"Right. I... I-l-love y-y-you-rrrr hair! I love what you've done with your hair today!" Jongup practically screams, a huge contrast to his almost whispering voice at the start.

 

I blink a few times, trying to grasp the atmosphere of the situation. Jongup, probably the shyest guy I know, pays for me and takes me on the wonderfully amazing Ferris wheel, only to tell me my hair is nice. Even if it's kinda strange, I appreciate the kind gesture. I needed that little compliment to lighten my mood.

 

"Really? Thanks. I didn't really do anything special..." I twirl a lock of my long hair in my finger, trying to see it in the limited light.

 

"Huh, well, I fine it's just a bit... It's shiny. Shinier than usual, you know?"

 

"No, not really."

 

"Oh, it must just be the lights." Jongup laughs a little and sits back in his seat. I nod, not fully understanding. 

 

"How are you and your crush doing?" I ask. "Have you told her you like her yet?"

 

Jongup smiles, but his expressions is laced with sadness, something that breaks my heart to see. He sighs and runs his hand through his pink hair. "No, I haven't told her yet. I tried, but I can't bring myself to tell her." Jongup looks longingly out the window, his melancholy sighs spreading to me.

 

"All I can say is this: the longer you take, the more you'll doubt yourself, and the more hesitant you may become."

 

"Thanks, but I think..." Jongup trails off, as if purposely ending his sentence midway to peak my curiosity.

 

"You think what?"

 

"I think... She likes someone else."

 

"What makes you say that?"

 

"Well, j-just a hunch, really." He smiles nervously.

 

"You are a terrible liar." I state bluntly, my face completely expressionless.

 

"It's not my fault!" Jongup puts his hands up in defence. "The look she has... When she's around the other person. There's a small look in her eyes. The same way I look at her, but her own is minuscule"

 

"How do you know for certain it's even there?"

 

"Because I'm not stupid." He snaps, taking me by surprise. "She just...has that look." Jongup clenches his fists and looks at the floor.

 

"I trust your judgement..." I sit quietly for a moment, when a though ignites in my mind. "Hey! You're a freaking alien bunny, for crying out loud! When did you have the time to meet another girl? How did you meet this girl?!"

 

Look, it's not jealousy. It's motherly instincts (da heck?!). Jongup's been telling me about this girl for a while, but who is she? He doesn't really have any human friends outside of our group, so how would he have met her?

 

"Um, uh... W-when you took us to school, I met her there. Then, when we turned into humans and left your house, we'd see each other frequently. She sometimes comes by the restaurant and talks to me, but you're too busy to notice." Jongup smiles anxiously, his words laced with 

dishonesty.

 

"What's her name? I might know her!" My excitement builds. You should know by now that I love this kind of talk. Who likes who kinda thing. Not gossip, just friendly secrets.

 

"Um... H-her name is... I don't think you know her. She a grade below."

 

I look at him suspiciously before mentally shrugging and continuing to stare out the window. The ride makes a few more spins before it stop to let us off. At the base, out entire group waits for us. I raise a brow at Daehyun's idiotic smile towards Jongup, but I brush it off as his typical behaviour.

 

"How was it?" Daehyun asks as we walk towards the park's exit.

 

"The Ferris wheel? Amazing. The whole park? Incredible. The whole day? Absolutely fantastic!" I throw my hands in the air and spin a few times to further express my happiness, something I haven't felt in two years.

 

"Seems like Jaexing-ssi had a great time." Himchan chuckles.

 

"Yeah, yeah..." Jaexing sleepily waves her arm and adjusts herself on Zelo's back.

 

I wiggle my eyebrows at the matoki maknae and he blushes in response. He looks to the ground and continues on. I let a small giggle escape.

 

The sky is cloudy, so the full moon this little town is expecting doesn't show. Maybe it's shy? Well, I would be too if I was a giant ball of rock in the sky that reflected light down onto the infested sphere below. But there's something about the clouds covering it that, how should I put this, that fascinates me, exposing my child-like curiosity. They seem more like dark curtains than clouds, hiding the movement on the stage and getting ready to unveil the beginning of the next act. There are no anxious drumrolls or triumphant trumpets. There is just the curtain and the main actor waiting patiently behind it.

 

"Until what time does the park stay open?" Yongguk asks Minji.

 

"It doesn't close on weekends." Minji answers with a smirk, proud that he knows THAT much. 

 

What a weirdo.

 

"Great. I want to go through that haunted house a second time. You guys go home. Don't wait for me."

 

"You sure?" Himchan asks in a terrifyingly motherly voice...

 

"Yeah," Yongguk nods. "I'll se you guys later!" He waves goodbye and runs back in the direction of that dreadful shack. 

 

Oh the horrible memories... It still baffles me how he showed not one ounce of fear, tonight. Should I be content, or jealous? He's tough and fearless (with human fears) yet kind and protective, the two creating a dual personality. I definitely fell in love with his kind side, but his other side draws me in. No, I'm not like some girls who obsess over a bad boy. It's just that, this guy, the red matoki and the leader of his group of six, I'm curious as to which side is his true side? It's obvious the dominant side is the cruel and heartless one, yet, it can't exist without the other.

 

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Daehyun snickers and inches closer to Youngjae and HyoJae.

 

"We have a teddy bear," Hyo starts, shoving the bear in Daehyun's face. "A duck, a penguin, a dolphin, a bat and-"

 

"I'm not talking about the stuffed animals. I'm talking about you two."

 

"Huh? Oh, nothing much, just holding hands and walking through the fun park."

 

"Why?"

 

"... Why not?"

 

"Earthians confuse me...." Daehyun mumbles just loud enough for everyone to hear and burst out laughing.

 

We leave the towering gates of the park, leaving behind the screaming and laughing. The light shines brightly, illumination the road straight ahead. We still have to turn corners, slipping out of the warm and protective light, but it's nice to have a visible path before us. Streetlights have inconveniently stopped working and nearby houses cast long shadows, creating dark and untrustworthy corners. The haunted house flashes in my mind, and for a moment, I see that grotesque figure from the second level just standing there, watching the group like it's next prey.

 

The image goes away as we continue one, but the number of dark corners increase ten fold, slowly and silently wrapping us in a blanket of unexplored darkness. Our footsteps can be heard over the rustling of leaves in the wind. They start out random, different which each person's stride. But as obscurity increases, our multiple footsteps become one sound. Our feet lift off the ground and step down at the same time, our stride matching perfectly and completely without prior organization. It's almost as if we do this so we can hear someone else's footsteps if they decided to follow behind. Rocks and leaves crunch under our feet, and our pace quickens. We finally make it to the security of my bright street where the streetlights start working again.

 

"I'll take her home," Minji tells Zelo as soon as we reach my house.

 

"Oh, okay. Here." Zelo gently places the young girl into the older's arms. I also laugh at his expression. At first, he simply looks tired, but if you look REALLY closely, you can see a bit of regret. That kid!

 

"Goodnight, guys." Minji whispers before walking away with the sleeping Jaexing in his arms.

 

"I better be heading home too. I'll see you again." HyoJae pecks Youngjae on the cheek before hugging me and walking off in a different direction.

 

I look at Youngjae, who watches her departing figure and waves like a mechanical being. The evil brains of the matoki group is sap when it comes to love, and it's so visible, you'd might as well put up a sign. Youngjae looks like his body wants to run after HyoJae, but it's as if his shoes have been nailed to the asphalt. His movements are hesitant and choppy.

 

"Go after her, stupid! Walk her home!" I push the yellow matoki and he takes off after her.

 

Yet another heroic deed done by yours truly, the bestest He-Jin that ever lived, the protagonist of this story! Well, everyone can guess I'm awesome. Hehehe. I am the heroin, the saviour, the good-doer, the amazing, the fantastic, the unbelievable, the out of this world-

 

"Goodnight He-Jin noona..." Inhyung yawns, swaying back and forth from leg to leg.

 

"Himchan-"

 

"Got it." Himchan smiles and walks Inhyung to his front porch.

 

"Right. Time for bed." I open my front door and walk in, followed by the remaining tired matokis.

 

"Night." They all say and trudge to their respective rooms. Their strides are slow and somewhat clumsy. The three stretch simultaneously, scratch their backs, and turn into their matoki form, dragging their arms behind them.

 

I walk upstairs to my room and prepare for a shower. After a long and hot day, the Luke warm water hits my skin in a relaxing massage. Relief passes over me and my muscles loosen up. I quickly comb through my hair, deepening the shampoo and conditioner. When I finish, I change into my panda pyjamas and head back down only to greet Himchan halfway up the stairs.

 

"Goodnight, He-Jin." He yawns and continues on.

 

"Goodnight, second in command." I continue on, open the door and sit outside on my front porch, Casey sitting by my side.

 

I look up at the sky and sigh. "Still not ready?" I ask the curtain of clouds. "I would actually like to see your play, so please don't be much longer."

 

I check my watch twice, half an hour separating the two. I hear footsteps and see the approaching Youngjae on the semi-darkened street. As he comes closer, I notice the smile on his face and the glint in his eyes. I hold myself back from laughing as the lipstick mark on his cheek makes it into the light.

 

"Hurry up and go to bed, senior Smooch." I point to my front door behind me with my thumb. Youngjae nods, changes into his matoki form, and disappears inside.

 

Why am I even out here? At first, I just wanted to see the moon. Then Youngjae came along, and I thought I'd stay out a little longer. Now I find myself waiting for Yongguk.

 

Why?

 

He's a man. He can take care of himself. I don't need to wait for him...

 

I have those thoughts, but I do not budge from my spot, still starring the road laid out in front.

 

Although the only source of natural light is covered, the yellow streetlights shine dimly down on a large figure, their light unable to fully reach it. The over sized creature makes it way down the street, it's body facing my house. I gawk at the creature in horror, my voice caught in my throat and my glued to the steps. The creature continues on it's course, letting out low moans and grunts. His steps are slow and lazy, but impact with the asphalt hard enough so I can hear it from such a distance.

 

The clouds part and the large full moon shines mischievously.

 

The next act has finally begun!

______________________

 

That... Took an annoyingly long time to write. I had this all written out (sort of) a week ago, but it was so short, being mostly dialogue and short descriptions. It took me ONE FULL WEEK to redo, and I have this increasing love/hate relationship with it. Yes, is does have very visual description and what not, but I'm really laze, and I don't like doing work.

 

Do you see what I do for you guys?! If this wasn't online, I would have probably moved on and forgotten about this story 20 CHAPTERS AGO!!

 

Oh well.

 

Moving on, I can't say I'm particularly sorry about this chapter, as I'm happy I strengthen my writing style with it. I tried using MANY adjectives and MANY synonymous words.

 

Yep. I'm just that ninja.

 

I figured out a Youngjae and HyoJae couple name! Not HyoJae (HyoJae + Youngjae), not Youngjae (Youngjae + HyoJae).

 

What about HyoYoung? Or- please help....

 

ANYWAY!!

 

COMMENTARIES!!!

Hahaha, Jongup chickened out. (Back story below)

He-Jin, you are truly more dense than me (I'll explain why a little later...)

It's shiny? SHINee?!  

Yeah, Jongup. How are you and your crush doing?

Motherly instincts my as- FOOT!!!

WHAT'S HER NAME, DAMMIT!!!

Is she really a grade below, Jongup? Is she really?

Jeez, He-Jin. You don't have to be THAT happy...

ZEXING MOMENT!! Djgxhrhzghjtjdxfh

Hehehe... The moon's an actor.... Hehehe...

Minji can be proud about what ever he wants!!

YOUR MOM'S A WEIRDO!!

GIMME THAT DUCK, HYOJAE!

Earthians confuse me too, Dae-buddy...

Don't think that highly of yourself, He-Jin, 'cause you aren't ANY of those things!

Hahaha, senior Smooch. GOOD ONE! *high fives myself... LIKE A BOSS!*

Next act, next act!!

 

NOW FOR THE EXPLANATIONS!!

 

Jongup's failed confession is based on true events. Sadly, it was Snowflakes old crush instead of Jongup, and even more sadly, him and the one he confessed to got together. And even MORE sadly, her crush missed out on all of that *points to her*, which is really just sad for him. At least they're still friends!

<>

Fifteen year old me putting my stuff from my locker in my bag, when one of my guy friends comes over and taps me on the shoulder.

 

"Do you wanna... Go out for lunch with me tomorrow? Just the two of us. Alone." Asked guy-friend.

 

PSYCHO-PANDA TRANSLATION!!

 

"Do you wanna... Stalk me to get some delicious food in our stomachs? No one else is coming."

"Sure!" I smiled and closed my bag.

 

-the next day-

 

"Are you seriously going out with him?!" Snowflake asked in a hushed tone.

"I'm stalking him to get lunch. No biggie." I shrugged, putting my text books in my locker.

"HE ASKED YOU OUT, STUPID!!"

Later that day, I had to tell my guy-friend the truth:

That I seriously just thought I was stalking him for food. No joke.

He understands.

 

-A FEW DAYS LATER!!-

 

"Yeah. Chestnut was just to get over her." Said guy friend. He had apparently asked one of my good friends out, got rejected, then came to ask me.

 

I know some of may be thinking 'he's just saying that to get over the rejection', but he was telling the honest truth. A day after I heard him say that, he asked Snowflake out....

 

I AM NOBODY'S REPLACEMENT, BEEOUCH!!

 

I'm sorry if I've told this story before. I'm old, okay? Jeez... Why do my stories always trace back to my love life?...

 

I don't have a riddle, but I wouldn't mind hearing some from you! I would love to read your riddles in the comments!

 

Instead of super random learn a stupid language, I though I'd share my favourite line in a book I'd just finished reading:

'Time passed. It didn't matter. Macbeth hath murdered sleep and Carrie hath murdered time.' 

              ~ Carrie by Stephen King, pg. 162.

 

Good read. I definitely suggest it.

 

Now, for 'Salem's Lot....

 

If you guys like B.A.P (which you should *cracks knuckles*), you should check out my collab with BBVIPBaby. One Shot

 

Wait, is this the second time this story is advertising it?...

 

meh, whatever...

 

THANKS FOR READING!!

 

ARIGATOGAZAIMASU! 

 

Oh, and one more thing. Those who are currently reading my other fanfic, My doll, My twin, I'm sorry, but I'm deleting it and rewriting it completely.

 

hanma_: guess he did know. FORESHADOWING! I think....

 

pretty_rania: sorry, but I don't do squishy confession. I'm a person that likes to psychologically torture people until they are on the brink of madness.

Okay, no. It's just that the story would have skipped a lot. That may come later...

HINT, HINT.

 

haerangy: you are the best! Is your closet big or small? 'Cause I've slept in my closet for a full two weeks, and it's small... My knees hurt.

 

Panda_landa: thanks! I might just take you up on that offer! I KNOW HAVE TWO CLOSETS IN MY POSSESSION!

By the way, just a random note, but your username intrigues me... Something about it that I like very much...

Random person shouts "is it the fact that they have 'Panda' in their username, and you LOVE pandas?"

Hmm... Dunno....