*singing poorly* Get back up~ Off that dream~!

~

Ravi and Ken were the only two home when we got back to the house. Right after we walked through the front door, they came over from the room on the other side of the stairs, the room without the grand piano, carrying a bag of chips and a bowl of popcorn respectively. Spotting me, they grinned and cheered while Taekwoon started walking towards the kitchen, still wearing my sweatshirt as if it were his own. I guessed it was his now, but knowing that it had been mine before made me feel fuzzy inside.

“You didn’t bite anybody, yay!” Ken exclaimed enthusiastically, coaxing a laugh out of me. He came over and offered me some popcorn, smiling so big that his eyes crinkled up appealingly. “Here you go, you get popcorn as your reward.”

Amused, I took a handful of the fluffy, buttery snack and popped a few kernels into my mouth. I smiled lightly at him and spoke after passing what I’d been chewing. “I only went home for some extra things.”

Ravi looked over his shoulder in the direction Taekwoon had gone, smirking slyly. “I see. So Taekwoon was only being overprotective.” He turned around and waggled his eyebrows at Ken, which made me raise mine at them.

Ken laughed with real gusto, and then wiggled his own eyebrows in my direction. “So. He’s wearing your sweatshirt.”

I looked back and forth between them. “What? Why are you acting like that?”

“Well, we can smell him all over you,” Ken explained, tapping the tip of his nose. “We’ve got a pretty keen sense of smell, even better than normal hounds’, and we can tell you guys made physical contact.”

Ravi nudged him, gaping a little. “You’re making us sound like we’re erts, man.”

Ken whipped his head around, expression serious. “I thought you were…?” he mumbled, looking at Ravi with his mouth hanging open in playful shock.

Ravi swatted Ken’s shoulder, turning a bright red, laughing nervously. “H-hey!” He looked over at me quickly. “I’m not, I swear I’m not.”

Laughing at their exchange, I shook my head and shrugged. “Hey, you be you, bro.”

I walked by them, still grinning as Ravi swore he was not a ert over and over, also hiding my face because I was positive I was super pink. The three of us made our way into the kitchen after Taekwoon, and we found him scrubbing his hands vigorously over the kitchen sink with a brush. Black bubbles and water dripped off his skin, the motor oil and grease clinging on stubbornly. I stepped closer, watching him as he scrubbed over and over, leaving his skin red underneath the suds.

“What did you guys end up doing?” Ravi inquired, staring intently at Taekwoon’s hands.

Ken inhaled sharply, shaking his head. “They got down and dirty, it seems like.”

Both Taekwoon and I turned around to look at them. Well, I simply looked back at them but Taekwoon glared. They both held their hands up innocently, but Ravi made sure to shove Ken a little to chastise him for the comments he was making. Taekwoon resumed washing up, and I wandered over to the fridge. I was feeling pretty thirsty, and a little hungry too since I hadn’t had breakfast. I felt a little rude just going into their fridge, but I figured they’d be okay with it if I offered to make them something, too.

After scrutinizing their fridge’s contents for a few seconds, I turned around and asked, “Do you guys want some food?” I turned to look at Taekwoon and asked him quickly after the first question, “Do you mind if I use the shrimp?”

Ken and Ravi exclaimed, “Yes, go ahead!” before Taekwoon could even answer.

Taekwoon didn‘t even look at me. He nodded mutely, focusing still on his greasy hands.

I smiled at Ken and Ravi, and then continued to look at the quiet wolf-man over the sink. His lips were pursed into a frown now, unhappy with how the grime continued to stain the finer lines of his skin. I kind of had experience from helping my dad a long time ago with his trucks, and I knew Hakyeon had to have something for grimy hands. I walked over while Ravi and Ken, the two of them sitting ducks at the granite island, watched with rapt attention. I bumped Taekwoon out of the way, surprising him so he ended up staring at me too and dove under the sink. Like I thought, there were tons of cleaning supplies, and among the bleach, disinfectant, and extra supply of dish cleaner, there was a huge bar of pumice soap just waiting to be taken out for business. I plucked it from among its friends and straightened back up, closing the cabinet again. I grabbed Taekwoon by his forearm and tugged him over, rinsing his hands of the remaining black foam.

“Hold up,” I told him and then rinsed the brush he’d been using, getting rid of the old cleanser he’d been scrubbing with. I held the block of pumice soap over the sink so I wouldn’t spill on the floor, and started scrubbing at it with the brush, getting the bristles nice and soapy, a thick foam starting to accumulate. Setting down the soap, I reached for Taekwoon’s hands again. “It might sting because you already scrubbed yourself raw,” I warned him. He looked at me mutely and then looked down at his hands. Go ahead was what he meant, and so I started to scrub his palms gently. He did react a little to the sting, but he didn’t shy away and instead stared with fascination as the grit and grime started to disappear in only a few scrubs.

I looked at Ken and Ravi with a smile on my face, amused with how they’d gotten up quickly to look at what I was doing. They stared with their mouths in twin-like little O’s, nodding with fascination and approval.

Satisfied, I set the brush down and held Taekwoon’s hands gently underneath the stream of warm water. I was pleased to see the black sludge was gone completely, and even more pleased to be able to inspect his hands so up close. They really were super elegant, his long fingers strong and delicate at the same time. I switched my gaze from his hands to his eyes and found him staring at me with a little smile on his face, too.

Flustered, I looked down again and busied myself with rinsing off the soap and brush, remembering that Hakyeon probably wouldn’t like finding a messy kitchen. Taekwoon backed away a second after I looked away, going over to dry his hands. I stored the brush and pumice soap, and rinsed off my own hands.

Ken and Ravi were back at the granite island all of a sudden, and smiling a little too deviously for my own comfort. I narrowed my eyes at them, wondering what they were up to.

“Thank you,” Taekwoon told me quietly, and then started walking out of the kitchen.

I took a page out of his book and didn’t answer him, I only watched him go. Sighing quietly to myself, I faced Ravi and Ken again. They were still grinning.

“You guys are weird,” I mumbled with a timid little smile and started to get myself busy with the food I’d offered to cook.

While I had my back to them, they started whispering like little girls, super enthusiastic. They paused, snickered, and then Ravi agreed quietly, “They do,” and Ken answered back ecstatically, “I told you!”

I turned around and looked at them again sharply. “What was that?”

“Nothing,” they said in unison, and I gave up again, focusing on preparing the marinade; they had succeeded in making me grin.

A soft, sweet melody came drifting into the kitchen and I paused, standing over the stove with a sauce pan over the burner. I listened intently, standing super still, absorbing the music that came to my ears. I thought Taekwoon would have gone up to his room, but I was proven wrong by the honeyed chords coming from the grand piano.

“It’s about time,” Ravi said, and I turned to look at him. He only smiled back at me, munching on his chips merrily. Beside him, Ken was also beaming to himself, sitting still for the first time in front of me.

I didn’t know why they were suddenly so happy, but I was glad they were, and also very glad to hear Taekwoon’s music. I admit, though, that I had to hold myself back from going into the music room with him. I settled with imagining those beautiful hands over ebony and ivory keys instead, and that made my heart feel lighter.

He played various pieces throughout the time it took for the food to be done, and I really didn’t want to stop him, but I wanted him to eat with us. I looked back at Ken and Ravi, the two of them playing a game on Ken’s phone, and watched them for a brief moment too. They were really good people, all of them. I was very grateful, but also so very sad because I was quite the danger. I’d thought about it before, while I had been driving over to my parents’ place. What if Jekyll got to me during the night, and I did something to them? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I did anything to them, especially…

Well, I couldn’t even think of it without my stomach churning. Taking my train of thought elsewhere, I cleared my throat and got the guys’ attention. Smiling lightly, I gestured towards the fried rice and grilled shrimp. “Food’s ready.” I looked in the direction of the stairs.

Ravi jumped up. “I’ll go get him,” he said, already walking out.

Ken stood too and started getting plates out from the cabinets. Holding a small stack, he grinned over at me. “I wasn’t that hungry before, but smelling that delicious aroma has got me starving.”

Taekwoon’s lulling music came to an end. The silence that followed was a little lonely, but at least that meant he was on his way over.

I smiled happily at Ken. “I’m glad. I ended up making quite a bit—”

“That’s perfect,” he said, looking at the pans. “That’s about the right amount for us four.”

My eyes widening, I looked at the food again. There was a bunch of it…

I remembered how much Taekwoon and Hakyeon had cooked the night before and nodded, laughing softly. “You’re right.” I forgot about their wolfish appetites.

Whistling ecstatically, Ken walked over with the plates to the breakfast nook instead of the dining room, using the table for four instead of the huge table in the other room. I followed after him, taking one of the pans carefully. He set down a heat-resistant placement mat for me to put the pan on the table, and then he dashed back for the second pan. While he did that, I took out a carafe of juice and took that to the table, too.

Ken was grabbing cups when Ravi and Taekwoon strolled into the room, and Ravi walked over to help. Taekwoon sniffed the air lightly, looked at the table, then at me, and then crossed over to a drawer, extracting a small cluster of forks for us. I waited beside the table while the boys came over with the glasses and eating utensils, and Ken and Ravi sat down together immediately on the bench next to the window. There was another bench opposite them, a bench for two. I looked at Taekwoon briefly before taking my own seat, and then stared blandly at Ken and Ravi. I was aware of what they were doing now, and I was as embarrassed as I was amused. They smiled back at me like a couple of little angels.

Taekwoon took his seat next to me, our legs brushing. I didn’t scoot away and neither did he, so we remained in contact the entire time.

As soon as the goofy brothers across from Taek and I took their first bites, they made loud appreciative noises, chewing and squeezing their eyes shut with satisfaction. Ken groaned and held his thumb up at me, nodding grandly, and Ravi made an OK sign with his left hand, chewing happily. My ears warm, I smiled back at them and waited to see how Taekwoon reacted.

He stabbed a single shrimp and popped it into his mouth. He was silent as he chewed thoughtfully. He stabbed another shrimp and ate that one quietly too, and then scooped some rice up with his fork, and ate that as well. He stared down at his plate as he continued to eat wordlessly next to me. I stared at him.

Ken exclaimed, “Hey! You’re supposed to tell her it’s delicious.”

Ravi backed him up. “If you like the food, you’re supposed to say so, or else the chef is going to think it’s not to your liking.”

Taekwoon looked up at them and then turned his eyes on me. “I just want to keep eating.”

I blinked at him, and Ken came to the rescue. “You want to keep eating because it’s so delicious…?”

Taekwoon nodded, spearing two shrimp at once this time. Well, he was eating pretty avidly. Relief swarmed me and I started eating too.

Ravi chuckled. “Cute.”

I decided to take a shower after we ate since they booted me out of the kitchen to clean it themselves, not allowing me to do it because I’d cooked. I protested, saying Taekwoon had had to clean the kitchen the night before even after he did most of the cooking, but they had none of it. Unable to stand a chance against the three wolf boys, I’d trudged away and gotten my suitcase to half-drag it up the stairs. Having heard me, Taekwoon came out of the kitchen and stole the luggage from my grasp, taking it up for me wordlessly, much faster than I was with the weighty baggage. He beat me to my room and even went as far as setting it on the bed for me, and then breezed by me to head down the stairs again. I watched his retreating figure with a small smile. I called out my thanks, but he only nodded.

Left to myself again, I looked around the room. I was comfortable and even happy to be back. Still smiling a little, I started unpacking all my stuff, setting aside clothes to wear after I washed up, and then tucked the dark blue suitcase underneath the bed. I stripped in the privacy of the bathroom, folding my dirty clothes before dumping them into the laundry basket by the door. Walking now towards the bath, I stopped when I caught sight of my reflection. I leaned in towards the mirror over the sink, staring at my exposed skin. I hadn’t noticed before, but all the cuts and bruises I’d gotten from the night of Jekyll’s attack were gone without a trace. Looking down at my body, I confirmed that the additional bumps and marks from rolling down that hill were gone too.

I felt uneasy instead of relieved. It was obvious that my transformation was progressing rather quickly, and a weight on my shoulders grew to be noticeable. My heart accelerated thinking about the lack of time I had, panic beginning to set in.

A knock on the door made me jump and I whipped my head to the side, staring at the bleached wood. “Yes?” I answered, my voice a little thin.

There was a moment of silence before I heard him speak, and hearing his familiar voice made me feel secure due to his presence. “Hakyeon and the others are home. When you’re done, they want to play a game.”

“Okay, I’ll be out in a few,” I told him, and waited. I didn’t hear him leave, but I could tell he was gone somehow. I stared at the door a few seconds more, imagining his broad shoulders as he walked away, and then turned again towards my reflection.

I gasped and jumped back, but when I blinked, the image was gone. I touched my hand to my face, shuddering violently. Unwilling to look in the mirror any longer, I turned away and hurried to the bath, turning on the water to let it warm up. As I stood by, waiting, I looked at my hands and arms, trying to reassure myself that it wasn’t real, but also afraid to see the blood again.

I was quick, afraid to be alone any longer. I scrubbed, I rinsed, I washed my hair, I rinsed, and I didn’t even bother with conditioner. I hurried out, toweled off, used my lavender lotion in hopes that it would help calm me down, put on my undergarments, and finally brushed my hair free of tangles. A little better now, I left the bathroom, going as far as closing my eyes when I walked by the mirror. In the bedroom, I jumped into a pair of loose sweats and shrugged into another pullover sweater. Putting on socks was the last thing I needed to do, and then I was out of the bedroom. I took the stairs down two at a time, and then followed the sound of the guys’ voices coming from the second living room, the one with the huge home theater and comfy sofas. This room was meant for rowdiness, various game consoles set up, a huge rack off to the side stocked with a whole bunch of movies and video games. The guys were gathered around the center table, however, playing a board game.

They looked up as soon as I’d walked into the room, and I wondered if they’d smelled me even before that, considering what Ken had said.

Smiling brightly, Hakyeon waved me over. “Come join us, Mia, hurry,” he encouraged, and I returned his smile, walking over to their jolly group.

They all made room for me, and the way they moved made me raise my eyebrow. The spot they left open for me was right next to Taekwoon, and the quiet, bossy wolf-man was already glowering at Ravi to his right, and Ken, who had been on his left side. Ken was paying no attention to Taek, and was instead grinning helpfully up at me. I was amused, I admit it, but I was also really embarrassed.

Smelling his fresh scent when I sat down, I looked at Taekwoon quizzically. He’d showered too, but despite washing up and changing his black jeans for some gray sweats, he was still wearing my sweatshirt. I didn’t stare long, looking away and biting my lip, face flaming.

“How’s your day been?” Hyuk asked me, smiling warmly.

Returning the kind smile he was sending my way, I answered with as much friendliness as he was offering me. “So far so good. How about yours?”

He grinned. “Not as exciting.” He looked at Taekwoon. “We were told about your misadventure.”

I looked at Taekwoon, but he was fiddling with a deck of playing cards. Facing Hyuk again, and Hakyeon, Hongbin, Ken, and Ravi, I shrugged. “It was definitely something.”

Hakyeon smiled broadly. “I bet Taekwoon here was super dreamy as a superhero, right?”

My smile fell a little because I realized that they were all in on it now. I turned to my left to glare at Ken, and then over Taekwoon’s head to glare at Ravi. The color of my face was as vivid as the red of a tomato. I swallowed back my smart comments and said instead, “Yeah, he was really…something.” Lame response, I know, but I was put on the spot.

Hongbin was also smiling mirthfully, tilting his head to the side. “So he’s forever your hero, huh?”

Ken laughed boisterously next to me. “I was just thinking that!”

Hakyeon held his hands to his chest. “Oh my goodness, me too!”

Hyuk grinned at Taekwoon. “All he needs is a cape.”

Taekwoon started to get up, a wicked gleam in his eyes, but Ravi quickly tugged him back down, protecting Sanghyuk from Taek’s wrath. He softened his actions by saying, laughingly, “A flapping coat will do, right? Like a duster.”

Turning his glare on Ravi now, Taek lifted his hand to cuff the deep-voiced man on the head.

I cleared my throat, looking only at the board game set up with all its pieces and cards. “So, what game is this?”

“Well, I kind of want to play truth or dare now,” commented Ken, and even I had difficulty with refraining from strangling him.

Laughing merrily, having the absolute time of his life, Hakyeon shook his head at Ken. “No, no, let’s just stick to this game since we already set it up.” He looked at me next, smiling angelically. “Mia? Whose team do you want to be on?”

Ken and Hyuk got up quickly and went over to join Ravi. “We’ll be the group of three,” said Hyuk, and Ken and Ravi nodded sagely.

Hongbin turned slowly to stare at Hakyeon. His smile looked rather lifeless. “Um… Mia?” He looked at me hopefully, laughing nervously.

Hakyeon’s nostrils flared and he glared, then threw his arms around Hongbin, laughing dryly. “Oh, Kong, quit playing around, silly boy.”

Forgetting for a second that they were doing it again, I looked at Hakyeon curiously. “‘Kong’? What’s that mean?”

“It means ‘bean’,” Hyuk supplied helpfully.

I giggled involuntarily, caught off-guard by the nickname. “Because of Hongbin?” They all nodded, smiling and chuckling with me. I grinned at Hongbin. “That’s so cute.”

He smiled bashfully, eyes crinkling up into crescent moons. His cheeks took on an endearing shade of pink. “Please save me and choose me for your team,” he said, still smiling. The others laughed at him, including Taekwoon next to me, and I couldn’t help but join in.

Running my fingers through my hair, I mumbled, “Oh, what do I do?”

Hakyeon hugged Hongbin even tighter and beamed at me. “Don’t feel pressured, Mia, it’s okay if you and Taekwoon end up on the same team. Don’t pay attention to this funny guy.” He then grinned at Hongbin and spoke through his teeth, “Right, friend?”

Smiling pitifully, Hongbin bowed his head in defeat. “Yeah. Right.”

“Wait, we can be on the same team,” I started to say, but Ravi, Ken, and Hyuk jumped up immediately, disagreeing, and shook their heads violently, waving their arms around, even making X’s over and over again. I peeled my eyes at them, amazed by their enthusiasm and rambunctious behavior. It was like they didn’t want to hide it anymore.

Next to me, Taekwoon was staring off into the distance, probably thinking about… I had no idea, really, but I didn’t blame him for seeking a happy place.

Hakyeon shook Hongbin around with a huge smile. “Don’t worry, Mia, it’s okay, Hongbin and I are going to be together forever.”

“Yeah, it’s totally fine,” Ken said, nodding vigorously, even clapping his hands.

“They’re super good friends, super good friends,” Hyuk told me, exaggerating left and right.

Ravi grinned and agreed to everything Ken and Hyuk said, backing them up with a lot of head nodding. Meanwhile, Hongbin looked like his life was flashing before his eyes…and he didn’t quite like it. He looked at me one last time before truly giving up, sagging in Hakyeon’s arms.

“Hut!” Hakyeon huffed, suddenly bearing all of Hongbin’s weight. He struggled a little, but finally got a good hold on the poor guy. Glowing with triumph, he batted his eyelashes. “There, there, I’ve got you.”

Everyone settled back down, and I mouthed my condolences to Hongbin. He could only smile sadly back at me, and then ducked his head tragically.

Continuing on with his eyelashes fluttering, Hakyeon told Taekwoon, “Hey. Why don’t you explain the rules to Mia since she’s never played before.” It was more of a command than a request.

Taekwoon turned to look at me. As soon as we made eye contact, his neutral expression cracked and he turned away. “Oh,” he exhaled. “I forgot.”

I hugged my knees to my chest, looking meekly from face to face.

“So cute,” Hakyeon cooed, and Hongbin narrowed his eyes at him, inching away while Hakyeon was distracted.

“Should we make up our own tasks?” Ken suggested, looking at Ravi and Hyuk pointedly.

Both guys agreed instantly, and even Hakyeon followed suit.

My suspicions rose once again. “Tasks? What tasks?”

Taekwoon tapped the deck of cards he’d been fiddling with earlier. “These cards tell us what to do to be able to move forward on the game board,” he explained softly.

That sounded fine to me, but if the guys had free reign to decide the “tasks”… I shook my head immediately. “No, let’s just go off of the cards.”

Hakyeon held his hand up. “Wait, wait, let’s take a vote.”

…We didn’t use the cards after all, so a few moments later, I was sitting on Taekwoon’s feet, holding his legs by his calves while he laid back in preparation to do sit-ups. We were both obviously flustered, but the others weren’t letting us give up despite our mutual willingness to just lose the chance to advance on the game board.

Super excited, Hakyeon clapped his hands. “Okay, Taekwoon, now just do all the sit-ups you can in three minutes.”

Both Taek and I whipped our heads to look at Hakyeon.

“Three minutes?” I echoed, looking at everyone in turn because they’d all discussed the task to give to us.

Hakyeon nodded gleefully, and Ken looked at Taekwoon. “Don’t just lie there either, okay? You’ve got to do, like, two hundred and fifty before the three minutes are up.”

Ravi joined in with the orders, now addressing me. “And you’ve got to really hold onto him, and even lean in a little to really have a good grip.”

Knowing just what that would do, I stared without blinking at the ceiling.

Taekwoon mumbled, “Can’t we just forfeit?”

I looked at the guys hopefully.

All five of them were shaking their heads simultaneously, giving them a comical effect. I wasn’t laughing, however, because I was too embarrassed. I looked at Hongbin, trying to get him on my side since he seemed pretty warmhearted. I smiled pitifully. “Please change the task?”

Ken jumped on him, shaking him a little. “Remember how she left you to Hakyeon’s clutches, Hongbin, don’t fall for that treacherous smile.”

I gaped. “Hey!”

Fluttering his eyelashes at me, Ken beamed back, “I’m only kidding, Mia, don’t believe me.” He whipped around to look at Hongbin again, serious in a heartbeat. “She abandoned you heartlessly. Hold onto that.”

Exhaling roughly, I looked away from them again, knowing Hongbin was going to go along with the rest of them—

“Maybe we are being too much, though,” Hongbin began, surprising me.

I started to smile with more hope, and Ken started to argue.

Hongbin’s expression faded from uncertainty to mad delight. “I’m only joking, Mia, you have to do it.” He looked over at Hakyeon. “You paired me up with him.”

Triumphant, Ken and Ravi high-fived, even though Hakyeon was scowling again.

Defeated, I looked at Taekwoon. He was still lying back, staring up at the ceiling, his face rosy. Despite my sitting on his feet for this whole time, he didn’t say anything and didn’t even squirm. He finally clasped his hands under his head, elbows out like wings, and his eyes shifted to meet mine. I smiled shyly, trying to be encouraging despite our audience’s treachery, and nodded, hugging his knees.

“Ready!” Ravi exclaimed. “Set!” He paused for dramatic effect, and then finally barked, “Go!”

When Taekwoon didn’t lift off the floor immediately, Hyuk and Ken dove together and actually lifted his shoulders off the ground for him, shoving him towards me while he resisted a little.

I squeezed my eyes shut, embarrassed beyond belief, but ended up opening them again when Taekwoon’s forehead knocked into mine.

Everyone froze and went silent, no longer laughing or cheering, left in shock. Taekwoon jerked back, his eyes wide as he stared at me.

I blinked multiple times, seeing stars. “Ow…,” I muttered, already feeling a headache coming on.

I saw Taekwoon’s expression shift, and then Ken and Hyuk were running for dear life. Taekwoon surged to his feet and started running after them at a blurring speed while I sat dazedly on the ground. I blinked a couple more times and lifted my hand to my forehead, feeling for a bump. I ended up touching a pretty spiffy goose egg and continued to see a star or two.

Hongbin marched out of the room briskly. “I’ll get some ice.”

Ravi started following after him, looking at me and wincing. “Uh, water? Do you want water, Mia? I’ll get you some juice,” he blurted nervously.

Hakyeon kneeled down next to me and leaned in, staring at my forehead with squinted eyes. “Um…” He held up his hand, a peace sign. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Two,” I muttered, holding my own hand up with four fingers.

He pursed his lips and hummed. “Yeah… That’s not right.”