The blue-haired dancer stared up at the door in disbelief; body radiating with the feeling of rejection. His hands balled into shaking fists on the cold marble floors as he took a deep breath. He backed up against the wall and yelled loud enough for the singer to hear through the door, "Fine! It's okay! There's nothing wrong with a little tough love right?!"

            Suddenly, a light shined from the opposite end of the hallway. TOP emerged from his room wearing an unreadable expression. He walked towards Eunhyuk, whose face mirrored what appeared to be embarrassment. He had forgotten that TOP's room was so close by.

            He stepped over Eunhyuk's body as he headed to the foyer without sparing him a glance. He abruptly stopped, "Eunhyuk," he said emotionlessly, "go back upstairs."

            He heard Eunhyuk sigh and scramble up from the floor; his footsteps quick and deliberate as he walked past TOP and back to his room. TOP stood in front of the door a moment longer, looking between it and the retreating figure before him in surprise.

            The rumors couldn't be true, could they?

            This only added to the list of red flags.

____________________________________________

            "What's all this?" TOP asked as he took a seat at the dining room table the next morning. Before him was a feast like none he had ever seen before. Piles upon piles of breakfast items were lined up along the surface, steaming and reeking of an aroma that was nothing short of delicious.

            "What do you mean?" Henry asked, trying to seem innocent of this obvious meal change. The food was always good, but he definitely put in an extra effort this morning.

            The rest of the house began to file in, aweing over the food before them as they readily took their seats. When IU entered in a fluffy blue sweatshirt and sweatpants, the room's attention was suddenly diverted as everyone began to wish her good morning.

            Henry practically ran over to pull out a chair for her (beside him). TOP did nothing more than shake his head as he realized why Henry went all out on breakfast that morning- to make an impression. 

            As the group dug in, Henry waited anxiously for IU's reaction. Her face lit up in amazement as she chewed, "Henry, this is delicious!"

            He shrugged, "Nah, it's nothing. Just the regular around here. Get used to it!"

            It took all of TOP's effort not to roll his eyes.

            Chen turned to Eunhyuk who sat beside him, not noticing his stare at the pretty singer across from him, "Did you get any sleep last night, man? You look terrible."

            Eunhyuk's face was flushed, the bags under his eyes dropping low and sinking deep, "No."

            "Why not-?"

            "How did you sleep last night, Jieun?" Eunhyuk asked abruptly, causing everyone to turn their attention to her once again.

            IU tried to mask the flicker of annoyance that came over her face, "Great! There were a few pests and nuisances," she said, adding emphasis on the last few words, "but after they were taken care of I was fine."

            "Really?" Henry asked, "Whatever the problem is I can take care of it for you."

            "No it's okay. I don't think it's going to be a problem anymore," she was well aware of the unreadable expression Eunhyuk made when she uttered those words.

            As everyone stuffed their faces with the hearty meal, Shin was busy filling his eyes with the girl before him.

            A few months prior, IU had become Shin's celebrity crush. One day he looked over Hana's shoulder when she was reading a magazine, and a picture of IU automatically caught his eye. Her glowing, angelic face had an uncharacteristically strong impact on him (Shin never had crushes nor a girlfriend, though girls flocked to him on a daily basis). She was like nothing he had ever seen before, beautiful with a voice that warmed his heart.

            Having her so close to him- nearly in arm's reach instead of an image on paper, was surreal. Hana saw her cousin's enamored face and began to silently chuckle. Him being so hung up over a girl like this was just so weird and funny, but somehow (though hard to admit) adorable to watch.

            Footsteps could be heard approaching the space, and the room was enveloped in momentary confusion before a slow moving Donghae stood in the doorway. The group grew silent, staring at the man as if they were seeing a ghost.

            Henry stood up cautiously, "Hey...how are you doing this morning?"

            Donghae was noticeably skinnier, his baggy T-shirt hanging from his frame like a parachute, "Okay," he muttered simply in a voice that was nearly groggy.

            This was Donghae's first time coming downstairs since his mother's horrid death a few fateful days ago.

            "Sit! Sit! I'll make you a plate." Donghae sat in an empty seat, not even acknowledging IU's presence. Eunhyuk had told him that she was there the day before, so it wasn't a surprise to see her at the table that morning, though his lack of enthusiasm was a large contrast from the rest.

             Henry put the items on the plate and placed it in front of the quiet entertainer. All eyes were on Donghae as he stared at the food, examining it from top to bottom. He slowly picked up his fork before bringing it to his mouth, chewing with care. He took several swallows, much to the relief of others. But just as soon as it began, it ended just as quickly. Donghae backed his seat away from the table and immediately bent over, loudly emptying his newly filled stomach onto the dining room floor.

            Everyone jumped back in surprise and disgust.

            When Donghae looked down and realized what he had done, he burst into tears on the spot, "I-I'm so sorry!" he cried. Amber got up from her seat, helping him up from the table and reassuring him that things were alright.

            "It's okay, let's go upstairs! You can eat more later..." she said, trying to calm him down as he wiped the corners of his mouth.

            After they left the dining room, the group was silent in confusion thinking about the events that had just occurred so quickly before them.

            "I knew he was going to throw up," TOP stated.

            "What? How?" Kai asked.

            "He hadn't eaten or drank anything in three days. Food this rich on an empty stomach is a shock to the system, there's no way he could have kept it down," he said simply, "But at least he came downstairs, it shows he's trying."

            Chanyeol looked down at the mess Donghae left behind, "I guess I'll get the mop," he muttered before getting up and going to the utility closet down the hall.

            "Henry needs to cook like that more often, I'm stuffed," Shin said as he held his satisfied stomach.         

            He and Hana left the dining room as a Henry and Chanyeol stayed behind to clear the large table. They entered the living room where Shin spread himself across the plush sofa.

            "If he cooked like that every day, the food would never last," Hana said as she sat down by Shin's feet, "but it was nice-"

            "Hi," said a timid voice. Hana and Shin looked up to meet a pair of half-moon eyes and a shy smile.

            Shin immediately shot up, sitting straight, smoothing out his shirt and running a hand through his hair, "H-hey!" he stuttered.

            IU stood in front of the cousins, hands behind her back as she looked at Shin bashfully and shifted from foot to foot, almost nervously.

            "I realized I never got a chance to thank you," she said.

            Shin was at a loss of words. His dream girl was not only standing a foot away, but was also...thanking him? He gawked, "Thank me? For what?"

            "For saving my life yesterday," IU said, as if the answer should have been an obvious one.

            "Oh no, I didn't do anything! I-it was all Seunghyun and Hana," he assured, giving credit to the girl sitting beside him.

            IU chuckled, an airy sound that made her eyes twinkle and Shin's heart jolt as she smiled down at him, "Don't be so modest. You're the one that pulled me away from my manager when he was trying to kill me. You're also the one who broke the window to get us out of there in the first place. You saved us all, give yourself some credit."

            Shin looked back on the memory. Everything had gone by so fast, he had forgotten, "I guess you're right," he said bashfully, "t-thank you, Jieun."

            "No, thank you, Shin," she emphasized his name with a small smirk over her shoulder as she walked away.

            As soon as she was out of sight, Shin threw his body out across the sofa again and groaned, kicking and holding his face in embarrassment.

            He finally got the chance to talk to her and he stuttered the entire time.

            Hana could only laugh at her cousin's extreme reaction. The king of socializing was tongue-tied over a girl? It was so unusual. Seeing Shin freak out was the most amusement Hana had had in a while.

            "Ugh, why are you laughing?" Shin asked, peeking through his fingers, causing Hana to laugh even harder.

            "How the tables have turned. Look who's having trouble talking now," she said jokingly.

            "Shut up, that was so humiliating" Shin said. He took a deep breath and sat up, "She actually spoke to me...she acknowledged my existence."

            "Congratulations," Hana laughed while walking toward the foyer.

             As Hana entered the room, Amber came down the stairs. Her face looked stressed and a bit aggravated from getting Donghae to calm down for the past half hour.

            "Don't go up there," Amber warned.

            "Why?" Hana began to ask, but immediately after she did, a loud wail could be heard from the top of the stairs.

            "That's why."

            As the two stood in the foyer, a group of boys ran past towards the back door, basketball in tow.

            "Amber come on, let's play a few games!" Chen convinced, getting her to come over and join them. As they began to file into the backyard, Chanyeol stayed behind.

            "Shin, why don't you come too?"

             Shin shook his head, "I don't play sports."

            Chanyeol laughed, "Come on! I promise we won't go too hard on you. It'll be fun."

            Shin sighed and jogged over to the door, Chanyeol patting his back with a smile.

            TOP suddenly walked into the foyer, eyes darting around as if he was searching for something.

            "You need something?" Hana asked.

            TOP looked over at Hana in surprise; he hadn't noticed her.

            He smiled, "Oh, yeah I was looking for one of the boys. I need their help with something really quickly."

            "Most of them are outside playing basketball. What do you need help with?"

            "I just wanted to move some furniture around in my room. It's really heavy so I guess I'll wait for them to come back in later"

            Hana scoffed, "You need a boy for that? What, so you're saying I'm not good enough to help you?" she joked.

            "No! I mean...sure, if you really want to?" TOP laughed awkwardly.

             "I was kidding," Hana said with a small smile.

            They walked down the hallway towards to his room. He opened up the double doors, "Thank you for this by the way."

            "No problem, I didn't have anything else to do, I might as well be helpful to someone," she said. She looked around the beautifully decorated space. The fireplace was roaring and a large chair was placed in front of it. Everything looked so perfect, she couldn't pinpoint what needed to be changed, "What do you want help with?"

            "I want to move that desk in the corner over there closer to the bed," he said, pointing to a large mahogany desk at the far end of the room, "I just need help lifting it over here."

            They approached the desk, both going to opposite ends and placing their hands underneath in a firm grip.

             "Lift on three," TOP began, "One, two, three!" They both raised the desk, grunting as the weight of the wood dug into their palms.

            Hana walked backwards, occasionally looking over her shoulder to guide her. They stopped once they made it next to the bed, both dropping the desk and sighing in relief as they did so.

            TOP walked over to Hana, appraising their work, "Thank you."

            "No problem," Hana replied. She noticed that there was still a large gap between the back of the desk and the wall, so she tried to close the space by pushing the desk with her hip. But when the desk hit the wall, it ended up making a shelf above her shake unstably. A large porcelain vase sitting on top of it began to wobble, spinning and rocking before it tipped over the edge and soared down towards Hana's head.

            When Hana realized what was coming towards her, she tried to brace herself for the blow but she was certain it was too late. But to her surprise, the impact never came. Instead, she was knocked onto the plush bed, TOP's looming over her, vase in hand.

            The two locked eyes, Hana hoping TOP couldn't feel her rapid heartbeat through their closeness.

            When TOP saw the vase begin to tilt in Hana's direction, he had leaped forward to catch it, but lost his balance along the way, pushing Hana onto the bed and accidently falling on top of her.

            Hana blinked and TOP loudly cleared his throat as he pushed himself up to smooth out his clothes with his free hand, "I'm so sorry about...that."

            Hana laughed awkwardly as she sat up, face red, "Thank you for saving me."

            TOP grinned as he sat the vase down, "No problem. You saved my life once, so I thought the least I could do is to save you from a concussion."

            There was a cry of laughter nearby, and Hana noticed the group of boys playing basketball outside through a door that faced the backyard.

            TOP noticed Hana's curiosity, "Do you want to go watch?"

            Hana nodded, and TOP led her towards the door and they stepped outside. It was a beautiful day with clear skies and an occasional light breeze. The pool glistened and rippled as they walked past it and down the hill that led down to the basketball court. Below, the boys and Amber could be seen running on the concrete, jumping and dodging as they tried to make shots.

            As Hana approached the courts, she noticed Shin's slim, tall figure on the court. He was running (or at least trying to), stumbling over his feet and bending over to catch his breath as the others ran past. IU was seated on a nearby bench, clapping and cheering loudly, but not for a particular team.

            "Come on, Shin! You can do it!" she cheered with a bright smile. Shin looked over to the singer and suddenly gained a burst of energy. With a shy grin, he got up and began to jog again, gaining enthusiastic applause from IU.

            Hana and TOP sat down next to her on the bench, Hana intrigued by IU's behavior. While it was rather unexpected, she did notice a rather drastic change in Shin's performance.

            While they watched, they noticed a figure approaching them from the top of the hill. Once he came closer into view, they noticed the signature blue hair. Eunhyuk walked towards them with a bright smile and intense gaze set on IU. Without a greeting or glance at the other two, he squeezed himself in the tight space between IU and Hana, making her nearly fall into TOP's lap.

            Hana didn't comment, though she was irritated by the rude act.

            Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Eunhyuk move his hand. Slowly, he placed it on IU's leg, moving up to squeeze her thigh. Hana froze in shock, remembering her conversation with Amber the night before. IU slyly grabbed him by the fingers and flung his hand away.

            Hana noticed Eunhyuk' grin and TOP clear his throat beside her.

            "Aren't you hot, Jieun? It's at least 75 degrees." Eunhyuk asked, motioning towards her thick sweater and sweatpants. Everyone else was clad in shorts and tanktops (besides TOP of course), making her be the odd one out.

            It was a little odd now that Hana thought about it.

            IU pulled down her sleeve further, "I'm fine, thank you very much. No need for your concern," she said through a tight smile.

            There were loud protests as the game ended and the players came over to the benches.

            "That was not fair at all, you guys played through so many fouls!" Sehun exclaimed.

            "I want a rematch sometime this week. All of those games were questionable," Chen stated, backing up his teammate.

            "Whatever, play as much as you want. We'll just smoke you again," Amber taunted, high-fiving Kai and Chanyeol.

            Sehun, Shin, and Henry sat down on the ground in exhaustion at their defeat.

            "Damn, we would have won if Donghae was playing. He's incredible at basketball."

            There was a sad silence that came over the group. IU looked around, picking up on the mood, "What's wrong with him by the way? Is he sick? Is that why he stays in his room and threw up this morning?"

            TOP explained what happened at the flower shop in the small town a few days before, sparing as many grim details as he could.

            "That's awful," she said, sorry she had even asked to be informed. Her heart ached for the singer inside the house.

            "Shin's mother was also missing, so we went to look for her too. But Donghae's mother said that she didn't know where she was either. But there's still some hope, that's all we can ask for," TOP said, "To put it simply, this whole ordeal has been wild."

            "Oh my goodness," IU said to Shin, "I'm so sorry. Anything I can do to help, just let me know, okay?"

            Shin was taken aback by the kind gesture, a nod being the only thing he could do to show his gratitude in that moment.

            Henry tried to ease the somber mood by coaxing the group to come inside, promising a dinner that would be far better than the breakfast they had earlier. Though as the group trekked up the hill and into the house, Shin could only focus on his heavy conscience; every thought filled with worries of his mother's well-being.

______________________________________

            By midnight, half of the house was sound asleep. Henry prepared a remarkable dinner like he promised (though they would probably have to go get groceries soon) and after, the group began to disperse around the house like usual.

            Hana was leaving the bathroom upstairs when she was suddenly yanked by the arm and pulled into a large linen closet. She was beyond startled and began to scream before a voice shushed her and hurriedly the lights to reveal their face.

            "Shin? Dude, what the hell?!" she yelled, upset.

            "Sorry! I just need to talk to you."

            Hana scoffed in disbelief, "You want to talk? Couldn't we do that anywhere else?"

            Shin rolled his eyes, "Yes. No. Just listen! It's important," he began, "I think we should leave tonight."

            Hana's eyebrows joined in confusion, "What do you mean leave?"

            "Not permanently, just for a day or two. We need to find my mom."

            Hana was at a loss for what to say, "Shin..."

            "I think we should check our old neighborhood. We already know that we're not too far from it now, and I remember the directions to the flower shop, we can use that as our guide. Trust me, I know where to go from here."

            "What suddenly brought this on?"

            Shin sighed, "When we were all talking in the backyard earlier today. What Seunghyun said really resonated with me. "There's still some hope. That's all we can ask for." And that's true. Hope is all I have right now, and I have hope that she's at our old neighborhood. I need to find her, Hana."

            "Are you sure you want to do this?"

            "Positive," Shin replied.

            "Well, when do you want to go?"

            "Now."

            Yet again, Hana was taken by surprise, "Okay."

            "Okay?"

            "I'll come."

            "Really?" Shin asked.

            "Why are you surprised? I can't let you go alone, who else would be there to save your ?"

            Shin pulled Hana into a tight hug and thanked her profusely, "Go get anything you need to bring with you. I'll get some food and wait for you in the garage."

            Shin opened the door and walked down the steps and out of sight. Hana stayed in the closet a few seconds longer to collect her nerves before leaving and going to her room.

            Amber was rolled over on her side and facing the opposite wall. Hana grabbed her backpack. It felt cold and out of place in her hands; she hadn't used it what felt like forever. She tried to quickly walk out of the room when she was met with a groggy voice.

            "What are you doing?" Amber asked as she turned towards her, appraising Hana's expression and the bag in her hand.

            "Um, nothing."

            "You sure? That bag looks really heavy."

            The two were at a stand-off, one not sure whether to question further and the other desperate to find an escape.

            Hana knew it was a lost cause; all the lies she came with failed to cover what she was doing. If there was anyone else in the house besides Shin she could trust, it had to be Amber.

            "Please don't say anything, okay," Hana pleaded, "Me and Shin are leaving."        

            "Leaving?!" Amber yelled, making Hana urgently shush her, "Sorry...but you're leaving?"

            "Not for long, maybe a couple of days at the most. Shin needs to find his mother and as family, I need to help him. We're about to go now so please, please don't tell anyone."

            Amber stuttered, wishing she had never been so curious and gotten herself in this situation, "Are you sure about this? It's already dark out."

            "I think that's what Shin wants. If we can find his mom before dawn, we can make it back before everyone wakes up and even knows we were gone."

            "And if you don't make it back before that?" Amber asked, though she already knew the answer.

            "You'll just have to cover for us," Hana saw the obvious reluctance on her roommate's face, "Please!"

            "Okay! Okay! I'll try to cover as long as possible. Just be safe, okay? Don't get yourself killed."

            Hana sighed in relief, "Thank you so much, Amber!" Hana bowed before breaking into a near sprint down the hallway and going downstairs.

            There was still one more thing they needed.

            She hurried down the spiral stairs of the basement and jogged down the hallway towards the wine cellar. She grabbed the key from her pocket to unlock the door and stuffed half a dozen guns in a duffle bag.

            After she got what she needed, she locked the door and climbed the stairs once again. She closed the basement door and hurriedly walked to the garage where she joined Shin in the Jeep.

            "You ready?" he asked from the driver's seat.

            Hana gulped and nodded, making Shin start the car and back out of the garage. Amber looked on from a window upstairs, watching until the headlights became microscopic as they winded through the Hallyu Village and out of sight.

            Amber had a hard time sleeping after she saw the car drive off. After tossing and turning for a few agonizing minutes, she kicked off her sheets and roamed the halls for something to do.

            She peaked through one of the doors and saw Chen in the movie room. Amber sat beside him to clear her mind and escape her conscience for a moment.

            The two were watching the video he was playing when the door suddenly creaked open.

            TOP stuck his head inside, "Wow, I've never been up here before," he thought to himself.

            "Hey, Seunghyun, what's up?" Chen greeted, putting it on pause.

            "Have any of you seen Hana? I have to ask her something."

            Amber's heart nearly stopped.

            "No I haven't seen her since dinner," Chen answered.

            "What about you, Amber? Isn't she your roommate?"

            "U-um, yeah! She's sleeping right now. Sorry, you'll have to ask her tomorrow."

            "It's kind of urgent, though. It'll only be a second. Which room is yours?"

            "It's the last one at the end of the hall, right?" Chen said.

            "Okay thanks," TOP said before closing the door and walking towards the room.

            "!" Amber jumped up from her seat and ran down the hall after the rapper. Once she saw him, he was only a few paces away from the room. She jumped in front of him and stuck out her arms to block the doorway, "It's probably best for you not to bother her right now."

            TOP pursed his lips, looking over Amber's head and into the room. All he saw was an empty bed where Hana was supposed to be, "Amber," he began, noticing her gulp and tense up. He gauged her eyes for a reaction, voice serious and demanding, "where is she?" 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 Hi you guys!!!

So I just began summer break (yaaaaaas!!!!!!!) and I was able to write this chapter with my newfound free time. I really didn't mean to not update for five months, I'll try my best to make sure it doesn't happen again (but if it does, I'll try to warn you, not just disappear off the face of the earth like I did).

Random News: Bigbang's comeback?! Exo's comeback?! Dis too damn much, I can't take this much good music at once. 

Random Suggestion: If you're into zombie related things, do yourself a favor and watch the The Walking Dead video game on Youtube. That's how I've been coping while the show has been on break, and it's the best decision I've ever made. The story line is amazing and I even cried my eyes out a few times. Trust me, you'll like it. 

Anyways, thank you so much for reading this far! 

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