"I would say you should just go home, but we are kind of shopping for your siblings."

"Yeah. Plus, I've got to make sure this "Mr. Lee" or his six foot golem doesn't come after you."

"Ah... right. My knight in shining armor."

Yeong Hwa sighed and plopped down on one of the many green plastic benches that dotted the open air mall. Overhead, the roof had been opened up to reveal a bright, clear summer sky. It was a beautiful scene, and one that definitely showed the marvels of modern man's technology, but it also nulled the effectiveness of any and all A/Cs within the mall.

The sun, beautiful in its own right, was also melting Yeong Hwa's face off. Groaning, she ran a hand through her hair to try and unplaster it from the back of her neck as Myung Soo, also dying, took a seat beside her.

"You make it sound like my help is a bad thing," he protested, feigning hurt as he rested his arms on the back rest of the bench, inadvertently putting his arm over Yeong Hwa's shoulder.

"Get off. It's hot," she sighed, reaching over her shoulder and pushing Myung Soo's arm off. Chuckling slightly, Myung Soo pressed himself up against Yeong Hwa. Groaning, she tried to nudge him off, but Myung Soo was adamant. "Whyyyyyy?" Yeong Hwa whined, resting her forehead on Myung Soo's shoulder. She was too hot to worry about things like being embarrassed, or the looks hey were getting from the passersby.

"Come on. Tell me why you don't like me protecting you," Myung Soo insisted, tapping her on the knee impatiently. Groaning, Yeong Hwa removed her head from his shoulder and slid to the opposite end of the bench.

"Have you ever been in a fight?"

"No."

"There you have it. Honestly, your "protecting" me is just for show. You and I both know that you can't fight to save your own life, let alone mine," Yeong Hwa explained, shrugging her shoulders matter-of-factly. From the opposite end of the bench, Myung Soo suddenly went dead serious.

"Did they threaten to kill you?" He asked, fixing Yeong Hwa with a critical stare. Rolling her eyes, Yeong Hwa tried not to get nervous with Myung Soo looking at her so intently. "I guess that is a bit over the top," he admitted, noticing Yeong Hwa's reaction.

"A bit?" she chuckled, nudging Myung Soo's arm. "Anyway, we need to figure out what to get the twins. There birthday is coming up in a few days," she added, reorienting the pair on their current task. Not that it did much good. The two had been walking around this mall for the better part of the day, with absolutely zero luck when it came to choosing a gift.

"You're their brother. Shouldn't you know what they want?" Yeong Hwa asked, folding her arms a top the back rest and resting her head on them. She hadn't been able to sleep well the past few days, being too worried about Myung Soo. Yup. Even though he was the one who was supposed to be protecting her, she was the one doing most of the worrying. Besides insisting on accompanying her everywhere she went, Myung Soo seemed to have entirely forgotten about his bold declaration three days prior. Yeong Hwa was reminded of it every night, though, when she crawled into Myung Soo's bed while he retired on the couch.

She felt incredibly guilty about taking the bed from him, especially since she wasn't even supposed to be staying at the house. She was supposed to be living at her own house, but because she had brought some complicated baggage along with her Myung Soo had taken drastic measures to try and keep her safe. Something she was grateful for. Of course... it was actually her father who had left the baggage on her doorstep.

"Don't think about him!" she snapped at herself, shaking her head lightly to try and disengage that train of thought. She didn't need to get all emotional while they were in the middle of such a public place. She had already broken down five times over the past three days, and that was well over what she considered an acceptable amount of self-pitying moments.

"You've lived with them all summer. Shouldn't you know?" Myung Soo countered, interrupting Yeong Hwa's thoughts.

"I've never been good at picking out presents," Yeong Hwa admitted.

"Me neither."

"Huzzah," Yeong Hwa drawled sarcastically, both arms shooting straight up into the air as though she were cheering. Laughing dryly, Myung Soo mimicked her movements. Shaking her had and smiling, Yeong Hwa nudged Myung Soo slightly before standing up and heading down the tiled flooring. "Come on. We've still got a few more places we can check out," she called out behind her, gesturing for Myung Soo to follow her.

"So when is your birthday, Sir Myung Soo?" Yeong Hwa asked, turning around and walking backwards so that she could talk with Myung Soo more freely.

"Sir Myung Soo?" he echoed, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, like a knight. Since you're my hero and everything," Yeong Hwa chuckled, though it wasn't because she found it funny. She actually seemed genuinely happy about thinking of Myung Soo as her hero. On the other hand, that just made Myung Soo even more embarrassed.

"L, boss man, Sir Myung Soo... you really are the queen of nicknames," Myung Soo sighed, turning his head to the side so that Yeong Hwa couldn't see his face beginning to go red. Drawn by his sudden change in attention, Yeong Hwa followed his gaze. The two stared blankly at the store for a minute, before Yeong Hwa covered with her fist and coughed.

"Myung Soo... we can't get them women's lingerie," she choked, trying not to laugh. Of course she knew that wasn't what he had meant by it, having simply looked over their by chance, but it was just too great an opportunity to pass up. Plus, she never got the opportunity to tell dirty jokes or the likes when around the twins. Today was a free day, and she planned on milking it for all she could. "Unless your birthday is coming up and you're trying to send me subtle signals about what you want," she suggested impishly, winking at Myung Soo.

Blushing, he quickly turned his face away from the shop's window and rubbed nervously at his face, trying to get rid of the red haze that had descended over his face. "You wouldn't look good in it anyway," he grunted, trying to push some of the embarrassment off onto Yeong Hwa. The second the words left his mouth, though, he knew that he had just buried himself alive.

"Me? You want me to wear that sort of thing?" Yeong Hwa laughed, unable to keep up her act and giving in to the burst of amusement that had hit her like a ton of bricks. Sighing, Myung Soo lightly cuffed her over the top of her head and stalked forward. "Ow! Hey, that's still a sensitive spot!" Yeong Hwa pouted, wrapping her arms around her head as the goose egg began acting up again. He had forgotten about her getting hit upside the head with a baseball bat.

"Sorry," he apologized, returning to Yeong Hwa's side and gently removing her hands from her head. "It looks like you're doing fine, though. Poporo is doing a good job of protecting you," he commented, brushing his finger along her cheek where the bandage in question was. The twins had insisted Yeong Hwa wear one of their Poporo band aids the moment she had walked in the door. At least according to Myung Soo. She had been unconscious at the time, having fallen asleep, so for all she knew a bunch of gremlins had slapped it on her face.

The twins was a more likely story, though.

"You're avoiding my question," Yeong Hwa accused, narrowing her eyes slightly and poking Myung Soo in the stomach. His gut felt like a rock, and she could only imagine what his abs looked like. "No! Bad thoughts! Go away imagination! Away!" Yeong Hwa thought frantically, trying not to show it on her face. Myung Soo was too busy trying to think of another way to avoid her question to notice Yeong Hwa's sudden reaction, though.

"Is it coming up soon? Is that why you're avoiding telling me?" Yeong Hwa asked, pushing aside her embarrassment and continuing to stubbornly try and pry Myung Soo's birthday from him.

"No. It's already passed," Myung Soo insisted, nudging Yeong Hwa away. "It was in March."

"Oh. So then you're older than me by... four months?" she thought aloud, counting off the months on her fingers. "Too bad I missed it," she added quietly to herself, keeping her voice low enough to make it impossible for Myung Soo to hear.

"Four months? So you're birthday is in July?" Myung Soo asked, instantly picking up on the information she had accidentally released. Realizing her mistake, Yeong Hwa quickly tried to think of a way to change the subject, but Myung Soo was adamant. "What day?" he asked, poking Yeong Hwa in the arm.

"You didn't tell me what day yours was," she pointed out, increasing the gap between them so that Myung Soo couldn't poke her. He just followed her, though, and soon the distance she had tried to place there was eaten up by his long legs.

"The eleventh. Now spit it out." Well that eliminated that excuse. Sighing, Yeong Hwa tried to come up with another one. Her brain always was the first to abandon ship when she was nervous, though, and the empty space in her skull was no good for thinking up excuses. 

"Twenty second," she mumbled, hoping she could get away with a quiet response. Myung Soo's hearing was uncanny, though, and he pounced on the number like a cat on a helpless mouse.

"So your birthday is coming up, then," Myung Soo mused, glancing over at Yeong Hwa to see her reaction.

"Yeah, but don't do anything for it! I do not want my birthday turned into some big-"

"Who said I was planning on doing anything?" Myung Soo asked, acting convincingly innocent. Yeong Hwa could barely contain her dissapointment when she heard this. He could still see a few signs, though, such as the sudden deflation of her shoulders, and felt a little bad about teasing her. Of course he hadn't really been planning on doing anything... at least not right away. He wasn't even sure if Yeong Hwa would actually be happy if he threw her a party, or whatever. Just the two of them, even with the twins, wouldn't be very exciting, but since she was trying to keep this whole thing a secret...

"Am I seriously thinking about this?" Myung Soo thought, already knowing that the answer was yes. Maybe he could just go and buy her a cake or something small like that... as a thank you for taking care of the twins. She had been doing a good job of it, after all.

"I was just saying it as a warning, in case you got any weird ideas," Yeong Hwa insisted, trying not to think too much about it. She really shouldn't have expected anything more from Myung Soo, after all. He was just her employer, after all. Not her boyfriend. "Boyfriend?! Where the hell did that come from?" Yeong Hwa thought, forcing revulsion at the idea and even pretending she could taste a little bile in . Which wasn't true at all. In fact, she had kind of liked- "No. You're tired and not thinking straight. That's all there is to it."

"What do you think they're doing right now?" Myung Soo suddenly asked. "The twins, I mean," he clarified when Yeong Hwa opened to ask "who".

"Sleeping or playing," Yeong Hwa promptly responded, shrugging her shoulders.

"No, really?" Myung Soo asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, I eliminated eating and using the toilet," she pointed out jokingly. "Come on, I'm not any more psychic than you," she laughed, "though I'm sure they're having a good time. Du-Ho and Hea Woo seemed like really nice people."

"Except for the whole mistaking us for a couple thing," Myung Soo added, remembering that encounter all too well.

"I don't think it's all that bad a thing," Yeong Hwa mumbled, feeling a little hurt that Myung Soo would think of them being a couple as a bad thing.... which of course she did too!

"What did you say?" Myung Soo asked, glancing over at her.

"I said 'I hope the twins like Hea Woo's cookies," Yeong Hwa covered, knowing that it was the worst cover ever.

"You did not."

"Yes, I did."

"Not."

"Myung Soo, just drop it," Yeong Hwa groaned, rolling her eyes until they were practically facing backwards. Shrugging his shoulders, Myung Soo slipped his hands into his pockets and went silent. At least he had his obedience going for him, when all his other vices would make him a near impossible person to be around. 

"What do you think they are doing?" Myung Soo asked a second later, nodding in the direction of a stand that had been set up in the center of the mall's walkway. A considerable crowd had formed around the booth, and it seemed to be made mostly of couples. A lot of couples, in fact, who were displaying their love for the world to see. Both Yeong Hwa and Myung Soo felt their faces growing hot as a couple engaged in a particularly steamy kiss.

"I have no idea," her voice sounded horrified as she spoke. Glancing down at Yeong Hwa, he could see that her eyes were bugging out slightly. He hadn't known she was so innocent. In a way, it was pretty cute seeing her be so shocked at such a simple thing. At least for him. Not that Myung Soo ran around kissing every girl he came across, but as a Kingka he had been privy to his fair share of girlfriends, many of which were more than eager to plant several kisses on him.

Myung Soo couldn't exactly say he was upset about that, either.

"It looks like they have a sign..." Yeong Hwa mumbled, attempting to get a better view of the vertical signboard propped up alongside the booth, while still avoiding looking too directly at the couples. It seemed like they were being judged, or something, but Myung Soo had no idea why something like this would be going on. "Free food?" Yeong Hwa exclaimed, her interest perking up exponentially.

"What?"

"Free food! Apparently they're having some sort of a promotional for a new product, Chilled Kimchi Stew-" here Yeong Hwa paused to make a face, not sure if she should actually be excited about this, " and all you have to do is show your love for your partner."

"As a couple," Myung Soo concluded, watching as the steamy couple accepted their free Chilled Kimchi Stew. It looked like regular kimchi stew that had just been put inside a refrigerator for a few hours and then had an ice cube or two dropped inside. Of course regardless of how it looked, it might actually taste good. As a fan of kimchi stew, Myung Soo couldn't say he would be entirely unwilling to try this new breed of the delicious dish.

Granted, he had no girlfriend, so that quickly dashed any dreams of trying out Chilled Kimchi Stew.

"We should get some. It will take care of lunch," Yeong Hwa decided, grabbing Myung Soo's hand and tugging him towards the table.

"What?! No!" Myung Soo exclaimed, jerking his hand away from Yeong Hwa's grasp and stumbling backwards. Frowning, Yeong Hwa put her hands on her hips and fixed him with a disapproving glare. "You do realize what we'll have to do in order to get that stew, right?" He insisted, gripping the back rest of a nearby bench in case Yeong Hwa tried to pull him away again.

"Not every couple is going to be willing to be all hot and steamy in public! A quick peck on the cheek ought to do it just fine," Yeong Hwa reasoned, rolling her eyes. The promoters wouldn't expect every couple coming along to eat each other's faces, right? That would be ridiculous, and cut down the amount of people testing out the new product to about ten. Of course the company wouldn't want that.

"Besides, it's free food. That's money we don't have to spend on a meal for the both of us, and with the twins gone too we can cut out the cost of lunch entirely!" Yeong Hwa added, attempting to sweeten the deal with her knowledge of scrimping. You didn't make it through a year of no work and minimal funds without learning how to take advantage of things. Such as free samples.

Frowning, Myung Soo took a moment to think about it. A peck on the cheek wouldn't be all that bad, and since Yeong Hwa was so actively supporting it he - probably - wouldn't get beaten for doing it. Besides, then there was the kimchi stew as his reward. That outweighed kissing Yeong Hwa considerably. "Alright. If you insist," Myung Soo sighed, trying to sound more reluctant that he felt. "What? You have a good point. Free food is free food, and you shouldn't look a gift horse in a mouth," he defended as Yeong Hwa's jaw hit the floor.

"So you're... agreeing?" she hesitantly asked. Rolling his eyes, Myung Soo made a beeline for the booth, snagging Yeong Hwa's hand on his way past. Unprotesting, Yeong Hwa followed him with her head ducked down in order to avoid spotting any of the couples around them. Which was why she didn't notice the cameras taking snapshots of some of the more romantic shenanigans of the couples. Her mind probably would have changed if she had, but as it was, fate was able to have her way with the pair.

"Are you a couple?" the woman behind the booth's counter asked, arching one eyebrow suspiciously as she glanced between Myung Soo and Yeong Hwa. It figured that the one person they actually wanted to convince ended up being the disbeliever. Sighing, Myung Soo laced his fingers between Yeong Hwa's and held their interlocked hands up for the woman to see.

"Can't you tell?" He asked, pulling Yeong Hwa a little closer to him. She had stiffened up slightly as the reality of the situation began to make itself more well known in her mind. Just what had she gotten herself into?! She didn't need to worry about free food anymore, so why oh why had she convinced Myung Soo to do this?

"And why did he accept?" she thought, glancing up at Myung Soo. He didn't look back at her, being too absorbed in a conversation with the woman over the counter. They were discussing some sort of paper the woman wanted him and Yeong Hwa to sign. She was being extremely vague about the contents of the paper, but insisted all the same that they ought to sign it.

"Just do it, Myung Soo. Probably something about not suing them if we die of poisoning or whatever," Yeong Hwa grunted when it became apparent that the debate was going to go on with no resolve in sight. Leaning over the table, she accepted the pen the woman proffered her and quickly scratched her name along the first line, reserving the second for Myung Soo. Turning, she handed him the pen, which Myung Soo begrudgingly used to sign his name beneath Yeong Hwa's. Satisfied, the woman pulled the paper away before Myung Soo could get a good look at the contents and stashed it away inside a file folder filled with similar papers.

"So..." she said, lightly gesturing for Myung Soo and Yeong Hwa to hop to it. Grimacing for just a moment, Myung Soo took in a deep breath before leaning down and pecking Yeong Hwa's cheek for a brief moment. Even in just that second of contact he could feel the warmth of her cheeks as they flushed red and her grip tightened on his hand. He couldn't tell if it was a threat for future punishments, or just because she was embarrassed that an entire mall of people was watching them.

Straightening up, Myung Soo filled his mind with thoughts of kimchi stew in order to try and fight away any others. Looking towards the woman, he waited for her to get their free food. "Really? That's it?" she asked flatly, glancing at Yeong Hwa and shaking her head in amusement. "We're not looking for a middle school couple, kiddies. We want the real thing," she snorted, waving Myung Soo and Yeong Hwa away.

"And how is an old hag like you any judge of romance?" Yeong Hwa demanded, running off before she could stop it. Beside her, Myung Soo let out a quiet groan and quickly released her hand, stepping away. If a fight broke out, he really didn't want to be between Yeong Hwa and her victim.

"With that reasoning, I've had plenty of time to love. How about you? A hot-headed, ugly little thing like yourself has probably never even been on a date before, right? Did she pay you or something?" the woman scoffed, her attention turning to Myung Soo as she jerked her thumb in Yeong Hwa's direction. "Someone with your good looks wouldn't go out with something like this creature, am I right?" she giggled, resting her elbows on the table. He could understand a little exchange of words, since Yeong Hwa had been asking for it, but this was starting to just get cruel.

"No. She didn't pay me," Myung Soo grunted, glancing over at Yeong Hwa. He could tell she was trying to hold it together, but her pride had obviously been bruised. She was struggling to keep her eyes up, rather than focusing on her shoes, something Myung Soo hadn't seen before with Yeong Hwa. "Not that she had to. I fell in love with her," he continued, not sure exactly what he was talking about, and slipping his hands into his pockets. Surprised, Yeong Hwa turned sharply to face Myung Soo with a mixture of awe and horror in her eyes.

"Really?" the woman asked skeptically, examining her nails with mild interest.

"Really," Myung Soo echoed, and suddenly he was in Yeong Hwa's face, his lips pressed against the corner of hers. It looked like a full on kiss, but in reality was more like a peck on the cheek that had been aimed poorly. Still, Yeong Hwa could feel the heat rising into her cheeks as she squeezed her eyes shut to avoid meeting Myung Soo's. He, on the other hand, had his wide open in order to avoid alluding to any sort of romance between him and Yeong Hwa. At least between the two of them. For all he cared, that behind the counter could think whatever she wanted.

As he was about to break away from the "kiss", Myung Soo saw a flicker of movement in the corner of his eye as a camera came into view, aimed directly at him and Yeong Hwa. Panicking as the risk of discovery by their classmates became imminent, Myung Soo did the only thing he could think of. Shifting his position, he barely managed to conceal Yeong Hwa's face as the flash of the camera went off. Unfortunately, that also resulted in his lips sliding just ever so slightly to the left, pressing them against Yeong Hwa's.

He could feel her stiffen at the sudden contact, and already Myung Soo could feel the bruises from the retribution he knew was certain to come later. After a second had passed in which Myung Soo made sure no further pictures were to be taken, Myung Soo quickly pulled his face away from Yeong Hwa's and resisted the urge to wipe at his lips. Yeong Hwa, on the other hand, exercised no such self-control and quickly ducked behind Myung Soo in order to give her lips a vigorous scrubbing with the back of her sleeve.

"Boyfriend... maybe. Man-... also maybe," the woman mumbled, pointedly making her voice loud enough for Myung Soo to hear. Frowning, he rested his hand on the counter and leaned towards the woman.

"So? Are you going to further humiliate us, or can we go?"

"Feel free to leave at any time. We aren't stopping you," she replied innocently, a coy smile flashing across her face. Behind her, a man came forward with two cups of the Chilled Kimchi Stew and handed both to Myung Soo. "A delicious new beverage to cool off after a hot summer's romance!" The woman chimed brightly, rattling off what must be the products slogan. Grunting, Myung Soo accepted the cups and strode away with Yeong Hwa following closely behind.

"Hope you have enough money to keep him," the woman called after Yeong Hwa, waving goodbye. Turning sharply on her heels, Yeong Hwa resisted the urge to flip off the woman and instead settled with sticking her tongue out. It just didn't have the same level of satisfaction, though. "Better hurry. You're losing him already!" the woman continued, amused by Yeong Hwa's attempt to annoy her. Glancing over her shoulder, Yeong Hwa saw Myung Soo's back disappearing into the mall's crowd as he continued leaving.

"Hey! Wait!" She called after him, pushing through the press of people as she hurried to catch up with Myung Soo. Realizing that he was leaving Yeong Hwa behind, Myung Soo came to an abrupt halt and turned to see where she was. Not expecting this, Yeong Hwa connected solidly with his chest and was thrown backwards from the impact.

"Kyaa!" She squeaked, landing hard on her backside.

"Sorry!" Myung Soo exclaimed, wanting to help Yeong Hwa up but unable to with the stew cups in his hands. "Sorry," he mumbled, feeling helpless to do anything else as he watched Yeong Hwa get back to her feet.

"It's fine," Yeong Hwa sighed, brushing off invisible dust particles. "Just don't leave me again. It's not good manners," she chuckled, reaching over and taking one of the cups from Myung Soo. Nodding sheepishly, he waited for her to further reprimand him about the kiss. When she showed no signs of doing such, Myung Soo wondered if perhaps it had been so traumatic that her brain had simply erased all memories of it. It would actually be kind of interesting if that was the case-

"And about what happened back there," Yeong Hwa started after taking a sip of the chilled stew. It actually tasted pretty good, for cold soup. She was pretty sure this wasn't about be a best seller, though, and certainly wasn't worth losing her pride over. "Let's just forget it ever happened, okay?"

"Definitely," Myung Soo agreed, more than happy to cooperate.

"Good, now then about those presen- BUS!" Yeong Hwa gasped, pointing behind Myung Soo to the mall's main glass doors. Turning, Myung Soo watched as their way home unexpectedly pulled up to the stop. "Is it really that late?! Oh shi-"

"Crap," Myung Soo interrupted, taking Yeong Hwa's hand and pulling her rapidly towards the door. She was practically being dragged behind him as her short legs tried in vain to keep up with the long, loping strides of Myung Soo's much longer ones. "We're going to see the twins again soon, so you might as well get used to not swearing now."

"Yeah, but what about the presents?" Yeong Hwa protested, glancing over her shoulder at the two stories of shops. They couldn't just leave without buying anything for the twins!

"We'll come back later-"

"Their birthdays are in three days!"

"-or something," Myung Soo corrected as they burst out into the hot summer evening and raced across the pavement in order to try and catch the bus. Thankfully, they managed to reach the doors just as the driver was preparing to close them. "Wait a minute!" Myung Soo called out, leaping for the doors and jamming his foot inside the gap. Surprised, the driver opened the squealing doors to let the two in.

"Thanks," Yeong Hwa panted breathlessly as she came onto the bus beside Myung Soo. Digging in her pockets, Yeong Hwa pulled out some change and paid for bother her and Myung Soo. Nodding, the driver gestured for them to find a seat while he closed the doors.

"So,"

"So."

"What is this something we will be doing?" Yeong Hwa asked as she sat beside Myung Soo, who had claimed the window seat.

"I have no idea," he sighed, resting his head against the glass. It was surprisingly cool, considering how hot the day had been.

"Better start thinking fast."

"Yeah."
 

Author's Note: I know that the actual MV for "The Chaser" has been out for a while (so I feel kind of like a bad fan for not noticing this earlier ((but Myung Soo up all my attention the first twenty times I watched the video XD))) but I must say that I am in awe of Sung Jong! I'm pretty sure I mentioned in another note how he is my second bias in Infinite, and that definitely hasn't changed after this comeback! He looks so much more mature in this video, and his voice!   I totally didn't even recognize his voice at first because it's gotten so deep! Sung Jong = Love

So... that has absolutely nothing to do with this chapter, haha Just me fangirling ;)

In Other News

I found a theme song for the fanfic! The lyrics are from Yeong Hwa's point of view. AND this is an acoustic cover of the song, with the original being by Adam Lambert. This softer version fits better in my opinion, though :)

Better Than I Know Myself