*Two Weeks Later*

Heather peeked around the corner of the studio hall carefully, a camera trained on her from behind. She turned and pressed a finger to her lips in a silent command for the man to be quiet. She looked back around the corner again to make sure the coast was clear. She waved behind her and stepped from the corner and quickly made her way to the door at the end of the hall on the right, the one she had been eyeing for a few minutes.

Crouching down, she motioned for the camera man to get down as well. Turning to him, she smiled and giggled softly. “Okay, right now we’re outside of Nu’est practice studio.” She whispered. “They have no idea that I’m here today.” She said. She shifted in her position and reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded card. She held it up.

“This is my mission for today.” She said and opened it, letting the cameraman read it before pulling it back and smiled. “Today, I have to test the member’s English, excluding Aron because he’s an English speaker already.” She whispered as she read.  “The first game I play with them is a drawing game. The next game is going to test their knowledge on English singers and the last game is one I got to pick.” She said and looked back at the door.

Listening for a moment, she sighed when nothing happened. She had thought she heard someone trying to come out, but thankfully it was just her imagination. She turned back to the camera and smiled. “So I’m a big fan of horror movies.” She said. “And I happen to know that so is Ren-oppa, even though he proclaims he’s not.” She said. “So the third test is going to test the members on their knowledge of English horror movies. I feel bad, but I hope Ren-oppa wins.” She said and giggled. She looked back over her shoulder and nodded before looking back at the camera.

“Raven Hwaiting.” She said. She stood slowly and peered into the small window. She didn’t see anyone in the hall so she opened the door and started in, cameraman following her. She walked down the steps slowly and into the glass entrance way. She watched as the members danced and motioned for the camera to hurry as they moved to the far corner and watched for a while. Turning, she mouthed to the cameraman to stay put before she snuck her way to the other side of the room where the music was playing. She knew firsthand how intense a practice session could be. So intense you blocked out everything going on around you, which played into Heather’s favor.

She picked up the phone that was connected to the speakers and pressed the pause button. The member suddenly stopped, uttering groans of shock. They turned to see who had turned off the music and stared at Heather.

“Heather!” Aron called happily and ran over to her, lifting her up. She squealed and laughed as he twirled her around.

“Oppa! Put me down!” she shouted happily. Aron grinned and sat her down, slipping an arm around her shoulders.

“What brings you here beautiful? Come to watch us dance all y like?” he asked with a smirk. Heather rolled her eyes and shrugged off his arm.

“You’re full of yourself.” She teased as she walked over to the others and greeted them, smiling as they hugged her.

“No seriously, what are you doing here?” Minhyun asked happily through his pants, his hair clinging to his face. They were all hot and sweaty and y. Too bad two of them were gay. Though there was always Aron, who apparently really liked her.

“Oh nothing.” She said and held up the card before pointing behind them. “Except for that.” She said. They turned and stared at the camera and gasped, bowing.

“What? Why didn’t anyone say we were shooting today?” Baekho muttered as he moved away to grab a towel and wipe off the sweat.

“It wouldn’t be a surprise if they did.” Heather said and grinned. “So surprise!” she said happily and they groaned. “Oh come on now, don’t act like you’re not happy I’m here.”

“We’re happy you’re here.” Ren said and grinned at her. “Just not happy we’re caught off guard like this.” He said.

“Oh well. Nothing I can do. Though I have to say.” She said and turned, looking on the mirrored wall, fixing her hair. “I am the best looking one here.” She teased.

“Hey!” Minhyun pouted, pushing her lightly. She giggled and turned.

“Alright, you all have five minutes to get presentable. And if you’re not back in five minutes you forfeit the prize.” She said. They nodded and moved over to a door, disappearing within it. She moved around the dance room while she waited and shook her head.

“So messy.” She said and motioned to the pile of jackets and bags in the corner. “We don’t have a messy practice room.” She said and looked back at the camera. “Boys are so messy. No wonder mother’s always yell at them more.” She said and giggled. She explored the room a bit more, but it all seemed very similar to their dance studio. Walking back to the mirrors, she leaned against them as the boys started filing in. She looked at the clock and nodded.

“Nice. Only three minutes.” She said.

“Well, we didn’t want to keep the princess waiting.” Baekho said and grinned at her.

“Well if anything at least you’re smart.” She and laughed at his shocked expression.

“Alright, so, what are we doing today?” JR asked, standing in the middle of the group, arms crossed over his chest. Heather nodded and took out the card again and held it up.

“Today’s mission is going to be conducted by me. Today we’re going to test your English!” she cheered. The boys groaned, all for Aron, who smirked. “And Aron’s excluded from today’s mission.” She added and giggled as Aron frowned. “That’s okay oppa, you can be my assistant.” She said. Aron brightened and walked up and stood next to her.

“Someone’s playing favorites.” Baekho muttered and Heather giggled.

“Maybe.” She said and shrugged. “Anyway, today’s mission comes in three tests. First a picture guessing game, then celebrity trivia and lastly facts on horror movies.” She said.

“Alright!” Ren cheered happily and started dancing. The others frowned, knowing the last game Ren would win. So what was the point in even playing that one? It was rigged already.

“Calm down happy pants.” Heather said and giggled. “Alright, so the first is a guessing game.’ She said and turned to Aron. “Do you have a white board and markers? Or pen and paper?” she asked.

“Um…I think we have a white board. I’ll get it.” He said and headed to the back room. Heather watched him go before looking back at them.

“Alright, so for game one, these are the rules. I have a list of words already. Either Aron or I will draw the image. Each player will get ten seconds to guess what the English word is. If you get it wrong or run out of time, we go to the next person. For each correct answer, the player gets 1 point. The points accumulate throughout all the games we’re going to play, and the person with the most points wins the prize.” She said.

“What’s the prize?” Minhyun asked curiously.

“Um…” Heather said and shrugged. “I have no idea. I’m supposed to call the PD once the games are done so they tell us what the prize is.” She said and giggled.

“Sounds interesting.” JR said and grinned.

“Got it!” Aron called as he walked back in with a white board and markers.

“Alright, so let’s get the games started!” she said happily. She took the marker from Aron then. “Hold the board for me.” She said and smiled. Pulling out another card, she quickly glanced at the words and nodded. Picking one, she turned and started drawing the shape carefully. Her goal was to make it so vague they couldn’t possibly guess it. Putting the cap back on, she grinned and turned, letting the other’s see.

“Okay, we’ll start here with Baekho and move down the line.” She said and looked at her watch. “And go.”

“Uh…uh…” Baekho looked at the others and laughed. “How do you say squiggly lines in English?” he asked and shook his head.

“Take in the whole picture.” Heather hinted and motioned to the other shapes she drew.

“Ah…” Baekho was at a lost. What the hell could she have drawn? They just looked like random lines to him.

“Time.” Heather said and laughed as he pouted. “Minhyun-oppa, go.” She said.

“It’s the beach right?” he asked and looked at the others. The others nodded, finally getting what it was.

“I knew that!” Baekho said and pouted as the other’s laughed at him.

“English word.” Heather said.

“Ah…Beach.” Minhyun said happily.

“Correct! Minhyun gets a point.” She said happily. She took the board then and wiped it clean. She handed Aron the card so he could pick the next clue. She thought the beach was an easy clue, wait till they had to guess the specific flower that was written down.

~*~Three Hours and Many Failed Attempts Later~*~

Heather sat on the hardwood floor and let out a deep sigh. “That was such hard work.” She muttered and stretched. She had thought testing Nu’est knowledge of English would be so hard. No wonder her Korean teachers got upset with her, it was a demanding job!

“No kidding.” Minhyun said as he sat down next to her and watched the other members goofing off. The camera was off, the cameraman left already. The show had been taped and they thought it went well, for the most part. He looked back at her and smiled. “So.” He said.

Heather looked up at him and raised a brow. “So what?” she asked, curious as to what he wanted. Minhyun was a quiet person. Even in the months that they interacted, he was always the one that stood to the side and just observed, unless it called for making jokes or being a fool. Then he was the life of the party. Minhyun was special, but Heather was starting to realize that every member of Nu’est was special in his own way.

“How are things going?” he asked carefully. It took her a moment, but she caught on and shrugged.

“Fine.” She said. “New number and all, so I haven’t heard anything from him. And I haven’t seen him either.” She said softly.  Minhyun made a small noise as he listened, head nodding.

“That’s good.” He said. “Maybe he won’t do anything anymore. I think they scared him off.” He said and nudged her. “But you know if anything like that starts happening again, tell us. We’re here for you. JR hyung has been working out extra hard lately. I think he’s hoping to find the guy and beat the out of him.” He said with a small laugh and Heather giggled.

“Yeah. Aron calls every day to make sure nothing is wrong. I think he’s ready to beat the too.” She said with a small nod. “And I’m glad you guys are there for me. It makes me feel special, but safe too. And I’m sorry you all had to be dragged into this.” She said and smiled at him.

“Don’t be.” Minhyun said and slipped his arm around her shoulders, hugging her to his side. “You’re our friend Heather. Well…more like a little sister. And we’re here to protect you.” He said.

“Little sister? I think it’s more like big sister.” She said and laughed.

“Little sister, big sister, same thing.” Minhyun said with a shrug. “So, you and Aron huh?” he asked. Heather cocked her head and frowned. What did that mean? Her and Aron. What was he talking about? She hated when people were so vague, like they just assumed you were a mind reader and knew what they were talking about.

“Aron and me what?” she asked. Minhyun frowned and sighed.

“Oh god.” He groaned, heading falling back some as he looked up at the ceiling. “Don’t be like this.” He said and smiled. “You know you can tell me.”

“Tell you what?” Heather asked with a huff. She was getting tired of this vague game they were playing.

“You know.” He said. But judging from her expression, maybe she didn’t know. “Aren’t you and Aron dating?” he asked. Heather stared at him before laughing then.

“Oh!” she said and shook her head. “That’s what you’re talking about.” She said.

“What did you think I was talking about?”

Heather shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s why I asked.” She said through giggles. Calming down, she took in a breath and sighed. “No.” she said and stared at him. “We’re not. I get the feeling that’s what he wants, but I don’t know.” She said and looked away, watching as Ren and JR play fought.

“Still have a thing for Ren?” Minhyun asked. She turned and stared at him before sighing. Of course he would have known. They all live together, they talk. Boys were just as bad as girls with gossip. Only they didn’t call it gossip.

“Well not really.” Heather said. “I mean he’s so ing hot.” She said and blushed. Minhyun laughed softly at that and sighed.

“Well, I’ll agree with you on that.” He said and nodded.

“Yeah, but I’m not interested in Aron because of that.” She said.

“Is it because he’s being all protective?” Minhyun asked. It wasn’t unheard of for someone to be turned off by someone’s lack of personal space.

“No.” Heather said and shook her head, thinking. “It’s not because of that. I’m very thankful he is. It’s just…” she said and sighed, looking at the floor as she fell silent. Minhyun waited for a while, to see if she was going to answer. When she didn’t answer right away, he nudged her.

“Hey, you can tell me. Everything you say won’t be resaid. I promise.” He said as he held out his pinkie to her. She looked up at him before glancing to his pinkie. She nodded and took his pinkie with hers, making the pinkie promise.

“Okay.” She said and looked at him, lowering her hand. “I just don’t think I’m good enough. I mean look what happened. My past came back to bite me in the and in the process Aron got hurt and I was almost killed.” She said. “I don’t…I put him through enough already. I don’t want him to have to carry around my baggage.” She said as she looked away. “He could do better than me.”

Minhyun frowned as he listened. Glancing up, he watched as Aron jumped on Baekho’s back. They were all goofing around, oblivious to their conversation going on. “You know.” He said and looked back down at her. “I don’t think he’s bothered by that. I think he wants to protect you, no matter what costs.” He said. “To be honest, lately, you’re all he thinks about and talks about. He’s always telling us to wait up, he’s got to call you or text you or wondering what you’re doing.” He said.

Heather stared at him in shock. She didn’t know that, but she didn’t live with Aron. These were things only the members that lived with him would know.  She smiled though; glad to hear that Aron did care about her. She had to admit; at first she hadn’t been that interested in him. But after the incident at the park, he grew on her very quickly.

“He really likes you Heather.” Minhyun continued. “What do you think of him?”

“I like him.” She answered honestly. “A lot but –“

“Then you should try it out.” Minhyun cut her off. “What happened in the past is in the past. We all have skeletons in our closet, but we can’t let them ruin our chances at being happy in the future.” He said. Heather chuckled and nodded. Minhyun was right. She worked for three years to get where she was and to be happy. She can’t let this man beat her and force her into seclusion.

“You’re right. Thank you Minhyun.” She said. “I think I will give it a go. If anything, he’ll be very entertaining.” She said with a giggle.

“Oh you have no idea how entertaining he is.” Minhyun said before climbing to his feet. “So, want to join us for lunch?” he asked.

“Sure!” Heather said and stood with a grin. “I’m always ready mooch.” She teased and Minhyun laughed, taking her hand and leading her to the back room where the other’s disappeared to.