"Don't give up, you can smile again,

You are beautiful, You are glowing,

If the time comes, you can tell everything,

I can show you the world,

Look at my eyes,

I can show you the way" - Jung Eunji, Home

Chapter 11

In the apartment located in Mapo, there was a sense of confusion surrounding the chaotic household that was awaken by a series of strange events. Eunji was busy taking pictures of the sleeping baby lying in Bomi's bed, Chorong was in a puddle of worry walking around the room and calling Bomi's phone, wondering where she was while Hayoung and Naeun just walked in, realising what was happening. It was at that moment, Namjoo and Hayoung made eye contact. Judging from her expression, it seems Hayoung knew what Namjoo was feeling. 

"Hey! Stop taking pictures! This is not the time to be fooling around!" growled Chorong as she lightly hit Eunji to which the younger girl immediately obeyed, sitting straight up from her bed.

"Okay unnie, okay. If Bomi isn't picking up, I'll call manager oppa. Calm down unnie, Bomi isn't like a kid or something." mumbled Eunji as she grabbed her phone.

"But at times, she is one..." said Naeun quietly as she rubbed her eyes, still in a daze from her disturbed sleep.

"Unnie. That baby over there is Bomi unnie." said Namjoo calmly as she pointed her finger.

"Hey. I said this isn't the time to be joking around." said Chorong.

"But I'm serious unnie. This happened before. It really is her."

"Hey, Kim Namjoo. What kind of nonsense are you-" said Eunji but before she could say anything, Hayoung stepped in.

"She's right unnie. Bomi unnie turned into a baby. I know this sounds crazy and all that but Bomi unnie made a wish to become a child and she did. All of us are being pulled into a wishing game right now and we need to do something about it." said Hayoung as she walked to Namjoo's side.

"Oh god, this is driving me crazy. First a baby in a dorm and now the maknaes are speaking nonsense." sighed Chorong.

It was at that moment, all of their phones buzzed a message. It was the exact same message that had occured before, the wish game had begun.

"Congratulations on registering into our game!

Just as you have said, we have granted your wish to become a child for three days! Miss Yoon Bomi, we hope that you are satisfied with our service! Have fun! "

"What the crap is this?!"said Chorong speechless as she looked at the child and then towards Namjoo and Hayoung.

"Guess you two really weren't talking nonsense." said Eunji as she turned her attention towards the maknaes who looked at each other. 

But before anyone else could talk, the child Bomi woke up with a cry. Both Chorong and Eunji headed towards her at first instinct, like parents. The older girl immediately carried Bomi in her arms while the younger, wiped the baby's tears that flowed out endlessly.

"Anyways unnie, we need to get supplies for Bomi because she will only turn back in three days. You and Eunji unnie head to the supermarket while the rest of us will head downtown to get baby clothes." said Namjoo, organizing their own schedule.

"Wow, our maknae is ordering us around" smiled Eunji in sarcasm.

"Okay Namjoo unnie." teased Naeun as she headed back while dragging her feet into the bathroom to wash herself up. The older unnies were preoccupied with Bomi and just as they were told, gathered at the kitchen and discussed what baby food and things that should buy. This left the maknaes, Namjoo and Hayoung all alone in the room.

"Hayoung-ah, you knew what was happening?" asked Namjoo in surprise but yet in relief that she wasn't alone in this situation.

"Forget that. Why on earth were you drinking all of the sudden? Because of that, you-you made that stupid wish and we're stuck here now! You know, we might never be able to return to that time!" whined Hayoung.

"Quiet Hayoung-ah, the unnies will hear you!" whispered Namjoo, covering Hayoung's mouth. 

Upon feeling her hand onto her lips, the memory suddenly struck onto Hayoung's mind. The sudden kiss that was done back at the park, made the girl's face light up in a bright, red flush.

"Omo, what's wrong? Are you that angry that you got that red?" teased Namjoo.

"N-No! Anyways, I don't know why you suddenly asked me for a road trip and stopped at the convenience store to buy soju like I don't get it unnie! Why did you do that?! Why did you make a wish?!" 

"Hayoung-ah." said Namjoo in a calm tone, holding onto her shoulders and staring directly into the maknae's anxious, confused eyes.

"I don't know what was happening to me. It was as if I was possessed you know? But the thing is, I remember everything. It was like I was stuck in a soul and I couldn't even move my own body. It was moving on its own. I know for sure, this was the work of that stupid game. Whoever is behind this, we need to stop it now. This is our only chance Hayoung-ah. I know that you want to talk about a lot of things, but for now, we need to stop this wishing game once and for all."

The maknae went silent and thought for awhile.

"Fine. We'll talk about this later. But what do we do now? Wait for Bomi unnie to turn back to an adult?" said Hayoung, quickly changing her mind.

"If I remember last time, you went to the internet cafe and sent a wish."

"You want to continue the wishing game? Unnie are you-"

"Hayoung-ah, we can make use of this wish wisely."

"Like what?"

"What's important right now is we need the unnies memories back. For sure, they won't believe us right now."

"Unnie, if you do that....Chorong and Eunji unnie are going to be......"

"I know. But it is for the better."

"You two sure are lively in the morning." mumbled Naeun who walked into the room whilst brushing her teeth. The girl was still sleepy as seen by her puffy cheeks. 

"Hurry up unnie, we need to go out and buy some baby clothes near Hongdae." said Hayoung as she stood up and rushed to wash herself up. Namjoo too, did the same. Naeun simply stared confused, wondering where did the maknaes got their energy and enthusiasm from. It was as if, the two had planned something that she didn't know of. It was in the meanwhile, Chorong and Eunji were ready to head out. Equipped with masks and sunglasses to disguise themselves, Bomi had fallen asleep again in Chorong's arms as Eunji quietly opened the door, helped to carry Chorong's bag and basically did the physical things that a father would do. It was funny, watching them from afar. They really do look like a married couple.

"Pfft, this is hilarious." said Namjoo as she sneakily took a photo from her phone.

"Hey, what are you doing?" asked Eunji as she wore her shoes.

"Nothing~ have a safe trip to the supermarket unnies~" smiled Namjoo as she waved goodbye.

Walking down to the entrance of their apartment, it was a 10-minute walk before they arrived at the supermarket. Already, they could feel people taking glances at them as Chorong placed Bomi inside the child seat of the trolley and started pushing it along. Eunji on the other hand, took out the list that she had wrote down earlier. The two, exhibit great teamwork together. 

"Unnie, what are we gonna do if this comes out in the news?" mumbled Eunji.

"Hey, don't say that. No one's going to care."

"Uh, yes they will. Anyways, which brand should we buy?" asked Eunji as they arrived at the baby section. Standing in front of a shelf that showcased every single type of baby milk formula, the girl was dumb-founded. It was a whole new world, seeing things that she never thought would've existed.

"Cool, I didn't know they sell this. I thought you'd only find this in a street market." said Eunji in fascination, picking out strange items she has never seen before.

"You're supposed to use that when the baby has difficulties eating. This one is for babies born with disabilities. The other one over there is to help their motor skills." said Chorong, explaining each one of the items with ease. The younger girl just stared at her, amazed.

"As expected, you would definitely be a perfect housewife one day." chuckled Eunji.

"Not really.....I don't even know if I'll get married....."

"It's okay, if you don't get married, I'll marry you." teased Eunji as she headed towards Bomi who was slowly waking up.

Even though it was a joke, Eunji's blatant words made Chorong's heart skip a beat. It was strange yet warm.

"I-I wouldn't want to marry you anyways."

"Oh? Why? Because I'm difficult to wake up?" laughed Eunji.

"You'll probably cheat on me because you have too many friends." smiled Chorong.

"Oh please unnie, as if you don't have any friends." joked Eunji as the girls laughed while finding the right milk formula for Bomi.

It was in the moment, Bomi just stared silently at the two and all of the sudden, giggled. 

"I love you Omma, Appa"

"What the? Unnie, did you hear that?" said Eunji in a speechless laugh as she glanced at her.

"She thinks we're her parents. This is crazy." giggled Chorong softly.

"My, my, we have a rather cheeky child do we, honey?" joked Eunji as she placed her arm around Chorong's shoulder, as if she was pretending to be her husband.

"Omo, stop it."

Seeing Eunji's arm on Chorong's shoulder, Bomi suddenly broke into a cry which made the two girls confused.

"Bomi-ya, why are you crying?" said Chorong as she immediately let go of Eunji's arm and headed straight to carry Bomi up from the trolley, patting her back.

"Omma is mine.....Appa can't touch her....." sobbed Bomi.

Chorong and Eunji just looked at each other for a moment, and broke into a laughter.

"Ah, so Bomi is jealous huh? What do we do honey?" said Eunji, still involved in her own "role-playing".

"I don't know honey." said Chorong while holding her laughter and feeling slightly shy saying those words. She played along to Eunji's joke which obviously made Bomi more unhappy and sad. This caused Bomi to turn her head towards Eunji, placed her tongue out and then, cuddled herself comfortably in Chorong's arms as if she wasn't going to give any space for her.

"Alright, alright. You win. Have mom all to yourself." laughed Eunji, finding baby Bomi's actions adorable as the two went back to work, searching and buying all the necessary items needed to feed Bomi.

~X~

In the meanwhile along the streets of Hongdae, three girls searched various baby shops in order to find the right clothes. Although it was pretty obvious that they were indeed "Apink" as they didn't bother to cover themselves up, people kept their distance and respected their privacy.

"Omo, this looks cute!" said Namjoo in excitement who was pulled into the attraction of baby clothes.

"You think this would fit Bomi unnie?" asked Naeun who was also rather interested. This made Hayoung left out as she wasn't the type to be interested in fashion, especially baby fashion. Looking out at the glass window where some fans stayed outside, she smiled and waved at them. She figured it would best to leave the clothes to her unnies and instead, become enclosed in her own worries and thoughts. She wondered what would happen if her unnies really got her memories back to its original state. But then, she got confused. If they were stuck in a time paradox, wouldn't that change the history that happened within those months? Wouldn't that affect greatly on the wishing powers? It was far too complex for the maknae, cracking her head to figure out how to really, stop this wishing game once and for all.

The maknae had strategically planned it all in her head. 

1. One wish will arrive to one member at a certain period of time.

2. Making a wish that goes against the other will result in a consequence.

3. Making a totally different wish will remain unaffected and life will continue as usual.

4. Constantly making normal wishes will result in a new state of consequence.

"ARGH! IT DOESN'T END!" said Hayoung out loud in frustration to which her unnies turned and looked at her.

"Ah, oops....." said Hayoung, realising that she said her thoughts out loud as her face turned red as a tomato.

"Is something wrong Hayoung-ah?" asked Naeun in worry.

"No unnie. I'll be heading to the internet cafe nearby. Once you're done, call me alright?"

"Okay, sure."

Namjoo glanced at Hayoung, as if giving her a signal to do what was supposed to be done. Hayoung simply nodded and proceeded to walk out of the shop. There, maknae walked to the internet cafe that was a distance away. She would randomly answer her fans who seemed to follow her until to a certain extent that doesn't invade her privacy.

"Unnie, are you going to play games again?" asked one fan.

"Yup. Gotta beat my high score!" smiled Hayoung.

"Is Naeun and Namjoo unnie buying baby clothes for someone?" asked another.

"Hm, who knows?" said Hayoung with a suspicious smile as she waved goodbye to her fans and walked upstairs, where the cafe was.

Hayoung played her games like any other normal day, as if she was not "aware" that a wish was coming for her. But she still couldn't help but shake the fact of what happens when her unnies get her memories back. She wished that their relationship would've remain the same as now. Just seeing Chorong and Eunji being their normal selves and fooling around made her happy but this wish would've removed all of that. But at the same time, the romantic feelings of Bomi, Chorong, Naeun and Eunji would've returned and there was no need to reset the whole process again. It was a complicated feeling but Hayoung felt that this was the right choice, despite the effects of what was bound to happen.

After finishing one round where her team won, the game suddenly exited out of the window as a message popped up. She was waiting for this very moment. On the screen, it was a set of words that read:

"Dear Player Oh, have you ever thought of having your wishes granted? Why not have a go now? Type in your wish and it will come true! Tested, guaranteed and certified!"

"It's really amazing how it's the exact same thing." mumbled Hayoung with a smile.

With a deep breath, her fingers were at the keyboard and carefully typed in her wish. 

"Here it goes Hayoung-ah. Let's do this." mumbled Hayoung to herself as she clicked on her mouse and submitted.

"I wish my Apink unnies got back their memories from months ago."

Pulling her seat out, Hayoung looked up and the ceiling and wondered whether it had worked. In this quiet space, she was able to have a peace of mind allowing her a moment of rest, before she was ready to face the chaos that was about to happen.

~X~

Naeun and Namjoo had just finished purchasing the baby clothes and were about to head outside. 

"Time to call Hayoungie." said Namjoo as she took out her phone but as she looked up to Naeun, tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Unnie.....what's wrong?" asked Namjoo as she held onto her hand, in worry. Being wary that there were still fans outside, Namjoo pulled her back into the deeper part of the shop, inside a changing room.

"I...remember everything......" said Naeun in a pause, wiping her tears away. 

"The real Naeun unnie....is back...." said Namjoo in relief as she briefly hugged her.

"You made the wish to time travel back?"

"Yup but the thing is, I kinda drank some alcohol while I did that like I felt as if I was obsessed but I'm 100% sure it's the wishing fault-"

"Wouldn't that be bad? Chorong unnie and Eunji unnie are shopping together. If they get their memories too they're gonna..."

"That's why unnie, we need to get Hayoung fast." said Namjoo, reminded that the present Eunji and Chorong back then, had still not settled into their long arguement. Or rather, their inner wounds and scars were still unhealed. Allowing those two to meet, would be disastrous.

"Then let's not waste time. Let's go." said Naeun as the two started to speed up.

~X~

Back at the supermarket, the two girls just finished paying the bill and were about to head back home. One held onto Bomi's hands while the other carried the items, from afar it just looked like sisters who went out on a shopping trip with their little sister. Halfway through, it was then the magic had happened. Their memories returned like a bullet through their head, flashbacks running through their eyes like a train as they saw everything go by like a one-second movie, finished in one go. Everything, was back. The moments the two fought with each other, the pain, the scars, the tears, everything was back to where it had originally belonged.

Of course, this was a very overwhelming effect on the girls. The shopping bags dropped to the ground, their hands let go of Bomi's, tears flowed down their cheeks as the two stared at each other. At a glance, Eunji quickly took a step away from Chorong, wanting to distance herself. She was never ready to face her again but yet, just a while ago, the two were happily shopping away as if nothing happened. The fact that these happy moments they had together, were immediately shut away was somehow, heart-breaking.

"I..I'm heading back first." stuttered Eunji as she avoided eye contact with Chorong, carrying the shopping bags and walked straight, not looking back.

"Eunji-ya."

All it took was one word to have the girl's steps frozen.

"I....."

"Unnie." said Eunji as she took a breath, still refusing to look back. She was afraid that she could no longer muster her own courage to say what was in her heart, if she looked directly at her.

"Whatever it is, it's my fault. I made you angry. I made you like this. Because of me, you had to go through mental therapy. I'm the one that caused you pain so I don't have a right to face you right now."

"Eunji-ya."

"I feel that the more you see me, the more pain I will bring to you. Sorry unnie, I don't want to hurt anyone else."

"Stop it!" 

"......"

"Stop saying such words! Why are you putting the blame on yourself when I was the one who made you angry at first? Do you know how worried I was for the past three months that went by? I worry whether you were eating well, whether you were healthy or needed someone to talk to or wonder whether things have been going well with Naeun. I wanted to do all these things with you but I can't because of the mistake I made. That's right, I was blinded by love. I could see nothing else. But now, I do. I see you."

There was only a long, stretch of silence on that empty street. The space in between the girls, represented the distance they had longed for each other deeply in their heart. Although they may think that it was just a false flight of emotions, but this was what their heart was telling them. It was telling them to "make up". Avoiding each other only made the hole in the heart bigger.

"So what? You can't expect us to suddenly get all friendly as if nothing happened. We both got hurt by each other. What can we do other than avoiding each other. It's the only way we can lessen the pain." said Eunji clenching her fists. Inside, she wanted to run away. She hated the idea of meeting face-to-face with her, but it was unavoidable. For some reason, she couldn't move. She kept telling herself to continue walking, but her feet didn't listen. It was then, she could feel a warm touch on her fist, that slowly unwrapped itself.

"We can start slowly. First, by looking at me. Look at me, Eunji-ya."

The girl was hesistant to turn her head, even though it was well obvious that Chorong was right behind her. Her heart screamed that this was the first step, to solve everything but her body refused otherwise. Her brain told her look straight but her heart, told her to look at Chorong. Eunji was in a confused state, as her mind and body battled each other. But there was no need for such, Chorong forcibly turned Eunji around where it was finally clear. The older girl had mustered her courage to look deeply into her dongsaeng's watery eyes. It was clear she was holding back her tears. After all, Eunji wasn't someone who would cry easily.

"Even your eyes tell everything Eunji-ya. I am sorry." said Chorong with a rather, sombre smile as tears rolled down her cheeks. Anyone could tell it was sincere words from the heart. It was a sincere apology.

Eunji could only look into her eyes for a mere second before looking down, where tears finally fell.

"I'm sorry too unnie...." said Eunji as her voice turned weak, looking back up at Chorong who gently wiped her tears.

"You never show this side to the dongsaengs but in front of me, you do. You didn't change much at all Eunji-ya." smiled Chorong as she pulled her into an embrace, gently patting her head as being in her warmth, made the younger girl burst into tears that had been filling inside her heart for the past three months. She swore to never show her weak side in front of her members but Chorong was always an expectation. Simply, because she was the oldest. She was the only unnie she could rely and turn to. Sometimes, she was like a mother while on other days, she was a best friend.

Even though they each hurt each other because of their careless words and thoughts, it was clear that deeply inside their hearts, they still cared for each other. Those three months, were clearly the proof. It was just, the girls who refused to accept the realisation until now. In that moment of embrace, it was more than enough to explain everything they wanted to say. But in admist of that point, Chorong realised that there was something missing.

"Wait. Eunji-ya, where's Bomi?" said Chorong as she looked around, not seeing the child in sight.

"You were with her just awhile ago."

"Oh no. This is bad."

"Ah, unnie seriously! Come on, we need to find her before it gets late!" said Eunji as she quickly grabbed hold of Chorong's hand and pulled her along the run. It was at that point, all of the fear that instilled into Eunji had disappeared. She was back. The Eunji everyone knew, had returned.

Watching Eunji pulling her forward, brought a smile to Chorong's face. It was scene that brought relief to her heart, she was glad that her dongsaeng is back.

"Do you think she might've wandered off somewhere?" asked Chorong.

"Bomi can't walk far. Follow the smell of food, I'm sure she probably drifted there."

"Of course, anything food related has to be Bomi" giggled Chorong.

"She eats the most in the group. I swear, manager oppa is gonna faint one day when he sees the bill." said Eunji with sarcasm, causing the older girl to laugh.

"Hey, don't laugh unnie! I'm serious." said Eunji, continuing her line of jokes. The girl was surprised at herself too, all it took was courage and there she was, back to her usual self. Perhaps, all those three months of avoiding Chorong was a really, terrible idea. But at that point, it didn't matter anymore. What was important was finding Bomi. She is the starting key towards the whole wishing game. 

~X~

"They're not picking up!" said Namjoo in a rush after calling both Chorong and Eunji's phone several times.

"What do we do? Do you think they fought again?" said Hayoung in worry.

"We have to go back to the supermarket they went. That's the only thing we can do." said Naeun.

"But it's so far away unnie" whined Hayoung.

"It's a good time to exercise, right, Naeun unnie?" asked Namjoo as she started stretching herself.

"I'm okay with running but not the heavy exercises. Get ready Hayoung-ah." said Naeun as she joined Namjoo in stretching.

"Oh my god." sighed Hayoung. Among all six, she dreaded exercise the most. Even when her unnies tried persuading her, exercise just wasn't her forte.

After all, the supermarket was nearby and it would take about a 5 minute run along the streets. Although they were definitely going to grab attention with their no-disguise outfit, the maknaes of Apink didn't care. As the girls ran along the streets, they noticed something. It seemed serious.

A large crowd gathered around something, worried bystanders looked at each other and wondered if there was anything they could do to help. Someone from afar, shouted to help call an ambulance while another told everyone to stand back and make a distance. Curious as to what was happening, the three girls walked closer hoping that it wasn't something that had thought to be. As the crowd made way for them, immediately recognizing their identity as celebrities, it allowed them to go nearer to the "thing" that made everyone worried.

It was a sight that had hoped to not see. They had been so used to situations like these that, they should feel unaffected but still, it was heart-breaking. The centre of attraction was an unconcious child, who seemed to sweat profusely in the arms of a samaritan that performed CPR on her.

That child, was Yoon Bomi.

[END OF CHAPTER 11]

A/N: Hi everyone, I'm finally back! One case after another, it really doesn't stop! At least, the misunderstandings between Chorong and Eunji have been resolved! What do you think has happened to Bomi? Do you think it was due to the sudden memory recovery or something else? Do share your thoughts! Thank you for reading and subscribing! This chapter is a small treat for Eunrong fans ;)