Kasumi’s POV

I sat on the couch in DBSK’s apartment, waiting as Changmin was taking his sweet time in the showers. Yunho was reading the newspapers while Yoochun and Junsu were playing a game of scrabble. Jaejoong was in the kitchen, preparing lunch for everybody. I glanced at the clock. It was one-thirty.

Our flight to Japan was three and Changmin was still not ready.

I heaved a huge sigh before Yunho finally looked up from the newspaper. “Are you okay?” he asked me. “That’s the fifth time you’ve sighed.”

“Are we boring you?” Yoochun wanted to know.

I shook my head. “Anniya,” I replied. “I’m just wondering what is taking Changmin Oppa so long to get ready.”

Junsu laughed heartily as he looked up after placing a word on the board, making Yoochun groaned in defeat. “I win,” he smirked and they restarted the game. He glanced at me. “Are you that anxious to get out of the country?”

“Not without eating lunch first, you’re not!” we all heard Jaejoong crying out from inside the kitchen as he fried whatever that he was frying inside.

“I’m tired,” I grumbled and yawned sleepily, rubbing my eyes. The others looked away so that they wouldn’t fall under the chain reaction of yawning. “I want to sleep on the plane. I slept late again.”

“Added another painting to your wall?” Changmin asked, finally coming out from his room with a towel wrapped around his waist and another in his hand to wipe his body dry. His hair was wet and disheveled from the bathe, dripping down to his nicely toned chest. He dried his hair, grinning at me.

“Finally,” I muttered.

He just grinned wider at me as he slipped a shirt that was hanging on the chair in the dining room. He buttoned the shirt up, covering his six-packs. “Sorry it took so long,” he apologized. “I was pooping.”

I grimaced. “That’s not something I wanted to know!”

“But you wanted to know why I was taking so long,” he argued.

“Oppa!” I complained to Yunho, who just raised an eyebrow at him.

Changmin smiled impishly before he dropped his towel. Junsu’s eyes widened — but then he scowled when he saw that Changmin was wearing his boxers. “Yah, seriously, what if you weren’t wearing anything underneath and you reveal yourself in front of Kasumi? She’s a girl, even if she’s our sister!”

I sighed. “Don’t you think that Changmin Oppa would know that I’m here so he would’ve worn his boxers?” I reasoned.

Changmin just shrugged as he slid into his pants. “Is Jaejoong hyung done with the food yet? I’m starving.”

“Almost!”

“Well, faster,” he grumbled.

I got up and walked over to where he stood, tugging on his hand. He looked down at me. “We can eat on the way,” I said impatiently. “Come on; if we don’t go now, we’re going to miss our flight.”

“Are you sure you don’t want us to come send you off?” Yoochun asked for the umpteenth time that day.

“I wouldn’t want to interrupt your game,” I replied, hugging him and Junsu. “I’m going to miss you guys.”

“We should come see you off.”

“There’s no need,” Changmin replied reassuringly. “Really.”

“So why do I have to suffer?” Yunho pretended to be offended. “You’re interrupting my time with the newspapers.”

“Thanks, hyung,” Changmin thanked him gratefully while I just shot him a withering look. “That’s just sad.”

He blushed.

Jaejoong came out from the kitchen with two containers filled with delicious food in his hands — while wearing a pink strawberry-printed apron around his waist. “Don’t leave without this!” he said in a sing-song voice. He kissed the top of my head affectionately. “Have fun and have a safe flight, yea.”

Everyone gave him a judging look.

He shrugged before happily skipping back to the kitchen with a light, “Oh, you guys know you love me!”

“And he wonders why Sumi calls him ‘Bo Oppa’,” Junsu muttered sarcastically while Yunho and Changmin snickered.

“Come on,” Yunho spoke up, slipping on his suede jacket as he glanced toward the two youngest in the room and Changmin  walked out of the door. “The two of you have a plane to catch.”

“Let’s go to Japan!” Changmin said and I beamed happily as I followed my two older oppas outside. “Yippee!”

The others just chuckled at my enthusiasm while they hugged me and ruffled Changmin’s hair playfully.

“Sumi-yah,” Changmin said the moment we had checked in, waiting for our flight to be called in. Yunho had left already. I turned to him. “Hold onto my hand when the plane takes off, okay?” He was referring to the fact that I would be scared of the load noise the plane would roar once it took off.

I nodded gratefully. “Gomawo, Oppa.” I felt really safe and protected whenever I was with Changmin. He just had that sense, I guess. I knew I could always count on him to be there for me. He was like my protector, my safe haven.

He was kind of tired since his college activity had tired him out so while waiting for our flight, he fell asleep, but I stayed awake, looking around as people walked by. I had no idea how he could sleep on the hard, plastic seats. I sighed and waited impatiently for our flight number to be called. I had my reasons for going to Japan for the summer and it wasn’t really to spend time with my family.

I was running away, from Zico.

I knew I was being a by doing that, and I probably confused him and I really did not mean to do that, at least unintentionally, especially since I boycotted him the next morning after we . . .

I let out a huge sigh, trying to fight the guilty feeling I had been feeling ever since that night. Zico was a good kisser, I’m not going to deny that, and I felt the intensity of the kiss, I felt sparks, I felt something that pulled me toward him. I didn’t know what came over me that night. The moment his luscious lips touched my shoulder blade, I lost myself. Something stirred inside and I kissed him back.

As I fell deeper, something inside of me told me that this was right, this felt good. And I was about to give into that feeling, especially even more when he held me so lovingly in his arms, when Woohyun’s face flashed into my mind as well as the day when I saw my mother dropped dead on the floor.

It all came back to me.

The flashbacks were so vivid that I fumbled and broke away, confused with mixed feelings. Zico must’ve been kind of tired because he fell asleep when I pulled away. I wanted to leave him, but then I caught sight of his sleeping figure and he looked gorgeous. I had to draw him while he was sleeping.

But when I was done, I left.

Confused and unsure of what I was feeling for Woohyun and Zico exactly, I knew that I couldn’t bring myself to face any of them. I needed to get away, I needed time to think. I had to get out of the country.

I had to leave.

I had to go.

Staying at home was no use because Zico would make an excuse to go to U-Kwon’s house and just so conveniently drop by my house to try to talk to me. And Woohyun would definitely be coming over to the ho