"Just ignore it, he says," Yeong Hwa nagged, her hands on her hips as she watched Myung Soo evaluating the air conditioner. "No big deal, he claims."

"I didn't know the lightning would incinerate our air conditioner!" Myung Soo snapped, glaring at Yeong Hwa over the top of the blackened air conditioner. "What are you even doing here? The twins are gone, so there's nobody to babysit!" He demanded, crouching behind the air conditioner and poking half heartedly at the charred bits.

"Well, I can always babysit you," Yeong Hwa chuckled, crossing the roof to join Myung Soo at the air conditioner. From the opposite side, Myung Soo groaned heavily. "Besides, my A/C is broken too," she admitted quietly, not sure if Myung Soo had even heard.

"And this is somehow better?" he asked, gesturing to the machine that separated them. Apparently he had.

Shrugging her shoulders, Yeong Hwa settled on no comment. Frankly, the company that Myung Soo provided was preferable to sitting all by herself at home. Plus, she also wouldn't have to worry about lunch since the refrigerator was still well stocked. Unlike her own, which she had spent most of the previous night emptying of spoiled food. Since she had been eating all her meals that the Kim house she hadn't bothered thinking about her own food.

Now she wished she had. A week's worth of rice pudding had gone completely to waste, turning into a green, moldy mess. A week! Of rice pudding! It was a waste that could be considered more tragic than Romeo and Juliet. At least in Yeong Hwa's book. After all, what could be more delicious than rice pudding?

.... Yup. Nothing.

"So... how are we supposed to fix it?" Yeong Hwa ventured as Myung Soo began trying to pull off one of the panels in order to inspect the inner workings of the crispy A/C. He barely glanced up at her, and even that was just so he could roll his eyes.

Frowning, Yeong Hwa moved over to the other side of the A/C and crouched beside Myung Soo. "Go away," he grunted, nudging her slightly. Not expecting this, Yeong Hwa lost her balance and toppled onto her side. A small yelp escaped her lips as she landed on her shoulder, sending a shock of pain up her nerves, which Myung Soo seemed to find humorous.  Chuckling, he glanced over at her from the corner of his eye, watching as Yeong Hwa tried to repair her hurt pride.

"I was just going to help," Yeong Hwa snapped, sticking her tongue out at Myung Soo as she reclaimed her spot beside him. Rolling his eyes, Myung Soo reluctantly allowed Yeong Hwa to help pry off the cover. At first it seemed like the thing had been welded shut, but after a few tugs and some swearing on Yeong Hwa's part the cover finally came off. As it did so, sparks flew out from the fried electronics inside.

Yelping for the second time in the past two minutes, Yeong Hwa held the panel up in front of her face to act as a makeshift shield. Myung Soo, on the other hand, simply startled a bit, only flinching ever so slightly. Glancing over at Yeong Hwa, Myung Soo's face slowly melded into that of suspicion as he watched her slowly peek over the top of the panel.

"Are you really Yeong Hwa?" he asked, pulling the panel away from her. Surprised, Yeong Hwa looked over at Myung Soo questioningly. "You just seem... different. You're not the same bad- "I'm gonna kill you" kind of girl. Now you're just..." unable to come up with the proper description, Myung Soo simply gestured widely to Yeong Hwa's entire personage.

Nodding slowly and acting as though she understood, Yeong Hwa spread her arms out and looked down at herself. She didn't feel any different, but if Myung Soo said she was acting oddly... he was probably just paranoid. Exhaling heavily, Yeong Hwa shrugged her shoulders. "I don't follow," she sighed, looking back up at Myung Soo.

"You're more feminine."

"I am a girl," Yeong Hwa chuckled, and then took a moment to think about it, "and haven't we had this conversation before?"

"Yeah, the whole... female parts thing," Myung Soo agreed, once more unable to bring himself to use the "proper" term.

Rolling her eyes, Yeong Hwa did it for him, "s, dude. They're s." Blushing, Myung Soo nodded his head reluctantly and quickly stood back up. "But that isn't the point of this conversation anyway. Why are you always so surprised to see me being feminine?" Yeong Hwa persisted, following Myung Soo the opposite side of the A/C.

"Because you just aren't supposed to act like that!" Myung Soo exclaimed, not entirely sure of the reason himself. Of course it was nice having a more peaceful Yeong Hwa around, but... it just seemed wrong.

"Like what?"

"Eek! Kyaa!" Myung Soo blurted out, doing his best impersonation of Yeong Hwa. "Or - It's a demon! Saaaave me!" he continued, covering his face and pretending to cry. Instantly the color flushed into Yeong Hwa's face, driving her to anger. Standing as tall as she could, Yeong Hwa grabbed the collar of Myung Soo's shirt and pulled him directly in front of her.

"You will never speak of that again," she threatened, sticking her finger directly in Myung Soo's face as her voice turned deadly. Myung Soo was too into his own joke, though, and he simply batted his eyes at her.

"I'm scared. Can I sleep with you?" He asked sweetly, tilting his head slightly to the side. Half a second later his head was facing the other way as he stumbled backwards, having tasted Yeong Hwa's fist. Breathing heavily, Yeong Hwa stood menacingly over Myung Soo. As he looked up at her, he swore he could see the flames of Hell reflected in her eyes.

"You bastard!" She snapped, bringing her fist up as though to hit him again. Flinching away, Myung Soo covered his face with his hands and prepared for the blow that... never came. Slowly he cracked open one eye and peered through his fingers at Yeong Hwa. 

"Sorry," Yeong Hwa apologized through clenched teeth, averting her eyes from Myung Soo's face. Nodding, Myung Soo rose to his feet with Yeong Hwa's help and dabbed at his nose, which was bleeding. "Sorry," she repeated, still not able to look him in the face.

"Go. Home." he ordered, pointing vaguely in the direction of Yeong Hwa's house.

"No."

"Go home already!"

"No."

"Go home already!" Myung Soo screamed, his voice cracking as it rose in intensity. Flinching, Yeong Hwa bobbed a quick bow before turning sharply on her heels and hurrying to the ladder they had propped against the house in order to reach the roof. Muttering under his breath, Myung Soo turned angrily back to the A/C and gave it a firm kick. The thing was busted, anyway.

"I'll get you some ice," Yeong Hwa announced as she disappeared down the edge of the roof.

"All the way from your house?" Myung Soo called after her. His only response was an exasperated sigh from Yeong Hwa, though, before the front door slammed shut and all noise from her was silenced.

He waited a few more minutes before following Yeong Hwa down into the house. It wasn't like he knew how to fix a crispy air conditioner anyway. It would be best to just call someone to come and replace the dumb thing, if that was at all possible, and then pay the bill with the money from the bank account.

And yes, he did know about the bank account. Despite all of Yeong Hwa's attempts to discreetly travel there for money, Myung Soo had figured it out pretty fast. He still humored her, though, and pretended like he honestly thought they could live off the tips they earned in the subway that one time.

"Whenever we saw each other all we did was fight.
But those were also wonderful memories."

He could still hear her voice clear as day, echoing through the tunnels of the subway as she stood before him. Actually, it wasn't echoing too much in this recollection, and it sounded more...

Poking his head into the kitchen after removing his shoes, Myung Soo watched Yeong Hwa's back as she struggled to remove ice from the freezer's ice maker. He hadn't known she was the type to sing just out of the blue like this. With how adamantly she had been trying to not sing, he had imagined she hated it. Apparently that wasn't the case, though...

"Just how the hell am I different?!" Yeong Hwa suddenly demanded, sending a shock of fear through Myung Soo. He was pretty sure she wouldn't appreciate him listening in on her singing. "Yeah I rely on him a little, but not much! I'm the one who does all the cooking, and cleaning, and watches the kids, and I was even the one who went into the ally first! That jerk just stayed behind and laughed at me while a demon - well, cat - attacked me! And here I thought he actually was concerned!"

She sounded more hurt than angry. Had he really injured her feelings that badly? While most girls were delicate roses in Myung Soos' eyes, Yeong Hwa had always come across as a sturdy tree that could withstand anything that was sent its way. Now he was supposed to believe that she, too, was a delicate rose? It just wasn't possible!

"I try and be nice to him, even open myself up a little, and he just turns around and throws it right back in my face! That bastard!" Yeong Hwa continued to rant, the frustration of being unable to reach the ice adding to her bad mood. "Typical Kingka, though. I shouldn't have expected he would be any different from the others. He's probably already sent out those pictures and is laughing at me behind my back."

That actually stung. Myung Soo had thought Yeong Hwa was coming to understand him, even trust him, but apparently she still thought that he was the same jerk she had originally imagined him as. Sighing, Myung Soo pushed his hair out of his face and continued to listen in on Yeong Hwa's thoughts.

"I should just go home," she concluded, finally getting out enough cubes of ice to fill a small baggy. "But... I should at least give this to him," she added, holding up the baggy to the light and glaring at it. Taking his cue, Myung Soo quietly shut the kitchen door and, after waiting a second, knocked.

"Yeah?" Yeong Hwa called from inside. Steeling himself for her anger, Myung Soo opened the door and stepped inside. Instantly Yeong Hwa was in front of him with the baggy of ice. "Yeesh! Haven't you ever taken a hit before?!" She exclaimed, reaching over to the table and grabbing a stray napkin, which she pressed to Myung Soo's nose. Quickly the white paper turned a dark crimson as Myung Soo's blood soaked it, and Yeong Hwa had to lead him to the sink in order to change the napkin.

"Seriously... this is insane..." Yeong Hwa muttered under her breath as she wet a hand towel and rested it against Myung Soo's nose. "Tilt your head forward," she instructed, demonstrating with her own head. Myung Soo had always heard that you should go backward, though, so he disregarded Yeong Hwa's instructions and tilted his head back. Instantly he could feel the blood running down the back of his throat, causing him to shudder at the unwelcome taste.

"See? That's why we tilt our head foreword," Yeong Hwa said condescendingly, grabbing the top of Myung Soo's head and roughly bringing it forward. He felt like he was back in first grade and being told off by the teacher as she explained for the umpteenth time that he should not pull the little girls' hair. Somehow, that patient but annoyed tone was now embodied in Yeong Hwa.

"What about the ice?" Myung Soo asked, his voice nasally because of the towel pressed against his nose.

"That's for after the blood stops," she explained, trying not to laugh at the comedic tone Myung Soo's voice had taken. Rolling his eyes, Myung Soo tried not to think too much about the awkward position he was in. Just half an hour ago Yeong Hwa had been talking about how she could babysit him, and now here he was having just that kind of terrible fate happen.

"She must be a witch or something, predicting the future like that," Myung Soo decided, glancing over at Yeong Hwa's face and imagining it a sickly green and covered in warts. Somehow, that made his own embarrassment simply disappear from his mind.

When the blood finally did stop, Yeong Hwa handed Myung Soo his ice pack and then left the kitchen with instructions for Myung Soo to keep the ice on his nose. When she didn't come back after a few minutes, Myung Soo wandered out into the hall to see if he couldn't track her down.

Which wasn't all that hard to do, as the instant Myung Soo was out in the hall he could hear the steady hum of an electric fan. After a short investigation that involved opening the living room door and poking his head inside, Myung Soo spotted Yeong Hwa spread out on the living room floor with a small, white electric fan buzzing beside her head.

"Hot?" Myung Soo asked, closing the door behind him as he entered the living room. Glancing up from the magazine she was perusing, Yeong Hwa shrugged her shoulders.

"y is more like it," she replied, going back to reading the magazine. Rolling his eyes, Myung Soo sat beside her and tried to read over her shoulder. Without a word, Yeong Hwa nudged Myung Soo aside and covered the magazine protectively so that her face was only inches from the page she was reading.

"You actually read that sort of thing?" Myung Soo asked, having gotten the gist of the article. Just a bunch of over-glamorized boys answering a bunch of interview questions that had probably all been scripted. Boy bands weren't all they were cracked up to be.

"Don't most girls?" Yeong Hwa asked, enunciating the word "girls". She was still miffed about his considering her to be anything but female.

"You aren't most girls," Myung Soo pointed out, lying down on the couch. Shrugging her shoulders, Yeong Hwa ignored his comment and went back to her reading. Taking his opportunity, Myung Soo reached over and snatched the electric fan up off the floor. At first Yeong Hwa didn't notice, and by the time she did notice, Myung Soo had already propped the fan on his stomach and was allowing the cool air to blow over his face. The sudden chill bit a little, but when compared to the melting capabilities of today's heat it was a very welcome pain.

"Hey," Yeong Hwa protested, reaching out to try and retrieve her fan. Unlike Myung Soo, though, Yeong Hwa did not have the luxury of long arms, with the short ones she did possess falling short of the couch by a good three inches. Puffing out her cheeks in irritation, Yeong Hwa dragged herself closer to the couch and stretched out her arm towards the fan.

"This doesn't even belong to you," Myung Soo pointed out, holding the fan out of reach of Yeong Hwa, "and puffing out your cheeks is not attractive on you," he added when she tried pouting again. Instantly Yeong Hwa deflated, instead fixating Myung Soo with her usual glare. "Much better," he chuckled, rolling over so that his back was facing Yeong Hwa.

From behind him he could hear Yeong Hwa's socks shuffling across the carpet as she left the living room. Triumphant, Myung Soo returned to lying on his back and rested the fan on his stomach once more. Now completely at ease, he closed his eyes and rested one arm over his eyes to block out the light, preparing to take a nice, well-deserved nap.

As he began to drift off, Myung Soo heard the living room door open once more. His mind instantly sharpened, pulling out of the fuzzy near-sleep state it had been in, as it prepared to defend the fan from Yeong Hwa. She didn't come, though, and instead Myung Soo could hear her walking around on the opposite side of the living room. Figuring she too had realized she was defeated, Myung Soo slowly began allowing himself to drift off back to sleep.

This was once more interrupted by the sudden roar of machinery from Yeong Hwa's side of the room. Startled into awakening, Myung Soo's eyes snapped open as he removed his arm in order to see what was going on. Instantly his eyes landed on the electric fan Yeong Hwa had blasting away, sending an arctic wave of cold air over her that was so strong it whipped her hair around her face.

Catching Myung Soo's eye, Yeong Hwa smiled triumphantly and gave him a small wave.

"Where did you get that?!" Myung Soo exclaimed, his eyes flickering between his own fan and Yeong Hwa's giant.

"Nooooooone oooooof yooooooour buuuuusineeeeesss," Yeong Hwa droned, placing in front of the fan so that it would distort her voice. "Yoooooou jeaaaaalooooous?" she questioned, a proud grin developing on her face. Rolling his eyes, Myung Soo feigned disinterest and laid back down on the couch. That fan couldn't be much more powerful than his, despite the-

"It feels like January over here!" Yeong Hwa bragged, obviously reveling in having one-upped Myung Soo. Groaning quietly to himself, Myung grabbed the nearest cushion and squashed it over his face to try and block out Yeong Hwa's very loud enjoyment. When she started talking about needing to go and get her coat, Myung Soo emerged from beneath the cushion and glared over at her.

Feigning innocence, Yeong Hwa batted her eyes at Myung Soo and tilted her head slightly to the side. Narrowing his eyes even further, Myung Soo chucked the cushion at Yeong Hwa. Taken by surprise, she couldn't prevent the cushion from hitting her square in the face and sending her tumbling out of her chair backwards. Chuckling under his breath, Myung Soo grabbed the second nearest cushion and used it to replace the one that had just been used a lethal projectile.

"What was that?!" Yeong Hwa snapped as she scrambled back onto her chair. Barely poking his face out from beneath the cushion, in case Yeong Hwa decided to try and get revenge, Myung Soo fixed her with a pretty good imitation of her earlier innocence act. Frowning, Yeong Hwa lobbed the cushion in his direction. It bounced harmlessly off the back of the couch, though, landing on the floor behind Myung Soo. Shaking his head, Myung Soo covered his face once more and settled down to sleep.

As his mind began to settle into the numb state just before it entirely conked out, Myung Soo could barely hear Yeong Hwa leaving the room once more. Choosing to ignore her, again, Myung Soo continued to drift off. It wasn't long before Yeong Hwa was back, though. At first he thought she would just leave him alone, but that proved to be a false hope.

"Myung Soo," she said, poking him in the shoulder. Shrugging her off, Myung Soo pressed himself further into the couch in order to try and avoid Yeong Hwa. "Myung Sooooo," Yeong Hwa persisted, changing her tactics and poking him in the stomach. Grunting, Myung Soo flinched slightly and then removed the cushion from his face.

"Here," Yeong Hwa said, holding out a wet towel towards him. At first Myung Soo didn't understand, but then he saw that Yeong Hwa also had a towel and had wrapped it around her neck. Nodding, Myung Soo accepted her offering and sat up slightly so that he could wrap it around his neck. "Don't lay back down," Yeong Hwa ordered when Myung Soo moved to do just that.

"Why?"

"You'll get the couch wet," she explained, sounding like it was the most obvious thing on the planet.

"Not like that hasn't happened before," Myung Soo muttered, remembering when Infinite had ambushed him. Unconsciously his hand reached up and ruffled the stark blonde hair that sat a top his head. Although the roots had begun showing darker, and the dye was barely fading, it was still going to be a long time before he could go out in public with his head held high.

Across from him, Yeong Hwa noticed this and couldn't help but giggle quietly to herself. Although it had been a while since Infinite forced Myung Soo to go blonde, she still found herself having to do double takes on occasion. It was just so... different. His dark skin didn't help anything, either. You could obviously tell that the smoothly tanned body did not normally have a shock of blonde tufts a top it.

"You want some water?" Myung Soo asked, suddenly standing up. Shrugging her shoulders, Yeong Hwa retook her seat and opened up the magazine. "Yes? No?" he continued to pester, walking over to Yeong Hwa and resting against the back rest of her chair. Tilting her head back to look up at Myung Soo, Yeong Hwa settled on nodding her head.

"What do you even see in these guys?" Myung Soo asked, reaching over Yeong Hwa's shoulder and pointing to the smiling group of boys. "I mean it's obvious that this isn't how they normally look."

"They do not use Photoshop," Yeong Hwa retorted, becoming extremely defensive of the boys. "I've seen them live in concert."

"Yeeees...." Myung Soo drawled, nodding his head slowly, "but they also wear a ton of makeup."

"And you don't?" She challenged, snapping the magazine shut. Myung Soo wasn't worthy of those brilliant smiles or gorgeous looks. Monkeys like this Kingka would be more at home drooling over scantily clothed girl groups.

"Only a little," Myung Soo defended, rubbing selfconciously at his face.

"Really?" Yeong Hwa asked, apparently not having expected that answer. "You really wear makeup?"

"Just a little," Myung Soo repeated, beginning to feel that Yeong Hwa was looking down on him.

"Hm," she hummed, turning back to her magazine and examining the front cover. Patiently Myung Soo waited for her to continue, but she simply ignored him.

"It really is just a little," Myung Soo insisted, unhappy with her sudden silence. Looking up at him, Yeong Hwa nodded. "I swear!"

"Myung Soo!" Yeong Hwa laughed, reaching up and placing her hand over his mouth. "You're plenty manly even if you wear makeup. Frankly, I don't see anything wrong with a guy wanting to look good," she explained, smiling up at him. "Okay?"

"Yeah," Myung Soo agreed, his voice muffled due to Yeong Hwa's hand. Nodding, Yeong Hwa pulled her hand away from Myung Soo and pulled her knees up to her chest. "I'll just... go get the drinks," he mumbled, pointing vaguely in the direction of the kitchen.

"Alright. Oh, and can you not put ice in mine?" Yeong Hwa asked, glancing over her shoulder. Myung Soo had already left the living room, though. Sighing, Yeong Hwa abandoned her magazine on the floor and followed Myung Soo into the kitchen. As she opened the door, she could hear him talking to himself.

"She has got to be up to something. No normal person would try and kill you one second and then compliment you the next! Unless they were trying to win your trust, of course." Curious, Yeong Hwa halted halfway through the door and carefully drew the door closed until it was barely cracked open. Peeking through this crack, she watched Myung Soo's back as he rummaged around in the cupboards for cups.

"Manly... ha!" he scoffed, pulling out two glasses and setting them on the counter. "Since when does Nae Yeong Hwa say that sort of thing?"

"Geez, try and be nice to the guy and he suddenly gets all paranoid," Yeong Hwa thought, reflecting back on her own rant from earlier. She had sworn to never be nice to him again, but... he had been speaking the truth earlier. Last night she hadn't been thinking clearly, resulting in her showing Myung Soo a side of her that she hadn't even known existed. Of course he would be surprised by her sudden 180 turn in personality!

It was why she had refrained from hitting him a second time. Once had been once too many, and even just thinking about it made Yeong Hwa's stomach ache. She really should properly apologize to him, but that would mean admitting that she was wrong... and he would probably take advantage of her apology. Make her wait on him hand and foot for the next week or something.

"I prefer guilt to shame," Yeong Hwa decided, watching Myung Soo as he poured water into the glasses. When he opened the freezer to get ice, Yeong Hwa remembered why she had followed him in the first place. Pushing open the door, Yeong Hwa loudly announced her entrance so that Myung Soo couldn't accuse her of eavesdropping.

"Yeong Hwa has got to be-" Myung Soo abruptly cut off mid-thought when he heard Yeong Hwa suddenly enter. Whirling, he nearly dropped the glass he was holding as he watched Yeong Hwa come into the kitchen. "You were eavesdropping!" He accused.

Well that plan flopped. Freezing in place, Yeong Hwa rapidly tried to think of an excuse. "No I wasn't!" She retorted back, deciding on flat out denying anything he said. "I was just coming to tell you I don't want any ice!" she insisted, holding her hands up to show her "innocence". Still suspicious, Myung Soo nodded slowly.

"So..." Yeong Hwa began slowly, her eyes flickering around the kitchen in an attempt to find a conversation topic. Nothing out of the ordinary was jumping out at her, though.

"Yeah?" Myung Soo replied, not turning to look at her as he filled his own glass with ice. Coughing nervously into her fist, Yeong Hwa rested against the counter and traced her finger along the marble's grain. "Yeah?" Myung Soo repeated, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Yeong Hwa hadn't walked out or something.

"Um... purple."

"Purple?"

"... Purple."

The two stared blankly at each other before Myung Soo cracked a smile. "Grapes," he responded, catching onto the word associations game. Relieved that they had somehow turned an awkward, and lame, attempt at conversation into something, Yeong Hwa took a second to consider what to say. "You can't think that long!" Myung Soo protested, taking the two glasses and walking over to join Yeong Hwa at the counter.

"Fine, fine..." Yeong Hwa grumbled, pretending to be upset. Rolling his eyes good naturedly, Myung Soo slid her cup across the counter. Mumbling a quick thanks, Yeong Hwa grabbed a straw from the box that sat on the counter's corner and stabbed it into her drink. "Juice," she decided on, stirring her water.

"Mess," Myung Soo replied with lightning speed, grimacing slightly. She wasn't surprised that he would associate that with juice, considering he had two four year olds running around.

"Mud."

"Rain."

"Lightning."

"Air conditioner," Myung Soo chuckled, glancing up at the roof meaningfully. Giggling, Yeong Hwa nodded as she sipped at her water.

"Fire."

"Power."

"Electricity."

"Light..."

"Summer," Myung Soo garbled through a mouthful of water as he drained the remaining water from his cup.

"Heat," Yeong Hwa shot back, waving at her face to emphasize her point.

"Ice cream."

"Ice cream," Yeong Hwa agreed, nodding longingly at the thought of the delicious cold treat.

"You're not supposed to repeat what I said," Myung Soo scolded playfully, rapping Yeong Hwa gently on the head with his knuckled. Sighing, Yeong Hwa rubbed her head and tried to think of something else. "3...2...1..." Myung Soo held his hand hovering in front of Yeong Hwa's face, planning on flicking her forehead.

"Smoothies! Smoothies!" Yeong Hwa gasped, wrapping her hands protectively around her forehead. Smiling, Myung Soo retracted his hand. "3, 2, 1!" Yeong Hwa suddenly counted down in rapid succession, her hand materializing in front of Myung Soo's forehead and delivering a powerful flick. Crying out, Myung Soo jerked back from the sudden pain.

"That is so cheat-"

"3"

"Hey now, give me some time to-"

"2"

"We should go and get smoothies," Myung Soo hurriedly got out, dancing away from the counter before Yeong Hwa could get the chance to flick him again. Hesitating a second, Yeong Hwa contemplated his offer. Then, slowly, she nodded her head.

"Do you have money?" she asked, removing her's and Myung Soo's cups from the counter and dumping them into the sink. Patting his pockets, Myung Soo nodded an affirmative. "Then let's go! There's a shop just down the street, right?" Yeong Hwa asked enthusiastically as she hurried to the kitchen door. Nodding again, Myung Soo followed her.

After slipping on their shoes and locking the front door, babysitter and babysat strolled down the sidewalk side by side. The late afternoon sun had already begun its decent down the sky and was blazing a scorching orange as it hung heavy in the clear blue above. The breeze that stirred through the deserted neighborhood did nothing but shift around the warm air a bit, hardly abating the uncomfortableness of late June's heat.

Rubbing at the beads of sweat that had begun to develop on her forehead, Yeong Hwa glanced over at Myung Soo. He seemed to be doing just fine in the summer heat, but he was also the one who had dressed smartly. While Yeong Hwa wore a dark navy blue t-shirt and black skinny jeans, Myung Soo had one a white cotton shirt and khaki shorts.

"Convenience over fashion," Myung Soo chanted, glancing over at Yeong Hwa. It was like he could read her mind, and Yeong Hwa didn't like that. Frowning, she turned her head away from Myung Soo and pretended to find the row of identical houses across the street incredibly interesting. "You should bring some of your things over to my place. That way if you get caught off guard you can just change," he suggested, slipping his hands into his pockets.

"No thank you," Yeong Hwa replied, shaking her head emphatically.

"Why not? It's a good idea."

"Because if I move a few things in then eventually I'll have moved everything in and will be living there!" she laughed, though her message was anything but humorous. "And do you really want me living with you?" she asked, looking over at Myung Soo knowingly.

"Sure."

"What? Seriously?" Yeong Hwa spluttered, caught off guard by his response.

"That way you would be there for the twins twenty four-seven. No more late night interruptions for me!" Myung Soo chuckled, spreading his arms wide. "I'd be freeee!" He yelled, drawing a few odd looks from those they were passing. Sighing, Yeong Hwa pulled his arms down and pinned them at his side to keep him from creating a bigger spectacle.

His reasons weren't really any surprise to Yeong Hwa. She had figured it would be some selfish thing. Why else would Myung Soo want her, a rowdy girl whose gender was constantly in debate, to live with him? There simply was no other explanation.

"You two having a lover's spat?" An elderly gentleman called out from across the street. In unison the teens' heads turned to see who was addressing them. "I suggest you don't be too eager to be free of her, though. She'll be even more lovely than she is now, once she's done some more growing," the man continued, winking at Yeong Hwa. Blushing, she ducked her head behind Myung Soo as the boy tried to figure out how to respond.

"We aren't-"

"Aren't a couple? Not officially, yes," the man interrupted, grinning at Myung Soo.

"We aren't a couple period," Myung Soo argued, nudging Yeong Hwa to try and get her to help him out. "Right?" He asked, turning to look back at Yeong Hwa.

"Exactly. I'm just his babysitter," Yeong Hwa blurted out before thinking. Groaning, Myung Soo covered his face with his hands as the elderly man burst out laughing. "I meant-"

"His babysitter! Now that's one I haven't heard before! You're parents know about this "babysitter, Myung Soo?" the man chortled, winking conspiratorially at Yeong Hwa.

"They're the ones who hired her," Myung Soo resignedly said, attempting to slosh through this quagmire Yeong Hwa had landed him in. His attempt only generated more laughter from the man, though.

"They that desperate for you to get a girlfriend? Is that why they refuse to let you babysit the twins?" Myung Soo stiffened at these words, any humor that he might have had about the situation instantly evaporating. "Yoogeun and Seo Hyeon, was it? You ought to bring them over sometime! My wife will have some fresh cookies for them," the man invited, oblivious to Myung Soo's change in mood. Seeing that she was the only one who could salvage the situation at this point, Yeong Hwa came out from behind Myung Soo and bowed gratefully to the man.

"Thank you for the offer. We'll make sure to take you up on it!" she thanked, smiling graciously at the man.

"Good looks and nice? Eun Sun really did get a good catch for her boy!" A woman, who Yeong Hwa presumed to be the man's wife, suddenly said as she came out from the house. "I hope you don't mind my having listened in," she apologized to her husband, pecking him on the cheek. Nervously, the man waved off her concerns and rubbed the back of his neck as his ears began growing red.

"This is my husband, Du-Ho, and I'm Hea Woo," the woman introduced, bowing quickly to Yeong Hwa.

"I'm Nae Yeong Hwa. It's a pleasure to meet you," Yeong Hwa introduced, bowing similarly to the couple.

"Come on, babysitter," Myung Soo grumbled, suddenly grabbing Yeong Hwa's hand and pulling her down the street. Even this small amount of skinship drew out a hoot of approval from Du-Ho. As they turned the corner, Yeong Hwa could hear Hea Woo scolding her husband for "embarrassing the poor kids".

The rest of the journey was traveled in silence, with Yeong Hwa wisely keeping shut. She had known that the older generation tended to lose any inhibitions about speaking their mind, but she had never encountered it in person before. Today had certainly been a learning experience...

"We're here," Myung Soo grunted, gesturing up ahead to the smoothie shop. Glancing back at her, he noticed Yeong Hwa's eyes kept flickering down to a space just between them. Following her gaze, he realized for the first time that he was still holding her hand. The instant this processed in his brain he jerked his hand away from Yeong Hwa's in embarrassment, having to make a conscious effort of not wiping off his hand. Or burning it in acid.

"What was I thinking? Holding her hand like that... I should feel lucky to not be dead right now," Myung Soo thought as Yeong Hwa held the door open for them. "I probably would be a corpse in the gutter, too, if I wasn't the one paying for her smoothie," he added, shuddering at the thought. Yeong Hwa was probably extremely annoyed with him for having touched her like that, and she wasn't the type to hold back her feelings. Unless there was something in it for her, such as a smoothie.

He was definitely going to be hearing about it on the way home.

"Hey, boss man!" Yeong Hwa barked, waving a hand in front of his face and interrupting his thoughts. Glancing around, he realized that they were standing in front of the counter, ready to order.

After glancing quickly over the menu, Myung Soo settled on a watermelon smoothie and quickly ordered such. Nodding, the woman behind the counter punched in his order and announced the amount needed. Still slightly in a daze, Myung Soo handed over what appeared to be the right amount, all the time glancing down at Yeong Hwa. He really was worried about how she would react once she had gotten her prize.

"Something wrong, boss man?" Yeong Hwa asked, sitting slightly on the counter as they waited for their smoothies to be prepared.

"Why do you keep calling me boss man?" Myung Soo asked, adjusting his weight to his left leg.

"That is the deal we made, right? You keep quiet about-" Yeong Hwa glanced around conspiratorially "-that, and I become your servant."

"So why are you just now holding up your side of the deal?" Myung Soo asked, stuffing his wallet back into his pocket.

"I felt like it," Yeong Hwa replied, shrugging her shoulders.

"I figured as much," Myung Soo sighed as the woman came back with their smoothies. After saying their thank yous and accepting the much appreciated beverages, Myung Soo and Yeong Hwa exited the smoothie shop and headed back out into the hot summer afternoon.

As they walked, the trip remained rather uneventful. As they passed Du-Ho's house, a place Myung Soo was regretting having to visit again, Yeong Hwa glanced over to see if the old man and his wife were still around. "I guess they went inside," Yeong Hwa thought aloud, sounding a little disappointed as the deserted front lawn failed to yield any busy-body neighbors. Myung Soo, on the other hand, was considerably relieved.

"Oh! Boss man!" Yeong Hwa suddenly cried out, turning to Myung Soo urgently.

"Stop calling me that..." Myung Soo groaned, popping the top off his smoothie so that he could get to the last remnants at the bottom.

"But I-"

"No."

"Alright," Yeong Hwa sighed, hanging her head in mock disappointment. "That isn't what I was going to say, though!" she exclaimed, suddenly recalling what she had originally been interested in talking about.

"So what-"

"We didn't get anything for Yoogeun or Seo Hyeon!" she groaned, gently face palming herself. "They'll be so disappointed if we come home without any smoothies for them," she sighed, looking down guiltily at her own strawberry flavored smoothie.

"Only if they know that they missed out. We can just get rid of the evidence in the outside garbage cans," Myung Soo suggested, tilting his cup sideways so that Yeong Hwa could see that it was empty. In response, she tilted her own and showed that it was still half-full. "Then hurry and finish. We're almost home."

"You're house," she corrected as she popped the top off the smoothie.

"You can call it home, too. You practically live there as it is."

"Nah," Yeong Hwa mumbled as she tilted back the smoothie and began downing the remainder in one go. Raising his eyebrows, Myung Soo watched was the smoothie quickly disappeared. It was pretty impressive how she had gotten rid of it so fast.

"Aaaaaaiiiiiisssssshhhh," Yeong Hwa squealed, squeezing her eyes shut and holding her head. "Brain freeze," she whimpered, rubbing at her temples in order to try and get rid of the painful side effect of nearly all of summer's treats. Smiling sympathetically, Myung Soo gently took her now empty cup from her and went into the alley to throw his and hers away.

By the time he came back, Yeong Hwa was patiently waiting for Myung Soo to come to the front door and unlock it for her. "Don't you have a key?" he asked, pulling out his own house key from his pocket.

"I left it inside," Yeong Hwa explained through clenched teeth, her eyes still squished shut in an attempt to combat the brain freeze. Nodding, Myung Soo reached past her and unlocked the door, pushing it open in order to let her in. "Thanks," she mumbled, hurrying inside and kicking off her shoes.

"I think we should switch fans," Myung Soo suggested, entering the house behind Yeong Hwa and slipping off his shoes. "Since I paid for your smoothie, you should let me have the big fan."

"Nope."

"Next time, remind me not to buy things for you."

"Alright, boss man! Will do!"

"... please stop calling me that."
 

Author's Note: The trailer is working!

I had to fight with it forever to get the link just right so that AFF would embed the video. So much work for such a little thing!