“Thank you so much. I owe you one.”

                “Don’t. I’m doing this only because I pity you.”

                Seh Lyung continued to smile as the two strolled down the street. It was after school and Se Young reluctantly followed after the other girl, brushing away her silky ebony bangs. The weather was getting warmer and midway through the walk they started shedding their blazers.

                “Aren’t you upset about the school rumors?” Se Young asked, slightly annoyed that Seh Lyung continued to grin. “You’re not annoyed?”

                “No, but for some reason you are.” They passed by an arcade, which was empty except for the manager. "Why are you annoyed?”

                “Because you’re making me follow you.” Now they were standing in front of the local café. “Let’s go in here.”

                “No way. There’s a worker I don’t like.” Seh Lyung grabbed Se Young’s slim arm, dragging her off to the park. “And you know I didn’t force you to come.” She silently added.

                “Whatever.” Seh Lyung scanned her eyes for the white gazebo. She smiled at the familiar building, where she jogged over and dumped her bag on the bench. Se Young sighed, trying hard not to grass stain her French-tipped ballet flats as she sat next to Seh Lyung. “So why did you bring us here?”

                “This place is just, sentimental.” Seh Lyung replied wistfully, taking in a deep breath of fresh air.

                “I can tell.” Se Young pointed to the wooden carving on the bench. “‘One month with Seh Lyung,’” she read, “you’re making me believe these rumors are true. Are they?”

                “I don’t know what classifies as true.” Seh Lyung confessed.

                “Try me, I’ve heard just about every excuse in the book.”

                Seh Lyung pointed to the older girl’s expensive Prada purse. “Tell me your story first. How did you get the money for that?”

                Se Young shrugged. “Father bought it for me just recently, he has money to burn.”

                The sharp eyes of Seh Lyung noticed that Se Young acknowledged her father formally, in a detached way. Normally girls with rich dads would call them ‘daddy’ or something sickeningly cute. “But Hyunseong-oppa told me you lived with your aunt in an apartment.” Seh Lyung said softly.

                “Oh, that’s true.” Se Young replied. “But that’s only because my father’s too busy to watch me. If my aunt watches over me, my dad pays my aunt’s welfare.”

                “You’re kidding.” Seh Lyung didn’t mean it sarcastically. It just seemed like Se Young had no worries. She was popular and pretty, and she went for any guy she wanted seamlessly and never seemed bothered for more than five minutes.

                “Why would I lie?” Se Young inquired.

                Seh Lyung contemplated that for a moment. “But why are you telling me this?”

                “So you could tell me your secret. A fair trade.” Indeed, that was a smart comeback. Se Young tried to brush it off and flip her beautifully tousled hair. On the inside, she was analytical, and had secret ulterior motives.

                “Fine.” Seh Lyung mimicked the prim tone that Se Young snapped with. “I have robot boyfriends.” She said it in the most sarcastic tone possible, knowing Se Young wouldn’t believe her.

                Instead, Se Young’s expression remained passive and unmoving. “Oh,” she pressed her hand over her chest in relief. “And I thought I was doing something wrong.”

                “What do you mean, wrong?” Seh Lyung asked, defensive.

                “I mean, I thought I was simply losing my charm.” She chided. Oh, so she was talking about herself. “That explains so much. No wonder they never liked me.”

                “Yeah.” Seh Lyung said, almost sadly. “Other than Youngmin and Kwangmin, they were programed to like me.”

                “Then the twins must really like you.” Se Young replied, eyes wide. And she didn’t make it sound like a bad thing. “Also, it’s not like they’re emotionless. I should know.” She puffed out her chest a bit too haughtily. “I’m the daughter of Starship’s president.”

                “Starship?” that name sounded oddly familiar to Seh Lyung. “Isn’t that a record label, or an entertainment company?”

                “It’s not just that. There’s a research and development lab.” Se Young put a finger to her lips, signaling is was classified information. “My dad hires affiliates yearly and he financially aids them with their experiments.”

                “Sounds like my uncle.” Seh Lyung noted, twisting her fingers. “Do you know anything else?”

                “Nope.” Se Young replied, popping the p. “But, now that all of our secrets are out of the way,” she extended her hand, “it wouldn’t hurt to be friends.”

```

                “I don’t like it,” she finally said, storming upstairs.

                “Noona!” K.Will followed her to Seh Lyung’s room. His eyes widened, as he pushed himself to run faster. Throwing himself in front of the door, he poked his nose into Kim Inshi’s face. “Just listen to me—”

                “Get out of the way!” Inshi snapped, failing at moving the tall brother. “Why shouldn’t I go into my own daughter’s room, she’s hiding something, isn’t she?”

                “Stop being so paranoid!”  K.Will lashed back, his hand gripping the doorknob. “Why are you acting like this? Seh Lyung is fine!”

                “Fine? She’s completely different from when I last saw her!” Inshi tried pushing her brother’s body away from the door but he wouldn’t budge. “She talks back to me, she’s defensive, and she’s always out with her friends! What do you call that?”

                “It’s called happiness.” K.Will bit back, looking like the bigger person. “You gotta realize Seh Lyung’s still a child, you can’t keep her locked up like you did before.”

                “Locked up?” Inshi asked, insulted. “I sure as hell did not isolate my child. Don’t tell me about parenting when you’ve never been married.”

                “Then tell me why Seh Lyung came to me in the first place? You don’t think she was tired of you? After your divorce you’ve either been rampant with other guys or depressed with a bottle.” K.Will stood his ground, towering over Inshi. “You suffocated her, and she did nothing but take care of you. And in return you forced her refuse that dancing scholarship—”

                “That has nothing to do with anything!” Inshi cried.

                “She’s been hiding her feelings with you, and when we finally get her to open up—”

                Inshi took this moment of distraction to twist K.Will’s hand and force the door open. It was plain wrong to barge in her daughter’s room, but she had to dish out some answers if Seh Lyung wouldn’t talk. K.Will bit his cheek, hoping that nothing would happen as they walked into the room.

                The bed was made, and the floor was strangely clean. Not a hair was out of place. Usually her room was really messy. Inshi made a move towards the white vanity, opening every drawer.

                “Noona, don’t go through your daughter’s things!” K.Will reprimanded like he was the elder.

                “Why, so I won’t find something like this?” she pulled out a large rolled-out poster. It was the poster from the one-month anniversary.  “What is Boyfriend…” she trailed over the text, until K.Will snatched it out of her hands.

                He rolled it up as quickly as possible, and opened the closet a few centimeters before throwing it in. “So what, she has a boyfriend.” K.Will said, hoping that only one name was revealed and not the others.

                “There’s more to that.” she shifted her eyes around her daughter’s room like a conniving cat. “But, that doesn’t matter.” She breathed, as if she’d explode any minute if she didn’t calm down. “Besides, I’ve decided to take her back home with me.”

                K.Will stopped himself, his eyes wide. “What? What do you mean, take her back?”

                Inshi stumbled towards the doorway, her calloused fingers running breathlessly through her greyed hair. “I’ve decided to take her back home. And since she’s legally mine, and legally not yours,” she turned her back, “you can’t do anything.”

                Once out of earshot, he started to panic. K.Will started shaking his head back and forth, realizing what had just happened. “Oh my God, how are they going to react?”

                It wasn’t too hard to find his answer. He jumped, as the sound of the creaking closet stopped his thoughts. Minwoo was hiding in the closet, clutching a folded blanket in one hand and the thrown poster in the other. So Minwoo had been cleaning Seh Lyung’s room. His eyes were reduced to crescents. “Hyungnim,” he called, his voice weak.

                Tears were in Minwoo’s eyes, real tears. Impossible, K.Will thought.

                Minwoo sniffled. “The experiment isn’t over, right? Seh Lyung can’t go home, right?”

```

                Seh Lyung waited in the gazebo, pacing back and forth with her shiny mary-jane shoes. She looked towards Se Young, who was packing up her things. It was going to get dark soon, as the orange sun began to milk away in the sky, a doleful purple melding between the clouds.

                “The last bus to the apartment complex is coming in a few minutes,” Se Young said, almost unwilling to leave the other girl behind. “Are you sure you’ll be okay by yourself? You could stay with me and tell them to pick you up there.”

                “Thanks, but I’m fine. Minwoo said he’s going to be here any minute.”

                A wry grin passed Se Young’s lips. “Knowing it’s one of them, I’m sure they’ll stay true to their word. In that case, I’m placing my full trust in this guy. I’ll see you at school.”

                Seh Lyung waved as the older girl entered the bus and was driven off. As soon as she was alone, she wrapped her blazer tighter around her torso, her loneliness getting the best of her. It was going to get dark soon; she hoped Minwoo would hurry up. Tapping her foot, she scanned the park for any signs of a cute brunette boy. She felt the bushes rustle behind her, and a shiver rolled up her spine. Nervousness got the best of her as she feared to turn around.

                A gust of wind, and she felt a pair of arms grasp her protectively by the waist. She was about to scream, when she noticed the familiar build and wrapped her fingers around Minwoo’s. “You scared me!” she laughed, glad to have his presence.

                Minwoo held her tightly, so she wouldn’t be able to turn around, but not too tight that she would break any bones. He sighed, melting into the back hug. Leaning his head over her small shoulder, he tried to level his voice and clear any indications that he was crying earlier. “Did you wait too long?” he asked.

                “Nope, just on time.” She replied gleefully, tracing circles in his hand. “Can I turn around now?” Unwillingly, she felt Minwoo loosen his grip and spin her body around to face his. Her eyebrows furred as she noticed the depression all over his face. “What’s wrong?”

                “It’s nothing.” he reasoned, forcing a toothy smile. “But… you know I love you, right?”

                “Yeah?” a grin broke over Seh Lyung’s face. “So what are you implying?”

                “I love you more than anything in the world, and nothing will ever change that.” Minwoo’s tone was serious, as he lowered his forehead to touch Seh Lyung’s. “Please understand me, which I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you here by my side.”

                Seh Lyung could only nod, confused. Nevertheless, she wrapped her arms around Minwoo’s neck in an attempt to comfort him. He was quick to oblige, and hugged her so snugly she felt like she was being wrapped in an electric blanket. But she had no idea what was making Minwoo. She had no idea what was going on.

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

MY LOVELIES I MISSEEDDDD YOUUUU.

I'm sooooo sorry.

I just had to update but I'm a few days short of Boyfriend's one year anniversary!

Sigh. But guess what?

The guy I liked secretly bought me the Boyfriend Japanese Limited Edition Album :D

D'AWWWW. I'm so happy. How are you guys?

~Camille