"What are you doing with your grandma glasses on in the middle of the night?" Clare questioned groggily. 

Lily looked up from the computer screen. The wall clock right above it said that it was a little past 1AM. She's been on this for five straight hours.

"Just researching," Lily replied. Right after slurping down the restaurant-quality beef-and-noodle soup that her cousin made, she went straight to her computer to look up more information about the desserts industry in Taiwan. One of the country's main attractions was its street food culture. Almost in any street, one could find food carts selling anything from crispy chicken strips to candied strawberries on a stick. They are crazy yummy and are really cheap - the best combination for everyone. At the same time, there are a number of traditional dessert restaurants ranging from quaint hole-in-the-wall types to big chain stores. Lily was trying to find a niche in the market that could be filled by their budding mochi enterprise. 

It has only been a little over a month since that first "shout out" Henry and the others made for Mochi Co., but Lily and Clare were already up to their necks in orders. Things really got going when Henry posted a photo on his Weibo of him and Donghae looking blissful while eating mochi ice cream. Lily's haphazardly-thrown-together blog for Mochi Co. has been receiving at least 100 views per day, and that number was steadily growing. For the past few days, the two girls were running on coffee and 30-minute naps in order to satisfy orders. Sadly, they had to refuse ones from abroad since they haven't set up international delivery yet, nor did they know how to keep their product fresh until it reaches their foreign customers. 

It became a race against time for Lily to properly set up their business. She's currently drafting their business plan and, once she's finalized it and has gone over it with Clare (they were going to be partners), she'll file the papers and, when approved, be able to legally run their business. So she's taking every free time she's got to do research and make the best business plan her brain can conjure (she was far from being an expert on the craft, but there's no one else to do it). 

"What are you researching about now?" Clare yawned. "I swear, you deserve a lab coat or something geeky with all that research you're doing."

"It's for the business plan. I'm almost done with it anyway. Hopefully we can go through it this weekend," Lily informed. "What are you doing up anyway? I didn't hear your alarm go off."

"Ugh. It's Siwon. Dude sent an SMS. The vibration woke me," Clare answered, rubbing her eyes. "Such bad timing. Thanks for robbing me of 20 more minutes of sleep."

Lily turned to her cousin and said dreamily, "I wouldn't mind if he sent me messages and woke me up every hour. I mean, have you seen the dude? Such a nice guy, too."

"We can just switch phones. Then we'd both get what we want," Clare suggested.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, confused.

Just then, Jarvis' voice (the one that Iron Man speaks to in his suit) came on, telling Lily that someone was calling (it was originally Henry's tone. When she heard it, she geek-spazzed so he ended up sending it to her. Now they have the same ringtone). 

"That's what I meant," Clare said, seeing the caller's name.

"What? Oh," Lily realized. It was Henry. 

SJM has been really busy with schedules the past couple of weeks so they haven't met up for that long. The last time was that fan meet in Tainan, but the boys had to rush to a variety show filming right after, which didn't really leave a lot of time for them to talk with the cousins. Lily just made the agreed-upon mochi supply and left it with the receptionist of their dorm twice a week. Henry never failed to call her up to thank her, though. Actually, he called her up almost every day, whenever he was on break, or traveling to someplace, or when he's about to sleep. It was a little weird for Lily the first few times when he just rattled on about his day the moment she picked up. But eventually, she began looking forward to his stories. With Clare gone most of the day to her sous chef job, she only had mochi for companion. It was nice to have some semblance of life, even if it were just vicariously lived. It also helped that SJM was made up of some of the craziest guys so Henry always had a funny story to tell. After he talks for like, an hour at least, he'd also always ask about Lily's day. She'd always tell him the same thing (making more mochi as usual), but he'd bug her and she'd end up telling him something from her past. Only then, when he's able to get her to tell him something new about herself, would he be satisfied and hang up.

"You're a growing child. You should be asleep already," Lily greeted her caller.

"And what are you doing up this late?" Henry retorted. "I thought the elderly went to bed early."

Lily, at some point, started teasing him about being a kid, so Henry countered by referring to her as "the elderly".

"I was about to, but some kid called me," Lily returned. "So, what's up? How was your day? Did anybody do anything stupid? I want details."

"Oh, loads. But let's save that for later," Henry replied. "What are your plans for tomorrow? I mean, later today, since it's already 1AM."

"Today?" Lily asked, checking her planner, surprised to see that it was already the weekend. She thought she had a couple more days before the weekend. Mochi production was really messing up her sense of time. "I… Well, I was planning on visiting some lychee plantations. I found out that the best flavor for lychee ice cream is when the Jade Lotus Blossom, Black Leaf, and Glutinous Rice Flavor varieties are mixed together. So I wanna go get fresh ones for our next batch, and maybe we could work out a delivery system from the orchards or something."

There was only silence from the other side.

"Did you just fall asleep on me? HENRY!" Lily shouted.

Laughter came. "I'm sorry. I was just amazed at your little Discovery Channel special about lychee there," Henry joked.

"I'm gonna hang up on you if you don't tell me why you're calling," Lily threatened.

"Okay, okay," Henry obliged. "Since you have plans, we'll just go with you."

"What are you talking about?" Lily questioned.

"Well, we get this weekend off so we want to go explore. We also get to bring the big van. And because your plan involves going to different places…" Henry trailed off.

"What? Will you just get to the point already!" Lily demanded.

"ROADTRIP!!!"

~ ~ ~

"YOU'RE driving?"

Henry nodded enthusiastically, his eyes disappearing into lines with his wide smile as he gripped the van's steering wheel with both hands.

"He's driving?" Lily asked once more, a look of disbelief appearing on her face when everyone around her nodded. 

They were parked in front of Clare and Lily's apartment early Saturday morning. It was barely eight hours ago that this road trip thing was decided, yet they were here, all ready and energetic. Siwon, Henry, Donghae, and Eunhyuk rang their doorbell at 9AM sharp. Five minutes later, they were loading the van with snacks enough to feed an army. Too bad the other four - Zhou Mi, Ryeowook, Kyuhyun, and Sungmin - opted to spend the break doing their own things. But oh well, more food for the six of them then.

"Siwon, are you sure you're letting him drive? Is it legal?" Lily questioned the super-model-like man next to her. 

"Yes, he's the only one with an international driver's license," Siwon confirmed. 

"Why would they give a kid an international driver's license?!" Lily half-joked, half-wondered out loud.

Not amused with her comment, Henry shoved his driver's license in her face. Lily blinked a few times to focus on the information on it. 

"Whoa, you're actually over 21," she commented, finally seeing his exact date of birth. He was only two years younger than her. She had a vague recollection of Clare mentioning it to her, but really, Henry was so playful and energetic and looked like a baby hamster when he smiled that she always thought of him as a teenager.

"How old did you think I was?!" Henry demanded, turning in the driver's seat to face her while keeping a hand on the wheel.

"I don't know… 17, 18 maybe?" Lily answered honestly. She could still remember the first time they met and how she thought Clare was being a cradle-robber. 

Henry glared at her. "Well I guess that's normal for the elderly, to see anybody a minute younger than them as babies."

"But you actually are an adorable little bao bei (寶貝 - baby/little kid/treasure) !" Lily teased, pinching his cheek. 

"Oh my goodness stop flirting and let's get going!" Eunhyuk cried in exasperation. "I wanna start eating the strawberry mochis already!"

"What - who's flirting?!" Lily protested, finally moving to get on the back of the van. But before she could, everybody rushed in and occupied the whole back portion, which left her with only the passenger seat beside the driver.

"Guys. Come on. I don't wanna sit there. I may be older than him but I'm still too young to die," Lily plead with the four giggling idiots at the back.

"Oh psssshh!" Henry sputtered. "Will you quit being an uptight grandma and come sit here already?! We're running late!"

"Watch it, Henry Lau," Lily said in a warning tone, but nonetheless did what he asked.

"What do you want me to watch, Lilian Lao?" Henry replied mockingly. That earned him a punch in the arm.

"What, are they married already?!" Eunhyuk whispered audibly from the back.

"No, stupid, they just have similar last names," Donghae replied.

"Oh, just drive, you child," Lily muttered as she buckled her seatbelt tightly.

An hour-long guessing game ensued. As master of the vehicle, Henry got to pick the first stop of their trip. Everyone tried guessing where they were going or what was in that place. Even Clare, who was a native, couldn't guess the right answer. They were all dumbfounded when Henry parked the van along a street that looked like it belonged to a century ago. This wasn't something they expected from the youngest person in the group.

"Where are we…?" asked Donghae tentatively, sticking his body between Henry and Lily to look out the windshield at the architecture beyond. 

"We're in Dasi, in Taoyuan County," Henry announced. 

Nobody responded. They still had no idea why they're here. 

"Come on people! Get out of the car! We have an hour to look around and it's back on the road!" Henry prodded, unbuckling his seatbelt. 

Everyone else followed suit a little reluctantly. Eunhyuk and Donghae were each holding a box of strawberry mochi ice creams as they walked around, making them look like typical food tripping tourists. Siwon was pointing at one of the old buildings while Clare explained something to him. Henry was just casually walking like he knew these streets by heart. Lily followed behind, wondering where the heck they were going.

"Tada!" Henry exclaimed a while later, stopping at a store front. Understanding dawned on the rest of them as they read the signage.

Home of Taiwan's Famous Dried Tofu

"I should've known it's about food!" Donghae declared. 

"Oh thank goodness. I need something salty after all that mochi," Eunhyuk approved. 

Beaming, Henry grabbed Lily and dragged her into the shop. It wasn't big, but the amount of tables and chairs jammed into the limited space suggested that the restaurant gets packed to the brim quite often. A small, amiable elderly lady greeted them and showed them to a table near the back. She began speaking in dialect, which all but Clare (and Lily, albeit barely) couldn't understand. When the lady finished, as if he understood everything she said, Henry confidently asked for stinky tofu in Mandarin (it's the common language). The woman barked a laugh and finally spoke in Mandarin, too, telling them to wait while she prepared the food. Henry looked so proud of himself for managing that by himself. It was so adorable that Lily couldn't help but pinch his arm.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Henry complained, rubbing his arm.

Lily shrugged. "I just felt like it. Can't resist pinching squishy little kids!" she gushed, pinching his arm once more.

Henry gave her a taste of her own medicine, pinching Lily's arms, cheeks, and sides, making her squeal and stand up just to get away from him.

"I'm gonna hit you with my shoe if you don't stop!" Lily threatened amidst giggles.

"You started it!" Henry countered, also standing up.

"Okay. I'll stop if you stop," Lily bargained.

"Will you two please behave? This is a restaurant, not a playground," Siwon snapped. 

Surprised at his sudden strictness, Lily and Henry timidly went back to their seats.

"Dude, you made grandpa angry," Henry told Lily in an exaggerated whisper, eliciting laughter from everyone, even Siwon himself.

"I'm not a grandpa!" he objected. "That's just proper public etiquette."

The group argued good-naturedly about whether Siwon was right or was being a prude until the elderly lady came back with a giant wok of the foulest-smelling yet best-tasting tofu. Everyone shut up and ate heartily. Afterward, they took the short trip to the old, flagstone path the elderly lady mentioned as a must-see in Dasi. A million photos later, they were back in the car on their way to Donghae and Eunhyuk's road trip pick. 

"A THEME PARK!!!" Lily exclaimed the moment she saw the ferris wheel on the horizon. Jianhusan Fancy World lie a mere kilometer away. She hasn't been to any Taiwanese theme parks before since Clare was always busy and she didn't want to be the lone loser on the rides. 

"OK… NO," Henry said with finality. "I'm turning the car around."

Everyone erupted into protests. The boys started speaking in Korean, which left Clare and Lily in confusion. Not wanting to sit there like an idiot anymore, Clare hit Siwon in the arm to get his attention and get him to explain what the heck everyone's arguing about.

"Henry's afraid of rides," he explained. "We had to shoot an episode for a variety show in one and the producers had to come up with impromptu tasks for him because he just flat out refused to go on any of it."

Lily burst out laughing. "Are you freaking kidding me? YOU are afraid of rides? Oh, you are such a baby." 

"It's not funny, Lilian," Henry said, bitterness in his voice. He pulled up at the side of the road, clearly upset. 

Feeling bad about being insensitive (he might actually have a legit trauma or something), Lily freed herself from her seatbelt and got out of the van, motioning for Henry to do the same. Reluctantly, he did so, meeting her by the hood. Lily looked at him expectantly, waiting for his explanation. 

"I don't wanna talk about it," Henry mumbled, not meeting her gaze.

"Alright," Lily gave way. "I won't pry. But, you see, we're all in this trip together. We all went to where you wanted to go, so can't you just give Donghae and Eunhyuk this one hour? You don't have to ride anything. You can even stay in the car. I'll stay with you."

Henry stayed silent for a moment more before saying, "But… You seem like you really want to go. It's okay, I'll be okay alone."

"Dude, you're my bro. I'm not leaving you alone. You'd die of boredom without me," Lily joked, trying to brighten UP his mood. "Besides, I can come back here any time I want, so you don't have to worry. What do you say?"

Nodding, Henry gave Lily a small smile and went back in the car. Soon, Donghae, Eunhyuk, Clare, and Siwon were running around the theme park in a race to ride as many rides as they could within an hour. Lily stood by the merry-go-round, fascinated by the lights and sounds and the gleeful faces of the kids on it, waiting for Henry. She wasn't sure where he went. He disappeared to somewhere right after they came in. She gave him 10 more minutes before she asks the theme park people to page him over the PA system. Like a missing child.

"Let's do this," Henry suddenly said, appearing from out of nowhere and taking her hand. Stunned, Lily could only follow him to wherever he's dragging her. She had to stifle a laugh when she saw it. 

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" Lily asked him. "You don't have to prove anything."

"I'm sure," Henry replied, his brave face on. "I need to do this if I'm ever gonna respect myself again."

Smiling, Lily gave his hand, which was holding hers tightly, an encouraging squeeze. Sure, it was the second least scary roller coaster in the park. Sure, all the other people in the line with them were five-year-olds. But it's still a huge step for Henry, right? Lily chuckled to herself as Henry squeezed his eyes shut when the car edged forward. She took his other hand and gripped it tightly.

"Don't worry, I'm here. Just don't let go of my hand, okay?" Lily reassured.

At around 4:30 in the afternoon, they arrived at Tainan for Siwon's part of the road trip. He planned a tour of some of Taiwan's oldest temples, which, to some, sounded yawn-worthy. But his childlike enthusiasm for them infected the rest of the group and soon, they were listening intently to the tour guide and even asked a few questions about their histories. Lily smiled to herself when she saw her cousin unconsciously hold onto Siwon's arm as they looked around the temple. It was clear as day that the guy liked her from the very beginning, and it seemed that Clare was starting to reciprocate it, no matter how many times she said that he's annoying and had the worst timing.

"What are you smiling about?" Henry inquired, nudging her shoulder with his.

"Clare and Siwon," Lily replied. 

"Are you jealous?" Henry asked in a teasing tone.

"What the-? Why would I be?" Lily demanded, nudging him back with her shoulder.

"Oh come off it," Henry said, rolling his eyes. "It was crush at first sight for you with Siwon. Don't even try to deny it! You were staring at him so much that first day it was a wonder he didn't melt."

Lily gave him a playful punch on the arm. He was right. She had a huge crush on the guy at first, but it gradually went away. Although there were still moments when his attractiveness rendered her speechless. 

"Fine, I do have a crush on him," Lily admitted. "But that's it. I mean, he's a nice guy and all, and those abs…"

Henry flicked her arm when she momentarily got lost in the thought of Siwon's abs.

"Anyway, he's… How do I say this. I think he's a little too… normal? For my taste," Lily finished.

"What, you want someone like The Joker or something?" Henry quipped. "'Cause that's as far from normal as anybody could get."

"Geek," Lily teased, spanking his arm lightly. "I mean, I want someone who won't mind my random randomness, you know? If I wanna run around in a public place, I want someone who won't get embarrassed by it and even join me. Someone who's not afraid to look stupid. Someone who's not afraid to be childish once in a while."

"You mean… someone like me?"

Lily looked at Henry and ruffled his hair. "But you ARE a kid!"

"Well then come with me and we can be kids together," Henry replied, a serene smile on his lips. 

Lily paused, suddenly feeling something weird. She couldn't quite place it. Something about his smile and the lack of jest in the tone of his last comment unsettled her. But before she could react to it, Donghae and Eunhyuk popped up behind them, telling them that they better hit the road soon before the sun sets.

The skies have grown pitch-black, illuminated only by the waning crescent of the moon. Finally, they've passed the signage that welcomed them to Pingtung County. Hungry for real food, they stopped at the first restaurant they came across. Lily looked at Henry worriedly. He had been driving all day and had to face his fear of roller coasters to boot. Everyone around the table yawned in succession. They really should find a place to spend the night soon. 

Taking her chances, Lily asked the lady at the counter if there were any hotels nearby she could recommend. The lady happily replied that there were several small inns in the area, but she'd recommend staying at the farm not three kilometers away. They offered accommodations with three meals a day. For an extra charge, they'd also give culture classes about the local traditions as well as a tour of the surrounding lychee orchards. It was like hitting the jackpot. A place to stay AND lychee orchards! Lily left a hefty tip for her when they left.

At half past 9, the six of them were all safely checked into the farm's living quarters. Clare was busy giving an impromptu Mandarin lesson to Siwon while Donghae and Eunhyuk, as if they didn't have enough to eat just two hours before, were gorging themselves on the local delicacies the farm's owners prepared. Lily, on the other hand, wanted to go see the lychees right away and so asked permission from the owners if she could. They pointed her to a narrow path sparsely dotted with light posts that led to the lychee orchard. Henry saw her on her way out and decided to go for the night stroll.

"Ah, this feels nice," Lily sighed, stretching her arms out.

"Because I'm here?" joked Henry, making Lily laugh.

"Yeah, that, and because… I feel like I'm finally seeing where I'm going," Lily confessed.

"You do? 'Cause I barely could. They need to put up more lights."

"Will you quit joking around? I'm trying to have a profound moment here!" Lily halfheartedly reprimanded him.

"Okay, okay, go on, I'm listening," Henry encouraged, walking a little closer to her.

"You see…" Lily started. "I've always been scared of growing up. In school, you had one goal every year: to get to the next level. But after graduating, what next? I didn't know. I watched my parents go to work day in and day out, wondering whether they get sick of doing the same thing over and over for the rest of their lives. I was scared of the monotony. I didn't wanna wake up twenty, thirty years later and realize that I was stuck in a life I hated. So after graduating from university, I dabbled in all sorts of things that interested me, but nothing really stuck, so my fear grew. What if there was really nothing that I wanted to do? Should I just it up, pick the one I hated the least, and stick with it?"

They arrived at a tiny bamboo shed, sans walls. It had a bench-type thing that was wide as a queen-sized bed. They settled there.

"That's why my parents sent me here," Lily continued, looking up at the moon. "They thought that maybe if I had a change of scene, I'd be able to decide on something, and actually start being an adult for real. To take care of myself. And now, with Mochi Co., I feel like I've finally found what I want to do for the rest of my life. It's unexpected - I'm not really a business nor a culinary person - but I enjoy doing it. I don't mind not getting enough sleep and having almost no life outside of kneading dough and rolling them into balls. It's fun, and I get to do it with my cousin, too, whom I absolutely adore. Really, if it weren't for Clare and her fangirl obsession with you, none of this would've ever happened."

Henry laughed. "So you mean, you started being a real grown up because of me?"

"I guess so," Lily replied. 

"Now that you've realized that, will you stop seeing me as a kid?"

That made Lily turn and take a good look at him. This boy - no, wait, this young man - had a point. Come to think of it, he was at the center of this whole thing. His lychee addiction led them to produce a product never before seen in the market. His innocent shout outs propelled their infant venture into semi-popularity. Above everything else, his friendship kept her sane throughout the whole process. Lily didn't realize it before but every time she made a new batch of mochis, she just imagined that she was making it for Henry and not some random stranger. That's how she kept the quality of and the energy for production. It was him. 

"So?" Henry prodded.

"Only if you stop calling me an elderly," Lily kidded.

"Deal," Henry agreed, sealing it with a fist bump. 

They sat in silence for a moment, breathing in the fresh air of the countryside and listening to crickets singing in the night. Henry snuck sidelong glances at the girl next to him. Hopefully, she'll keep her end of the deal. That way, they can move on from here. He had his own crush-at-first-sight, too, and it blossomed into a full-on in-like-ness. He didn't know what to do about it though, not when she saw him as a little kid. Maybe now that she agreed, he could try…

Henry cleared his throat, nervous all of a sudden. "Lil, I was wondering…"

A blinding flash of lightning slashed through the blackness, hitting the light post a few meters from where they were sitting. Lily's scream was drowned out by the deafening thunder that followed. 

Their heads whipped towards the sound in unison. A minute later, rain began pattering on the roof, softly at first, and then quickly intensifying as if a hundred hammers were knocking on it at the same time. Donghae and Eunhyuk entered the den area where Clare and Siwon were having their lesson. 

"Good thing we found this place right away, huh?" Eunhyuk commented.

"Yeah. I wouldn't wanna be caught outside in that downpour," said Donghae.

"I better go check on Lily," Clare announced, getting up. "She's kind of scared of thunderstorms, and this one looks like it's gonna be huge."

Just then, all the lights went out. A shriek came from somewhere in the house. 

"Lily? LILY! Lily is that you?! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Clare called out, unable to see a thing. "LILY!"

Her calls were answered only by a series of booming thunders. 

"Where are Lily and Henry?!"

Rain fell hard all around them. The meager light that the crescent moon provided was totally wiped out by thick rain clouds gathering overhead. Only the lightning strikes reassured them that they were indeed still on earth and not some wet, dark, abyss in another universe. Lily tried her best to stay calm, but this was one of worst fears realized: being caught in a thunderstorm out in the open. True, they had some sort of shelter, but how long would this bamboo shed last against the rain?

Unconsciously, she held on to the boy beside her tightly. "Henry, this is bad. This is so bad. We should get help. Did you bring your phone?"

"Sorry, I left it in my room. I didn't think we'd need it," Henry admitted, wrapping his arms comfortingly around her. "It's alright. We'll be okay. Let's just wait until the storm passes."

"But what if it worsens?!" Lily panicked. "What if the roof gets blown away and then we die of pneumonia?"

"First of all, there is no wind, only rain, so the roof won't get blown off," Henry explained. "And don't worry, I'm here. I'll keep you warm so you won't die of pneumonia, okay?"

"But-"

"Lily, I may be younger than you, but I'm a grown man. So will you just trust me to take care of you?"

Lily was about to bring up his fear of roller coasters, but she saw the seriousness in his eyes. She actually felt safe with him here. She nodded in agreement and buried her face against his neck.

"If we make it through this night alive, you are so going to start calling me oppa," Henry said, tightening his grip around her.

"What does that mean?" Lily asked, keeping her eyes closed. Henry's warmth felt nice against her.

"Older brother in Korean," Henry replied, deciding not to mention what he really meant by it. 

________________

UPDATED! YAY!!! :D

I'm so sorry it took another month for me to put this up, but I hope it was worth the wait. :) I've got bits and pieces of the following chapters already written. Hopefully I could complete them soon. :)

Thanks so much for sticking with this story! Keep reading and commenting! XD