Hana and Luna had been to eight stores within two hours and so far, Luna didn’t like the quality or the dress. It was mainly the latter. Thankfully, the two of them didn’t had to walk because they were given a drive by Luna's chauffer. If they had to walk, Hana would had gave up after passing store number two. This was Hana’s first time going to more than three stores all in one day and this was what she feared for.

The second fear? These were all brand named stores, stores that she saw in movies where the customer can wear the clothes in a private dressing room or suite and have attendants attending the customer. And every “rich” clothing brand named store they went to, once Luna showed off her father’s credit card, the girls would be escorted to a beautiful room that was, probably, meant for trying on the clothes. In most of the rooms they had been in, it even had a salon-like desk inside with a lady who was prepared to do the nine-yard preparation of makeup, dress, shoes, and hair.

Hana would get uncomfortable every time she tried on a dress and the ladies who worked there would crowd around her and started determining what kinds of eye color, lip color, or even hair style would match with the teal dress or the lilac dress.

The only one, as expected, that found this to be extremely fun and worthwhile was Luna. She was very hyperactive, very energetic and her adrenaline seemed to never deplete no matter how many times she had been rushing back and forth out of the door with dress after dress.

Not only that, but Hana didn’t seem to have a dress she like. Most of the dresses that Luna picked out for her were too short, too low-cut or too bared in the back. She didn’t like revealing skin that she hardly revealed. She preferred much coverage.

Luna sat down on the chair and asked Hana, “Why aren’t you picking anymore dresses to try on?”

Hana eyed the tower of books on the small coffee table in front of them, “I decided to check from here instead.”

“But, you won’t be able to try them on.”

“It’s okay. I’m not in a rush to buy a dress yet. It’s not until summer, right?”

“Yeah, but the sooner you get this done, the better it is."

"Eh, but you know dresses and I don't go together." Hana leaned in and whispered into her friend's ear, "They're too revealing."

Luna snorted, "That's the point! A girl's got to show off some beauty!"

Hana scowled, "I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet. I prefer something—”

“—like your sweatpants and oversized t-shirts?"

"Yeah..."

Luna shook her head, "It's a party." She slouched into her seat, "By the way, I forgot to tell you guys about it."

"About what?"

"Remind me later, k."

Hana nodded.

The door opened and a lady with a velvet dress stepped in, "Miss Luna, your dress."

Luna stood up, "Let me try on this one and then we can go."

"Take your time." Hana said as she smiled at her friend hopping away into the dressing room.

*

Hana and Luna finally finished their dress-shopping and came back empty-handed. But, before going home, the boys texted them that they were at a park and asked them to buy some snacks and drinks and that was what they did. Arriving at the park, they spot the boys playing catch while Taeyang sat at a good distance away from Luhan's side.

Walking to Luhan, Hana gently pushed his back to get his attention, "Did you do a good job babysitting Taeyang?"

Luhan frowned, "Have some faith in me."

Hana scoffed, "Like I will ever."

"Don't worry," Xiumin said, running over with Lay at the sight of seeing the bags in the girls' hands. "We took good care of him."

Hana handed the bag to Luhan and walked over to Taeyang, "The only person's words I'll trust is Lay's."

Xiumin and Luhan exclaimed, "WHY?"

"You two are more likely to lie." Hana answered, sticking out her tongue.

The gang headed over to where Hana and Taeyang were at and they decided to sit there.

Lay opened a drink and said to Hana, "Don't worry, everything was fine."

Hana sighed, "That’s good to know.”

Luhan kicked Hana with his foot, "Hey, I'm angry that you don't trust me."

"I do." Hana said. "But, not with Taeyang."

"Fine, I can take that." He was about to reach for a dango with his bare dirty hands and it got slapped by Hana.

"Hey, wash your hands first." Hana grabbed his hand and spilled water from her water bottle and washed his hands for him. Picking up a napkin, she wiped it dry. "Here."

Luhan grinned, "Thanks."

"It'd be funny if you die because of bacteria, but I'm too nice to let it happen."

"Ha! As if bacteria could kill me!" Luhan picked up another dango while his mouth still had one. He brought it up to Hana, "Want this one?"

Hana shook her head, "No thanks. I'm not hungry yet."

"You guys ate already?"

Hana laughed, "No, we didn't. Luna and I were busily hopping from store to store."

Luna defended herself, "Hey, those dresses weren't beautiful enough." She gasped, "Ah yes. I needed to tell you guys something."

Everyone paid attention.

"So, my father's wedding is going to be during the summer, you guys know that."

Everyone nodded.

"But, there's a bit of a change."

Lay asked, "What kind of change?"

"The theme." Luna answered. "At first, since she really likes European stuff, everyone was supposed to come to the wedding dressed in sixteenth century European fashion."

The friends gasped in horror as they thought of trench coats, heavy boots, shoulder pads, and clothes that were out of the 21st century norm.

Luna rolled her eyes. "I know, right? However, the change is that instead, it'll be a ball with a touch of European taste."

"A...ball?" Hana questioned, not liking the sound of it.

"A masquerade ball." Luna added, "Formal dress wear is still mandatory, but we will need to wear masks.”

Xiumin blinked, "Why a masquerade ball?"

Luna shrugged and slurred her speech, "Iono. All I heard was that it's to give off a sense of mystery or something and that back in the European days or something, masked balls were the hit. Stupid, right?" She squinted her eyes, "But, the best part, the only best part that I like is this." She gave the friends a dramatic pause. "The wedding will take place on a cruise!!!"

"A CRUISE?" The friends exclaimed as they also showed their excitement and disbelief.

"That's right." Luna scoffed, "Although she doesn't deserve it, I can't make a big deal about a cruise!"

Xiumin sat up straight as he used his legs for support, "Oh, oh! Where are we cruising to?"

"And, here's the dumbest of them all." Luna exhaled, "We're just going out in the middle of the sea and then right back to Japan."

The friends blinked.

"Exactly. The cruise is just for show." Luna said.

Hana furrowed her brows, "Wait, this is an overnight wedding?"

Luna nodded.

"What-what about Taeyang?"

"Oh, don't worry. That seemed to be prepared."

Luhan innocently asked, "Prepared?"

"Since it's an overnight wedding thing, my father made sure that people with young kids can come. There will be a special place just for kids while the adults be entertained."

Hana inhaled, "I'm not so sure about this, Luna. I haven't really let him stayed with anyone other than me, Luhan, or the day care center people."

"Don't worry. He'll be fine. I'm sure my father will get people who are as professional as yours." Luna begged, "Please, still come. Or, can you call Luhan's brother to babysit him?"

Hana shook her head, "We've already bothered him more than we need to."

Luhan shot a look at Hana, "You're planning not to go?" He became nervous and pointed to himself, "What about me? Who is going to watch me?"

"Watch you?" Hana raised a brow at him. "I'm not your babysitter."

"Whenever you're not Taeyang's, you're mine." Luhan sweetly said, hoping to win her over. He tugged on her hand, "Hey, go with me!"

Xiumin nodded, "It's nothing if we miss out on any of us."

Lay added, "It's always better when we're all together."

Luhan clicked and jokingly said, "Actually, it's always better whenever this man-girl isn't here but—"

Hana pinched his cheek, "—oi, what was that?"

"Go with us?" Luhan slyly smiled. "Please!"

Luna joined in, "Let's go and have fun! Taeyang will be well-taken care of. I can promise you."

Hana hesitated. "I...I guess so."

The gang shouted, "Whoo!"

Hana laughed. Her friends really are the best.

Xiumin leaned forward and asked Luna, "I can still invite Gayoon, right?"

Luna nodded, "Yeah."

"You're the best!"

Luna picked up the plastics, "Are you guys ready to head back?" She looked around them, "It's too cold and there aren't a lot of people out here anyway."

Hana shivered and hugged Taeyang who was sitting on her lap the entire time, "Yeah. I don't want Taeyang to get sick again."

Everyone saw Luhan took of his jacket and tossed it to Hana, "Here. I'm hot anyway."

Hana grimaced at him as she took the jacket and wore it, "You're not hot. You're ugly."

"Ha. Ha. Ha." Luhan sarcastically retorted. He looked at the guys, "Last round of catch?"

"Sure." The guys said.

Luhan stood up with his friends and looked at the girls, "Let's play together."

Luna whined, "But, it's two against three."

Hana waved a hand, "No, thanks. I'll stay here with Taeyang and keep him warm."

Xiumin stepped in as he grabbed the ball, "Then, me and Luhan versus you two."

"Okay." Lay and Luna said, accepting the choices of the team.

Luhan came over to Hana and bended down. He zipped the jacket all the way, "Gosh, who told you to wear such light clothes?”

Hana shoved him away playfully, "No, don't zip it. I'm going to cover Taeyang, too." She ped it and looked at him, "Hurry. They're playing already." She glanced down at Taeyang and with a childish voice, she said to him, "Let's see how much Luhan , shall we?"

Provoked, Luhan nudged her forehead, "I'm awesome, okay. Don't tell him otherwise." He stood up and walked backwards, eyes only focused on Hana.

Smiling, Hana gave him encouragement, "Show them what you can do, Luhan!"

*

Jongsuk had been running in the park for almost two hours, stopping every once in a while. He needed to train his body even when he wasn't at school since this year was going to be his last baseball game before he graduates. And, he also wanted to show off his best for his girlfriend. Just even thinking about the fact that he was dating his crush of almost two years, he couldn't contain his happiness. He had liked her ever since he laid eyes on her when he saw her sitting on the benches who seemed bewildered at the sight of the baseball game amidst a group of noisy girls cheering for the boys instead of the team, something he disliked. But, now, he wanted her to be like those girls, cheering him on and not the team.

Stopping, he passed by a bench and hesitated to sit. He knew that if he chose to sit, he wouldn't be motivated to continue running again. He clenched onto his water bottle and decided not to.

He had a girl to impress after all.

He checked the time and then glanced at the gray sky. Maybe he should end his training for the day. Besides, he was just wearing shorts and a hooded jacket while his IPod cling to his side.

Ending his training, he uncapped his water bottle that was already two-thirds finished. Because there weren’t as many people as there usually was, the peace was calming. He liked these kinds of atmosphere. Almost reaching the exit of the park where his bike was at, his attention was grabbed by excited voices, especially someone’s voice who shouted a familiar name. He turned his to the direction of the voices. About seven to ten meters away were people from his school...including his girlfriend...and her friend.

He stood there and waited to see what was happening. He didn’t care if any of them saw him because he definitely was seeing a sight that he did not want to see. His girlfriend was getting a back hug from her friend—a guy.

They’re with their friends, so nothing’s going on between them. Jongsuk observed his girlfriend and saw a laugh he never saw given to him. Not even once when they were just talking before dating. It was always to that guy.

Luhan.

He continued to silently watch the friends.

Luhan, still hugging Hana from the back, shouted, “Come and try to get me!”

Hana giggled while being dragged from Luhan, “Hey, let go! Guys, help me!”

Luhan let out an evil laugh, “Muah hahahaha, you can never save this girl’s life! She’s mine! Mine, I—”

Thanks to a light blow to his stomach by Hana, she freed herself. “Ha, what now?”

Pretending to be in pain, he growled as he crouched down to the floor, “You—! You! Come...back...here!”

Hana ran over to Taeyang and picked him up, “Enough of your act. Let’s get on home.” She made Taeyang stand in front of her while she held his hands to help him walk.

Luhan brushed the grasses and dirt from his legs and took Taeyang’s other hand. “Fine, I will get the princess next time.” He pointed down to Taeyang, “And the prince will have to save her.” He laughed at Hana and the two walked.

Xiumin ran over, “Don’t forget me, guys!”

The friends looked at him who was holding onto all the trash.

“Luhan, you were supposed to help me clean up the trash since we lost together.” Xiumin whined.

Luhan nudged Hana with his free hand, “Don’t blame me. This man-girl cursed me before the game! That’s why we lost!”

Hana scoffed, “I did not. It’s not nice to lie.”

Luna and Lay laughed from behind the virtual couple.

Lay said to them, “Wow, seeing you guys holding onto Taeyang’s hand...you guys really could pass for a family.”

Hana and Luhan only smiled in response while they winced internally. They still haven’t gotten used to the word ‘family’ yet. If they were to choose, they’d prefer someone saying that they were dating.

Xiumin tossed the trash into a trash bin and pointed left, “Hey, I’m going this way.”

“We’ll go with you.” Luna said, “We’re that way, too.”

The friends waved to Hana, Luhan, and Taeyang, “See you guys!”

After bidding each other good bye, the virtual family headed their own way.

Luhan asked Hana, “So, no dress, huh?”

Hana shook her head, “Nope.”

“I knew they’d be too pretty for you.”

Hana decided to joke around with him, “Actually, there was this one dress where the cut was so high, it surpassed my thighs.” She whispered loud enough for him to hear, “You can almost see my .” She pulled back away immediately and saw Luhan stiffened up in response.

Luhan stuttered, “Hey, don’t-don’t-don’t say that in front of Taeyang!”

Hana giggled, covering . She continued, “I’m planning to get it.” She pretended to think, “Luna did say that we should expose a few skin, and well this dress also has a front where a lot of cleavage is—”

Luhan immediately turned to come to the front of Hana and covered with his free hand, blocking Taeyang’s path from walking. “Shh!”

Hana burst into a loud laugh. She couldn’t tell if Luhan was red from the game he played or if he was red from blushing. But, whatever it was, she loved it. He couldn’t even raise an eye to look at her.

She uncovered his hand from and leaned in super close to him, “It’s a joke!”

“J-joke?”

She nodded, “Do you seriously think I’d wear something like that to a party with a lot of people I don’t even know?”

Luhan went back to his spot and the two continued walking again, aiding Taeyang with his walk, “That’s right. You don’t even have anything good to show off anyway.”

Hana clicked her tongue, “You know what? It may not be superb all the time, but when I finally find a dress, I’m going to blow you away.”

Luhan sneered at her, “Try. I won’t even notice you at all.”

“You don’t have to. I won’t even notice you either.”

The two glared at each other for a long while before breaking free and jumping into a light laughter.

*

Jongsuk saw Hana and Luhan all the way until they the block. He had so many questions every time he saw the together.

Why are they heading the same way? Do they live in the same area? Is that kid her brother or Luhan’s? What were they laughing about?

Coming back to his senses, he felt cold water on his leg and realized that water from his uncapped water bottle dripped down because he was too busy at something else.

He crouched down to his knees and covered his face in it. He quietly said to himself, “Trust Hana. She is not like that. They’re just friends. Just friends.”

*

When the virtual couple came home, they took separate baths, cooked, ate, and then like usual, spend their last two hours watching a film. Taeyang fell asleep first, so Hana carried Taeyang into her bed and gently put him to sleep. She turned around and caught Luhan entering his bedroom.

She heaved a sigh and walked to his bedroom door. She knocked and then cracked the door open, “You’re not sleeping with us tonight?”

Luhan forced a smile from the bed, “No. I think it’s also not okay for us to—”

“—are you bothered by what Luna said?”

Luhan stopped smiling. He stood up, “She’s right. Just because we’re friends doesn’t mean we can—”

“—I want you to sleep with us.” Hana confessed. “It’s okay. Besides, will my future guy even ask me about who I slept with? And, even if he knew, my answer is the same.” She walked over to him and sat beside him, “If he can’t accept you...” she looked intensely into his eyes, “...I can’t accept him.” She sent him a reassuring smile and grabbed onto his hand, squeezing it. “A friend always comes before a guy, right?”

Luhan pulled Hana into a hug, scaring her. He knew this was wrong. He knew that in this society, if word came out about them sharing a room, it was only natural for anyone to think that they would’ve done more than just sleep next to a kid.

But, even if he knew that...he really, really wanted to sleep with Taeyang...and Hana.

He liked the warmth he felt beside him, especially during this cold season. He liked how he’d wake up and there’d be a blanket over him. He liked starting his day with Hana and Taeyang right beside him. What he loved most was seeing his hand and her hand in Taeyang’s.

“...Luhan?” Hana muffled from his chest. She patted his back, “I-I can’t—”

Luhan let her go, “Sorry.”

“Something wrong?”

Luhan sighed. Sorry, Hana. For being selfish. He walked passed Hana and headed to her room, “Hmph, you speak as if you’re going to end up marrying some dude when you’re not.” He put a hand on his hip, “How many times do I have to repeat that you’re going to spend your last years with cats?”

Hana gritted her teeth. “Fine, you’re sleeping in your own room!” She stumped over to him but Luhan had already entered her bedroom. “Don’t step in my room.”

“No.” Luhan said, “I want to sleep here.”

As he tried to swiftly and quietly shift onto his side of the bed, Hana lightly hopped him and the two fell flipped over and stared at the ceiling. They laughed as they looked into one another’s eyes.

Luhan found himself searching for her hand and clasping it.

Hana looked at him and sensed something, “What’s wrong?”

Luhan looked up at her, “Thanks.” For being a wonderful friend.

Hana let out a laugh. Inhaling, she hugged him and snuggled into his chest, “Don’t thank me. You’re...Taeyang’s father that’s why.”

Luhan played with her hair. He liked that. When he first heard of being Taeyang’s father from his brother, he didn’t care much. When he heard it from his friends, it bothered him. But, hearing it from Hana...it tugged his heart. He liked knowing that he was the father of Taeyang.

With her.

Luhan smiled happily and hugged Hana, “...And, you’re his mother.” He stopped himself and remembered that any word related to family was kind of taboo for her because of her instability. About to apologize, he found Hana fast asleep under him. He chuckled. Shopping with Luna must’ve worn her out. He rested his head on a hand and looked at her sleep. “Good night, princess. May your prince charming be deserving of you.”

After saying that, he became gloomy. What a