“Whh-what happened?” You felt a bump on your head and a bandage was covering it. It had been several hours from when you became unconscious. You were lying down on a bed and there seemed to be no one in the room.

Youngsaengie emerged from the darkness and he placed his hand on your forehead. His eyes were sad and it made you feel like you could fall into them and get lost. He sighed. “I’m not going to ask why you were where you were, but I don’t want there to be a next time. Thank god I was there. If I wasn’t, I don’t even want to imagine what could have happened.” He then turned away and began to leave.

You reached out for his hand and tugged slightly. “Please…tell me what happened. I need to know.”

“I saw the look in your eyes and realized you might do something foolish so...so I decided to follow you. I also wanted to say sorry for having been mean to you before. At first, I was only going to make sure you didn’t do anything dumb, but then you kept on walking and to nowhere. I was about to ask you where you were going but then a creep threw a bottle at your head. I guess he must have wanted to do something…he didn’t do anything though, I made sure of it.”

“The guys…?”

“They’re sleeping. They don’t know. Get some rest now.”

You sighed and were about to close your eyes when you remembered something. You jumped out of bed and ran out of the room. Youngsaengie rushed after you as he wondered what you were up to. When he caught up to you, he saw you going through a dresser. You threw some junk out of it like a plush teddy, a high school yearbook, broken cell phone, and other weird stuff.

“Aha!” Your hands were bundled up and in it was something purple. With a smile you raised your hands up and revealed the mystery object.

“Here Youngsaengie. I found this the other day and now I think it’s time that I return it to you.”

You sprinted back into your room and shut the door. It was only until you put on your pajamas and went to bed that you could finally get some rest.

Youngsaengie was shocked at what had just happened. He was happy to be able to hear his music again, but wondered how it could have ended up in your hands. A smile spread across his face as he walked into his room.

----------------------------------------------------------------(*)-----------------------------------------------------------------------

You woke up feeling better and went to the kitchen. As was to be expected, none of the guys were awake. The phone rang and you rushed over to pick it up.

“Hello?”

“Yeobosayo.”

“Oh…yes…alright. Yes, I’ll tell them.”

You sat on the couch and closed your eyes for a brief second.

“Who called?”

“Eek!” You rolled off the couch in surprise and landed on someone’s feet. It was Kyu Jong and he helped you up. “You scared me. Oh, the call? It was your manager and he said to remind you of your concert next week.”

“Oh, that?” He shrugged and scratched the back of his head. Suddenly, he smiled and looked up at you. He then pulled your hand and dragged you outside the house.

“What are you doing?”

“Let’s go out to the farmer’s market!!”

“Won’t people recognize you?”

“Not if we take the proper precautions…” He smirked as he put on a beanie and big sunglasses. Kyu Jong handed you a cap and scarf. The two of you looked ridiculous and you knew it; you couldn’t help but laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

“You...Me…Us. Oh we just look so funny.”

Kyu Jong smiled and held your hand as the two of you kept on walking down the street. He was a really nice guy and whenever you were with him there was a reason to smile.

Each member had a strange effect on you, at least the ones you knew pretty well. So far, Youngsaengie was the mysteriously quiet one, HyunJoong the random four-dimensional boy living in his own world, and Kyu Jong was the cheerful boy who could make you laugh.

The farmer’s market was streaming with people from children to elderly folk. There were many stands with different things being sold. Kyu Jong tugged you to a stand where an old lady was selling oranges.

“Halmonni, how much?”

“Ahh…who is the beautiful lady with you?” The woman smiled and looked at you with interest.

You knew what she wanted to hear, but you thought the truth would be better. “I’m his f--”

“Her? Oh, she’s my girlfriend.”

You tried to object, but Kyu Jong wouldn’t let you. He tightened his grip on your hand and whispered in your ear, “Just go along with it.”

The woman handed you both an orange to share and didn’t let you pay her a cent for it. She was happy at having seen such a lovely couple strolling through the farmer’s market.

The two of you smiled as you walked around. You realized that no one had recognized Kyu Jong and thought it must have been his costume that prevented anyone from knowing who he really was. The idea of you having anti-fans for just having spent some time with Kyu Jong horrified you. You had read up on incidents with antis and remembered one nasty one in particular. Although you couldn’t remember who, a member in some Korean group had been poisoned with glue. You shuddered at the thought of what they could do to someone like you.

“OMO!!!”

You looked up and saw a young schoolgirl jumping up and down. Was she pointing at you? Or was it…Kyu Jong! He whisked you off and the two of you ran, hoping to find somewhere to hide. After that girl had shrieked in delight of seeing Kyu Jong, others joined in the chase and were behind you. A car then blocked the fans from catching up with you. Kyu Jong turned to a photo booth that was in a corner and pushed you in. The sound of footsteps was not heard minutes later, but you were too afraid to even take a peek. Kyu Jong sighed and you were still panting from having lost your energy during the chase. With a smile, you reached in your bag and searched for something.

“Aha!” In your hand, there were two coins. You inserted them in the machine.

“What are you doing?”

“Well, we are in a photo booth and it would be nice to have a souvenir from today. Besides, I’m still not quite sure we should go outside yet…there could be more fans around.”

“I guess it would be nice.” He smiled and stuck out his tongue.

Five pictures were taken, each with a flash and in each one the both of you did a pose. Each photo had its own concept. In the first you smiled normally, the second you stuck out your tongue, the third you tried to appear bubbly, the fourth you pressed your hands to your cheeks and tried to appear shocked. In the last photo, you couldn’t think of a pose and decided to just lay your head back a bit. Kyu Jong turned to you a bit and stared into your eyes. It became awkward and the both of you turned to the other side blushing.

The photos slid out and you took a look at them. Your cheeks turned red at seeing the last photo. You knew that nothing happened during the last take, but the photo made it seem like something else. There were two strips and they could be divided for two to share. You tore them apart and gave him one half while you kept the other.

He looked at his watch and his eyes widened. “Oh! It’s already two! The guys are probably looking for us by now.”

“They’re probably hungry too.”

“That’s just how they are. You would think they might be more responsible and cook for themselves, but no, they make you do it. I’m sorry; we must be a pain to you. We moved into your house and we are not even paying you. You have to cook for those fools and deal with crazy fans, though they’re not so bad. They support us and we’re happy about that.”

“Oh it is ok. I don’t mind. I was pretty lonely before. To tell you the truth, this was my first time coming here. Kumapta Kyu Jong.”

He held your hand once more as you walked back home.

When you opened the door, the four boys jumped at you and they all started talking at once. Kyu Jong let go of your hand as you walked in.

“Where were you?” HyunJoong seemed worried as he reached out for your hands.

“Yah! Kyu Jong, how long have the two of you been gone?” JungMin pointed a carrot at Kyu Jong.

“And where did you go?”

“HyungJoon, I already asked that!!” HyunJoong smacked his forehead.

“Oh…well, did you have fun?” HyungJoon shrugged.

You laughed and answered each one of their questions. “First, HyunJoong, we went to the farmer’s market. Second, JungMin, it must have been an hour or so, I’m not sure. Last, HyungJoon, yes, I did have fun.”

Youngsaengie looked away and left the room. He seemed annoyed again. You realized you would never be able to understand him.

*Whatever, I’m sick of his mood swings. I won’t let him ruin my happiness. But, he did save me when I was in that alley…*

“Let’s go out!” HyungJoon jerked your shoulders back playfully.

“Where?” You had just come back and now, apparently, you were going out again.

“To the carnival!” He smiled and ran off to tell the others.

*And now I’m going to a carnival with five hot guys. This sure sounds fun. I just hope I don’t run into any anti-fans. Oh dear, what have I gotten myself into?*