Helen face-palmed when she hung up the hotel phone, sighing to herself.  The concierge at the desk downstairs had called to inform her that a young man had been waiting for her since 8 this morning.  Helen sat up in the bed, holding the alarm clock to her face; it read 9:30A.M.  Helen could hear the giddiness in the woman’s voice as she told Helen how it was company policy to not share guest information with the public but had informed the man that “a Helen was residing within the premise.”  Helen smiled weakly, not quite awake and not quite ready for a guest as she tugged at the collar of the t-shirt Jungryul had picked out for her last night when they went to the market.  The jeans they had bought were slightly big but fit comfortably as Helen trotted down three flights of stairs - she had always been quicker than the elevators. 

                Helen briskly entered the hotel’s lobby and smiled at the concierge working the desk. The lady was too excited as someone ran up behind Helen, wrapping their arms around her waist and surprising her.  The lady’s smile got even wider as she watched Helen’s reaction.  Helen’s memory flashed back to Sungjong in the kitchen and she repeated the same reaction, using her hand to lightly hit whoever had grabbed her.  When she turned around to look the stranger in the eyes her jaw dropped open, unable to conceal her surprised emotion. 

                Jin Hyun still held her in his arms, laughing, “You were totally not expecting that!”  Helen tried to wriggle out of his grasp but his hands stayed glued to her hip bones.  “Ya!  When did you learn to act so girly?”  He mocked slapping Helen softly.

                She stopped wriggling; his comment stung in her heart for some reason.  She thought about what he had said and realized it was because of her days with Infinite.  Everything she’d done with them and all of her memories with them seemed to be fake…a lie, really.  She was at a loss for words as she began to realize the intense difference between her friendship with Infinite and her close bond with Jin Hyun.  Helen’s eyes softened as she looked up at Hyun, “What are you doing here?”  She placed her arms on top of Hyun’s, his elbows in her grasp.

                “Aish!  How can you say that?  You know how much I hate the states.”  Hyun whined.

                Helen laughed at his remark, “That’s kind of the point of a drop.”  She flicked his forehead.  “Chincha babo, Oppa.”

                “Arraso.”  Hyun used one hand to block her finger and another to wrap her in a hug again.  “Anyways, how much fun could you have without me by your side?”

                Helen rolled her eyes at his arrogance and ego.  “Not much, apparently.  But I have a job tonight and you can’t just tag along.”  Helen warned.

                “A security job?  Already?  Boy, you really like to keep busy.”  He shook his head and looked at her.  “Or is this more of a ‘favor’ type of job?”  Hyun winked, grinning mischievously.  She pushed him aside, pretending to be disgusted with his humor.  Helen, however, had grown used to his potty-mouth and sometimes couldn’t hold back a laugh at his jokes.  This was one of those moments as she hid her face from sight by walking out into the warm sunlight; Hyun followed close behind.

                Jin Hyun had taken Helen out to get something to drink and eat at a local cafe when Helen’s cell phone rang.  She looked at the caller ID and frowned.  “Mwo?”  Hyun leaned over the table trying to look at her phone but she pulled it closer to her chest, keeping it away from him.  Helen had given Hyun the basics of her background – she explained which state she grew up in, her dad lived in Korea, etc.  She had intentionally kept this personal information very vague; she remember how relieved she was when Hyun casually responded with an “Ok” during their first conversation with each other, five years ago.  Helen felt the vibrations of her phone in her hand.   Jungryul never called her; they had made a deal when she joined Madacorp – because it was a “work only” phone – that she would call him and never vice versa. 

                “Gwenchanaeyo?”  Helen’s eyes were wide; she worried that something had happened with Jungryul.

                “Helen-si!”  Hoya yelled through the line.  She jerked the phone away from her ear in surprise and Hyun raised an eyebrow at her.  She held up a finger and excused herself from the table.  She found an empty balcony a few yards from her table with Hyun; Helen glanced back over her shoulder, making sure Hyun was still at the table in the restaurant.  A waitress was offering him another cup of coffee.

                “Hoya? “  She whispered, turning her back towards Hyun. 

                “Why are you whispering?”  Helen could hear someone yelling in the background as Hoya chuckled into the phone.  “Are you ok?”  She opened to answer Hoya but he screamed and she could hear Jungryul’s distinct voice getting closer to the phone. 

                “Hoya?”  She whispered into the phone a second time.  There was a garbled noise coming from the other end as someone picked up the phone.  “Hoya?!”

                “I’m so sorry, Helen!”  Jungryul’s voice was slightly irritated.  Helen sighed, relieved to hear his voice.  “The boys grabbed my phone and found your number…” he sighed, “I told them not to…are you in trouble now?” 

                Helen smiled knowing no one could see her; she rested her elbow on the balcony’s railing and let her head fall into her hands.  A soft laugh escaped as she thought about the scenario taking place in Infinite’s apartment.  “Ani, Appa.”  Helen couldn’t erase the grin off of her face.  “I’ve been dropped for a little while so it’s safe to call this phone; besides, Elites’ phones aren’t tapped unless we’ve been scheduled for a mission.” 

                Jungryul was used to hearing these terms from time to time and he nodded even though Helen couldn’t see him.  “So where are you, then, if you’re on vacation?”  Jungryul used the wrong words as Hoya could be heard in the background.

                “Vacation?!  You said she was working, Hyung!”  Hoya yelled.

                “According to Hoya and Sungjong you teased them and didn’t let them walk you to your room.  You could say they’re upset and slightly insulted.”  Jungryul stood in the kitchen watching Hoya pace the living room.  At first, Jungryul at thought it was cute but as he began to think about the situation he became worried.  Hoya wasn’t like this; in the past the boy had been attracted to silly,cutesy girls – tennenboke.  Helen was…well quite far from anything Hoya had looked at for more than 30 seconds.  Jungryul shook his head and thought, Maybe Hoya himself doesn’t even know why he likes her; he just does.

                “You know my rules, Jungryul.”  A hint of regret ached in her tone.

                “Then come to us.”  Jungryul spoke matter-of-factly.  His tone caught Hoya and Sungjong’s attention; they watched him hoping for Helen’s answer to show through on Jungryul’s face.

                Helen watched the street below her.  For so long she had wanted to get out and have fun with people, not agents or secret government Elites.  She wanted, desperately and at this moment, to throw everything away and stand by Jungryul’s side for the rest of her life.  Helen wanted to leave all the training behind, forever, and simply exist.  There was nothing in the world that she wanted more than this.  Helen picked up her head, “Ok.”  She shook her head, clearly making up her mind.  “Ok.” 

                Jungryul smiled, clicking the phone “Off” and putting it into his pocket.  Sungjong jumped towards him, wrapping him in a hug.  Hoya stopped pacing and watched until Jungryul made eye contact with him.  Jungryul rolled his eyes, smirking; he nodded his head and Hoya clapped his hands together as he looked around the dorm.  Hoya began to notice the mess and his happiness fell a little bit; he grabbed the first thing in his reach and began to clean the apartment.

                Helen sighed, carrying the phone back to her seat in the restaurant.  Jin Hyun barely noticed her as he polished off the last bits of food on his plate.  Helen was slightly dazed, happiness erupting onto her face the more she thought about her decision.  This is right.  I wouldn’t feel this happy if this wasn’t right.  Helen’s heart was about to burst. 

                “Well, I’ve got to go, Helen.”  Hyun pulled out his wallet and sorted through some bills to pay for their meal.  Helen glanced at her food; she’d eaten one forkful before her cell phone rang.  “You finish up; this one’s on me.”  Hyun rose from his seat, bowing politely.  Helen returned the gesture and Hyun left the restaurant in a hurry.  Helen remained in her seat, baffled but still giddy.  She was somewhat blinded by her happiness that she only gave half of her attention to Jin Hyun.  But something kept bothering her as she continued to eat her omelet. 

                “Anneyeong Noona!”  Sungjong grabbed Helen and pulled her into the clean dorm.  Helen smiled, shaking her head.  “Mwo!?”  Sungjong questioned.

                Helen thought to herself, Would these boys be like this if I wasn’t close with Jungryul?  Has he talked to them about our relationship and that’s why they’re this…at ease…with me being here all the time?  “It’s nothing, Sungjong.”  She smiled; it was convincing enough as Sungjong continued to drag her further into the house.  “Noona!”  Sungjong was yelling loudly – more than necessary.  “What are we going to do today?”  His hand gripped her wrist tighter as he pulled her onto the couch. 

                Helen laughed, enjoying the young man’s enthusiasm.  “I thought I fed you healthy food the last time I cooked.” 

                “Noona!”  Sungjong yelled again; this time Helen suspected something.  “Did you think tasty food like that wouldn’t disappear in a few seconds after we discovered it?”  His eyes were wide in disbelief. 

                Helen took the compliment, “Thank you, Sungjong.”  A silence passed over the two.

                “Aish!”  Sungjong suddenly bolted up from his seat.  “Hyung…this is really too much!”  He rolled his eyes; his hands on his hips and staring at the door to his, Sungyeol’s and Hoya’s room.  Helen glanced at the door as well, expecting movement but nothing happened; Sungjong screamed.  He threw open the door to his shared room but before Helen could see passed him he slammed the door shut.  Sungjong put his hand to his head, covering his mouth and holding back laughter.  Helen could hear surprised voices from behind the door and she gave Sungjong a questioning look.  He waved a hand in the air, trying to motion that nothing was going on but instead he fell to the ground, holding his stomach and laughing uncontrollably. 

                Helen looked at the situation and decided there were two things she could do: 1.) Find Jungryul 2.) Find Infinite.  Helen sighed, bit her lip and got off of the couch.  Sungjong tried to stop Helen from opening the door but his stomach was hurting too much to move.  Helen had barely turned the door knob when she heard Sungyeol call from inside the room, “Sungjong, what are you doing?!  Get back out there and entertain her!”  Helen tried to keep a smile off of her face as she pushed open the door a little further and peered into the room.  “Ya!  Sungjong!  What did I just tell you?!”  Sungyeol raised his voice as he glared at the person entering the room.  When he saw Helen his jaw dropped.

                Helen stepped into the room; she scratched her nose trying to cover her smile at the same time.  “Can I help you two?”  Her voice cracked as she held back a laugh.

                Hoya heard her voice and immediately looked in her direction.  His eyes were wide and his mouth was agape.  Slowly his hands fell to his side and he tilted his head to the sky, sighing heavily and trying to rid himself of embarrassment.  Helen covered with her hand and tried to look away but every time she thought she’d gained her composure a whole fit of laughter would bubble up into . 

                Sungyeol was the first to break the silence, “Ohhh…did I have to pull back the Velcro before I started to this?” 

                Hoya sighed even heavier as he brought his head back to eye level; he closed his eyes and bit his lip trying to calm himself.  Helen couldn’t handle it anymore and she let out a small, restrained snicker.  Hoya whipped his head to the side and somewhat glared at her; his expression was priceless and Helen looked at the ground and laughed without restraint. 

                Sungyeol was positioned at an angle on the end of Sungjong’s bed.  Both Sungyeol’s and Hoya’s back had been facing her when she entered their room.   Hoya was standing at the base of the bunk bed looking at Sungyeol’s bed.  He was wearing the purple dinosaur suit.