“Idiots. Wake up, I have a ton of questions regarding your presence in my lovely room.” I open my eyes to Gikwang fresh from the shower, clothes neat and free from wrinkles, all ready for school. I immediately get up, and attempt to wake Mino as well. The first few second of him waking up was basically a whole lot of confusion, but he soon gathered himself up and both of us sat on the floor, still half-asleep. “What in the world are you doing here? Like, here as in my room and my house?” He exasperatedly asks, and mumbles, “If mom sees you here I will be dead.”

I was about to speak when his mom knocks and opens Gikwang’s door. “Kids, hurry up so you can eat breakfast.” She sends us a lovely smile, indicating that we shouldn’t ask any more questions or refuse. Mino and I exchange glances, and we both headed to Gikwang’s closet, where some of our clothes from previous sleep-overs were. Gikwang sighs deeply, looking at us. “What secret are you two keeping from me now? Even Mom seems like she’s in it too. Ugh, my head hurts. I’ll go ahead to the dining room, you two prepare.” He runs his fingers through his hair and proceeds to rub his temples as he exits the room.

Once he was out, Mino and I let out our breaths that we didn’t notice we were holding in. “I don’t think he remembers anything.” I mutter, and he simply nods. “It’s best we stay alert, though. Dolls are everywhere, witches are somewhat rare, and dollmakers are one in a hundred thousand. Imagine how the presence of a mannequin, which are super rare, decided to play with Gikwang.” I nod without fully understanding. “Okay.”

After we showered and finished fixing ourselves, we headed down to eat breakfast along with Gikwang and his mom. The three of us settled down, and ate. Needless to say, we were noticeably silent. The kid with a lot in mind and a lot of knowledge who passionately babbles about it, Lee Gikwang, is currently munching down on his fried rice and egg. The kid who often has the weirdest things to say, and is a prankster, Song Mino, is currently stuffing himself with bread.

And what am I, the kid who always has no clue and asks questions 24/7 while always having an internal conflict, doing? Observing my two friends while I gnaw on my bacon and hotdogs.

Gikwang’s mom joins us as we eat, and immediately notices the change in atmosphere. “Make sure you eat well. This silence means you’re thoroughly enjoying the food so much that you can’t talk, right?” The three of us nod simultaneously, and she does a motherly smile. “You kids grow up fast.” She nonchalantly says, and resumes eating.

As we finish eating and cleaning up, we first went to Mino’s house and waited for him to get changed into his school uniform, since his house was closer to Gikwang’s. After a few minutes, we raced towards my house and as we reached the front gates, we stopped in our tracks. There stood in the front door the siblings in their uniforms, a mad-looking Chanhyuk and Soohyun awaited us. I stepped backward out of the tense atmosphere but quickly realizing the situation, I stepped forward and grabbed both of their ears. Both of them immediately dropped their act and yelled in pain. “Who told the two of you that you were in charge of me? These brats, seriously. Just to remind you, I’m 6 years older than you, Soo, and I’m 3 years older than you, Chan.” I let go of their ears, and they shot me a glare while I ignored them, immediately getting inside the house to get changed. "Just go. I'm back in one piece anyway, I'll be off to change into my uniform." Chanhyuk sighs. "Hyung, seriously, we were worried. We may be younger than you but we can take care of you better than you take care of yourself." He grabs Soohyun's wrist, and the two left without saying a word. I sighed as well. What a great morning this turned out to be.

We walked to the bus stop once I finished changing clothes, and we met Seungyoon waiting for the bus as well, this time, however, he was alone. Mino suddenly starts hissing in pain, and Gikwang, Seungyoon, and I immediately looked at him, slightly worrying as to why he’d hissed in pain, and how aggressively he clawed at his arm. My eyes opened wide in shock when I saw the rashes along Mino’s arm. “Gikwang, get me some ointment in my bag. It’s there somewhere, just get it.” Mino says in a restrained voice, trying to control himself as he looked like he was in so much pain. Seungyoon’s face was painted with worry, standing beside me, the two of us only able to watch Gikwang help the suffering Mino. "Christ, idiot, stop scratching, you'll make it worse." Mino looks up at Gikwang, and asks. “Is there dairy in that bread?” Gikwang nods, still trying to figure out why he’d ask that. “Remind me not to eat anything with milk, or dairy in it.” I sigh. Wow, look how useless I am, merely staring at Mino while his allergies attack him full force.

Seungyoon tries to get closer so he can help, but Mino waves him away. “It’s okay, Seungyoon, no need to worry; Gikwang’s got it.” Seungyoon nods, and stands beside me once again.

Mino’s arm was now wrapped in cloth, and the smell of anti-itch ointment filled the air, and as we reached school, Mino was still in pain. As we neared our classrooms, Seungyoon stops in front of his classroom, the one next to ours, and he nods. “I’ll be going. Mino, please be well.” We nod back and enter our classroom, and Mino immediately whispers to Gikwang, but I overheard it.

As class hours began, we did nothing but take notes, answer tests, and participate in class. However, in the middle of a Math class, someone knocks on the door and the teacher opens it, only to reveal the adviser from the next class bring in another student. “I’m sorry to interrupt you,” he says, “But I’d like you to welcome to your class, 1-A, a student from Class 1-B whose grades have tremendously improved and is eligible for Class 1-A, Miss Seo Inhyeon.” The entire class clapped enthusiastically, and she does a bow with a smile.

I felt my seatmate, Mino, shift uncomfortably. I gave him some tissues to try and control his allergies, as well as his anti-histamine tablets, and thankfully it was enough to not cause any further disruptions in class. Inhyeon proceeds to the chair directly behind me, and if Mino was just shifting at first, now he’s definitely dying from holding in a sneeze and controlling his allergies. I felt uncomfortable as well, and as I turned to look at her, she greets me with a smile. “Miss me?” She teasingly asked, and I shook my head. I was about to talk some more until she does a hand motion signalling me to face forward. I comply, and the class goes smoothly.

Once again, time passes as school goes on.

My eyelids began to droop, and I started nodding off to dream land when the class bell rung, waking me up from whatever class I started to sleep in. Thankfully, the Literature teacher didn’t notice me, and went out with his stuff, and the class was dismissed. Mino immediately left from his seat and practically jumped over to the next row of seats just to sit with Gikwang, and as I tried to head towards them, I felt a hand grabbing my wrist and dragging me outside the classroom. I looked up and saw Inhyeon dragging me, and for some reason I felt powerless. She dragged me into the janitor’s closet, locked it, and faced me.

“Be honest.” She starts off, and I look at her intently. She sighs after making eye contact with me, and speaks up again. “Are you avoiding me or what? Because I…” She trails off, and I motion for her to continue. “I can’t track you if you don’t bring the doll with you.” She looks at me, and hands over the doll.

The same doll Soohyun gave me.

She sighs and worry was painted all over her face. “Trust me on this. Your friends can’t protect you, and as someone who needs to watch over you 24/7, you’re making this difficult. So please, bring the doll. Or if you can’t,” She hands out a stone charm, and I took it. “Just take this with you. Please?” She looks at me, as if staring into my soul. And for a moment, I saw something in her eyes.

We sat beside a window in a coffee shop, with the busy streets in Gangnam in view. She sat there, cross-legged, her dark hair becoming a light brown as the sun shone against it, her face serene and calm, her eyes constantly moving back and forth, watching how people move as she sipped on a strawberry milkshake with whipped cream.

And now I realized why she’s a doll.

Dolls are perfect beings. Manufacturers designed them to be perfect.

I may have not noticed it, but she really does look perfect.

She turns to me, and I simply nod in acknowledgement as I pick up my chocolate milkshake with whipped cream. I looked up at her after sipping. “What made you take us here?” She looks around while answering, completely avoiding my gaze. “This is a nice place. Besides, Soohyun told me to take you out once in a while.” At this statement, I was speechless. “Question.” I raised my hand and rested my elbow on top of the table, leaning in a bit forward to her. “Go ahead.” “Who’s taking out who, exactly?” She laughs and throws her head back, finally realizing where I was going. I smile as well, and she spoke, staring intently. “I’m taking you out because you’re too much of a .” I buried myself in my hands, knowing she was right about me being a wuss.

“Let me guess, you’ve never dated a girl, right?”

At this question, I choked, and broke out in coughing fits. “Since when did you have this much human knowledge?" She narrowed her eyes at me. “Because I used to be human myself?”

3^rd person POV

“Are we seriously going to spend the entire afternoon watching this disgusting date of theirs?” Mino sighs, and Gikwang only shrugs. “You told me yourself, Inhyeon was acting strange, even going as far as to drag Seungri away.” He then eyes the seemingly lovey-dovey couple from the opposite side, and as he prepared to teleport to the nearest empty seat towards the couple, Mino grabs his arm and sighs. “You do realize if you use your powers here, chances are people will attack you, and Inhyeon might recognize you, and possibly other entities in this shop will feel traces of your aura. And you, I am definitely not cleaning up after you and your aura.” He lets go of his grip on Gikwang, but Gikwang retorts, this time holding on to Mino. “Relax. This coffee shop is run by a well-known witch.” He points to the decorations with sapphire coloured gems. “See those? Those help clean up traces of aura when witches decide to use their powers here. So, you can just teleport with me and not have to worry about cleaning up my mess.” Gikwang grins at Mino, trying to coax him. Mino stands up poker-faced, and stops to look back at Gikwang. “If you want to be inconspicuous, act like a normal being and walk towards the damn seats.”

Gikwang glares at Mino as he follows along. “Sheesh, since when did you become so serious?” Mino nonchalantly shrugs. “And when did you become so careless of your actions?” He shoots back at Gikwang without even looking back. “Guess our situation changed.” Mino chuckles a bit after realizing the situation as they settled down, and the two continued to watch over Seungri and Inhyeon.

The two looked at the couple when someone coughs in front of their table. Mino and Gikwang looked up to see Seungyoon with a tray of red velvet cake and iced coffee. “Mind if I… join you two?” The two exchange glances, and nod. Seungyoon sits beside Mino, and glances at Seungri and Inhyeon, who were on the opposite side of the coffee shop.

“Let me guess, you two are looking out for your friend who may or may not be taking Inhyeon out for a date.” Seungyoon says, not taking his eyes off of the ‘couple’.

“If they really were a couple, I’d be pissed.” Gikwang mutters, and Mino sighs. Seungyoon found their rections to be hilarious, and chuckled, earning a glare from the two of them. “Why would you be pissed about your friend having a love life?” He asks, and Gikwang answers first. “Because the idiot hasn’t dated anyone in his entire existence.” Mino joins in, while acting like a goof, “And he doesn’t even know how to approach girls.” Gikwang merely rolls his eyes in displeasure at the sight of Mino being so extra. “And I wonder why you chose to sit with us when there’s clearly a lot of other empty seats.” He says to Seungyoon, both of them pretending to not know Mino. “Simple, we’re friends, right?” Seungyoon smirks a bit, and Gikwang somehow felt uneasy. “I’m looking out for Inhyeon, since she told me she had trouble adjusting to a new school, a new environment, so I’m helping her. So, can I ask you a favour and just let the two date, if they actually date?”

Gikwang is rendered speechless, and Mino falls silent.

“Honestly, I know it’s too much of a favour to ask you two, but I suggest to just leave them alone. I just want her to be happy, and if this meant having to give her away to another guy, then so be it.” Seungyoon looks down sadly, his smirk erased from memory, and Gikwang sighs.

Poor Seungyoon. The guy’s fallen for a doll, and his memories have been altered, and he’s probably being used by the thing.

He looks at Mino, who merely shrugs. “I was kidding about the whole ‘I’ll be pissed about the two dating’. Sure, we’ll leave them alone.” Gikwang then turns to Mino. “You okay with that, or do you have something in mind?” Mino becomes serious, and looks down while fiddling with his hands. “Yeah, sure.” He suddenly snaps his head up, and beams at Seungyoon and Gikwang. “So, let’s get out of here. Want fish cakes? My treat!” The two nod, and the three smiling idiots head for the door and immediately headed to the nearest fish cake stand.

“Can Seungyoon join our little circle of friends? Please? Please?” Mino does the puppy eyes in front of Gikwang as they walked, and Seungyoon merely knitted his eyebrows, cringing at the horrible aegyo mess that is Song Mino. “In another world, we’d probably be in the same circle of friends, even being a group of singers.” Seungyoon jokes, and Gikwang scoffs. “Us? Singers? No way. Also, yeah, I guess, friends.” He laughs a bit awkwardly, and Mino skips in glee.

Seungri’s POV

“They’re gone.” She mutters while eyeing the three idiots who left the shop rather indiscreetly. I shake my head and simply smile. “I’m sorry if you felt uncomfortable about them following us around.” She smiles, and shakes her head. “That’s fine. They really weren’t that much of a bother anyway. By the way, don’t you think Seungyoon seems to be getting along with Gikwang and Mino way too well?” She asks out of the blue, and I started to wonder, but immediately shake the thought off. “It’s my first time seeing them three together, and it’s fine if they added another friend to our little group.” I beam at her, and she shrugs. “Well, okay then. So, it’s getting kinda late, don’t you want to go home?” I nodded, worry filling my stomach. “I’d like to go home now, since the siblings take care of me as if I was younger. Besides, the two nagging is a chaotic event, and I’d rather avoid that.” I nervously laugh, and she merely pats my head. I stiffen, and she stops to notice. “Oh… sorry.” She withdraws her hand and I immediately grab it before loosening my grip, realizing what I had done. “No, it’s okay. Seriously. I don’t mind.”

An awkward silence ensues.

We stared at each other, her hand still patting my head, and… it felt nice.

This is nice.

She takes her hand back, and we leave. We walked our way home, and for a second, I thought her eyes became purple. I turned to look back again, but I caught her, with her dark brown orbs staring into my soul. She giggles after realizing how flustered her gaze made me. “Isn’t that cute?”

“What’s cute?”

“How flustered and embarrassed you look?” She pinches my cheeks and talks down on me, as if I was a child. “Aigoo~ What a cutie!” I brush her hand off and huffed in annoyance. She laughs, throwing her head back. “I’m sorry. I’m just really happy I got to do what people in dramas did, and how you actually made me feel human.” I smile back at her. “No, it’s okay. Thank you for this crazy idea of yours to grab me out, because that was fun.” We continued walking, the night slowly filling the city.

It was then that I realized that the path we were walking on wasn’t a road I was familiar with.

Instead, it was an alleyway, with a single lamp post. Skechy, suspicious, cliche, and just plain skechy.

I immediately stop and pull out my phone, trying to get a signal to use the GPS. “Wow, I didn’t notice where we were,” I said, all flustered, while Inhyeon stood there beside me.

Or so I thought.