“I’m heading out then.”

“Be careful,” I answered, watching my father shut the door and lock it behind him. He was rarely home ever since he was promoted. Before that, he wasn’t home much, but now it was a quick dinner and then he would be out of the house. Although I did say my father was a police officer, it was a little more than that. He worked for the government – not quite an agent, but he wasn’t just a local law enforcer either. I don’t really know what his job is. I don’t prefer to ask either.

After finishing the dishes, I checked the clock, a knot tightening in the pit of my stomach as the long hand neared eight-thirty. In a few hours, I was expected to be out with Kyuhyun doing who-knew-what. Trust me when I say that I had been trying desperately to not think about it.

Sighing, I climbed the stairs, grabbed fresh pajamas from my room and then went off to the bathroom.

The shower ended fast. Doing homework was even faster. Piano practice flew by.

I yawned just as a loud rapping from downstairs shocked me. Forcing down the bile, I stood up, grabbed my sweatshirt and shuffled down the steps. Unlocking the door, I found that irritatingly devilish smirk emerging from the shadows. His eyes were bright and feral, tousled hair fluttering with the night breeze.

If someone could look like an angel and possess the heart and mind of a demon, where was the justice in the world? Maybe there wasn’t any. Yeah, that had to be it.

“You’re not seriously wearing that are you?” Kyuhyun looked me up and down disapprovingly. “Try again.”

“I don’t own the kind of clothes you’re thinking of,” I answered tightly.

He invited himself in, hands tucked in his pockets. “And what kind of clothing do you think I want?” Kyuhyun teased. I didn’t answer, not that he seemed to mind. “C’mon. I’ll find something in that ancient wardrobe of yours.”

I followed him back upstairs, taking the time to make a judgment of my own. Originally, I wanted to mentally assault his clothing, but found that the only thing I could think was that his was big. For a male, he really did have a round rear – not to sound too strange. Other than that, the way he dressed was flattering in every sense of the word. If anything, studying him had made me self-conscious. Rubbing my head, I pushed away the thoughts, not wanting to get caught up in anything else involving Kyuhyun. I was already in too deep.

“, you own pants like these?”

Looking up, I saw him holding up a pair of tight black pants. “They were for a play,” I explained quickly.

Kyuhyun smirked and threw it at me. “Doesn’t matter. They’re hot.” He turned back to the closet, digging around until he found a shirt that was cool enough by his standards. “Here, get changed.” Kyuhyun crossed his arms, leaning against the wall.

“Get out,” I ground out.

He made a face and rolled his eyes, but left the room anyway.

I changed slowly; half-hoping that Kyuhyun would get impatient and leave me behind, but he didn’t. It took several minutes, before I agreed to step outside. He looked me up and down again, nodding slowly. “That’s good.”

Without further ado, we were heading out into the night. “Are we walking?” I asked.

“No, someone’s coming to get us at the next intersection.”

Just as he said, at the next crossroads, we came face to face with a black car. There was nothing special or outstanding about it. Kyuhyun opened up the back door, climbing inside after nodding at me to get in.

Shutting the door behind me, I looked around the backseat, ice pouring through veins when I saw Mir. “What…,” I trailed off.

“Why are you here, Ryeowook?” he seemed equally surprised to see me. Mir turned to Kyuhyun, placing a hand on his chest. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing, I invited him. That’s all,” Kyuhyun answered nonchalantly. He dropped his arm around Mir’s shoulders, pulling the boy against his body.

I clenched my fists, catching his eye in the flickering lights that flashed through the windows as the car rolled down the street. It was a challenge – another game. He wanted to see me fight. And the saddest thing was that I had no choice. If I didn’t, a completely harmless if not slightly annoying kid was going to be into something dangerous.

Maybe it was more than a challenge. It was an ultimatum. Kyuhyun only knew how to play the extremist. Anything less was considered boring in his world.

“Hey Mir,” I called out interrupting what looked to be a rather cozy embrace on the other end of the car.

“What’s up?” he tilted his head, looking at me expectantly. Behind him, I saw Kyuhyun watching in amusement.

“You made a really big confession in class today,” I faked a casual voice, “I’m surprised someone as kind as you is interested in Kyuhyun.” My own sugary sweet words made me want to puke. I shot a glare at Kyuhyun who apparently was struggling to not laugh.

Mir smiled in understanding. “Well, I just think that everyone needs a second chance and that starts with someone who will trust them unconditionally. I feel like I can and want to do this for him.” He tilted his head back to give Kyuhyun an affectionate gaze.

Lord. I dug my fingers into the seat cushion, trying not to lash out. It was aggravating how stupid this kid had to be. No wonder he had been so easy to manipulate. In fact, he was easier to mess with than me and that was saying a lot. “But Mir, aren’t you scared of him?” I laughed it off, dispelling my seriousness.

“No,” he laughed along, “well, not really. I mean, how could I not be scared of him?” He shrugged helplessly, “But I want to trust him and that’s what’s important, I think.”

What childish bull. I didn’t get involved with people for several reasons, and one of them was this. They couldn’t comprehend the simplest things. For Mir, he couldn’t see past his haze of stereotypical bad-boy-changes-for-the-hero. Being scared of someone means you don’t trust them. Attempting to trust someone means you can’t be afraid of them either. But here he was, trying to do the impossible with one foot in the door and the other out. He didn’t actually care about Kyuhyun, and rightly so. The only problem was that he didn’t know or accept that he was just playing a part.

“Oh, I see,” I lied through my teeth, smiling again.

The car jerked to a stop. I couldn’t have been happier to get out of there. Just as I planted my feet on the ground, I realized that the other door hadn’t opened yet. Bending down, I peered back inside, seeing Kyuhyun and Mir still tightly wound up in each other. “Are you two coming?” I went on with the act.

“We’ll be there soon,” Kyuhyun answered casually, “go have fun and mingle, Ryeo-ah.”

I shut the door, turning around to see multi-colored lights bursting through the glass windows. There were people spilling out into the streets holding bottles and cups. They were giggling or yelling or just making a ruckus in general. I glanced back at the car one more time. “.”