“Bang Yong Guk! Are you listening to me?” Manager Kang says hushed but harshly from the kitchen table.

            “Hyung! It’ll only be for a few days… or… weeks.” Yong Guk says while busily searching the refrigerator for a few items.

            “A few weeks?!!!!” Manager Kang stands up and makes his way to Yong Guk. “Yah… Do you know what the company will do to me if they find out?”

            “Exactly… IF they find out” Yong Guk emphasizes. “They won’t. Trust me. As long as we’re careful, we won’t get caught.” Yong Guk was now holding a bottle of water and a cold sandwich.

            “Yong Guk…” Himchan says from the doorway. “Do you really think this is a good idea? I’m seriously dude, we can get into a lot of trouble for this.”

            “Yes! Himchan! Tell him! He won’t listen to me!” Kang was now frustrated beyond limits.

            After a few seconds of contemplating, Yong Guk finally answers. “She’s staying here. And that’s my final decision. I’ll take responsibility of her if anything happens.” He pats their backs before he leaves the kitchen leaving both Himchan and Manager Kang frustrated and defeated.

            Yong Guk walks into the living room finding Hwa Mi seated across from Zelo. They seemed to be in a deep conversation, and from the way Zelo was smiling and holding up his skateboard like it was the 6^th grade show and tell, they were probably nerding out about skateboards.

            “Yeah. My neighbor, while I was living in the States, owned a skateboard shop. And out back behind the store was a skate park.” Hwa Mi explained while studying the board closely. “I use to have a skateboard too!”

            “Serious?” Zelo’s eyes widened slightly. “You don’t seem like… the ty… type. Sorry.”

            “Anni!... What are you sorry about?” Hwa Mi smiles reaching for the skateboard, and Zelo comfortably hands it to her. “I wasn’t really good. I only boarded when I was bored and had nothing to do. I stopped after I got injured from doing a trick.”

            “Yah…” Yong Guk says taking a seat on the arm rest next to Hwa Mi. “Give that back to Zelo, and eat.” He hands the things he had carried from the kitchen to Hwa Mi.

            “Hyung. Stop interrupting our conversation.” Zelo said playfully.

            “Yah!” Yong Guk sits straight up.

            “Here you go Jun Hong-ssi.” She hands the skateboard back to Zelo. “We can talk more later, hopefully. Don’t forget to get new wheels soon. Those are wearing out.”

            “Ne.” Zelo answers before taking back the skateboard and standing up to go to his room. He stops when Yong Guk calls to him again.

            “Junhong-ah. Tell Jong Up to help you clear up the spare room a little bit for Hwa Mi. She’ll be staying here for a –

            “It’s okay. I can do it myself.” Hwa Mi smiles reassuringly to Zelo.

            “Anniyo.” Zelo answers smiling cutely. “Jong Up and I can do it. It’ll be ready in a few minutes.”

            And as if on cue, the rest of the members make their way in from the front door. They were carrying the bags from the car. Feeling slightly awkward that other people were handling her belongings, Hwa Mi gets up and makes her way to the one that was carrying her baggage.

            “Here! I got this.” She said reaching for the handle.

            “Anniyo.” Jong Up smiles widely. “I got it…” She looks at him apologetically and meets his eyes showing her appreciation. Within seconds he could feel his cheeks burn up. His shyness was definitely kicking in. “Hy…hyung. Where do I put Hwa Mi-ssi’s belongings?” He asked Yong Guk hesitantly. He avoids any kind of eye contact with Hwa Mi whatsoever.

            “Spare room.” Yong Guk gestured care-freely towards the assigned room.

            “N-Ne.” Jong Up hurriedly walks away.

            “Hyung!” Dae Hyun says walking by all of what is happening. “Why is my sandwich out? I was gonna eat it later.”

            “It’s for Hwa Mi.” He answers lightly.

            “But-

            “Go clean yourself up Dae Hyun-ah.”

            “But-

            “Let’s go!” Young Jae says annoyed by still handling 3 suitcases by himself. He walks by Hwa Mi and simply nods his acknowledgement of her existence. As they both walk away starting up their own conversation with Dae Hyun’s complaining, Hwa Mi finds her place at Yong Guk’s side.

            “Ay. J-

            “Can’t you just call me Yong Guk like everyone else?” He says looking down at her.

            “Ummm…” She makes a face to tease Yong Guk. “Then how about I just call you oppa? That sounds better.” She says playfully.

            “If you want to.” Yong Guk smirks and comfortably slides his arm around her small shoulders. He smiles cheekily as he sees the expression on her face.

            “I’ll just stick with Yong Guk. No oppa. Just Yong Guk.” She brushes off his arm. “But back to what I was saying… Did you just steal Dae Hyun’s food and give it to me?”

            He was quiet for a few moments. “It’s okay. I’ll just get him a piece of cheesecake later to apologize.”

            “Cheesecake?” She raises an eyebrow. “Why?”

            “His favorite thing ever.”

******

 

            Dae Hyun sits on the end of his bed as he re folds the rest of the pants from his suitcase. He and Young Jae were cleaning up their belongings as Zelo and Jong Up was clearing out the spare room for Hwa Mi. Dae Hyun looks up and carefully scans the distance he and Young Jae were from everyone else in their dorm room. He carefully asks his question.

            “Yah. Young Jae-ah.”

            “Hmm…” Young Jae half answers.

            “What do you… umm… what do you think about Hwa Mi staying here?”

            Young Jae thinks and before Dae Hyun was ready for an answer, Young Jae opens his mouth to speak. “It think it’s fine.”  

            “You do?” Dae Hyun wore a surprised expression.

            “Well, yeah. I mean as long as Yong Guk hyung is sure she is good person then I’m fine with it. Why? Aren’t you okay with it too?”

            Dae Hyun hesitates and Young Jae notices it right away. “Dae Hyunnie. Do you not what her to be here?”

            “Anni. It’s not that. It’s just a little risky, don’t you think?” Dae Hyun keeps rambling almost impossible situations and Young Jae just stands there staring at Dae Hyun; speechless.

            “Hey… Dude?” Young Jae says putting up his hand as a gesture to make Dae Hyun stop talking.

            “What?”

            “You’re rambling again. And about 99 percent of what you just predicted in your head is impossible. She can’t be a long lost gangster daughter with dangerous connections and running away from an engagement she was forced into. Stop being stupid!” Young Jae threw a pair of jeans at Dae Hyun. “Those are yours. Why the heck are they in my stuff?”

            “I don’t know actually.” Dae Hyun catches the pair of jeans and goes back into the conversation casually. “I’m just saying. We don’t know who she is, where she’s from, and how she’s like. How do we know she’s not dangerous? And what do we do if the company finds out? We’ll all be dead! And not just that but what about the fans? They’re around us all the time. They’ll figure something out sooner or later… We-

            “Dae Hyun… You’re doing it again.”

            “But-

            Young Jae tosses one of his annoyed looks at Dae Hyun.

            “Yah. Ma! I’m still older than you. Don’t look at me like that.” Dae Hyun frowns. “I’m just…. *sigh* SHE ATE MY FOOD!” He splays out on the bed, rolling back and forth. “I’m gonna die! I’m so hungry!!!”

            “Should we go out to eat?” Young Jae asks excitedly. They were gone from Korean Cuisine for too long, and they wanted something to eat as soon as possible. “Samgyupsal?”

            “Let’s go!” Dae Hyun perked up from his splayed out position. “But who’s paying?”

            Young Jae thinks for a while. “Last one out of the front door!” And with that they were both up and causing a ruckus throughout the dorm.

******

            “I can’t believe I’m still paying.” Dae Hyun whines.

            After creating a ruckus and attracting much attention from the others in the dorm, they all decided to tag along and caused Dae Hyun to be the last out of the door, which to his dismay, the designated bill payer.

            “Hey. Rules are rules.” Young Jae threw his arm around Dae Hyun’s shoulders consolingly. He quickly drew away at the arrival of the food to their table.

            With small conversation here and there during the meal, Hwa Mi quickly fills herself up and excuses herself from the table and uses a restroom break as an excuse to get away from the table. The other members waited until she disappeared before looking at Yong Guk questioningly.

            “Yong Guk…” Himchan starts.

            “Are you guys serious?” Yong Guk asked accusingly. “Alright! Let it all out! What is it?”

            “Hyung. Is it really okay to have her stay with us?” Jong Up asks quietly.

            “Yeah. Yong Guk. Tell me again. Is it?” Himchan pushes on.

            “Himchannie hyung. Don’t be like that.” Zelo frowns inwardly. “She’s not like you think she is.”

            “Jun Hong-ah. I-

            “She’s staying with us. I’m taking full responsibility of her. Manager Kang knows my decision. If the company somehow finds out, then it’ll all be on me. No one else will be at fault.” Yong Guk answers sternly.

            “Are you still serious about this?” Himchan was getting more frustrated as the moments passed by. He simply didn’t understand why Yong Guk would put everything on the line for this one ordinary girl that he knew in his past. “The girl you knew 4 years ago could’ve changed!”

            “Himchan… Not here.” Yong Guk’s voice was low.

            “Anni. We have to get this clear. I know you think you still know her, but 4 years is a long time and people change with time. Look at yourself. The nice girl you think you knew back then could’ve changed into a completely different person. She may have changed into some drug add-

            “YAH… Kim Himchan!” Yong Guk’s was voice emphasizing each syllable in a dangerously low; words… harsh, causing all of the members to look intensely at Yong Guk. He was never like this. He was always cool and collected. “You don’t know anything.”

            “Umm…” A familiar voice catches the attention of everyone. Himchan spins around in his chair to find Hwa Mi standing not too far from them. His face was pulled into a surprised expression while hers jumped from a pained expression into a small smile stretching across her face; never meeting her eyes. “I… paid for the meal. Umm. You guys can just leave when you guys are ready. I have to go… somewhere first. I’ll meet you guys back at the dorms. Is that okay?” She looks at Yong Guk for support and he follows through.

            “Don’t be back too late. I’ll open the door for you. Take my phone. Just call Junhong’s phone when you get back.” He takes out his phone and hands it to her. As she takes the phone from him, he mumbles something so that only she and he could understand. “Be careful.”

            And with that she was off. First, out of the restaurant door and then down the street and after a few turns, she finds herself hauling a taxi. Moments later, she finds herself exiting the taxi and making her way to the place too familiar in her mind.

            The playground was still as broke down as ever. The wood was still strong but ever-so-slowly rotting away and erasing the good details of her not-so-perfect life. She takes a seat on the end of the slide and slips her hand under the edge; s running across engravings that were set into the metal. YHM&YHK

            Something pulled in her chest and her breath caught. Her head fell, and lazily hung there as the memories invaded her already clouded mind. Tears well up, but found their way back into their origin. Whimpers were bit down and the gripped the edge of the slide harder as silent shivers were sent through her body.

            Where are you? How are you? Are you better like me? Are you still anything like how I remember you? Questions were slowly replacing her memories, causing Hwa Mi to groan out in frustration. She threw her arms around her knees and brought her knees into her chest. She was angry now, and she didn’t know at who or at what. Was it at Himchan and the other members? For them not just simply accepting her? But she knew it wasn’t that.

            She didn’t blame Himchan and the other members for not accepting her. Heck, if she was in their position, she would be struggling to accept herself as well. She was a total stranger from nowhere. Simply just knowing the leader shouldn’t make it okay to crash at their shared living situations. They didn’t know a single thing about her. Truth was, she was broken and damaged, way beyond repair. And she felt as though the members already knew this, that’s why they were so resistant.  

            She pulled her knees closer and threw her head into her knees. She breathed a few deep breaths and rested her tired eyes for what felt like a few minutes, but when a group young teenagers walking by loudly wakes her from her short nap, she realizes she had already been there for way past an hour or so. She groans again as she gets out of her position and makes her way back towards the dorm.

******

“I’m here.”

Yong Guk gets up from his bed quietly and makes his way to the door and unlocks it. Hwa Mi makes her way inside slightly brushing up against Yong Guk as she walked by. He softly grabs her wrist and she stops in her track. She turns to him questioningly and he gestures towards the couch.

“Can we catch up a little?” He softly asks.

“Sure.” She waits for Yong Guk to close the door and lock it before he leads her to the couch; hand never leaving her skin. They get situated comfortably next to each other on the long couch leaving no room in between them. Skin on skin; warmth against warmth. But they found this rather comforting and reassuring.

“I’m sorry about… earlier.” Yong Guk starts. His fingers naturally trailing on the back of her hand; fingers soon playing with hers.

“It’s okay.” She protests quietly.

“No it’s not. Himchan shouldn’t have said that. He just-

“Why don’t you try seeing it from their point of view?” Their eyes never meet. “You have a stranger move in and invade your private life without any warning. I think I would be even more defensive.”

“Hwa Mi yah.” His hand flat up against hers.

“Stop getting mad at them for not seeing what you see. It’ll just keep getting uglier and uglier.”

“But what he said… it was…”

“Is it not true?”

Yong Guk’s body tenses automatically. “It’s just…” He stops mid-sentence; lips still agape, his mind trying to find anything to say. “Are you clean?” He asks at last.

This time, it was her who tensed up. Sensing the soft spot that he had just hit, Yong Guk clasps his hands with hers, fitting almost too perfectly into each other. He squeezes signaling her that she didn’t have to answer if she didn’t want to.

At his actions, she relaxes and meets her regular breathing patterns again. She places her head on his shoulders as she lets the words slide out of . “I’m clean.” With her cheek up against his arm, Yong Guk feels the relieved smile that pulls across her face. He can’t help but smile softly as well, tilting his head leaning into hers.

This is so natural… so comfortable… He noted in his mind. I miss this. He closes his eyes; engraving this moment into memories. I miss us. 

She pulls him out of his mind when she asks "Is Dae Hyun still up? I bought him some cheesecake to make up for that sandwich I ater earlier."

Yong Guk simply smiles at her pure heart. 

 

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I don't know what to think about this chapter. I was just typying as I was thinking. Didn't really think it through. But yeah. 

I just really need to get this story going. I've thought about a lot of "things" that will happen later in the story but not really the beginning. lol

Sorry if it wasn't what you were looking for. :)

I myself isn't too fond of this beginning.... but I promise I'll make up for it in the few upcoming chapters. xD

Anyways. Comments!!!! keke I love them!!! Please feed me with comments!!!!

shout out to glasskun for being my first commentor! kekeke YAYY!!!! Thanks for subcribing too!!!! ( yes! subscribe and comment! )