We decided to go to the nearest optical shop that they have. I was not surprised when they told me that it will take a day for me to get my new glasses since I have unequal grades together with astigmatism. They also don’t have a stock of the contacts for my eyes and I find myself lucky that the one that I lost is available here. If it was my left lens, I’ll be dead meat for sure.

Dongwan Oppa suggested for us to take a bus going home. He told me that he still have a class that afternoon that is why we went off early this morning. On my case, I will need to review my files for that highly classified call that I received a while ago from my professor.

The heat is starting to catch up. Even the ventilation inside the bus is barely coping up.

“Are you sleeping comfortably in your room?” he suddenly started.

“Oh, yes. I love its interior and its simple details.” I mused admiringly through my words.

“Ace Hyung did a very great job redesigning the dorm with his own creativity. Even our rooms are modified to our personalities. If you haven’t been upstairs, there are three major areas.” He explained.

Now that he mentioned it, I never paid attention to that part of the house. I always keep myself locked inside my own asylum. The idea sparked curiosity in my mind. There were three doors to be exact and I strongly feel that there are all divided in pairs. I wonder who became roommates.

“Eric and Hyesung are on the farthest left side of the second floor, they were characterized as the oil and water of our dorm so we decided to let them be in one place. The last time I checked, one of them sleeps on a mattress and the other one uses the bed. We are hoping that maybe they will resolve their character’s conflict.” He paused a little while trying to convince himself that they did the right thing.

“The middle room is occupied by Minwoo, Junjin and Andy.” He added with a charming smile on his face.

“What?!  All three of them?! How can they fit in a single room?” I got surprised about that unexpected fact.

“Their room is relatively larger than Eric and Hyesung’s since it resembles a special trapezoid space. Minwoo stays on a single bed while the maknae lines are happily assigned to a comfortable wooden double deck. While I am on a solo flight on the last room since I have a lot of allergies. I need to open the windows when I am sleeping and that does not clearly apply to any of them.” Oppayam ended.

I suddenly remembered the initials written on my keys. I thought it was all but a joke. There are still a lot to uncover within the set of people that I am with. It was such a miracle for them to blend together just like this. I am humbled with the kind of friendship that they have.

We reached the house exactly at lunch time. Dongwan Oppa rushed to his room to prepare for school. I walked slowly towards the dorm and decided to take a better way of appreciating it from where I am standing. It was such a pleasant place to be in.

The weather is humid again; I can see the dark clouds approaching and looks like the sky has a very constant schedule of sadness in the afternoon. I know – it will rain soon.

“Kaaaaaheeeel come inside! Join me for lunch! You’ll be home alone soon!” – It was Minwoo’s joyful voice.

I hurriedly went inside and saw him unwrapping a newly delivered pizza on the table. He transferred slices of it on both plates laying before him and waved invitingly.  

“Did you enjoy your day?” He asked with a cheerful smile.

“Ahh, yes. Thank you for asking.” Though Minwoo is a very nice person, I can’t still bring myself to joke around with him, I don’t know why. His cool charisma is too overpowering.

“That is great! I will be taking just a few slices and I will head to school with Dongwan-ah. Take a rest for today, it will be our hang-out tomorrow.” He gave me a gentle pat on my head and finished his pizza in a flash.

Dongwan Oppa was standing next to the table already when Minwoo finished brushing his teeth. Seeing how they dress up, they completely show a reverse sense of style. Oppayam wore a plain baby blue ed long sleeves over his white-shirt partnered with jeans and sneakers while my pizza buddy is wearing a casual sports hooded jacket partnered with a skinny trouser completed with boots.

They walked side by side and went to school just like that. I, on the other hand decided to finish my pizza inside my room and do my research on my pending ghost task. I browse through my computer’s files and reference codes that might be helpful for the given case. It didn’t take long before I realized that time flew in a furtive manner. It’s maybe because of the rain which poured not too long ago. My room is completely in a time space warp kind of set up. I thought my clock was broken when I saw that it’s already 6:30 PM.

I took out the second key and removed it from the medicine container to somehow try to fix it from one of the key holes. Within three consecutive failed attempts, it went in perfectly to the second slot from the right. Right now I have an umbrella and a diary for freebies. It’s like a survival kit.

I decided to peek and see who are outside and got surprised to find a note being inserted below my doorstep. I picked it up and jolted with laughter when I read the message that says:

“Stop pretending that you are sleeping. Come out and have dinner with us. Andy cooked something yummy.” – JJ

I opened the door right away and caught Eric on a squatting position in front of me. I blinked twice before I decided to believe my senses and it was REALLY HIM.

I looked towards the kitchen area and saw Andy and Junjin preparing the plates who are both in pigtail ponytails like little girls. I decided to pretend that I didn’t see him and closed the door again. He on the other hand, decided to keep still until the end.

I can’t decide if I will laugh or I will cry. My mixed emotions made me decide to take a quick sponge bath first and transform into a bunny tonight. My contact lenses are killing me but I don’t have any other choice but to wear them since I’ll be blind if I won’t use them.

Opening my door made me remember that embarrassing scene a while ago; I tried to skip it for now since they are all waiting for me. There are just four of us tonight. Eric remained calm and unreadable while the two youngsters were waving at me excitedly.

“Hey bunny rabbit! It’s  spicy mackerel stew tonight! Eric Hyung cooked it for us!” Junjin stood up while pointing at the bowl on the table. His hairdo is distracting. I tried hard not to crack up.

Eric flinched upon hearing his name. I was not able to help but chuckle. I was trying my best not to remember but he was so embarrassed about it. I have a very mean way of declining cooperation sometimes.

“Oh it seems that you are on a good mood today! Dongwan Hyung did a great job! Come eat now so we can all rest.” Andy Oppa said while I still supress my laughter over the misunderstanding that saved Eric.

The vacant plate was in front of distinctive chair. I sat and we happily started to eat except for the oldest among us who quietly listened to our conversation. Junjin became the master of our eating session since he took control of all the jokes and the nice topics. Andy Oppa and I are perfect audiences for his show.

Eric unintentionally cleared his throat and it interrupted our loop, we looked at him together and he was blank as expected. I can see that he’s trying to think of something to say – I hope he does not give it up.

“Ah, Kahel. Be sure to be ready by 8AM for your class.” He said shortly and it hit me. I looked at the wall clock on our mini study area and it’s almost 10:30 in the evening. I need to save up energy for tomorrow since I have an errand to work on. Eric’s timing was perfect.

We decided to wrap up for tonight and I went to sleep with a very productive day indeed. I removed my contacts and relaxed my eyes from the whole exhausting period.  It was cold and my body willingly submerged to my bed. I made sure to set my alarm as I anchored myself together with my pillows.

I was all good to go at around 7:30 AM. I still have spare time to drink coffee. I went out and saw Hyesung freshly leaving the comfort room while rubbing his damp hair with a towel. I was stunned to see his bright blemish free skin early in the morning. His upper body revealed his lean muscularly fit torso and his biceps are in good shape too. I don’t know if I should cover my eyes or not. THIS IS TOO MUCH and I can’t stop looking – when he..

“WAAAHHH!!! OH NO KAHEL!!!” The dazzling prince lost his composure and screamed like he has been robbed.

I darted my view on the bean bags across my direction and fictitiously looked for the remote control of the TV while my heart is quickly going under a cardiac arrest. I can see his image on my peripheral vision trying to put his shirt hurriedly.

“Oh you are early! Let’s just grab breakfast along the way. Is it okay?” it was Minwoo. It was like his voice was speaking from above. I glanced towards the second floor and saw him as fabulous as yesterday. I don’t want to figure out anymore how I will appear next to him.

He rushed to the spiral stair case and slid down to reach the first floor. I was glad that he came just in time. I was about to die.  I followed his lead as we went out. He noticed that I am still under recovery and laughed like it was a very enjoyable joke.

“Hey, chill. It will be alright. Hyesungie’s always sensitive with his skin exposure. He might not have expected you to be there in his most vulnerable state. Ahhhh! It’s been a long time since the last time I saw him flushed red! HAHAHAHA!” Minwoo tried to comfort me with his friend’s inconvenient truth.

It didn’t take too long for the bus to arrive. We both jumped in and people started greeting Minwoo with smiles. He must have been popular for his well roundedness. The bus was full already; we don’t have any other choice but to stand. A man sitting on our opposite direction stood up and offered his seat to me.

“Minwoo, let your sister sit over here.” he gestured on the vacant space and my dorm mate responded with a warm acknowledgement by nodding with his gratitude.

I sat comfortably while eavesdropping on their conversation.

“How did you know it was her?” Minwoo whispered happily.

“It’s obvious! You’ve been talking about her since last week. How is she enjoying it here?” the man asked.

“She is still adjusting but she’ll get used spending time with for sure.” He replied.

“I hope everything will be alright until the end. Have you found the thing that she’s looking for?” the man’s voice started to lower a bit.

“Not yet but nonetheless, I hope it surfaces soon.” Minwoo’s voice suddenly became concerned.

The bus stopped and he gave me a sign that we are about to go. I followed him and smiled to my dorm mate’s acquaintance. I was interested about their conversation but I know that don’t have any right to ask about it. It’s giving me a heavy feeling but what am I supposed to do?

“Kahel, what would you like to have – sandwich or pancakes?” Minwoo asked.

“Hmm.. sandwich.” I tried to choose. I really wanted to have pancakes but sandwich is healthier.

Our school is just a couple of meters away from the diner where he brought me. It was obviously meant for students.  Minwoo asked me to reserve a seat for both of us while he takes our order. He came back with a tray of two servings of Hungarian sausages with rice joined with scrambled eggs. There are two drinks on its side, a cup of latte and a chocolate drink.

“Now, this is a breakfast. You don’t choose between sandwich and pancake. Don’t be complicated and just eat rice for breakfast my princess.” He winked and placed one of the plates in front of me.

This will be the first time of eating this again. I used to have this with my brother. Thinking about it now, I started to run away from my memories of him to avoid saying goodbye. Minwoo Oppa burst my bubble with his simple reminder. I lost my control and accidentally slid the slicing knife in the wrong direction. My action resulted to careless cut on my index finger. It snapped me back to reality and I somehow woke me up from spacing out.

“Aigoo, Kahel. Give me your hand.” He started to remove the utensil from my hand and checked my slight injury. I was in awe of his calmness. Panic cannot be traced in his voice.

He got a band aid out of his sling bag’s compartment and put it around my finger as gently as he can. Without words, he won my heart like how my brother would have done it. He moved me in the most unexpected way.

“A definition of row together with you and me can be completed with the letter next to U.” He looked at me with his shrimp eyes after saying the riddle casually. His charming smirk teased me like a kid.

I should have seen this happening. All of them are the same when it comes to delivering unexpected scenarios. I should be still thankful that he did not say it while I was on a flashback mode earlier. The riddles are so unique from each other even if it just follows one pattern.

Minwoo Oppa finished wrapping up with the band aid and motioned to write the answer on the palm of his hand.

I am uncertain but – I can’t possibly wrong. I wrote the word letter per letter which spelled T-R-U-S-T.

“After being betrayed by the person that you loved the most, I think you are still puzzled why Ace Hyung did not tell you about what is happening. It will be very hard to understand since trust comes first before love manifests in a person’s relationship. All of us don’t know as well where his plans are going to lead us – but we chose to never let go of what made us a family and that is loyalty to our promises.” His facial expression was relaxed and full of compassion.

He stood from where he was sitting and gave me a warm hug right after verifying the answer. He landed a transparent CD case on my lap with the key inserted perfectly as a part of the CD. It was fascinating.

“You did a good job my princess. Now finish your meal without bleeding and let’s proceed to our classes afterwards.” And he started finishing his meal like nothing happened.

“Thank you Minwoo Oppa – for not giving up on me when I put up my invisible walls in front of you.” I wanted desperately let him know that he did a good job too.

He cheerfully beamed at me and swayed from right to left while holding his fork and knife like a very satisfied toddler. Now that I realize it, a white handkerchief was dangling from his shirt’s neckline which was the same as with his brothers – my name was on it too.