“Just as well,” the doctor murmured, sighing as he got up from the chair. He ushered the six boys out the door. “Let’s just let her wake up naturally; we don’t want to traumatize her any more.”

Hyunseung looked back at the fragile body lying in the bed, dark hair fanning around her head like a halo, in stark contrast to the clean white of the room. For some reason he was loath to leave her so alone. “Can I stay? I promise I won’t bother her,” he said softly but impulsively. He blushed as he tried to ignore Junhyung, who was staring at him, looking only to see if the doctor would grant his request. The doctor nodded after a brief hesitation, giving him a curious look as he did so.

The boy sighed as the others filed out of the room one by one, settling as comfortably as he could on the hard chair beside the bed. His gaze took in the ghostly cast of her face, the way her arms were flung out to either side, lingering on her slightly open lips, so kissable. He shook his head. Now, why did he think that? He was only there so she wouldn’t wake up alone, so she wouldn’t be scared, like the doctor said. At least, that’s what he told himself.

Junhyung wouldn’t be happy.

***

“You young men all heard what Da Eun said in there before she fainted, right?” Dr. Kibum asked.

“Yeah.”

“Yes.”

“Uh huh.”

“Course.”

The doctor stared at Junhyung when he didn’t reply. The younger man looked away first.

“Yeah, I did,” he muttered, sullen.

The doctor nodded, satisfied. “And do you understand what that means?”

 The boys looked confused, except for Junhyung. “Yeah. She has no money, and no next of kin, so she can’t pay the bill.”

“What bill?” Yoseob asked.

“The hospital bill, babo,” Doojoon smacked him lightly on the shoulder, a little subdued.

“You’re right-“ Dr. Kibum began, but was interrupted by Gikwang.

“So who’s going to pay it?”

It seemed like the older man didn’t hear the question, because he continued with what he was saying.

“She said she was looking for work as a housekeeper?” He demanded, eyes intense.

“Um, yeah, at hyung’s place,” Dongwoon answered, disoriented at the sudden change of topic.

“And the six of you brought her here?”

This time the five of them nodded in unison.

“Well, that settles it.”

They looked confused. “Um. How?”

“You’re paying the bill.” He said calmly.

Their eyes widened. Even Junhyung pushed away from the wall he was leaning against to stand next to Yoseob. “What?”

“And hiring her.”

“WHAT?”

“Because if she was employed by you, you would be obligated to pay her medical bills.”

“But she’s not employed by us!” Doojoon replied, a little incensed.

“Oh yes she is.” His tone brooked no argument.

“How-”

“As of now she is.”

“We don’t even live together!”

“Okay, who’s place was she at when she fainted?”

“No no no no no, guys-” Gikwang waved his hands futilely, alarmed.

“Gikwang hyung’s place,” Dongwoon repeated his earlier words as the other three pointed.

“So it’s settled. Da Eun is employed by Gikwang, and he is now responsible for her welfare. Good day.” Dr. Kibum turned and was walking away when he stopped. “I almost forgot. The results of the examination showed that Da Eun’s fainting spell was a combination of dehydration, acute hunger, and emotional trauma, as I said before. That means you have to make sure she eats, even if she doesn’t want to, and drinks lots of water. And don’t say anything that could possibly affect her emotions adversely. You can bring her home as soon as she wakes up. Now, I have other patients to check on.”

In shock, the boys could only stare after him. Dongwoon squeaked a small “Annyeonghaseyo” and trailed off. Gikwang groaned. It wasn’t the housekeeping wage that bothered him; it would barely make a dent in his fortune. It was the injustice of having a housekeeper foisted on him. The penthouse wasn’t really that dirty anyway.

“Yah, at least your place will be clean from now on,” Yoseob said brightly.

“Yeah, and she’s gorgeous, too,” Doojoon pointed out, a tad jealous. He still hadn’t gotten over her rejection.

“Yah-” Dongwoon pushed his hyung, an unfamiliar feeling threatening to burst his chest.

“Yah, what? You like her?” His hyung smirked.

“No! I mean, n-nothing…” The maknae stuttered, flushing.

Junhyung said not a word, just clapping Gikwang on the back in a way that let him know he felt sorry for him.

“Yah, guys, I gotta get to the club. Kwangie, good luck.” He could be heard snickering as he walked away, swaggering with his hands in his pockets.

Gikwang stood in the middle of the hallway, still shell-shocked. The sudden change in the situation almost gave him whiplash.

“Come on, let’s go get a coffee before we go back,” Doojoon and Yoseob steered their dongseng towards the direction of the hospital canteen, trailed after blankly by Dongwoon.

“So, how are you gonna do this?” Doojoon asked conversationally. “I mean, obviously you gotta give her a place to sleep.”

Gikwang showed no reaction except to drag his feet even more.

“Don’t make me carry you, Kwangie. People might get the wrong idea.”

Yoseob giggled at the image. “Hyung, carry him!”

Doojoon sighed. If that was how it was gonna work… He stooped a little and grabbed his dongseng’s legs. Yup, a fireman’s carry. He wasn’t going to carry him in his arms. No way. Plus, this would wake him up a little.

Sure enough, as soon as Gikwang was thrown up and over his friend’s shoulder, he let out a shrill scream and started pounding on his back. Yoseob and Dongwoon flinched and looked around, then started laughing.

Doojoon winced. Those workouts sure were effective.

“I’m going to drop you,” he warned. The two others drew a breath. Yoseob reached an arm out as if to catch his dongseng, but it was too late.

Instead of covering his head as he fell, Gikwang stretched his arms out and caught himself in a handstand, biceps flexing. As he did so, he propelled his legs forward and flipped up onto his feet, face a little red from the blood flow.

The others stared. Well, Yoseob and Dongwoon stared. Doojoon just looked unimpressed. “I knew there was something going on when you asked where the yoga mats were.”

Gikwang blushed. “Yeah, well,” he ran his fingers through his hair, a little shy.

“Yah, Kwangie…” Yoseob shook his head. He was impressed despite himself. Gikwang never finished anything he started. Those violin lessons he’d taken for a month, that online English course he’d cancelled after two days, his weeklong vegan phase; the list went on and on. He clapped his dongseng on the back like a proud father. A thought struck him. “But what you wanna learn that for?”

“N-nothing,” Gikwang stuttered.

“Yah!” Yoseob teased.

“Nothing!” Gikwang repeated, more firmly this time. “Come on! They already left! We gotta hurry if we wanna get back before she wakes up…”