You pursed your lips as you looked on. To buy or not to buy frozen pizza today. That was the question. That was the question you had in the grocery store on this day in March, it having been over a week since the Spring Welcome. Since Springfield welcomed Spring. And life had passed by normally since then. Once more however, you weren’t exactly sure what the definition of normal was. Did it mean going to school with Niel and Ricky, spending time with Daeryong and Soryong every once in awhile, visiting Tiffany at least once a week, and eating dinner with your mom at least twice a week? Was that what was normal now?

As you continued to contemplate this question in the form of buying frozen pizza or not today, someone who apparently had the same thoughts came to a stop right next to you. You paid no mind to them as you continued to stare forward, lost in your own thoughts. Lost in your own thoughts until you saw a hand reach out and grab onto the door handle of the freezer. A finely manicured, shimmering black nail polished hand. A hand you were shocked to see again. And as you traced it back once more, you found that same woman with short brown hair pulling from the freezer a supreme cheese pizza before she slipped it into the shopping cart beside her.

And she noticed you. You could tell as she got a smile on her face upon her eyes locking with yours. “This sure is a happy coincidence, isn’t it?” She asked, a short amused laugh escaping . You said nothing in reply as you stared at her.

Again. Again you felt something off about her. Something different. The very something that made you recognize that hand of hers with just one glance. She blinked, her eyelashes fluttering a few times as she leaned against her shopping cart, not saying a word. She was waiting. Waiting for you to say something. Proving herself to be not as open as you had first assumed. Proving herself to be just as tricky as her outward appearance claimed she was.

“I guess you could say that.” You answered back, your tone neutral. She smiled in response and rounded the corner of her shopping cart, grasping onto the handles as she leaned forward.

“I actually just got to Springfield so I’d say meeting anyone twice is a very happy coincidence.” Her smile faded, and instead a smirk replaced it. A smirk that once more waited for your next words.

She was edging you on, this woman who had just arrived in Springfield. Springfield, a place that, according to Tiffany, rarely got visitors or new residents all too easily. And the most recent visitors were anything but ordinary. This was the reason you couldn’t help but be suspicious. At the party, she spoke as though she knew about the food. About it being laced with Wolfsbane. Yet, she was new here? Her intentions were obviously anything but good.

“It’s a small town. Not many people to meet for the first time here.” You responded as you let your eyes trail downwards, as though her appearance would betray her intentions. Of course, as you expected in the first place, it didn’t.  

She pursed her lips, her eyes drawing away from you as she seemed to wonder if your words were true. After a moment, she looked at you again, a smile nowhere to be found, “On the contrary, I’d say I’m expecting to meet quite a few new people very soon,” she spoke slowly, putting emphasis on the word “people.” Emphasis that had a double meaning you couldn’t be sure of. She didn’t wait for your next words this time. She simply began to push her shopping cart forward, passing by your own as you once more saw that smile that hid behind it a secret you couldn’t figure out, “It was nice seeing you again. Let’s hope next time we can meet, its under such nice conditions as these.”

And you were left again, your mind reeling as you thought over her words as you had at the Spring Welcome. And you found it, the answer to the question of what normal was in Springfield. Here, normal was anything but normal.

“They’ve been quiet since then.” Soryong noted as he flipped another page of the book he was reading. A book Tiffany had been reading before the incident in December had occurred. The Hobbit. He only wished he could be paying full attention to the words printed on the page.

“Their trail has gone stone cold, ending at our precious princess, so they’ll get bored sooner or later. Then, they’ll leave and we can just sit back as we have been.” Daeryong yawned widely as he kicked his feet up onto the coffee table and leaned back on the couch. The couch of Tiffany’s home. This was where they had taken up residence since December, at her grandfather’s request. They were Enforcers who now had taken on the role of Overseers of the region that was Springfield and the surrounding mountainous areas. They had volunteered for the position, knowing full well Tiffany and her grandfather wouldn’t have wanted anyone else taking over.

“They know something we don’t.” Soryong’s lips formed a tight frown as he shut the book, giving up on reading it now, “Have you heard anything from higher-up?”

“Last I heard, the fourteen dwarves were last spotted in London around five days ago. Nowhere near here.” Daeryong reported as he continued to look down at his shoe-clad feet. After a moment, he sighed and took them off of the coffee table, finding it not as fun to do when Tiffany wasn’t there to scold him for it. “They haven’t changed. They’ll leave sooner or later. Jieun will be Jieun.” He spoke whimsically as he thought back to the red haired woman he had approached during the Spring Welcome.

“We’re not supposed to interfere.” Soryong stated, gaining the attention of his brother.

“Of course.” Daeryong replied as though it were the most natural answer. There was also a question hidden beneath his answer. A question of why his twin had stated such an obvious fact right now, at this very moment.

“They’re planning something, but we’re not supposed to interfere.” Soryong spoke as though he were chanting a mantra towards himself.

Daeryong answered him nevertheless, his signature smile nowhere to be found, “Of course.”

Silence passed between the two. Silence as Soryong faced an inner conflict of what he was supposed to do. Silence as Daeryong let his mind weave possible solutions to his brother’s conflict. And he found one. And his familiar, conniving grin spread across his face one more.

“But if the equilibrium is upset, we’re just going to have to step in, now won’t we?”

And in that instant, as his words were transmitted and processed by Soryong, a sly smile replaced the brown haired twin’s frown, “How right you are.”

You pushed the door open with your foot as you brought inside the groceries you had bought just twenty minutes ago. You took penguin like steps inside, not being able to see over the tall brown paper bag in your hand. After you were inside, you kicked the door shut behind you, causing the whole house to vibrate. Your features clenched at the loud noise and you kept your eyes closed, anticipating the yell that would be directed towards you any second now. Except, there was nothing. No yell telling you to stop banging the front door closed, even if by accident. No yell telling you to call if you needed help and not think you could handle it yourself, which you found ridiculous as you most certainly could handle groceries. Yet, there was nothing.

You counted yourself lucky this time that your mother hadn’t heard it. You still turned and locked the door quietly before shuffling across the wooden floor, keeping as quiet as you possibly could in case she would explode any second. However, as you put the two large brown paper bags in your hands down onto the breakfast table, there was neither a yell from the living room nor a yell from upstairs.

You decided you would face your scolding sooner rather than later and called out to her, “Mom? Sorry for banging the door.” You meekly apologized, your voice a half-yell. Still, the house was silent. You walked towards the entrance of the kitchen and peeked your head out, looking up the stairs that lit up under the setting sun’s rays. “Mom?” You voiced out again with no one answering you back.

You frowned as you stepped back into the kitchen, figuring you’d put away the groceries before going to look for her. As you pulled out the first item from the brown bag closest to you, you paused. It was a frozen pizza. The frozen pizza you had decided to buy after all. The frozen pizza that symbolized the abnormal. The road less traveled. You rarely bought frozen pizza even if you ate it every now and then with Ricky and Niel. You couldn’t help yourself after you spoke to that woman again. That woman whose name you still didn’t know. Whose purpose you still didn’t know.

You shook your head, freeing yourself of your thoughts as you once more focused on unpacking the groceries. You turned to the fridge and gripped onto the handle for the freezer when you stopped suddenly, your fingers slipping from the handle. There was a sticky note there, on the fridge. You put the pizza back down onto the breakfast table and pulled the note from the cold surface. 

“Working all night. Don’t cook anything fancy. Mom.” You read out loud. Once you were finished reading it, your eyes went to the frozen pizza again. Your lips formed a small smile, “Looks like I was right in buying it.” The abnormal always did seem to find its way to you and you to it.

You looked up at the building in front of you. The big, white painted building that was the hospital of Springfield. The building you came to on this day, Sunday. Not to visit Tiffany. You would of course, but that’s not why you found your way here.

“It’s not like she’s going to bite your head off.” Niel sighed as he pushed your from behind, his hands on his shoulders as he steered you towards the front entrance. That was just it. She might just bite your head off. She was still completely capable of doing it. Not physically of course but mentally she definitely could. Who? Well that would be Bang Minah.

The girl you had come to the hospital for in the first place. The girl who got into a minor car accident and broke her arm just yesterday afternoon. The girl who was able to bite your head off if she wanted to, despite her recent record of holding herself back from doing so. You didn’t think you were the person she wanted to see right now. You actually knew exactly who she wanted to see but that wasn’t the point. The point was, here you were, practically dragged here by Ricky and Niel this morning after Ricky called and told you they’d be visiting her, and you had no idea what you were supposed to say.

What did your relationship call for you to say? What was appropriate based upon your relationship with her? Certainly not visiting her in the hospital. You could talk to her every now and then but visit her in the hospital? That didn’t exactly seem to fit. Still, you had to admit that it wasn’t just by Niel and Ricky’s persistence that you were here. You still had the ability to reject the idea of coming. You just figured, why not? Why not visit her? So here you were, and as each second went by you wondered what in the world was wrong in your head to say “why not” in the first place.

The two boys had flowers, of course. You brought nothing, making you even more unsure of what you were supposed to say to her once you saw her. “Hey, heard you broke your arm. Thought I’d come see the aftermath,” didn’t exactly seem like the best tactic. At least with flowers you could have avoided the awkwardness and just given them to her, expressing you wish for her to get better without having to say a word.

As they continued to force you forward, past the front desk now, you felt yourself buying for time, “Wait,” you told them, “wait, I’m going to visit Tiffany.” You were going to anyway and even if Tiffany wouldn’t answer, you could at least contemplate what she would suggest you to say to Minah.

Ricky narrowed his eyes, suspicious of you. You were their ride here so you could easily leave without them knowing. That was one option, yes, but you had no intention of doing it. However, convincing him otherwise would take more than a few words. Luckily, you didn’t need words because you had Niel.

“Okay. We’ll see you there.” He glanced at Ricky who was unconvinced before turning back towards you, “We will, won’t we?”

“Promise.” You grinned at the two.

You groaned as you rubbed your face with your hands. “What am I supposed to do?” When you looked up from your hands, you couldn’t help but breath out.

Tiffany lay there still. Not a single hair out of place. Beautiful as always. Her chest moving up and down slowly as her body’s respiratory system continued to function. Yet her lips remained closed. Her eyes remained shut. She remained, looking as though she was full of life without being able to actually live it.

You looked to window at the far end of the room where one vase of peonies was placed. Peonies that looked as though they had been changed out recently. Daeryong no doubt snuck in and did it sometime today or late yesterday. “Did he visit?” You asked even though you knew you wouldn’t get an answer. “He just couldn’t stay away, could he?”

A light laugh was produced from your throat as your eyes once more went to Tiffany. You wondered what she would say.  What she would say about the two twins. What she would say about the blonde one, playful and teasing despite his serious tendencies. What she would say about the brunette, serious and calm to a fault despite his playful tendencies. What she would say about those two twins who complemented each other perfectly. What she would say about Ricky and Niel now. What she would say about your relationship with your mother. What she would say about how you were presently without the werewolves by your side.

More importantly at this moment though, what she would say in regards to your current situation of what in the world to say to Bang Minah whom was in the hospital with a broken arm.

And your next words came out of your mouth without you even being able to process them, “I miss you, Tiffany.”

You closed the door behind you, keeping your eyes on the ground as you took a deep breath. You knew what to say to Minah now. You would say whatever came naturally. Whatever you felt was the best thing to say. You didn’t need flowers. You didn’t need a set plan. You just needed to be yourself. The you that Tiffany bought that rose charm to for. That representation of you that hung on the bracelet that was clasped securely on your wrist at this very moment.

You smiled as you saw it there still where you had it attached in the weeks following Tiffany’s incident. There, next to the silver gun charm that reminded you of the werewolves who were out there somewhere. Somewhere you couldn’t reach. In a place you would wait for them to come back from. And your smile grew wider as you looked up, remembering the room number that Niel and Ricky told you belonged to Bang Minah.

You turned your head to the left as you whispered to yourself, “Room 1-”

And you froze. Your voice faded out, never getting to finish recalling Minah’s room number. You were motionless as you looked down the hallway. The white tiled, white walled hallway. Towards a figure. A figure clothed in black. A black that contrasted the white that covered your surroundings. A black that seemed to reflect the stars of the night sky. A black you doubted you would see again.

And the person stood still, unmoving as people passed. Passed by both them and you as you gazed at them. And your voice, as you felt the tears that had begun to well up as you looked up Tiffany’s unmoving body moments ago start to fall, whispered. Whimpered. The word produced from your mouth was followed by the intake of a sharp breath of air by your lungs as tears twinkled down your cheeks.  

“Myungsoo.”

A/N: I was almost late with this! Probably because I went Christmas shopping today. Yep, sounds about right. Yet, I wasn't. A big hooray for me on that one. I'm sure alot of you are freaking out right now right? And quite a few were able to guess the new characters who I am sure are more recognizable now (especially since one of them was named). We still don't know what they mean to accomplish in Springfield. But since the appearance of Myungsoo has surely gotten you all excited (as it has me myself), I'm going to keep this short. See you all next weekend! 

He's back! He's back! He's back! He's back, oh! 

(obscure reference located above)