“WHAT?” Sunggyu screeched.  “No.  I will not accept this as it is.  Book a hotel room—I’ll even pay for it!  Anything but this.”

“Aw, calm down, Sunggyu.  It’s just a week,” I replied, trying to calm him down.

He shook his head furiously.  “No.”

“You’re overreacting.”

“I won’t be the only one.  The other guys won’t stand for this!”

I gave Sunggyu a pleading stare, but he ignored it.  “Please let Andy stay with me.”

“As your older brother—”

“Let it go, Sunggyu.”

“B-But—”

“Great!” I clapped my hands together.  “You’re the best brother in the world, Gyu.”  Little did I know that Sunggyu wasn’t planning on dropping the subject without a fight.

--

“Hey Sunggyu,” I exclaimed, “Andy says he wants to freshen up before meeting the guys, so we’ll meet you in the dorm.”

“Huh?”

“I said—”

“So you’re going to be alone with him?”

I glared.  “What’s with your overprotective side?  Yeah, we’re going to be alone.  But it’s not like we’re going to do anything that your sick mind was thinking of.”

“Hana!”

I beamed.  “Just joking!”  Giving him a hug, I ran up the stairs, ignoring his screams about innocence and love.  I giggled.  Sunggyu pretended to not care—a lot, in fact—but I could bet my life on the fact that he’d always be there for me.  I could also bet my life on the fact that Sunggyu was going to take the elevator; therefore, I didn’t have to worry about him chasing me up the stairs. 

Andy had gone ahead—after I told him the room number, of course—with his luggage and my backpack. 

“There you are!” He smiled as I walked down the hall.  “I was beginning to worry that I stopped on the wrong floor.”

“Nah,” I replied.  “Just had to clear some stuff up with my brother.”

Andy tilted his head to one side.  “You know, he has really small eyes.”

“That’s a fact.” I opened the door, allowing him to enter.  “But I like that about him.”  Taking Andy’s suitcase, I wheeled it to the center of the living room and left it there.

“You must be close with him, then.”

“He treats me like a real sister.  How could I not be close to him?”

“My sister and I are real siblings, and we don’t treat each other like that.”

“Sunggyu likes me.” I shrugged.  “Because I’m such a likeable person.”  I dodged Andy’s grasp playfully.  “You’re going to have to be faster than that.”

He shook his head.  “Oh, and Hana?”

“Hm?”

“I have to tell you something later on.”

“What is it?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

“Now!” I whined.

He smiled and gestured toward the door, where an annoyed-looking Sunggyu stood.  “I think your brother is waiting, and since I don’t want him to kill me, I suggest that we follow him.” 

--

“We’re going to vote on this!” Sunggyu exclaimed, glaring at me.  We—Sunggyu, Andy, and I—had relocated to the Infinite dorm, where all of the members happened to be.

“Why, hyung?” Dongwoo whined.  “Hana is a big girl, so I think—”

“We are voting.”

“This is childish!” Woohyun exclaimed.  “I don’t even know why we have to vote.”

“We’re voting now!” Sunggyu exclaimed. 

Taking a deep breath, I watched nervously.  After all, this vote could change everything I had planned for Andy’s trip.  If the members didn’t allow him to sleep over, then watching all of those late night movies would be pointless.

“All in favor of Andy staying with Hana, raise your hand.”

I glanced around the room, shocked to see that none of them had raised their hands.  Who will be the easiest to convince?  I stared at Dongwoo, who was trying not to make eye contact with me.  Cute face, Hana.  Use a cute face!  I contorted my face into an expression I had seen on television—one that made guys squeal.  Dongwoo sent me a pained expression.

“Aw, just let her do what she wants, Sunggyu!” Dongwoo exclaimed, raising his hand.  “Ah, I’m going crazy, I swear.”

Sungjong sighed.  “Since Sunggyu is so against this, I’m for it.”  He winked at me before raising his hand.

“Lee Sungjong,” Sunggyu growled.

“I’m still mad at you for winning Courage King,” Sungyeol added.

“Three Infinite members agree…?” Sunggyu muttered to himself.  “I wasn’t expecting this.”

Woohyun seemed to be glaring at me—or Andy, I wasn’t really sure whom—but ended up raising his hand.  “Let her do what she wants, Gyu hyung.”

Hoya coughed.  “Well, if everyone else is raising their hands.”  He pulled Myungsoo’s hand up with his own.  “Myungsoo and I agree too!”

“Hana-1, Sunggyu-0,” I muttered.  “Sorry Gyu, but it looks like you’ve lost this one!”

--

Andy settled into the guest room without a word.  From the way the boys looked at him, I could see three emotions—fear, pain, and stress.

“Sorry,” I muttered, standing in the doorway. 

He glanced up, sending me a smile.  Then, he shut his suitcase and walked over to me.  “Hana, don’t be sorry.”

“But Sunggyu and the others…”

“They don’t like me, do they?” He chuckled.  “Because I’m the only one who could take you away from them.”  I found myself in his arms, and we stood there—neither of us saying a word.

I shrugged.  “They’ll warm up to you.”

“Hana, I have to tell you something.”

“Oh yeah!” I grinned.  “The thing you were talking about earlier, but you refused to say anything more.”  But I noticed his face was serious, and I calmed down.  If Andy was serious, then I knew that the matter at hand was also serious.  He loved jokes and pranks, but he knew when to stop.  And when he did, I knew that something was wrong.  “What is it?” I said nervously.

“I…” He sighed.  “It’s not easy to say.”

“You can say it,” I urged.  “But…you didn’t cheat on me, did you?”  I glanced at the ground, suddenly finding my shoes to be the most interesting thing in the world.

He scoffed.  “Of course not.  In fact, it’s just the opposite.”

“Oh?  Then what?”

“There was another reason why I came here,” Andy said quietly.  “The reason you know is because I wanted to celebrate my vacation with you.”

I nodded.  “That’s what I thought.”

“I want you to come back to America with me.”

It took me a minute to process that one sentence, and I wasn’t all too pleased with what I heard.  I still had to ask, to make sure I wasn’t hearing him wrong.  “Huh?”

“I love you, Hana, but I don’t want us to be separated across the Pacific Ocean.  You know I can’t afford to fly out once school starts again, and I know you won’t be able to either.  If you come back to America with me, then wouldn’t that make things easier for the two of us?”

I gulped. 

“You don’t have to answer now,” he said quickly.  “But I’d like to know your answer before I leave at the end of the week.”

“And if I can’t leave Korea?” I whispered.

He sighed.  “I hope you can find the strength to return to America with me.”

“But Sunggyu—”

“He’s an idol, Hana,” Andy said.  “You can’t stay here forever, and you know that.  Didn’t you say you were only staying here until your parents moved from North Jeolla to Seoul?”

“The other boys—”

“You can always watch them on television.  Or the computer.”

“I…”

“I’m not pressuring you or anything.”

“I need time to think.”  Grabbing my jacket and cell phone, I headed toward the front door.  “I’m going down to the convenience store so that we won’t starve.  I’ll be back in a few.”  Without listening for a response, I closed the door.  I love Andy, but…I don’t want to leave.

----------

A/N: For all of you wondering where the heck I was for the past few weeks, I was busy.  School just started again, and I'm taking some difficult classes this year.  Um...also, you may be wondering "what the heck just happened" and your opinions of some characters might change *cough*Andy*cough*, but I know what I'm doing this time around, and I'm pleased with the direction this is taking.

So yeah.  I'll be around less, but I haven't forgotten this story.  Thanks for reading!

--kpopluvr18