The early morning sunshine danced down from the sky, brightening the road two men were currently traveling along. As they turned a corner, the taller man turned to his companion and furrowed his eyebrows in concern.

"Sir, are you sure we should be doing this? I imagine the girl won't be happy to hear from you, even if you are trying to help."

The shorter, and scrawnier, of the two men sighed and looked up, shaking his head slightly. "She deserves to hear everything, but not from me. Her father needs to tell her exactly what is going on, and I plan on giving him that opportunity," the man said, his voice determined as he spoke. His companion nodded slightly before reverting his eyes back to staring straight ahead. Sighing, the shorter slipped his hands into the pockets of his suit and descended into silence.

"So you're sure about this?"

"Yes," the shorter exhaled, rolling his eyes as he glanced at his partner out of the corner of his eye. "After all, I'm a generous person. Why shouldn't I help a poor teenager left all on her own like this?" he asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. His companion snorted in what could be considered a laugh, a small smile faintly appearing on his face, before he went back to being dead serious.

"Glad to hear you think so highly of me. Thanks."

"You're welcome, sir."

"Why are you being so nice all of a sudden?" Yeong Hwa asked, peering suspiciously over at Myung Soo as she prepared breakfast. From his seat at the table, Myung Soo looked over the top of that morning's newspaper and fixed Yeong Hwa with a confused look. Frowning, she slammed down the lid of the rice cooker a bit more forcefully than was necessary. She was obviously freaked out by this sudden change in attitude on his part.

"You make it sound like a bad thing," Myung Soo teased, his eyes turning up as he smiled at her. Leaning away from him, Yeong Hwa shuddered and tried not to cower in fear at this sudden kindness coming from Myung Soo. This was how he had been acting ever since they got back from the Chilseok festival.

It was really creepy.

The awkward atmosphere continued through breakfast, with Yeong Hwa actually remaining silent for more than a few seconds at a time. Occasionally Myung Soo would try to start a conversation with her, but every attempt was met by a brick wall of ice that was guarding Yeong Hwa. Only the twins managed to get Yeong Hwa to open for anything besides eating, and even then she kept her answers short and with no room for further discussion.

Eventually Yeong Hwa had broken down and ordered Myung Soo out of the house to buy some more groceries for lunch. He hadn't protested, or even mentioned that she was the one who ought to be listening to him, thus freaking out Yeong Hwa even more. By the time he got around to leaving Yeong Hwa had taken to muttering to herself while she shuffled around the house.

"If I had know being nice would get to her this much I would have started a long time ago," Myung Soo thought aloud, chuckling as he remembered the morning's events. He had thought that treating her like he did the other girls at school, rather than his personal servant/annoyance, would impress Yeong Hwa a bit. Apparently, he had been dead wrong.

What else should he have expected from someone like Nae Yeong Hwa, warrior princess, though? Shaking his head, Myung Soo shifted the plastic grocery bags to his other hand and brushed aside his hair from his face. Although Chilseok had come and gone, the warm weather was still hanging around. Apparently that one night had just been some sort of freak weather change. Unfortunately. Myung Soo had actually been looking forward to the cooler weather.

"How am I supposed to treat her, though?" Myung Soo's mouth suddenly asked, reverting back to Yeong Hwa. She had been the default of his brain's activities for the past few days, no matter how hard he tried to get her out of his head. Apparently sort of tentatively possibly admitting that he may or may not have romantic affections towards Yeong Hwa had broken the dam inside his head, and suddenly a flood of thoughts had reached his conscious brain.

The way her eyes crinkled when she smiled, how she buried her face whenever she was embarrassed, how her nose scrunched up when she was annoyed... everything about Yeong Hwa was blocking out any other thought in his brain. Suddenly he was noticing the little things about her that he had overlooked before, making it difficult to face her without getting embarrassed or flustered.

"Aish... I really am losing my mind," Myung Soo groaned, tilting his head back and squeezing his eyes shut. On the back of his eyelids he could still see Yeong Hwa's eyes sparkling behind that wolf mask he had bought her. "Why?! WHY?! WHY?!" Myung Soo growled, his eyes flying open to try and dispel the image.

Which did happen.

By burning it away.

Clenching his teeth in pain, Myung Soo quickly turned his head down as the sun burrowed its way into his eyes after he accidentally looked directly into it. A bright array of colors danced across his vision, blurring his vision until he was nearly blind. Slowing to a stop, Myung Soo leaned against the nearest street lamp and rubbed desperately at his eyes, trying to brush away the pain.

"Are you alright?" a man's voice suddenly asked from beside Myung Soo. He hadn't realized anyone had been around to watch his stupidity. Worried about what this man must think of him, Myung Soo quickly looked up while his mind began going through a thousand excuses.

"Y-yeah. I just got something in my eye," Myung Soo mumbled, smiling assuringly at the man as he waved him off. Laughing gently, the man nodded his head in understanding as he pushed the thick, round glasses he wore further up his nose. Nervously laughing himself, Myung Soo ran a hand through his hair and took a quick evaluation of the man. His dark brown hair was tousled on his head like he had just rolled out of bed, but his neatly pressed suit suggested otherwise. The suit didn't fit quite right on his frame, which resembled a stick, though. All in all, he looked like a kid who had tried on his dad's clothes and gone to work in his place.

"You should look into getting glasses. Built in eye protection," the man chuckled, tapping the rims of his glasses. Forcing a smile onto his face, Myung Soo managed a small laugh before bowing slightly to the man.

"I should be going now. Um... thank you for the concern?" Myung Soo said, faltering at the last bit as he tried to think of something to say. It wasn't like there was much to work with, though. All the man had done was inquire about Myung Soo's well-being, and then make a lame joke about eye glasses. Nothing that Myung Soo believed warranted a thank you, but then again, respect usually went a long ways with this type of person. Always better to be safe than sorry.

"Do you live around here?" The man suddenly asked, his voice turning formal as he adjusted the lapels of his suit. As he did so, the atmosphere went down like a feather tied to an anchor. Forcing a small, polite smile onto his face, Myung Soo caught himself glancing over his shoulder to make sure nobody was coming up behind him. "Don't worry. I'm not out to kidnap you or anything," the man assured him, holding his hands up to show his innocence as a disarming smile appeared on his face.

"Um... yes, sir. I actually live in that house right over there," Myung Soo answered, pointing a few doors down. As he turned to look in the direction, Myung Soo could practically see the man's brain make a mental note of the information. "Well that's not creepy at all," he thought, glancing around once again to make sure nobody else was in the area. From what he could see, they were entirely alone.

"So then perhaps you'll be able to tell me where this girl lives. Oh, and please, call me Mr. Lee," the man introduced himself as he fumbled with his pockets, searching for something within. When he turned back to Myung Soo, a photograph in hand, he could see that the boy's face had hardened and that he was trying hard not to glare at him. Frowning slightly, Mr. Lee brushed it off as nerves and extended the photograph towards Myung Soo. "I'm looking for my niece. She was supposed to be staying at one of those rooftop rooms, but when I went to check up on her she was nowhere to be found. I thought she might be staying with a friend-"

He was cut off as Myung Soo's hand lashed out and snatched the photo out of his grip. Holding tightly to Yeong Hwa's picture, which had obviously been taken without her knowledge, Myung Soo clenched his teeth angrily and advanced menacingly on this "Mr. Lee". Eyes widening, the man took a few short steps backwards, stumbling slightly in his haste to get away.

"Let me guess, her name is Yeong Hwa? Nae Yeong Hwa?" Myung Soo growled, his fist wrapping around Yeong Hwa's picture. Without thinking, Mr. Lee nodded.

A second later he was on the ground, his vision- or more likely his glasses- cracked and a throbbing pain in his nose as warm liquid ran out from it. Looking up, he could see the boy silhouetted dangerously above him. Blinking away tears as he averted his eyes from the sun's brightness, Mr. Lee curled in on himself to try and protect himself against the further blows that were sure to come.

But didn't.

"Sir? What would you like me to do with this?" a deep voice rumbled, drawing Mr. Lee out from his defensive position. Slowly he rose to his feet, pressing one sleeve against his nose to try and slow the blood that was flowing like a waterfall. Standing in front of him was the kid, restrained by the crushing grip of Mr. Lee's bodyguard. Suddenly, the man was very grateful his boss had insisted on bringing this guy along with him.

"Let him go," Mr. Lee grumbled, glaring at Myung Soo as he did so.

"Sir?"

"I said let him go, Hyun Ki," Mr. Lee snapped, shaking out his bloodied sleeve and spattering a few drops on Myung Soo's face. Cringing away, the first move the boy made when he was released was to wipe away Mr. Lee's "gift" for him. Irritated, Mr. Lee snorted, sending a glob of blood splashing onto the asphalt. Grimacing, Myung Soo debated on whether or not to try and get a few more hits in on this guy. He deserved to get exactly the same treatment he had given Yeong Hwa, after all.

Actually, she had said that it was the Hulk smash man who had restrained Myung Soo in the first place who had done the damage to Yeong Hwa, but Myung Soo wasn't about to try and take that guy down. So he satisfied himself through words: "Why the hell can't you leave Yeong Hwa alone?! She doesn't know where her dad is!" Myung Soo snarled, taking a step towards Mr. Lee. Flinching away, the man took three steps backwards and glanced meaningfully up at Hyun Ki, whom Yeong Hwa had nicknamed "Pitbull" during their last encounter.

Reaching out, the man wrapped one beefy hand around Myung Soo's shoulder, crushing it as he did so. Clenching his teeth to keep from crying out, Myung Soo stopped mid-stride and slowly set his foot back down on the ground. The pressure lessened slightly, but he was far from being comfortable.

"You certainly seem to know quite a bit about Miss Nae's life, don't you? What did you say your name was, anyway?" Mr. Lee asked, his voice smooth as glass, despite his face being visibly shaken.

"I didn't say," Myung Soo grunted, trying to jerk his shoulder away from Hyun Ki's grip. In response, the hulking mass rested his other hand on Myung Soo's opposite shoulder, nearly sending him down onto his knees from the sheer weight of the man. Straining to remain upright, Myung Soo tried to remain looking as defiant as he could. Mr. Lee remained unimpressed, his exterior an icy sheen of annoyance with Myung Soo's dramatics.

"Then why don't you introduce yourself?" Mr. Lee invited, extending one hand to Myung Soo. Narrowing his eyes, Myung Soo opened his mouth to reply with a sharp comeback, but his voice was squelched by Hyun Ki suddenly adding even more weight to the pressure he was putting on Myung Soo.

"Be careful," the man warned, those two simple words holding more of a threat than a dozen nuclear warheads. Swallowing hard, Myung Soo nodded stiffly and braced his legs to keep them from buckling at the knees.

"Kim- Kim Myung-"

"Hyun Ki, can't you see that you're killing the boy? Let up a little, will you?" Mr. Lee sighed, dabbing gently at his nose to check if the blood flow had stopped. Each time he did so, he closed off one nostril and turned his voice into a nasally, whiny thing that would be humorous in any other situation.

As soon as Myung Soo could feel Hyun Ki lift the weight slightly he in a deep breath. He was louder than he had expected, and couldn't help but feel chagrined as Mr. Lee looked down smugly at him. "Name?" he asked, gesturing once more to Myung Soo with an open hand.

"Kim Myung Soo," he introduced through clenched teeth,

"Alright then, Mr. Kim, how about we cut to the chase and get right down to business?" Mr. Lee asked cheerfully, clapping his hands together and flashing Myung Soo with a brilliant smile. Rolling his eyes slightly, Myung Soo remained sullenly silent as he waited for his chance to get another blow in on the man's face. Pouting slightly when Myung Soo refused to answer him, Mr. Lee let his hands fall to his side and slouched his shoulders slightly. "Fine, fine..." he sighed, shrugging his shoulders sadly.

"I'm assuming that you are a friend of Miss Nae's, am I correct? ...Don't worry, you don't have to answer. Anyway, working off an assuming, friends have each other's numbers in their phone's contacts, right?- No, no, don't rush to answer. It's quite alright- So, putting logic together, we must assume that you, Mr. Kim, have Nae Yeong Hwa's cell phone number," the explanation was long winded and peppered with the occasional sarcastic dig at Myung Soo's determined silence, but the man did make his point. Swallowing hard, Myung Soo could feel his cell phone suddenly begin to weight heavily in his pocket.

"Mr. Kim?"

"No chance in hell. I am not giving you Yeong Hwa's number so that you can stalk her even more!" Myung Soo snapped, every muscle in his body flexing as he lunged forward at Mr. Lee. Hyun Ki wasn't the time to relax in moments of peace, though, and his grip instantly prevented Myung Soo from making any progress. Still, Mr. Lee couldn't help but flinch in surprise, something Myung Soo noted smugly.

Straightening his suit jacket, Mr. Lee coughed quietly and drew himself together for round two. Pushing up his glasses, he tried another approach: "I don't think you understand the situation, Mr. Kim."

"As if I don't. Yeong Hwa told me all about how you dealt with her the first time. You really think I'm going to let you do that to her again?" Myung Soo scoffed, glaring straight through Mr. Lee. Shivering slightly, the man adjusted his glasses nervously and tried not to let this kid get to him. He had thought Yeong Hwa was the only vicious spirit in the area, but apparently she had found her long lost twin.

"I promised to protect her, and I don't back down on my promises," Myung Soo added, still able to draw up a clear picture of what Yeong Hwa had looked like when he found her. He was not about to let that happen to her again.

"Really?" Mr. Lee asked, his gaze penetrating further into Myung Soo than the boy felt comfortable with. Averting his eyes, he tried to shake the feeling that this man had just seen more than Myung Soo wanted him to. There was no way the guy was that good at reading people, and he certainly couldn't read minds. "And do you think that you are protecting her by keeping her from her father? If you give me her cell phone number I can get her into contact with him," Mr. Lee offered, doing a quick check to make sure Hyun Ki still had a firm grip on Myung Soo.

"You expect me to believe that? You son of a !" Myung Soo exclaimed, his fury giving way to strength as he wrenched free of Hyun Ki's grip and lunged at Mr. Lee. Taken off guard, both men couldn't react in time, giving Myung Soo his chance. Throwing himself at Mr. Lee, Myung Soo brought them both to the ground with a satisfying crack as Mr. Lee's head made contact with the concrete sidewalk. From behind, Hyun Ki gathered his senses and reached down, plucking Myung Soo off Mr. Lee and up into the air.

Still struggling, Myung Soo lashed out at Hyun Ki's face but his fists only met with air. Snorting in irritation, Hyun Ki reached into Myung Soo's pocket and, after a short struggle, pulled out his cell phone. "Compared to the girl, you fight like a baby," Hyun Ki scoffed, tossing Myung Soo carelessly to the ground. Then he handed Myung Soo's phone over to Mr. Lee, who was still trying to decide if things were still in his control.

Landing hard on the ground, Myung Soo's teeth snapped together over his tongue, creating a neat tear in it and drawing blood. Grimacing as the taste of rust filled his mouth, Myung Soo jumped back on to his feet and wrenched his cell phone away from Mr. Lee's grip just as the man finished memorizing Yeong Hwa's number.

Protectively slipping it back into his pocket, Myung Soo could feel the charm Yeong Hwa had given him as it passed through his fingers. Well, he supposed it could also be considered he had given it to himself, considering he was the one who won the promise rings. "Promises... 'I won't let anyone hurt you ever again'... that's what I promised her. And yet I was totally powerless to keep these two from her," Myung Soo thought bitterly as he watched Mr. Lee and Hyun Ki begin walking away.

"Hey! I'm not done with you!" he called after them, jumping to his feet and sprinting after Mr. Lee. Reaching out, he tried to grab the back of the man's suit, but Hyun Ki's rock solid arm suddenly barred his way. Skidding to a halt, Myung Soo kept himself from painfully colliding with the human version of a tree trunk. "I won't let you hurt Yeong Hwa any more than you already have," he growled, glaring darkly at Hyun Ki, whose face remained emotionless.

"Whether you chose to believe us or not, Mr. Kim, we are not trying to hurt your precious Yeong Hwa. In fact, we are in a much better position to assist her than-"

"Myung Soo?! What the hell are you doing?!" Yeong Hwa's voice suddenly called out as she appeared in the doorway of the Kim residence. Surprised, Mr. Lee quickly turned his face so that the sun cast deep shadows across it, making him unrecognizable. Hyun Ki did the same, though his arm remained barring Myung Soo's way. "And who are those two?" Yeong Hwa continued, about to step out from the house.

Fear gripped Myung Soo as he realized what the two might do to her if she recognized them, and he instantly tried to think of a way to keep her away. "Nobody! I just met them on my way home. Just go inside and get me something to drink, okay? It's the least you can do after making me go all the way to the store in this heat!" Myung Soo called out to her, trying to keep his voice as natural as possible. Stopping halfway down the stairs, Yeong Hwa placed her hands on her hips and glowered at him.

"Glad to have you back, Mr. Crabby Pants," she grumbled, turning sharply on her heels and stalking back into the house. Slowly, Myung Soo let out a breath of relief.

"Like two children playing house," Mr. Lee scoffed under his breath, turning to leave as he did so.

"What?" Myung Soo demanded.

"As I was saying, we are in a position to do Yeong Hwa a lot more good than you possibly could. You're little crush isn't going to be enough to keep that girl safe, Mr. Kim. She needs someone who can actually help her, and frankly, you aren't that person. Step aside and let Yeong Hwa move on with her life, before you do more hurt than help," Mr. Lee lectured darkly, taking out all his frustrations with the sour way his day had gone. Then he was stalking off down the road with Hyun Ki following closely behind.

Myung Soo remained standing there for a few minutes contemplating what Mr. Lee had said. In the end, he could only come to the conclusion that the man was right. After all, what could Myung Soo offer Yeong Hwa besides... well, nothing. There was absolutely nothing about him that she needed. In fact, it was him who needed her around, which was the most selfish thing Myung Soo had ever heard of. Maybe it would be better for the both of them if he just cut off all ties with her as soon as the summer ended. He was sure she had relatives she could stay with until her father was fit to return, or Mr. Lee seemed plenty willing to help- if that was what he was really going for.

"Aish... this summer just keeps getting worse and-"

"Kim Myung Soo! Do you want your soda, or should I pour it down the sink?" Yeong Hwa called out as she appeared once more in the doorway, this time waving a dripping wet soda in the air. Making a show of rolling his eyes, Myung Soo removed all traces of bitterness from his face and headed towards Yeong Hwa.

"I won't let anyone hurt you ever again..." those were his exact words to her when he had promised to be her hero.

"So you're sure you didn't know those guys? They seemed pretty familiar," Yeong Hwa asked as she handed Myung Soo the soda, her face crinkling slightly as she tried to put a name to the obscure faces she had seen. As he popped open the top of the soda, Myung Soo couldn't help but smile slightly at how cute she looked when her face was like that. "Like, really familiar. I swear I've seen them before!" Yeong Hwa continued, the idea of not knowing something obviously bothering her. Chuckling, Myung Soo took a sip of his soda.

And don't the heroes always mess things up a few times before winning in the end?
 

"Well don't just laugh! Tell me if I know them or not!" Yeong Hwa snapped, lightly rapping him on the arm with her knuckles. Smirking, Myung Soo shook his head and shuffled ahead a few steps before turning into the kitchen. "Myung Soooooo! Come on!" Yeong Hwa complained, following closely behind him.

"Damn you to hell, Lee. I'm not abandoning Yeong Hwa," Myung Soo thought, all his previous doubts erased in a single moment.

"Geez, what is with you today. First you're all nice, then you go back to normal, and now you're ignoring me. You're worse than a girl on her period!" Yeong Hwa exclaimed, giving up on squeezing any information out of Myung Soo and stomping to the fridge. "You want a carrot?" she asked, opening the door and then the vegetable crisper.

"Well that wasn't random at all," Myung Soo chuckled, taking a seat at the table. Shrugging her shoulders, Yeong Hwa removed two carrots from the crisper and held them up to Myung Soo.

"I'm in a random mood. So, yes? No? Maybe so?" she asked, tilting her head slightly to the side.

"Sure," Myung Soo agreed. Nodding, Yeong Hwa tossed him one of the two carrots, which he neatly snagged out of the air, and then closed the refrigerator after a brief struggle with the crisper. "Gently, Yeong Hwa. I'd rather you not go around breaking my things," Myung Soo reminded her before taking another sip of his drink.

"Oh, and Yeong Hwa."

"Yeah?"

"Give me you cell phone for a second."

"Why on Earth would I do that?"

"I want to change your cell number."

"What?!"

Author's Note: So, sit down at the computer to write down a few quick ideas for the next chapter, and suddenly the whole thing is written. So yeah. This chapter is a little shorter than my others, but I wanted to hurry and get it written while the ideas are flowing. I know that the reappearance of Mr. Lee is kind of random, but... meh. Whatever. Going back and re-reading when he had Yeong Hwa beat up really wanted me to have him get a taste of his own medicine Plus, I recently discovered the live action version of Kimi ni Todoke, and GOSHDANGIT Kazehaya is cute! It got me in such a happy mood that I just had to write! (but it turned out to be a kind of depressing chapter... anyway, check out the movie here :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gBYcTpg9es )

And now I'm off to watch horror Let's Plays! Cause we all know that's a good idea when it's nearly midnight!