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CHAPTER ELEVEN

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“Oh, !”

“What have you done?!”

“I didn’t do anything, I swear to the Kimchi God!” Niel raised his hands, a desperate expression written all over his face. On the floor lay several books. He had knocked into one of the many coffee tables, unintentionally causing a misbalance. Thankfully, no one came running in.

“You dunce!” CAP muttered, bending over to stack them back. “If that wasn’t an earthquake, then I don’t know what it is.”

“It wasn’t that loud, hyeong,” Niel defended, assisting him. Ahead of them were the rest of the group, and all were staring at him with exasperated looks. He gave them a glare, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

“It’ll be a miracle if no one heard that,” Changjo said slyly. “Maybe we should chain you, and give you a leash,” he added as an afterthought.

“If the house is empty, then we’re fine,” Ricky put in helpfully. Chunji clamped a hand over his mouth.

“Don’t help Niel,” he chuckled, before releasing his hold. “Let’s get a move on.” He rolled his eyes, the edges of lips twitching in amusement as he caught a certain someone flipping the bird.

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…~…

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“Did you hear that?” the question was directed to him. Byunghun turned to his friend, and shook his head in silent reply. A dubious look crossed over his friend’s pleasant features, and he ran one hand through his brown hair. Hazel eyes flashing, he turned his head towards the closed door.

“I thought I heard some sort of clutter downstairs,” he muttered, before turning back to the widescreen television built into the walls of the lounge. Byunghun had arrived several hours before. Both had not seen each other in almost years, due to the latter having emigrated to America. Now that he was back, both were catching up. At the current moment, after eating pizza, sipping coke and exchanging words, the two sat in the ‘gaming room’ – as the Vain liked to call it – watching a movie.

“It’s probably nothing,” he reassured. He gestured to the moving images on the screen. “Must be from here.” It was true; a shooting scene had now ensued, and the noise level increased by a significant amount; almost impossible to hear anything else but that and their own voices.  “Paranoid kid,” he clicked his tongue.

“Oh, clam it, ,” the guy retorted.

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…~…

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“, it!” Ricky dropped back the piece of fabric into the drawer, and slammed it shut. His eyes were wide and shocked, and his cheeks began to flush. Changjo pushed to the front, curious.

“What?” he laughed. “What did you see? Move it!” he pushed Ricky aside, and pulled it open. Then, he burst into whisper-laughter. “It’s underwear!” he told the rest.

“You’re joking!” Niel snorted, coming over from studying a large, luxurious aquarium filled with fish and tadpoles. Upon seeing it himself, he nearly choked on his own spit. “Why the hell is it red? And blue? Is this guy a Superman fanatic, or what?” he recoiled in horror. CAP shook his head.

“Says the one who squeals whenever Batman swoops in to save the day.”

“He’s different.”

“Do you wanna take it back, Ricky?” Changjo asked, brows raised. “As a little memento?” he suddenly appeared thoughtful. “I don’t think he’d miss it too much…”

“Oh, screw you!” the undergarments were flung to his face.

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…~…

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“Remember when you used to come over almost everyday? Just to play video games?”

“No ,” Byunghun gave a little laugh. “I’d stay till night, and my parents were forced to drive over, just to pick me up.” The memories flooded back, and nostalgia flowed into his bloodstream.

“Good days, weren’t they?” He murmured his agreement.

“It’s really good to see you again, though, Byunghun,” his companion had turned to him, grinning. “I mean, you’ve definitely grown, but you’ve also gotten uglier.”

“Yet I still manage to make ladies turn their heads in my direction,” was the purple-haired youth’s smug reply. His friend shrugged, and adjusted his black hoodie.

“Maybe it’s due to the fact that you’re -“ his sentence was interrupted when a crash sounded. The chase scene had concluded, and only dialogue was going on. Both exchanged looks of surprise and to an extent, uneasiness. “The hell was that?”

“Who knows? Let’s go take a look.”

“You sure