“Mm…” Da Eun murmured sleepily. It was the second time around that she had fainted, and she remembered everything; it was just that her emotions just hadn’t caught up yet. Her eyes shot open as she stretched, her fingers encountering something soft. She glanced over to discover that once again, Hyunseung was next to her, except this time, he was slumped over onto the bed. Her eyes widened. To make the situation even worse, her fingers were tangled in his hair.

“Omo,” she whispered to herself, trying to withdraw her digits without waking the sleeper up. “Da Eun, how do you get yourself into these kinds of situations?” She scolded herself.

She drew a breath and held it as he stirred. Hyunseung slowly and lethargically began to sit up, only to freeze halfway, anchored by Da Eun’s hand.

“Um…” He blinked his eyes free of sleep and peered through his loose hair, assessing the situation. Da Eun was sure her face was bright red. He wrinkled his nose (cutely, she thought, much to her chagrin), confused. His hand explored his head until it found hers, and he gently detached it from his now messy locks, replacing it on the bed.

That dealt with, he looked at Da Eun. “Annyeong again.”

“Annyeong again,” she replied, quietly. “About before,” she began, a little scared to breach the topic.

“Please don’t faint again,” he pleaded, only half teasing.

“I won’t.”

“You promise?” He grinned, holding out his pinky.

That got him an answering smile and a giggle. He blushed shyly as she hooked fingers with him. “I promise.”

Her smile faded all too quickly, and she sighed. “I don’t understand why the six of you are doing all this for me.”

“We’re not, really. All we did was bring you to the hospital,” he denied.

“Let me rephrase, then. I don’t understand why you are doing this for me,” she said, a slight smile curving her lips.

Captivating. “Doing what?”

“Both times I woke up, only you were here waiting.”

“Well… Dr. Kibum said we shouldn’t disturb you, so I guess I didn’t want you to wake up alone and maybe get traumatized,” he explained softly, not making eye contact.

“How sweet, considering you only met me a few hours ago.”

Hyunseung looked up despite himself and got caught by her smiling gaze. He flushed and looked down.

“I’m sorry, but… What’s your name? That other guy’s introduction was a little hasty,” she asked.

“I’m Jang Hyunseung,” he answered, unfazed. “The guy that did the introductions was Yoon Doojoon.”

“And the one that was with you before, when I woke up?”

“Son Dongwoon, our maknae.”

“Oh!” She squeaked, surprised.

Hyunseung looked curious. “What?”

“If he’s the youngest… Are all the rest of you older than me?” She thought out loud.

“Yeah; we saw your records while we were checking you in.”

“And to think I’ve been speaking so familiarly with you; I thought you were younger than me,” she admitted, embarrassed.

“Don’t worry,” he reassured her. “I don’t mind.”

The door opened.

***

“Don’t mind what?” Doojoon inquired brightly, choosing to ignore how Da Eun’s smile vanished and she flinched as he and Dongwoon came in. He was regretting how strong he’d come onto her at the penthouse; it seemed like he’d scared her.

“Speak of the devil,” Hyunseung stated good naturedly. “Da Eun-ssi just found out where she stands in our group. In terms of age,” he explained.

“Oh. And?”

“You were there, weren’t you? When we checked her in?” Hyunseung was surprised.

“Yeah, aren’t we all older than her?”

“’Cept for Woonie,” Hyunseung smirked.

Da Eun was a little taken aback at his transformation. It seemed like Hyunseung alone was completely different from Hyunseung with his friends. She had had but a moment to ponder the fact when the door opened again and both Yoseob and Gikwang entered.

By this time she was practically frozen. And to make matters worse, she discovered that all she was wearing was a flimsy hospital gown.

“Yah, Kwangie,” Doojoon got his attention. “Tell the pretty lady what happened.”

“Hyung!” His dongseng protested. “Why don’t you do it?”

“You’re kidding me. It’s obviously your responsibility,” he shot back.

Da Eun unfroze as soon as she heard him say “pretty lady”. Hospital gown and all, she got ready to rip into him. Who cared if he was her oppa? She wasn’t going to stand for such a derogatory remark. Luckily for him, Hyunseung foresaw the situation and shook his head, gently stopping her with a hand on her arm. His wide Bambi eyes and charming familiarity effectively doused her anger, though she didn’t revert back to her terrified self.

Dongwoon couldn’t help but frown as he watched. Why was hyung touching her? For the first time, he felt a kind of strange, bristling hostility, and he didn’t know what to make of it.

Yoseob noticed his dongseng’s unhappy face and he nudged him, wanting to know why. But as soon as he did so, the latter’s features smoothed out and he denied it. Before his hyung could find out why, Gikwang gave up on arguing and began, haltingly, to explain.

“Um… I decided… I mean… They… We decided that I really do need a housekeeper, so as part of the deal I’m taking care of your hospital bill, and you’ll… um…” He looked uncomfortable. “You’ll live in the penthouse with me.”

Da Eun’s eyes widened and she looked like she’d just been punched in the face. She wanted to start panicking but at a worried glance from Hyunseung, she took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She’d just been hired? Because she’d fainted? She didn’t buy into his “I need a housekeeper” explanation; he obviously didn’t think so. Even so, this was a good thing. She’d been hired! But what about Tony’s rent? She couldn’t just move out without paying, and plus, all her belongings were there.

“How about my apartment?” She asked.

Gikwang looked lost. “Uh…” It was apparent that he hadn’t thought that far.

Doojoon spoke up. “Gikwang will pay the rent that is due, so you can move in today.”

“I’ll have to move my things out of the flat.”

 “I have a car,” Dongwoon volunteered quietly. “I wouldn’t mind helping out.”

“Gomawo,” Da Eun smiled gratefully at him, purposely using informal speech. He blushed at her thanks.

The others, especially Hyunseung, looked like kids with their candy taken away. “I don’t mind either,” Hyunseung added.

“I’ll help,” Yoseob said cheerfully. Three’s a party, he thought. Plus, he should have dibs because he was the one that found the diary, after all. Speaking of which, if he got to help, he could return the diary without her noticing.

“Me too.” Doojoon still hadn’t gotten over being rejected, but Da Eun wasn’t about to become fond of him anytime soon.

Gikwang stood blankly for a few seconds before joining in a little late. “Oh! Yeah, me…”

Da Eun stifled a giggle, but she really only felt comfortable with Dongwoon and Hyunseung. “Kamsahamnida, but I don’t have much to carry,” she refused politely. She didn’t even need help; her lack of money equated to a lack of belongings. “I’ll be fine with just Dongwoon helping.” Also, he was younger, and so easier to talk to.

Gikwang didn’t argue, but the other three protested. Hyunseung was a little hurt. Dongwoon didn’t even really talk to her, like he did.

Doojoon had just been rejected a second time, and he didn’t like it one bit. Why was she making him so… so desperate? He was like a high school boy with a crush. Unacceptable. He had to do something to make her notice him.

“Guys, let’s go back to Kwangie’s place and get Da Eun’s room ready before she comes back,” he suggested abruptly. He corralled Gikwang and Yoseob out ahead of him before towing Hyunseung away, leaving Dongwoon standing awkwardly at the foot of the bed.

Da Eun was a little surprised at the leader’s consideration, but wasn’t willing to forgive him just yet.

“Her room?” Gikwang asked blankly out in the hallway.

“You babo, where did you think she was going to sleep? On your couch?”

“Um…”

“Like I said. Babo.”