004

He hadn't seen Amber at all that week, though he saw little glimpses of the other girls, especially Luna who remained very popular with the other kids in school. The biggest change of that week was Haneul's constant presence. During class she sat next to him, she ate with him at lunch and walked with him everywhere- he wasn't quite sure, they hadn't said anything about it out loud but he suspected they were dating which baffled him completely.

“Chansikkie, what're you thinking about? Is it that mean old Amber again.” She whined in what Chansik suspected was supposed to be cute but just irritated him. Sure, he had been thinking of Amber but not just her but Krystal as well, Minah though, he thought of her the most. She hadn't answered any of his calls and when he tried to visit, her mom wouldn't let him in the front door... All because he agreed to go to a party which apparently was an invitation to date Haneul more then anything. He Didn't quite understand what he'd done to deserve this, Haneul was beautiful but she was quickly becoming one of his least favorite people to be around, even more so then Amber.

The pretty girl sat there leaning against his shoulder playing with his blazer sleeve, every once and a while she'd hold her hand against his as if to measure how much large his was to her's. She was seriously codependent, constantly at his side asking him if she were pretty, constantly asking him to get her things (in which he'd have to go on and explain to her again that he couldn't afford anything really) and constantly hanging on him like she lacked the strength to carry her own weight... which was ridiculous by the way, she weighed like eighty pounds at the most.

“No, just the assignment.” he answered her, which was another thing, his usual 95% and higher was dipping, he had to keep his focus on school but Haneul was very bound and determined to keep him off track. 

“hmm, all you do is study,” she pouted, “you should live life to the fullest Chansikkie~ come over after school today.” she lifted an eyebrow as if he didn't already get her intentions.

Truthfully he wasn't even sure what his intentions were, after the shock of having a pretty girl like Haneul ask him out he couldn't seem to find anything interesting about her. She wasn't very smart, she wasn't very nice and she just whined so much. Just hearing her voice put his nerves on edge, seriously, he'd rather listen to Amber's haughty “I'm better then everyone” tone then Haneul attempt at being cute, “I can't, I have work after school.”

“I'll have my daddy buy out the toy store silly.” She hummed and buried her face in his shoulder, letting out a sigh, “I really love being with you.” She was delusional, like when had they decided they were together, had he missed the conversation? Did agreeing to go to the party really seal his fate... but then again, here he was still going with it, didn't that make him the bad person in the relationship? Why couldn't he get the nerve up to put some clarity in whatever the hell this was?

“No, that's alright, we'll have plenty of time to hang out Saturday.” he patted her shoulder awkwardly keeping his attention on the assignment in front of him.

“Saturday's going to be so much fun! Everyone will be there!” and by everyone she meant the rich of the rich, if they hadn't been going together he would never have gone to something like this.

“Is it really ok that I'm going in jeans? I mean there's really no dress code?”

“silly, of course not, you really haven't been to a rich party have you? We're just like any other kids we just happen to be rich hun, we wear jeans too.” sure, he believed that, though their jeans usually cost considerably more then his. This was another thing she obsessed over, trying to prove to him she was just like him, that the pile of money she probably swam in every morning didn't make them any different when it did... she acted as though being poor was a fun little fad she could try on for a little while until she found something else to attempt to assimilate. 

He laughed awkwardly and nodded, “ok, I'll see you then.” he said right before the bell rang. He detangled himself from her and stumbled out of his chair, glad to finally have room to breath.

“see ya Sikkie.” he cringed at her strange nickname for him, gave a little awkward nod and got the hell out of there.

-

“Oppa, it must be so exhausting having to travel so often.” Luna cooed towards her current slab of over aged meat. Krystal rolled her eyes, Luna always went for guys who were old enough to be her father which grossed Krystal out. She believed it had to do with Luna's deadbeat father who relied so heavily on Luna's mom who was practically Wonder-woman in a hanbok. Mrs. Park could take care of her husband and three kids while balancing her entire company on one hand and still have time for her countless affairs- all daddy Park could do was play dolls with Luna's baby sisters and spend money on things no one needed.

“You know, your flight being delayed isn't all bad, maybe while you're in town we can get together.” and then there was Vic unnie, always thinking about how many guys she can date while she's young and free of her responsibilities, though unlike Luna it was mostly for and never commitment... Krystal wasn't sure what went on in Vic Unnie's head but it probably had something to do with the many men her parents introduced her to in the hope of her meeting a suitable traditional husband, Vic unnie in turn went after guys she knew her parents would never like.

Peering over at Amber, Krystal fidgeted a bit with her sleeves. Amber hadn't talked to her all week, apparently she was still mad at her. She didn't like it though, Chansik wasn't to bad and that was his friend he was trying to protect, Amber needed to understand that she and Chansik had a lot more in common, they both are the type of people who'd do anything for a friend.

“Hey, stupid.” She mumbled to her older friend in english, “you gonna ignore me forever now?” Krystal let out a little sigh when she received not even a glance and turned back to the front, she wasn't going to let even Amber ruin this moment!

“Why're you guys so quiet, we should be celebrating!” Vic unnie grinned as she plopped down next to Amber and swung an arm around her, “It's been a year since Kyuhyun oppa has had any down time, frowns are not allowed on a day like this!”

“Yeah you downers, cut back, have a little fun!” Luna beamed and sat down ontop of Krystal's lap, hugging her tightly, “Is it about that cute scholarship student, are you two fighting over him?” she giggled though stopped short when Amber sent her a death glare, “Eh....”

“Holes before poles girls, you shouldn't let a boy get between friends.” Vic unnie grinned when Amber directed her glare towards her, she wasn't afraid of Amber like everyone else seemed to be and it had nothing to do with Victoria being older, the girl was just fearless.

“I'm not interested, Amber unnie can have him if she wants.” Krystal chuckled and perked up when she turned towards the gates and finally saw him. Her heart sped wildly in her chest and she nearly forgot how to breath, Cho Kyuhyun was home! Pushing Luna off of her she took off and launched herself into his waiting arms, feeling for the first time in a year that life could be wonderful again.

“Woah, hey Soojung.” Kyuhyun chuckled, his chest rumbling against her cheek. He was still so warm and comfy, Krystal wasn't sure what she had been hoping for but a part of her almost wished he wasn't just so she could move on to someone she could actually have... Kyuhyun though, how could you move on from a guy like him?

Stepping back and beaming at him as he got attacked by Luna and Victoria, she caught his smile that he reserved just for her. They stayed like that for what felt like a century until Amber came barreling over and practically took Kyuhyun, Vic and Luna down, “Yah, Oppa! It's been so long.” she cackled loudly as she hugged the older boy to death, getting him into a head lock and messing up his perfectly combed hair, “You need to be punished for being away for so long! Krystal's been impossible since you left.” Amber sent her a meaningful glance, one Krystal knew meant she'd called a truce for now at least- they'd all pretend there was nothing bad going on while Kyuhyun was around, he deserved a vacation.

“You! How dare you treat your elder like this.” he laughed, not at all threatening as he struggled to get out of Amber's vice grip, “fine, uncle, uncle, you win!” satisfied of her victory Amber let him go and grinned up at him, “You girls sure have grown, except you little shorty.” Kyuhyun straightened up and flicked Amber on the head, the little spit fire grinned even more, “What's new?”

“Well Krystal and Amber are fighting over a boy.” God Vic unnie was evil, both Amber and Krystal glared at her.

“Oh?” surprise was plainly written on Kyuhyun's face, he looked towards Krystal.

“eh, it's not like that...”

“It's mostly me oppa, me and the boy had a... falling out and Krystal thinks I'm not being entirely fair towards him.” Amber might still be mad at her but that didn't seem to stop her from having Krystal's back, the youngest felt very happy she had Amber as a friend even if she were being an idiot lately.

“Huh? I've never heard of you being interested in anyone before, you guys really are growing up.” Kyuhyun chuckled and slung an arm around Amber and Krystal's shoulders, “Now, will the four prettiest girls in Korea please take me out for dinner, I'm starved.”

Krystal looked over towards Amber and mouthed 'thank you', Amber stared at her for a moment before turning her attention to Kyuhyun, “There's a great pizza place that just opened up, It almost even tastes like authentic American food.” krystal walked along with them, her mood slightly dampened, she missed her best friend.

-

Chansik stood a distance from the happily lit mansion before him. It still amazed him that these kids could still stop his breath with their wealth, just looking at this place stopped him dead in his tracks. Gathering up his courage, he walked up to the mansion knowing even then that this was a mistake, no place like this would except a kid like him, this was probably just another trick Amber put together to embarrass him. Opening up the large double door he froze once more, he should of just gone with his gut, this was a trap. Everyone there was dressed in designer brands and diamonds and here he was in something until that moment he'd thought was nice but knew now wasn't even nice enough to use to clean for these people.

He nearly turned right around and left right then and there but his eyes caught the food selection and he knew it'd be worth humiliation if he were to sneak some of that out to his family. Looking around to make sure he wasn't being watched, which by the way was pointless, everyone took a look at him so he kept his head up and made his way to the mountain of food.

“Sikkie darling! Right over here, come meet my father.” ice spread through his body, looking over Haneul was standing with a middle aged man and waved at him enthusiastically, “hurry, hurry sikkie! Daddy won't wait forever silly.”

against his better judgment he walked over to his girlfriend and her father who obviously disapproved by the red that was coloring his ears and cheeks. He was a rather tall man with large muscles and a face that likely scared his own mother, Haneul must take after her mom in the looks department though he suspected they probably had the same short fuse, “Hello sir... it's very nice to meet you...” Mr. Choi held out his hand so Chansik awkwardly shook it.

“My little angel's been talking about you for about a month now, never heard her go on about a boy like that before, and meeting you,” Mr.Choi looked Chansik up and down and scowled, “I can't say I'm impressed.”

“Daddy, Sikkie is so cool and tough.” Haneul cut in and wrapped her arm around Chansik and squeezed herself against him, “I think he might be the one daddy.” 

Chansik had to hand it to the guy, he took his daughter's proposal far more gracefully then Chansik did, though Chansik took comfort in knowing he was the better person by the simple fact that he wasn't strangling Haneul the way Daddy Choi currently was doing to him, “What'd you do to my daughter you little rat!” looking into Daddy Choi's eyes Chansik saw murder, he also suspected high blood pressure but he wasn't sure he should throw more fuel on Daddy Choi's fire.

“Daddy! Daddy!” Haneul's voice was clear and playful, “remember what your doctor told you about stress management.” she giggled and placed a perfectly manicured hand on Daddy Choi's arm, the gesture caused the man to let go of Chansik and looked towards his daughter, sweat dripping down his brow. Haneul looked from her father to Chansik and grinned, “Daddy, you have nothing to worry about, what future could a little welfare kid have? Sikkie you're so pathetic, to came to a fancy party in jeans?” 

“Y-you said to come like this...” God he was stupid, he could be using this time to make money.

“I figured even you weren't so classless!” she laughed and wrapped an arm around her father's arm, “No father would allow their precious daughter to date someone with no future and silly Sikkie, you just don't belong here.” her friends seemed to manifest out of nowhere and cackled giddily as they all in perfect unison dumped a glass of wine on his shirt.

“That's funny, from what I understand the future is promised to no one, especially those who rely on their parents and future spouses for success.” Haneul's girls weren't laughing anymore, they stood there in shock staring at... holy , it was Cho Kyuhyun! Chansik found him self staring wide eyed at the man before him, his Idol, his rolemodel, the very person who'd convinced him Shinhwa was his best bet at reaching his dreams. He stood there with Krystal Jung at his side, a little smile peaking at the corner of her lips... they looked good together, age difference was thrown out of the window, damn they'd make beautiful kids someday and that kind of hit a sore nerve for Chansik.

Haneul seemed to pop out of her trance and bounced away from her father and her groupies and gushed enthusiastically, “Oppa! You've returned to-”

“I'm sorry, I don't seem to know your name and have found in the short two seconds of meeting you I would never want to remedy that.” He smiled pleasantly and stepped around Haneul to Chansik, “Now, young man, it seems you didn't get the note about the dress code, we should fix that.” turning he smiled at Krystal and kissed her hand, “Excuse me Soojung, it'll only be a moment or two.” 

“Don't keep me waiting to long Oppa.” Krystal teased, then her attention went to Chansik, then Haneul, “I'm sorry, but Cho Kyuhyun doesn't allow girls of your particular character in his home, thanks for coming but we'd really advise you to leave.”

Chansik heard their gasps of protest as Kyuhyun lead him away from the scene up a grand staircase that he was sure he was very noticeable on, “Will it be ok leaving Krystal with those girls?”

Kyuhyun laughed loudly, “Krystal can hold her own and if they give her any trouble she's got the other girls there too.” Chansik looked back and sure enough Amber and the rest were herding Haneul and her girls with daddy Choi watching with a glass of wine in his over large hands.

“I-uh, had no idea I was invited to a party hosted by you Sunbae...”

“Just call me Hyung, I might be Shinhwa Alumni but it's been such a long time since I've been back there.”

“Yeah! You were the youngest to graduate from Shinhwa universtity with a masters in law...” he chewed on his lip as he looked around in awe at the room they entered, it wasn't anything he'd ever imagined a rich heir to live in.

“sorry about the mess, I don't normally have guests up here and those are all fan gifts.” wall to wall were stuffed toys, large paintings of Kyhyun and his bandmates, boxes and boxes of letters and sweets, His attention was caught on the only part of the room that was organized though, a wall of game systems and games and one of the most sleek computer towers and monitors he'd ever seen.

“You're a gamer?” he said in awe as he looked at Kyuhyun's collection, noting that not only did he have the most current games and systems but also the classics!

“those my friend got me through all my tough times, Super Mario during my first breakup, Sonic during finals, Halo just for the hell of it, I've got a lot of online games too, I've been more into online games since I started performing.” Kyuhyun chuckled and handed Chansik a change of clothes.

“When do you find the time? Don't idols have hectic schedules?” he questioned while changing, he's eyes still darting towards the game collection. He'd always dreamed of having a collection like that, his parents couldn't really afford any of that though so he'd really only played video games when he was at his friends. 

Kyuhyun shrugged and went to the wall of games, his index finger gliding over classic Nintendo games, “I don't really get much time these days, really this has been the first break I've really gotten all year and, well, if I had it my way it'd be spent more exclusively.” he looked over at Chansik and chuckled, “I hear you and Amber have been having a bit of a lovers spat, don't tell me you dumped her for that stick figure.”

It took Chansik a moment to understand what he was saying, “Huh... no! Amber and I, we never dated... we're just...” What the hell were they, enemies? He couldn't say that to Kyuhyun, he and Amber were obviously close!

The man in question just laughed, “She's like that I guess, not to many guys notice her charms and if they do she usually turns them down rather roughly even if she likes them back... I think dating kind of embarrasses her actually, I think it probably would have been different if she'd had an older sister instead of an older brother, she's such an innocent tomboy when it comes to that sort of thing.” Kyuhyun chuckled and patted Chansik on the back, “But then again, I saw the way you were looking at Krystal just now, maybe you're just not interested in Amber that way because you're interested in our sweet innocent little sister Krystal.”

Chansik knew he was red, his face was practically on fire, “Pardon?”

Kyuhyun trailed away, his hands in his pockets, “Krystal really is a beauty, isn't she? We've been chasing boys away from her since she was just a kid and now, now it getting to be time for us to finally except that our little Soojung is a woman,” kyuhyun turned back to Chansik with a large frown, “It's very difficult, you see, I've known her since she was just a little bundle of cells in her mother's womb, my first school art project was a story book for her which she still has by the way, and now... now she's got boys looking at her like she's an idol and that really grates at my nerves.”

“I... no, I'd never think of her that way, she's very beautiful sure but there more then that, she's... she's secretly kind, she doesn't want anyone to notice it but she is and that's really...”

“Enchanting.”

“Yeah!” Chansik took a step back, a bit embarrassed now.

Kyuhyun grinned and nodded, “You seem like a nice kid Gong Chansik, if any of my little sisters end up with you I'd be very proud to call you my little brother.” they were simple words but they seemed to weigh a lot on Kyuhyun who's face was a mix of happiness and sadness. Chansik didn't understand Kyuhyun's relationship with Krystal but he had a feeling it wasn't one sided, so why did Kyuhyun hold back? Krystal obviously loved him.

“Those girls are really lucky to have a brother like you Hyung, I can probably guarantee they're way out of my league but you're words mean a lot to me... You're actually the reason I was inspired to go to Shinhwa Academy, that and because it's got the best med school in Korea.”

“Really now? Glad I've done some good for that place, its always had more snobs then real talent and from what Luna's told me you're a brilliant students.”

“Luna said that?” Sure they were in the same class but he didn't think Luna knew that, she only seemed to focus on herself during class.

“Talent notices talent, Luna's always been a very gifted student and always pays attention when someone does better then her.” he chuckled, “She and I talk often, she says you've been given a scholarship that you deserve and that you're the top of the second year class just above her which hasn't happened since she started school so congrats.” maybe he should start studying with Luna then, she obviously was a better student then Haneul and he suspected Minah might never come back to school... oh, wait, Luna also belonged to F4 who at the moment hated him, “She also said Amber's red flagged you, wouldn't tell me a reason so figured it was some kind of lovers spat kind of thing but from what you've told me you guys aren't romantically involved... so what'd you do?”

“... accidentally ruined Luna's expensive ing purse...”

It was quiet in the room for a moment before Kyuhyun began to howl in laughter, “Amber, the girl always lecturing those girls about their obsession with material possessions is waging war over a purse! Oh how the mighty have fallen, she's never living this down!” Chansik looked away, trying to hide his smile, not to many people can claim their Idol was still the coolest person in the world after meeting them, Cho Kyuhyun didn't disappoint.

“To be fair I insulted her and everyone at the school so really, I asked for it to tell you the truth...” 

Kyuhyun turned to Chansik and grinned at the boy, “Give her hell for me Chansik, she needs people like you and I to keep her in her place since her brother left... The other girls have been worried about her since he left, Luna and Vic just give into her and Soojung... well she's starting to understand giving into Amber's tantrums won't help Amber in the end...” 

“Amber said something about her brother a couple days ago... after she gave me his old uniform... What happened to him?” He didn't know why he cared but maybe if he learned more about this guy he'd know how to combat Amber a bit better.

“Well... We were in the same grade, Himchan and I, we weren't exactly friends, more like family actually so naturally we hated each other and loved each other in that unique way only family can... Himchan didn't have to many aspirations in life, he always had this plan to marry a rich girl and live off her family's wealth because he knew his father would never give an inheritance to a slacker like him,  that plan was dropped when he met Hyosung who, like you, was poor with out a penny to her name...”

“what happened? Did his dad disown him because she was poor? What happened?”

“well, no, Hyosung was loved by their family, Mr. Kim liked her so much that he wanted her to inherit the company alongside Himchan because she was so brilliant.”

“Why didn't it work out?”

Kyuhyun hesitated and looked away, “there was a car accident, Himchan and Hyosung were driving one night together when some idiot who couldn't put his phone down swerved right into them... Himchan lived but Hyosung... he might as well have died that day too, every good thing Hyosung had brought out of him died along side her, he went back to his old ways and Mr. Kim as punishment married him off to some heiress in Kwangju.”

“He needed help and his dad just threw him away...”

“Hyosung's death was a huge blow to the family, The moment they'd met her they wanted her apart of the family, they're all still in mourning really.” Kyuhyun looked back at him, he looked sad as well, this tragedy obviously affected him just as much as it did Amber's family, “Hyosung had this thing about her, she made everyone believe in her and love her and for the first time that family felt like a family, she was a piece of a puzzle they'd never had and they lost that.”

“How long has it been since her passing?”

“It'll be two years on New Years Eve.” He'd never lost anyone before, His grandparents had passed before he was even born and his mom had never had to many friends and family to begin with. It must be hard to finally have something then have it taken away so quickly, “Amber's been taking it the worse really, she really loved Hyosung like a sister, she hasn't really had time to mourn her and you, you kind of remind me of Hyosung, Luna says you're so outspoken and don't take Amber's ... maybe that's why she'd targeting you, you remind her of someone she's lost.”

Chansik looked away from Kyuhun and though about how to take this information, Amber was targeting him because he reminded her of her brother's deceased girlfriend? More then that, he reminded her of someone who inspired Amber's broken family to be a family... Was that right? Why would she hate him so much then? Wouldn't she want to get to know him better, be friends? He didn't think Kyuhyun was completely right about this, there was more to it, there was a bigger reason Amber felt violently angry towards him and he wasn't sure why but he felt he needed to know why.

“We really should go on down, wouldn't want to miss my own welcome home party.” Kyuhyun sighed and guided Chansik along. They made their way back to the grand staircase and Chansik had to remind himself to breath as all eyes turned towards them, he also needed to remind himself to pay attention to where he stepped because he nearly killed himself when attention settled on him, it seemed even the Ice Princess Krystal couldn't keep her eyes off of him.

“We're sorry for the delay everyone, I was getting to know my new friend Chansik here who is quite the skilled gamer.” Kyuhyun placed a supporting hand on Chansik's back and spoke with such Charisma that the room couldn't help but be caught in his web, “we should have more music then, would anyone like to dance with my new friend here.

Krystal stepped up, a teasing grin on her face, “my, how lovely Sir Cinderella has turned out, If I could have the honor.” 

Shocked that she only seemed to have eyes for him he took her outstretched hand and probably would have had the time of his life if Amber didn't feel it time to make an appearance, “Yah, Jung Soojung you get away from Scholarship student right this-” He wasn't sure what she'd tripped over but she tumbled into him and they found themselves face to face on the floor, lips inches from each other until there was nothing between the two.

(AN- lots and lots of things given away in this chapter and then the end -.- I always loved and hated that part in the series', I hated it because it was an accident and loved it because it was the turning point to Tsukasa's annoying character... In here I may have taken the liberty to make it look like Amber may have taken advantage of her accident and all I can say is good job Ber, we knew you had it in you^^ 

sorry for the late updates, I really should just copy paste an apology to the front page so everyone knows I'm bad at keeping promises... in my defense it's been a hectic December, I long for the days I was back in school where the only responsibilities I had were to practice personal hygiene and go to school every day...don't take you childhood for granted kids, these should be fun years for you guys, once you're an adult it's all bills and awkward comments about your lack of a love life... 

Happy new years^^)