As the weather gets warmer, Jinri finds herself slipping into something of a comfortable niche with the B.A.P. boys despite the disaster that had happened at the concert in April. She’d expected them to distance themselves from her, to cut off whatever ties of friendship had started to form, but that hadn’t happened at all. On the contrary, they seem to think of it as some sort of adventure and they welcome Jinri into their ranks as another sort of troublemaker.

Well, all but Yongguk, of course. He still keeps his distance, regarding Jinri as more of a nuisance than anything else. He doesn’t speak to her often, and more often than not he’s simply rolling his eyes at something she says or something she does, like he’s annoyed and amused at the same time.

The boys’ fangirls, on the other hand, were another story. The more comfortable Jinri got with Himchan and his friends, the more these girls seem to hate Jinri.

Now hate is nothing new to Jinri. At every school she’s ever been to, she’s faced certain sorts of prejudices because of her reputation. Girls typically always hate her, but this is different. These girls take it personally that she hangs out with the B.A.P.

“Don’t worry too much about it,” Himchan tells her one afternoon. He’s helping her change into a clean blouse after one of the fangirls dumped a soda on her in the cafeteria. “They’re just jealous.”

“Yeah, well I wish they wouldn’t be,” Jinri complains, shrugging into the blouse and doing up the buttons. She doesn’t bother hiding from Himchan; it’s not like she’s modest and it’s not like he hasn’t seen her in her skivvies before. “It’s not even like I’m ing any of you guys. We’re just…”

“Friends,” Himchan supplies for her with something of a smirk. Even after a month of hanging out with the boys on a regular basis, she’s still not quite comfortable using the word. It’s foreign to her vocabulary, after all.

She flashes him a wry smile, wrinkling her nose, but does up the buttons on her blouse and tucks it into the waistband of her skirt.

“Hey, speaking of friends,” Himchan continues, leaning back against the wall of the bathroom. “We’re all getting together this weekend at Youngjae’s house to play video games. You should come.”

Jinri laughs. “I think Yongguk would probably blow a gasket if I showed up,” she comments. “He doesn’t like me very much.”

“Screw Yongguk,” Himchan says lightly. “It’ll be fun.”

Jinri hesitates. She can just imagine what Youngjae’s mother will say if she shows up on their doorstep. Youngjae is such an innocent little sweet-faced boy that his mother will probably kick a girl like Jinri right to the curb. “I don’t think that’s such a great idea,” she says.

“Quit worrying,” Himchan insists. “You’re coming. I’ll pick you up at ten Saturday morning.”

“I have the baby Saturday,” Jinri mumbles.

Himchan shrugs. “So bring her along. All we’re going to be doing is playing video games. Besides, Youngjae loves kids. It’ll be fine.”

So, like promised, Himchan picks Jinri and Jinah up Saturday morning and drives them into the suburbs where Youngjae’s family lives.

Youngjae lives in a quaint two-story house with a little garden out front and a porch swing that sways in the spring breeze. A pretty middle-aged woman answers the door after they knock, welcoming them into their home.

“How nice to see a young lady for once!” Mrs. Yoo exclaims, standing aside so they can enter a polished entryway with framed photographs of Youngjae and his older brother lining the walls. She smiles down at Jinah, clinging to Jinri’s neck. “And who is this little angel?” she coos.

“This is Jinri’s cousin, Jinah,” Himchan lies before Jinri has a chance to speak up. “She had to babysit last minute so I told her to bring the baby along. I hope that’s okay.”

“Of course it’s okay!” Mrs. Yoo exclaims, and it’s obvious from the way her face lights up that she misses having little ones around the house. “I think I may still have some of Youngjae’s old toys up in the attic somewhere…”

“I’m sure Jinri brought plenty, but thank you for offering, Mrs. Yoo,” Himchan says politely, using that smile that can melt ahjummas hearts in an instant.

Mrs. Yoo gives in with a rueful smile. “Alright, alright. The boys are already up in Youngjae’s room. I’ll bring up snacks in a little bit.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Yoo,” Himchan smiles again and then leads the way up the stairs, down another hallway lined with family portraits.

Jinri glances at the photographs on the wall as they pass them, Jinah’s chubby little hands fiddling with her necklace. “Mrs. Yoo is really okay with a girl being in Youngjae’s bedroom?”

Himchan shrugs. “I don’t really think she’s worried with all of us in there together. Besides, she trusts Youngjae. Have you seen the kid? He’s like the most innocent kid I’ve ever met.”

Like Mrs. Yoo had said, the other five boys are already gathered in Youngjae’s bedroom. It’s small, the walls painted a dark blue, posters of famous soccer teams tacked to the walls. Daehyun, Youngjae, and Jongup are all squeezed onto the bed, Youngjae and Daehyun with video game controllers in hand. Yongguk and Junhong are settled on the floor at the end of the bed, laughing at something Jongup has said. They all look up when Himchan and Jinri come in.

“Hey guys,” Himchan grins, squeezing himself onto the bed beside Jongup. “Sorry we’re late. Traffic was bad.”

The boys glance at Jinah, still playing happily with Jinri’s necklace, but don’t comment on it. Himchan has obviously filled them in on the situation beforehand; Jinri wonders just what he’s told them. “Hey Jinri,” they call, and Daehyun and Youngjae scoot over to make enough room for her on the bed to sit down.

“So how does this video game marathon work?” Jinri asks, settling the baby on the floor and pulling some toys out of the diaper bag to entertain Jinah with. “Do we all play at once or something?”

“Nah, we don’t have enough controllers for that and you can’t play with this many people at once anyway,” Junhong explains. “We play tournament style. In the first round it’s Daehyun versus Youngjae, Yongguk versus Himchan, and me verses Jongup .We agreed to give you a bye in the first round since you’re such a noob.”

“How nice of you,” Jinri rolls her eyes as she takes the seat provided for her on the bed, leaning back against Himchan.

“Then there will be a semi-final match and then the finals,” Youngjae finishes explaining. “We’ll show you how to create a character when your turn comes up, okay?”

With that, the tournament gets under way. Jinri finds it a little hard to follow the little pixelated characters on the television screen battering away at each other with various mythological weapons and superpowers, so instead she sits down in the floor with the baby. Jinah is “reading” a book, so Jinri takes it from her and helps her to read it.

“How old is she?” Junhong surprises Jinri by asking, scooting closer so he can read with them.

“Two,” Jinri answers, the baby settled happily in her lap with the book in her chubby little hands. “She’s really smart, but she also gets shy when she’s around people.” She bends down to speak to the baby. “Jinah, say hello to Junhonggie, okay?”

Usually shy, Jinah beams up at the tall, gangly kid and says, “Hello Junhonggie!” in a loud, clear voice.   

Jinri laughs. “She must like you,” she comments. “Usually she doesn’t talk to people she just meets.”

Junhong grins, then holds out his arms. “Do you want to come see Uncle Junhonggie, Jinah-yah?” The baby obediently crawls off Jinri’s lap and into Junhong’s open arms. “Kids love me,” he adds to Jinri.

“I can see that,” she agrees, bemused. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her take to anyone quite so quickly.”

But soon Jinri grows adventurous and leaves the comfort of Junhong’s arms to explore the rest of the bedroom. She ends up in front of Yongguk, who stares at her like she’s a little alien. Jinri has the distinct impression that Yongguk doesn’t spend much time with kids. As she looks on in amused frustration, Jinah calmly settles herself into Yongguk’s lap and gives him a pretty little kiss on the cheek.

“Jinah,” Jinri calls, hurrying to rescue him. “Leave Yongguk alone, won’t you? He doesn’t like you hanging all over him.”

But Yongguk’s arm comes to encircle Jinah’s waist almost protectively. “It’s fine,” he says gruffly. “She’s not bothering anything.”

Jinri stops halfway there, then shrugs. If Yongguk isn’t complaining and Jinah is happy, then she’s fine with it.

Daehyun ends up winning his match against Youngjae, and then it’s Himchan versus Yongguk. Jinri offers to take Jinah so the baby doesn’t mess him up while he’s playing, but Yongguk gruffly brushes her off and insists that it’s fine. And Jinah seems to know that she needs to be good for a moment because she’s unusually quiet and still until Yongguk wins against Himchan. Then he mutters something about Jinah being a good-luck charm and passes his controller off to Junhong. The final match of the first round, Junhong versus Jongup, ends with the younger winning, and then it’s time for the semi-finals.

Jinah is still sitting in Yongguk’s lap – in fact, she seems strangely content to never move again – but Yongguk doesn’t complain and so Jinri doesn’t make her get up. In fact, he wins his match against Daehyun. “Good luck charm,” he repeats, and then he kisses her on top of the head. She gurgles her amusement and gives him a pudgy-armed hug.

Across the room, Himchan winks at Jinri.

Then it’s Jinri’s turn to play against Junhong. Himchan helps her choose a character and customize it – she’s the only one who chooses a girl character, which Youngjae teases her about in a friendly sort of way – and then Daehyun tells her which weapon she should use for what. Finally, after what seems like forever, Jinri’s character customization is complete and her match with Junhong begins.

“Wait!” she cries. “I don’t know how to play! Nobody told me what buttons to push!” The controller in her hands is completely foreign. She barely recognizes what system they’re playing on.

“Just push them all!” Himchan shouts.

And so that’s what Jinri does. She starts mashing every button on the controller, squealing the whole time. Jinah thinks it’s a game and starts to “sing” too. Yongguk laughs and jiggles her on his knee.

Jinri’s thumbs are aching before ‘GAME OVER’ flashes across the screen. She blinks at it in surprise. “I won?” she demands.

Junhong tosses his controller down, frustrated. “Beginner’s luck,” he insists.

Jinri narrows her eyes at him suspiciously. “Did you let me win?” she accuses.

He thinks about it for a second and then grins. “Yes. Yes, I let you win. You caught me.”

Youngjae throws a pillow at him. “Liar,” he laughs.

“Looks like it’s Yongguk versus Jinri for the finals,” Daehyun says, clapping his hands together eagerly.

Jinri winces. “This hardly seems fair. Can’t I surrender?”

“No way!” Himchan exclaims. “Kick his , Jinri!”

Yongguk snorts. “As if.” Jinah giggles as if she agrees with him.

“Traitor,” Jinri accuses, but the baby only laughs more.

Since Jinri already has a character made, they launch right into the game. Jinah sits quietly in Yongguk’s lap, as still as a statue, eyes glued to the television screen. Jinri pushes the buttons manically, but Yongguk still beats her. Not that she’d really expected any other outcome.

“You did good, Jinri,” Himchan assures her, patting her on the shoulder. “Placing second your first time is no mean feat.”

“It’s only because he has a good luck charm,” Jongup teases, gesturing to where Jinah is snuggling down for a nap in Yongguk’s lap.

“I think she needs to come to all of our video game tournaments,” Yongguk suggests, shifting her so she’s more comfortable, her cheek resting against his chest as she slips into dreamland.

Mrs. Yoo appears in the doorway then, carrying three large pizza boxes. “Lunchtime!” she calls cheerfully. Then she catches sight of Jinah, dozing in Yongguk’s arms, and she gets all damp at the corners of her eyes. “Oh, Yongguk. You’re going to make such a good father one day!”

He blushes crimson, and so does Jinri. “I should probably lay her down,” she mumbles, hurrying and scooping the baby out of Yongguk’s arms. She settles Jinah down on a mat in the corner of the room as Mrs. Yoo leaves, covering the baby up with her favorite blanket. Jinah yawns and rolls over and falls back asleep at once.

“She’s sweet,” Daehyun comments in his quiet voice while they all scramble for pizza. “She looks just like you.”

Jinri glances over at the sleeping toddler, a smile creeping across her face. “That’s what they say,” she agrees. “She’s my little angel.”

Yongguk surprises her by speaking up. “Who watches her when you go out?” he demands, and there’s a hint of accusation in his voice. “When you go out to clubs and bars and stuff?”

Jinri stiffens. “My mom,” she answers.

“So you leave your daughter with your mom while you go out and party,” he says, and his disdain is unmistakable. “What a great mother you are.”

She feels the anger thrumming through her veins at once. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she practically snarls.

Luckily Himchan steps in to stop the fight before it can escalate further. “Everybody just calm down,” he suggests firmly. “Yongguk, maybe you should keep your opinions to yourself sometime.”

“That little girl deserves a mother that doesn’t go out and party all the time,” Yongguk snaps.

Jinri’s hands ball into fists. “Yeah, she certainly does,” she agrees heatedly, but a sharp look from Himchan silences her. She sighs. “I guess we should probably go then.”

“Don’t be silly,” Youngjae says quickly. “Jinah just fell asleep, so you can’t wake her up now. Plus we’ve got lunch. Let’s just calm down and eat.”

Jinri glares at Yongguk, who glares back, but in the end she settles down and eats. She also makes a mental note not to let that psychopath near Jinah ever again.