♧ EIGHT ♧

While Lee Jungyeop slept peacefully in the comfort of his king-sized bed for the first time in a couple of weeks, the rest of the Lee household was in a state of panic. After all, three grown men lugging an over-sized spring roll through the hallways was not an everyday occurrence. Sunggyu had passed out, tired from yelling, and had been rolled up in his comforter for easier transport. As much as possible, the boys took great caution to avoid moving his neck or head, and to keep the comforter from unraveling and slipping off.

“Please grab something loose around the neck for him to wear! Quickly!” Hoya instructed as they began their descent down the grand staircase. Sungjong nodded and raced back to Sunggyu's room to do just as he was asked.

The maids were in complete hysterics. “The young master!“ they sobbed. “I can’t believe it. He’s… he’s…”

“Poisoned, I tell you! Who would commit such an atrocity?”

“We’ve only just met him, and he was still so young—“

“Oh god, no— this isn’t what it looks like! Don’t call the police, there's really no need!” Sungyeol yelped at them in attempt to clear any misunderstanding. “Please just calm down! We’ll explain later!”

By the time they had reached the main entrance, Seulbi had pulled up another sedan over at the driveway, parking behind the Woohyun's white Audi TT. In their haste from Seulbi's call of distress, they took the car instead of walking over. “Go on ahead; I can take Sungjong with me. We'll follow to the hospital,” the heiress volunteered.

Woohyun was completely apprehensive about the idea and had almost dropped Sunggyu (much to his other cousins' protests). “Seulbi, there is no way I’m allowing you to drive this late at night!”

“Are we seriously having this argument? We need Shimgoon here to control the commotion, you know that. And your Audi isn’t a clown car, Woohyun. Where do you expect to put Sunggyu, your trunk?”

Honestly, after all this trouble Small Eyes has caused him? Yes.

“Drive carefully,” were Woohyun’s parting words, finally conceding to her wishes before he boarded his own car with Hoya, Sungyeol and the now-asleep Sunggyu in tow. It was a far cry from the usual babying and that was good enough for Seulbi, who was beaming by now.

"Yes, sir!"

<<<< >>>>

“Ow," Sungyeol moaned. He had been flexing his aching arms for the past half hour in hopes that it would relieve the muscle tension there. Sadly, this was to no avail. “Whoever knew Sunggyu-hyung was so heavy?”

Hoya clapped a hand onto his brother’s shoulder. “You obviously need some exercise. Even Seulbi’s stronger than you; she managed to pull hyung closer to the door all by herself.”

“I’m not surprised. Seulbi is secretly Wonder Woman after all, and I, a lowly Druid class.”

“There you go again! One hour, Yeol, that’s all Woohyun, Dongwoo and I are asking! Just one hour off World of Warcraft in exchange for hitting the gym.”

“NEVER!” Sungyeol hissed at his brother. “World of Warcraft requires lightning reflexes and good hand-eye coordination— that’s good enough as exercise!”

Their sibling debate on the health benefits (and lack thereof) of World of Warcraft had been cut short. Sunggyu finally trudged out of the emergency room with a big uneasy pout on his face. He was now sporting a soft-typed cervical collar. Everyone rose from their seats, disconcerted by the sight of the neck brace that made his injury look a little serious.

“Hyung, are you alright?” Sungjong squeaked, helping the older boy into the cardigan he had thoughtfully brought along. He must have been feeling chilly. "Is it that bad?"

“The doctor said it's nothing too serious, just a neck strain. But I’ll need to keep this thing on for about three to five days.”

“Do you need any help getting to the car?”

“It’s fine, Sungjong, I can walk myself. We should be heading home. Auntie and Uncle must be worried.”

Woohyun nodded once before turning to his youngest cousin. “I’ll be the one to drive the siblings home. I’ll take Sungjong too, since he’s staying with me. You can take hyung so both of you can go straight home and rest up. Just this once, alright princess?”

“Surely you don’t mean that,” Seulbi replied, appalled.

“I’m being serious.” Woohyun’s smile told her otherwise.

“Oh yeah? What if another emergency situation like this happens?”

“Hmmm, when that time comes, we’ll see.”

Playfully, she reached out to ruffle his hair and the Nam heir kept ducking to avoid it. “Hey, it took me an hour and a half to style my hair for your graduation-- don't ruin it! Only grandmother is allowed to touch my hair like this! Stop!” he yelped in protest.

“Hmmm, we’ll see.”

He could not help but pinch both her cheeks, laughing as Seulbi perfectly threw his earlier response back in response. The Lee siblings couldn't help but laugh as well at that well-done comeback. When Woohyun toned down his cornball self, the banter between the two cousins was actually sweet. Finally, it was time to leave and the group bid each other their respective goodnight’s before Woohyun led his pack off to where he had parked.

Seulbi turned to Sunggyu. “Shall we go as well?” He nodded once to signify he understood.

The girl’s intention was to support his arm and back as she escorted him to the sedan but he had raised one hand up without meeting her eyes, signalling to be left alone. Seulbi had no choice but to back off, looking on with amusement as he scurried away to put a good distance between them.

He was probably still embarrassed over the unintentional baring of skin. Seulbi, having grown up with the boys, really thought nothing of it after the whole flashing. She was sure she had seen a few bums quite a few times when they were children. Her cousins walking around the household in their boxers especially after they came home tipsy was a common occurrence too. Sure, the encounter was embarrassing, but no one made much of a great deal out of it. Family was family after all.

Sunggyu had just put on his seatbelt when hip hop music blasted through the speakers after Seulbi started the car. He shot her a weird look thereafter. For someone who held herself in a very business-like demeanour (he had yet to see her dressed casually with her hair down), it was hard to believe that Miss Prim-and-Proper enjoyed listening to this type of music.

“Howon’s playlist. He’s into American hip hop and R&B. This is to make sure I don’t fall asleep at the wheel,” she clarified before he could even voice out the question. “Not that I'm saying you can't-- you must be tired. I’ll wake you when we get home.”

“I’m fine,” Sunggyu grumbled.

Nevertheless, Seulbi lowered the volume before stepping on the gas pedal. The car cruised out of the parking lot and into the still-lively streets of Seoul— a sharp contrast to the rather dull mood inside the car. This whole time, Seulbi had been focused on her driving, keenly following every single road regulation down to the last dot. Sunggyu had been staring out the window, fascinating himself with the city lights.

Trey Songz just had to make the situation more awkward by crooning “Bottoms up” for all their listeners. He didn’t need to be top of his English class to understand; even if they weren’t technically singing about that kind of “bottom”, it triggered scarring memories from earlier.

“Uhh, can we change the song?”

“Go ahead,” came Seulbi’s nonchalant reply.

My Humps from the Black Eyed Peas didn’t fair any better. From his peripheral vision, Sunggyu could see that a wry smirk was now plastered on her face-- Seulbi had already caught onto the drift. Without even asking this time around, he had changed the song once again, and...

♫You know what to do with that big fat
  Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle ♫

Miffed, Sunggyu slammed on the radio switch, unable to take the dreaded silence on the matter any longer. By now, Seulbi was trying so hard to keep a straight face on, concentrating on the road as she made a left turn. “You saw it, didn’t you?” he finally gasped.

“Saw what?”

“Don't play dumb with me, Lee Seulbi. You know. That.”

Silence. Then, “… well, yes.”

Let's just say that he wasn’t expecting her reply to be this blunt. Sunggyu wanted to scream in frustration at the harrassment, but he couldn't do so. Instead, he pulled the cardigan he was wearing closer around his body. “Don’t you think you’re being a bit impolite?!?” he yelped in exasperation.

“Well, you asked. I just answered honestly. It's a given-- how else would I have helped save you from that bath accident? It's not as if I looked at your backside on purpose—“

“WHATEVER! I CAN’T HEAR YOU! LALALALALALALA…”

She was beaming now as she watched him cringe in his seat. “You’re acting like a girl. And watch your neck; don’t move around so much.”

“This is all your fault! If not for you wishing that I would slip or something, I wouldn't have ended up in the hospital!” he yelped, pointing an accusatory finger at her. “How am I going to face my future wife now that I’ve unintentionally bared it all to someone that's not her?!?”

Seulbi really couldn’t contain herself any longer and finally burst out laughing at his remark. At least she had the sense to pull over and hit the hazard button before doing so. She was pounding away at the steering wheel with one hand over her stomach, her head thrown back as she ended up laughing so hard about it. By now, Sunggyu had turned completely beet red.

“I know it’s wrong to be laughing at my cousin's misfortune, but the absurdity of it all is just—“

“Go on,” he mumbled sarcastically. “Laugh all you want.”

“I will! I haven’t laughed this hard in a while! You said it so seriously too!”

“You sound so uncouth.”

“Tell Woohyun. See if I really care!” she sniffed as she wiped tears from her eyes. 

In fairness, her laughter had a nice ring to it which radiated warmth. If he wasn’t so embarrassed about the whole bath incident, then for sure he would have been smiling and laughing with her as well.

“Is it so wrong, the thought of reserving that privilege for my future wife?” Sunggyu huffed once she had started to calm down.

“I didn’t say it was wrong,” said Seulbi in response as she re-composed herself. “For boys of our generation to still think that way? It’s cute.”

Yeah, yeah, and your laughter is cute too. Sunggyu caught himself before he managed to blurt it out. Now where on earth did that remark suddenly come from? He was so bothered by his own thoughts that he didn’t notice he had been staring at her all this time.

“What?” Seulbi asked him, curiosity brought about by the myriad of changes in his facial expression that happened in a span of a few seconds. 

“Drive. Just drive.”

Sensing he was upset, Seulbi didn’t argue and pulled the car back into driving mode. Not one word was exchanged thereafter and the lack of music only emphasised the silence. While driving, one of the LED digital billboards managed to capture her attention.

For a moment, Lee Seulbi forgot how to breathe.

Now that she had her eyes locked on his perfectly-carved nose and lips, his sharp cheek bones and defined jawline, at his eyes that held the whole galaxy, it unearthed several emotions that she had buried away one by one in the past.

Time was such a complex, beautiful yet sorrowful thing. Everyone would have different concepts of it, but the fact that it meant so much more to man than just mere numbers spoke multitudes about its preciousness. Lost time and missed time were definitely no exceptions to that. She continued to wistfully gaze at that boy on the billboard, amazed by how he had changed so much in his long absence. Yet she knew that he was still that same boy from three years ago.

You've grown well.

Meanwhile, as the heiress continued to muse on, Sunggyu straightened up after he had noticed that the car had suddenly veered off towards the left from the outward most lane, inching slowly towards the double yellow line.

“HEY! WATCH IT!”

Startled, Seulbi came back to her senses and realised what was going on. She righted the car before she could fully cross off into the opposite lane and incur a traffic violation. Sunggyu was relentlessly, immediately nagging at her. Everything unfortunate that had happened so far (and was about to happen, had he not yelled out) seemed to be stemming from her in one way or another. “What is seriously wrong with you? You should be thankful there were no other cars in the vicinity! You could have gotten us into an accident!”

Her grip on the steering wheel tightened and she frowned slightly. Deep inside, she was berrating herself for being careless. “Sorry.”

"Sorry won't cut it if I end up in the hospital for a third time because of you!" he spat, completely pissed off. "What were you so fascinated about that you had to make an insane attempt of crossing over a no-crossing zone?"

With much difficulty, he had to turn his whole body sideways to view whatever she had been looking at instead of craning his neck. Sunggyu's mouth formed into a little 'o' in realization, his anger quelled in an instant. This was the perfect opportunity for him to get back at her from earlier and shift the pressure onto her this time. "He's that mesmerizing, huh? London boy. So he's a model. Do you know him personally?" he teased as he turned towards her, a sheepish smile now plastered on his face.

She made no reply. That only prompted him to goad her on even further.

"Why don't you whisk yourself off to one of his runway appearances or something? It's a little sad to be content with just looking at a billboard."

The heiress only let out a deep sigh before responding in all honesty with a wry smile on her face. “My presence there will only upset him, Sunggyu. I’d rather keep my distance."

Her reply was one of the saddest responses that he's ever heard from anyone. So they did know each other on a personal basis. But that still doesn’t equate to you not wanting to see him, Sunggyu thought. Earlier’s nearly-incurred traffic violation only validated his thoughts. Who in their sane mind would start driving towards a billboard on the opposite side of the road?

His train of thought was interrupted when Seulbi spoke up again. “Don’t casually mention him in the household, especially around the three— even to Dongwoo. It won’t be pretty, I tell you. They won’t take it in well.”

London boy exuded Lord Voldemort vibes: was he to start calling him He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named-in-the-Lee-Household as well? There was something off-balance here too: Seulbi made it seem like those three plus Dongwoo hated the guy down to the very core of his existence. On the otherhand, Seulbi's take on him had that hint of sadness and regret. He could not fathom how his current data connected with each other when they didn't logically fit together. From what he understood, the three tried as much as possible to avoid conflicting opinions with their precious baby cousin.

He cleared his throat, “What’s their beef with—?”

“Someday, they’ll bring it up themselves. We’ll leave it at that for now.”

Sometime later, the heiress had requested that they turn the music back on because she was feeling a little drowsy. Sunggyu gave in because he didn't want anyone falling asleep at the wheel with him as the front row passenger, but not before making sure he had the the music playlist on a re-shuffle. Well, Howon's iPod had failed him once again, sending Seulbi into another laughing fit as "Bubble " started blasting through the speakers.

"This playlist ing !" 

<<<< >>>>

Sour. Very sour. That was the perfect description for Sunggyu's mood as of the late. And his aching neck was equally demanding of his attention, which really bothered him. Their car had now pulled over at the Lee mansion's driveway. Seulbi had turned the engine off and got out of the car, Sunggyu following suit, storming after her.

“Were you really brought up to be this insensitive? In order to save someone from embarrassment, couldn’t you have at least fibbed a little?”

“Hoooboy, we’re still not over with this discussion?” Seulbi sighed, turning around to face him. "What do you want me to do about it so you can get over it once and for all, Sunggyu? Lie about it? I can't whip out a full-proof idea on a whim like you can and lie about it so casually. Everything needs to be well thought out."

"And here I thought you were the family genius! It's not as if you've never fibbed your whole life!"

She crossed her arms in her irritation. All she wanted to do was crash on her bed; she had a long deal of explaining to accomplish first thing in the morning the next day. Obviously, her grandfather would not be pleased to know that his long-lost-now-newly-returned grandson had gotten himself injured. "Very well then. I swear I didn't see anything. Nothing. Nah-dah. Zilch. Cross my heart," she told him, even tracing a small cross over her chest to seal the promise. "Good night."

That only frustrated him all the more. "You should have just said that in the first place! It does not invalidate anything!"

He should be thanking his lucky stars he had that cervical collar around his neck. Seulbi was highly tempted to start choking him into non-existence. If Woohyun was cheesy and annoying, Sunggyu took it to a whole new level minus the cheesy part, almost to the point of intolerability. No one could infuriate her as much as he did. She still couldn't believe that they were cousins and that she would probably have to spend the rest of her life watching over the family business with him in tow. "Irritant," she gritted at him. "I'm really not seeing what you're trying to drive at here! Good night!"

"At least learn when to and when to not make things up next time, Lee Seulbi! It might save your life, I tell you! Maybe it'll do you some good and help patch things up with London boy too!"

Sunggyu knew then and there that he had overstepped his boundaries. It was only a momentary flicker of anger, but he had felt the surge nevertheless and took the hint to back off. "Ouch, my neck hurts from all that arguing," he groaned, pulling out the 'injured' card in hopes that she'd pity him and back off. "I think I'll go in ahead."

With that, he hastily made his way to the solace of his bedroom. He was surprised when Seulbi tugged on the sleeve of his cardigan. "What now?" he groaned.

“I didn’t want to say it earlier in the car because you were being so difficult," she told him. "You looked nice."

"Excuse me?"

"I didn’t say I didn't like what I saw. I don't regret seeing it either.”

"W-What do you mean?"

"Let's cut the long story short. I like you, Kim Sunggyu."

He did not like the looks of that smirk on her face. The heiress was now inching towards him, closing the gap between them in an instant. Sunggyu freaked out and started to back away from her advances. “Don’t. What are you saying? It's not right! Y-You can’t—”

“Abeonim doesn’t need to know. In fact, no one needs to, except you and me," Seulbi whispered. Her hands were now on his arms and her face was so close to his by now, Sunggyu thought he must have looked silly as he stared at her cross-eyed. She inched even closer and he shut his eyes tightly, hoping that this was all some crappy dream. When he woke up, he would still be back in his rooftop appartment and Mrs. Choi would still be banging on his front door, demanding him to pay up for his rent.

"Got you."

Sunggyu's eyes blinked open. That damned deadpanned expression of hers was now back, but he could sense that she was inwardly amused. "Ah, so this is what fibbing on the spot feels like. It's easier than I thought," Seulbi mused. He was unaware that he had backed himself into the car and was leaning at such an uncomfortable position. Well, not until after Seulbi had released her grip on his arms dropped him, causing him to lose his balance. Dull pain shot through his back area after and he tried to cushion his neck at the fall.

What just happened?

"That was the tiest joke ever, Lee Seulbi!" he roared.

"But hey, you fell for it. Literally. And honestly, I pity your future wife," Seulbi continued, deliberately ignoring him, as she made her way inside. "I think she'd be as visually violated as I was. Your bones kind of stick out at an odd angle, it's weird. Well then, good night."

Oh, she did not just diss his pride and glory. To add further insult to injury, she had left him out in the cold, still lying over the hood of the car. Every attempt to sit up by himself ended up with him falling again and again on his back. And god, his neck was killing him!

"You..."

Thud

"...are the worst cousin..."

Thud

"...in the history of..."

Thud

"...mankind!"

She should be thanking her lucky stars they weren't really related, because if they were, there would be hell to pay. It infuriated Sunggyu, how her cousins treated her like an angel and like she was the cutest thing alive on the face of this planet when clearly she was nothing of that sort. Forget Mrs. Choi, Thor-wannabe or Sungjong with his take-over-the-world tendencies. Forget Woohyun who was the complete epitome of a prick. Lee Seulbi bested all of them in that department. Lee Seulbi was evil incarnate.

Lee Seulbi, herself, was the spawn of the Satan.

<<<< >>>>

Being the first morning that he was back, Lee Jungyeop had called for a family breakfast together with all his grandchildren. Sungjong, their family's current guest of honor, was part too. Seulbi did a good and careful job of breaking down the explanation Sunggyu's injury to her grandfather beforehand so as to ensure he wouldn't go into shock on seeing the neck brace. He took it in very calmly, only interrupting to ask of the boy's condition and discharge statement.

"Good morning, Sunggyu!" Jungyeop happily greeted the moment he stepped into the dining area. He returned the greeting with a bow and hastily dashed towards his seat upon seeing he was the last to come in, embarrassed by his poor manners. And just his luck, the only free one was right across Lee Seulbi.

His eyes narrowed at her, still angry about last night's chain of events. Currently, every little detail about her ticked him off: like how she had her pinky up when sipping on her glass of water and like how always wore a collared blouse that remained freshly-pressed throughout the day. And did she have that bun perpetually sewn onto her scalp or something? Seulbi continued to eat without much regard for his rude staring, which only Jungyeop managed to interrupt.

"How are you son? I hope your injury did not bother your sleep last night."

"It's still a bit sore, to be honest, but I slept through and through." Yes, after a good twenty minutes of lying completely still on the car hood-- it could have been longer had the roving family security guard slacked off on his rounds.

And pretty much, a normal family conversation over breakfast ensued. Then came the topic of school...

"So I heard Sungjong has decided to enroll into the Business track. That's good. Everyone else is going into Humanities these days," Jungyeop complimented. "You will be joining my grandchildren at Daekyung-- I'm sure Woohyun, Howon and Sungyeol would be willing to help out if you need it. Seulbi is entering the university with you this year, so you shouldn't feel too lonely. Please take care of my granddaughter at school, alright?"

"Yes, sajangnim!" Sungjong replied brightly.

No one noticed that Seulbi had started poking her omelette a little more forcefully with her chopsticks. No one except Sunggyu. The girl seemed pretty bummed about university, which was unusual for someone who scored pretty high on the CSAT and graduated with the highest degree of academic honors in her graduating class. People with her credentials would normally be pining for a spectacular degree from one of the top universities of the country.

"And that goes for Sunggyu too, should he chose to attend university this year as well," announced Jungyeop. Sunggyu dropped his utensils and they fell onto his breakfast bowl with a loud clatter.

"Pardon?"

"University! Son, you've put your education off for two years now, I think it's high time you considered it. I'll take care of everything personally! You've taken your CSATs, right?"

"Y-Yes."

"Nearly aced them too," Sungjong piped proudly. "They always put the focus on me when it comes to academics, they don't even know that hyung's part of the top students of his graduating class as well."

"There you have it! I don't see why not! Besides, we need much more brilliant and innovative young minds to take care of the family business, and I believe that each and everyone of you, my grandchildren, has something significant to contribute."

Even this was too much kindness for him to accept. The amount that he had charged to Seulbi before, and now Woohyun, was supposed to comprise his funding to put himself through university for at least the first two years-- he had planned to support himself via scholarship after. That left him with a whole lot of extra money on hand with nothing to blow it on. Sungjong's eyes lit up in excitement, prompting him to say yes. Hoya and Sungyeol were also goading him on to accept. Even Seulbi had her head titled like a curious child, patiently waiting for his answer. Sunggyu helplessly turned to Woohyun for an answer.

You're acting too suspicious! Do what you think is right, or else--- translated the Nam heir's responding glare. He sighed. Once again, he was left with no other choice.

"I-I'll consider it."

<<<< >>>>

Seulbi sighed, having had it with television today. London boy was hotcake material for the media right now. Interviews, photo spreads, magazine shoots-- South Korea couldn't get enough of him. Everyone was just dying to know more about him and how he was doing after his long three-year absence. 

She needed to get away from here, or at least have something to keep her mind preoccupied elsewhere. Hoya and Sungyeol were out of town. Woohyun was helping Sungjong in scouting for an affordable and convenient place to stay. Dongwoo was at a private family get-together. Her grandfather was out for his follow-up check-up tests. That only left one person available for that night.

As much as he irritated her to no end, he was surprisingly fun to tease and bully around. Seulbi has never had this much fun in like... forever. Everything thus far had been listless routine for her until that fateful day Kim Sunggyu ran into her car. Life just seemed to pick itself up after that; each day became more interesting, challenging. Now she just wanted to see Kim Sunggyu, anti-rich, work his way into the new predicament he was thrown into.  

She made her way towards his room and this time, she made sure to knock and wait for a response. "Sunggyu?"

"What?"

"Let's eat out."

"I'm too tired. Why don't you go and order take out?" Honestly, he wanted nothing more but to stay home and rest after he had that cervical collar taken off for good. 

There was no way she was giving this up. Seulbi was forced to pull out her ultimate trump card. "My treat?"

And just like magic, Sunggyu had appeared out of his room dressed and ready to go, all in a span of a few seconds. "Just because it's free dinner-- I mean-- Grandpa would be upset if he knew I left you to eat alone," he mumbled. Seulbi shook her head in disbelief. Still as stingy as ever.

Myeongdong district, specifically at Pierre Gagnaire on top of Lotte Hotel was the restaurant of choice. "You're treating me to this much? What's the occasion?" Sunggyu asked in disbelief, marvelling at how fancy the place was as they were led to their seats. Seulbi had wanted the last table situated next to the window but was declined because someone else had it reserved beforehand. Still they were placed close enough. "Wait, is this some kind of practical joke?"

"No, none of that," Seulbi reassured, taking her seat. "Let's pine it as a celebration for finally having that silly neck brace off."

"How very nice of you," he scoffed.

"It's an apology as well for what had happened a few days ago."

"How... very nice of you..."

"Yes, and since I'm playing along that line, indulge yourself. Order anything you want as much as you want," she offered.

Hopefully, he'd have a full appetite on. The more he'd eat, the longer she could stay away from anything London boy related on the television. After putting his uneasy conscience to rest by reassuring himself that this still wasn't some sort of practical joke, he really did end up hoarding over several of the bestsellers.

"I hope this isn't because you're underfed back at the estate," the heiress mused. "If you have any complaints about the food, Chef Tony would be willing to accommodate."

"Who says I'm eating it all to myself? It's up for sharing. You seriously come to a fancy restaurant such as this just to order a salad?" Sunggyu complained. "You don't even eat much at the estate. It's no wonder why you're all skin and bones."

"I do binge on a lot of things. You just don't notice it."

"On what, air and leaves?"

"Yes, I secretly eat out the hedges one by one when the gardener isn't looking. There's a whole multitude of them so I never get hungry enough during meal times," Seulbi mumbled in complete sarcasm.

That sold it for Sunggyu. "So you do have a sense of humour! All this time I thought Howon was lying when he said you have a much sharper tongue than he has."

Pretty much later, he had excused himself to use the rest room. Sunggyu couldn't help but notice the commotion going on hallway and down the lower floors. The sound of screaming girls practically flooded the area. Ignoring it, he decided to carry on with his business and just as he was finishing up, someone had barged into the rest room, heavily accompanied by several burly men. Said person let out a loud sigh.

"We're sorry for the inconvenience and the delay in your dining Young Master Kim," one of the men apologized. "It will be uncomfortable for the meantime, but please wait here inside until we get the okay signal from crowd control. Are you alright, sir? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"I'm fine, Leo, thank you for checking. No harm done. Sorry for troubling you like this." His attendant left to stand guard outside right after.

Sunggyu looked to see the owner of the voice. His eyes widened. London boy.

London boy, clad in an all-black from long-sleeved top, to tie and coat, was there in the flesh. So he had been the cause of the earlier commotion. Fangirls would kill to be in Sunggyu's place right now-- London boy definitely had ethereal looks akin to that of a Greek god. He really exuded much more charm, charisma and cold city boy vibes in person compared to his billboard appearance. There was just something in the way he carried himself that even Sunggyu couldn't help but be drawn to his mysterious persona. He didn't realize he was staring so much until the other started clearing his throat, completely weirded out by the situation.

"Sorry," Sunggyu apologized, zipping up. God, he could kill himself right there and then. He just had to make it so obvious. And he wasn't in the most decent predicament either-- why did everything awkward have to happen in a place pertaining to a toilet? Quickly, he moved over to the sink to wash up. It seems like the guy decided to think nothing of it and proceeded to ignore him. Still though, what lucky (or unlucky) coincidence for them to be graced with Mr. L Kim's presence.

My presence there will only upset him, Sunggyu. I’d rather keep my distance.

Lee Seulbi.

It was only then and there he remembered. Cursing inwardly, he dashed out of the bathroom. Good thing Lee Seulbi was still right where he had left her and didn't decide to go and explore the area.

"What took you so long? Your food's getting cold," Seulbi greeted. She looked like she was in high spirits, seeing all the tasty-looking dishes completely served.

Wordlessly, Sunggyu grabbed her by the wrist, tugging her to a standing position. "We're leaving."

“Sunggyu—"

"I don't like it here."

"But my salad!" Seulbi, still completely unaware of the situation, complained as he started dragging her away from the table.

This was a life-and-death emergency and all she could think of was her salad? "If you want salad so badly, I'll whip one up at home!" he gritted at her, tugging back when she started resisting against his force. He had to admit, she was rather strong for such a skinny girl-- he was nearly straining himself to get her to keep up. 

"What gives! We're leaving without paying?"

Frustrated by her growing number of complaints, Sunggyu took his wallet out, flung a credit card (Woohyun's) at the table before turning back to her, making sure to meet her eyes. His grip around her wrist became less forceful, more caring.

"I can't let you get hurt. So please."

That could have meant a multitude of things: Please move faster. Please stop complaining. Please trust me. He sounded so serious that Seulbi found herself nodding in agreement, no longer caring for any reason for his weird actions that night. With that, she allowed herself to be whisked away by him. Sunggyu managed to weave himself and her in and out through the thick throng of fangirls and by now Lee Seulbi had gotten the hint as to what all of this was about.

Sunggyu carefully peered back to orient himself if they were going in the right direction. Bad choice.

From where he was standing, a floor down, L Kim had the complete vantage point and was staring up at them. Like a curious child, his line of sight followed the pair, his lustrous, yet deep orbs picking up something that piqued his attention.

Then Sunggyu felt it. A surge of cold, icy anger.

And he was sure that it was directed towards him.

<<<< >>>>

He hoped to God that this person with him right now wasn't one of his fan boys. Myungsoo felt extremely uncomfortable with the extreme staring and cleared his throat to end the awkwardness once and for all.

"Sorry," the guy mumbled, finishing up and proceeding to the wash area. Curious eyes secretly followed and once Myungsoo had deemed him a non-threat, he let out a big inward sigh of relief. Everywhere he went, he was being hounded by people, so he had every right to be cautious and wary. This person was just at the wrong place at the wrong time, and he was terribly sorry to have judged his intentions.

Just as he was getting comfortable with the stranger's presence, which was somehow a breath of fresh air from all those people wanting an autograph or picture with him and other things of that sort, something caught Myungsoo's ear. It came out as a low whisper but he had heard it clearly. A name, in particular. And in a blink of an eye, that person had disappeared, rushing out of the rest room as if his life depended on it.

Now that he was completely alone, for the first time in three years, Kim Myungsoo finally let that name spill out of his lips-- that very same one that the stranger had uttered. A name that was still so familiar to him, it still came out so naturally as if he'd still been mentioning it all this time.

"Lee Seulbi..."

Author's Note: For Sunggyu's reference, refer to Weekly Idol-- you know, that segment where Dongwoo auctions off their butts? Yep, that's the one. Also, officially enter Kim I'm-the-effing-visual Myungsoo. What is his beef with the whole Lee family (guesses are highly appreciated)? BUT this isn't his first appearance in this story. Surprise! When, you wonder? Sealing lips in three.. two... one... :]

Anyhoo, songs mentioned:
I won't post the video links, some of them are a little too explicit (cinematography-wise and lyrics-wise). Keep these warnings in mind before you view and listen.

• Trey Songz - Bottoms Up (ft. Nicki Minaj)
• The Black Eyed Peas - My Humps
• Jason Derulo - Wiggle (ft. Snoop Dogg)
• Major Lazer - Bubble (ft. Bruno Mars, 2 Chainz, Tyga & Mystic)