“I heard that he is skipping the school trip to film a commercial with TWICE.”

“No, I heard it is with Red Velvet.”

Twelve-years-old Kim Kyungho is sitting with eyes focused on his notebook, but even with earphones on he can hear the low voices a few tables away. The bookstore is used as a library for students of all ages but it seems as this evening there are more students from Kyungho’s school than what it usually is; probably because they have a big test coming up.

“Do you think he is here to actually study?”

Kyungho ignores the whispers by turning up the volume to his music, trying to put his focus back on his notebook. English is difficult, he thinks while looking through the dictionary app on his phone to get help with a few words. On the side of his notebook he writes down the words he doesn’t understand and then continues with the next problem, which is more effective than being stuck on the same thing the whole time. Kim Kyungho has been acting since he was eight years old, which is almost five years ago now. Though he attends school about 90% of the time, most of his classmates and other students at school keep their distance from him because of who he is. In school, he isn’t the child actor Kim Kyungho, who last year got a lot of praise for his acting where some even commented that they cried during the movie when Kyungho’s character was pulling and trying to make his drunk father stand up. In school, they know him as the boy who hangs out with celebrities.

The chair in front of him is pulled out and a girl his age takes her seat.

“Kyungho,” she friendly says. She holds on to her books when leaning forward, reaching out one hand to wave it in front of that focused face. “Kim Kyungho.”

He looks up and takes out an earphone, looking serious for a few more seconds before realising what face he makes and he takes out his other earphone too, his expression softens a bit. The girl tilts her head with a cute smile.

“What’s that serious expression for?” she wonders but doesn’t wait for an answer before asking; “Are you done with the history homework?”

Kyungho looks back at his notebook, not hearing the whispers a few tables away anymore.

“I finished it,” he shortly answers. “What about you, Seomin?”

“Ooh,” she says, slightly grimacing. “I’m not done with it yet.”

Moon Seomin is a classmate of his, one of his two friends in school. Their friendship is only as classmates; she has never asked him about getting an autograph from people he knows or asked who he meets when he misses school. Hearing that she hasn’t finished the history homework yet, Kyungho glances up with a small smile. She looks to be dreading that she hasn’t finished it but it must be done until Monday.

“Do you want to glance at mine?” Kyungho asks.

The sun that suddenly shines up in her face is enough for him to push his history book over the table. Seomin looks through it, sighing by herself as he always writes so well. Though he is an actor, Kyungho is one of the top ten at their school. His grades are really good.

The two classmates sit quietly and study for some time. The students that had been whispering a few tables away are still there, quietly studying on their own and helping each other, until their whispering goes back to the child actor. As soon as they start whispering about Kyungho, Seomin turns her head to stare at them.

“Gossiping is fun, isn’t it?” she mutters without having them hear her.

She pouts when looking back at her homework. Kyungho smiles over her muttering. The students are whispering about the school trip, saying they are jealous that just because he has been in a few dramas he gets to skip the school trip and so on. What they don’t know, is that Kyungho is going on the school trip. Kyungho puts in one earphone again to not hear the whispering, spending another half an hour with Seomin before she is leaving. More students leave too while Kyungho stays.

It is almost closing time when he starts putting his things back in his bag. His phone is on the table until he gets up on his feet, throwing the bag on his back and taking the phone with him to leave. Two of the students that had been whispering about him earlier are standing outside by the street, either waiting for their ride home or talking before they will part ways. Kyungho turn left and starts walking down the street, his head down in hope they won’t see him. He doesn’t need to walk many meters before walking up to the car parked at the side of the road, getting in on the passenger seat. Hannah told him she is waiting there.

Kyungho smiles when greeting her, a pure smile that he hasn’t shown all day.

“How did it go?” Hannah asks, waiting for him to put on his seatbelt before she can take them out on the road.

“I finished most of it,” he answers. “Nuna, can you help me to study for my English test?”

“Is that the first thing you tell me?” she laughs but starts nodding, saying she will help him as much as she can.

“I just wanted to ask so I won’t forget it. You can help me tomorrow, right? I have a test this week. I can really need your help, Nuna,” Kyungho asks of her and is smiling up to his eyes when Hannah keeps nodding.

He was told in the morning by his manager that the movie he has been cast in is the same one that he has heard Hannah mention. At first he got excited, thrilled even, that they will be working together on such a big project as a movie. Then he wondered if Hannah was alright with it and worried if he can take the movie seriously with her next to him. He will have to focus to not be too comfortable on set; he must be professional. Then he thought that if they don’t show good chemistry at the script reading, he might be changed with another actor.

“Nuna,” Kyungho starts to say, “Can we practice our lines before the script reading?”

Hannah is focused on the street so it takes a few seconds before she answers him. She also thinks of her schedule, to think of when it is a good time to practice with him. “I’ll practice it with you,” she answers, giving him a glance. “I thought you were in a bad mood when you first got in the car, but I guess I was wrong.”

Kyungho smiles widely at her comment, not letting her know that he was in a bad mood before. Always when meeting Hannah, he can smile and be himself, not having to hear whispers or gossiping about himself. With Hannah, he can be a younger brother. He hopes they will do the movie together. It would be fun.

With a laugh, he changes the channel on the radio, wanting to listen to music instead of hearing the commercials. Though they listen to music, they are busy talking. Talking about the up-coming week, of acting together, they talk randomly about the lyrics in a song on the radio. Hannah shows most interest in his school trip. Kyungho told her about it a few days ago, saying that his parents finally wrote under the papers that lets him go along on the trip. It is a short two-day trip out to the country, the school wanting the students to try farming.

“Ilho says it will be boring,” Kyungho is saying, talking about his classmate. He, Seomin (who he studied with) and Jung Ilho, the three classmates that are going to play on the school trip. “He has relatives living in the country, they have hens and cows. But I think it will be fun. We’ll get to feed the animals and I bet they have dogs too. It sounds fun, doesn’t it?”

“It sounds fun,” Hannah agrees. She keeps nodding with a smile, imagining Kyungho milking a cow. “Have you ever seen a real cow before?”

“No… That’s also why it will be fun. But I heard some girls in my class say it will be bad because their clothes will get dirty.”

He smiles when hearing Hannah lowly laugh and he tells her about what most girls in school are busy doing rather than focusing on studying; makeup and clothes. Makeup, clothes and idols, he tells her. He keeps talking about how his classmates can send notes to each other during class, asking each other if they got the newest album of some idol and if they should go wait outside the broadcasting station later. While he has that complaining tone, Hannah is smiling again. She says that is how you’re supposed to be in school. Just focusing on your studies is boring; it won’t give you any memories, she tells him.

Kyungho knows that. He was practically raised at the hospital, so the whole school environment was something he longed for. But whenever he was in school, it was uncomfortable and strange and he didn’t have any friends. Then, he met Hannah. Even at the hospital, he suddenly had fun. Not because they play much, but because they get along well. Hannah told him to be a kid when he was a kid, even now, the reason he stays in school is to create memories. Study, he can do anywhere, but to have friends, spend time doing what others his age does; that’s something Hannah has told him to do as much as he can. It’s an important time, she tells him, your time in school. Going to the school trip is a first for him. Thanks to Seomin and Ilho, Kyungho got the courage to go this time. Hannah told him over the phone when he was hesitating that he should go, and to tell the agency about it for them to not give him a schedule during those days.

The car is parked outside 5 Pieces’ house. Kyungho is talking happily when getting out of the car, showing with his hands how he has seen girls in his class look like when talking about their faces. Hannah steps out of the car, laughing when seeing him pat his face.

“You surely seem to watch the girls in your class a lot,” she jokes with him.

“Ah, Nuna!” Kyungho puts down his hands with a complaint. “It’s not like that.”

She walks past him to go to the front door, Kyungho complaining when following her that he doesn’t watch the girls in his class a lot, saying that she makes it sound wrong. As soon as they are inside the house he stops, not wanting the other ladies to start teasing him if they hear Hannah say he is looking at the girls in his class. But it seems like no lady is in the house. Milo comes running to the door as soon as it is opened, having Kyungho pet him while Hannah goes looking for the other ladies. With no one there, she picks up her phone to give Maria a call.

“Where are you?” Hannah asks as soon as her friend picks up. Ace is following her out from the kitchen, raising his back against Hannah’s leg for attention.

“Ya, you think we are the Flash or something? I texted you a few minutes ago, think we got the food and came home that quickly?”

Hannah gives her phone a glance before sighing. “Maria, I haven’t gotten a text from you.”

“You’re kidding,” Maria mutters before telling Hannah to wait. “Damn it. Anyway, we’ll be back in like twenty minutes or so.”

“You never sent the text, did you?” Hannah shakes her head, waving for Kyungho to come inside.

“I sent it to the wrong person,” Maria keeps muttering. “Ya, Julia says there is some paparazzi idiot lurking outside the house. Her mother moved the cars so you can park in the garage when you get there, alright?”

“Mm,” Hannah says. She doesn’t say that she is already home and has parked on the street.

After spending most of the day in the studio, the ladies are going to have a late dinner and watch a movie together. Hannah and Kyungho are sleeping over; he will sleep in the guestroom upstairs (they always refer that room as Kyungho’s, because he used it when they were filming Good Sister and it still has superheroes coolly attached to the wall) and Hannah will sleep on the sofa. Since it’s Sunday tomorrow, Kyungho doesn’t have anything to do. He had asked if he could hang with the ladies and since the ladies are going to spend their time at the studio, he will be there with them.

Hannah and Kyungho step out on the yard with Milo while waiting for the others. Both for Milo to run around (and Kyungho) and for Hannah to see if Julia’s mother is home in the other house. Ryo and Michin are barking in choir seeing them play outside so Julia’s mother lets them out through the door, the two small dogs are running mad to reach Milo and Kyungho to join the fun.

“Kyungho, be careful so you don’t ruin your uniform!” Julia’s mother calls out when coming out too, hugging a jacket around her.

Though he didn’t have school today, he still wore his school uniform because he would spend the day studying. Julia’s mother walks over to Hannah, smiling at each other in a greeting.

“Did Julia tell you about the paparazzi outside?” Julia’s mother is curious to know.

Hannah nods. “I just found out. Did he bother you?”

“No, not really. I just saw him when I took them on a walk,” she answers with a nod at the dogs. “Julia told me not to bother because he is just looking for gossip.”

Hannah nods again. From time to time they find out there are paparazzi lurking nearby in hope to create a scandal, maybe hoping to catch a lady on a date. Besides from Hannah, the other members are secretively about their dating lives; mostly because it is not much dating but also because there is no reason to talk about it. Julia’s mother has been approached twice or three times, being asked stupid questions. It is uncomfortable for Julia to know it but her mother had spoken Swedish saying she doesn’t know what they asked.

Ryo comes running up to them, finally coming over to greet Hannah. She throws a toy across the yard for him to fetch, joining the fun with the dogs.

Kyungho is smiling widely, his teeth white and eyes suddenly small, happy seeing Hannah wave the toy in her hand and getting more than just Ryo’s attention. Kyungho laughs when both Milo and Michin runs over to her as well and Kyungho starts jumping, calling out at her to throw the toy to him.

It takes more than twenty minutes for the others to come home. Hannah and Kyungho are still outside playing with the dogs when Julia’s voice loudly calls out “I’m home”. She must’ve heard they were outside because she calls it out when coming out between the two houses, cheering when Michin comes running over to her.

“Hey, Kyungho,” she greets and waves her hand over to the boy who is playing around with Ryo.

“Hi, Nuna!” he calls back, waving. Ryo gives out a playful bark at him, wanting to continue playing.

“Kyungho!” Emelia roars out and comes running over as if they haven’t seen each other for months. Seeing her run, Kyungho starts running too; the opposite direction. He laughs as Emelia runs after him, probably going to shove him in the little snow there is, and with the two of them running the three dogs starts running as well.

“Everyone’s a kid,” Julia chuckles before saying she will go inside.

Hannah isn’t outside for long after that, going inside to see if they need any help with the food. Kyungho runs away from Emelia until Michin and Milo are jumping in front of him in excitement that there is a chase going on, and Emelia laughs evilly when catching him.

“Did you think you can outrun me, kiddo?” Emelia smirks and locks his head under her arm, taking a few steps with him laughing.

“I did outrun you, Nuna.”

“Oh, really?”

“If Milo hadn’t-”

“Oh, really?” Emelia repeats and holds on to him tighter.

He screams and laughs at the same time, making the dogs around them bark and from a distance they hear Julia’s mother call for them to come back inside. Kyungho calls out for help, though his laughter doesn’t make anyone inside come to his rescue. Milo stays with them, barking and jumping next to them while Emelia starts guiding Kyungho to the house, with him still in a headlock.

Eventually she lets go of him, pushing his head with a laugh. “Are you hungry, kiddo?”

He says he is hungry while holding on to his head and stare at her. Emelia keeps smirking at him before she opens the door for them to head inside. Milo comes too, his paws wet when running inside the house. Kyungho kicks off his shoes and runs in too, lowly laughing and commenting that it sounds funny when the dogs runs on the floor. Hannah is helping Maria to fill the living-room’s table with their late dinner, unable to leave it though because of the nosy pets called Milo and Ace. Michin and Ryo are in the other house, probably having their paws dried to not make the floor wet. Kyungho hurries to walk around the table, wanting to pick Ace up in his arms