She looked at the door that had been slammed in her face, mouth agape as she continued to process those two simple words.

       You.

       Did.

       Hana eventually snapped out of her trance, and let out an irritated huff.

      “Why do you have to be so goddamn stubborn?!” she shouted at the closed door. She turned to the side where a beautiful, small marble statue was mounted atop a pedestal. It was custom made by some popular artist a few years back, as had been explained to her by Donghae when they first arrived on several different occasions. It was obvious that it was one of their highly prized possessions. But in that moment she had forgotten all about that.

          In her fit of frustration, she kicked the sturdy pedestal roughly, an act that would have pained anyone else that had the normal ability to feel it. The statue on top wobbled from side to side before eventually flying towards the ground and shattering into dozens of tiny pieces, the crash ringing out in an echo around the foyer.  In the back of her mind she wondered how she’d explain it to the rest of the group, but it ceased to fully matter then.

         She looked down at the pieces and sighed.

         Calm down. Just stay calm, just give him time--

        “That was probably the most expensive thing in this house,” said a voice.

       Hana jumped, startled, only to see TOP standing in the shadows on the opposite end of the foyer with his arms folded, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone it was you.”

        Hana gulped, choosing to ignore his joking comments, “Did you hear all that?” she asked in a near whisper.

       He nodded. Hana looked down and began to walk back towards the staircase.

        “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” she heard him ask, deep voice coated with concern. She turned back, seeing him move his head in the direction of his room.
       She contemplated for a minute, weighing the pros and cons of being in the safety of her own room versus the conversation that was guaranteed to happen if she went with him. But she knew that if she didn’t express it then, she wouldn’t get any sleep that night.

       Hana sighed and slowly turned to walk back, flanking him as they made their way down this too familiar hallway and entered his grand bedroom. He made a gesture towards the huge arm chair placed next to the bed, offering her a seat. She gingerly lowered herself into the chair, almost feeling intrusive, unworthy of being there. Her worn out, filthy Converse contrasted greatly with the soft rug beneath her feet, and she tried to not to much pressure on it in the fear that her presence would somehow taint it. Sure, she had been in this room several times over the past weeks to get her shoulder bandaged, but when that happened they usually went straight to the bathroom and would end up talking there, taking no detours. This was one of the few times she hadn’t come to his room to get a favor done, but instead just...talk.

        TOP sat on the bed across from her, wearing his normal long sleeved shirt and loose fitting pants combo, waiting patiently for her to begin talking.

        “I don’t even know where to start,” she said, laughing despite herself. It wasn’t a happy sound, more so filled with stress and disbelief.

       “Well, when did you hear Eunhyuk say those things?” he asked, “And why would he say it with you around?”

       “He didn’t know I was listening,” she explained, “It was over the walkie-talkies back at the hospital. I guess he thought he was talking to Donghae, but he had the wrong channel and connected with me instead."

     “So he was making threats about Shin...over Jieun?” he asked incredulously, eyebrows raising.

      Hana nodded, “He basically said that Shin is trying to take her away from him and how he needs to go...for good. The way he said it, he sounded so upset. So serious.”

      TOP sighed, “He’s unstable again. I thought he was getting better.”

      “Me too, but everything he did before was minor in comparison to what he’s saying now. He’s taking this to heart. And if his words turn to actions…” she began, choosing not to finish the sentence.

      “Nothing will happen, I won’t let it,” he assured. She looked into his eyes and saw confidence, and in that moment her nerves calmed significantly.

      “Thanks,” she muttered.

      “I just can’t believe the rumors were actually true. Everyone speculated that it was happening, that they were dating or at least hooking up, but I thought it was all talk. Even when the pictures of the two of them leaked I still didn’t believe it all the way because photos of idols are always taken out of context. But it sounds like they were pretty serious, at least to Eunhyuk,” he said. He remembered the night he stumbled upon the dancer sprawled out on the floor in front of IU’s room, yelling at the closed door about “tough love”. He didn’t want to read too much into it, but he should have known then that there was an issue.

      “I’ve never seen them act like a couple or even interact around the house much at all.”

      “Whatever they had must have ended before the world did, or else she wouldn’t be with Shin if they were still romantically involved,” he said.

      “Eunhyuk doesn’t seem to think they’re over,” Hana said.

       “I guess he didn’t get the message,” TOP said with a sigh, “We just need to keep an eye out for him and Shin and take note of anything suspicious.”

     “It’s going to be hard if Shin won’t even acknowledge the fact that he’s in danger.”

     “Is that what you two were talking about?” TOP asked carefully.

     Hana nodded. Her elbow was on the armrest as she held her cheek in her palm and looked off pensively, replaying the scene from minutes prior in her mind, “I’m just trying to look out for him, you know? But he won’t let me. He’s still pissed off about what happened with Jieun and he hasn’t let it go yet. I just want things to go back to normal. I’ve ever seen him so….upset before. I knew he was stubborn but not like this,” she said, “But I won’t give up on him. I can’t.”

        He never gave up on me.

        “And you shouldn’t,” TOP said, “But I think the way he’s reacting right now is in response to something bigger. Something beyond you.”

       “What do you mean?”

       “Sure, he’s upset about how we cornered Jieun, but I think he’s using it as a cover for a completely different issue. ”

       “You really think so?”

      “I do. I wouldn’t take the way he’s acting too personally, as easy as that sounds. He’s obviously hurting right now and just needs something to be mad at to cope...so he chose you.”

        “But why me? Of all the people here, I’ve always been there for him. Hell, he just met Jieun so why is he so goddamn defensive--?!” she had to stop and compose herself, before she went on a tangent. She took a deep breath, “I’ve always been there. It’s always been us.”

        “That’s probably why. And maybe it’s not as intentional as you think, it almost seems like he’s using the Jieun incident as an excuse to push you away subconsciously, even if he really doesn’t want to.”

      “‘Leave me the hell alone’” sounds pretty intentional to me,” she said with a roll of her eyes.
        He shrugged, “Self-destruction shows itself in interesting ways.

      It was quiet a moment as Hana contemplated his theory. It made sense honestly. A lot had happened within the last month or so that they had been living in the house and a lot had been lost in the process. She didn’t really realize it until then, but now that she thought about it, Shin had been acting more cold, less open since the trip they had taken to their old neighborhood. Perhaps TOP was right, maybe the fact that they didn’t find his mother that night combined with the guilt he felt for the loss of Chen is what lit the everburning fuse.

      And what they did to Jieun is what set it off.

      “Let me get a look at your shoulder,” he said, sliding off the enormous bed. She began to lift herself up from the chair when she noticed he wasn’t going to the bathroom, but instead to her.

     She sat back down, backing up as far as she could into the seat, confused when he squatted before her and nodded towards her arm.

       Hana was wearing a spaghetti strapped top that she had found on a run. She slowly and timidly pulled down the strap until the thin fabric rested on her arm, exposing the skin to him as he unraveled the old bandage. She could feel his cold fingers glide over her collarbones before landing on her right shoulder and getting a closer look. The action always caused a shiver to shoot down her spine without fail.

        “So I have good news,” he said as he assessed it, “Your shoulder looks like it’s making a full recovery. I don’t think I even need to bandage it up anymore because it’s scabbed over so much.”

      “Oh, great,” she said. Despite the words, she felt a strange pang of something that she couldn’t explain.

     She must have been making a face she didn’t know she was making, because TOP noticed and said, “That’s a strange thing to be sad about. What, are you going to miss me or something?”

       Hana caught herself and scoffed loudly, “Barely, it may not hurt but I don’t particularly enjoy having someone prodding at my open wounds everyday.”

      “Touche,” he laughed, an action that caused his intimidatingly dark eyes to soften, “Come on, I’ll walk you out.”

      He outstretched his hand, offering to help her up from the spot. She looked at it for a second, the foreign gesture taking her by surprise as she assessed it, as if she didn’t know what to do with it.

       “It’s a hand, not a walking carcass, it won’t bite,” he said jokingly.

       Hana grabbed his hand, letting him pull her up and onto her feet. Their hands stayed clasped for a second longer than necessary, and Hana pulled apart as soon as this was realized. TOP cleared his throat.

       They walked out the grand door and stood out in the hallway, as they had dozens of times before, hands in their pockets as Hana stared at her shoes, “I was about to start collecting the alcohol around the house when I heard you and Shin...talking,” he said, “It may be a bigger feat than I anticipated considering how big this place is. I was thinking the wine cellar might be a good place to put it all, it’s discreet and under lock and key. Are you free tomorrow to help?”

      Hana shrugged, “It's not like I’ve got anything better to do.”

      “Meet after breakfast in the second dining room?”

      “Sounds good.”

      “See you then, Ms. Rhee,” he said, stepping into his room.

      “See you then, Nurse Choi.”

       Hana her heels, walking fast as her collarbones and fingers seemed to tingle and burn.

_______________________________________________

         Upstairs, behind closed doors, completely different conversation was taking place.

        The blue haired dancer paced the floor back and forth, ruffling his mane in frustration while his now quiet roommate watched.

         “He just pisses me off so much!” Eunhyuk exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

         “I know, you’ve told me a thousand times, man.”

         “No, but you don’t get it. That little piece of is--”

         “Trying to take my girl from me,” Donghae said, finishing his sentence with an exhausted voice. All he wanted to do was sleep, but his best friend had been doing this for the past hour without a break. He had been listening to his distress, the entire time trying to calm him unsuccessfully.

      “Exactly! Who does he think he is? He’s in my house for ’s sake! The nerve of him!”

     Donghae was close to saying something along the lines of, “Actually its our house, we all paid bills around here,” but decided not to.

     “Why don’t you just talk to him?” he asked.

     Eunhyuk stopped in his tracks in the middle of the floor, “Talk to him?”

     “Yeah, maybe it’s not exactly what you think it is,” Donghae said.

    “My ears and eyes work fine Donghae, I know what I heard and what I’ve seen.”

     Donghae sighed, “Well even if Shin and Jieun are,” he stopped to choose the right word, ”together...maybe he would back off if he knew you were there first.”

     Eunhyuk put his hands on his hips, “You really think so?”

     “It’s worth a try, isn’t it?”

     “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. I’ll have a little chat with the psycho."

     “Good. Glad we got that settled,” Donghae said, turning on his side to get comfortable.

      Eunhyuk stepped out onto their balcony, looking out into the vast forest and rolling hills surrounding them as they were brightened by the full moon overhead, “He’s going to learn his place soon enough.”

_____________________________________________

       After breakfast the next morning (which comprised of shifty glances being shared across table, particularly from Eunhyuk and Henry) TOP and Hana met up in the second dining room as planned. They raided all of the cabinets full of wines and liquors in the space placing them in two rolling carts they had found in the laundry room. Bottles filled with red, brown, and clear liquids clanked loudly as they stacked the seemingly endless supply. They noticed Henry look at them from the hallway, and quickly walk away when he realized he had been caught.

        They pushed the carts throughout the first floor, scouring every cabinet and drawer, finding bottles of all sizes placed slyly in the very backs.

       “Jesus, where did all of this stuff even come from?” Hana pondered aloud.

       “A lot of it came from Jiyong’s stash when you all invaded his place back in the day,” TOP said, joking yet with a slight judging tone.

       “In my defense, I had nothing to do with that raid,” Hana said, “I was here minding my own business, and then I look up and out of nowhere you’re here, standing in the middle of the living room like you own the place.”

     TOP laughed, “It’s a good thing I came then, if not who else would deal with being your nurse and your therapist?”

     “Touche.”

      They went through all the dinning rooms, storage closets, and the kitchen eventually having both carts full to the brim. They rolled them into the foyer and took turns carefully guiding them down the staircase of the basement, wondering at that moment if the mansion had some type of secret elevator that they didn’t know about.

     Once on the ground floor, they took their carts all the way to the wine cellar. Hana took her key out, which had been hiding in the drawer of her bedside table, and unlocked the door. The musky smell of old wood hit their noses immediately as they went inside. The two of them rolled their carts into the very back of the room and decided that the deed was done. After assessing the weapons count, they locked the wine cellar behind them and made their way back upstairs, glad that that task was finally out of the way.

     “Do you really think that was all of it?” Hana asked.

     “It better be. I might throw my back out if we have to carry another cart down those stairs again.”

       “We didn’t even check the second floor,” she reminded him.

      All he could do was groan.

_____________________________________

       That afternoon, sometime between breakfast and dinner, Eunhyuk decided to keep his word. After asking around, he tracked down the oldest cousin. He found him alone, thankfully, and in his bedroom, digging through his drawers in an attempt to organize his limited wardrobe. The air coming through the open balcony door was humid and muggy, as it was an unusually warm day outside. Summer must have been approaching sooner than they originally thought.

     Shin heard the door creak open and then close, but assumed it was only Chanyeol and didn’t look up. The two hadn’t been speaking much within the last few hours, and Shin wasn’t going to be the one to start if he didn’t have to.

    He continued sifting through the clothes, though a bit confused when he heard a sudden click as the door was locked.

    “I’ve got a few questions for you,” said a voice. Shin immediately turned around, stunned to see Eunhyuk standing over him, “And you better not lie to me.”

     Shin blinked at Eunhyuk dumbly, wondering why everyone had chosen to confront him within the past 24 hours.

    “Go ahead,” Shin urged, standing up straight. The two were nearly evenly matched height-wise, though Shin had a solid 2 inches over the dancer.

     “What’s going on with you and Jieun?” he asked bluntly.

     Shin froze, “Nothing, we’re just...close.”

      “I told you not to ing lie to me,” Eunhyuk said, taking a few steps towards Shin, causing him to step back defensively, “Are you and Jieun together?”

     Shin stood silently, weighing his options.

      Eunhyuk laughed, a sound that didn’t match the seriousness his eyes showed, “She was mine first, you know?” Shin’s eye twitched, but he kept a straight face, “We’ve known each other for years, being in the same industry and whatnot, but we never talked. I was a nervous guy, I wasn’t going to just go up to a girl like that and start talking. Until one day, after a music show, my prayers were answered,” he continued to take steps forward, and Shin took more back. By this time they were out on the balcony, “I can remember it like it was yesterday. She came up to me and said ‘Great performance! You’re an amazing dancer’ and slid her number in my pocket and then whispered ‘What else are you good at?’ I thought I was hearing things,” Eunhyuk laughed at the memory, and once again when he saw the look on Shin’s face.

      “So of course I texted her as soon as I was alone. And from then it went to phone conversations, to secret date-nights, to going over to her place and...showing her what I was good at,” he said, “We were in love. We still are in love. A bond like that doesn’t just stop. So, Shin, I’m going to ask you one more time. Are you and Jieun together?”

     Shin swallowed, wiping his face clear of the emotions he felt in that moment, “We haven’t really given it a name, but yes.”

    Eunhyuk’s jaw stiffened, “Do you two have ?”

   Shin’s head jerked back, eyebrows furrowing together as he laughed despite himself, “That’s kinda personal don’t you think?

   “I didn’t ask you that. Do you two have ?”

    Shin rubbed the back of his head, “I mean, yeah--”

    “How often?”

    Shin scoffed.

    “HOW OFTEN?!”

    Shin stayed quiet for a while, seeing the question burn in the dancer’s eyes, “Almost every day.”

     Eunhyuk’s fists clenched. He turned away from Shin, and began pacing around the balcony, walking the space back and forth, back and forth, “You must really think you’re special, huh?”

    Shin just watched him move.

    “Do you like the way she runs her hands through your hair when it’s over? Or how she laughs at all your corny jokes? Or when she stares into your eyes while you lay there, and you feel like you never want to move from that spot ever again?”

    Shin put his tongue to his cheek, crossing his arms. The sun beat violently onto his back as sweat fell down his neck.

    “Yeah, I bet you do,” Eunhyuk said, “Stay the away from her, I’m warning you right now.”

    “Or what?” Shin challenged.

    The doorknob suddenly shook, and Chanyeol’s voice sounded out from the other end as he knocked loudly, “Hey, Shin, unlock the door!”

    The two were in a standoff, appraising the other as if in a duel, waiting for the other to make the first move.

    Eunhyuk just smirked and turned his back to Shin, slowly making his way to the door. He unlocked it and pulled it open, showing a confused Chanyeol on the other side as the dancer emerged.

     “Or what?!” Shin repeated, but Eunhyuk was already down the hall. Shin scoffed, rolling his eyes at the threat he just received, “He’s so full of .”

     But he couldn’t lie and say that it wasn’t still on his mind.

__________________________________________________

    The sun had set and the dinner plates were out.

      The group took their normal spots a the table, grabbing whatever food they wanted from the middle and devouring it like a pack of hungry wolves. At the beginning, Shin and Hana sat side by side, but since their relationship had been in a tough place Hana had moved to sit in between Amber and TOP, leaving IU to take Hana’s normal spot. 

    “The food is great as always, Henry,” TOP said.

    The singer only grunted a salty thanks in response.

    Dinner had gotten increasingly quiet over the weeks. Whether it be from their slowly decreasing numbers or the growing tensions, no one was sure. Maybe it was both.

    “We should do something tonight,” Amber said trying to fill the empty space, “Watch a movie. Play a game. I don’t know, anything. We need to bond more, I don’t want us to get disconnected from each other...not at a time like this.”

   “Sounds like a good idea,” TOP said, despite the fact that he didn’t like games, “What do you have in mind?”

   “We’ve got a ton of options in the attic. Ping pong, foosball, poker, billiards, anything you can think of.”

   “Billiards sounds fun,” said Kai, softly.

   “I’m down to play,” Chanyeol said.

    “So billiards it is,” said Amber.

    Hana wasn’t particularly fond of games either, and would rather not spend her time in a room full of people playing them. She decided she would just show her face for a while and somehow find some way to slide out unnoticed later.

    On the other end of the table, IU reached out to grab some more tteokbokki, but she felt Shin nudge her. She looked to see Shin with his chopsticks outstretched, some tteokbokki already on the end. He put the utensil in front of as she stared at him questioningly. He just smiled, wordlessly telling her to take a bite. She hurriedly did, biting down on the food and immediately looking around to see if anyone else had seen, but luckily enough everyone’s eyes were on their own food.

    Everyone except Eunhyuk.

    His knuckles were white as he gripped his bowl, looking at the two with unwavering disdain. The two met eyes briefly, and IU looked away.

    Shin grabbed IU’s hand under the table, like he always did, but this time, he brought it up to meet his lips in a soft and quick kiss.

    Hana caught this gesture and felt the sudden urge to throw up.

    IU dropped her hand back down, “What are you doing?” she whispered.

    Shin shrugged. He glanced over to Eunhyuk, just to see his reaction, and it was everything he knew it would be. He was sitting there, stiff and unmoving, his lips in a tight line as his eyes never moved from Shin.

    Eunhyuk nodded, as if to say, “Alright. I see you.”

   Shin just smiled at him before turning back to his own food.

    After dinner was done and the table had been cleared the group decided to meet in the foyer below the staircase before walking up to the attic to play.

    There stood TOP, Hana, Amber, Kai, Shin, and IU, all waiting for Henry to finish the last of his duties and meet them there. Donghae and Eunhyuk said they were tired and decided they were calling it a night, walking up the stairs and leaving the younger group members behind.

    They talked amongst themselves, making conversation and small bets over who would win.

    “You’re ready to play some billiards?” TOP asked Hana with feigned excitement.

    “I’ve only played once and almost took someone’s eye out in the process,” she chuckled, “So, ready as I’ll ever be.”

    From above, she heard a faint creaking noise, like someone was walking upstairs. She looked around, and no one else seemed to have heard it, all too wrapped up into their own conversations. She started to push whatever it was aside as unimportant until she heard more noise from overhead.

   More unfamiliar sounds met her ears, causing Hana to look up. She had to blink twice, not sure if what she was seeing was true or a figment of her own imagination. What looked like a vase, was dangling in the air from the top of the stairs, right above where they stood. In the next second it was moving, tearing through the air downwards towards the group. No, towards one person.

    “Shin!” Hana screamed.

    Before she knew what was happening, TOP was running, closing in the distance between him and the boy. He tackled him to the ground, both of their bodies crashing simultaneously with the vase as it disintegrated upon impact, sending shards of porcelain every direction.

     Right where Shin had just been standing.

     He looked stunned, trying to figure out what had just taken place only seconds ago as the other young adults shrieked and held their speeding startled hearts.

     “You okay?” TOP asked as he rolled off of the boy.

     “Y-yeah...I’m fine,” he said as if in a daze, staring at the broken pieces in the spot he just inhabited.

     Everyone rushed to their sides and helped them stand.

     “What the hell was that?” Amber asked as she gripped TOP’s arm.

    “No idea.”

    “Was that a vase?”

    “Where did it even come from?”

    “There’s a couple of vases lined up at the top of the stairs. I think one just fell off the edge, it was bound to happen at some point.”

    “Well we need to redecorate.”

    Once Shin was up on his feet, brushing his clothes off in a trance-like state, Hana came up to him, “Are you okay?”

    He nodded, “Never been better.”

   His arm and back ached miserably, but mostly it was something inside of him that had been shaken to the core.

     "Are you okay?" she asked TOP.

     He nodded, "Just doing my job."

    Hana turned her head up, eyebrows furrowed as she tried to make sense of it all. Though in that exact moment, she could have sworn that she heard that very same creaking at the top of the stairs, retreating back to where it had come from.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It's fall break so I had a little extra time on my hands to write this unusually early chapter lol. Also if you guys don't know what I'm talking about when I reference the IU/Eunhyuk picture, its a real thing that happened. Just type in "Eunhyuk IU" on google images to see the infamous picture that this story is (not so) loosely based on lol.

As always thanks for reading!!

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