* Long chapter ahead ^^ Enjoy *

Eun Ri thanked The Lord for a thing called the weekend. She took the opportunity and woke up early to go job hunting. 

As she passed the boarded up shop, her heart ached and looked away. Fixing her light jacket over her shoulders, she began to walk around with her bag slung over her shoulder, papers in hand. 

Mrs.Kang wasn't giving her any slack about her Abeoji's death and wasn't willing to extend her due date. Eun Ri had to restrain herself from strangling the lady's fat neck as she showed no sympathy towards her. She growled at the memory of the woman knocking at her door asking for money early in the morning.

Eun Ri stared up at the large super market and gulped. She let out a shakey breath before entering. She looked around and went to a random cashier. "Hi, may I speak to your manager? I sent in a work application earlier." She said politely. 

The worker was more than kind to lead her to the manager's office. Urging her inside, Eun Ri thanked the worker before walking in. 

A secretary motioned for her to sit down and wait her turn. Eun Ri nodded and took a seat. She examined her papers and bit her lip, reading over her information.

Name: Go Eun Ri 

Age: 18

School: SM High 

Past Experience: Waitress at Lee Ramyun Shop.

Eun Ri pressed her lips into a thin line at her small résumé. She heard her name get called and got up and entered the office.

It was a small office, painted a cream color with mahogany colored furniture. 

"Ms.Go Eun Ri?" A chubby man asked. She nodded and bowed politely before taking a seat.

The man eyed her and pressed his lips into a thin line. He propped his elbows onto the desk and Eun Ri began to feel uncomfortable with the serious look he gave her. 

She placed her resume on the table but was really surpised when he suddenly slid it back. "Mr.Go, I am sorry to say we have rejected your application that you sent in earlier." 

Eun Ri pressed her lips into a thin line and placed her hands onto her lap. 

"We see that you have quite a criminal record. Nothing with robbery but we do see that you had a tendency to get into many fights and we cannot have that here." The man said. 

Eun Ri bit her lip and wanted to protest but she knew that wouldnt help anything. But it wouldn't hurt to try right? "But sir, I have changed. Those records are from long ago." 

He shook his head and leaned back. His gaze softened at how desperate Eun Ri looked. "I am very sorry Ms.Go but I can't have you working here with that kind of background." 

She scowled and got up. She frowned and bowed, "Well thank you for your time." She said coldly. Leaving the office and store, Eun Ri curled her fists tightly and made her way to her next stop.

Try after try, Eun Ri was rejected for her criminal records. She could only take so much before giving up completely. She would have had to move to some new country, change her name and clear her files for her to find a decent job. 

It seemed like with every hour that passed, her future grew darker and darker. She didnt realt know what she had done to deserve the life she had now. 

Making her way back to her apartment, she passed a small family taking a nice stroll. Her heart ached and she suddenly thought about her family. Was she that desperate enough to return to her mother and father? Did they even remember her? Did they even want her back? 

She decided she wasn't that desperate yet. Go Eun Ri was head strong and she'd make it through anything. This was only a small bump in the road for her. Twisting the door knob of her apartment, she almost screamed when she saw Mrs.Kang inside directing people to pack up her things.

"Just toss her clothes into those boxes or something." The fat woman chirped happily until she was man handled by none other than Eun Ri. 

The teen dug her nails deep into the fat woman's shoulder before letting go as the woman screeched. "What are you doing inside my house?" She growled. 

Mrs.Kang smirked and clicked her tongue. "You mean my house, darling. I gave you more than enough time and now I'm kicking you out to let another person move in." 

Eun Ri was in utter shock. Did Mrs.Kang have no heart? Eun Ri growled and glared at the men who were packing her stuff. They instantly dropped everything and stood in silence. "I said I'd have the money soon." She protested. She wasnt going down without a fight.

Mrs.Kang rolled her eyes. "I gave you too much time. I can't keep renting out an apartment to someone who isn't paying." 

"I give you til tonight. Until then, pack and if not, I'll call the cops for loitering on private property you don't own." Mrs.Kang motioned for her men to leave out the door with her. 

As the door slammed, Eun Ri fell to her knees and stared at her half empty apartment. Scowling, she stared at the boxes wondering what they had already packed. Through blurry eyes, she forced herself to crawl to a box close by.

Inside were her pictures the men had packed away and were nice enough to wrap them so they wouldn't break. 

She took one out and unwrapped the newspaper and stared at a picture of her and her Abeoji. She traced her finger over the old man and her standing in front of the shop. She laughed bitterly staring at a younger her in an apron on her first day of work. 

So much had changed since then. She was a few centimeters taller now, her hair was longer and wavier and her skin seemed lighter nowadays. Though she changed physically, she was sure she was still the same person on the inside. A bothersome girl who only seemed to bring trouble. 

She wiped her eyes and few wrapped it placing it back in the box. Closing the box, she stood up and went to the kitchen to collect the few dishes she had.

It didnt take long for her to clear her apartment since the men already did most of the packing. It utterly disgusted her that strangers actually went through her stuff and touched her belongings.

In total, she only had 5 boxes, three of which were clothes, one with personal belongings and one with random things. She never had much to start with and now she was ending with very little as well.

Once she was done, the sky was already dark. Dark was what she used to describe what her future looked like. She took out her phone and stared at the clock. She had about an hour before Mrs.Kang came and kicked her out for good. She'd just spend the rest of her time in a place she grew to call home.

Sitting in the middle of her bare floor, Eun Ri pulled her knees close to her face. Maybe she was a ruthless murderer in her past life to deserve the life she had now. She let tears slip out of her eyes and let them run down her cheeks. 

Why her? What did she ever do to deserve all of this? She only did what she thought was right in life and aimed to be a good person but maybe fate had other things in mind for her. 

"Why are these things happening to me Abeoji?" She asked no one in particular in the room. "What did I do?" She said softly. She let out a shakey breath and the harsh reality punched her in the face again when she realized she couldn't speak to her Abeoji anymore. Not wanting to let her Abeoji, where ever he was, see her cry, she quickly wiped her eyes of her tears.

Eventually getting up, Eun Ri took out all her boxes downstairs through trips back and forth to her apartment. Holding her last box, Eun Ri sighed softly closing the door to her apartment. She didnt look back and kept her eyes glued ahead of her. 

She set the last box outside and looked around. The streets had become bare without anyone in sight. Pushing her boxes near the boarded up ramyun shop whose sign had been covered up as well, Eun Ri sat against the wall and used the boxes as her barrier. 

She pulled out a blanket from her box and took out her phone. She didnt want to bother Taemin anymore, especially not after leaving so that he and the others could live peacefully. 

The only other option was EXO but she felt like that'd be pushing it. They had become close but Eun Ri didn't consider that in her mind, they were that close where she could use them for shelter. 

Not only would it be awkward, she was sure Luhan wouldn't allow her to do so and last thing she wanted was to cause more conflicts between the best friends. 

Deciding it was too late in the night to look for a cheap hotel, she curled up and wrapped the blanket around herself before falling to sleep.

____________________

EXO had decided they hadn't heard from Eun Ri for too long and now they worried for her well being. They all took notice how she acted in school and how distant she had become. 

Luhan thought if this was what he really wanted. He wanted her to go away but not this way. As she continued to ignore them, he wondered why. They had nothing to do with everything that happened so why was she ignoring them? 

Luhan tried to not think about her too much but it was hard when she was the only thing EXO talked about.

"We have to go visit her. I'm concerned for her." Suho said at breakfast. The others were not hesistant to agree and made a plan to visit her after they finished eating. 

As they rode their way to Eun Ri's apartment, Luhan's palms became sweaty, thinking about how they'd approach her, what they'd say to her. What can you really say besides; "Im sorry for your loss" but even then, is that all you feel? 

When someone dies, people tend to say "I'm sorry" or "I know how you feel." But do you really? First off, why would you say "I'm sorry?" Is there a reason to apologize? Unless you were the reason behind the death. Second, saying you know how they feel is sort of stretching it. You can always have similar situations but you can never truely feel what the person feels. Everyone has different thoughts so saying "I know how you feel" is a bit of a lie. 

Not only was Luhan anxious, Lay was also trembling. His palms gripped his handle bars tightly as they got closer and closer. His heart ached for the girl and he hoped that she was okay. Though she was ignoring them, he pushed passed it and wanted to reach out to her. 

He wanted to break through the barrier she put up to protect herself from reality and hold her, tell her that everything will be okay. But in order to do so, he had to break his own barrier, the barrier that protected himself. 

When EXO got to Eun Ri's address, they were in a mix of emotions. First, they saw the shop boarded up but to make matters worse, they saw Eun Ri lying against the wall, head drooped as she slept calmly. 

It shatter everyone's heart to see her in this state. Luhan had to admit, not once did she ever look so fragile and broken to him. In this situation, he wanted the strong and cocky Eun Ri, the one he liked to annoy and piss off. Because now, if he attempted to annoy her, inside he'd be afraid to break her. 

Lay didnt know where his sudden bravery came when he hopped off his bike and embraced her small body but he was sure it came when he noticed the look on Chanyeol's face that read that he had intentions of going to the girl first. 

I'll be selfish only for you Eun Ri. Lay who was usually so giving, was not going to be so giving this time. He wrapped his arms around the girl and shuddered as her cold skin pressed against his. 

Eun Ri's eyes fluttered open and found herself pressed against someone's chest. She was about to let out a scream when she recognized the soft, comforting scent and leather jacket. She peered up to find Lay hugging her tightly. 

Despite her being cold, her cheeks suddenly felt like they were on fire. 

Luhan pressed his lips into a thin line as Eun Ri woke up and lied in Lay's arms. He eyed the two wearily, not feeling too great about the contact. He shook his head and got off his bike and followed the others to her. She probably has germs while hugging Lay. That's it. You're disgusted by it. Nothing else. 

"W-What happened?" Xiumin asked quietly staring at the Eun Ri's conditions. 

She felt embarrassed having them see her in the state she was in. She looked like a homeless person lying in front of an abondoned building with boxes around her for shelter. Actually no, she didnt look like one, she was one. "I—uh..." For once she was out of words, not really knowing how to word her situation so that EXO wouldn't bother too much about her.

Lay lifted her up and supported her by the waist. She tried to move away but found her in his tight hold. She felt safe in his arms but the reminder that she was using up their time and wasting their feelings on her made her feel like a burden once again.

Pushing him off gently, Eun Ri looked down. "It's nothing." She said softly.

"Nothing? Eun Ri, are you serious? We find you sleeping on the streets and you call that nothing?" Luhan suddenly bursted out. He was surpised he suddenly exploded but it angered him that she was treating like it was nothing. He clicked his tongue, "Are you that stupid?"

And there was cold Luhan once again. Eun Ri saw his caring, softening expressions but she guessed she was delusional because standing before her was Luhan once again. 

"That's enough Luhan..." As Kris continued to scold Luhan, Eun Ri felt like she was crushing them. With every word Kris sent to Luhan about being more kind and respectful, Eun Ri left like she was getting heavier and heavier and soon she'd ultimately be such a dead weight on their shoulders that'd they collapsed and it'd be all her fault. 

"S-Stop!" She said with a shakey voice. She was tearing them apart again which only made her feel more terrible. "Luhan's right, I am stupid." 

Luhan and the others looked at her in shock. She must really be broken down to say that...Luhan thought eyeing the girl. 

"Eun Ri..." She heard Kai's soft voice call out. "Why didnt you tell us noona? Why did you avoid us instead?" The sad look gleaming in his eyes made her feel like a terrible friend. Friends were supposed to be able to depend on each other in tough times. 

"I—" Eun Ri bit her bottom lip and looked at her feet nervously. Keeping her head low, she avoided the gazes of the others. "I, I just didn't want to bother you guys." 

"What?!" She heard everyone shout. She felt herself being enveloped into a hug. Wrapping her arms around his waist, Chanyeol squeezed her tightly.

"Why would you feel that?" Kris asked. Eun Ri buried her face into Chanyeol's chest and shrugged. "I didnt want to be a burden." She said in a muffled voice.

Lay watched her and bit down on his lip as Chanyeol slowly rocked back and forth with her. He pouted slightly not liking how close his dongsaeng was with his crush. 

"C'mon, you're staying with us from now on." Suho said waving for everyone to grab Eun Ri's stuff. She immediately pushed Chanyeol off and stared in shock, feeling guilty.

"But—. Guys!" She called out. Before she could even argue against it saying she could easily find a new place to live, Lay grabbed her hand and smiled at her warmly. 

She sighed as he lead her to the car. As much as he wanted to give her a ride, he knew it'd be safer for her to ride in the car. 

"Lay—" she said nervously as he helped her up the hummer. "I—" Before she could speak, Lay squeezed her hand and shook his head. "No Eun Ri, you're not getting out of this." He said sweetly. Eun Ri smiled weakly and sighed in defeat as she entered the car.

____________________

Eun Ri sat on top of the warehouse and hugged her knees. 

She rested her chin and let out a sigh. She was greatful, really, but she couldn't help but feel like a bother. EXO improvised by letting her sleep in one of their rooms until they could figure out where to put her. She pouted and stared off at the sky. 

It wasn't like she'd rather be on the streets but she didnt want to use up EXO's time and space just because she couldn't be responsible enough to pay the bills. 

So far, everyone had been kind to her, even Luhan but she couldn't help it think it all came out of pity. She didnt want anyone's pity. Her pride was too high to allow others to wallow in her sadness. She didnt want them to feel bad for her and feel like they had to help her because she was their friend and her Abeoji died.

Suddenly, she felt a presence next to her and a warm blanket. She turned to find Lay staring off at the sky as well. 

"So I see you found your way up here?" He asked not taking a glance at her. 

She turned away and blushed, pulling the blankets closer to her, mumbling a soft thanks for it. Lay chuckled and turned to her, admiring her pearly and milky her skin looked under the moonlight. Call it cliche but she really did glow.

"What's on your mind Eun Ri?" Lay asked. 

She pulled her legs closer and closed her eyes. "Just about stuff." 

"Your grandfather?" Lay asked trying not to set off a sensitive topic but he wanted it to be clear that he'd be there for her if she ever needed someone to talk to.

Eun Ri nodded. "I miss him Lay..." She felt her eyes water and wiped them away before Lay could see but she was caught mid way and felt his hand under her chin. He wiped away her tears with the end of his sleeve and gave her a comforting smile. 

He didnt know what to really tell her but he knew instead of telling her that everything was going to be fine, he decided to say something that came from his heart. "You know, my mom once told me, that God picks flowers for heaven when they're the most beautiful." He smiled softly when Eun Ri's eyes began to water again.

He didnt let a tear slip and as his fingers brushed on her skin, they left a soft, tingling feeling against her cheek. Eun Ri blushed and nodded, pulling away and wiping the rest of her tears. 

"Don't think you're burdening anyone okay? We're here for you. If you ever have problems, don't run and just know I'm here for you Ri." He said.

Eun Ri's heart stopped at her nickname. Her Abeoji had given her the nickname and hearing it from Lay made her heart swell. Lay noticed her expression and bit his tongue. He didnt mean to hit a sensitive spot but he realized that it was okay when Eun Ri smiled. 

Though hearing her nickname made her want to cry and made her miss her Abeoji even more, hearing it said again brought her comfort. She couldn't help but smile. 

"Thanks." She said bashfully, feeling shy around the latter.

The two broke out into smiles and once again, Eun Ri found herself admiring Lay's eyes and how they curved into small crescents, how a cute, deep dimple appeared on the corner of his mouth when he smiled and how his cat like lips curled to make him look so innocent. 

"It's getting late." Lay stood up and reached out for her hand. Clutching onto the blanket, Eun Ri grabbed it to stand up. She blushed at how his warm and her cold hand connected and stayed connected. She didnt know if she wanted to let go and Lay the same. 

"We better get to sleep." Lay said softly. Not letting go of her hand, and seeing she had no sign of discomfort, he held it all the way until they reached her temporary room. 

"Goodnight Lay." Eun Ri said softly holding out his blanket. Lay shook his head and pushed it back into her hand. "It's cold tonight, use it." 

She hummed and held the blanket closer to her. 

"Goodnight Ri." Lay said cutely, liking how he was able to use her special nickname. She smiled and closed the door. Pressing her back against the door, she tried to calm her rapidly beating heart.

She didnt know why her heart fluttered when Lay had said goodnight but it did, but she didnt mind. She liked the warm feeling she got when she was with Lay.

Hopping onto the bed, literally, she pulled he covers up and spread out Lay's blanket.

She pulled it to her chin and noticed his soft scent on it. She smiled subconsciously and closed her eyes.

Luhan sat on his bed, staring at Lay's empty bed. From his window, he could hear Eun Ri and Lay sitting on the roof top talking. He wished he could hear what they were saying, but he definitely knew it was intimate. 

He didnt know why he was even awake to listen. He should've been asleep. What did it matter to him that Lay and Eun Ri were talking so late at night? 

They're keeping me up. That's right. Stupid Eun Ri again, always bothering me. Doesn't she know that it's late and people are trying to sleep? 

"Right." Luhan said. He pressed his lips into a thin line and nodded his head. It was late and he needed sleep but Eun Ri kept him up. 

Lying back down on bed, Luhan pulled his covers up to his face and frowned. "Aish, that girl." He huffed before falling asleep.

* Updated Oct. 29, 2013 *

I hope you like this long update. 

For y'all LayRi lovers lmfao

I am so stressed guys. I am not doing too hot in one of my classes and the deadline for the term is soon and I can't. I NEED at least an 80. If I can just get it up to there then I think I'll be okay. Until then, I probably won't be updating too much. 

I'll be back to update probably on the weekend. Until then, I hope you all have a Happy Halloween if you do anything for it ^^ don't accept candy from any random strangers that are sketchy lol. 

안녕!