003

Once the door shut behind Chansik Amber sat there for a while, her smile gone, her anger boiling. She just wanted to hit something, she just wanted to hurt someone. Slipping on a pair on high tops she pulled on her hoodie and headed out ignoring the calls from one of her maids, she didn't care if daddy was coming home tonight, she was going out and no one was going to stop her. She walked down the street, no real destination in mind, she just needed air, she needed to get Chansik out of her mind.

She got her opportunity when she bumped into a group of boys who didn't go to Shinhwa academy, “Yah, watch where you're going pretty boy.” oh god these kids were making it easy for her to mess them up. Amber grinned elbowed one before slamming her fist into the other, laughing as they cried out from her assault, it was to late though, they unleashed the dragon that'd been tearing at her insides the last week. Stupid scholarship kid, acting all high and mighty, acting like he was above HER of all people, “Yo what's with you?”

landing a kick into one of boy's stomachs she growled out, “I'm a girl you heads.” before pouncing and punching at what ever body had been unfortunate enough to be there.

-

Gongchan sighed and relaxed a bit as he was safely stocking the shelves. His boss had noticed him gone but hadn't fired him, instead he'd just gotten an hour's pay taken from his weekly check and would be put off check out duty for the next week which he was fine with even though it paid better to check out.

“So what made you so late today? Get attacked by those crazy classmates of yours again?” Jinyoung asked as he began to sweep in place.

“No, actually, this time the crazy chick kidnapped me from school.” he shivered a little, he really had no idea as to what to think of Amber, she looked so... so angry during lunch then she kidnapped him just to give him a makeover?

“ooo, What'd she do?” Dongwoo seemed to pop out of no where, his y senses tingling probably.

“Nothing like that hyung.” Chansik rolled his eyes, “She was having like a weird control trip, she chloroformed me and then I woke up in some designer clothes and crap, it was super weird and creepy.” he shivered just thinking about it.

“She changed your clothes? The girl's into wierd things then?” Dongwoo chuckled.

“I don't think she meant anything like that, she... I don't know, she seemed like she wanted to see me...” Chansik shook his head, “it was nothing ual hyung, shouldn't you be something else.”

Dong chuckled, patting chansik on the back, “Our innocent maknae, you'll be interested in adult things soon enough!” he laughed loudly as he walked off leaving Chansik with his more level headed hyung who shook his head at the oldest.

“You better watch out, she doesn't really sound right in the head man... What about that one girl you were talking about? Minah? Any changes in that relationship.”

Chansik shrugged, “ever since the whole red tag thing she's been gone and every time I call her number it goes straight to voicemail, I don't think she'll be going back to school anytime soon and I don't really blame her.” The last thing he wanted was to watch the poor girl receive the same treatment as him, though he did worry about her, “She gave me her address before she left though, maybe I'll visit her tomorrow before work.”

Jinyoung grinned and nodded, “yeah, good, she seems more suited for you then that Amber anyways.”

Chansik froze then rolled his eyes, “seriously, I've said it before hyung, I don't want to date any of those rich girls.” the last thing he needed was a distraction from his goal to be a doctor. No one seemed to believe he could do it on his own no matter how hard he worked and look at what he's already accomplished- it wasn't every day a kid who couldn't even afford a used car got into Shinhwa! He'd get through this with Amber and go on to Shinhwa university, he just needed to stay on the top percent grade wise.

“your parents are right though, getting married to one of those rich girls would really open some doors.” Jinyoung chuckled and winked, “Maybe the reason this Amber's so bent on making you suffer is because she's attracted to you?”

yeah, because they were totally in gradeschool, Amber wanted to stab him in the back, not date him, “Sure Hyung, that's exactly what she wants.” the day someone like Amber Liu loved anything other then herself and money was the day hell would freeze over.

“You heading straight home tonight or do you wanna hang out, Dongwoo's parents are off on another get rich quick scheme so they'll be gone all weekend.”

“Nah, maybe tomorrow night, I wanted to get some extra credit out of the way then help Eunsol with her homework, her teacher sent a note with her yesterday about her school work.” Chansik hummed while eyeing the doll he held, it was Barbie dressed like a nurse, he wondered if his little sister might like playing with this better then the old chewed up barbie they'd found when they'd moved there four years ago... the price though for a stupid doll? Still Christmas would be coming up, maybe he could splurge and get her a nice doll to play with, Eunsol sacrificed so much for him already, it would be fun to see her get something she liked.

“Shouldn't your parents be the ones to do that?”

Chansik shrugged, “they're so focused on me they sometimes forget they had another kid, it's better if I do it.” Really he worried about when she got to his age, would they force her onto a rich guy? He hated the idea of his sweet little sister dating, it grossed him out to think about anyone thinking that way about Eunsollie!

“ah, ok, see you around then Chansik.” Jinyoung awkwardly waved towards his uncle, the owner of the toy store then swept away quickly.

“Gong Chansik, hurry and get those shelves stocked!” Mr. Jung growled and stomped away.

-

pulling his scarf around his neck then his hat Chansik headed towards the front of the shop, pausing to pick up the trash then hit the main switch to turn off the lights, pausing when he looking up at the front of the store where Bang Minah stood outside looking very sad and guilty. Chansik smiled a friendly smile and headed out the door that locked automatically after him and waved enthusiastically to his friend, “Long time no see, how've you been?”

She looked startled and confused at first then attempted a smile, “I guess I was expecting you to be a bit more... unhappy I guess... You look fine, was the red tag just a dream then? Have I been hiding in my room for no reason?”

Chansik scratched the back of his head and awkwardly looked away, “eh, well no, the school's crazy but it's cool, I'm sure it'll pass sooner or later.” he tried to sound reassuring but even he wasn't buying it, “Just two years is all.”

“I'm sure they'll find someone else to bully soon enough.” Minah sighed out and walked with him to the back to throw out the trash then walked with him along the cold busy streets of Seoul. He missed living in a small town, his old friends were back there and he loved how quiet it was. He liked living there though, he had more opportunities and he didn't have to worry about his Bio dad showing up every time he ran out of cash for booze. In Seoul it was like they all could finally move on, he could work on his education and his mom and her new husband could finally be husband and wife with out the neighbors commenting about how “scandalous” their relationship was. People talked to much in small towns, here in Seoul it wouldn't matter how many people talked because it was so muffled by everything else.

“I don't know, maybe I can change it...” he said after a while of them walking in silence.

“change what?”

“The school, these kids, maybe they just need to see that anyone can succeed even a lower middle class kid like me.” he chuckled and smiled brightly towards Minah, “It just take's one person to change the world right? Maybe I can be that person for these kids.”

She laughed and shook her head, “I'm supposed to be the innocent one Chansik, even you know our classmates will always be superficial and mean.” she frowned and tugged at her sleeves, “I just... I just want everyone to like me, I've never wanted to hurt anyone.”

his first instinct was the tell her she hadn't hurt anyone but he hesitated, maybe perhaps it wasn't their fault they cared so much for their material possessions... His classmates were raised on the belief that the key to happiness was money and fame and perhaps calling them stupid for thinking that wasn't the best way to go. Minah while nice and sweet still cared deeply for expensive things, still cared deeply about popularity and fame but that didn't make her a bad person. He paused then smiled warmly and put an arm around her, “Hey, forgiveness sometimes take a while but I'm sure they'll give in sooner or later and see just how special you really are.”

He could be mistaken but she looked like she might be blushing and it occurred to him he probably shouldn't comfort her in this way if he wasn't looking for a girlfriend but his little bit of skinship seemed to brighten her smile and he liked when she was happy... he'd worry about the consequences later if anything happened. They walked together like that until he saw her, the quiet member of f4 standing there infront of a large moving ad of the ever famous singer Cho Kyuhyun who was promoting his new single. He didn't realize he'd let go of Minah until she commented, “Isn't that Krystal Jung? I've never seen her away from the other girls before.”

“Eh, yeah? I wonder what she's doing out so late?”

he didn't notice Minah staring up at him while he stood frozen staring at Krystal. He didn't notice the understanding look on her face or the look of sadness that soon followed, or the quick look of resolve that replaced everything, “You know she's never quite looked as into tormenting others as the other girls in f4, maybe... maybe she's different Chansikkie... perhaps she'd enjoy a little company.”

“Huh?” he looked down at Minah and saw her grinning a funny little smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, what had he missed?

“Go talk to her stupid, It's not every day Krystal Jung is out with out her body guards, go over and make sure she's warm, we wouldn't want Shinhwa's princess to catch a cold would we?” beaming, Minah stepped back from Chansik and motioned towards Krystal, “I have to get home anyways, I keep telling my parents I'm sick so running around town in the middle of the night couldn't be helping that lie.”

“When will you come back to class?”

her smile faltered but she beamed brighter then ever, “Soon, I'm sure my parents will catch on sooner or later that I'm faking.” she chuckled and began to back peddle away, “Go now, go talk to Krystal before your chance is gone.” he noticed she clenched her fist but her smile was still firmly in place, “see you around Chansikkie.” why did it sound like she was saying good bye permanently?

“I'll come to visit soon.”

Minah laughed and nodded, turning around as though to go but paused, “can you ask the teachers for my late work? Maybe... maybe if I focused on that it'll help.”

“Of course.”

She looked back, her smile genuine again, “see you around Gong Chansik.” then turned back around and disappeared into the crowd. She was an odd one, Bang Minah, why did she look like she was going to cry?

Chansik looked back to the ad and found Krystal still standing there. Why was she alone? Shouldn't she be at home, it was getting late... he wandered over to her and watched as Cho Kyuhyun held his album up, the singer's lips moving but it was difficult to hear what he was saying over the sound of the other's passing by. If she really wanted to watch one of Kyuhyun's ads why didn't she just go on youtube or something? He was all over the internet, you didn't even need to search, his videos were usually on the front page of every Korean site out there. Even he was a big fan of Kyuhyun, he was so cool and smart, he'd been one of the factors leading him to chose Shinhwa despite the hefty price it brought... but to go to school where Cho Kyuhyung went, that was something he'd always loved about going to school even if he'd learned later on how irritating the school was.

“So... are you apart of his fanclub too? I hear he'll be coming back to Korea soon, it'll be nice to have him promote here instead of Japan, I really want to go to one of his shows.” Krystal looked over, her face calm and not the least bit friendly but Chansik liked to believe her saving him had to mean she didn't loath him the way Amber did, “how cool would it be to be him? He's so awesome and talented, I wish I could of gone to school with him.” Krystal turned back to the screen, seemingly ignoring him as he rambled on, “You think the rumors of him dating that girl from Red Velvet are true... that Irene chick? She's really pretty.”

“no, they're not true.”

Chansik raised an eyebrow, maybe she was one of those fans that really hated the idea of their bias dating, she looked pissed, “eh, I'm sure they're just rumors...” maybe he'd misjudged her, perhaps her and Amber were cut from the same cloth... but no, maybe he was just not hearing the entire story, “how... how exactly do you know?” he leaned forward to see her face but she just looked away, “Are you crying?”

She quickly rubbed her forearm across her eyes and shook her head, “we know each other... we're friends.” she mumbled into her arm then looked towards him, “I haven't gotten to see him in so long, texts and face time just don't make up for it.”

With out hesitating he pulled her into a hug, acknowledging it was a huge invasion of her personal space but also acknowledging that he really hated seeing people upset though when she froze in his arms he quickly let go but kept a hand on her shoulder, “Eh, I understand, I moved away from my hometown a few years ago, my friends back there were some of the best and stupidest guys I'd ever known... I guess what I'm trying to say is hiding your feeling, not letting yourself be sad isn't good, you should never feel bad about missing someone.” He smiled warmly and nodded towards the screen, “he's probably kicking himself right now about how much he misses you, if I was in his place I'd never chose a music career over seeing the people I love, it just doesn't compare.”

Krystal's bottom lip twitched slightly but her emotions seemed to be in control, “Love?”

“Yeah, I mean love is way better then a music career, any career really, why have success if you have no one to share it with... he's probably pretty lonely, he doesn't have someone like you to come home to every day, someone like you to go out with to relieve stress... he must really miss you.”

he watched as she looked back at the ad, her wall back up, “you're... can you please go, I would really rather be alone right now.”

He looked around at the people passing and shook his head, how can anyone be alone here. He nodded his head and let his hand drop from her shoulder, “Try to stay warm Krystal-ssi, winter's arriving pretty fast this year... good bye...” when she didn't acknowledge him he awkwardly walked away hoping she didn't get attacked or anything.

Chansik walked the rest of the way in deep thought, wondering what kind of relationship Krystal must have with Kyuhyun. He was older then her, which wasn't uncommon for couples but she was still in highschool, was it really ok for someone in their twenties and famous as well to be dating a highschool student? Maybe it was just a rich culture thing, perhaps this kind of thing happens all of the time he just never witnessed it himself.

-

Amber grumbled to herself as she dabbed a hydrogen peroxide saturated cotton ball onto her chin and tried to avoid looking at her reflection. If her brother had been there to see her he'd probably be scolding her, telling her she was stupid for taking her anger out on people.

“You need to let your anger go kid, you'll never get what you want by throwing a fit.”

Shaking her head she tossed the cotton ball in the trash and pulled out a bandaid, smiling slightly at the childish cartoon that decorated it. She was hiding up in her brother's old privet bathroom with the excuse that she didn't have a first aid kit in hers (a lie) but she knew she just didn't want to admit she was in there to feel at least some kind of comfort now that their dad was home. Amber used to love seeing her dad, used to cry herself to sleep when he left but now seeing him just brought back terrible feelings and memories.

Amber missed her brother, she missed him more then anything in the world, why'd he have to leave?

Swallowing the lump in she slid off of the counter top and headed into his main room, eyeing her big brother's king size bed. Would she be pushing it if she just stayed in here the rest of the night? No, her dad expected her for dinner, she couldn't put it off any longer... she knew what happened when dad didn't get his way.

Stopping by her room to throw on some name brand frilly dress her mom had sent her for her birthday, she headed down to the main dinning room where her dad already sat looking stoic and brooding, “I'm sorry to keep you waiting dad... I had to clean up... I was fencing with Victoria Unnie today and she accidentally nicked my chin sir...” she knew he knew about her fighting but she dealt with her dad the way she would the police- no self incrimination, unless they had proof they didn't have you.

“please be seated Amber.” he nodded towards the seat far down the table away from him.

Amber complied quickly and kept her eyes trained down at the table top until her view was obscured with a bowl of soup, then she silently ate. She wasn't sure why he was so obsessed with eating together when he was home, he didn't talk to her anymore, not since he sent her brother away to live with that witch in Kwangju.

“Will mom be back for Christmas?” she questioned while stirring her soup around her bowl, not surprised when he didn't say anything. At least if Mom were there she'd acknowledge Amber's existence for the entire meal instead of just the beginning. These dinners were just a power trip, he didn't care if she were actually alive or happy.

“Amber,” she jumped a bit, knocking her knees against the table, “I'll be leaving for Australia on a business excursion soon.”

“You just got home!” she bit her lip and looked back down, why was she getting so worked up, dad leaving meant she had no rules, no one to hold her back... that was good, right?

“If you would listen,” he paused until she looked up at him, “I'll be gone until January this time around and I think it would be a good opportunity for you to go with... It's your last year until university so building relationships early on with our over seas contributors would be good.”

excitement bubbled up in her veins, a trip over seas? She wouldn't be alone in this cold mansion! The transfer students face flashed in her mind and lessened her excitement... if she left now, she reasoned with her self, Transfer kid would get off for his crimes, she couldn't just leave after he called her out like that, it'd look like she was running away, “I'm sorry dad... I really need to work on my school work, I don't think I'm ready to test my knowledge against those who look so highly upon our company... when schools out though, I can guarantee I'll be ready, I just don't want to embarrass you... I'm not good enough yet.”

he seemed to contemplate her answer for a bit before nodding, “I've been hearing good things from your teachers. I'm glad you're finally taking your education seriously.”

“yeah... It really started to occur to me I should learn as much as I can now before that opportunity is gone... I'm glad that effort is being acknowledged.” It was strange hearing him praise her... if that was actually praise, she wasn't quite sure, but it was nice and almost made her want to take back her decision, Chansik's stubborn face held her back though, the boy needed something done to him!

...Chansik, the name it's self didn't elicited enough hatred, it was a name that shouldn't belong to someone so... someone so horribly gentle. Didn't he have any shame at all? It's like he didn't care one bit that she was tougher then him, or that he looked like a prince out of a fairy tale... or that he smelled like vanilla which she was very sure wasn't a man's smell at all.

Stupid Gong Chansik, Amber hated him!

-

Chansik hadn't gotten much sleep Sunday night, he couldn't help worrying that the moment he stepped foot in school he'd be attacked... except no, nothing, there were plenty of people who looked towards him but no one seemed bent on causing him any physical harm, though that only made him worry more. He walked down the halls expecting some kind of assault but came up empty every time, that is until he reached the main hallway leading to the lunch room where a large group of kids laughed and chanted. His first instinct was to turn right around before they noticed him and decided to pull him into the mess but then he heard Bang Minah's cry for help.

With out thinking he jumped into the eye of the storm and found Minah huddled down,she had a split lip and tears rolling down her eyes, “What's the meaning of this? Who did this?” he called out and looked around, unbridled furry coloring his face. There Amber was, standing there with Victoria and Luna flanking her, “She has nothing to do with this! How dare you!”

“How dare I? You're the one who wanted a war. Anyone who sides with you is fair game and little Missy there admitted straight out she was on team Chansik.” she looked bored, apparently the game wasn't as fun as it used to be.

Chansik looked back at Minah, for a moment slightly warmed at the idea that she stood up for him then turned back to Amber, “She's hurt, your stupid little game hurt her.”

Amber looked curious, “So? What're you gonna do about it transfer kid? You gonna avenge your girlfriend? Are you going to hurt me too?” she grinned though her eyes remained dead.

For the first time in his life he really was tempted, Minah, the stupid wonderful girl who cared to much was hurt and the person responsible didn't seem to get that treating people like this wasn't ok, this school was a hive and those four considered themselves the queens... But no, it wouldn't solve anything, it wouldn't change anything, he had to stand firm on his beliefs that fighting with words was much better then fists.

“I'm your enemy Noona, not Minah, if you need to hurt anyone it should be me.” Not to many people could silence Amber Liu but Gong Chansik with just a look made her vocal cords stop, made her breath stop, made her heart stop... There was warmth and passion and fear and love in his eyes and she couldn't bring herself to look away.

“You stupid bastard, how dare you talk to f4 that way.” some idiot called out and then threw what looked to be a bottle at Chansik who at the right moment held his arm up over his face before it could hit it. The bottle fell to the ground and shattered, glass and hot sauce spraying across the floor onto Amber's shoes that looked like any high top but most likely cost more then his family's rent. A terrifying hush resounded through the hall, Chansik let out an annoyed sigh, “Oh come on, you can't blame me for that!”

“You know, one of my hobbies is collecting shoes and these happen to be my favorites.”

instant dread filled Chansik, he was going to be sick, “What then? Do you want mine, I'm sure you don't have a pair of shoes under twenty in your collection!” he looked her in the eye and found that her blank expression grated at his nerves even more then her normal confidant one, what was with her today? Couldn't she at least LOOK like she was enjoying torturing him? What was the point of this little show if she didn't even seem to like it anymore?

The students around them began to chant “death!” over and over again and this seemed to bring Amber back to life, she looked around, hesitated then held her hand up, “You want the game to be over? my shoes clean then.” the crowd snickered and began to chant once more.

Like hell he was going to! He would have rejected her but Minah's whimpering reminded him that he wasn't the only one involved in this mess anymore... It was his fault she'd risked going to school in the first place and she'd been loyal to him, he owed it to her to give up his pride to keep her safe. Falling to his knees and hesitating, staring down at Amber feet feeling a heavy weight on his chest, he was literally bowing down to her, he was giving her what she wanted with the only reassurance that she might actually keep her word and stay away from his friend. Swallowing his pride Chansik bent down but froze when Krystal voice rang out, “You're wrong.”

Everyone turned towards Krystal who'd just made an appearance at the entrance of the lunch room, a bored look on her face, “huh?”

“He doesn't miss me, he doesn't have time to.” she smiled and waved her hand, “You're so sentimental Chansikkie, no one really thinks that way.” quickly the hush of the room was replaced by whispers from their classmates. What kind of relationship did they have? Why was she talking to him as though they shared a common bond?

Chansik wasn't quite sure what was happening but it seemed to change Amber's mind about her shoes, “We'll be late for class.” she was glaring at Krystal, something no one had ever seen Amber do towards any of the f4 girls so it was an unspoken decision that everyone should get out of there before they found themselves at the receiving end of that glare instead. When F4 retreated into the lunchroom a group of girls from his class walked up looking very nice and friendly.

“Are you alright Chansik-ssi? How terrible Amber unnie is to you.” the leader, a girl he remembered as Choi Haneul knelt down and held out a hand, “You're so brave to stand up against F4, you looked so handsome.” he didn't notice how uncomfortable her friends were, he was just caught up in Haneul's warm smile, she really was pretty.

“Ah, I had to...” Could it be his efforts to stand up against F4's injustice were helping others?

“You looked so cool Chnasik-ssi, I've never seen a boy look so strong then to just sacrifice your dignity for you friend, so handsome.” she red lips smiled brightly and her eyes twinkled.

“t-thanks...”

“Say, we'll be having a party this weekend, would you wanna, you know, be my date?” she bit her lip as though she were nervous but there was no hiding her confidence, she knew he'd say yes and he couldn't in his jumbled mind find a reason not to.

“S-sure...” then shook his head, “I don't really have anything to wear, I mean I only really have jeans and tees....”

“well that's perfect,” Haneul giggled and lightly punched his shoulder, “It's casual silly, of course you'll fit in. it's Saturday at eight at this address” she grabbed his hand and placed a folded bit of paper in it then got to her feet.

there was something in the back of his head telling him to say no, he shouldn't hang around these kids but he found himself answer, “ok.” and watched as they walked away leaving him alone with Minah outside of the lunchroom.

“You should watch out for Haneul...”

shook out of his daze he looked back and Minah who was looking down at the tile below her, “What do you mean, she seemed nice?”

Minah rolled her eyes, something he'd never seen her do before, “oh yeah, Haneul's just the sweetest girl in school.” she was acting very unlike herself, normally she'd be thrilled that they'd been invited to a party hosted by one of the rich kids... but then again, she hadn't been invited had she? Was Minah jealous? He hesitated, remembering how happy she had seemed when he'd walked with her the other day. He didn't see Minah as more then a friend, if anything she felt more like a sister really, but maybe her feelings weren't the same as his.

“look, you should go to the party too...” he knew they were the wrong words when he spoke them.

She looked as though she might cry again but was doing a far better job of keeping them at bay, “You're really stupid Gong Chansik.” and with that she took off down the hallway leaving Chansik to sit there by himself wondering what he'd need to do to get Minah to forgive him, was she going to act that way every time a girl talked to him?

(AN- It's been kind of busy the last few weeks- I went on vacation (three days of me pretty much driving EVERYWHERE -.- so tired but it was fun) then more over time at work and then the mad dash to buy food for Thanksgiving~ Over all I spent every bit of free time I've had either on this story or sleeping -.-

please leave a vote and or a comment, I've been considering quite a few guys for the part of Amber's brother, he should be making his debut either in the next chapter or the one after :)

also, I seem to be putting more into Minah's character then I'd anticipated, idk, I think it's probably because I'd always wondered why they took out one of the few female friends Makino had in the manga out of the dramas, like they never gave any of the rich girls any slack other then maybe the sister character-.- In the manga she's very sweet and kind and I figured Minah fit that part completely^^ having her sort of have a thing for Gongchan was me throwing in my own experience with falling for a best friend you know you'll never have but still want the best for them... watching them turn to others and wondering “hey, you, perfect person, they'll never love you the way I love you” but never really saying it out loud because the timing is never right and you'd hate to ruin what you already have and trying to convince your self it's enough to just be their rock... yeah I'm depressed now -.-)