“Let go of me please~” I said, struggling to pull my left leg out of Gongchan’s grasp. “I need to go to school! I’m going to be late if you don’t let go of me now.”

“Why can’t I go? Let me go to school with you,” he retorted in an almost whining voice. “Play with me for a bit…”

“I will! But later. When I come back. Let go, Channie..Please…”

“Hey, Channie. Let Mi Ra go, she has to attend school.” Jinyoung said.       

Gongchan pouted, but let me go. I raised an eyebrow at Jinyoung. “How come he follows what you say?”

Jinyoung smiled. “You need to be more firm. Give orders, don’t plead.”

I raised my other eyebrow, then looked down at Gongchan, who was now grasping the hem of my skirt. “Let go, Gongchan,” I said firmly. “I need to go to school.”

Gongchan hesitated, then let go of my skirt, scrunching his face at Jinyoung. “Why’d you tell her that?”

I patted his forehead. “Don’t blame Jinyoung. I need to go now. Be good, okay?” I told the rest of the robots. “I’m making Jinyoung the leader while I’m gone, since he was the first one I switched on. Also, he’s the most responsible.”

Baro opened his mouth but I cut him off. “All of you, do what Jinyoung tells you to do. Don’t  let strangers in the house, okay? Sandeul, don’t play with the sprinklers. And Baro, stop poking Sandeul.”  I know Sandeul doesn’t feel anything whenever Baro pokes him, but it pains me to see that. I feel like I’m the one being poked and prodded half the time.

“How long will you be gone?” Sandeul asked.

“I won’t be back until this afternoon. Just think of it this way. Jinyoung’s your Dad, Shinwoo’s your Mom, and you, Gongchan and Baro are the cute little kids who do what their parents say. All right then, I’m off.”

Gongchan and Shinwoo walked me to the gate. I went out and closed it behind me.

“Good morning.”

“Oppa.” I felt like my heart would burst right at that moment. I stared open-mouthed at Min Jun, my senior and my boyfriend. He lived on the other side of town, so I didn’t expect to see him now.

He smiled at me. “I brought my bike with me. Want a lift?”

“S-sure,” I stammered. I sneaked a nervous glance at the gate, glad, for once, that it was made of solid metal and at least five feet higher than me. There was no way for him to see Gongchan or Shinwoo. “Um..why are you here?”

“I wanted to give my girlfriend a ride,” he laughed. “What, isn’t it allowed?”

I laughed too, but shakily. “Of course it is. Can we go now?”

“Are you okay? You seem a little pale.”

“Oh, I’m fine. I’m great, never been better. Can we go now?” Before one of the robots come out? I tacked on at the end, but didn’t say it out loud. Just then, I heard Sandeul’s voice.

“Mi Ra! You forget to bring your lunch!”

“Who was that?” Min Jun asked.

“No one.”

“Someone said your name. The voice came from your house.”

“I didn’t—“

“Where’s Mi Ra? LEE MI RA—“ Just then he burst out, packed lunch in hand. He was smiling his gummy smile as he walked towards me. “Here’s your special lunchbox which is way better than Jinyoung’s!” He said in a sing-song voice.  He noticed Min Jun, and stopped. “Who’s he?”

 “I’m her boyfriend,” Min Jun answered before I could speak. “Who are you?”

“I’m Sandeul. “

“Why are you here?” Min Jun asked.

“Me? I live here, with Mi Ra.”

I winced at Min Jun turned to stare at me. Dear ground, if you open up and swallow me now, I would be infinitely grateful…

“He lives with you?”

“Yeah,” Sandeul said. “Didn’t you hear me when I told you that? I live in that house,” Sandeul explained slowly, pointing to my house. “I live there with Mi Ra, and Jinyoung, Shinwoo, Baro and Gongchan. Mi Ra said Jinyoung’s our dad and Shinwoo’s our mom. I thought moms were supposed to be females, but it’s all right. Shinwoo does act like a mom. And Mi Ra’s our princess.”

Min Jun was still staring at me. “You live with five guys? Since when?”

“Since…yesterday,” I answered before Sandeul could say anything that could make the situation worse. "They uh….They’re my dad’s friend’s adopted sons. Their dad sent them to live with me because he couldn’t take care of them well, since he’s so busy.” It was the first story that I could make up on the spot. I then faced Sandeul, glaring at him full-force and hoping he would get the hint. “Go back inside, Sandeul. And stay there. Okay? Thanks for the lunch.”

“Well..Okay. Bye, Mi Ra, have fun in school. Bye, Mi Ra’s boyfriend.”

“Sorry,oppa. I should have told you…”

Min Jun shrugged. “Hey, it’s cool. I’m fine with it. Although it would be a bit of a problem if he turned out to be good looking. No offense. Mi Ra, but he looks clueless.”

My first instinct was to defend Sandeul, but then thought better of it. Min Jun already said he was fine with me living with five guys (robots! my brain reminded me), and that was the main thing. I thought of Jinyoung and Gongchan, sending up prayers of thanks that they weren’t the ones who came out.

I sat on the back and wrapped my arms around his waist, feeling like the heroine on one of those romantic movies. I could almost hear a melody in my head~

“Hey, Mi Ra. You have a vacant period today, right?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Can you meet me at the Lover’s Lane later?”

I bit my lip to keep from smiling. The long stretch of tree-lined road behind our school was known to all students as Lover’s Lane. A lot of couples spend time there, walking hand in hand, or sitting on the benches. It was also the perfect place for a romantic first kiss. Now, I’d always imagined my first kiss to happen beneath the starry skies, but I guess the glaring sun will do just fine.

“W-why?” I asked, making my voice as neutral as possible.

“I need help with my project. Can you help me finish it?”

“Oh.” Images of us holding hands and strolling along that famed path fluttered away. “Um, sure.”

“Thanks.”

______________________________________________________________________________________________

“Okay, that was hell, and I’m glad it’s over. Four out of ten? Honestly?” my friend Nam Gyu complained as we sat down to lunch. She was talking about of pop quiz in Geography. I think I did fairly well, considering that I only had a few minutes to review.

“You wouldn’t be so traumatized if you actually paid attention in class, you know,” Seul Mi lectured. She was one of the smartest kids in school. She was a little shy, but she’s actually fun to be with, once you get to know her.

“Oh my gosh! Since when did you start making cute lunch boxes?? Nam Gyu gushed as I opened my lunch box.

“Uh…since now?” I looked in disbelief at “my” lunch box. [CLICK TO SEE IT!] Nam Gyu was right, it did look cute. The rice had been colored yellow and shaped to form a duck. SanDuckie had obviously put a lot of effort in making my lunchbox, and I made a mental note to thank him later.. Now I see why he seemed to confident, he did have skills. I took an experimental bite. It was delicious.

“How are things between you and Min Jun?” Seul Mi asked as we ate. “You’ve been together for three weeks, right?”

I nodded. “We’re okay, I guess. He picked me up today, and we went to school together. I’m going to meet him later at the Lover’s Lane, during our vacant period.”

“Did you kiss already?” Nam Gyu asked in a loud whisper.

“N-no.” I blushed and stuffed my cheeks with food.

“What? You’ve been together for almost a month and you guys haven’t kissed yet? The guys I date usually try to kiss me on our first date. Why haven’t you kissed yet?”

“I-I don’t know.” I felt my cheeks getting hotter. I swallowed. “It just hasn’t happened yet.” Not that Min Jun didn’t try, mind you. I was always the one who held back. Like I said, I had a mental image of what I wanted my first kiss to be like. A first kiss behind the school and near the dumpsters was not exactly what I had in mind for romantic and unforgettable.

“You should take initiative, girl,” Nam Gyu told me, explaining like a pro and waving her chopsticks for emphasis. “It’s the 21^st century, after all. If you don’t want to ask him directly, try dropping hints. Say something like, “Oppa, my lips feel cold, would you mind warming them up for me?” She puckered her lips at Seul Mi and made kissing noises. I laughed.

“Ugh. That’s the lamest line I’ve ever heard. Your boyfriend  uses that on you?” Seul Mi asked, pretending to be disgusted.

“Well…yeah. Sometimes,” Nam Gyu admitted, looking sheepish.

“And it actually works?”

“Like a charm.”

Seul Mi pretended to gag. She turned to me. “That, is exactly why I’m not getting a boyfriend anytime soon.” Nam Gyu stuck her tongue out and stole one for Seul Mi’s egg rolls while I laughed and shook my head.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

“Hey.”

“Oh, you’re here.” Min Jun had been lying on one of the benches, but he sat up and smiled when he saw me. He patted the space beside him, gesturing for me to sit down. “I need help finishing my English essay,” he told me while he rummaged around in his bag. “Can you help me? We were supposed to write a five page analysis of Pride and Prejudice but I was so busy I forgot to do it. I checked the internet for summaries and I got a bit started so…Here.” He handed me a piece of paper.

He really meant it, when he said “a bit”. He had written only a few sentences, and I noticed some grammatical and spelling errors. I gave him an awkward smile as I took it from him.

“When did your teacher give this?”

He thought for a moment.  “Last month, I think. It’s due later.”

I just nodded and went to work on the essay. Not to boast, but I was actually good in English, and I’d read the book before. Min Jun sat beside me, listening to his iPod and humming while I wrote the rest of the essay.

“It’s done,” I said, handing him the now-finished essay. “Oppa—“

“Thanks,” he said, stuffing the paper into his bag. “I got to go.”

“Wait!” I tried to call him,. but he was already running to his next class. I sighed. I had wanted to watch a movie with him this Saturday. We rarely go on dates now, and I’d wanted to spend the weekend with him. “It’s all right,” I told myself. “I’ll just ask him after class.”

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Class seemed to drag on longer, although I swear we never exceeded the usual time allotted for each class. The moment our teacher dismissed the class, I ran out, waving a quick goodbye to my friends. I wanted to have a chance to talk to Min Jun before their soccer practice, but he wasn’t there. He wasn’t at the field, either. His classmates told me he went home early. I tried calling him but all I got was his voicemail, so I left a message telling him to call me when he was free. There was nothing left to do but head home.

I was still feeling glum when I arrived, so I uttered a weak “Hey guys, I’m home,” and dragged my feet.

“Welcome back~” Gongchan and Sandeul greeted me with big smiles on their faces. Gongchan took my backpack and wrapped his arms around my left arm, and Sandeul did the same on my right. They bombarded me with questions as we walked up to the house.

“How was school?”

“Did you have fun?”

“Did you like the lunch I made for you?”

I smiled. “School was fine, it was fun, and yes, lunch was delicious. Thanks, Sandeul.” Their enthusiastic welcome made me cheer up a bit. Both Jinyoung and Shinwoo were waiting for me at the door, and asked how my day went.

“It went just fine,” I told them. We had a pop quiz in Geography, and I got two mistakes out of ten. I forgot what Netherlands’ capital was.”

“Oh, I know that,” Jinyoung said. “Armstrong, right? Louis Armstrong.”

I gave him a weird look. “No.”

“It’s Amsterdam,” Shinwoo said.

I nodded at Shinwoo. “You’re right.”

Jinyoung’s expression was something to see. He looked perplexed as he looked at me, then Shinwoo, then back at me. “It’s not Armstrong?”

“No,” Shinwoo and I chorused.

“Oh.”

“Where’s Baro?” I asked, looking around. I sat on the sofa, with Sandeul on my left and Jinyoung on my right. Gongchan sat on the floor, beside Shinwoo.

“I’m right here.” Baro emerged from the kitchen, holding a plate. My eyes widened when he set it on the table in front of me. There were beautiful five beautiful cupcakes on the plate, designed to look like animals. A duck, a bear, a puppy, a fox, and a squirrel.

“We made those,” Sandeul said. “To welcome you back!”

“Really? Wow…they’re so cute!” I couldn’t decide which one to taste first.

“Eat mine first!” Sandeul said, and handed the duck cupcake to me. “It’s the best tasting out of the whole bunch.”

Gongchan disappeared, and then returned with a glass of milk for me. I thanked him and took a bite out of the cupcake. It was pure heaven, maybe even better than store-bought ones.

“Try mine next,” Shinwoo said. “I made them with marshmallows.”

It tasted great too, and the same went for Jinyoung’s and Gongchan’s. I had to laugh as Gongchan presented his puppy cupcake, which looked almost real. I was already full, but there was still a single cupcake left on the plate. A squirrel cupcake made by Baro. It was at least twice as large as the ones the others made. I bit my lip.

“You don’t have to eat it now,” he said, glancing at me. “If you don’t want to, it’s okay. It looks messier than the ones they made.” He made as if to take it, but I stopped him.

“What are you talking about?” I firmly took the plate. “I was looking forward to eating this one. And it looks great. Come to think of it, it looks like you.” I took a big bite. Hmm…chocolate. My favorite.

“Slow down, you’re devouring it like a wolf,” he told me. “I’m gonna go clean the attic.” As he turned away, I saw a tiny smile playing in his lips. I kind of forgot I was in a bad mood to begin with.

“It’s already spotless,” Sandeul informed him and slung an arm over his shoulder. “Mommy Shinwoo over there cleaned it this morning.”

I started to smile as I looked at each of them. I had been seriously opposed to the idea of them staying with me. I was fine by myself, I always have been. It’s only been a day, but I can already see the huge difference they made in my previously ordinary life. They were great. They did it unconsciously, but they managed to make me really happy today.

“Thank you,” I told them. “Thanks so much.”

“For the cupcakes? No problem. We can make them for you every day,” Sandeul said.

Jinyoung smiled at me. “Sandeul’s right, it’s nothing. That’s what we’re here for, anyway. To help you out and make you happy. You’re happy now, right?”

I nodded. Gongchan leaned against my knee, and I reached out and patted his head. Sandeul smiled with the gummy smile I was beginning to grow fond of. Baro adjusted the cap on his head and wrapped his arm around Sandeul’s waist. They looked cute, when they weren’t teasing and baiting each other. Shinwoo looked wistful, but smiled when he caught my eye. I’ve never had a big family before, but now I’m starting to see how it’s like. I think it might actually be fun, even though I had five robot prototypes instead of living, breathing people.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hi! It's me. Again. LOL. Did you click the links? Teehee~

I enjoyed searching for pictures.

Anyway....things are moving quickly. Too quickly? Hmmm..

And yeah, she has a boyfriend. 

And that "Louis Armstrong" moment, I got that from MTV Match-Up. It was hilarious. Poor halbae is really bad in Geography. 

Please comment and subscribe and COMMENT! I'd like to know what you think of this fan fic so far. Criticisms are also welcome.

Just message me if you have something mean to say. Kidding! Anyway...bye!