Your year of being a freshmen had finally ended and it was now the break before you start your days in school as a sophomore. It turns out the business your parents had to deal with back in China was still not over. You did have a long phone call with them one night with them explaining everything to you. Your parent's company was about to go bankrupt. Apparently, there was a spy in the company working with your parents' rival. And because of that, they lost almost all of their precious clients and one of your dad's closest friend lives in China and they thought he might help. You were a bit disappointed at first but some part of you was happy because you know you get to spend more time with your friends. 

You didn't tell them about it though, and they didn't really mention anything about it. Your parents did suggest for you to come and stay with them in China until the whole thing was over, but you didn't want to trouble them. "I'm fine staying here a little longer. In fact, I like it here. You guys don't have to worry about me." You assured them. They were hesitant at first but agreed eventually. 

You were in the living room, feet up on the coffee table eating ice cream with a magazine on your lap at the same time when Chanyeol slumped beside you. "I am so bored." He pouted. D.O came in the room and sighed. "I have to agree on that." He sat crossed-legged on the floor, staring at the black tv screen in front of him. The others, Sehun and Kai were dragged to the Children's Home by Suho. He was impressed with how the kids would listen to them so well so he thought it was a good idea to bring them over again. And it was an opportunity for you to avoid Kai again.

Ever since that night, it was hard to act normal around the house. Well, it was hard for you. Kai seemed unaffected by it. He still teased you and pretended as though it didn't happen. Well, that way it was much easier for you, since you didn't have to think so much about it. Baekhyun on the other hand was invited over to Hae Ra's house. Since they were childhood friends before, her parents wanted to have dinner with him. D.O wanted to tag along but Suho told him not too. "This is like a family reunion for Baek and Hae Ra. You'll get your chance another day." And D.O reluctantly agreed. 

"Argh, I'm feeling so restless right now!" Chanyeol screamed while punching the pillows on the couch. D.O sighed and nodded. "Tell me about it." You were deep in thoughts and didn't reply any of them. Chanyeol looked at you and furrowed his eyebrows before lightly throwing a pillow at your face. The impact caused you to snap out of your thoughts. "Hmm? What is it?" You turned to look at the both of them. Chanyeol let out an exasperated sigh and D.O rolled his eyes at you. "Yah, what's going on with you? You've been weird these few days." D.O complained and took the magazine from you. "Hey, I was reading that!" Chanyeol chuckled and flicked your forehead. "I didn't know you could read with the magazine upside down." 

You notice how D.O was dangling the magazine upside down in front of your face and scoffed. "Well, I'm sorry. A lot has been on my mind lately." Worry lines started to appear on both their faces. "What's wrong? Did something happen?" Chanyeol placed his hands on your lap, concerned. D.O folded his arms and examined your facial expression. You hesitated about what to say. You didn't want to tell Chanyeol about what happened to Kai. Something tells you that he wouldn't like knowing that fact. So you lied. "It's my parents. I think they're having trouble with the company." Okay, you didn't exactly lie. You just didn't reveal everything. Chanyeol patted your hands and gave you a comforting look. "It's okay Ryoko ah. I'm sure your parents would figure out a way to get everything back on track. And look at the bright side, you get to stay here longer with us!" He flashed you his pearly teeth and you smiled at his effort to cheer you up. If only he knew what the real problem was. 

D.O thought for awhile and spoke. "Yah, let's go to a noraebang!" Chanyeol's eyes lit up and he started jumping on the couch! "Awesome idea! It's been a really long time!" You raised your eyebrows. "Noraebang? You mean, a karaoke bar? They have that here too?" Chanyeol nodded enthusiastically. "There's tons of them here! Come on let's go let's go!" He pulled you up to your feet. D.O got up from the floor too and straightened his clothes. "Okay so to the noraebang we go! Ka ja!"

A few minutes later, the three of you were already in one if the rooms, with Chanyeol screaming into the microphone and you and D.O playing with the tambourines and dancing randomly according to the beat. You were having so much fun you forgot all about Kai and what happened that night. You didn't know a lot of the songs since they're all Kpop but there were some Japanese songs that you knew too and tried singing them. Even though they didn't know what you were singing about, they happily danced with you and that made you glad. After a few minutes of singing and dancing, the three of you were out of breath. You plopped down on the sofa with the guys sitting at either side of you. Chanyeol was still smiling and panting from all the dancing, while D.O was taking a sip from his cola and beads of sweat had started to form on his forehead. 

Just then, Chanyeol passed you a microphone and showed you his signature goofy smile. "Ryoko ah, sing another song. I really like your voice." You chuckled and playfully slapped his arm. "What? No, I'm not that much of a singer. Besides, there's not much songs that I know here." You tried to reject his offer but he was being persistent. "Aww come on, just one song. One song! And then I'll be quiet." Again he showed you another dashing smile and you can't help but accept. "Arasso, just this once okay? No more after this." Chanyeol clapped his hands and took the remote. " I'll help you look for some Japanese songs." You sighed and nodded at his cute childish behavior. 

Chanyeol got busy looking for the right song so you sat beside D.O. "What are we going to do after this?" You asked him. He shrugged his shoulders. "Want to go have dinner? I can't sing anymore, I'm exhausted." He chuckled. You laughed too. "Tell me about it, I have never sung this much in my entire life!" You exaggerated. Just then the same mic appeared in front of your face and you knew that Chanyeol was done picking a song out for you. You looked at him and smiled. "Remember, this is the last." You reminded him and he nodded. You shook your head and stood up to face the screen. 

"Ikimono Gakari-Blue Bird" was the title of the song and you look towards Chanyeol. He raised his hands, "What? It's my favorite song from one of the Naruto series! That anime rocks!" He laughed and you giggled. "Besides, I like hearing your Japanese, it's very...nice." He gave you a cheeky smile, and D.O almost choked on his drink. Chanyeol shot him a look before looking back at you. You sighed and chuckled before singing the song. Actually, you already knew the song. It was your favorite song back in Japan and you used to sing it all the time whenever you and your friends went karaoke. The song started and the lyrics started to appear on the screen but you didn't have to look at it and faced the two guys instead. Chanyeol immediately started playing with the tambourine while cheering you on and D.O clapped his hands to the beat. 

After the karaoke session, the three of you headed to Mrs Park's deokbeokki stall for some light dinner, and also because Chanyeol wanted to meet Kris to see how he was doing. Chanyeol helped his mum serve the customers while you and D.O sat together on one of the empty stools. You almost choked when D.O suddenly asked you a surprising question. "So what's up with you and Kai lately?" You quickly chugged down your drink and swallowed your food before finally looking at D.O who didn't seem to be surprised by your actions. "W-What do you mean?" He continued eating casually. "You know what I mean. You've been acting strange whenever Jongin's around. When he teases you, you'd usually retort. But these few days, you just kept quiet. So something definitely's going on." He turned to face you and there was a smile on his face, as though he had solved a big mystery.

You sighed, knowing it was no use to hide a big secret from D.O and gave in. "Okay, something did happen, but I can't tell you now. Not with Chnayeol and Kris around. Especially Chanyeol. Something tells me he wouldn't want to listen to this." D.O smiled triumphantly and nodded before the both of you continued eating again as though nothing happened. 

[A/N] Here's the song that Ryoko sang during the karaoke session :) 

Honestly, it's my favourite song and I first heard while watching Naruto. It's a really nice song and the other Ikimono Gakari songs are also nice.