The next morning, when Julia had awoken, she found that Dong Ho was nowhere to be seen. Everyone was seated around the table as usual, munching away on an all- American breakfast with a wide array of eggs, pancakes, waffles, and well- a lot more that she could keep listing. It reminded her of home- of how things used to be before her younger sister had come and gone. The others had waved her over with Alexander patting the seat next to him, indicating that the seat was for her.

"Did you get a good night's sleep, Julia?" Alexander questions as he chews on the corner of his toast. Julia shoots him a small smile and nodded.

"I did. Thank you for asking. And you?"

"Oh, don't ask him. He's always had a good night's rest, you know. It's impossible to wake him up in the middle of the night or even in the morning sometimes," Kibum says, cutting a piece of his egg to eat. The others join in and a teasing fest begins- just for Alexander. As the oldest of the nine, he didn't mind. Besides, he was always the happy-go-lucky type of guy.

"I'm going to be heading off to the section nine, anyone interested in joining?" Alexander asked once breakfast was over. All of the sudden all seven of the guys huddled around the table, cleaning the table. It seemed as though no one wanted to join Alexander on his visit to section nine.

"What's section nine?" Julia pipes up, seeing that none of the guys seemed willing to go.

"It's a part of Neverland. Most of the fire holders live in that area and let's just say, it can get quite hot there at times," Alexander chuckles. "Also why none of the guys want to join me on my visit to section nine."

"Well, I don't really have anything to do. I guess... I could go, right? I mean, if that's okay with you." Julia knew if she didn't go with Alexander, chances were, she'd stay in the house all day and wander about, wasting her day away. It wasn't really wasting, since time in Neverland was significantly different from time on Earth, but nevertheless, she didn't want to stay at the house doing nothing.

"Well, company is company no matter who it's coming from." It was settled. Julia would be visiting section nine with Alexander.

Julia found herself wandering alone in section nine. Alexander had explained to her beforehand that he would be checking in on some residents of the section and to do so, he would need to pick up his pace. With that being said, Alexander told her to meet him by the section's well (which was located at the section's center) when the sun was setting. Before he left her alone, he handed her clear blue stones- which were, according to him- the currency in Neverland. It was just in case Julia needed to buy anything (not that she was really planning to- because really, what could she possibly buy?).

Julia found herself walking down a narrow street with stores lined up next to each other. The floor was covered in dust and sand, reminding her much of the deserts she had seen on TV. There were little to no people on the streets and even if there were, it would be the store owners stepping out for a breather. Mindlessly walking down the street, she found herself leaning closer to one side of the street, walking by the store windows so every now and then she could peer in and take a look at a couple of stores. As she turned to look on the other side of the street, she felt her shoulder hit something hard, causing her to take a few steps back and wince.

"Are you okay?" Something about the voice caused her head to snap up and look at the owner of the voice. Before her, stood a tall male with a white hat, symbolizing the fact that he was a baker. She found herself getting lost in his features, from his dark brown hair to his clothes. There was something about him... that had admittedly caused her to be drawn to him. 

"Why don't you come in and take a seat for a bit?" The male offered, his eyebrows furrowing together, worried. Julia immediately snapped out of it and shook her head, trying to find right words to say.

"No- it's okay. I'm not hurt or anything. I was just caught off guard. I'm sorry- I really should've been watching where I was going," she said apologetically. Giving him a curt bow and attempting to scurry past him from embarrassment, she found herself being stopped as he took a hold of her wrist.

"Please just come in and sit for a bit. It wouldn't be right for me to watch a beautiful lady like walk around in such a state." His voice was soft and the guilt-filled voice of his, was raw with emotion. So much so that Julia could feel her heart ache. "At least let me get you a cup of water. You seem to be a little pale."

And with that, Julia allowed herself to be whisked away, into the male's bakery.

The male had made sure she comfortably seated underneath the air conditioner that he had to turn on just for her (and dust it off as he was a fire holder and the heat had never really bothered him anyways). Julia found her eyes moving across the bakery, taking everything in. Her eyes moved across the wooden tables set across the vast majority of the store and across the display case filled with countless of untouched sweets. The male had disappeared behind the counters and into a room she assumed was another kitchen, but much smaller. He came back with a glass of water and set it before her.

“I’m sorry for causing so much trouble.” The male shook his head and gave her a small smile in response to her apology. “I really should’ve watched my steps.”

“It’s fine. Same goes for me,” the male answers lightheartedly. “You’re not from this section, are you?”

“I’m not,” Julia admitted. “I’m here to visit.”

“Section nine isn’t the best place to visit. I’m surprised you even decided to come around here.” the male returned behind the counters, shuffling around as he opened the oven and pulled out a loaf of banana bread. “A lot of people find this place to be a little too hot for their liking.”

“It’s a little hot, I guess. But really, it’s not too bad here. Besides, I was supposed to keep a friend company,” Julia said absent mindedly. Taking tiny sips for the glass of water, she watched as the male sliced the loaf of bread into even slices as the heat from the bread made an appearance as steam.

“Oh. What happened to the friend?”

“Well, he came here for working purposes. He didn’t want to bore me, so he told me to walk around and buy a few things here and there if I needed to,” Julia answered. She finished off her glass of water, which had caught the attention of the male.

“Could you bring the cup over here? I’ll refill it for you.” The male set down the knife in his hands and dusted the bread crumbs off his hands.

“Oh, it’s okay. I’m not thirsty anymore.” Julia brought the cup over anyways, as a means to return the cup to him, but the male insisted on refilling it for her as he handed her a slice of his banana bread. “I can’t take this. You’ve already been very hospitable to me.”

“Keep this up and I’ll throw in a few more,” the male lightly threatened. “Besides, you’d be doing me a favor. This is the first time I’ve made banana bread and you can be the judge of it- whether or not I should make it again.” He pushed a white plate containing a slice of banana bread towards her. “Try it.”

“Alright. I’ll be your little taste tester, just so some innocent sweets lover doesn’t get poisoned by it,” Julia responds after contemplating for a bit. The male smiles at her joke and gestures at the slice of bread, motioning for her to try it.  The fresh, warm smell of the bread wafts up to her nose as she picked it up, putting it by her lips. Taking a bite out of it, she felt a smile flash across her face.

“Oh my god, this is so good!” the bits of crumbs that were stuck around her lips, she smiled at the male. “It’s not dry and it’s like- not too sweet, but also the texture is just-. I can’t really describe it, but what I would recommend is for you to add this to the list of sweets in this shop.”

“Alright, I don’t need you pretending to like it.” And even though the male had said so, Julia noticed the smile that had crossed his face. “For giving my banana bread such a nice review, I’ll throw in another one.”

Turning around and opening the door to a large  refrigerators, Julia watched as he opened up a bucket and scooped a few scoops of ice cream out into a bowl. Closing the refrigerator door and grabbing a silver spoon, he handed the ice cream over to her.

“I’m well-known for my ice cream around here. Not too many residents of section nine actually appreciate it- but the visitors I get from other sections love it. They especially like my green tea ice cream. Give it a try, will you?” The earnest look of the male made Julia feel guilty. Placing the bowl down on the counter, she shook her head apologetically.

“I’m sorry- but I can’t eat ice cream. I’m lactose intolerant.” She shuddered at the memory of the last time she had had something with milk in it. It was horrible. Her face had swollen up to the size of a volleyball and she was immediately sent to the ER with passerbys gaping at her as she passed them by in a wheelchair.

“Are you? Either way, it’s fine. I don’t use milk to make ice cream anyways- well cow milk at least. I use soy milk- I make it myself, so you don’t have to worry about a thing. Besides, allergies you have on Earth don’t apply to Neverland at all,” the male explained. Julia looked at him, doubtfully and the male added, “If anything happens, I’ll be sure to give you free sweets for the rest of your lifetime.”

“Let’s clear things up- I didn’t force you to add that condition in there!” Julia answers gleefully, finally digging the spoon in the ice cream. As the ice cream melted into sweet nothingness in , she nodded with content. “It’s not bad! Is this how ice cream tastes like? Man- I’ve been missing out all these years!”

“I wouldn’t necessarily say you’ve been missing out all these years,” the male responded absent mindedly. Julia cocked her head to the side as if to disagree and the male looked at her and smiled. “But I’m glad you liked it.”

“I’m glad that you had me try it. It was really good,” Julia praised as she continued to dig into the ice cream, eventually finishing it. The conversation was soon filled with the tasting of different pastries and smiles exchanged between the two. Time passed them by quickly and Julia snapped out of it as the heat from the setting sun made its way into the shop through the big windows.

“Oh shoot, time passes by really quickly.” The male cocked his head to the side, questioning her. Noticing it, she quickly added, “I have to go because I promised my friend that I’d meet up with him by the well. Thank you for today and all the snacks.”

“It was really no problem. Thank you for keeping me company today.” The male’s voice was soft and Julia felt her heart ache again. She really didn’t want to leave him alone for some reason. He seemed so lonely. “I’ve packed a couple of snacks for you. You’re welcome to share them with your friend if you’d like.”

“I...” Julia seemed hesitate to receive the gift. “Thank you.” She accepted the decorative bag filled with sweets and gave him a bow. “I really enjoyed being here today. I should really thank you for your company instead of the other way around. I really liked your sweets and I was just wondering- is it okay if I come back again?”

The male seemed to be stunned by her words. His brown eyes widening as his lips parted and he seemed to grasp a hold of himself. He gave her a warm smile- one that was warm enough to bake a few cakes at once (and possibly warm enough to grill a couple of steaks- man, though Julia had eaten quite a bit of sweets she was still hungry). He nodded.

“I would love that,” he finally said. Julia sent him a bright smile and gave another bow before turning to leave. As her hand touched the handle of the glass door, she turned around.

“Oh, before I forget- my name is Julia. What’s your name?” The male stopped mid-bustle around the kitchen. He stayed frozen for a bit before looking up at Julia.

“My name?” He echoed. “Right. I haven’t introduced myself yet.” He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled. “It’s Jin. Jinyoung.”

“Oh nice! Both of our names start with a ‘J’,” Julia said, in an attempt to make a connection between their names. It would be easier for her to remember it that way. “Well then, Jinyoung- I will be seeing you next time. Thank you again for today!”

Julia left the shop with Jinyoung waving to her. After leaving the shop, Julia hurried over to the well (and didn’t get lost as she was good at tracing back her steps). Alexander stood by the well, glancing at his forearm, nervously waiting. When he spotted Julia, he straightened his posture out and crossed his arms, as though he were a mother about to scold his child.

“Julia-.”

“Alexander, I’m so sorry! On the bright side, I have treats!” Julia immediately held up the bag of sweets Jinyoung had given her and smiled in an attempt to avoid Alexander’s lecture. It almost worked- almost.

“I’ve been waiting forever for you,” he shot another glance at his forearm and Julia casted a look in that direction. Puzzled, she cocked her head to the side.

“What are you doing?”

“Checking my watch,” Alexander responded matter-of-factly. Julia puffed her cheeks out in an attempt to mask her laughter.

“But you don’t have a watch. Besides, Neverland doesn’t run on the same time, right?” She pointed out. Alexander rolled his eyes playfully and slung his arm around her neck.

“You’ve been here for less than a month and you’re already catching up on everything you need to know about Neverland, aren’t you?” The two began to trudge towards the path they had taken to get to section nine. “Anyways, you said you had sweets?”

“I do.” Julia nodded and held the bag up once more. Alexander reached his arm out to grab it and Julia pulled it back. “Not now. Let’s wait until we get back. It’s too much of a hassle to walk and eat.”

“Alright, mother.” Alexander rolled his eyes playfully and Julia followed.

“Oh, Dong Ho’s back,” Hoon commented as soon as Dong Ho made his way through the door. Dong Ho tossed the folder in his hand onto the coffee table of the living room and made his way to his room. As he did, he passed by Julia’s room-half expecting her to be in there, but when he discovered she was not, a frown had been etched into his face.

Changing out of his clothes and into a more comfortable outfit which had consisted of a black t-shirt and sweatpants, he made his way back down the stairs. The others gave him a little attention as he made his way to where most of them were bustling about in the kitchen.

“So, where’s Julia?” He asked, trying to seem casual about it as he grabbed a cup from the cabinet and poured himself a glass of water. The others exchanged silent glances as they wanted to confirm with each other that Dong Ho had just spoken. Kevin was the first one to speak up.

“She went out with Alexander to section nine this morning. They should be on their way back now.” Dong Ho almost felt the need to spit his water out. He couldn’t help but feel slightly nervous- would Alexander tell Julia about his past? Even so, just the thought of Alexander and Julia alone had made him nervous. Girls usually liked how playful Alexander- wait. He was not thinking about this right now. Julia was Julia. She wasn’t and isn’t So Li.

As Dong Ho was mentally putting himself down, the front door of the house opened and in came bright faced Julia and amused Alexander. The others welcomed Julia and Alexander back rather enthusiastically the moment they found out Julia had brought home sweets.

“Dibs on the strawberry shortcake!” Kiseop called out.

“You can’t call dibs on something!” Hoon argued.

“There is no strawberry shortcake,” Kibum declared as he shifted the items in the bag. Hoon and Kiseop turned away seemingly disappointed until they caught sight of Kibum running off with what seemed to be a strawberry shortcake.

“Hyung! You can’t be that petty!” Kiseop called out angrily. “You’re a cheater!”

“Yeah!” Hoon yelled. The two of them exchanged looks and then darted after Kibum for a share o strawberry shortcake.

“Guys! No desert now! Dinner’s almost done!” Eli called out. “Stop fighting this instant!”

As Julia watched the scene before her unfold, she couldn’t help but stifle her laughter. Her eyes moved across the scene- from Hoon and Kiseop running up and down the stairs as Kibum teleported (or rather speedily moved) around the house. She grabbed the bag filled with other sweets and headed to the kitchen to place in the fridge and as she entered the kitchen, she froze at the sight of Dong Ho.

Dong Ho was leaning against the counter just by the sink, staring at the doorway of the kitchen as she came in. Their eyes met and he immediately looked away as Julia felt her heartbeat increasingly faster and faster. She made her way past him to the fridge, unsure of what to do. She didn’t feel comfortable around him was the truth. He was so confusing as a person.

One moment, he was hugging her like he missed her so much and the next moment he was cold and untouchable. Well, she couldn’t really blame him either. According to the others, she did look like the girl he used to like- and well, they didn’t tell her much about what had happened between them. Besides, the warm side of him- wasn’t for her. It was for her look alike. She’d have to get used to his cold side- but then again, it wouldn’t hurt to warm him up, would it?

“Uh... Dong H-ho?” She stuttered as she turned to look at him. He didn’t turn his head to acknowledge her, but she continued anyways. “I-I think...”

“Did Alexander tell you anything about me?” He asked brusquely, his arms crossed around his chest without turning to look at her.

“W-well, h-he didn’t say anything about you per say... H-he did tell me that the uh... the girl I look like... passed away?” Her voice grew softer and softer and she went on, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as she began to break out into cold sweat. Dong Ho had finally turned to look at her, the intensity of his cold eyes scaring her. “B-but that was all he had told me. And uh- I just w-wanted to say that we... might’ve gotten off on a rough start. I- I would like to try to b-be on good terms with you.”

“What if I don’t want to?” His words hit her in her face. Her brown eyes widened in surprise and she bit her lip.

“W-well, I guess it’s okay... If you don’t want to... there’s nothing I can really do, I-I suppose.” Julia couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed, but nonetheless knew she couldn’t force anything onto anyone. If they were on good terms, maybe Dong Ho would be able to share some of his experiences of being in Neverland for a month without holding any sort of element. But it would seem that he wasn’t willing to.

“Wake up early tomorrow. We have places to go.” That was all Dong Ho said as he slipped out of the kitchen and moved to his room, leaving no time at all for Julia to question him.

A/N: Can I just apologize for being so bad with updates? Writer's block hit me hard and didn't really have any motivation to write anything for a really long time. Plus, all this UKISS drama was getting to me and I haven't heard anything from them in a while T^T. No promotions=no motivation for me. They've been mainly promoting in Japan- UKISS please return to Korea. But yes, anyways- finally forced a chapter out. I want to get this story moving quickly because I don't want to drag it out too long like 'Arranged Marriage to...'. xD Leave a comment for faster updates please!