“Hey everybody! Remember to buy your tickets for the Halloween Masquerade Costume Dance! The dance is on Friday October 30^th! That’s next week! Tickets are being sold in at the rotunda for $15. It’ll be a night you’ll never forget! Now go, go, go!” a sophomore shouted through a megaphone from the stairs at the front of the school. Members of the Halloween Committee were running around handing out flyers for the dance, encouraging the student body to go buy tickets. Yeon Ah and Young Won looked down from the second floor meeting room at the excited students running around.

                “This is it. We’ve only got a week and a couple days until D-Day. Now all that’s left is the hard part,” Yeon Ah groaned and fell into one of the chairs. Young Won looked up from some paper work and tiredly smiled at her.

                “I’m just calculating up the costs to see how much we have left. 100…50…another 80….Also, I ordered from a caterer for food and drinks and that cost about $700. So that means we have $2070 left over for decorations and the haunted house. Should be more than enough, right?” Yeon Ah got up from her seat and walked over to the white board.

                “Yup. So today, tomorrow, and Wednesday, we have to go buy all of our supplies. Then we start building the haunted house on Thursday,” she ticked items off a list and wrote down notes on the calendar.

                “Wait, don’t you have work and fencing practice?” Young Won picture Yeon Ah running around, like a chicken with its head cut off, last week.

                “Sadly, not anymore. I was forced to take a 2 week holiday from work because of SOMEBODY, and Coach won’t let me go to practice after last week,” Yeon Ah grumbled. Her Coach couldn’t stand seeing her running around to meetings and practices all stressed out, so he excused her from practices until after the dance. ‘Why is everybody being such a worry wart? I know my limits and this is nothing….bunch of dictators….’

                “Good job to whoever stopped you from working. Managing this is a lot of work, and it doesn’t help that I wasn’t there half of the time because of my schedules,” Young Won sighed and puffed out his cheeks in guilt. Yeon Ah walked over to him and poked his cheeks in.

                “It’s not your fault. You’re an idol. Your schedule should be packed if you want to be famous, right?” she turned around and walked back to the white board. Young Won reached under the table pretending to grab some things from his bag, hiding the pink tint rising on his cheeks. Yeon Ah sat on the desks, frowning at the white board in thought. ‘We still have so much to do and the dance is in…1, 2, 3, 4.....*mumble mumble*9. Only 9 days! Not counting today and the weekend. Will we be able to finish everything? Are we going to have to work on the weekend as well? AHHHHH!!!!’ she unconsciously tugged hard on her ponytail until somebody grabbed her hands and pinned them next to her legs on the desk and she felt a soft breeze on her forehead, smoothing out her furrowed eyebrows. Young Won’s face was right in front of hers. “What are you doing?” she squirmed under his grip and leaned back.

                “I saw you aging about 10 years and decided I should step in. You’re going to get wrinkles if you keep frowning like that! And, you’re going to lose your hair from all that pulling. I’m not letting go until you promise me you’ll stop with the frowning and tugging,” he leaned in further. She started panicking. ‘Ah, what to do?!’ Her eyes darted around, looking for any possible ways to escape. There was no way out. Defeated, Yeon Ah looked at him and nodded her head.

                “Okay, I promise to stop frowning and pulling my hair. Happy?” Young Won nodded, “Good, let go,” she pulled out of his hands and quickly jumped down from the desks. She scrambled over to her backpack and dodged through the desks and chairs. Young Won stood in a daze, surprised by his own actions. The bell rang, snapping him back to reality. A flash of green in his peripheral vision caught his attention. Yeon Ah had slipped out of the meeting room. ‘Did I really just do that? Aish, so stupid,’ he lightly knocked his head in embarrassment and grabbed his bag to go to class.

--

                “Hey class! I have to go to a meeting now, so you can spend the last half hour doing sectionals,” Mrs. Bae left the music room and the Jazz band split up and moved into different rooms to practice. Yeon Ah and the sax section went across the hall into one of the smaller practice. For the next half hour, no matter how many times they went through song, Yeon Ah kept screwing up. ‘Aish, what’s wrong with me today? I’m first alto; I’m supposed to lead the group. Instead, I’m messing up.’ She automatically brought her hand up to her hair, but something stopped her. Images from lunch time were popping up in her head. ‘Right, I promised not to do this anymore. Wait, why am I even listening to that guy?’ Despite her thoughts, she still dropped her hand anyway. Frustration was building and her musical abilities were slowly declining. She was about ready to burst out in anger, but the bell rang, saving the sax section from witnessing her mental breakdown. She stalked into the music room and put away her alto. Pissed, she left the instrument in the music room rather than bringing it home. Picking up her bag, she started heading out.

                “Noona~~ How was your day today? Since we’ve completed the posters, let’s go look for a costume today!” L.Joe jogged up beside Yeon Ah. She waved him off.

                “I’m sorry, but I’m really busy, Byung Hun. You may be done, but I’ve still got a lot to do for the haunted house and dance,” she pushed past him and pulled out her phone.

                (I’m waiting by your bike. Where are you? -Young Won)

                Yeon Ah growled under her breath and prepared to make a run for it. However, her plans were short lived when L.Joe jumped in front of her, blocking the hallway with his arms. She stopped herself in time and raised her eyebrow at him. “What now, Pinky!? I really have to go! There’s no time to play around here,” she tried to side step him, but he blocked her again.

                “I know you’re busy, but could you at least pretend to talk to me and properly say good-bye?” he pouted at her. She rolled her eyes and refrained from snarling at him.

                “I’m sorry, okay? Somebody’s waiting for me, so I really have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye, Byung Hun,” she bowed 90 degrees to him. He stopped pouting and broke out into a huge smile. She was completely caught off guard when he lunged forward and pulled her into a hug.

                “See you tomorrow, Noona~~~ Bye-bye~!” he let go and ran off behind her. Stunned, Yeon Ah stood there for who knows how long, but was brought back to her senses when her phone vibrated.

                (Uh, are you going to be here soon? The metal store closes in 2 hours and the mall closes at 9. -Young Won)

                ‘For crying out….’ Yeon Ah mentally screamed and sprinted towards the front of the school. She reached the front steps and saw a blob of blue sitting on her bike. Running down the steps two at a time, she ran as fast as she could and stopped right in front of Young Won.

                “I’m….so….sorry….Pinky….got in….the way….” she was hunched over and gasping for her breath. Young Won tilted his head, clearly confused as to who this ‘Pinky’ was.

                “Uh, Pinky? Who’s that?”

                “Oh, sorry. I mean Byung Hun.”

                “Ohhhh. That makes sense. Pinky, pink hair. Hahaha should’ve figured that out on my own,” he laughed at himself. The wind rustled the leaves above, blowing them off of the branches. “Anyway, let’s hurry. The metal shop is closing soon.”

                “Here, let me get on first,” Young Won got off the bike and Yeon Ah climbed on, she handed him a helmet and pulled on her own. She settled in and motioned for him to get on the back. He adjusted his backpack and jacket and climbed on. She was about to start up her bike, but felt something warm on her legs. Startled, she looked down and saw a black jacket covering her legs. “What’s this?” she turned to look at him.

                “Well, you’re wearing a skirt and driving a motorcycle. We don’t want old creepy men looking up your skirt now, do we?” he said, tying the jacket sleeves around her waist. Yeon Ah blushed under her helmet. Out of all the people she had driven around on her bike, Young Won was the first person to mention her skirt. Not even her dear, twin brother who she drove around all the time. “Hold on tight, Dong Rim. And…thanks.” The wind picked up around them.

                “No problem,” he grabbed onto the small bar behind his seat and she drove off. The streets of Seoul were jam packed. They left the school later than they thought they would, so they hit rush hour at its peak. Yeon Ah revved through the cars, expertly dodging side view mirrors and squeezing through unbelievably small spaces. At one point, she jerked her bike to a stop, causing Young Won to lose his grip and crash forward right into her.

                “Yah! I said hold on tight!” she brought her head back and knocked his helmet with hers.

                “Sorry, I was caught off guard,” he shifted back to hold onto the bar.

                “It’s useless to hold bar in traffic like this, so you better hold onto me.” Young Won was stunned by her blunt comment and gingerly wrapped his arms around her waist. ‘Other girls would never have the guts to say what she just did. You, my friend, are one interesting girl.’ The ride was bumpy, but they finally made it to the metal shop. Once the bike stop, Young Won jumped off. Yeon Ah hopped off and took off her helmet. Her expression was dark and she looked ready to kill.

                “I hate rush hour. It’s usually the time when stupid drivers decide to come out, aggravates me,” she untied Young Won’s jacket and handed it to him. “Thanks again.”

                “You’re welcome. Let’s go in, it’s getting cold,” he rubbed his arms and they scurried into the shop.

                “Hi, you two must be the students from Korea Arts. I’m Kim Jang Ho, owner of Metal Works [A/N: again, my originality at its best >_>]. He wiped his calloused hands and held it out for a handshake. Yeon Ah and Young Won took turns greeting him and he led them into his office. “So, you guys were interested in buying some metal stands?”

                “Yes. We need to them to hold up our fabric walls, Sir,” Young Won nervously replied.

                “I see. Do you have a reference picture? And how many of them do you need?” he pulled out a notepad and started jotting down their order.

                “We need 15 of them in total. And each should be about 8 feet tall,” Yeon Ah pulled out the sketchbook they drew their stand sketches in.

                “Okay. Do you have any particular type of metal you want to use?”

                “Can we use the cheapest brand, Sir?”

                “Of course. Let me give you an estimate,” Mr. Kim punched some buttons on his calculator. “The estimate is around $800 not including labour. Since you’re high school students and this is quite simple, I’ll only charge you an extra $200. So your final total is $1000. Is that okay?” Young Won’s eyes bulged out in surprise. Yeon Ah forced down the cusses that threatened to come out. “I know it’s rather expensive, but this is the lowest price I can give you. Other places would charge an extra $500 for labour, but I’m only taking $200.” They looked at each other and thought, ‘What other choice do we have?’

                “Okay, we’ll take your deal. Will they be done by next Thursday,” Yeon Ah took out her the money envelope.

                “By Thursday? No sweat. Since you’re paying up front, I’ll do free delivery as well. Just give me the address of your school and I’ll drop them off Thursday morning,” he printed out an invoice and handed it to her. The both of them checked it over before she signed her name and handed over the money. Mr. Kim printed out the receipt and gave it to her. “Thank you for choosing Metal Works. If you’d like, I can make a sample stand for you now. It’ll take about half an hour.”

                “Sure! Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Kim,” Young Won bowed to him. Yeon Ah stood up and bowed as well.

                “Since there’ll be lots of fumes, you two should wait outside of the garage and I’ll call you back in when I’m done,” he ushered them out of his office so that he could begin welding.

                “I guess we’ll stick around for half an hour,” Young Won checked his watch. “It’s 6:30 now. So we should be done here at around 7. Do you think we’ll have enough time to go to the mall today?”

                “I don’t think so. We still have tomorrow and Wednesday. Hey, don’t you have any schedules to go to?” Yeon Ah sat on her bike and patted her seat. Like last time, Young Won leaned on the bike instead.

                “Manager Hyung cleared my schedule so that I can work on this with you. He saw how busy you were by yourself, so he purposely made sure I had nothing scheduled,” he grinned and threw her a peace sign. Yeon Ah laughed and looked up at the sky. The wind started picking up, sending chills down her spine. Young Won had his jacket, so he wasn’t affect by the cold breeze. Within 10 minutes Yeon Ah unconsciously started shivering from the cold. ‘Awesome, the one day I forget to bring my jacket, Mother Nature decides to make it windy. Great.’ She rubbed her arms for warmth, but her attempts were made feeble by a strong gust of wind. Another breeze whipped past her, but this time, she didn’t feel it. She was actually warm. ‘What is this?’ she looked down and saw Young Won’s jacket wrapped around her.

                “Hey, what are you doing? You’re going to get a cold,” she pulled of the jacket, but he put it back on her.

                “I’m just being nice. Plus, you’re in a skirt,” he pointed down to her bare shins. He rubbed his hands and blew into them. Yeon Ah didn’t know if it was the jacket, but her face grew hot. ‘What’s wrong with me?’ she shook off the feeling and lifted half the jacket off and pulled Young Won into it. He looked at her with wide eyes.

                “My brother would murder then quarter me if he found out you got a cold on my watch,” she turned away. ‘Why is it that I don’t want your brother to be the reason you did that?’ Young Won thought. Like usual, they sat in a comfortable silence.

                “So…have you picked out your costume and mask yet?” Young Won finally spoke up.

                “Nope. I don’t plan on dressing up.”

                “But it’s a masquerade-costume party. You have to dress up!”

                “I’m not going to go for the party. I just want to make sure everything goes as planned.” she took out a tissue and blew her nose.

                “Hopefully he finishes soon. You’re going to catch a cold soon,” he worriedly looked at her.

                “It’s okay. I’m strong. A cold is nothing,” she flexed her biceps. He laughed, but moved closer anyway. After 20 more minutes of waiting, Mr. Kim called them into the shop. They bustled into the store. The stand was amazing. Mr. Kim had made an exact replica of the picture they had scrawled into the sketchbook. It stood straight and sturdy. “This looks really good. I can’t wait until Thursday.” They bowed to him and backed out of the store.

                 “Where should I drop you off?”

                “Manager Hyung told me to wait at your house. He’s dropping off Daniel soon anyway, and will pick me up then.” She made an okay sign and drove off.

--

                “Finally! Warmth!” Yeon Ah dropped down onto the couch and passed out. Young Won too, sat down and fell asleep.

                “Yeonnie! I’m home!” Daniel and Manager Kim entered the Chae house.

                “Shh, look,” Manager Kim pointed to the couch. Yeon Ah and Young Won sat on either end of the sofa; she was curled up in a ball sound asleep under his jacket, and he was resting his head on the armchair. “They must’ve had a long day today,” he tip toed over to Young Won and shook him awake. Daniel crouched down in front of his sister and poked her nose. It scrunched up from his touch.

                “Oh, you’re home. How was your schedule?” she groggily rubbed an eye and waved at him.

                “It was good. Let’s get you upstairs,” he spun around and she climbed onto his back. Manager Kim dragged a sleeping Young Won out of the house.

                “I’ll see you later.”

                “Bye Hyung,” Daniel walked them to the door and locked it. “Yah, what did you do today that made you so tired?” he adjusted her on his back. Yeon Ah mumbled something into his shoulder, half asleep. ‘If only this month could go by faster. I hate seeing you so exhausted.’ 

Weeee~~~~~~~ It seems like there's a lot of traffic coming to my story, but not a lot of people are parking >_< HOWEVER, I wub all of you who have subscribed and are commenting regularly! MY REGULARS ARE AWESOME YEA! 

Anywho, here's part one of the epic shopping battle! Well, it's not literally a battle, but hey, two people buying decorations alone is hard....I presume....

COMMENT REPLIES

@surethingfalling: they'll have a comeback, but with only 5 members.....*sighs* on a lighter note, LOL L.Joe likes them noonas XD as for Young Won..........^.~ ALSO, by green cotton candy....do you possibly mean.....*gasp!* me?! ijokeijoke ^^;;

@kmn007: THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WAS THINKING.....we'll be missing his swag for the next 2 years....*sigh* anywho.....I CAN'T TELL YOU~~~ XP btw, I added you too~~~~ LOL *runs away*

@winterflowr: I do too~~ If only all sibling relationships are like that >_> I'm stuck in a bully-the-youngest situation.....bleh.....I keep making him into such a kid when I described him as being quiet....DANGIT! must show more quiet moments.....>_>

@hai_young: I wouldn't know how it feels to plan a dance, but I do know what it's like to work, go to school, and coach. The life of a struggling, broke uni student *cries* AFF is my safe haven that costs me nothing but time~~~

I hate myself for taking more than 3 days on a Chapter XS I promise to update more often!.........hopefully =[

See you in the next Chapter!

-greenninjapanda GNP-

P.S. COMMENT AND SUBSCRIBE.....they are my motivations >_<