|| chapter seven ||

After parting from the most awkward handshake he's ever had in his entire life, Woohyun quietly waited out for a chance to pull the girl aside; good thing Sunggyu had decided to clear the awkward atmosphere by volunteering to fix some dinner for the three of them after finding out that none of them had a decent meal yet. That left the two free to talk by the garden, where they were clearly out of earshot.

“Wow. Wow, Kim Jieun! I almost couldn't believe it when I managed to make the connection-- Kim Sunggyu is your older brother?” Woohyun's motor mouth shot despite speaking in small whispers. "And when were you planning to tell me about it? My death bed?"

"Like you would have even continued on with your million-dollar idea if you knew that I was related to Sunggyu! So we both kept big secrets from each other. There. We're even. Are you happy?!?"

From the tone she used, he could infer that she was still quite bitter about that incident. "Now we're bringing this up again? I thought this discussion was over!"

"Fine, since someone doesn't want to stray from the topic anyway, you want to know the real reason I kept it from you? Because after consoling some person's sappy about his recent slump and after getting to know him a bit more each passing day, I found out that he wasn't the douchebag I originally thought he was! That he was just as human as everyone else, not some god-like creature those girls worship on a pedestal! Because despite his cheesy one-liners and his annoying greasy antics, he was really warm-hearted and genuine to me and I really wanted to be his friend! I was afraid that that person would push me away instantly if he knew."

Her sudden confession shut Woohyun up. Now that he understood where she was coming from, he felt all the more terrible for what he had done. After all, he had yet to make a proper apology to her as Nam Woohyun, not as Nam Hyuna.

Awkward silence surrounded the two for awhile as they let every new detail sink in. It was Jieun who broke it up with a little sigh. "Do we really have the luxury of time to be fighting like this?"

"You're right. I'm sorry I raised my voice."

"When everything's okay again, we'll talk. For now, come with me. We might as well use this time to plan out your Nam Hyuna alibi... just so we're both on the same page with things and so that Sunggyu won't suspect anything from discrepancies."

She was right. Now that they've managed to spin themselves a huger web of lies, they had to be even more careful from here on out, else this whole covert operation they had was going to crumble before Woohyun could manage to turn back to normal. “Wow, of all people-- and it turns out Kim Sunggyu is your brother…” Woohyun mumbled to himself. “All this time, I thought— my god, I am an idiot! I was jealous over nothing...”

Jieun cocked her head towards him after hearing his mumbling. “Sorry, you were saying?”

“N-Nothing! It's nothing.”

Lucky for him, she took his word for it and decided not to question any further, too preoccupied by her thoughts as of the moment. “As much as possible, avoid any form of social contact with my brother, alright?" she advised. "It’ll be difficult for me to help once he recognizes you.”

(((( )))))

"Gyu?" called out Jieun. From Sunggyu's peripheral vision, he saw her head pop in by the kitchen's doorframe. "Do we still have unopened Honey Butter chips from last weekend's movie night?"

"I think we still do. Sungjong brought a whole stash over last time. You can come in and check the cupboard, I'll just finish this," he adviced as he plated the last dish onto a dinner plate. "Your new friend's doing alright?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Jieun replied, taking bigger strides to get to their snack cupboard. After sifting a bit, she found what she was looking for and pulled out a bag. "She's surfing channels for some interesting drama she could watch. She's alright."

"You've never mentioned her before though, not even in passing," Sunggyu mused. She had to hand it to her brother, his sense of suspicion was very sharp. "Not that I doubt you, Ji, but I know for one that you wouldn't let random strangers into our household so casually."

Jieun let out a deep breath, deciding to come clean about it. "She's Woohyun's cousin," she mumbled. Okay, so maybe it wasn't the entire truth, but hey, at least she had been honest in letting her brother know that Woohyun was involved in this. "Woohyun needed my help. She needs to stay here with us for the meantime."

“What? She’s related to that stupid tree?!?” an enraged Sunggyu half-yelled. “After everything that he put you through, you’re still doing him favors and involving yourself with his mischief?"

"Sunggyu, he needed my help. He's human too, he makes mistakes."

"That boy is not worth you, Ji!" Sunggyu argued.

"Do you really mean that or are you saying that just because you don't like him?" his sister countered back, her fists now shaking. "Just because he gives you a hard time and beats you in everything else and makes you feel insecure about yourself? Gyu, that isn't reasonable enough! If all you and those university girls think that Woohyun is some handsome, spoiled bastard who gets his way through by charming the pants out of people, then you're wrong! You don't know Woohyun," Jieun stated, shaking her head. "You don't know him at all, Gyu."

Sunggyu wanted to retort back in anger but found out that he had no words to say. Jieun's brows were furrowed and she was avoiding his gaze. The bag of chips and dinner lay on the table now long forgotten.

"I need to cool my head. Excuse me." With that, Jieun left Sunggyu alone with a remorseful expression plastered on his handsome features.

"I heard raised voices in the kitchen. Is everything alright?" Woohyun asked out of worry, panicking when Jieun just brushed him away and stormed off towards the gate after putting on her sneakers. "W-Where are you headed off to?"

"For a walk. Alone."

Refusing to be left alone in the same room with his archnemesis, Woohyun quickly tottered after her as fast as his now-shorter, dainty girl-legs could take him, rendering him unable to catch up with Jieun's faster and wider strides. "Hey, wait up!" he wheezed. "Jieun, wait--"

"ALONE!" Jieun bellowed to make her point clear before stalking off on her own, rounding the street corner before disappearing into the night, leaving a sputtering and nervous Woohyun in her wake without meaning to.

That wasn't even the ugly part of today's whirlwind of events. He was left with the worst person to be stuck with in this predicament: Kim fricking Sunggyu.

((((( )))))

Agitation was evident in the usually calm and collected Kim Sunggyu. It was clear as fresh spring water that he had been affected by the whole row he had with his sister. Earlier he had been walking in and out of the household's gate, tapping his foot against the driveway pavement before walking defeatedly back inside-- and then the cycle would repeat itself. An hour had passed and Jieun had yet to come home. She wasn't responding to anybody's text messages nor had she dropped any clue on her whereabouts.

"She hasn't dropped by NIT. Did the siblings get into a big argument?" came Luna's reply. Woohyun had not even revealed anything, but boy was her intuition spot-on.

"Sort of. Don't worry too much about it and let me know if she drops by or contacts you," Woohyun typed in before hitting send.

Luna's next reply came in rather quick. "It sounds serious, so I can't help but worry-- those two haven't had a fight this big in forever! What if those two have forgotten how to make up with one another?"

After sending his reassurances (though he didn't seem so convinced himself after learning what Luna had to say), Woohyun's eyes trailed over to his unlikely companion for the night. Even if Jieun had told him to avoid her brother at all costs if he didn't want himself exposed, Woohyun couldn't help but watch with pity as the older Kim sibling paced like a madman over the wooden porch for sometime now. His research notes had been long forgotten in lieu of their current situation. "You're going to end up carving a footpath onto your floor if you keep pacing back and forth like that, Kim Sunggyu-ssi. Look, piece of sane advice, if you're so worried--"

Frustrated at the fact that he was receiving advice from a random stranger, his archenemy's cousin at that, he walked off to the far end of the garden, picking up the garden hose, turning it up at full power before directing the jet of water towards the nearby flowers. "She's a big kid, she can come home whenever she pleases. I am not worried."

Woohyun wanted to scoff at that pathetic remark. "Says the person who is currently watering down house plants this late into the evening like they're some sort of house fire. They didn't even do anything to you and here you are drowning them," he snapped. "Do us both a favor and go after your sister already."

There was no use in hiding it now, his current guest could read him like an open book. Embarrassed, Sunggyu dropped the garden hose, grimacing in defeat. Before any more words could be shared between the two of them, the phone in Woohyun's hand began ringing, cutting their argument short.

Incoming call from Mom.

He couldn't talk to his mother in this state right now, but if he didn't pick up that call and inform her about his whereabouts, she would be infuriated and panicked to a point that she'd convince the whole South Korean army (she could pull in the airforce and navy units in too) to serve as a search party for her missing son. While he was busy racking his brain for a good idea, his eyes scanned around the Kim residence for a clean way to weasel out of this.

Sunggyu looked up from where he was standing, looking rather hopeful and expectant that the call must be coming from Jieun. Woohyun shot his hopes down by shoving his handphone into the guy's face.

"Wh-What?" Sunggyu ended up sputtering. He managed to catch a glimpse of the caller ID before backing away. "Why am I answering a phone call from your own mother?!? You take it!"

"I can't answer this! It's not my phone, it's Woohyun-oppa's!" Woohyun lied (but not really), wagging the phone at the guy's face. He wanted to gag right there and then for referring to himself in the third person in such a cutesy manner, but the situation called for an emergency and he had no choice but to it in for the meantime.

"Then why are you so afraid to speak to your own aunt? And why is this with you?"

Curse Kim Sunggyu for his ability to quickly pick up on things! "Woohyun-oppa won't be home for awhile... for important reasons... so he entrusted his personal items to me for safe-keeping."

His companion did not look the least bit convinced. Woohyun did not want to resort to getting down on his knees and grovelling (for Kim Sunggyu, nonetheless) but time was of the essence here. The longer this held out, the more trouble he'd be in. "There's no time-- I promise I'll explain later! Just do this for me, please? Please, oppa?”

Sunggyu was suddenly very hyper-aware of the soft, tiny, delicate pair of hands that were clasped tight around his own in desperation. Feeling the heat rising to his cheeks, he carefully pried his hand away. “Alright, alright, I’ll do it! Give me the phone.” Woohyun beamed and handed the still-ringing phone over to him, and Sunggyu finally took the call. “Hello, good evening—"

“Nam Woohyun. Do you have any idea what time it is—?!?”

“Good evening, this is Kim Sunggyu, Woohyun’s…errr, friend from university."

"Oh. Oh my, this is embarrassing! I apologize for my sudden outburst, Sunggyu-ssi, it must have surprised you. This is Woohyun's mother speaking. I was rather worried, you see. It's late and my son's not home yet."

"Ah, hello, eomonim, I guess Woohyun forgot to tell you? He’s currently at my house right now and he might be staying over for some time? It's this big final, worth-proving project for those aspiring to run for the Supreme Student Council. With student body elections fast approaching, we need to work double-time on it and your son is really determined to make it through.”

Thank goodness for Kim Sunggyu's genius and quick thinking! If not for the fact that they were rivals and that he was stuck in a female body, Woohyun would have bear-hugged the guy right now for giving such a credible reason.

"Ah, that son of mine. I must have not caught word of it even if he did manage to tell me, being busy with running the company and all," replied Woohyun's mother. Sunggyu felt sorry for her-- despite putting up a cheerful demeanor over the phone, he could still tell that her tone was worrisome. "Alright then, is my son free right now? May I have a word with him, at least?"

Sunggyu paled, pulling away from the phone momentarily while putting his hand over it to mute out their conversation. "She wants to speak to your cousin! What do we do?!?" The girl only shooed him off with panicked hand gestures, ushering him to continue talking. With no choice, he got back to the other person on the line, faking laughter. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Nam but Woohyun can't come to the phone right now because... errr, because..."

What. On. Earth? Sunggyu's jaw dropped in complete confusion. Right now, the girl in front of him looked like she wanted to play a game of charades and was trying to act something out. She had one arm raised high in the air, her other hand moving in circular motions over her underarm area. "His armpits are itchy?" he guessed, shooting his companion a quizzical look.

"Excuse me?"

Pissed, Woohyun ended up slapping his own forehead. After he had gotten over the initial anger, he motioned for Sunggyu to look at him (her, rather) carefully before repeating the actions, this time adding sprinkling motions towards the top of his head.

“AHHH! Because Woohyun is in the shower right now!” Sunggyu guessed with a loud snap of his fingers, throwing a victorious fist pump into the air after his answer was deemed correct by his companion, who gave a big thumbs-up. "Woohyun can't come to the phone right now because he's having his bath! But rest assured, he's doing alright and he's getting enough naps and is eating well. I'll definitely tell him that you called."

Woohyun let out a big sigh of relief when his mother seemed to have bought the given excuses, and had ended the call with no more further questions nor requests. However, he couldn't rejoice just yet. He still had one angry, confused Kim Sunggyu to attend to.

"Okay, I'm only going to ask this once. Where is Nam?"

"Out of town. And can you not call him that when I'm here, please? It's rude!"

Sunggyu did not expect to be lashed at by such a dainty girl, but he was resolute in steering this conversation his way. If he was going to lie through his teeth for someone, it was best if he was at least half aware of what was going on. “But for that, he'd need his personal belongings and necessities with him, which somehow winded up with you. Something's not right here. What is Nam--uhhh... Woohyun-- what's Woohyun up to?”

“My cousin's business is none of your concern.”

“I'd like to believe that it is of my concern if I’m lying through my teeth to save his ."

By the glare his tiny eyes gave, Woohyun could tell that he wasn't be going to be let off the hook until certain questions were answered ."Alright, alright, listen carefully because I'll be telling you everything from the beginning. Woohyun-oppa's family and I... we're not exactly the closest, save for oppa, of course," Woohyun tried to explain, praying that he wouldn't slip. He had rehearsed it once with Jieun before, so there shouldn't be a problem. Rather than going for something mundane and far-fetched for an alibi, the two decided to hit it close to the real situation. "You see, I ran into some problems... personal issues that I'd rather not bring up. I'm unable to handle them by myself. Your sister is practically the only one left that I can lean on for support while my cousin is out of town, far, far away for the meantime."

"O-Okay," stammered Sungyu, not expecting that response at all. "But he didn't let his own mother know?"

"He's not an eight year old child that needs his mother to know his exact whereabouts at all times, Sunggyu-ssi. What's with the sudden onslaught of questions? I thought you couldn't care less about my cousin!" Woohyun huffed, now irritated by how much this guy-- his rival, nonetheless-- was trying to pry into the situation. "She barely has time for son anyway, she sure won't give a crap if he falls off a building or something."

"She wouldn't be calling to check up on her own son if she didn't give a crap about him. To me, your aunt sounded worried," Sunggyu pointed out in a thoughtful manner. "Nam Woohyun, really, look how many people he's inconvenienced with his rash decisions."

Rival or not, the guy did have a valid point. He had no idea how close to home it hit Woohyun.

"Well, thank you I guess, for entrusting something as personal as that. Can you at least tell me what he's up to? So when your aunt does call again next time, I'll have something to say."

"Oh." Woohyun hadn't really thought about an excuse for his so-called 'sudden absence'. "He didn't disclose much. He says he's off to find himself once again."

While Woohyun had meant that he was literally searching for a way to get back to his original body, Sunggyu had taken a figurative approach to his rather vague reply, which worked for him either way. "Soul searching?" the older guy hummed.

"Errr... something like that."

"So he gave you his phone and his wallet?"

"He said it would be more fruitful if he was disconnected from civilization for the meantime, or something like that."

Sunggyu was silent for awhile. "It doesn't have something to do with Ji... does it?"

So Sunggyu already knew. He wasn't completely in the dark about it; Jieun must have come clean about it as of recent. Woohyun's heart sank a little. He had earned even more negative brownie points with Jieun's brother-- well, aside from the fact that they were both rivals to begin with. Woohyun, as Hyuna, shook his head. "No... maybe a little. He's beating himself up about it over and over again for what he's done, and he thinks that Jieun won't be able to forgive him completely. My cousin really really treasures Jieun as a good friend, I hope you know that. Was that what your argument was about? I understand where you're coming from-- you only wanted to protect her."

"Now that I think about, the sibling that's done a lot of protecting is her," mused Sunggyu, hanging his head low. The smile on his face was quite a bitter one, and Woohyun felt sorry for him. "Sometimes, she thinks with her heart, that one. We're not that well-off, you see. Ji worked hard for a scholarship and worked parttime so I wouldn't be pulled out of the university midyear. The kid confronted Kang Minho all on her own after hearing he was selling me out come candidacy day."

It all clicked in Woohyun's head now: so that was what the whole run-in was about! Kang Minho was supposed to be Sunggyu's running mate for the student elections. The tandem was rather uncanny, but who was he to advice the guy anyway? (But good riddance though, thought Woohyun.)

"Even that whole mess with Hyomin before I entered university. Now I realize how terrible and useless of an older brother I am."

Wait--what? Hyomin? Park Hyomin? How was Sunggyu even involved in that? Woohyun decided to brush that aside for the meantime, clearing his throat before speaking up once again. "If she's willing to go through those lengths, Sunggyu-ssi, then I'm sure she doesn't think of you in that way. Just talk to her, you'll see."

“You make it sound like it’s the easiest thing in the world to do! I just can’t waltz up to Ji, okay? It’s hard for me!” Sunggyu admitted, running a hand through his hair in his frustration. “It’s been awhile since we last fought. Honestly, I don’t even remember when our last serious argument was."

Luna's words rang through his head once again. What if these two have really forgotten how to make up with one another? Woohyun decided that it was all the more important for someone to be there and tell them off.

"Where do I even start?”

"Sorry is always a good enough place."

The smile Sunggyu gave him in return was nothing short of grateful. Woohyun had never dreamed that there was this other side to the cool, confident, regal, Sunggyu. All he saw before him right now was a worried, thoughtful, protective brother, who was about to go out of his mind if his sister didn't come back home in one piece. It was weird to see someone he deemed as tough and strong look so vulnerable, but in the end Woohyun was grateful for it as well. There was a human side to Sunggyu after all, which made him a lot more relatable.

"Hey. I think I've figured out where she's been hiding for the past hour." All of a sudden, a hand had gently enclosed around Woohyun's wrist. Sunggyu was leading him out into the welcoming hall towards the front door, set on going after his sister. "You. Come with me."

Any girl from the university would have died to be in his position right now-- being held by the Kim Sunggyu like this was a dream come true. Unfortunately, Woohyun wasn't just any girl from the university. He wasn't even a girl to begin with! "Hey. HEY! Wait just one second!" he complained, standing his ground and yanking his arm back roughly. "And why should I let myself get dragged along?"

"While my parents are off at the countryside, absolute power has bestowed upon me to hold down the fort. Can't entrust my household to someone whom I've just met. Unless you want to be left out on the street, I'm cool with that..."

"Okay, okay! I'll come with you, geez!"

"Nice answer. I knew you'd come to your senses."

Woohyun put on a sour expression but allowed Sunggyu to continue leading him out anyway. He had just put a foot through the front door when his companion turned heel and disappeared back into the house. "What's with the delay now?" he yelled after him. "Don't tell me you're chickening out, Sunggyu-ssi!"

Something was suddenly tossed his way and luckily, Woohyun managed to catch it before it could smack him right in the face. On closer look, it was one of Sunggyu's hoodies that had been hanging off the rack. "I'm not, it's just--" the guy told off as he avoided making eye contact whilst clearing his throat. "Wear something warmer please."

((((( )))))

"Hey. Are you a hundred percent sure she's here?"

"Trust me. Brother's intuition."

Woohyun kicked a pebble that was along the path. Brother's intuition, his foot. He couldn't even find Boohyun on any normal day when he runs away to play with the neighbors or schoolmates.

There was nothing but the quiet flowing of river water and the chirping of crickets. The city noises sounded almost distant even. Sunggyu cleared his throat, interrupting the peace. "I didn't want to say this before because it's embarrassing for me as well-- but wow, you're pretty clingy, huh?"

"I can't help it! It's cold out! Wipe that smirk off your face, hamster-Grandpa, it's not funny!" As much as Woohyun didn't want to keep sticking around Sunggyu, Seoul's temperature just wasn't cooperating and despite the warmth provided by Sunggyu's hoodie, the cold night breeze bit his bare legs. Teeth chattering, he had no choice but to latch himself onto Sunggyu's arm to gain some more warmth. Imagine the look on Sunggyu's face the moment he knew that the girl clinging onto his arm was actually his sworn archrival. Woohyun would be having a field day! "What would Jieun be doing here at the Han River anyway?"

"Only Ji would know that I come here to blow off some steam when your cousin upsets me."

The cool, calm, collected Sunggyu? "You? Mr. Perfect? Upset? Please!" Woohyun scoffed. Although he wanted to speak up about this, he had to be very careful to set it in Nam Hyuna's point of view, not his. "I've seen Woohyun and I know for a fact that he has to work his off each and everytime to meet a certain goal. But then you come along and do something charismatic and flashy with your in-born genius and lo and behold, your plans fall into place. You manage to do so well each and every time-- and it's not like you even try hard!"

"Is that what he really thinks?" Sunggyu grimaced as he continued to speak his mind, repeating what other people had told him. "Woohyun's so perfect! So handsome, so athletic, so friendly, so nice! You're so stoic, so introverted, so closed and cold. Would it kill you to be more approachable? He's got everything anyone can ever ask for, why can't you be more like him?"

"People... tell you that?" Woohyun stammered. He was somehow surprised after hearing what he had to say. Everyone looked up to Sunggyu as a good leader and a model student. "They wouldn't be saying that if they knew how my cousin really is. They wouldn't be saying that he's all that perfect."

"That's not true. People like your cousin regardless."

"You know that goes for you too. Woohyun-oppa wouldn't acknowledge you as his rival in the first place if that weren't the case."

They were both so caught up in their heated exchange of words that they didn't realize they had come to a standstill. Their eyes widened as they both remembered the reason they were here in the first place. "Jieun!" the two exclaimed, breaking into a wild dash. They've been here for quite awhile now and they still saw no sign of her anywhere, sending them both into a panicked frenzy. She could be lost or hurt... Sunggyu didn't want to think about the worst outcome possible and concentrated on finding a familiar bobbing ponytail and her purple hoodie.

"Gyu?"

There was no mistaking that pet name. The two turned towards the rather timid voice to find Kim Jieun standing at the far end of the road. A small plastic containing a pack of fresh strawberries she had purchased from the night market was slung on her left arm. Despite the dim lighting, they could tell that her cheeks were a bit rosy from embarrassment. It seems that she had indeed been here moping for the past hour but had gone out for awhile to make a purchase, and by the looks of it, it was her little peace offering for her brother.

"I-- umm-- I was just about to..." she stammered, finding herself unable to meet her brother's eye. "Well, the auntie selling the strawberries was taking awhile and--"

Jieun didn't even get to finish her sentence because her brother never let her, pulling her in for a tight embrace. "Thank God you're not hurt. I'm sorry."

"I know, it's okay," hushed Jieun as she hugged him back, indicating that she understood him even with minimal words they had exchanged. "We're alright now. I'm sorry too."

"You're strong, Ji, I know you are," Sunggyu hummed. "I can only lend you my back and watch over you carefully while you take care of the other things by yourself. So forgive me if you feel that I'm doting on you too much. I can't help it."

"Nah, it's fine. Even the strongest person needs someone to knock her back to her senses every once in a while, to feel that someone does care for her," Jieun replied wisely. "That's where you come in, Gyu. I'm grateful. You always know the right things to say to make me feel better, and that's why you're the best!"

Woohyun could only beam as he looked on at the touching scene before him, digging his hands into the front pockets of the hoodie. He didn't have to be so worried about the two siblings making up after all. They were in all honesty doing pretty fine already.

The two siblings pulled apart. There were no hard feelings left, all replaced by genuine heart-warming smiles on their faces. "I'm still cross with you, young lady. Don't run off into the night like that all of a sudden and leave your guest behind," Sunggyu told off, pinching her cheek, much to her loud, apologetic protest. "You almost gave your friend a mini heart attack."

At the mention of the word 'friend', it only entered in Jieun's mind right there and then that she had bailed out on Woohyun (the main concern of their argument) once again. "Oh my god!"

Deciding that it was the right time to make his presence known, Woohyun waved to direct her attention to him. "Over here, gorgeous!"

Jieun ran over to him, ignoring his cheesy comment. "Woo-- I mean, Hyuna! I am so sorry!" she gasped, doing a double take when she realized that he was wearing her brother's hoodie over the dress she had lent. Sunggyu's cheeks flushed out of embarrassment as he looked away. "He lent this to you all on his own? See? He's pretty nice once you get to know him. I hope Gyu didn't give you a hard time."

"Hnnn~! Your brother wasn't all that bad, but it doesn't change the fact that he still nags a lot and is cranky most of the time. He looked like he was about to pee his pants out of worry though."

"HEY," snapped Sunggyu. "I'M OVER HERE, WELL WITHIN EARSHOT? Stop feeding my sister with your lies!"

"It's the cold, hard truth, hamster! Deal with it!"

"Psshh. If you say so, rabbit."

"I cannot believe you! Did you just call me a rabbit?!?"

"You deserve it! You started the name-calling! I am not a hamster!"

Now that everything was at peace, the two were back to bickering again, and if it weren't for the fact that Nam Hyuna wasn't exactly a girl, Jieun would have shipped the two together because of their cute interaction. "Those are the best insults you can seriously throw at each other right now? I take it that you two have been getting along well, then?"

"Barely. We're reaching maximum tolerance limit here," the two groaned in exhasperation, sending the girl into fits of laughter.

Finally, it was time to head home after a long day. Since no one was biking out, the three stuck to the path closest to the river. The plastic of fresh strawberries were now in Sunggyu's hand after he had relieved his sister of the carrying load. She was clinging to his free arm, and this time Sunggyu didn't mind nor complain at all, only humming to a familiar tune stuck in his head. Sometimes, Jieun joined along with him and he would ruffle her hair and about how off-key she sounded, much to her chagrin. Woohyun decided to pace himself a few steps behind the two, not wanting to intrude on their little sibling moment. Envious of the Kim siblings bonding, his thoughts drifted off to Boohyun. The kid must have been so lonely and bored tonight, having no one to bother now that there was a guest over and Woohyun wasn't at home. He missed his little punk of a brother after all.

Tonight, the waxing moon was almost out in full, bathing Seoul in its soft glow. Even though the Han River area was quite dim, the passing car lights, lit bridges, occassional streetlamps, and the faint light of the moon guided their way. Little did Woohyun notice that ask they continued to walk, the reflection on the river's surface displayed three (albeit, blurry) figures: Kim Sunggyu, Kim Jieun...

... and it wasn't even Nam Hyuna following after them in that hoodie. It was Nam Woohyun.

((((( )))))

“Here,” Jieun offered as she finished fluffing up her pillows. She had even changed the sheets and blankets into fresh linen before pulling out a sleeping mat over the free space between the window and her bed. She dumped the extra pillow and blanket she had brought in onto her chair as she proceeded to fix her sleeping area for the night. “You’re sleeping on my bed. I’ll be taking the floor.”

Although they had a sprawling lot, the Kim household was just fit enough for a family of four to move about in, giving them no extra rooms for guests. In the likely event of one, either of the siblings gave up their room for use and moved in to the other's. Not comfortable with Woohyun's offer of camping out in their living room, Jieun had adopted him in which didn't seem at all suspicious to her brother-- to him, they were just two college girls on a sleepover.

“I can’t allow that!" Woohyun protested. "You’re the host!”

“And you’re my guest!”

“Pssh! More like invader!" he claimed, trying to pull the extra pillow out of her grasp but she held back and it became a wrestling match between the two. "Swap out, now!”

"It's fine, Namu, I don't mind it. Besides, you've been in the comfort of your own huge mansion for too long. You're not used to sleeping on cold, hard floor too."

Woohyun pouted, looking for another way to set their sleeping arrangement wherein she didn't have to give up her own bed. “Jieun, the bed’s big enough for two people, we could always share.”

“Even if you look gorgeous like that, I’m still not sleeping beside a guy, thank you. No offense," Jieun laughed, shaking her head at the offer of them sharing a bed. "What if you turn back to normal tomorrow? Gyu won't be able to handle it. He'll go into a complete mental breakdown at that."

"Of us sharing a bed?"

"No, of a manly you wearing a Rilakumma pajama dress! It'll scar him for life!" cackled Jieun. "We still have to figure out where we can get you a spare change of fresh underwear for tomorrow though. I'm sure Gyu won't mind if we steal a few pairs..."

Her suggestion upset Woohyun so much, he shot up from his seat in protest. "Nope. Nope! No way! Hygienic or not, I am NOT sharing boxers or briefs with Kim Sunggyu, bane of my existence, even if it kills me!"

Jieun patted him on the shoulder to get him to calm him down. "Okay, okay! I was joking! Geez, no need to get so worked up over underwear! Now rest up, we need our heads at full capacity tomorrow. Assuming that this situation won't just resolve by itself, that means we've got a lot of research work and brain storming overdue."

It was getting really late into the night, so Woohyun agreed to turn in, deciding that he'd return the favor in ten-fold somehow once he was back to normal. Jieun made sure that her guest was comfortable as he pulled the duvet up and over his now dainty female body. Once she was sure he had settled in, she reached for the bedside lamp, putting out the lights, but before she did so, she spoke up once again. "Hey, Woohyun? Although I don't know how yet, we'll get you back to normal soon, I promise," Jieun hummed. "I hope you'll have a good night."

"Good night," he responded back, burying half his face into the duvet as the room dimmed.

Woohyun found himself fidgeting, unable to sleep right away. Maybe it was because he knew that the bed he was in wasn't his own-- the fact that he had booted Jieun out without intending to wasn't helping. Maybe because the duvet smelled like Jieun's shampoo, reminding him of berries and spring time. Maybe it was because he couldn't keep his eyes off the said person, who was sleeping soundly on the floor beside him. He turned over to his side and decided he would indulge in the sight for now and stop acting like a creeper after five minutes.

Jieun was an angel when asleep with her soft lips parted the slightest bit, her pale skin aglow with the faint moonlight. He was sorely tempted to brush off the stray bangs that were covering her face but he held back, not wanting to be labelled as a ert. Her expression more at peace, more relaxed and Woohyun thought that it should always be that way. She had done so much for him today, ever since the whole Kang Minho incident. All he had done in return was bring her misery, but she still welcomed him with open arms (with a broom, actually) and had not ceased in helping him out. She was, in the truest sense, heaven-sent after all.

"Thank you, Jieun," Woohyun whispered fondly as he watched over her sleeping figure. "I wouldn't know what I'd do without you."

"You're welcome," Jieun gurgled in response. Woohyun was very surprised that she managed to hear him. With stupor getting the best of her, she drifted back off to sleep, a small smile gracing her face.

That was good enough for him. Woohyun once again pulled the duvet over his head a dozed off into a restful slumber for the night. He was in for a long day tomorrow, he could feel it. A long day that he didn't expect would start out with a...

“JIEUN-IE! WAKEY-WAKEY! WAKE UP, PRINCESS!”

A/N: Hi once again, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. For those loyal readers who thought that I must have abandoned this fic, I sincerely apologize for leaving you hanging. I had to get some stuff out of the way first, and I hope you guys do understand. To my new subscribers, hi there and welcome, welcome! Once again, feel free to ask questions-- you can PM me, leave a comment, drop a wall post, anything! I always appreciate hearing what you guys have in mind! Someone had asked me about the length of this once. To be honest, I'm targetting 15 chapters more or less, so if that's the case, we've somewhat met the halfway mark. Aww :(

To those that were asking if the moon played a big part in this, I'll let the events of those chapters and this one speak for itself ;) WooGyu is starting to open up to one another (sort of, with Nam Hyuna being ambassador to Woohyun-landia). Sparks are flying on Woohyun's end too! (Still have nothing official for the two, so I'll let you guys decide on the couple name. Personally, I think WooEun is pretty cute, because it sounds like Woohyun hahaha) More madness and mayhem in the chapters to come-- you can tell by the over-enthusiastic alarm clock-- so stay tuned!

PS: Let's all wish our resident mochi grandpa a speedy recovery, and that his injured leg heals well before their comeback! First Hoya's leg, then Woohyun's shoulder, Yeol's back and now Sunggyu. Seeing one of the members isolated on a chair at the side of the stage just saddens me. NO MORE INFINITE ON CHAIRS huhuhu :(

In the meantime, throw some hearts if you're excited for our greasy tree's solo debut!