"I'm late!" Yeong Hwa groaned as she rushed down the sidewalk at a dead sprint, trying to reach the Kim household at the speed of light. She hadn't meant to sleep in so late, but somehow the time had just seemed to get away from her. She blamed having to sneak to the bank just before it closed every night for her lack of sleep. Of course if she would just work up the courage to tell Myung Soo about having found the bank number then sneaking around wouldn't be such a necessity...

"No," she thought, and would have sighed if it hadn't been for the lack of breath from running. Of course she couldn't tell Myung Soo about having discovered where the money had been this whole time. She had made him perform in a subway station, for crying out loud! He would kill her if he found out that it hadn't been a necessary thing. Or at the very least he would mock her for the rest of the summer, which was a fate worse than death.

Panting for breath, Yeong Hwa came to the doorstep of the Kim household and practically had to crawl up the small three steps. It seemed like trying to conquer Mount Everest, though! By the time she reached the top, Yeong Hwa barely had the strength to remain upright as she headed for the door. Just a few more steps, though, and she would be inside the nicely airconditioned house and able to collapse on the couch. Surely the twins would be eating lunch or something right now, giving her enough time to regain her strength before-

"You're late," Myung Soo scolded as the door suddenly open to reveal his glowering face. Instantly Yeong Hwa froze, her eyes widening to the size of saucers as she stared open-mouthed at the devil before her. Neither teenager spoke, waiting for the other to make the first move.

"I have a good reason," Yeong Hwa defended the second she regained her senses. Rolling his eyes, Myung Soo nodded his head reluctantly and gestured for her to continue. Feeling more bold than she should have, Yeong Hwa straightened out her shoulders and frowned fiercely at him. "You see, I had to go... somewhere last night in order to do... things, so..." her voice trailed off as Myung Soo's disapproving gaze leveled on her. He obviously wasn't buying a single world of her excuse.

"That really is a good reason!" Myung Soo exclaimed, the sarcasm dripping like venom from his voice as he slowly applauded Yeong Hwa. Feeling heat rushing into her face, Yeong Hwa pushed the annoying Kingka out of her way as she stalked inside of the house. Behind her, Myung Soo chuckled with dry humor and closed the door. "I'm amazed by your-"

"Drop it," Yeong Hwa threatened, rounding angrily on Myung Soo and pointing her finger right between his eyes. Unfazed, Myung Soo shrugged his shoulders and moved to walk past her. "Listen, I don't have to put up with your crap!" Yeong Hwa snapped, reaching out and grabbing a fistful of Myung Soo's shirt. Raising his eyebrows, Myung Soo looked down pointedly at her hand.

"Please let go," he said, looking up at her through his eyelashes as his tone turned dangerous. Clenching her teeth, Yeong Hwa tried to shove Myung Soo up against the wall. He was a lot stronger than she had predicted, though, and she only managed in throwing herself off balance. Taking his opportunity, Myung Soo grabbed both of Yeong Hwa's shoulders and pushed her back until she was pressed against the wall. Still Yeong Hwa didn't release her grip on his t-shirt, though, instead using it to pull him in close until their faces were inches apart.

"You know my reputation, and you've seen what I can do. Are you sure you want to mess with me?" she hissed, glaring straight through his eyes and into his soul. At least, assuming the jerk actually was in possession of a soul which, at this point, Yeong Hwa seriously doubted!

"You're not very strong, y'know," Myung Soo replied, cocking his head slightly to the side as he evaluated her. "Just how did you manage to become the 'Warrior Princess', anyway? Certainly not by brute force," he continued pressing, poking at he biceps as though checking for muscles. Inflamed, Yeong Hwa roughly pushed at Myung Soo in order to try and get him to bugger off. Her efforts were for nothing, though, and Myung Soo only managed to press himself closer against her until there was literally half a centimeter between their bodies.

"Opaaaaaaa!" Seo Hyeon suddenly shrieked from the living room, her voice the embodiment of terror. Eyes locking, it only took a second of silent communication before the two teenagers disengaged from their fighting and raced to reach Seo Hyeon. Myung Soo was the first one inside, but was nearly thrown to the floor by Yeong Hwa as she bumped into him on her way into the living room.

"Are you two alright?" Myung Soo asked, glaring momentarily over his shoulder at Yeong Hwa before hurrying over to sit beside Seo Hyeon. Shivering, the little girl crawled onto Myung Soo's lap and buried her face into his chest. Cooing words of comfort, he wrapped his arms tightly around her and glanced over questioningly at Yeong Hwa.

Angrily, she pointed to the television screen. Flashing in vivid color was a scene of vicious bloody combat as a woman attempted to fend of zombies, to no avail. Soon the woman was overpowered, and her screams echoed loudly through the room as she was visibly ripped limb from limb. Even Yeong Hwa felt squeamish as she watched the scene, but her anger kept her in full function as she turned off the movie and switched to a children's channel. Soon Pororo's face filled the screen, and Seo Hyeon was able to disengage herself from Myung Soo's arms. Yoogeun, who had been hiding behind the couch cushions during this, also came out from his hiding place and began to watch the beloved children's show.

"Myung Soo-ssi? A word, please," Yeong Hwa asked sweetly, her face contorted into a tense smile as she gestured for Myung Soo to follow her out into the hall. Sighing reluctantly, the Kingka slowly obeyed. As soon as the living room door was closed and Yeong Hwa was sure the twins were absorbed in Pororo, she rounded on Myung Soo with the fury of a thousand scorned woman behind her.

"You idiot!" She hissed, jabbing her finger into Myung Soo's chest. This time the Kingka seemed intimidated by Yeong Hwa's anger, and actually cringed away slightly as she advanced on him. "How could you be so incredibly irresponsible as to let them watch something like that! Do you have any idea what that could do to them? They'll be having nightmares for weeks! You moron! You absolute fool! Weren't you paying any attention to what your own siblings were doing? Don't you care at all about them? How could you possibly-"

"I get it!" Myung Soo snapped, bringing Yeong Hwa's rant to an abrupt halt. "I'm not the one getting paid to take care of them, though! That's your job!" he continued, pointing angrily at her.

"I'm not their older brother! Blood takes precedence over money!" Yeong Hwa countered, gesturing angrily at Myung Soo. Unable to form a suitable counter, Myung Soo simply blew out his cheeks irritably and stormed upstairs to his bedroom. Yeong Hwa might have found his little display cute if she wasn't so angry, but as things stood she could only glare holes into Myung Soo's back as she watched him leave.

"That moron. Out of all the things he could of- AISH!"  Yeong Hwa thought, throwing her arms up into the air.

The repercussions of Myung Soo's inattentiveness weren't felt until the evening arrived, but when they came they came tenfold...

"NOOOOOOO!" Yoogeun screeched, his fist flying out and nearly striking Yeong Hwa right on the nose. Jerking her head away, she held the little boy at arm's length as his limbs out like a puppet being controlled by a drunk marionette. "No bed! NO BED!" he continued, his face beginning to go red from the exertion of forcing angry air out of his lungs. This was how it had been for the past two hours as the usually amicable Yoogeun suddenly turned into the reincarnation of one of Satan's demons.

"With the Devil himself being the older brother," Yeong Hwa thought, catching Myung Soo's eye as he passed by her and tried to sneak into his bedroom. This wasn't the first time the trouble maker had tried balking away from accepting the consequences of his actions, but each time Yeong Hwa had stopped him with rising ferocity. This time, she used her foot to kick one of the twins' many small soccer balls at Myung Soo with surprising accuracy.

Jumping out of the way, Myung Soo glared at Yeong Hwa as she gestured with one finger for him to come and join her. Shaking his head, Myung Soo continued to proceed down the hall as though she hadn't attempted to call him over. She had known that her threats would eventually stop scaring him into obedience, but she had been hoping it would be after Yoogeun crashed from exhaustion. After all, he couldn't scream all night...

"Oh God no," Yeong Hwa thought as Yoogeun worked up a particularly earth-shattering wail.

"Kim Myung Soo get your back over here!" Yeong Hwa scolded, hurrying after him to try and intercept his progress before he could get into his room. She had learned early on that he had a lock on his door, and the second that door shut she knew that he would keep her permanently out. Then she would be stuck with a wailing kid all night, on her own.

It was bad enough she had to sneak out every night just to get money to help raise the twins, and their worthless older brother; she was not going to be stuck with Yoogeun all night. Even a warrior princess needs her beauty sleep!

"Last I checked, I was in charge here," Myung Soo pointed out, patting his pocket meaningfully. Inside, Yeong Hwa could see the bulge of his cell phone. He did have a point there... no sense in annoying Myung Soo. He had been pretty patient with her, after all. Any of the other Kingkas would have turned her in by now, with how crappy a maid Yeong Hwa was turning out to be. Well, probably not Sung Jong. So far he had managed to keep the secret quite nicely, in fact. Still, that was only two of the seven. She had been lucky to get stuck with-

He was playing head games with her!

"I'm the one who does all the work here!" she protested, holding Yoogeun out at arm's length as she approached Myung Soo. Then, abruptly, he came to a stop and turned to face Yeong Hwa. Expecting the worst, Yeong Hwa was able to hit the brakes and come to a halt right in front of Myung Soo. "Well... it's true!" Yeong Hwa snapped, her courage losing momentum under Myung Soo's baleful glare.

"What do you want me to do?" Myung Soo sighed, running his tongue over his lips irritably.

"Watch him so I can go home!" Yeong Hwa demanded, pushing Yoogeun into Myung Soo's arms. Instantly the Kingka spread his arms wide so that it would be impossible for him to accept his little brother. Shaking his head emphatically, Myung Soo signaled that this was not going to be an option.

Exhaling slowly, Yeong Hwa rolled her eyes upward and tried to resist the urge to simply drop Yoogeun and force Myung Soo to take the stupid kid. The likelihood of Myung Soo having good enough reflexes for that was nil, though, so such a maneuver would only resist in even more screaming. That was definitely not something Yeong Hwa wanted.

"Fine. Useless jerk," Yeong Hwa hissed, turning sharply around and stalking back to Yoogeun's room. Shrugging his shoulders, Myung Soo pushed open his bedroom door and hurried inside.

Some help he turned out to be!

"Yoogeun, could you please just try and fall asleep? Noona needs to go home and-"

"NO!" Yoogeun retorted, interrupting Yeong Hwa before she could even finish her thought and drying up what little patience she had left. Tilting her head back, Yeong Hwa exhaled slowly and marched over to Yoogeun's bed. Sensing that he was going to sleep one way or another, Yoogeun began struggling valiantly against Yeong Hwa's grasp as she tried to force him down onto his bed.

"No BED!" Yoogeun roared, wrapping his legs tightly around Yeong Hwa's waist and clinging to her like a monkey to a palm tree. Groaning, Yeong Hwa tried to carefully maneuver him onto the bed without accidentally hurting him. That was the problem with fighting little kids. If it were Myung Soo that was causing such a fuss she wouldn't hesitate to manhandle him into bed, maybe even giving him a few "accidental" bruises while she was at it. If she hurt Yoogeun she would honestly feel bad, though, and so she had to avoid doing anything that would inflict even the most miniscule amounts of pain.

The tiny terror, on the other hand, had no qualms about beating the living daylight out of Yeong Hwa. "No, NO, NO!" Yoogeun screeched, his fist flying out and catching Yeong Hwa in the eye. Crying out, she quickly slackened her grip on Yoogeun and stumbled backwards to try and avoid any further flying fists. Taking advantage of this moment, Yoogeun wrapped his arms tightly around Yeong Hwa's midsection and held on for dear life as she landed heavily on her backside.

Biting back the urge to cry, Yeong Hwa clasped one hand over her watering eye and used the other to try and pry Yoogeun off her. His small stature possessed an incredible amount of strength as he tightened his grip on Yeong Hwa. She could barely nudge him, let alone pry him off entirely. The fact that she only had one hand available wasn't helping, either.

"Yoogeun! It is time for bed!" Yeong Hwa barked, attempting to frighten the boy into submission. She knew it was dirty to use something like that against a little kid, but her nerves were frayed and she no longer cared. He had tried to blind her, for crying out loud!

"No!" Yoogeun barked back, sounding more like a Chihuahua than anything else. "No bed! No monsters!" he continued protesting, burying his face in Yeong Hwa's front. Sighing heavily, Yeong Hwa wrapped her arms around Yoogeun, intent on ripping him off if it was the last thing she did. The only thing that stopped her was Yoogeun's sudden trembling. Freezing, Yeong Hwa listened closely and could barely hear Yoogeun's muffled crying as he pressed his face further into her shirt.

"He really is scared," Yeong Hwa thought, adjusting her grip to be more comforting as she hugged him tightly. "Zombies?" She asked gently, rubbing Yoogeun's head as he nodded.

"They'll eat me!" he suddenly wailed, pulling his face back and looking right into Yeong Hwa's. His eyes were bright red and puffy from crying, and his nose was running like a waterfall. Despite the circumstances, Yeong Hwa couldn't help but worry that some of that snot had rubbed off on her shirt.

"Gross," she thought, ruffling Yoogeun's hair and giving him a confident smile. "I'll keep the zombies away," she promised, flexing her arm to show him how strong she was. Warily Yoogeun reached out and touched Yeong Hwa's arm to check just how many muscles were there, and quickly pulled his hand away in surprise when he realized that her arms actually were rather buff. Although she believed that girls should have delicate legs, she still tried to keep herself at least a little strong. After all, she was expected to be the toughest, nastiest rebel in the entire school. Spaghetti arms just didn't cut it when you had to hold that much weight on your shoulders.

"But what if they get you?" Yoogeun whispered, still not convinced that Yeong Hwa would be able to fend off any zombies. Frowning thoughtfully, Yeong Hwa's eyes trailed around his bedroom for some sort of inspiration. Well, at least her one good eye. The other was still trying to come back from Yoogeun's vicious attack.

"Myung Soo can stand guard with me!" She settled on, grinning at Yoogeun as she pointed in the Hyung's bedroom. "Revenge," she thought maliciously, her smile turning smug as Yoogeun left her lap and hurried out to inform Myung Soo of his new job. Chuckling silently, Yeong Hwa stood and followed Yoogeun out into the hall.

"Hyung! You need to help Noona!" Yoogeun demanded, pounding on Myung Soo's door with one fist. Inside, Yeong Hwa could hear the sound of running water. She hadn't know that Myung Soo had his own bathroom... the lucky bastard. She was forced to make do with one bathroom that was the size of a soda can! Seriously, you practically had to stand on the toilet just to use it! "The zombies are coming!" Yoogeun continued, his fist's rhythmic beating against the bedroom door increasing in pace as Yoogeun grew more impatient.

"Hyung! Hyung! Hyu-" Yoogeun was cut off mid-repetition as the door suddenly opened to reveal a half dressed, irritated Myung Soo.

"He thinks he's annoyed? How about Mr. Entitlement tries actually doing some real work for once?" Yeong Hwa thought, frowning at Myung Soo over Yoogeun's head. Glancing up, Myung Soo caught her look. A warning glare flashed across his face for half a second before he looked back down at Yoogeun, his face returning to one of mild disgruntlement.

She wished she could ignore his warning, but Yeong Hwa knew that he was dead serious. Myung Soo could have a worse temper than her when he wanted, and he was absolutely terrible at controlling it. She hadn't even lived with him for an entire month and already she knew to steer clear of Myung Soo when he was in a funk.

"The zombies will get Noona if you don't help!" Yoogeun informed Myung Soo, his voice garbled as he tried to hurry and relay the crisis to his beloved older brother. Furrowing his eyebrows together, Myung Soo looked up at Yeong Hwa to try and get a translation. Slowly she mouthed the words "zombies" and "guard duty", but this didn't seem to help his comprehension. Giving up, Yeong Hwa shrugged her shoulders. "Make sure the zombies don't get me!" Yoogeun tried again, forcing himself to speak more clearly so that Myung Soo would understand him.

"Zombies? That's why you've been freaking out?" Myung Soo asked incredulously, holding his face in both hands and sighing heavily. Chuckling quietly, Yeong Hwa covered with her hand in order to stifle the noise.

"They eated people!" Yoogeun exclaimed, not sure why his big brother was having trouble understanding the dire situation. "Nom, nom, nom!" he continued, trying to explain the situation in a more clear way.

Unable to hold it in anymore, Yeong Hwa had to press her fist into to keep from bursting out laughing. Her sides heaved as she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to think of something serious. Yoogeun would be offended if she laughed at him, but... it was so hard! His nomming was just... another wave of giggles overcame Yeong Hwa, forcing her to cough violently in an attempt to keep herself from laughing.

"Alright. I'll keep the zombies away," Myung Soo agreed, his voice cracking slightly as he tried not to laugh. Nodding solemnly, Yoogeun turned and walked into his room. Still coughing, Yeong Hwa nudged Myung Soo in the proper direction before following Yoogeun to his bedroom. Nodding, Myung Soo followed suit.

"Here," Yoogeun said, handing Yeong Hwa a bright yellow plastic baseball bat the second she came into the room. Surprised, she accepted the "weapon" and weighed it in her hands. Beside her, Myung Soo rolled his eyes and leaned closer.

"You know we aren't actually fighting zombies," he pointed out condescendingly, gesturing to the baseball bat Yeong Hwa was now experimentally swinging.

"Really?" Yeong Hwa asked with mock surprise, her voice dripping sarcasm as she used the bat to lightly tap Myung Soo on the head. "I never would have guessed."

Before Myung Soo could reply, Yoogeun had procured another "weapon" from his stash of toys and was handing it to Myung Soo. "Be careful," Yoogeun told him solemnly, handing Myung Soo a tennis racket. Turning her head away so that Yoogeun couldn't see her face, Yeong Hwa's shoulders began to quiver as she tried not to laugh. Embarrassed, Myung Soo quickly took the racket from Yoogeun and muttered a quick thank you.

"Now let's get you in bed," Yeong Hwa told Yoogeun, resting a hand lightly on his back and directing him towards his bed. This time, World War III did not commence and Yoogeun crawled into bed without protest. Smiling, Yeong Hwa pulled the blankets over him and tucked Yoogeun in tightly. Snuggling down, Yoogeun pulled the covers up to his chin as exhaustion suddenly hit him like a truck.

"Goodnight," Yeong Hwa cooed, brushing away a stray strand of black hair from Yoogeun's face and exposing his forehead. Nodding wearily, Yoogeun closed his eyes as Yeong Hwa bent down and brushed her lips against the bare spot on his forehead. Her lips felt rough against his skin, but Yoogeun seemed to have to problem with the display of affection.

"It's not even a month and already I love him," Yeong Hwa thought, backing slowly towards the door. As she approached, Myung Soo flipped off the lights and left the room pitch black except for a faint yellow light coming from the Poporo night light in the room's corner. Once she was outside, Yeong Hwa closed the door quietly.

She could go home now and then come back early in the morning. Yoogeun would never known that she had been gone...

"Nope," she muttered, sitting down on the wooden floor with her back against Yoogeun's door.

"Well, goodnight," Myung Soo yawned, giving Yeong Hwa a small wave goodbye as he began walking towards his bedroom. Pursing her lips, Yeong Hwa in a deep breath.

"Hey, stupid Oppa," she began darkly, pointing directly between Myung Soo's eyes. Pausing, he looked down at her questioningly. "Get the hell over here," she ordered, turning her hand over and beckoning Myung Soo with her finger. Sighing, Myung Soo followed her direction and crouched down in front of her.

"Hey, I'm the boss here," he muttered, reaching out and tugging on Yeong Hwa's cheeks. Embarrassed at the way Myung Soo was treating her, Yeong Hwa swatted his hand away. Smiling tiredly, Myung Soo watched as Yeong Hwa pouted and rubbed at her now sore cheeks. She could be pretty cute, when she was offended like that.

"Yeong Hwa? Cute?" Myung Soo thought, raising his eyebrows. "I must be more tired than I thought," he decided, beginning to stand so that he could go to bed. Yeong Hwa wasn't about to let him worm his way out of guard duty, though, and instantly her hand shot out to grab the sleeve of Myung Soo's pajama top. Sighing, he looked down at her to see if she could come up with a last minute argument that would sway him.

"Please?" she muttered, unable to bring herself to look at his eyes.

"What?" Myung Soo asked, trying not to laugh at his triumph. Letting out an exaggerated sigh, Yeong Hwa looked up ferociously at Myung Soo. She was giving up her pride, yes, but she damn well wasn't going to do it the easy way!

"Please, Kim Myung Soo-sshi" she repeated, her voice much more resilient this time. Even when she was submitting to his will she managed to somehow remain fiercely independent. It was an admirable quality, but one that Myung Soo felt Yeong Hwa used too much. Sometimes, letting go of your independence, even for just a little while, would make someone more well-liked. Especially in girls. Boys liked girls who were a little dependent on the guy. It made them feel like they were needed.

"Am I seriously even considering this sort of thing? ...I really need sleep," he thought, sitting down reluctantly beside Yeong Hwa. "I'm not doing this because you said please. I'm doing this because I'm worried about what you'll do to Yoogeun in his sleep," Myung Soo said defensively, noticing the smug smirk that was spreading across Yeong Hwa's face. Instantly the smirk was replaced by indignancy, opening in order to protest against Myung Soo's comment.

"Sssh. Let's just not talk to each other," Myung Soo cooed, resting a finger on Yeong Hwa's lips. Surprised by this sudden closeness, Yeong Hwa jerked her head away and turned her back to Myung Soo. She seemed to be pouting a lot tonight. Maybe something happened? "Whatever. I'm not about to worry over some stupid babysitter's problems," he thought, shrugging his shoulders and resting his chin on his knees.

The silence that ensued was not entirely unwelcome for Yeong Hwa. It was good to not hear that idiotic Kingka's voice for once, especially since he seemed hell bent on making her life miserable tonight. Honestly, it was his little brother that had put up so much of a fuss. At the very least Myung Soo should be the only one sitting out here, but Yeong Hwa had been kind enough to give up her night in order to keep him company. Sitting outside Yoogeun's door was going to get old real fast, after all. Having someone to talk to would be a good way to alleviate the boredom.

"Of course we'll probably end up fighting the whole time," she thought, hunching her shoulders and sighing. Yeong Hwa didn't even know why they hated each other so much. Besides he being a member of the elite and she a lowly rebel, there wasn't any reason for them to dislike each other. Heck, this was the first time they had ever been in each other's presence for longer than a few minutes. The only reason she hated him was because, well, that was just what was expected of her.

Glancing casually over her shoulder, Yeong Hwa caught a glimpse of Myung Soo. "Is it the same for him?" She thought, watching as Myung Soo attempted to balance his tennis racket on one finger. It wasn't going so well. Each time he managed to get it to stay on his finger, he ended up jerking his hand about and overcorrecting, sending the tennis racket tumbling to the floor. Chewing absentmindedly on her lip, Yeong Hwa silently cheered on Myung Soo.

"You shouldn't do that," Myung Soo suddenly scolded, looking over at Yeong Hwa. She hadn't realized he knew she was watching! "It's why your lips look so ugly," he continued, gesturing with his free hand towards . Flustered, Yeong Hwa covered with one hand and narrowed her eyes at him.

"My lips are not ugly!" She defended, her voice muffled by her hand.

"They're chapped and covered in scabs. That's called u-g-l-y," Myung Soo chuckled, slowly annunciating "ugly". "Guys won't want to kiss them," he finished, trying once more to balance the tennis racket on his finger. Yeong Hwa wouldn't have been bothered so much by this whole conversation topic if it weren't for how casually Myung Soo was speaking. It was like crushing a girl's self-esteem was simply routine for him!

"Idiot," Yeong Hwa hissed, trying to keep the hurt out of her eyes. Every girl cared about her looks, and Yeong Hwa was no exception. To have someone so viciously tear into her, and then not show a single ounce of remorse or caring... it was annoying. Really annoying.

Shrugging his shoulders, Myung Soo brushed off her attempted insult as casually as he would a fly. Pressing her lips tightly together, Yeong Hwa turned her back on Myung Soo once more. After a few seconds of silence, Myung Soo spoke up again, "are you alright?"

"Pardon?" Yeong Hwa asked, unsure if she had heard him right.

"I asked if you were alright," Myung Soo repeated, his voice disgruntled. Slowly Yeong Hwa turned her head so that she could look at Myung Soo and make sure this wasn't some sort of a joke. One minute he was scolding her for chewing on her lips, and then the next he was asking if she was alright? Was the guy schizophrenic or something?!

"You've been off all day," Myung Soo explained when he noticed Yeong Hwa's disbelief. "I mean... idiot? Is that really the best you could come up with?"

"Now your making fun of my insults?" Yeong Hwa groaned, rolling her eyes. Myung Soo hesitated a second before nodding slowly. "You really are a moron," she muttered, turning away from Myung Soo for the third time in the past fifteen minutes.

"See! Normally you would have hit me, or yelled, or... something. You're not supposed to be so passive," Myung Soo exclaimed, pointing towards Yeong Hwa.

"So you want me to be violent," Yeong Hwa stated dully.

"Well... no," Myung Soo admitted, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. While it was weird having Yeong Hwa act so calm, it also wasn't entirely unwelcome. Of course he liked not having to worry about her yelling at him, or even lashing out with her fists, but it also made things too peaceful. He had gotten used to having her be so lively, so having her act like this was unsettling.

"I'm fine," Yeong Hwa lied, smiling tightly at Myung Soo.

Yeong Hwa pressed her pillow down further on her ears as her cell phone's incessant ringing penetrated the peaceful morning. She hated when people called her so early in the day! Honestly, why couldn't they just wait until later in the day, when Yeong Hwa would be awake enough to carry on a decent conversation? Was it really that hard to be just a little patient? To respect someone else's sleep?

When the phone finally stopped, Yeong Hwa sighed in relief and tried to fall back asleep. Her brain had already perked up too much for that, though. "Why?" Yeong Hwa groaned, tossing her pillow angrily across the room. Rolling over, she blearily poked her head over the top of her dresser to check who the number belonged to. She already had a pretty good idea, since she had given her number to only one idiot, but it was still best to make sure that the stupid Kingka was the one calling.

"5... 48... 227- Dad?!" Yeong Hwa screeched as she recognized the phone number. "! ! !" she cursed, frantically flipping open the cellphone and hitting the call back button. As her heart began to pound painfully against her chest in anticipation, Yeong Hwa held the cell phone to her ear with one shaking hand. It had been forever since she last heard from her dad, and yet she had so easily ignored his call. Granted, she hadn't know that it was him, but still...

"Your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice messaging system..." the emotionless woman's voice droned as the phone stopped ringing. With it came the ceasing of Yeong Hwa's heart as it dropped into her stomach, where it burned up in her stomach acids.

She missed him...

"Hey... stupid maid!" Myung Soo barked, waving a hand in front of Yeong Hwa's face. Jumping slightly at the sudden intrusion into her memory, Yeong Hwa jerked her head away from Myung Soo's hand and slammed it against the door. Whimpering, she wrapped her arms around the back of her head as the beginnings of a goose egg began. "You okay?" Myung Soo asked, leaning over so that his face was in front of hers. He seemed genuinely concerned about her...

"Weird," Yeong Hwa thought, turning her face away from Myung Soo's worried eyes. The last thing she needed right now was a debate over her possible, but highly unlikely, attraction to Myung Soo.

"I'm fine. Just spaced out a minute there," Yeong Hwa insisted, waving off Myung Soo's concerns. He didn't believe her, but was generous enough to not press the subject any further. She would have thanked him for it, but that would only confirm that there was something she was hiding from him. "I guess I'm more tired than I-"

Yeong Hwa was cut off by a sudden crash out in the alleyway. Freezing, she craned her ears to try and pick up any further noises. Beside her, Myung Soo was doing the same. When nothing else happened, the two's eyes met for a brief second before both stood in unison and sprinted towards the stairs. Suddenly, she was very grateful for the bat Yoogeun had provided her with.

"Do you think it's a burglar?" Yeong Hwa whispered as she followed Myung Soo to the back door. "It wouldn't be surprising. If somebody found out that Ahjumma and Ahjusshi aren't here right now, they might think it would be easy to steal whatever they wanted," she continued, her voice rising in panic as the suspect of a burglar turned into a very possible reality.

"It's probably nothing," Myung Soo insisted, but his voice was also tight with nerves. When they reached the door, Myung Soo tightened his grip on the tennis racket and slowly poked his head outside. Glancing around, he tried to see through the pitch blackness. Nothing was jumping out at him as suspicious, but that wasn't surprising considering he wouldn't even be able to see his own hand if it were right in his face.

"Or it could be a demon," Yeong Hwa mused, sounding even more worried about that then a human burglar. Drawing his head back in, Myung Soo looked at her incredulously. "What?!" Yeong Hwa snapped quietly, getting defensive as Myung Soo showed signs of poking fun at her. Rolling his eyes, Myung Soo slipped through the back door and began to investigate the noise. Yeong Hwa followed closely behind, her imagination running wild with images of salivating demons intent on and murdering her.

Back to back, the two teenagers slowly scanned the entire sliver of backyard before finally coming to the alley. Shivering from both fear and the cool summer air, Yeong Hwa poked her head over Myung Soo's shoulder as they stood at the mouth of the alley. The stretch of concrete was only ten feet long at most, and maybe three or four across, but this late at night it was just as imposing as a tunnel to the center of the Earth.

"You want to go first?" Myung Soo asked, his voice betraying only the slightest bit of fear. "After all, you are the one who prides herself on knowing how to fight," he pointed out, a little ashamed with himself for baiting Yeong Hwa into going first. As the man it was him who should be going first, especially considering this wasn't even her house, but sometimes chivalry got kicked to the curb by common sense. After all, if Yeong Hwa got stabbed then he, with his strength, would be able to take care of whoever had done the stabbing.

"It's just common sense," he reasoned as Yeong Hwa, taking the bait, made her way into the alley. Nervously, Myung Soo remained at the entrance and watched as she was soon swallowed up by the deep black shadows that hid whatever else was inside. "So? What's in there?" Myung Soo asked, craning his neck to try and get a better view of the alley.

"Garbage," Yeong Hwa replied. "Looks like something knocked over some of the cans," she sighed, sounding a little disappointed at the lack of some terrifying thing.

"Do you know what that something is?" Myung Soo asked, still not able to brave the alleyway.

"Yup. I'm just being vague in order to annoy you," Yeong Hwa responded sarcastically, the sound of her righting the garbage cans accompanying her voice. "And no, I'm not being serious," she added, apparently feeling the need to clarify.

"I know," Myung Soo retorted, bracing himself to go inside the alley and help Yeong Hwa clean up the spilled garbage. He didn't get that chance, though.

"What is this?" Yeong Hwa mumbled, reaching down to poke at a mysterious form lying on the ground. Instantly the form expanded into a hissing, yellow eyed demon. Swatting at her hand with its claws and creating painful red scratches on the skin, the demon lunged towards Yeong Hwa for the attack. Screaming, she dropped the baseball bat and sprinted out of the alley towards Myung Soo.

"What?! What?!" He asked as she buried her face in his chest. "Yeong Hwa, what happened?!"

"There's a demon! It's a damn demon!" Yeong Hwa wailed, beginning to cry as the mixture of exhaustion and fear suddenly hit her full force. Unsure of how to react to this sudden show of weakness, Myung Soo cautiously wrapped one arm around her shoulders. It wasn't often he found himself comforting a girl who could easily break his neck if she wanted.

As they stood there, one confused and the other having a nervous breakdown, the "demon" in question sauntered out of the alleyway with it's tail flicking proudly. Narrowing his eyes to try and see better, Myung Soo's gaze met that of the fat tom cat's as it glanced over at him and Yeong Hwa. Then, disinterested in the young "couple", the cat disappeared over the fence.

"Yeong Hwa... it was a cat..." Myung Soo tried to explain, awkwardly patting her back. Instantly Yeong Hwa stiffened, her face remaining buried in Myung Soo's shirt. She didn't dare show him her face, now tear stained from having been scared of... of...

"A cat?" Yeong Hwa asked weakly, wishing that she hadn't heard him correctly.

"A cat."

"I'm a moron."

"Kind of," Myung Soo admitted as Yeong Hwa pulled away from his grip and rubbed furiously at her face. Politely, Myung Soo left her to clean herself up and went into the alley. While Yeong Hwa removed all traces of her crying, Myung Soo cleaned up the remaining garbage that had been spilled by the tom cat.

Once this was settled, she followed him quietly back into the house. After locking the door behind them, they headed back upstairs and reclaimed their seats in front of Yoogeun's door. At first neither of them spoke, but eventually Yeong Hwa broke the heavy silence between the pair of them.

"Demons really do exist," she began, rubbing the back of her neck as she avoided Myung Soo's eyes. "And it could have been a demon," she continued, her intent to save some face now becoming apparent.

"It could have," Myung Soo agreed, deciding to humor Yeong Hwa.

"So... do you mind if I-" Yeong Hwa's voice caught in as she quickly buried her face. "Never mind," she quickly said. Curious, Myung Soo poked her shoulder to try and draw her out.

"Never mind what?" He insisted, continuing to poke at her as Yeong Hwa inched away from his reach.

"If I sleep with you," Yeong Hwa's muffled reply said.

"What?!" Myung Soo asked incredulously, his finger freezing mid-poke.

"I don't mean like that, you idiot! I just mean... ARGH!" she groaned, her face momentarily appearing to glare at Myung Soo for having such dirty thoughts. It looked like she was about to cry from being so embarrassed.

"Like... on my shoulder?" Myung Soo hesitantly asked, attempting to salvage the situation before Yeong Hwa did something irrational - like leaving him to guard Yoogeun alone.

"Yeah," Yeong Hwa weakly replied, burying her face once more. Even when her request was clarified, the embarrassment didn't dissipate. For her to say something like that so suddenly... "I am an idiot. A real, class A-"

"Alright," Myung Soo agreed, reaching over and wrapping an arm around Yeong Hwa's shoulders. Before she could try to take back her request, Myung Soo had pulled her in close to him and rested her head on his chest. The second her face made contact with his shirt she turned into a human popsicle, remaining absolutely rigid as Myung Soo tried to make himself comfortable.

"You're just making things even more weird," Myung Soo scolded lightly, feeling just as embarrassed about the situation as Yeong Hwa. Nodding weakly, she loosened up her muscles slightly and adjusted her position until she, too, was comfortable.

Under normal circumstances the two might have remained wide awake due to the embarrassment, but after the stressful encounter with a "demon" both of them were too exhausted to do anything but give in to sleep.

A loud clap of thunder overhead startled Yeong Hwa out of her sleep a few hours later. Stiffening up, she cautiously poked her head out from Myung Soo's embrace and looked up towards the ceiling. Feeling her suddenly moving about, Myung Soo also woke up and blearily looked down at her.

"There's a storm," Yeong Hwa whispered, pointing upwards. "It sounded pretty close, too."

As though to provide evidence for this claim, another clap of thunder rumbled overhead. Myung Soo remained unfazed, though, and simply closed his eyes once more. "Just ignore it," he mumbled, already beginning to drift back to sleep. Nodding slowly, Yeong Hwa snuggled back into his warm embrace and tried to force herself to go back to sleep.
 

Author's Note: This story has sort of been stagnating... I planned on making it a long fanfic, which is why the plot moves slowly, but now I feel like it's moving too slowly... I dunno. I guess I'll keep writing and see where it takes me <-- discovered awesome thingies!