As soon as dinner was over, I asked Mom if I could take the car out. I wanted to tell Byunghun the wonderful news in person. Mom agreed, and in no time I was backing out of the driveway.

                I excitedly jammed out to SNSD’s “Gee” on the way over to Teen Top’s dorm just to burn off some of my excited energy. It was located one street over from the T.O.P Media office building, so it wasn’t difficult driving there. They lived in a large, gray building with black windows and a glass front door. I parked in the parking lot and made my way to the front door. I yanked it open and strolled inside. I bowed to the secretary and headed straight for the elevators. Their dorm was on the sixth floor. They lived with two managers from T.O.P Media. C.A.P and Niel shared a room, Chunji and L.Joe shared another, and so did the maknaes.

                The elevator door opened and I stepped out. I found their room number and knocked on the door. It only took a few seconds for someone to answer; it was Ricky.

                “Kirin-noona!” he exclaimed, a childish smile on his face. He was dressed comfortably in gray sweatpants and a yellow tiger print t-shirt.

                “Hi Ricky,” I giggled.

                Ricky ushered me inside. “Yah! Hyungs! Kirin’s here!”

                “What?” a voice called that sounded like Niel’s. Pretty soon, five pairs of feet came pounding through the hallway and into the living room.

                “Kirin!” Chunji cried, a pretty smile on his pretty face.

                L.Joe squeezed his way between his taller bandmates. “Kirin!” he exclaimed when we were face to face. He opened his arms out wide and engulfed me in a hug. He smelled clean, like he had just showered. His bright orange hair was fluffy and pin straight. He wore no makeup and no jewelry. Just simple skinny jeans, a green striped t-shirt and white socks. His embrace was warm and welcoming, like always, and he looked amazing, like always.

                “Hi Byunghun,” I said as he held me tightly.

                We stopped hugging, but L.Joe kept two hands on my arms. “What are you doing here, babe?”

                “I have amazing news to tell you!” I answered.

                “What is it?” L.Joe smiled like a child.

                “Remember how I promised I’d find a way to being you to California with me?”

                L.Joe’s beautiful, dark eyes grew round. “No way…”

                “Yes way!” I exclaimed. “My parents said you could come!”

                L.Joe threw his head back in excitement. He wrapped his arms around me again. “Oh my God, you’re kidding me!”

                “I know!” I gushed, squeezing him back. “I can’t believe they said yes!”

                “What’s going on?” Ricky asked no one in particular.

                “You’re going to California?” C.A.P asked.

                “Yes!” L.Joe answered. He ushered everyone over to the couches. “Come here,” he said as he took my hand. The rest of Teen Top excitedly followed us, piling onto the various couches in the living room. L.Joe and I took the loveseat. Once we were all situated, L.Joe started talking a mile a minute. “I just cannot believe they said yes! I mean, I know your mom loves me, but I didn’t except your dad to agree! AH, I cannot believe this!”

                “I know, I know,” I giggled, placing a hand on his knee.

                “Can you just tell us what’s going on?” Chunji commanded.

                “My mom’s high school is having a class reunion, so my parents thought it would be a good idea to spend the summer in California,” I explained. “I told them about how Byunghun used to live there, and I asked if I could bring him. At first they were totally against it, but I did some major up to them. Eventually they both said yes!” I beamed at L.Joe. “So now he’s hopefully coming to California with me.”

                “When would you be leaving?” C.A.P asked anxiously.

                “In one or two weeks,” I answered.

                “For how long?” Ricky asked, whining slightly.

                “Two months,” I explained. Instantly, six pairs of eyes grew wide.

                “Two months?!” Chunji cried, his hands flying to L.Joe’s shoulder. L.Joe placed a hand lovingly over his friend’s. Chunji and L.Joe were the best of friends; it didn’t look like Chunji was too keen on the idea of L.Joe leaving for so long.

                “That’s a long time without L.Joe-hyung,” Ricky pouted.
                L.Joe smiled thoughtfully at his dongsaeng. “Ricky-ah, it’s only two months. You’ll all be okay without me.”

                “Did Andy-hyung say you could go? What about the managers?” C.A.P asked.

                “Well,” L.Joe dropped his gaze. “I haven’t asked anyone yet.”

                “L.Joe, we’re promoting ‘Don’t Spray Perfume’ right now!” Niel cried. “You can’t just leave!”

                “I know, I know,” L.Joe admitted. He looked conflicted. “But...my mom is in America. All of you get to see your parents whenever you want. I haven’t seen my mom since I came to Korea two years ago, alright? I never see her.” L.Joe wistfully looked down at his lap. “I miss her.”

                As I watched his eyes fill with sadness, I realized how strong he was. I know I couldn’t just leave my mom for two years and live in a totally different country. His mom was all the way across the ocean. Who did he go to when he needed something? When he was upset? When he needed advice? His father, probably. But didn’t L.Joe need a mother-figure in his life? I suppose that could be the reason he was so sweet to my mother all the time; they really did have a mother-and-son kind of bond.

                Chunji rubbed L.Joe’s back. “I know how much you miss her,” he said quietly.

                “All our fans.” L.Joe’s eyes squinted. “I can’t just leave them.”

                “They’ll understand,” Changjo spoke up thoughtfully, glancing up from his phone. He was obviously texting Min Neul.

                “I don’t want to take the chance,” L.Joe said quietly. He looked up at me. “I guess…I guess I have to think about this a little more.”

                My heart felt heavy. Not just because I may not be able to spend two months straight with him, but because he might not get to see his mother now. I placed a hand on lovingly on his thigh, letting him know I was there for him.

                Everyone was silent. Suddenly Chunji spoke. “You’re going.”

                L.Joe looked puzzled. “Huh?”

                “You’re going,” Chunji repeated.

                “I don’t know—”

                “Chunji’s right,” C.A.P cut him off. “You need to go.”

                “I can’t do that to you guys, to our fans…”

                “Our fans will understand,” Chunji assured him. “L.Joe, this is your chance. You have to go. Think how happy your mom will be to see you. You haven’t seen her in two years; I think you owe it to yourself to see her.”
                “Yeah, hyung!” Ricky exclaimed.

                A smile was growing on L.Joe’s face. “Ah...really?”

                “Really,” Chunji said, beaming at his best friend. “We’ll all miss you, but your mom must miss you even more.”

                Teen Top had such a strong bond. Honestly, it was beautiful. The boys truly cared for each other. I’d never seen a group of friends so tightly bonded. They looked out for each other as if they were all brothers.

                L.Joe smiled broadly. “You guys are the best.”

                “We know.” Chunji winked. The fangirl in me almost fainted.

                “I want to go too,” Ricky pouted.

                “Me too!” Niel agreed.

                “I’ve never been overseas,” C.A.P sighed.

                “You haven’t?” I asked. Everyone in Teen Top, aside from L.Joe, shook their heads.

                “None of us have,” Niel said.

                “Really?” I exclaimed. “Well, you’ve got to go someday!”

                “That’d be pretty crazy, right?” Chunji chuckled. “All of us going to California.”

                “That’d be amazing!” Ricky chirped. He turned to C.A.P. “Hyung, do you think we could?”

                C.A.P laughed. “I don’t think so, Ricky. Who would take us?”

                I shrugged. “I could.”

                Chunji’s eyes lit up. “What about your parents? Would they agree?”

                “Probably not,” I said sadly. “It took forever for them to let me bring Byunghun along.”

                “Yeah, you’re right,” L.Joe agreed rather quickly. “That would be too much to ask of your parents.”

                “Boo,” Ricky pouted sourly. “I wanted to learn English.”

                Suddenly, a thought popped into my head. “That’s it!”

                “What?” everyone exclaimed at once.

                I was so excited I could barely speak. “What if you convinced your managers to let you all come to America to learn English?”

                There was a collective gasp among the six boys.
                “Do you really think that would work?” Niel asked.

                I shrugged. “Why not? You went to Japan to learn Japanese, right? You should come to America to learn English!”

                “Would Andy-hyung let us, hyung?” Ricky asked C.A.P with wide eyes.

                C.A.P shrugged. “It’s worth a try.”

                The room was suddenly abuzz. The boys, minus L.Joe, were talked elatedly, their eyes wide with excitement. What-Ifs were being tossed about the room as everyone dreamed out loud. The more everyone talked, the more excited everyone grew. We talked as if this was a definite plan, as if we were leaving tomorrow. Ricky wanted to go to Disneyland. Chunji wanted to go to the beach. C.A.P wanted so see some art museums, Changjo wanted to visit some parks, and Niel wanted visit the zoo. Everyone had dreams just waiting to be fulfilled.

                “Kirin, do you really think we could pull this off?” Chunji asked.

                “I think so,” I said excitedly. “It’d be in Teen Top’s best interest if you all knew English.”

                 “I can picture it now,” Chunji announced dreamily, “We spend two months in America, learn a little English, and then come back to Korea. We’ll be back before our fans know it.”

                “Can we go ask Andy-hyung right now?” Ricky was already jittery with excitement.

                “Let’s go!” Niel exclaimed, jumping up. He, Ricky and Chunji were off like rockets, while C.A.P and Changjo slowly followed behind, mentioning something about Hyerin and Min Neul.

                Just like that, Byunghun and I were alone.

                “Can you believe this?” I asked him excitedly. “The boys could be coming to California with us!”

                “Yeah,” Byunghun agreed hesitantly. He offered a smile; it looked forced.

                I tiled my head to the side. “Is everything okay?”

                “Oh, yeah,” he said quickly—too quickly. There was that forced smile again. He quickly kissed my cheek. “Just you and me…spending two months in California…with the rest of the guys…”

I could see right through him. His fake enthusiasm couldn’t fool me. I took his hands in mine. “You’re not happy,” I concluded softly.

                He bit his lip, examining my face for a moment. After sensing my sincerity, he sighed sharply. “Look, I’m really happy your parents agreed to take me along. Honestly I’m so happy about it that I could cry,” he explained, blushing slightly. He squeezed my hands. “But…I guess I was just really looking forward to spending two months with you.” He looked me straight in the eyes. “Just you.”

                “Byunghun,” I said softly, “If you don’t want the other boys to come, then they don’t have to. I just said all that stuff because I assumed you wanted them to come too.”

                “Well, here’s the thing,” Byunghun sighed, “I think it would be fun if they came along. They’re my best friends, and I love them. I just really, really wanted to spend some time with you.” He sighed again, biting his lip. He gazed at me with a thoughtful expression. “Look, we broke up for three months. Don’t you think we have a lot to time to make up?”

                That brought a smile to my face. “Yes,” I said through my smile. “We do.”

                Byunghun smiled too. “Then we shouldn’t waste another second.” He learned forward and began kissing me. Over and over again, pulling me onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around my waist and I held his face in my hands. We eased ourselves slowly on the couch until Byunghun was lying horizontally and I was leaning on top of him. He ran his hands around my waist and down my back as I cupped his face in my hands, kissing him over and over again. He poked his tongue through my lips. He tasted sweet, as usual. We playfully French kisses as his fingers found the bare space on my back where my t-shirt had ridden up. He took advantage of it, and touched my skin lightly with his warm hands.

                “Promise me that if the other guys come,” Byunghun said, smiling at me. “We’ll find time for us.”

                “I promise,” I nearly whispered.

                “Just you and me,” Byunghun spoke in a low, tender voice.

                “You and me,” I repeated. Those words were sweet music to my ears. I ran my fingers through     Byunghun’s soft orange hair. The smile on that boy’s face was comparable to a diamond. I wanted to melt in his arms at that very moment—but I always did every time we were alone.

                Unfortunately for us, footsteps came pounding into the living room at that very moment.

                “PACK YOUR BAGS, HYUNG!” Ricky exclaimed as he ran into the room with the rest of Teen Top hot on his heels. “WE’RE ALL GOING TO CALIFORNIA!”