It was a typical lunch for the Btob boys, except for the fact they were exhausted beyond belief. Now that Ilhoon’s sister knew their secret, she was pushing the boys to their limits, preparing them for their big audition. Jiyoon had offered to keep the boys organized and help with their stage outfits, but it seemed that with her around now, none of them had any time to rest.

            “Heads up, Ilhoon, your girlfriend’s coming,” Peniel teased lightly, Ilhoon groggily sat up and glanced over his shoulder only to see Sohyun sauntering in their direction.

            “She’s not my girlfriend,” Ilhoon lazily denied.

            ‘Yet,’ Junhyung remarked only to receive a weak chuckle from the group of exhausted boys.

            “Hey guys,” Sohyun greeted only to receive a lackadaisical response. “Wow, you all are dead from the neck up.”

            “Sorry, Sohyun,” Ilhoon apologized. “We’re just exhausted from our rehearsals.”

            “It must be some killer concept you guys are putting together,” she smiled, only to receive quiet nods. “Well tomorrow is Saturday. You guys can’t have rehearsal all weekend, right?

            “We don’t have rehearsal until seven at night tomorrow,” Eunkwang answered, slowly stuffing rice into his mouth. “What are everyone’s plans for the day?”

            “Sleep,” Minhyuk and Ilhoon both responded, heads and arms sprawled out on the lunchroom table.

            “Work,” Hyunsik groaned.

            “Jihoon, J, and I are meeting to discuss our game. We’re planning on selling it at the Seoul Comic Convention next year!” Changsub cheered.

            Minhyuk lifted his head, “J, isn’t that the guy whose face you’ve never seen?”

            “Yep,” Changsub chuckled, “He’s a mystery. But Jihoon has his phone number so it’s not too weird.”

            The other boys and Sohyun looked at each other before rolling their eyes.

            “I think I’m gonna go play basketball or maybe Sungjae and I can hit the mall or-”

            “Calm down Peniel,” Sungjae interrupted his smiling brother. “How can you possibly have so much energy?”

            Peniel shrugged and started shoveling food into his mouth as his brother inched closer to him.

            “Hey, Pen-Pen,” Sungjae called and Peniel nervously swallowed. He knew his brother would only call him by this nickname when he wanted something and Sungjae definitely looked like he wanted something.

            “Yeah Sungjae,” Peniel hesitated.

            “I left my favorite pen in my locker and I need it before class. You know the one with all the cute bananas on it? Could you please go get it for me?”

            “What?" Peniel whined, "Why can’t you just get it yourself?”

            Sungjae quickly grabbed Peniel’s arm and cuddled up to it, “Please. Could you just do me this little favor Pen-niel-Op-pa.~”

            “Eww,” The rest of the group grimaced at the display of brotherly love.

            “Gah, get a room you two,” Hyunsik complained.

            “They have a room at their house,” Changsub remarked, causing the rest of the group to shudder.

            “Yah, you’re brothers! That’s sick!” Minhyuk remarked and Peniel groaned loudly pushing his brother off and standing up.

            “Ok, fine, I’ll go get your stupid banana pen,” Peniel stormed off, embarrassed by his brother’s affections. Sungjae always seemed to know exactly how to get Peniel to do whatever he wanted and today was no exception.

            “Works every time,” Sungjae smirked before allowing it to fade and turning to Ilhoon.

            “You just needed to get rid of him, huh?” Ilhoon spoke to his friend.

            “Yeah,” Sungjae sighed.

            ‘Why get rid of Peniel? Is something wrong?’ Yoseob asked.

            “It’s that time of year again, isn’t it? I always forget it’s so close to Jaesoon’s birthday,” Ilhoon commented, confusing the rest of the group.

            “Yeah, so could you do the usual?” Sungjae asked and Ilhoon nodded.

            “What’s going on, Sungjae?” Eunkwang asked and the maknae sighed once again.

            “Peniel’s birthday is Sunday,” Sungjae responded. The rest of the group smiled, getting excited.

            “Every year,” Ilhoon explained, “the day before his birthday, I spend the entire day with Peniel, while Sungjae goes out and looks for the perfect gift for his brother.”

            “So far I’ve always failed to find exactly what Peniel wants most, but this year, I know I can find it. I have you-know-who helping me this year,” Sungjae spoke, wary of Sohyun’s presence at the table.  

            “I wish you luck Sungjae,” Sohyun smiled patting the younger boy on the back.

            “Kwon Sohyun?” The school queenkas casually approached the freshman as she stood up and looked at them. “May we have a word with you?” Asked the leader.

            Sohyun turned to Ilhoon as he smiled at her. “Don’t worry, Sohyun,” Ilhoon smiled. “We’ll be right here.”

            Sohyun smiled at the blonde before turning back to the girls. “Alright, sure thing.”

            The queenkas escorted her out of the cafeteria as she waved back to the group of boys.

            “So what’s up, Sojin” Sohyun casually greeted the leader of the group before her. The four girls took a glance at each other before slamming the younger girl into the nearby lockers.

            “Yah!” Sohyun screamed as one of them pinned her to the cold metal.

            “We don’t appreciate you being so close to Btob,” the youngest spat at the freshman.

            Sohyun growled, “What do you care, Hyeri?! Your group has always been Vixx biased.”

            “Whether we like them or Vixx isn’t important,” Sojin explained, “The fact of the matter is that BtoB has become a top tier group at this school and now that they're competing with Vixx, there’s a chance that they could become kingkas.

            “And if they do,” spoke the second youngest, “there’s no way they should be seen with a freak like you.”

            “I’m not a freak!” Sohyun yelled only to get pushed into the locker again by Hyeri.

            “Oh please,” the last member, Yura, scoffed. “We heard all about your ‘supernatural sight’ bull. You’re pathetic, and just your presence taints the name BtoB”

            Sohyun clenched her fist, ready to punch the annoying smirk right off the face of the girl before her.

            “If you know what’s good for you, stay the hell away from BtoB.”

            The girls let her go and walked away from Sohyun. When their backs were turned, Sohyun stuck her tongue out before checking her head for injuries. When she was sure she was clean, she glanced back toward the cafeteria where Ilhoon was waiting for her. She began her stride back towards her friends; however she began to think about the queenkas words. As much as she’d hate to admit it, there was some truth within their threats.

            Sohyun started pondering whether or not she should hang around Ilhoon anymore. She was really starting to like him, but so were many other girls. Maybe, Ilhoon had become unattainable to her. A small tear escaped from her eye. What was she doing? She had forgotten why she even started hanging around Ilhoon to begin with. She wasn’t meant for this crowd. Her only objective was to learn about the supernatural presence he had, not to be his friend.

            Sohyun spun around on her heel and ran in the opposite direction, just in time for Peniel to notice her tears as he entered to hall.

            “Hey, Sohyun!” He called but the younger girl ignored him.

           ‘I have to learn about the creature beside him.’ Sohyun thought as she ran. ‘I’ll make sure he’s safe. Then I’m done with Jung Ilhoon.’

            The next day arrived and began as normal as any other. Ilhoon arrived at the Yook residence early to pick up Peniel while Sungjae took Yoseob to the mall. The boy and his shadow analyzed store after store, searching for the perfect gift for his brother. They stalked through many different clothing stores, finding plenty new outfits for the foreign boy, but nothing screamed out to Sungjae. The sports stores were full of basketball gear, soccer gear and even American Football gear that would drive Peniel crazy, but Sungjae still refused. The hobby store had every one of Peniel’s favorite games. The music store had shelf after shelf of the music the boys would always listen to. The souvenir shop had trinkets and merchandise from all over the world, including Peniel’s hometown, yet Sungjae just couldn’t find anything that was absolutely perfect for his brother’s birthday.

            Minutes turned into hours and before Sungjae knew it, the sun had already set. There was only an hour before rehearsal and the two had nothing to show for their efforts. Sungjae sat down on the edge of the fountain as Yoseob took a spot next to him.

            “This is hopeless,” Sungjae groaned. “I’ll never find what Peniel wants most.”

            “There were about thirty things I’ve spotted today that I’ve heard Peniel say he really wanted. Why can’t we just get one of them and be done with it?” Yoseob complained.

            “Because, it’s not what Peniel really wants. I have to get him the right thing this year. Every year I buy him something really cool but no matter what, he’s never truly smiled when he received it. I’ve bought him basketballs, hats, CDs, video games, last year I even put the down-payment on a car for him.”

            “Seriously?!” Yoseob voiced his surprise.

            “Technically, my dad’s still paying it off and we can’t have it until we’re 19 but you get the point.” Sungjae sighed. “But still, no matter what I get him, I’ve never gotten that bright goofy smile from him. The one he gives me when he’s truly happy.”

            “Can’t you just ask him what he wants?”

            “I’ve tried, but every time I do, he tells me I should already know, so every time I fail, I feel like I’ve failed him as a brother.”

            Yoseob sighed, leaning back on the fountain’s corner, “I can tell this is really important to you. Why is that?”

            Sungjae sighed, “Because Peniel’s not my blood brother, and tomorrow’s not his birthday.”

            Yoseob raised his eyebrow in confusion.

            “Tomorrow is actually the anniversary of the day we signed the adoption forms. Peniel won’t tell anyone his real birthday, so we just celebrate it tomorrow instead.”

            “Does he even know his real birthday?” Yoseob asked and Sungjae nodded.

            “Of course he does, he was ten years old when he came here.”

            Yoseob’s eyes widened, “Ten?!”

            Sungjae sighed, “It was eight years ago when Peniel came to stay with us. Back then we had no intention of adopting him. When I was eight, I was really depressed. My grandmother had passed away a year before hand and I was living with my parents, who put their high paying careers aside to raise me. During that time, I was very antisocial. I had no friends and refused to talk to my family. My parents were worried about me, so they decided to undergo an exchange program with a family friend overseas.”

[Eight Years Ago]

            “My college friend’s son will be here any minute now, so I expect you to be on your best behavior, Sungjae,” a gruff gentleman scolded his son.

            “Whatever,” Sungjae grabbed hold of his stuffed banana and sat on the couch in front of the television. He wasn’t a fan of the idea of some foreign exchange boy who could barely speak a word of Korean living in his house for the summer but his parents insisted. They claimed it’d be good for the both of them, Sungjae so he could learn to be social, and the new boy so he may learn his Korean background.

            The doorbell rang as Sungjae leapt up from the couch and straightened out his clothes. His father opened the door for a young boy in a backwards baseball cap standing with a bright smile on his face.

            “Annyeonghaseyo,” the boy greeted, “Peniel Shin imnida~”

            Sungjae immediately noticed the missing front teeth in the boy’s mouth and sc