“Absolutely not” Wonho rushed outside of the bedroom and stopping to look at me. He was angry, very angry, making me gulp at the sight. His gaze was so intense and disconcerting I shifted in my place, though I wanted to pretend everything was cool and proceed to my chores, I couldn’t bring myself to do it, since he was not only scream but was also followed by the taller guy. “Kihyun can go with you. Or call Hyungwon” He added finally looking from me away and walking towards the kitchen.

“Kihyun went to college again and Hyungwon’s with him” Minhyuk walked right behind him, without even noticing my presence. "They'll probably spend the whole night there, and we need to go now" He added sounding like a kind trying to convince his mother to let him go on the school trip. I gulped again and finally managed to face the painting brushes I needed to dry and sort out, in front of me. I kept ordering them according to the book Minhyuk had given me, but it was hard to concentrate with the two boys loud voices coming from the kitchen behind me.

“You can go on your own. I know you’ll ask for my money, you sneaky rat.” Wonho spat back and I could imagine the younger rolling his eyes to the words. I kept feeling uncomfertable, it was like listening to your friend's parents fighting in their place about something you were supposed to take the blame for, but your friend was doing it for you. 

“I have enough, don’t be such a , come on!” I laughed at the curse and shook my head. “Alright, if you don’t want to go, I’ll give her your clothing to wear” Minhyuk’s voice seemed unbothered, but nothing in his sentence seemed unbothering. I choked on my own breath, and coughed, realizing that they were actually discussing about going shopping for me. I couldn’t imagine myself in this situation but even worse was to see Minhyuk coming out of the kitchen walking towards me with a victorious smile spread across his long face. I tried to protest, there was no way in this goddamn world this would be a good idea, but I didn’t even have time to get up from the couch, as Wonho was already at the top of the younger’s back, almost spilling out his lungs out from shouting.

“There’s no way in hell she’s wearing my clothes!” Was his sentence, which made Minhyuk’s grip on my wrist to loosen a little, making me finally notice he had been grabbing it for a while now.

“Then help me buy her new clothes!” The black haired shouted back and I shook my hand, getting up and receiving their gazes in return.

“I don’t have … anything for clothing…” I phrased, not sure what would be the trade object for clothing, or anything else in this place. Wonho raised his eyebrow when I  rubbed my hands on the jeans I was wearing, over the pockets. 

“Well, that I know pretty damn well, you have nothing” Wonho made sure to state with a smug tone and my ears didn't fume until then, I was sure they were fuming now, I could feel them burn at the tips. 

“That’s why we” Minhyuk made sure to emphasize the plural subject. “are going to buy you some”

“We’re not-“

“What else do you want her to wear? Stop being a child, and help us!”

“I’m older than you, stop talking to me informally!” Wonho protested which took an eye roll from the other in return.

“I’ll stop when you stop acting like a baby. Wonho, come on! What if what she’s saying is true and she’s really Daniel’s sister? Have you ever considered that?”

“Stop that, we don’t know”

“But I am” my mouth took its own life, partying with my throat and my voice came out loud and clear. Both of them turned to me again, surprised, but different types of surprised spread across their semblances. “Even if you don’t believe me, at least stop pretending there’s no way it’s true, because believe it or not, it is.” I added, feeling my fury and the tip of my fingers. My head was boiling in fervor and all of my body wanted to move towards that boy, scream to his face that I wasn’t lying, until he finally believes me.

Minhyuk, on the other hand, only seemed amused by my sudden rage. Does he even try to pretend to be decent? 

“Even if you’re his sister, doesn’t mean you didn’t harm him.” He tried to seem confident on his sentence and my mouth fell open at how ridiculous he was. Two second later I could face palm myself.

“Now you’re really being an idiot.” I stated with an eye roll. “Seriously? Why would I hurt my brother and come in his place here, without anything else?”

“How should I know that?” He raised his voice back, making me finally notice I was yelling at him.

“Alright, alright” Minhyuk lost his amusement to intervene and come in-between us. “Look, I know you don’t like each other for now, but that’s exactly why you should get to know a little better.” He whispered the last part with a soft smile, which made us both look at him in disbelief. Is he serious? “Wonho, I’m asking you to please do me this favor.” The black haired added more softly and, slowly, Wonho’s aura started backing slightly, until he was calm and smooth. I, too, started falling back and calming myself.

“Fine” He abruptly agreed, without missing his childish pout. “But I decide where we’re going”

“I wouldn’t like it otherwise” Minhyuk smiled shaking his head a little bit aside and both of them followed to the bedroom. “Get rea- okay, you’re basically ready, right?” He realized that I had nothing else to take, making an uncomfortable feeling grow in my chest. Suddenly the whole idea seemed wrong and uncomfertable, was I really gonna live off these people? But, I guess, I had no other choice. Not until I would be able to snatch the watch from Wonho's wrist, at least.

__

My eyes followed around, confused, astonished. The super high buildings no longer existed, the big tubes of the over ground transportations didn't exist either, the city seemed somehow so much simpler and… confusing at the same time? All seemed the same, but different equally. I let my eyes fall onto the street, I could barely recognize anything; nothing seemed like my brother’s street, at all. Not the stores, no robotic announcers, no holograms dancing in between people… it seemed somewhat calmer.

“Are you just going to stare, or are you coming?” Wonho asked still abrupt and impatient, while Minhyuk just smiled and pulled me to follow them around. People talked nicely, some of them wore masks of both black and white colours, hiding half of their faces. The weather seemed nice and warm, but heavy. My lungs had some trouble adjusting to the rough atmosphere. Pollution seemed a big issue here.

There weren’t so many color contrasts in people’s way of wearing, fashion seemed simpler and less ridiculous, in a certain way, so I felt comfortable with my simple outfit. However, I would occasionally get some stares, I realized that I could not find any westerns around, only Asian-looking people and everyone seemed so well taken cared of. With light, but bold, appearances, people seemed to have taken at least half an hour of their days in their make-up.

“I feel like a homeless person..” I whispered to Minhyuk, half covering my face behind his arm, whenever I felt some eyes falling on me.

“Well, technically you are.” He chuckled lightly and I could see Wonho’s presumptuous smile by the corner of my stare.

“Thanks” I short sentenced, grabbing his arm, in order to proceed my hiding-mission, more effectively, and also to be able to keep the pace behind his long legs, which could take two or three of my small steps.

“People will think we’re dating” Minhyuk giggled looking down at me, but did not push me, nor stopped walking. Actually he seemed pretty comfertable with it and I raised my eyebrow. 

“You wouldn’t want people to think you’re dating a weirdo, would you?” Wonho intervene with a small and smug sigh, bringing his hands to the insides of his jeans’ pockets. I rolled my eyes.

Idiot.

“Why not? I’m a weirdo too, we could match. And she’s pretty, which tops it all.” Minhyuk joyfully responded, while pulling me slightly away, to then bring his arm around my shoulders.

“Tsk” The older snapped his tongue and shook his head, apparently not finding it funny anymore. The youngest one, however, tightened his arm around me and kept pulling me in the right direction, which made me hide my face with my hands, out of embarrassment.

It took us around ten minutes of walking until we finally stopped in the first shop Wonho had mentioned. I slowly walked behind them, looking around and noticing how the clothing was divided into genders, girls at the fron of the store, boys at the back. The colour schemes seemed pretty different also and the words seperating the genders were pretty obvious. 

“Is there… sections for each gender?” I asked trying to hide my surprise and receiving Wonho’s eyebrow raise in return.

“Of course?”

“Why?” I asked, analising the color differences and the themes almost opposite of each other. While the “girls” section seemed cute and colorful, the “boys” wearing seemed more casual, mature almost.

“Because woman wear woman clothes and man wear man clothes” Minhyuk explained with a chuckle and guiding me towards the woman section.

“What about people who don't fit to any gender? And what if a man wants to wear this?” I grabbed a pink shirt with a white bear printed on it. They exchanged looks and shrugged. 

“He can wear it. But it probably won’t fit his body.” Wonho shrugged.

“Why?”

“Well, because that’s made to fit a woman body” The purple haired one answered pointing towards the shirt. “You know…” He made some curves in the air, with a pinkish tone on his cheeks and I raised an eyebrow, confused.

“Why don’t they make a model to fit a man’s body then?”

“Because-“

“Alice, I know that where you come from it’s different, Daniel has these questions too. But, in here, we make It like this. It’s a society thing. Like, people can wear whatever they want, in my opinion,” Minhyuk stated. “But somehow our society developed like this. It may change one day, I mean, it’s changing slightly, but it’s how it is for now.”

“Why don’t you change it now?”

“Mentalities are the hardest things to change.” This time it was Wonho’s turn to answer. “People have been teaching us this way, since we were kids and even though the new generations somehow are starting to recognize it can’t be that way, we have a long way to go.”

“I see…” I whispered looking at the shirt in my hands. It made no sense in my head that people were refrained to what a store defines as what you can wear and what you cannot, but I had to remember that I wasn’t home anymore; and things were very different back here. I was just glad they were changing, even if at small pace as they mentioned.

“Alright then, what would you like to wear from here?” Minhyuk asked looking around and making me follow his gaze. “But please be careful, we’re still broke college students, we can’t afford much.”

“We?” Wonho asked realizing the plural subject and not really satisfied with it.

“Yes, we” The other one snapped his fingers, stopping the other from protesting. “I’ll tell Kihyun it was you who screwed his algebra book”

“ you” was all he had in return.