouldn't stop. "This-- I'm sorry. Sungyeol, I'm sorry for yelling at you... sorry."

“Shhh, none of that, now. I’ve got you,” Sungyeol comforted, wiping her tears away before pulling her into a comforting hug. Shivers still racked his baby cousin's frame, from fear and because she was still crying silently, clinging to him like a small, lost child. "Shh, don't cry. It was just a bad dream Seulbi, it's not real, it's not happening... you're awake now. You're safe here-- oppa's here to make sure of that."

That was about enough to hear for Myungsoo, who felt like he was intruding on a very private conversation, something he was not supposed to be sticking his nose in. Taking his clipped cap out of his belt buckle, he slipped it on, pulling it over his eyes as he exited to brave the crowds yet again.

Feeling her trembling form lessen considerably, Sungyeol decided to speak up after a whole moment of silence, “There. You alright now?” Still shaken by her nightmare and not trusting her voice to speak, Seulbi only managed to nod her head, smiling a little to show that she was okay. Like he was falling for something as weak as that. "Let's go home?"

"Advanced Algebra--"

"You're so smart, you don't need that complete attendance bonus on your final grade. You can't go to class, not like this."

"Yours?"

“It’s just two classes, it won’t hurt to miss it, Princess,” he reassured, clearing a few strands of hair that stuck to her forehead. "I sleep through both of them anyway. And I won't tell Hoya or Woohyun about this, don't worry." Seulbi reluctantly agreed to his plan, but was secretly thankful for it. In less than no time, the two were sneakily making a run for the Lee family's chaffeured car, a white snapback (assumed to be Hoya's) they had grabbed at the MT hastily jammed on Seulbi's head to help hide her slightly puffy and red eyes.

<<<< >>>>

"Finally, it's been ages! I've only heard about this hole-in-the-wall place, but now we're really here!"

"Cute. Real cute. Still doesn't change the fact you're treating."

"Eyyy, but you're the hyung!"

"But you suggested it!"

"You agreed to come!"

Sungjong and Sunggyu stood bickering right in front of the alleyway. All the way at the end was the entrance to a small noodle shop hidden from the bustling street district of Namdaemun. The two had been craving for something plebian to eat, for a lack of a more political term. What they needed was a good break from the high class cuisine that they were still having difficulty getting accustomed to.

There was no way stingy Sunggyu was going to spend on anyone other than himself. "Alright, how about we make this a game? Last one who sits down gets to treat?" he offered confidently. "What? Chicken, Jjongie?"

Sungjong bit his lower lip in contempt at how unjust that bet was. Because if there was anyone who ran slower than Kim Sunggyu, lazy grandpa extraordinaire, it was definitely Lee Sungjong.

"I don't know what I'll do with you. Sometimes, you act like a such a five-year-old," the younger one sighed, but when he looked towards the direction Sunggyu had been standing in, he had already gone and was half-jogging towards the entrance, getting a good headstart of a few seconds. Sungjong grit his teeth and began running after him. "HYUNG, NOT FAIR!"

"All's fair in love and war!" Sunggyu cackled, even turning towards him just to spite the younger boy who was already falling behind. Sungjong was mouthing at him to watch where he was going. Thinking that this was all a distraction ploy, Sunggyu even cheekily stuck his tongue out, telling Sungjong to 'eat his dust'.

"Hyung, look out!!!"

It was too late. He ended up colliding with another customer, who had strolled in with the same intent to get some noodles for himself. Luckily, that person managed to find his balance. Sunggyu found himself apologizing instantly for his roughhousing. "Sorry, I didn't see--"

His words drowned out, replaced by silent blubbers. The person he had carelessly rammed into was none other than L Kim. He was dressed in his usual black and gray again, but this time more casually: just a plain shirt, pants, sneakers and a jacket. He even had a casual hat on which he was about to pull down to cover his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Sunggyu half-growled, half-screeched in disbelief. Honestly, the Jeguk heir was one of the last people that Sunggyu and Sungjong would expect at a local-run noodle shop, the others being the members of the Lee family and Jang Dongwoo.

Fortunately, Myungsoo didn't have to answer that for the elderly lady serving for that shift came out to greet them. “Welcome! Table for three?”

“N-No, we’re not—“ But Sunggyu’s protest fell on deaf ears and pretty soon, Sungjong and him found themselves cramped together with L Kim at a table by the corner of a hole-in-the-wall noodle shop. That same lady handed over the menu and patiently waited for them to place in their order.

Kim Myungsoo didn't even need to open it. "The usual," he merely responded to which the lady kindly nodded, while the other two were still flippping through. That must have meant he frequented (or used to frequent) this place a lot for the waitresses to know his usual. In the end the two had opted for a bowl of jjampong each.

They ended up in a very awkward staring contest after the lady had collected the menu cards and left. Sunggyu's curiousity got the better of him, and so he decided to voice it out, repeating what he had asked earlier. "What are you doing here?"

"I didn't come here to eat, no. You?" he sneered in sheer sarcasm much to Sunggyu's annoyance. Another wave of awkward silence ensued between the three. It was the waitress bustling in with a bowl that had broken the silence this time around.

“Here you go L-goon, something extra for you today! It’s on the house! The kitchen sends their greetings too!”

The two peered over to see what had been served to Myungsoo: a piping hot bowl of seaweed soup. It finally clicked into their heads-- so that was why the entire female population of Daekyung University seemed like they were on a nationwide manhunt for the Jeguk heir today! Even the administrative offices were getting bothered by the sheer number of presents and well-wishes to be forwarded to him.

“Ah, that’s right! Happy Birthday, L-hyung!” Sungjong greeted cheerfully, to which the other acknowledged with a curt nod of his head.

"He makes you call him hyung when you're of the same age?" Sunggyu screeched, clearly appalled. Not that Myungsoo minded that it wasn't Sungjong's birthday greeting that caught the older boy's attention, he's had enough of those already. "Seulbi doesn't even call you oppa even though you're months older! Neither does she with him! And since when were you two so chummy?"

"We have three classes together," Sungjong answered as a matter-of-factly. "Hyung, I sense jealousy from you."

"A-Am not! Why would I be?!?"

"Suuuure, we'll leave it at that."


Soon enough, their orders arrived. "I added extra pieces of seafood, just the way you like it," the waitress told Myungsoo with a small motherly wink as she set his order down. He thanked her kindly and concentrated on his bowl, saying a quick thanks before digging in. And boy can he eat. Sunggyu and Sungjong watched as he practically inhaled the whole thing and the side dishes in record time. A second one even arrived just as soon as he finished with the first bowl.

"Is this a restaurant or a zoo?" he grumbled after one slurp. The two immediately turned to their respective bowls, embarrassed that they were caught staring. It was hard not to look away when the Jeguk heir surprisingly looked pretty much like a normal (and reallly hungry) boy enjoying normal udon noodle soup on a normal day.

Sungjong grinned in endearment. "I sort of get why you're here now. You're in hiding, aren't you?" The fact that he had bent down and began stuffing more noodles into his mouth told the younger boy that he had hit the mark. "The more and more I see it, the more you remind me of Seulbi. At times, it's the other way around."

The heir's expression darkened at the mention of her name. "I'm sorry. I won't bring it up again," Sungjong quickly apologized, thinking that he had cause offense with his honest opinion. He grew quiet and began to pick on his jjampong noodles right after. Sunggyu did the same, not wanting to dip his fingers into the mess. That fight was the Lee cousins' and L's problem, not his.

“Lee Seulbi," L finally breathed, his words hinting that something happened in which they were unaware of. "You should go check on your friend.”

<<<< >>>>

It was already seven thirty in the evening when Sunggyu arrived home, much later than the others. After he had changed into a more comfortable, looser shirt and a cardigan, Sunggyu headed out on his mansion-wide search for the ever-elusive Lee Seulbi. She was relatively easy to find this time around, rolled up like a big burrito in her comforter as she sat on the lazyboy chair in the mansion's home theatre. Contrary to what L had warned them earlier, she seemed pretty much okay. The girl was so caught up in her American drama series that he had to tap his foot a couple of times to get her attention.

"Suits," she told him in English. "It's legal drama-comedy. I'm on a re-run marathon since the new season starts tonight. Would you like to watch?"

"No, that's alright. How was your day? I take it you've been on your series marathon the whole afternoon?"

"Yup, pretty much."

"Sounds like fun! Quick, ask me how my day went!"

Seulbi found their current conversation on the verge of strange again, so she shimmied herself on the couch, sitting up straight to keep herself alert for any possible tricks he might be pulling up his sleeve. "... Okay? So how was your day, Sunggyu?"

"Classes were alright, rode the subway after a long time, had jjampong with Sungjong at Namdaemun, did okay on my Calculus test-- pretty much everything was alright today. Except for the fact that I had to walk halfway from the university to get home because my carpool-mate didn't bother to tell me that she had left ahead! I sincerely hope your car ride home was very spacious and comfortable."

Seulbi's lower jaw dropped in realization that she had totally forgotten about the existence of her cousin Sunggyu. ", I am so sorry! Sungyeol took me home and it completely slipped my mind--" she apologized profusely, getting up from her seat with the intention of giving him a full apologetic bow, "--Kim Sunggyu, it isn't cute, stop pouting!"

He was suddenly so silent, looking like a petrified blobbing fish with the way his jaw opened and closed. Sunggyu's eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets now that Seulbi was in full profile view. Clumsily, he knocked over a few things as he backed away, bothered by the apparent state of bareness of her legs.

"Good God! Put some pants on!" he screeched as his eyes narrowed to a squint, putting his hands over his eyes to block the view. Sunggyu was as red as a beet by now, completely flustered by her no-pants fashion.

"Quit overreacting, I have shorts underneath. My shorts aren't even super short, they're midthigh, see?" the girl reasoned, pulling up the hem of her oversized plaid flannel shirt (a gift from Sungyeol, who was really bad at estimating shirt sizes) to prove it to him.

"Y-YAH! DON'T FLASH AT ME!"

The way he was screaming at her ticked her off. "Yah! It's not like you can see anything in the first place anyway!"

Sunggyu lowered his raised arms and looked even more upset at what she had said. "I get it. I'm sorry that you're having a hard time determining whether I'm awake or asleep, and that my gene pool gave me such small ugly slits for eyes!" he grumbled, sulking as he stalked off.

"Sunggyu, I didn't mean to-- Kim Sunggyu, wait up!"



Seulbi ended up tucking her shirt into her shorts because Sunggyu deliberately avoided making eye contact while making sure she never heard the end of it. The two headed down to join grandfather Lee Jungyeop for dinner, paying him their respective greetings before taking their respective seats. Sunggyu pulled his chair all the way over to the far end where he didn't have to face Seulbi. The heiress could only look at him in disbelief at the tantrum he was pulling.

Of course, this did not go unnoticed by Jungyeop. "Alright you two, what's wrong this time?"

"He's upset with me," Seulbi told her grandfather, her tone betraying her amusement.

"I've been left behind, harrassed, my inferiority complex gets attacked! I get it, my eyes are coin slots! I'm ugly too-- I'll go sign up for plastic surgery somewhere soon, don't worry. See you after five months or something," Sunggyu ranted out haughtily over their dinner conversation. Seulbi could not help but burst out in laughter at his response.

"He's seriously upset with me."

"I'm not upset, I'm acknowledging the sad truth! Everything you said was true after all! No, don't comfort me, it's fine. I don't need your kind words!"

The girl looked like she was about to die from silent fits of laughter. Sunggyu was so bitter about it, it was seriously so funny. "I never even said you were ugly! When did I say that?" she challenged.

"Do you think I'm handsome then?"

"...Errr..."

"I get it. I'm -ugly, thanks!"

Jungyeop chuckled, finding their pointless bickering not the least bit irritating at all. In fact, he genuinely thought it was cute how the two were getting along in this way, very reminiscient of his sons Shin and Jinki. Despite their constant bickering, they ended up being the ones who were able to understand each other the most.

"Let's call for a peace treaty already, Sunggyu, I'm hungry," Seulbi offered, sticking her arm over the table for a reconciliation handshake.

"I'll think about it," Sunggyu answered coolly, ignoring her hand.

Seulbi looked like she was about to have a mental breakdown right there and then at his less-than-enthusiastic response. She was usually on the other side of the equation, most of the time with Woohyun pleading for forgiveness (although no one could beat Sunggyu's sulkiness), and it was weird being on this end after... God knows when was the last time this happened.

"Shall we dig in, Grandpa?"

"See, he's really, really upset with me!"

<<<< >>>>

"You've managed to piss off Sunggyu-hyung?" Sungjong asked increduously. Seulbi gulped, not taking the stare Sungjong was giving her as a good sign. He looked like he was going to give her a salute for her bravery (or stupidity) any moment now. "People back at Little Haven make sure to never ever get on his bad side. He's known to hold really bad grudges. You won't hear the end of it until you die, I swear to God!"

"He's known as Hammurabi Jr." he continued grimly, "He's the type to get back at you using the same method you've managed to hurt him with. A taste of your own medicine, he likes to call it. And he won't tell you when it's coming, that's the worst part of it all."

"Jjongie, I don't want to live all my life in paranoia. Please help me!"

"Well, I can't guarantee you that it'll 100% work, but..."

And this was how one Lee Seulbi was hesitantly making her approach towards one of the family room couches, where "Hammurabi Jr.", as Sungjong put it, was sprawled out, leisurely flipping through a music magazine. "Hello," she greeted rather shyly. "Can you spare me a few minutes of your time? We need to talk... about earlier..."

Sighing, he straightened himself and sat up. "Let's make this brief. You aren't the first person to take a jab at my small eyes, to be honest," Sunggyu began, his tone still having an air of haughtiness. "But you just had to rub it in, didn't you?"

"Yes, I know I crossed the line this time and I wanted to make up for it. How about I bring you a peace offering that will satisfy your late night hunger cravings?"

"Now, you're talking!" he exclaimed despite it being just an hour off finishing dinner. The heiress gave herself a mental congratulatory path knowing that Sungjong's plan was dead-on as of now. "Can I have anything I want?

"Anything you want! If you need me to drive to town or the other side of Korea at this hour, I will. Soooo...?"

"I'm thinking about it, hold your horses!"

As much as he wanted to send her off for something extra complicated all the way to Busan or something, he was scared that Woohyun would threaten him with a salary reduction once he found out that he put Seulbi in danger by allowing her to drive alone at night. Seulbi was waiting expectantly for him to pitch in his order.

"Gimbap," he finally requested. Seulbi looked at him like he'd told her to write his 15-page exposition paper for his Literature class. Sunggyu's expression molted from ecstatic, to confused, to downright distressed. "Please don't tell me her highness doesn't know what 'gimbap' is?"

"I'm not a dimwit, Sunggyu, of course I know what gimbap looks like."

"Alright then if you're so smart; what's in it?"

There was a prolonged pause before the heiress finally spoke up. This was probably the first time in his life that he's ever heard her sound so unsure of her stock knowledge. "Er... seaweed, rice, cucumber, mangoes... mayonnaise, raw fish and crabsticks? Ah, and wasabi!"

Sunggyu wanted to knock his head into the nearest concrete wall. What Seulbi had just perfectly described to him was a California sushi roll.

"No?" the girl tried, "It's not Korean sushi?"

"God, why did I even bother?" Sunggyu sighed, throwing his hands up in exasperation before ushering her out. "Kitchen. Now."

<<<< >>>>

What was supposed to be a peace offering meant for Sunggyu turned into self-service. He thought it would be more educational for the ignorant one to see the creation process of gimbap firsthand. While he was bustling about in the kitchen preparing the filling ingredients, Seulbi quietly observed him from the island counter like the good culinary student she was.

"Oh, so you add sesame oil, not rice vinegar to it?" she mumbled.

Sunggyu could only scoff at her little learning moments. "This is seriously your first time seeing it being made? Don't you pack it with you when you go on picnics or something?"

"We didn't bring gimbap on picnics. We had sandwiches, hamburgers, pizza and hotdogs... thinking about it makes me hungry again."

"What country did you grow up in again?"

"America."

He dropped the seaweed packaging he was holding onto the table. That had been intended as a sarcastic question for her ignorance towards gimbap despite being Korean herself-- turns out she really didn't encounter real gimbap in her life. He had always thought it was a little strange that Seulbi didn't have a strong Asian accent to her English, while the rest of her cousins did. Dongwoo was fairly decent as well because he had taken summers off in Canada.

"You-You're from America?"

"Yeah. Do you need help with that?"

He nodded absentmindedly, allowing Seulbi to saunter up next to him with a bamboo roller mat she had grabbed. Now it also made sense why there were only three main mansions in the compound, disregarding the staff house. Both Henry's and Seulbi's families never got the chance to have their own houses constructed because they lived elsewhere.

"So how do you do this?"
"The shiny part of the seaweed wrapper faces the mat."
"Okay."
"Then you spread out the rice on top of it. Make sure it's even."
"Like this?"
"Thinner... that's it. Then you arrange the ingredients in the center."

Seulbi busied herself with selecting the filling for her first ever gimbap while Sunggyu waited. Sensing that the dead air was awkward, he cleared his throat to speak up. "So where exactly are you from?"

"California. I was born there, grew up there. The beach was a few minutes drive away from our house and we went to Disneyland every year from as long as I could remember. I'm currently holding a dual citizenship," Seulbi explained before pointing to her roll. "Is this okay?"

"That's too much cheese."
"What if I want it cheesy?"
"Are we making this for you or for me? Guhhh, fine. Just roll it from the bottom, press down to make sure its compact. Watch."

Dongwoo didn't lie when he said Seulbi could do anything once she set her focus on it. After watching him do it once, she had managed to nicely roll one by herself, and honestly, it was way better than Sunggyu's. Even the slicing was so proportional, as if it had been pre-measured by a ruler. In the end, he had let her take over the job of rolling and slicing, picking off a piece from the pile every now and then for him to eat.

"I thought you grew up with Woohyun and the rest?" Sunggyu continued with the interrogation, not even minding as Seulbi started stuffing herself with pieces of her labor. There was enough for two anyway.

"I visited here during the summers and the winters, and we used to write to each other a lot. When I was ten, abeonim took me in and South Korea became my permanent residence ever since. But I still have to fly back yearly in the summers to stay for a couple of days or so."

"Sounds like your life was pretty swell over there in sunny-side California. Why'd you suddenly decide to move here?" By the way Seulbi clammed up, he immediately figured out that he had hit something sensitive and found himself at a loss for words. Apologizing would only make it harder for both of them to talk about it. He could only watch in silence as she finished preparing the last roll.

"Learning how to make gimbap was nice," the heiress hummed, giving him an opening to divert their conversation elsewhere.
 
"I'll make an extra batch tomorrow. Take it with you so you'll have something to eat, they're really for picnics anyway. Lots of cheese right?"

"I'd like that a lot, thank you."



Everything had been quieter thereafter. After cleaning up, Seulbi had crammed a few more pieces into before bidding him goodnight, telling him she needed to rest early for tomorrow. In attempt to ease his restlessness, he volunteered to bring his grandfather's evening tea upstairs.

"I've brought you some tea, Grandpa," Sunggyu greeted as he entered the bedroom, tray in hand. "It's chamomile today, they say it helps make your sleep more restful. Though I added a bit of honey and lemon in it. I hope you'll like it!" The elder smiled, put down the newspaper he was reading, and nodded to acknowledge his grandson's kind gesture. Sunggyu wasted no time and poured him a cup.

"It's delicious," Jungyeop sincerely thanked after a long sip. He patted on the empty side of the couch, motioning for the younger one to take a seat, to which Sunggyu obliged after pouring himself a cup. "Thank you for today, Sunggyu."

"Anytime. But really, it's just tea, grandpa."

"Not only that. You've made our Seulbi very happy today. Earlier, she came home looking more upset and extremely tense than usual."

So L wasn't kidding when he told them to check on her. How he even managed to concern himself with matters of the Lee family when they were sworn mortal enemies, Sunggyu would leave up to his own imagination.

"I apologize for your cousin if she's managed to say some hurtful things to you today, Sunggyu. That granddaughter of mine becomes quite a storm of emotions days before her parents' death anniversary. She becomes unfocused and deeply unhappy. Today, you somehow changed that."

"At the end of the day, I still managed to mess it up. I... said something I shouldn't have," he mumbled, guilt laced in his tone. "She looked like she didn't want to talk about it." Although he had wanted to ask the elder so badly about how Seulbi's parents died, he decided against it. It was unfair to push the burden on Lee Jungyeop-- he too had lost his children, and that must have been equally painful.

"Seulbi is like that. Because of her loss at such a young age, she forced herself to grow up so quickly, and I really don't blame her for it. If it's something tough, she keeps it to herself, not wanting to burden other people. But that child does acknowledge that she can only hold in so much. Just be patient. She'll open up eventually-- in the end, it might even be you to whom she confides in the most."

"I wonder though. Will she?"

"I know so. She willingly made gimbap with you, didn't she? Today of all days, when normally, she prefers shutting herself in her room. For the past ten years, not one of the people closest to her could even do that. You have something special in you, Sunggyu, for her to bring herself to do that. I would know. It's probably the same feeling I got when you walked into my hospital room that night."

Sunggyu was as confused as ever. All they ever did was bicker, what special powers did that give him? The only semblance of a 'bond' they've formed between them were the forces of repulsion.

"In time, my son," sensing his distraught, Jungyeop comforted. "You coming home is the biggest blessing ever for our family and I sense a welcome change coming, all thanks to you."

<<<< >>>>

"Hi mom, hi dad, I came to visit again today. This time, with everyone," Seulbi greeted, laying down her bouquet of white lilies for them in the center after her grandfather, aunt and Dongwoo had offered theirs. A fresh bouquet of purple hyacinths had been there already by the time they arrived. It had been that way ever since, and until now, they still couldn't figure out who kept sending them.

The trip had been surprisingly pleasant even if they were all dressed in black suits. The gravesite was about an hour away from the city, northwards. The whole family was packed in chaffeured cars this time around. The younger ones were sardined into one van while Seulbi stayed with her grandfather and aunt in a separate car.

Seulbi smoothed the skirt of her black dress before turning to Sungjong, who was observing quietly. "This is our new friend, Sungjong. He's smart beyond his years and he takes care of me well." Sungjong set down his own flower offerings before bowing deeply. Woohyun told her that the younger one insisted on bringing a bouquet, even picking out the flowers himself to which she deeply appreciated.

"And this is Henry-- err, Sunggyu. He's come home now. I wish you were there with us to meet him." Seulbi added softly, nudging him a bit more forward. Standing before their graves, Sunggyu was at a loss on what to do after paying his respects and stood their awkwardly. He hoped that wherever they were looking over from, they'd find the heart to forgive him for lying to their daughter and their family.

The family said their prayer offerings in solemnity, led by none other than Jungyeop and Woohyun's mother. The whole time, Seulbi remained quiet and refused to speak up, even during the family meal there. Then before they knew it, it was finally time to leave and give Seulbi her alone time. Sunggyu handed over the packed gimbap he had promised her, and even if he tried to joke around like usual, she didn't bicker back, instead, promising him that she'll eat them today.

"I'll miss you lots today, Seulbi," Dongwoo cooed. "I'm sorry I can't stay with your family long enough today."

"Bee, at least do find some shade this time if it starts raining," Woohyun fussed, hesitant to leave his cousin, but resigned to his fate at the same time. "At least wear the raincoat if you don't want to leave, please? None of us want you to catch a bad cold."

"Don't forget to drink water too. None of us want you dehydrated either," Hoya added.

"Call us if you need anything. We'll keep our lines open, alright, Princess? See you at five in the afternoon," Sungyeol finally told her. "Take care of yourself, alright?"

No words were exchanged between Sungjong and Seulbi. The boy only stepped forward and put his arms around her, much to her cousin's shock. "I'm sorry I couldn't help myself. You looked like you needed it," Sungjong finally spoke up in honest sincerity. Seulbi only managed a weak smile and thanked him quietly.

Auntie Soyeon began calling from a distance, nagging at the boys to come along now. They all bid their final goodbyes and left. Sunggyu didn't know what made him decide to turn around at the last minute before boarding the car, but he regretted doing so. It was heartwrenching even for an outsider like him, looking at Seulbi's lone figure at the top of the hill. Their deaths must have been really tragic and sudden to still affect her like this.

"Hey."

A friendly hand clasped onto his shoulder-- Woohyun's. "If she could be here the whole day, she would. She just really misses them a lot," he murmured. "I think Sungyeol knows what's troubling her lately, but I'll leave it between the two of them. She'll be okay and she'll pull herself up after this. She always has."

With a heavy heart, he followed after Woohyun silently, wishing that someday, Seulbi's wounds wouldn't bother her as much anymore.



The rest of the day was pretty much uneventful. Everyone was doing a pretty good job of masking their discomfort while resuming their daily scheduled activities. There was the usual 'get-up-you're-too-lazy-leave-my-starcraft-alone' argument by the Lee siblings, the usual Woohyun bossing Sungjong around, Sungjong grumbling, and Sunggyu joining in on the bullying fun thing. They had even joined their grandfather on his leisurely afternoon walk out of their boredom.

Seulbi came back at five in the afternoon sharp, as promised. Like every other 14th of March, she excused herself, saying she was tired from the trip as always, and went straight up to her room. Like every other 14th of March, the cousins would do away with the whole candy giving thing, just out of respect for their relatives' death anniversary. It was mutual silent agreement that way, and Seulbi was so used to not receiving anything for White Day. Not that she really minded.

But this time around, a gift was actually waiting for her. 

"Young miss, I'm sorry to bother you, but this has been sent over today," Shimgoon informed her once the boys were out of earshot, handing over a box to her. "It isn't from any of the young masters or sajangnim." It didn't take a genius to know it contained a small cake inside it. No wonder why Shimgoon waited to secretly pass it on to her, her cousins would be throwing a fit the moment they found out that she was receiving tokens from outsiders.

"I can't--"

"Before you insist on returning it, that's been sent over while we were all out of the house. The sender's identity wasn't made known." There was something off about the way Shimgoon said it, leading the heiress to doubt that he was telling the truth entirely. Security shouldn't be accepting it so calmly if they really didn't know whom it was from. It seems like he had some part in this after all, but she couldn't figure out what.

She had no choice but to check it the moment she entered her room. The cake inside the box was chocolate, decorated with tiny cream puffs on top. That didn't narrow down her search to anyone, let alone a handful. A lot of people knew that she loved cream puffs.

"I'll eat this well, whoever you are, thank you," she murmured. Seulbi had completely missed the tiny, tiny message written in icing by the cardboard base of the cake as she stowed the cake back into the box and into her mini fridge.

"For Maxene," it read.

<<<< >>>>

Sunggyu made sure that he was the last one to leave the Lee residence even if Hoya had already called it a night, not comfortable with the thought of going back into the main mansion where he could feel Seulbi's grieveing aura. By the time Sungyeol had tiredly ushered him to go back home, it was already two in the morning.

And of course, since he had the best of luck, Seulbi had decided to take her moping outside the house at the exact same time that he decided to come back home. She was seated by the fountain once again this time facing the Nam residence with her back turned to the path from the Lee mansion towards the main one. If he moved quickly and quietly, she wouldn't even notice him passing by.

"Sunggyu, I know you're there."

He froze. Did she grow a pair of eyes at the back of her head or something? Calmly, she pointed to the ground, specifically to Sunggyu's shadow, which became a dead giveaway. "Can't sleep?" Seulbi hummed gently as she finally turned to face him.

"Nah, Sungyeol and I were up playing Starcraft-- we were at it for almost 6 hours. That kid is a gaming monster."

"I hear you. Everyone can't even get past 10 pipes on Flappy Bird, but he's already at 100 more or less. Nice hair tie."

Quickly, he pulled the hair band he had used to tie his bangs up and quickly pocketed it-- yes, their gaming was that serious and intense, nothing should get in their way. Not even bangs. "Forgot about that, sorry-- you... uh... didn't-- ponytail..."

It was a good thing that it was dark or she would have for blushing. Seulbi didn't tie her hair for once, her slightly wavy hair barely went past her collarbones, and she really did look prettier with her hair down. Her features softened considerably and she looked more relaxed and carefree, less robotic, more human, for a lack of a better term. She only gave a small smile and suddenly became really interested in her slippers. Although she was much at peace now and less detached compared to that morning, her eyes still shone with sadness.

Lee Seulbi, who had everything the world had to offer, felt like she had the world taken from her when her parents passed away. No one could completely fill up the gaping hole in her heart, no matter how much she tried. It was hard for Sunggyu to see someone who was usually so headstrong and independent look so lonely.

“Chin up, Lee Seulbi,” he finally spoke, taking a seat on the fountain ledge as well, at a distance in order to not intrude into her personal space.

“Thanks for the encouragement, but I’m okay, Sunggyu."

“No, I meant it literally. Chin up.”

Seulbi frowned out of confusion before doing as she was told. The night sky filled with stars flooded her view, bright as diamonds against a thick, dark velvety veil. The whole estate was dim by now, bringing out the sky's luster and shine even more. It was rare to get such a clear night sky in a city like Seoul that was busy and bustling at night as it was in the day.

"I read about this Eskimo legend once," Sunggyu began, his tone growing soft. "Inuits believe that the lights we see up there aren't really stars, rather, they're openings from the high heavens which those who've gone before us use to peek back down onto the earth. The stars twinkle because they're sending signals to those loved ones they've left behind-- a reminder that they're always watching over us. A reminder that we're never alone."

"Do you really, honestly believe that?"

"Then let me tell you about something else I've read in books: those stars in the sky are nothing but gaseous balls of flame which sends light transmission that takes light years to reach the earth. Souls don't exist, once the physical body can't sustain life anymore then it's forever gone. At least that's what science tells us. Now tell me, both things I've told you are very valid beliefs by two different bodies of people, but which one sounds a lot more comforting?"

"The first one."

"I think so too. Somewhere up there, samcheon and imo are watching to see how their little girl is doing. Somewhere up there, mine are too."

Somehow, those last words of his struck her more. Seulbi could only watch sadly as Sunggyu had his gaze locked into the night sky. Thinking about it, she had no right to be moping around him. He didn't have any memories of his father and mother, no idea on the whereabouts of his family for twenty two long years. He must have been very lonely that whole time too. Yet he still managed to hold his head up high and carry on with whatever life throws at him, and that to Seulbi was very much admirable.

Raising her smartphone high into the air, she began to toggle with the flashlight feature, switching it on and off alternatively in rapid succession.

"What are you doing?" Sunggyu asked, bothered by the weird gesture.

"Sending a signal back. To tell them that I'm okay. To tell auntie and uncle that you are too."

"Idiot, that small thing? It can't outshine city lights."

"Hmm, true. We're getting ourselves a cloud breaker first thing tomorrow morning."

Sunggyu did scoff at her wry joke but the two ended up snorting in amusement about it anyway, feeling much more relaxed and comforted by the other's presence there. He had overestimated the width of the fountain ledge as he leaned back. Both his hands completely missed the solid concrete, and he found himself falling backward. The big splash and the loud yelp beside her startled Lee Seulbi and she immediately stood up and moved away as far as possible. It took a couple of seconds for it to load into her brain-- Sunggyu decided to take an accidental swim into the Woollim estate's fountain.

Seulbi was biting her lower lip, trying so hard not to laugh as he reemerged from the water, spluttering and coughing. “Well are you just going to stand there or are you going to help me up?” Sunggyu screeched at her.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry! Here!" She extended her hand towards him, which he had completely missed by a few centimeters, making him take another dip into knee-deep water.

"YAH! MOVE CLOSER!"

"It's no wonder Woohyun makes fun of you a lot. Sunggyu, you're like the icon of misfortune," she sniggered.

"Look, I'd like to stay and chat, but I don't have all night and it's ing cold!"

"Sorry, sorry!"

Once again, Seulbi reached out, this time leaning a bit more forward for more leverage. While helping him up and out of the fountain she failed to notice the small smirk that had formed slyly on Sunggyu's face. "Yah, Lee Seulbi..."

"Hmm?"

"Happy White Day, er."

And with one strong abrupt tug, Seulbi was falling forward. Unfortunately, it didn't go as well as planned. Seulbi toppled right over him, knocking him back for his third dive into the fountain just as he was taking a deep breath. Naturally, he swallowed a whole lot of fountain water. The two reemerged at the same time, coughing out whatever amount of water they swallowed.

"Don't drown me!" Sunggyu yelped at her, backing away in fear of what she'd do to him. "I can't swim!"

Instead of being angry at him, Seulbi burst out into loud fits of very unlady-like laughter. And she laughed and laughed until her stomach hurt from laughing so much. Lights started flickering to life from the three households.

"Bee?!? Are you alright?"
"We heard screaming, and--"
"Oh my God, hyung. I'm this close to disowning you I swear."
"Huh? Wuzzgoingon?"

Sungyeol, ever the light sleeper, came out first, followed by Hoya, then Sungjong from the Nam residence. Woohyun trudged in behind everyone else, half asleep, with a face mask on. Even Lee Jungyeop had come out of the household, wrapped in his maroon robe, having come down after finding out that his grandchildren weren't in their respective bedrooms. They were all shocked to see the two wading in the fountain, drenched from head to foot.

"What are you two doing in there?" Jungyeop asked, shaking his head, although in an endearing manner.

"Good grief! Are you two still in kindergarten?" Hoya tutted, requesting for fresh towels for the two before pulling the two by the scruffs of their shirts (in Sunggyu's case, his hoodie). Seulbi was still laughing her off by the time he ushered her out. "Out, and take a bath in warm water before going to bed!"

"He did this," Seulbi tried to explain in between loud cackles. "Sunggyu did!"

"Me?!? She started it! She called me an icon of misfortune" Sunggyu protested, but fell silent as everyone else focused their attention to him. They didn't say anything but he could tell that they were very relieved and touched to see their baby cousin this amused and happy in the longest time. It usually took her quite a few more days after visiting her parents to start genuinely smiling once again, but thanks to Sunggyu, she was feeling much much better than usual. Everyone headed back inside and went to bed in good spirits.

And the stars continued to shine on.

A/N: Here's a long chapter to make up for my absence! Let me know what you guys think! The "star" scene was inspired by listening to Coldplay's Yellow (Do give it a listen! You can re-read that part with that song in the background too!)

PS: If you haven't seen it yet, go and watch the video below and give some love to INFINITE H!!