On the way to the shopping mall, the boys and Sooyoung began to chat in their own personal car, which was a seven-seater who was always driven by the only driver in their clique, Ken. The four boys wore casually, with t-shirts and jeans, while Sooyoung was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt to cover her bruise and a pink skirt, long enough to cover her long and thin thighs.

"So Sooyoung ah, what's your hobby? Like what do you like to do when you have your own free time?" Hyuk who was seated beside her asked.

"Me? Uhm... I like to dance... That's my passion..." Sooyoung shyly replied.

"Me too!" N who was sitting behind Sooyoung exclaimed from the back. "What kind of dance to be specific?"

"Hip-hop." The brunette replied.

"That's cool!" Hongbin who was seated behind Hyuk exclaimed as well. "Did you join our school's Hip Hop club?"

"Uh... Nope..." Sooyoung replied with a rather sad tone.

"Waeyo?" Hyuk asked.

"Uh... I do not have the time to join one, that's why..." Sooyoung replied. Hyuk and N nodded their heads, except for Hongbin who isn't convinced by what Sooyoung had just said. He believed that there is something more to it, something more serious to prevent Sooyoung to enjoy her passion and it's sure not about the lack of free time.

"By the way, why is Ken so quiet now?" Sooyoung asked while switching her gaze at the driver's seat.

"Ahh that Ken had just gotten his driving license not long ago and he is very focused while driving. He literally can't listen to any one of us. So if there's any accident that happens, you know who to blame." N laughed and everyone laughed as well except for Ken, who turned to look back at them while reaching the red traffic light.

"Did someone just mentioned my nameeee~" Ken asked cutely.

"Uh, no? Since when did we? Right guys?" N joked and everyone fakingly nodded their heads, including Sooyoung who joins in the fun.

"Hmm, I did hear my name though..." Ken replied sadly and back to focus on his driving when the traffic light turns green while the passengers behind nearly burst out laughing at how dumb Ken can get.

"Yay we have reached!" Ken exclaimed happily while pulling his car on a stop.  N who came out from the car first opened the door for Sooyoung.

"Thank you N..." Sooyoung smiled and N smiled back.

"Eh hyung, you never do this for me." Hyuk pouted after everyone got out from the car.

"Me too. This is not fair hyung." Hongbin crossed his arms.

"Me threeeeeee~ I thought you loved me the most." Ken whined while pulling N's arm. As always, the eldest among them showed his infamous frown with his white sparkling teeth showing.

"Come on guys let's go in~" Sooyoung awkwardly said and the boys nodded their heads, following her in to the shopping mall.

"So what do you boys have to buy?" Sooyoung asked the rest.

"Uhm, I need to buy a new jacket..." Ken replied.

"I need to buy my banana milks!" N replied.

"I need a new converse bag!" Hongbin replied.

"I need new converse sneakers!" Hyuk replied.

"Sooyoung, how about you?" N asked the brunette.

"I wanted to look at sneakers too..." Sooyoung replied and everyone smiled.

"Alright, let's just buy what we want and meet at the usual cafe that we always go okay?" N said and everyone nodded their heads.

"The usual cafe?" Sooyoung asked.

"Yes it's a cafe that we always go. Don't worry Hyuk and I will bring you there." Hongbin replied with a smile and Sooyoung smiled back at him. Everyone went to their stores: Ken at Uniqlo, N at the supermarket, Sooyoung, Hongbin and Hyuk at the Converse store.

Upon reaching the Converse store, Hongbin proceed to the bags section and Sooyoung followed Hyuk to the shoes section.

"Sooyoung ah, which one is nicer, the blue one or the grey one?" Hyuk asked while looking through the variety of shoes. But there wasn't any reply from Sooyoung. Feeling weird, Hyuk turn back to see Sooyoung, stoning with her eyes fixed on a pair of yellow coloured sneakers.

"Helloooooo~" Hyuk whined while shifting his hands up and down in front of Sooyoung and the brunette snapped out of it.

"Oh... Sorry Hyuk... What did you say just now?" Sooyoung gave an apologetic look to Hyuk, who was amused by her reaction.

"Haha, I'm just asking which colour is nicer. Blue or grey?" Hyuk asked cutely and made Sooyoung smiled.

"Hmmm, I think the grey one suit you more. Sooyoung replied while pointing towards the grey sneakers.

"I thought so too, alright I will get this then!" Hyuk exclaimed and went to ask the staff to get a pair of size 27.5 for his feet. Sooyoung shifted her attention back to that pair of yellow sneakers.

"If you like it, why not buy it?" Hongbin who came with a red bagpack asked Sooyoung.

"It's okay... I don't need one now anyway...." Sooyoung replied with a rather sad tone.

"But you can try. No harm in trying right?" Hongbin smiled.

"Ah, that's alright." Sooyoung replied.

"Aishh, just try it. You wait here I'll ask the staff to get the shoes for you. What size are you wearing?" Hongbin insisted and asked.

"Uh... 23.5 but I..." Hongbin rushed off without letting Sooyoung continue what she wanted to say. Soon, both Hongbin and Hyuk came back with a shoe box on their hands. Hyuk went to sit at one of the stools and tries his shoes, while Hongbin handed Sooyoung the box to Sooyoung.

"Go on, try it." Hongbin said while his eyes on Sooyoung and then on the box that he is holding. Without any choice, Sooyoung took the box from him and sat down on one of the stools as well.

"How is this hyung?" Hyuk asked Hongbin and Hongbin replied him a thumbs up.

"It looks good on you."

"Really? Sooyoung chose it for me! She really has a great taste, am I right Sooyoung?" Hyuk exclaimed while looking at Sooyoung, who is currently trying her shoes. She looked up and smiled to Hyuk.

"Yellow suits you well Sooyoung." Hongbin complimented at the brunette who has just finished tying the shoe laces.

"Thank you..." Sooyoung replied. She took off the shoes and put them back to it's original box.

"You can buy it if you like!" Hyuk exclaimed happily.

"Uh, not now... I didn't bring money out today..." Sooyoung replied.

"We can lend you mon-" Hyuk's words are interrupted when a familiar voice of a lady can be heard.

"Isn't that Hyuk and Hongbin oppa?! OMG it is them!!" The girl who was called Hara shouted at the entrance.

"No wonder I saw a guy that looked familiar at the supermarket. It was N oppa I swear!" Another girl, Nicole exclaimed.

"The most popular clique in our school, VIXX are here shopping. We are so lucky to have bumped into them!" The last girl, Gyuri clapped. Hyuk and Hongbin just smiled at them and shift their attention to the shoes and bag. On the other hand, Sooyoung was looking at the three girls, with fear written in her eyes.

"Hey, why is she here?" Nicole pointed towards Sooyoung when she noticed the brunette seated at one of the stools.

"Sooyoung? That poor little wretch?" Gyuri's word became stern and annoyed.

"Why is she with our oppas? Seduce them again?" Hara crossed her arms annoyingly.

"Hey hey girls, that's not a good way to say someone like that." Hongbin walked to the front and have a frown on his face.

"Oppa, stay away from her. You never know what she will do to you. She's a ." Nicole said while pulling Hongbin's arm but Hongbin flanked away her hands.

"Says the one." Hyuk who was at the back said annoyingly which made Nicole stepped a few steps back.

"Oppa how could you? Did that wretch give you guys some spell to fall under?" Gyuri asked.

"The problem lies with you girls, stop being es that judge. You guys are annoying me." Hongbin gave a curt reply.

"Yes, we don't welcome girls like you here. Now shoo shoo!" Hyuk replied with his hand swifting back and forth, ignoring the girls and went back to look at his shoes in front of the mirrors.

"You heard it, now go. I won't send you off, bye." Hongbin replied while raising his palm and went back in to the store, leaving the three girls dumbfounded. The girls ran off with furious looks without saying any words.

Hongbin sat beside Sooyoung, who was about to cry with her red eyes.

"Sooyoung ah you don't have to ca-" Hongbin tried to comfort Sooyoung, but Sooyoung cut in, with her eyes turning watery.

"I need to go to the toilet, excuse me..." Sooyoung finished her sentence and ran out of the store.

"Sooyoung where are you going!" Hyuk exclaimed, oblivious of what just happened.

"Hyukkie I will catch up with her, I will meet you and the rest at the cafe. Also, please help to buy that yellow sneakers as well, I will pay you back the money later." Hongbin patted Hyuk's shoulder and ran off the store as well, leaving Hyuk to pout.

"Hyung prefers a girl over me..." Hyuk whined to himself.

Sooyoung ran as fast as she could, with tears rolling down her cheeks. She entered the ladies and ran to the sink and sobbed loudly. Lucky for her, no one else was in the toilet to hear her cryings.

"Why must all these happen to me... WHY!" Sooyoung shouted while splashing herself with tap water.

"Why can't I just born in a better background family..."

"Why can't I just have better parents..."

"Why can't I make friends in school..."

"Why can't I join my favourite hip hop club in school..." 

Sooyoung complained while splashing more water on her face, causing her to be half-drenched. After a few minutes of splashing, Sooyoung stopped and wiped away the water on her face with her sleeves. She rubbed her eyes and breathed heavily. She opened the door and saw a worried looking Hongbin who was waiting for her outside the restroom.

"Hongbin..."

"I've heard everything Sooyoung. Let's talk elsewhere, okay?" Hongbin spoke softly with his concerned look. Sooyoung nodded her head slowly and they went to a near by bench in the shopping mall.

"So... I'm sorry about your current situation now..." Hongbin started talking.

"Aniyo.. it's okay..." Sooyoung murmured, her eyes are still red.

"So about the hip hop club, it's not because of the lack of free time, it's because of the club vice-president, Nicole right?" Hongbin asked with a careful tone. Sooyoung hesitated for awhile before nodding her head.

"Neh..."

"But you could have went for the audition right? Since the desicion will be made by the president of the club, Seungyeon and not Nicole." Hongbin asked.

"I..." Sooyoung muttered.

"Don't worry you can tell me everything, I promise not to tell the girls okay?" Hongbin smiled back to Sooyoung. Feeling that Hongbin can be trusted, Sooyoung breathed hard.

"A few months ago, I saw this poster that says the Hip Hop club are recruiting members. So being very excited, I spoke to myself about the audition. But somehow Nicole and her friends manage to hear it. After school, they pulled me to an empty classroom and cornered me and hit me, pulled my hair, threatened me not to join the club or else I would have to suffer more. I-" Sooyoung said while her eyes getting teary again. Without any signal, Hongbin pulled Sooyoung into his embrace, his chin resting on her head.

"That's enough... I did not know that girls were so mean to you... Cry all you want Soo..." Hongbin replied and he can feel warm liquid stained on his shirt. The sobbing grew louder and louder. Hongbin remained still and had an empathy look. After a few minutes of crying, Sooyoung got up Hongbin's chest. She wiped away her tears and face Hongbin and his wet shirt.

"Sorry for making your shirt wet..."

"It's okay, do you feel better now?" Hongbin asked and Sooyoung nodded her head, which made the latter smile.

"Just treat me and my other friends as your brother, we will take good care of you and protect you from anybody."

"But... That will be troubling all of you..." Sooyoung said while looking down.

"Nope, not at all. Maybe this was all fate for N hyung to bring you back home. You know you really need someone to rely on don't you?" Hongbin replied with a smile. Sooyoung on the other hand remained silent.

"And good thing for you, you have 6 new friends who will always be by your side when you are down. Promise me not to bottle up your feelings again, okay?" Hongbin said with an assuring tone, allowing Sooyoung to have a sense of security that she longed hope for.

"Okay then... I promise. Thank you so much Hongbin, I'm glad to met such good friends..." Sooyoung smiled while Hongbin ruffled Sooyoung's hair.

"Let's go to the cafe now shall we?" Hongbin asked in a lively tone and Sooyoung readily agreed.

"You mean that Nicole and her clique insulted Sooyoung?! How could they!" N who was listening to Hyuk's story exclaimed angrily.

"They are so rude. Did Sooyoung offend them?" It was Ken's turn to ask.

"I suspect she was being bullied in school. The girls called her poor and..." Hyuk hesitated.

"And what?" N asked.

"..." Hyuk replied while looking down.

"W-hat?! This is unacceptable!" N exclaimed, sounded even more angry.

"I feel bad for her though... She shouldn't be treated like this." Ken whined.

"I hope she's alright now..." Hyuk sighed. The three boys sat at one of the coffee tables while waiting for Hongbin and Sooyoung to arrive. After five minutes of waiting, they have finally arrived.

"Sooyoung!" N exclaimed while moving forward to her. "Are you alright?"

"Neh... Thank you for your concern..." Sooyoung smiled and went to take a seat. The boys followed behind as well. Careful not to bring up what had happened just now, the boys started to chat about happier things.

"There was one time when Ken hyung thought that there's school on a holiday. He went to school alone as no one is in the house, thinking that there's school that day and we all have went off without him. But the truth is that we went to play basketball without informing. He came out with his uniform and whined like a baby oh god." Hyuk laughed and everyone laughed as well, including Sooyoung who laughed heartedly.

"Hey, no one told me anything okay." Ken whined while crossing his arms and everyone continued laughing.

"Oh yes I almost forgot. Hyuk where's the shoes?" Hongbin asked while facing Hyuk who was a seat apart from him.

"Here hyung." The younger one winked and passed the shopping bag to Hongbin.

"Thank you Hyuk." Hongbin smiled. "Sooyoung ah, this is for you." The latter handed the shopping bag to Sooyoung, who looked surprised.

"This is..."

"The yellow sneakers. It look really good on you." Hongbin said.

"But I just know you guys for a day and you bought gifts for me... This is not a good idea to accept it..." Sooyoung muttered.

"Aniyo just accept it, remember what I have told you just now?" Hongbin laughed and pushed the gift to Sooyoung. Sooyoung smiled and took the shopping bag.

"Thank you Hongbin..." Sooyougn shyly said.

"Hongbinnie where's mine?" N jokingly teased the younger one.

"I thought you will be happy enough to have your banana milks?" Hongbin raised his eyebrows.

"Then how about meeeee, I need shoes too Kong~" Ken pouted while tugging on his sleeves.

"You didn't say it earlier, so no more chances. Too bad." Hongbin laughed, leaving Ken to pout even longer. Time passed real quick and all of them decided to go home since it is already night time.

"We are home!" N exclaimed while opening the door, seeing Ravi and Leo on the couch watching television shows.

"Ah you guys are back, did you buy anything today?" Ravi who shifted his attention to the group who just came back.

"My leather jacket!" Ken exclaimed!

"Shoes!" Hongbin and Hyuk exclaimed together.

"Uh... No food? I'm hungry." Ravi whined while looking at N. "Hyungggggg where's the food?"

"Uh... I only bought banana milks...." N said embarrassingly while scratching his nape.

"Aish, then what shall we eat now?" Ravi whined again while slumping back to the couch.

"Do you guys have enough ingredients in the fridge?" Sooyoung cut in and asked.

"I think we have all the ingredients there for dinner." Hyuk replied.

"Then I'l-" Sooyoung was about to speak when Leo, who was quiet throughout the entire time spoke.

"I'll cook, you guys can wait here." Leo said and got up from the couch and went to the kitchen, leaving the rest dumbfounded.

"Leo... He..." N murmured.

"He is cooking tonight's dinner..." Hongbin added in.

"YAYYYYYYY!" The boys cheered and jumped around, leaving Sooyoung confused.

"Why are you guys so happy about it?" Sooyoung asked Ken who was standing beside her.

"Leo hyung rarely cooks for us unless we beg him to, because his cooking is really, really daebak!!" Ken replied excitely.

"He is our number one chef!" Hyuk added.

"You guys make me anticipate his cooking, I would love to try his cooking!" Sooyoung smiled and exclaimed as well while clapping her hands.

"You will get to soon! Alright everyone let's change and come back to the dining room okay?" The eldest one said and everyone nodded their heads, walking back to their own rooms.

"Eh hyung your kimchi soup smells nice!" Ken hopped behind Leo who was placing the dishes on the table. Leo patted his shoulder and went back to the kitchen to get some more dishes out.

"Yay to my favourite seafood noodle!" Hyuk said happily while sitting down on his seat.

"Red bean soup! I smell it!" Hongbin cheered and sat beside Hyuk.

"Leo knows us the best~" N said and everyone agreed while nodding his head. By then, everyone are seated on their seats.

"Let's start!" N said and everyone happily take the food.

"Daebak! Leo I missed your cooking so much!" N exclaimed and Leo just gave him eye contact before continuing eating.

"Sooyoung ah, how's Leo's cooking? Daebak isn't it!" Ken asked the brunette who was currently munching on the noodles.

"Yes it is, it is really nice. Leo ah, did you take up cooking classes?" Sooyoung asked Leo, who shook his head.

"You are really talented then. You can consider working as a chef when you graduate. I believe you can be a master chef in no time!" Sooyoung exclaimed. Leo who was looking at Sooyoung showed a slight smile and continued munching.

"How about you guys? What are your talents?" Sooyoung asked the rest.

"I can dance well, like you!" N exclaimed.

"I can draw, I will draw you something soon~" Ken cutely said, causing the brunette to giggle.

"I believe I rap well, I will show it to you next time!" Ravi replied while being enthusiastic about the word "rap".

"I play basketball well!" Hyuk exclaimed.

"I uhhh... I don't think I have any..." Hongbin who was thinking said finally.

"I think your talent would be being handsome." Ken teased and everyone laughed.

"Aish, I'm not..." Hongbin replied modestly.

"Then who is the guy who got signed up for the Flower Boy contest in our school?" Ravi teased back.

"I didn't sign up for that, those girls did..."

"But you still won, so that makes you the handsome one." N laughed, which left Hongbin speechless.

"Sooyoung, do you think Hongbin is handsome?" Ken asked the brunette who nearly choked on her food.

"Ah yes, Hongbin is handsome..." Sooyoung said shyly.

"How about meeeee?" Hyuk asked cutely.

"You are handsome too. Everyone here are all equally handsome." Sooyoung replied with a smile.

"But if you could only choose one, who would be the most handsome out of all?" Hongbin asked cheekily.

"Aish, this is a hard decision..." Sooyoung pouted.

"Just choose, we won't get mad!" Ravi replied.

"Uhm... I like dimples-"

"Hurray! I'm the most handsome one you guys~" Hongbin punched his fist in the air and cheered.

"Aish she only mentioned dimples you dumb." N frowned jokingly.

Sooyoung laughed. "As I was saying, I like dimples, but I prefer people who can draw well..."

"Oh yay it's me!" It was Ken's turn to cheer and he jumped happily.

"We are talking about looks now not talents ah Sooyoung..." Hongbin pouted.

"It is an altogether thing for me, hehe." Sooyoung giggled. The rest laughed, including Leo at how Ken jumps around and Hongbin pouting still.

"Aish, these boys..." Leo mumbled to himself.

"Let's do scissors papers and stones. The loser will have to wash all the dishes here." N stuck out his tongue and called everybody back. Everyone agreed and they started the game. In the end, Ken was the loser.

"Yay it's Ken hyung! Goodluck hyung!" Hongbin and Hyuk exclaimed and ran back to their rooms.

"It's all up to you Ken, my best dongsaeng~" N smiled cheekily and went back to his room as well, following Ravi, leaving Sooyoung alone with Ken at the dining table.

"Ken ah, if you don't mind I can help you with the washing of the dishes." Sooyoung smiled brightly.

"You are our guest, how can I let you do all the washings?" Ken crossed his arms and replied.

"I'm living here for free and I should do some house chores right?" Sooyoung insisted and took some of the plates and went into the kitchen.

"Hmm.. since you insist. Okay then, I may need some help too~" Ken said while taking the rest of the plates and followed behind Sooyoung. The both of them spent the next 20 minutes washing the plates and chatting. It is obvious that they are enjoying their time together even while doing house chores.

"To this beautiful young lady who called me handsome, we have reached your room~" Ken said with a very cute tone, causing Sooyoung to blush from the compliment.

"Thank you for accompanying me Ken." Sooyoung bowed politely and smiled.

"Aish, I should be the one thanking you for helping me out with the dishes. Without you I would probably be washing now still." Ken laughed and Sooyoung laughed as well.

"Alright, time to go to bed, we will call you up for breakfast tomorrow alright? Goodnight Sooyoung!"

"Goodnight Ken..." Sooyoung replied and smiled. Ken patted her on her forehead before Sooyoung enters her room. The brunette lays on her bed, smiling to herself.

"Thank you God, for letting me meet such nice... friends." Sooyoung mumbled to herself before going in to a deep sleep.