Kibum wonders if asking Heechul and Donghae to come visit him in America was the wrong thing to do. He doesn’t mind Donghae that much, but there’s so much of the awkward mushiness floating around Heechul and Min Young that he can take. It’s nauseating, really, and even Donghae – thickskinned Donghae hyung, the same Donghae who can sit through some of the most sickening chick flicks around – can’t stand to be in the same room as them. That is saying something.

The two of them have taken to roaming around the neighbourhood; even if they get lost, Kibum is able to find their way back. It helps to know a bit of English, especially since Donghae learnt his from watching that variety show with Super Junior in it.

Kibum hopes his family will decide to go back to Korea soon.

{♥♦♣♠}

Kibum and Donghae are in the park; Donghae wanted pictures of America to go on his Twitter, and as such Kibum is idly watching his hyperactive hyung go camera happy on pretty much everything in his path.

That’s when he notices the girl watching them.

She’s been standing still for quite some time now, so that’s how Kibum knows that she’s watching them. There’s a pair of headphones on her head, and her black hair is streaked with fire; red, orange and yellow. Her features are Asian, but her eyes are green. She catches his gaze, and grins. Her smile is feral.

Somehow, Kibum feels uneasy.

He taps Donghae on the shoulder and drags him away in the hopes that the girl will leave them alone.

{♥♦♣♠}

Kibum honestly has no idea why his father insists on eating dinner with his uncle, who insists on eating with his business partner’s family. Perhaps it is an attempt to matchmake him with Min Young.

‘Fat chance,’ thinks Kibum, and he brings Heechul and Donghae with him.

In the end, everyone combined takes up an entire McDonald’s outlet.

Needless to say, dinner is awkward.

At their table, Kibum sits with Min Young on his right, and Donghae on his left. Heechul is sitting on Donghae’s left and shooting him dark glares, and there’s another girl on Min Young’s right that looks suspiciously familiar.

‘Oh no,’ thinks Kibum in dismay, ‘it’s the fire-head girl.’

“Thank you for having me over in such short notice, Hwang saengnim!” she chirps.

Min Young’s father attempts to smile. The atmosphere at the table is tense, and it would have been even without the fire-head girl or Heechul.

Kibum moodily pokes at a French fry.

{♥♦♣♠}

After dinner, Kibum’s family and Min Young’s parents opt to leave for their hotel and their homes respectively, leaving the five of them – Donghae, Heechul, Min Young, the fire-head girl and himself – to their own devices. Donghae runs off to test out his camera’s flash and night mode. Heechul and Min Young wander off, chatting idly to each other. That leaves him with three options; one, follow Donghae and get roped into being a model for his pictures. Two, follow Heechul and Min Young and put up with awkward, possibly angsty or mushy conversations. Three, stay with the fire-head girl.

Kibum ends up staying with the fire-head girl.

“I saw you in the park the other day,” she says in English with a grin. “Nice to meet you. My name is Alex, but Min Young dubbed me Chae Yun.”

“Dubbed?’ He frowns. “So you’re not Korean.”

“Nope,” replies Alex cheerfully. “Min only calls me Chae Yun ‘cause of its meaning. She won’t tell me what it means though.”

“Shining lotus blossom,” Kibum blurts out.

“... What?”

He immediately regrets it.

“Chae means shining. Yun is lotus.”

Alex is silent. Kibum wonders why the temperature seems to have dropped by a few degrees.

“Min Young,” says Alex flatly, “named me what?”

{♥♦♣♠}

The only thing Kibum is absolutely certain of is the ice pack Donghae is holding to his forehead.

“Let me get this straight; that girl talked you into unconsciousness?” Heechul snorts, trying to hold back his laughter. Kibum debates delivering the witty retort he’s formulated, but decides that it’d be too much of a hassle. Besides, his head still hurts.

Kibum makes do with a compromise.

“Alex doesn’t like lotuses, apparently,” he groans. “Hyung, your girlfriend named her Chae Yun.”

{♥♦♣♠}

The next time Kibum sees Alex, he’s at the airport, with Heechul and Donghae and the rest of his family. They are (finally!) returning to Korea, and while Heechul and Min Young are awkwardly bidding each other goodbye (out of sight of Min Young’s father, of course), Alex comes up to him with a sheepish smile on her face.

“Um, hey...” she mumbles.

“Yeah. Hey.” Kibum deadpans.

“Min Young told me you spent the rest of your family reunion in bed with an ice pack...” She scratches the back of her neck, her eyes darting back and forth for something to divert her attention. Kibum absentmindedly notes that her eyes are black today. Contacts, probably. Or it could be the fluorescence of the light bulbs.

Contacts, Kibum decides.

“...Well,” continues Alex begrudgingly, “I just wanted to apologise. For giving you a splitting headache. And stuff.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” he replies. “There was that time we let Donghae into the kitchen to bake gingerbread men. And that other time when Kyuhyun cooked ramyun for us. At least this time I got to avoid something. No more awkward dinners.”

Alex laughs, wrinkles her nose and relaxes. “True, true. Min made me go to all of the rest.” She eyes her friend and Heechul hyung with a scrutinizing eye. “We really need to get them back together,” she says abruptly.

“I know.”

“I mean it; you should have seen Min when she came back from Korea! She was a mess!”

“You think Heechul hyung wasn’t the same?” Alex winces, and Kibum reflects that maybe his tone of voice was a little too sharp. He continues on, in a softer tone. “Heechul hyung – he’d only just realised that he was in love when Min Young had to leave. Can you imagine how horrible he must have felt?”

The redhead is silent, and after a moment of contemplation, she breaks it abruptly. “Give me your email.”

Kibum’s reply is an eloquent “what?”

“Well,” snorts Alex, “how else are we gonna keep in touch? We have to matchmake ‘em somehow, right? I’ll email you if Min goes back so we can sync plans.” She produces a ballpoint pen from her pocket and offers it to him; he ends up writing his email on her hand, and vice versa.

{♥♦♣♠}

It is only after they’ve boarded the plan and Heechul is staring miserably out the window that Kibum looks down at the scribble on his palm. An email address, and then –

                I think you’re really cute. Email me when you come back! :P

He can’t help but shake his head and laugh.