“Every time I blink there are more of you.” Inshi commented, blinking again for emphasis.

                “There’s only six of us,” Donghyun reasoned, gesturing to his dongseangs next door.

                “You’re friends with these highschoolers?” Not only did she noticed that, but it was rather strange that they were altogether, living on the same street. Inshi raised her eyebrows, going into defensive mode. “How old are you again?”

                Before Donghyun could answer, K.Will stepped in. He was dressed to the nines with a tweed coat and trousers. He was dressed to go to the governor’s office today, ready to discuss some important scientific matters. “Seh Lyung-ah, why don’t you take your mother out to the city?” he suggested.

                They were out on the front porch, enjoying the cool morning air. Boyfriend was filing out of the twins’ house like ants at a picnic. Youngmin and Kwangmin pretended to be busy and were cleaning up their sidewalk while Hyunseong and Jeongmin were blatantly staring at Seh Lyung. She silently waved her hands around to stop them; it was getting both embarrassing and annoying.

                “Minwoo-goon!”

                The mentioned boy broke into a light jog at the sound of his name, with a little bounce in his step when he realized who was calling him. Kim Inshi, Seh Lyung’s mother, and he was currently her favorite. He stopped at the front of her house and stood right in front of her. “Neh?” he answered cutely and full of aegyo, knowing how much older women loved watching him act adorably.

                “Oh, you slept over at the other boy’s house?” she blinked, but again realized she was in the presence of the infallibly cute No Minwoo. “Aigu~” she pinched his cheeks. “Aren’t you cold? You’re still in your pajamas!”

                “I’m not.” Minwoo was wearing a plain white t-shirt and a thin pair of burgundy flannel pants. “I never get cold.” That was completely true.

                “Nonsense!” Inshi turned slightly to slap Seh Lyung on the thigh, making her jolt in surprise. “Seh Lyung! Do you still have those big sweaters that don’t suit you? Go get him one!”

                “Umma!” Seh Lyung gasped, blushing. “Minwoo says he’s fine, and those sweaters do look good on me! It’s the style to have them reach your knees, it’s cute!”

                “Kids and their strange fashion sense.” Inshi rolled her eyes. “Pali! Go get him one!”

                “We will!” Minwoo grabbed Seh Lyung’s hand and dashed inside the house, because he decided that it would take too long to wait. Minwoo dragged her up the stairs.

                “Minwoo, slow down!” she yelped.

                Not even ten seconds had passed and they were already at the front of her room. “Sorry,” he muttered sheepishly.

                “It’s okay.” She sighed, giving a small smile. Minwoo always gave her a rush, he made her feel more upbeat and youthful. She opened the door and mumbled a, “Ignore the mess.” She rifled for her closet, hoping Minwoo didn’t think she was dirty for leaving her room so messy. “Here,” she held out a yellow Pancoat sweatshirt with a big duck in the middle.

                “It’s cute.” Minwoo praised, giving a thumbs up. But he made no move to grab the sweater from her.

                Shaking her head, Seh Lyung walked over to him, the blue rug padding against her feet. She rolled up the sweatshirt to the end, and Minwoo leaned his head down so he could be dressed. “Honestly, you’re such a baby.” She laughed softly, slipping the piece of clothing through his head. Minwoo’s head popped out from the other end, and he kissed her cheek. The sweater dropped from Seh Lyung’s grasp. Her body froze like ice, but her face hot like fire.

                “But I’m your baby, right?” he winked, putting on the rest of the sweater on his own. He confidently strode out of the room before she could answer.

                Alone, Seh Lyung was able to process this on her own. She cupped her cheek, which was tingling from his touch. Sighing, she placed a hand over her heart, which wouldn’t stop pounding. Since when did Minwoo become so, sly?

```

                “Seh Lyungie, would you like to go to a fancy dinner next weekend?” her mother asked, holding a white dress next to her body, her eyes darting between the two.

                Seh Lyung grabbed the dress and returned it to the rack. “No, we really don’t have to go somewhere special.”

                “What about Lotte World?”

                “No thank you.” Persistent, Seh Lyung walked out of the shop and waited for her mother at the entrance.

                “Honestly,” Inshi huffed, hiking her leather purse against her shoulder. The older woman’s high heeled boots clicked heavily against the pavement. “Then where do you want to go?”

                “Nowhere.” Seh Lyung shrugged.

                “No motives, no desire. What do you have?” her mother was taunting her, questioning her ambitions. It annoyed Seh Lyung to death, and it annoyed her even more that she had inherited the same sharp attitude. But she was her mother; she couldn’t just rule her out. “You’re hiding something from me,” Inshi said, flaunting away her motherly intuition. “I told you I didn’t want you running around and finding a boyfriend.”

                “I didn’t find a boyfriend.” Seh Lyung pressed, and technically the boyfriend(s) found her.

                “Are you dancing again?” her mother tried again. But at the mere idea she turned pale. “Kim Seh Lyung, I told you never to dance again. God, I should’ve known when you pointed out that practice room back in the house.” she pinched the bridge of her nose, “Dancing is a hobby, not a profession. Two different things.”

                “Umma, stop jumping to conclusions.” Seh Lyung didn’t want to cause a scene, so she quickly twisted the cap of her water bottle, and forced it in her mother’s hand. “I promise,” she said slowly. “I haven’t danced since I moved to Seoul with sahm-chon.”

                Her mother downed half the bottle before she spoke. “Sometimes I wonder whether it was a good idea to let you live here.”

                That kept Seh Lyung silent the rest of the shopping trip.

```

                “Excuse me? Have you seen a person that looks exactly like me?”

                “I’m right behind you.”

                “Oh,” Turning around, Youngmin grinned sheepishly, “my bad. It’s just that this mall is so huge that I got dizzy.”

                “See? I’m good with bargaining?” Jeongmin reasoned from the other side of the mall, a gold chain dangling from his neck.

                “No, you’re not.” Hyunseong replied, crossing his arms.

                “I so am.” Jeongmin started flirting with himself in the shop’s mirror, fixing his hair.

                “Stop lying to yourself.”

                “I’m back!” Donghyun called out, carrying an armful of shopping bags. Minwoo was next to him, clutching a small banana plush with an awkward face.  “And I finally won the banana!”

                Hyunseong was half-listening to their conversation when he noticed a really girly jewelry store across from them. He didn’t bother to excuse himself (not that anyone would notice) as he walked inside, inhaling the scent of perfume. He noticed there were only a couple of people in the store, as he bowed subconsciously at the owner. He quietly shifted to a corner in the back, where there was a paper sign that read, Perfect for Your Special Someone.

                Smiling, he picked up a burgundy velvet box and popped open the top. A silver chained necklace sat in the soft packaging. A milky satin, pink heart drop charm. It almost looked like a frozen water droplet. It was perfect for Seh Lyung. Proud, he snapped the box shut and went to the register.

                “H-hello, Hyunseong.”

                He stopped short, and looked down. That voice, which soft timbre was so distinctive it was painfully tiring for him to talk to. The girl wore a blank stare; the way her eyes were clouded made her look mystical and almost unreadable. Her stature made her look even more of a doll. “Ji Eun,” Hyunseong said, almost sounding surprised. “Hi,” he gave a terse smile out of politeness. “Are you alone?”

                “No, I’m all by myself.” And the way she said it made Hyunseong instantly pity her. “What about you?”

                “A few of my friends.” He hadn’t talked to Ji Eun since the fire at the restaurant. He felt uncomfortable since Minwoo was technically Ji Eun’s ex-boyfriend. With a quick nod, Hyunseong took out his wallet and paid at the front.

                It was supposed to signal the end of the conversation, but Ji Eun followed.”Hyunseong, you’re buying that for Seh Lyung,” she gestured a small finger to the velvet box. “right?”

                What was this, was Ji Eun only here to loom over him like some kind of ghost? But he kept his manners in check. “I really got to go,” he forced himself to sound like he was in a hurry, “they didn’t know I left. So… bye.”

                But before he could make a clean getaway, Ji Eun grabbed his jacket sleeve. “I don’t understand why you still like her.” She murmured in a monotone, dropping his arm and hers falling limp. “Isn’t she together with Kwangmin?” she frowned. “But Minwoo…” she stopped herself at the sensitive topic. “I don’t want to burden myself with her problems.” she her heel to leave.

                Hyunseong observed her retreating figure, like a spirit floating about. In all honesty, this irked him. He thought a girl as mature as Ji Eun would have mind to get over such a short-lived relationship. Stumped, Hyunseong scratched his head, his eyes wandering off around the store.

                “Oppa?” It was Seh Lyung.

                Once again he looked down. His whole body heated up in embarrassment. She wasn’t supposed to see him, or find out they were following her. “Oh, Seh Lyungie!” he grinned good-naturedly, as if it was an accident running into her. “What are you doing here?”

                “I’m here with Umma, but she had to take a phone call.” She gestured to her parent outside, who was talking hastily into her old school phone. Nevertheless, the young girl eyed Hyunseong strangely, not expecting him in such a frilly store. “But what are you doing here?”

                “Oh, you know. Just curious, wandering around and finding out strange human customs.” Hyunseong shrugged, trying to slip the velvet jewelery box in his back pocket without her notice.

                “Still? I thought that you’d know most of them by now.” Seh Lyung laughed.

                Hyunseong smiled to himself, watching his girlfriend. It was always so difficult, getting her attention. But now all eyes were on him, and it felt good.

                “Kim Seh Lyung!” But of course, all good things had to come to an end. Her mother came in, an annoyed look on her face. She didn’t even notice Hyunseong. “I called your doctor back home. He said you haven’t picked up your medicine from the neighboring pharmacist in Seoul.”

                A look of sheer surprise was written all over Seh Lyung’s face, which soon turned to panic and desperation. “Umma!” she whined, feeling herself dragged out the store.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was going to be a Boyfriend extra in this, but I decided to use it as the beginning of the next chapter. Lalala~

RinaSeungMin: WHO SAID THAT!? If that's so... I VOLUNTEER NO MINWOO AS PEETA, AND MYSELF AS KATNISS. Oh, and Boyfriend as tribute! Hehe~ did you watch the movie?

vanishedsnowflake: Awe, thanks! Jeongmin seems like such a cute drama king. Not like Key-diva, but cute kid at a candy store :3

K3U_minwoo: Updated^^

pipoomica: Thanks~!

Lilmisschique: I know, his hair, I don't know. It was made in the Lucifer era, it should stay there. And it seems like Taemin hates it too, one of his interviews he has to force a smile, and my poor Taebaby >.<

ELFyourface: <3 Jeongmin forever! (Look at the giffiee I made!)

~Camille