The doorbell rung and Tiffany looked up from the kitchen counter. She was preparing a small lunch for herself and her grandfather. He told her he wanted to spend a bit of time with her before he left Springfield. He was going to leave for a few days at the request of the people who worked under him. They had encountered a problem in Russia.

Thus, he would be gone for a week before returning. This caused Tiffany to worry. If he wasn't here and something happened to you, she wasn't sure if she would be able to handle it on her own. She held no power in her position in the Elites. Just because she was her grandfather's granddaughter she was treated with respect but in no way could she command it.

"Coming." She shouted from the kitchen as she set down the knife in her hand. Sandwiches were a simple lunch but she didn't need to be extravagant for her grandfather.

Upon reaching the door, she opened it without hesitation. She had confidence in her ability to protect herself, the reason she didn't feel the need to be careful about someone at the door at twelve in the afternoon. Only after she opened it did she wish she was careful this one time. There wasn't anything dangerous on the other side of the door. Well in a sense, the people standing in front of Tiffany now were extremely dangerous.

"Hello, it's been awhile hasn't it?" One of the men spoke up, a smile forming on his face.

"I'd say around three or four years. Since you moved to Springfield we haven't been able to visit." The other man leaned against the frame of the doorway.

If Tiffany could have it her way, she would have rather not ever see them again. Why? Because when they showed up it meant something bad had happened. Something very bad.

Who were they? They were the enforcers of the Elites. The ones who did the dirty work. Twins named, "Daeryong. Soryong." Mr. Hwang, Tiffany's grandfather, had apparently heard the noise and came downstairs to investigate. "You two are finally paying a visit to this old man?"

"Ey," Daeryong humored him, "You're not old Mr.Hwang. If I was a sixty year old woman, you'd be quite the catch."

"Flattery as always." Mr. Hwang descended the last few steps of the stairs and reached up, ruffling the young man's hair affectionately.

"We came to discuss some things with you before you left for Russia." Soryong stepped inside the house as though it were his own home.

"And you, always straight to business." Mr. Hwang reached up and ruffled Soryong's hair as well. He didn't enjoy it as much as Daeryong did but he didn't reject the action.

Tiffany did not at all like the look of this. Daeryong and Soryong were like the grandsons her grandfather never had. Most likely he would invite them to stay for lunch.

"We'll talk over lunch."

Tiffany sighed. She figured as much. Now that the two were undoubtedly staying over, sandwiches wouldn't make the cut for lunch anymore.

"So what's this you have to talk about?" Mr. Hwang asked as he gestured the two into the living room. Tiffany only heard the beginning of what Soryong's answer as she walked into the kitchen.

"It's about the Mayor."

You let out a sigh you didn’t know you had been holding. It felt as though you listened to Minah for hours as she went on and on about what Myungsoo telling her to ‘follow him’ had some underlying meaning that had to do with him wanting her to follow him forever. It was exhausting listening to her mindless rant. You actually missed her saying critical things and coming up with absurd conclusions. Though the whole ‘follow me’ thing was pretty absurd. You felt bad for Sunggyu who when you came downstairs was engaged in the topic of hunting with the Mayor. Sunggyu looked as though he was at his breaking point, ready to lung over the coffee table and bite the Mayor’s head off.

“You’ve been staring at the front door for awhile now.” Sunggyu said from next to you, a hint of amusement in his voice. “Being with Minah was that exhausting?” Of course he could tell what you were feeling. Weariness practically oozed from your pores. That other thing he said, that you had been staring at the front door of your house for a few minutes now, that was something you hadn’t realized until now.

You let out a weak laugh, “Right. Sorry. I am tired.” You ducked your head down, slightly embarrassed. If he noticed you were zoning out, he should have said something instead of just watched you. From the look on his face now, he was thoroughly entertained by your actions.

“Its fine.” Sunggyu answered, his voice coming out as a soothing whisper. You unlocked the door and turned back towards him. He was looking down at you, his hands in his pockets. The way you stared up at him told him you wanted to say something, “What is it?”

You narrowed your eyes at him, “Don’t go telling the others I spaced out like that.”

“Okay.” Sunggyu answered almost immediately. Telling someone would take all of the fun out of remembering how you looked moments ago. He hadn’t said anything as the two of you had stood there in silence for around three minutes. There was something about it, that period of time where nothing was said. Nothing had to be said. He liked it. However, he felt guilty for liking it when Myungsoo was in danger. Woohyun had told him something once during one of the times he felt the need to let out his inner thoughts to Sunggyu.

‘Hyunjoo’s always thinking about something. Always worried about something. But there are times when she just spaces out. Forgets everything she’s worried about. Forgets all of her thoughts and just stares at nothing. Have you seen it? It’s the cutest thing in the world.’

“Go inside and sleep. We’ll get Myungsoo tomorrow.” Sunggyu told you, causing you to face him again, your eyes wide. Sungjong had called earlier and informed the two of you that getting the plans was a piece of cake. Sunggyu told you while he walked you home that everyone had to get together and look over them soon.

Yet this soon? Tomorrow? How were you supposed to sleep now?

Sunggyu noticed your obvious expression, “Go in and sleep. Now.” He commanded, his voice stern. Then, his voice got soft again, causing you to gaze up at him blankly as you felt your knees start to buckle, “You’ve not been sleeping right? Everything will be fine now. Go inside and get some rest.”

You looked away after practically forcing yourself to. You opened the door and stepped inside, refusing to look back as you closed the door. If you got another look at your ‘boyfriend’ Kim Sunggyu, you would regret your decision to do as he said.

Sunggyu’s lips twitched and he fought the urge to smile as he watched you close the door behind yourself. You didn’t look back once. Like Woohyun had told him so many times before. You were cute.

You shifted your shoes off of your feet. A small clattering from the kitchen caused you to look up. Your mom was there, stirring a cup of what seemed to be tea inside of a coffee mug. She had taken a seat at the breakfast table, a book in front of her.

“Welcome back.” She greeted you as though nothing was wrong in the world

You nodded in response, not expecting this in the least. She had come home after so long but why? Did she need to do laundry? Was she getting tired of the stuffy work rest room at the hospital? She answered none of your questions as she took a sip of her coffee, her eyes not leaving the pages of the book in front of her.

“Was that your boyfriend?” She asked as she set down the mug, her eyes still glued to that page.

You hesitated, wondering what the answer was. Today he was. A pseudo-boyfriend of course. Technically however, the answer was clear. “No.” She didn’t say anything, merely nodded before turning the page of her book. You decided to not say anything either. She wasn’t yelling at you. This was a good thing. There was no purpose in giving her a reason to.

“Woo Jiho.” She mentioned Zico’s real name as you began to ascend the stairs. You turned to her slowly, “That boy came here earlier. He was surprised when I answered the door. Quite polite despite how he looks.”

That meant that Zico now knows your mom was the nurse who took care of him. You mentally face palmed yourself. Surely he would want an explanation about why you didn’t tell him sooner the next time you saw him. Why had Zico visited though?

“He asked how you were doing. Is he not your boyfriend either?” Your mother’s voice was monotone, not hinting at all to what she was feeling about what she was saying. Thus, it was impossible to read her.

“He’s not.” You answered her.

There was a short moment of silence before out of came one simple word that made your head spin. One word that you wouldn’t be able to understand even if you reheard it multiple times in order to decipher its meaning.

“Good.”

Good. That was all she said.

The mysterious manner with which she said it was odd. Was it good that Zico wasn’t your boyfriend because he didn’t exactly look like an upright person? Was it good because she didn’t want you to have a boyfriend at all? For some reason, it didn’t seem to be either of those. So then why was it good?

She said nothing more as she took another sip of her tea. You warily continued up to your room, your brain too exhausted to contemplate the answer.

---------

A/N:

Does everybody know "Because"? Sunggyu's solo song? I love that song. I watched a fancam of him performing it live and I just can't even process words about how it made me feel. Sunggyu, you're so great. Continue singing till the end of time. 

Anyone feeling that Sunggyu love in this chapter? I feel dat!