After he was done cleaning the kitchen with Henry, Donghae marched back up the staircase. He was getting used to the trek from floor to floor and around gigantic house now. Though, when he first he freed himself from being in his bedroom for all hours of the day, the house seemed impossibly huge to travel, since being confined to one space for weeks to cope was once normal for him. But he was feeling a bit better now, and it wasn’t as difficult to navigate as it once had been.  

     When he made it to the second floor, he strolled into the bedroom that was once his hideout. Sitting on the floor was his best friend, looking around the ceiling and walls as if he were searching for something.

     “What are you--?” Donghae began.

     “SHH!” Eunhyuk whispered, sticking his hand out, “Do you hear that?”

    Donghae’s eyebrows furrowed, “Hear what?”

    “That noise! It sounds like a bee is buzzing around my ear, I’ve heard it since I’ve been up here!” he said.

    Donghae listened intently, glancing around the room but seeing nothing but 4 plain white walls, 2 beds, and 2 dressers, “I don’t hear anything.”

     After a few more seconds, Eunhyuk sighed, “Nevermind, it just stopped.”

    He got up from the floor and began to sift through his dresser, getting new clothes to prepare for the shower he was about to take.

    Donghae’s eyebrows were still knitted together as he looked between his roommate and for the mystery bee he had apparently heard. He was undoubtedly puzzled but brushed it off, as he had another question on his mind that he had been meaning to ask, “So...uh, how did your talk with Shin go?”

     “Not very good,” he replied.

     “What do you mean?”

     “It’s exactly what I thought it was. And you were wrong, I told him I had her first and he’s still not backing off.”

     “Damn, sorry man,” Donghae said. He watched as Eunhyuk slammed his dresser shut and walked past him towards the door with the same expression he had when he was leaving the dining room not long before, “Hey...you’re not doing anything stupid though, right?”

    Eunhyuk stopped in the doorway, “Stupid? Never,” he shut the door, leaving Donghae standing in the middle of the room, alone.

     Donghae chuckled to himself, despite the slight sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

     He’s right. He wouldn’t do anything stupid over a girl. How could you doubt him like that? Came his internal monologue. A pang of guilt overtook him for ever letting the thought cross his mind, even for a second. He had known the man for years, he knew better than anyone what he was capable of…

      Or so he thought.

______________________________________

     The two never got a chance to be alone in the day. Group activities like shooting practice usually got in the way, so this day it was a bit odd to be in each other’s presence somewhere other than IU’s bedroom. He didn’t get a chance to go over the night before since he was on bedrest, so they were making up for it in a way then.

     Shin drank his tea and scanned over IU’s features, figurative hearts forming in his eyes as he did so, taking in her beauty in awe.

     Though wrapped up in her book, IU felt the eyes on her and looked up, “What?”

     Shin only smiled his wide smile, his round cheeks full, “Nothing,” he said as he continued to sip.

   “Are you feeling better?” she asked, “Last night was really scary.”

     “A little bit. My throat is still a bit scratchy, but I’ll live,” he said. The inflammation in his face had gone down immensely, and he looked about normal other than a few pink splotches, though he still couldn’t breathe normally, “Henry came by my room earlier and gave me this tea. It’s helping a lot.”

     They had found a bunch of herbal teas in their last market run, which came in handy whenever someone needed to calm their nerves or a sore throat.

     IU broke into a series of sudden coughs, clearing after then sniffing.

     “Are you okay?”

     “Ugh, I think I’m coming down with a cold or something,” she said in a strained voice.

     Shin looked down at the mug in his hand and reached it across the sofa, “Here, you can have this.”

     IU looked between the mug and Shin’s earnest face, befuddled, “No, I couldn’t.”

     “Yes you can!” he insisted, “Take it.”

      She scoffed, “You’re the one that nearly died from an allergic reaction yesterday, you need it more than me. It’s just a cold, Shin.”

     “There’s tons more in the kitchen, I can get some more anytime. Take it, it’s still warm,” he said.

     She looked into his eyes and saw the sincerity there. He pushed the mug forward more, urging her to take it silently, and after much debate she carefully took the cup from his hands, feeling the warmth in her own. The tea was almost half gone, but she put it to her lips anyways and took a drink, feeling the liquid pleasantly course down . It was just the right temperature.

     IU began to clear more, and Shin crawled over the remaining length of the sofa to close the distance, sitting right beside her, “What are you doing?” he put his arm over her shoulders and pulled her against his chest, rubbing her arms in an attempt at comfort, “Shin, if I’m sick, you should get away before you catch it too,” she said, trying to push him away with one hand and holding the tea in the other.

     “So? I guess we’ll just be sick together then,” he said with a smile.

       He continued to rub her arm soothingly, and she fell into his side once more, even after telling him again that it wasn’t a good idea. This position, his assurance, and his selflessness were all such foreign concepts to her. Never, in all of her times she’s dealt with men, has she had one act in this way; give themselves to this extent even if it meant their own possible loss. She wasn’t sure if the men’s past attitudes was just an idol thing, but Shin’s attitude always seemed to catch her off guard.

     Against him she felt this strange inkling of emotion course through her and down to the pit of her stomach, and she pushed it away immediately.

    “I don’t know how I got so lucky,” she heard him say, “I guess the end of the world could be a blessing, as weird as it sounds.”

    “What makes you say that?”

      “Because it brought me to you,” he said. Again, the inkling emotion began to flutter to the surface, “I don’t know if I’ve ever told you this, but I’ve been a fan of yours for years,” he laughed, “Not to sound like a crazy fanboy or anything but...you were the girl I imagined myself with in my dreams. And now it’s happening. You’re just so selfless and nice...so that’s why I say I’m lucky.”

      The inexplicable, foreign fluttering emotions she felt were immediately melted away and were replaced with guilt. Selfless. Nice. Words that would be better used to describe him, not her. Internally, she knew she wasn’t anywhere near those two things, but the fact that she had him believing it struck a chord, but she couldn’t put her finger on why. Nor did she know why she even cared. All she saw was that there was this boy that liked her more than he should.

      IU was staring off into space, still pressed against the mug.

       Shin craned his neck, “Are you done?

        “Hm? Oh, yes.”

       “Do you want some more?”

       “That would be nice, but--”

       “Be right back!” he said, grabbing her empty mug. He gave her a kiss on the forehead and jumped off the sofa. He walked quickly towards the door, and even as she called after him that it wasn’t necessary for him to go all the way to the kitchen to get her more, he ignored it and jetted anyways, leaving IU alone with just the books and her occupied thoughts.

_________________________________________

FLASHBACK

     The television hummed in the background of the large apartment; a penthouse in the middle of Seoul with an incredible view of the city. At that time of night, with the curtains pulled away from the windows, one could just watch the cars pass by on the streets below for hours, completely mesmerized.

    Eunhyuk sat on the edge of the bed, buttoning up his dress shirt while IU stretched out in her bed. He watched the nightlife below, eyes drooping, exhausted. It was a little after 2 in the morning, and after a long day of schedules and more, it was time to leave.

     “Well that was fun,” said Eunhyuk, sliding on his pants. IU rolled over onto her side and hummed in agreeance, “I have rehearsal tomorrow morning at 9. Sorry to leave you alone, you know I’d like to keep you company, love.”

     I her mind, she couldn’t wait for him to leave. She hadn’t slept more than 5 hours in months. Though she liked having someone next to her to keep the bed warm at night, she wanted to stretch out on her own mattress for once, but she didn’t tell him that. Instead she just smiled and nodded.

    “Do you have anything to do tomorrow?” he asked.

    “Just a radio program to talk about the new album,” she said. She suddenly began to cough and clear aggressively.

    “What’s wrong with you?”

    “My throat hurts like hell.”

    Eunhyuk wagged his eyebrows suggestively in the darkness, “I wonder why.”

    IU struggled not to roll her eyes, “I think I may be getting sick.”

    “Damn, that ,” he said. He reached on the bedside table to grab his keys and took his jacket from the floor, “Hope you feel better, though.”

    IU coughed, “Thank you.”

    “I left my car in the parking garage this time instead of on the street, so even if the photographers are out looking for a headline tonight I should be okay. It was a close call last time, they almost saw me walk into the building.”

    “Good thinking,” she said, coughing again.

    “Well I’m leaving now,” he said, opening the bedroom door, “Same time tomorrow?”

    “Yeah.” Cough.

    He was almost out the door when he looked back, “You should really get something for that cough, maybe some water or tea would help,” he advised, “But goodnight, love.”

    And with those words, he closed the door and left the apartment into the night.

___________________________________

      After breakfast IU sat in her room alone. It was something about the look in Eunhyuk’s eyes at the dinner table the night before while Shin was suffering that resonated with her. The shear joy, entertainment, and fascination on his face was striking, and it wouldn’t leave her mind. She kept asking herself, why would be find his pain enjoyable? Then it hit her.

      No. He wouldn’t dare, she thought. She knew that he was the type of person to always talk up a big game to intimidate, but he would never actually follow through. Every part of her being wanted for her to not believe that he would actually do the things he said. But since Shin had told her that he had threatened him a few days before, it was hard to believe last night’s event was purely a coincidence. What were the odds that the night Eunhyuk decided to help with a meal, Shin would almost pay the price with his life?

    She knew at this time, in between breakfast and dinner, he would be in the basement dance studio with Kai. After much debate with herself, she left the bedroom and walked across the mansion, traveling down the spiral staircase until she had reached the depths of the home.

    As soon as she was down there she could hear the music and feel the vibrations of the bass. She navigated the basement halls until she found the studio. Peaking through the small window on the door, she saw the two SM dancers mid-routine. Eunhyuk stopped to give Kai some type of instruction, but it looked as if he were yelling more than telling him what to do. IU opened the door, and the two heads turned to see who it was.

    Eunhyuk stopped mid-sentence and the look of frustration he held turned to smugness. He smiled over at IU and turned to face Kai briefly, “Continue working while I’m gone. Remember to accent the ones and threes!” he said, jogging over to the door and following IU out into the hallway.

    He closed the door behind him and looked the singer up and down, his lips, “I’ve been meaning to ask you, why didn’t you come to the attic and meet me like you said you would?”

     IU’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, racking her brain until the distant memory came forth of the two standing right here in this very hallway weeks before, and what she decided to do instead at the same time. She chuckled, “Honestly? Because I thought that would be the only way to get rid of you.”

       “But--”

      “I didn’t come here to talk to you about that,” she said, “I know what you’re doing okay? And I need you to stop.”

       He leaned against the wall, “And what am I doing exactly?” he asked, amused.

      “You keep messing with Shin! That allergy stunt last night, I have a feeling it was you.”

      “And if it is me? Why do you care?”

       “Because--”

      “Because why? Do you actually like him?” he asked. IU stood there, mouth open, searching for a response but falling flat, “I’ll take that as a no then,” he laughed. 

      “Just don’t do anything to him, alright?”

      “Then leave him for me,” Eunhyuk said.

      IU scoffed, “I’m not going to do that. Get this through your head, okay? I don’t love you! We were buddies, that’s it! I don’t do relationships, Eunhyuk, never did. Especially with our lifestyle at the time it would have been impossible anyways, you know that.”

      Eunhyuk’s jaw was taut, “We could have made it work. We could have found a way, we still can.”

     She threw her hands in the air, “I don’t want you! Get over yourself Eunhyuk, how many more times do I have to tell you?”

    Eunhyuk was quiet. His eyes darkened and he just looked at IU for a moment, “So that’s it? You’re really choosing that walking stick over me?” he asked.

     “I’m not choosing anyone, I’m just telling you to stop with the bull.”

     “You don’t even like the ! What does he have that I don’t? Please tell me, what makes him so ing special?”

     IU opened to speak, but yet again she couldn’t answer completely, “J-just leave him alone, okay?” she said through clenched teeth

     “If you never touch him again and come to me, I will.”

      “I told you I’m not doing that.

     Eunhyuk shrugged, “Then I guess we have a problem,” he pushed himself off the wall and walked back into the studio. He turned back to her as he stood in the doorway, “Just know whenever you want me, I’m here.” 

    He shut the door and waved at her through the window before turning back to go dance with Kai.

_______________________________________________________

     Hana exited the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her wet hair. She was on her way to her room when Henry walked by the door. It was about the time he went to the kitchen to start preparing dinner. Whenever she saw him she couldn’t help but think a bit guiltily about the alcohol ban she and TOP had put onto him not long before. But it seemed as if he was holding up pretty good, almost normally even.

    Before he was out of earshot, Hana called after him, “Hey, Henry!”

    He jumped, and turned around quickly. He was noticeably fidgety as Hana walked down the hall towards him, “Oh, hi, Hana.”

    She took his uncomfortable nature as intimidation and unease, which was how some acted when they were alone with her. Once she caught up, she lowered her voice to a near whisper, “Um, I just wanted to say that I’m impressed with you.”

    “For what?”

    “How good you’ve been dealing with the alcohol stuff,” she said. She wasn’t used to giving compliments, so this talk wasn’t flowing as smoothly as it had in her head, “I know it’s not easy, but...you’re doing good. You’re really strong.”

    Henry gave a tight smile and looked down at the ground, awkward, “Thanks.”

    He gave a last nod before turning away and walking down the stairs.

    Hana was thankful that going cold turkey hadn’t made it worse for him. It was a risk, and she still couldn’t believe that he was taking it so well. She made a mental note to mention it to TOP later.

    She walked back into her room, drying her hair with the towel while she made her way to sit on her bed. She looked over and saw Amber standing in front of the full body mirror, shaking out her own hair and looking at it skeptically.

“I need to figure out what the hell I’m doing with this haystack,” she mumbled.

“I think the haystack looks cool,” Hana said.

      “I think I’m going to cut it.”

“No, don’t.  I think it looks...good,” Hana said.

     “Really?” Amber shook it out, and it fell in blond and black layers onto her shoulders, “I haven’t had my hair this long since I was little. It just really isn’t my style.”

    Hana shrugged, “Do what you want I guess but to me it doesn’t look bad. It’s the end of the world, try something different for a change.”

    Amber looked at herself in the mirror and sighed, “You’re right. Thanks,” she said, putting it into a messy bun on top of her head.

___________________________________

      At the dinner table that night, IU watched Eunhyuk, and Eunhyuk watched Shin. Chanyeol came to the table late like he had the day before from working in the garage, and once he sat down they were able to finally eat. None of them jumped into the food as they normally would, but instead took their time to nibble cautiously, sparing glances at Shin to make sure he didn’t drop onto the floor again.

    “So, Henry, you’re sure you didn’t put peanut oil in the food this time?” asked Kai jokingly.

    “You’re not trying to kill Shin tonight are you?” said Amber.

    “Yeah, maybe I should get out my epi-pen right now before my throat closes up again,” said Shin with a slick smile as he ate.

    The table burst into laughter despite the seriousness and Henry rolled his eyes and held his face in his hands as he moved the food around his plate, “Hahaha, very funny.”

       Hana stood next to her bed, stripping her sheets from the mattress and dropping them on the floor. It had been a while since she had changed them and she missed the feeling of getting into the bed with new clean sheets against her body. She stepped over the pile and walked out of the room, striding to one of the linen closets on the floor so she could get some new ones.

    Once she was out into the hallway, she was a few steps away from the closet when a bedroom door opened across the hall from it. Out stepped Kai, only a towel around his waist as he emerged from the room. His hair was tousled messily as if he had just woken up minutes before. He noticed Hana walking past the door and the sudden glint in his eyes screamed trouble and mischief.

    “Hey, Hana,” he nearly purred. She hadn’t yet turned to face him yet, but the sound of his voice alone sent an inexplicable shiver to shoot down her spine. She turned around reluctantly and took in his appearance, trying to keep her face expressionless despite his lack of clothes.

    “Hi, Jongin,” she answered politely yet plainly. She kept her eyes on his face, which wasn’t exactly helping either. Unlike how he was around the house normally with everyone else, something about his demeanor had switched drastically. It reminded her of his on stage aura, how in interviews he was nice and sweet but on stage he oozed a iness and charisma like no other. Standing in front of her in that moment was not the group’s Jongin, but SM’s Kai.

     He sauntered over to her and she slowly backed away.

    “Where are you going?” he asked, slowly but surely closing the distance. A smirk was plastered on his face. Oh, how she hated it.

    “To get new sheets,” she replied flatly.

    She remembered that they had been in a similar situation several weeks back. It then occurred to her that it was the exact same thing, he was just using her shy and timid reaction to his overkill flirtiness for his own amusement yet again. Once she realized this, she tried to be as dull and expressionless as possible. She tried not to pay any attention to him, or the fact that his hair was positioned just right in front of his eyes, or the fact that his skin was tanner than usual due to the spring sun, or the fact that that his collarbones and shoulders--

      Hana’s back hit the wall of the hallway, and she knew this was not a good thing.

     Ah, .

    He steadily strolled over, the same look on his face, “That’s cool. I was just about to go take a shower.”

     Her back was flat against the wall and she tried to keep her face straight. She knew that no matter what response she gave, this conversation would go the same way, “Good for you.”

    He was now about a foot away, and he closed the distance by putting his hand out so that it would touch the wall and land next to her head. Now he was leaning in towards her. Since she was also tall, they were about eye to eye with each other.

    He his lips for effect, watching her face redden, “You want to join me? There’s plenty of room in there for the both of us.”

      Internally, Hana was screaming and cursing at him for even having the nerve to ask that while at the same time thinking things about his appearance she would never admit. But somehow she forced herself to laugh which even she could see caught him off guard.

     “I know what you’re doing,” she said, “You’re trying to use seduction to get a good laugh at my expense.”

    His eyebrows raised, “Oh am I?” he asked. He leaned in closer and turned his head to the side.

     Hana gulped, “Yeah, you are.”

    “Well, it’s working though, isn’t it?”

     Before Hana could even answer, a bedroom door opened down the hall sending her back to her senses. She pushed Kai away roughly, her hands flat against his bare chest. He stumbled back, grabbing at his towel with a grin. They both turned to see who it was, and Donghae emerged from his room and wiped at his eyes sleepily before waving at them and walking down the hall in the opposite direction.

     When Donghae was out of earshot, Kai turned back to Hana and shrugged before walking back in the direction of the bathroom, “Well my invitation is still open. All you have to do is come by, I’ll keep the water warm for you,” he said with a wink before turning and sauntering away as if he were on a runway.

     Hana was still standing firmly against the wall, watching his retreating figure walk away in a state of shock. Since she was already standing next to the linen closet, she let her fingers scale the wall until she found the knob for the door. When her fingers grazed it, she turned quickly to open it, just to snap out of her dreamlike state. Though, inside of the closet, the first thing she saw were not sheets, but instead Henry, standing in the middle of the room chugging back a bottle of brown liquid.

      When the light from the hallway enveloped the closet, Henry turned to the gleam. When he saw Hana standing in the doorway, he stiffened, sliding the bottle in between a stack of pillowcases.

     “Hey! I-I-I...I just…” he stammered with bloodshot eyes.

    Hana stood there with agape, not a word to say or a thought to think.

     “I...I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Henry said. His eyes began to water and Hana knew what was soon to come.  The drunken sobs began, letting them echo off the walls of the closet.

    He held his face in his hands, mumbling inaudibly as he stumbled up to Hana. When he was only inches away, he rested his head on her shoulder. Hana froze, not sure of what to do while the man’s head was there and while her shirt was slowly being covered in tears. Hana quickly reached behind her and closed the door, leaving the only light to be the overhead bulb.

    “I’m not as strong as you think, Hana,” he muttered, “I couldn’t do it!”

    Hana sighed, stiff while her arms were planted at her side. Henry’s crying shook her body, “Yeah you messed up, Henry, but it’s...okay,” she said.

    Henry sniffled and looked up at her with child-like expectation and curiosity, “Really?”

   His chin was still resting on her shoulder and the alcohol on his breath radiated up her nose, “Yeah. Making you quit cold turkey like that was a lot to ask. It’s not really your fault.” 

    Henry sighed, his chest still jumping with the occasional sob that would break through, “I’m so sorry, Hana. I let you down, I let Seunghyun down! You had so much faith in me.”

   “Don’t feel guilty,” she insisted while the tears continued to roll, “But just wondering...how did you get the alcohol in the first place?”

    “I hid it...in here...since you took all the rest of it, just to help me get through the days,,” he slurred, “Hana?”

    “Yeah?”

    “Please...please don’t tell Seunghyun, okay? Just keep it between us what you found in here.”

    Hana was quiet for a moment before sighing, “Yeah...I’ll keep it a secret.”

     It was as if those words were so relieving to him, his body immediately weakened and his knees gave out. He slumped forward and Hana barely caught him under his arms before he hit the floor.

    “Come on, Henry. Stand up, please,” she begged, and he got his footing the best he could and tried to straighten, “I’ll bring you to your room.”

       She turned so that they were facing the same way, and put his left arm over her shoulder so that she could better support his weight. She turned the knob of the closet and peered out into the hall to check if it were clear. The two walked down the empty hall in the night, the whole time Hana keeping an ear and eye out for anyone that might see them. Thankfully, they made it to Henry’s room without any trouble.

    Hana pushed open the door and carried him into the room. This was the first time she had ever seen the place, and one half was was covered in dirty clothes and notepads of different combinations of ingredients for future meals while the other was completely spotless. It was like two different worlds, like there was an invisible line that had been drawn right down the middle.

     Hana dropped him onto the nearest bed. It was the neatest thing in the place; the sheets were folded and tucked in perfectly into the mattress and the pillows were fluffed just right.

    “No,” she heard him say in a pained voice, “This was Jongdae’s bed. This was exactly how he left it, I can’t be over here.”

     She gulped and immediately pulled him up, “Okay.”

    She walked a few more steps into the room, into the storm of clutter, and sat him down on his bed.

    “Thanks, Hana. And again, I’m so sorry,” he managed to say as his eyes closed, his limbs splayed out.

   “No problem. Can you just promise me that if you do want to drink, you tell me first? Keeping it a secret won’t help anyone....”

   “I promise,” he hummed.

   “We can talk more about this tomorrow. Goodnight, Henry,” she said as she left the room, closing the door behind her.

     She stood outside for a bit, her back against the door while she heard his snores from inside. Honestly, she didn’t know how to feel. She couldn’t completely be disappointed. It was a lot to ask of him, so suddenly with all that was going on, and she was realizing that they might not have gone about it the best either. She wasn’t sure if he would even remember her request in the morning, but if not she would just have to remind him when they were alone.

      Amber was sleeping in their room early that night, and Hana didn’t want to go to sleep just yet nor tip around the room in an attempt not to wake her. She wasn’t sure if it was out of habit now, or just subconsciously, but she found herself traveling down the staircase for yet another night and strolling down the dark hallway until she made it to the last set of grand double doors on the other side of the house.

      She knocked on the wooden barrier but got no response. She knocked again, but yet again, silence. She disputed within, whether she should up her boredom and turn back or push the door open without his definite approval. She went with the latter, turning the thick knob and walking in. As expected, she was greeted with the feeling of a burning fire. For some reason, when she walked in it didn’t feel foreign or uninviting, but very warm and comfortable just being there.  

      She walked over to stand in front of the fireplace, letting the heat of the flames her exposed legs. She was entranced, staring into the pit when the bathroom door suddenly opened, making her head snap to the side.

      TOP walked out, followed by a fog of steam at his ankles. A towel was thrown around his neck in an attempt to dry his dripping hair. He turned and saw Hana there, and he didn’t jump in surprise like she expected he would, but instead he chuckled and continued to walk to his bed.

      “Well, hey,” he said, “Knock much?”

     Hana shrugged, “Why knock when I know you’ll let me in anyways?”

    He pursed his lips, “True. But we both would have gotten quite the shock if tonight was one of the nights I decided to walked out of the bathroom .”

      Hana’s eyes widened and TOP laughed at her reaction.

      It was admittedly strange coming over then without an agenda. It began with him changing her bandage every night, to her wandering into the room just because she could. Since it was the norm, it was almost expected for her to be there every day about this time. If someone would have told her 6 months ago that she would be standing in the middle of TOP’s bedroom engaging in casual conversation about him walking around , she would have admitted them to the nearest hospital. But if someone would have told her that the world as she knew it would be overtaken by the dead, she wouldn’t have believed them either.

      He continued to dry his wet hair with the towel, the dark strands falling in his face and sticking there. His hair had also grown out drastically, long enough to form a bun at the top of his head if he wanted to, which was a strange image within itself for such a masculine being.

      “Have you talked to Henry lately?” he asked suddenly.

       Hana shook her head surely, “No. Why?”

      “No reason, I’ve just been wondering how he’s been holding up since we took away all his alcohol. He seems to be taking it better than I expected honestly.”

      He’s been taking it so well because he never stopped, she thought.  

     “I noticed that too. He seems fine though, I’m glad it worked out,” she said, though the last part was a complete lie.

      “Same,” TOP said. His hair was still wet, so he shook his head vigorously, sending droplets of water everywhere.

      Hana jumped back, “Woah! Are you a dog? What the hell are you doing?”

       He stopped, amusement plastered on his face, “Does that annoy you?”

      “Yes!”

       Instead of stopping like she thought he would, he just shook his head again. The water flew onto her face and clothes, painting her shorts and t-shirt with little dark spots.

      “Chill out! Seunghyun!” she yelled, trying to shield her face to no avail.  

       “Make me!” he said, laughing boisterously as Hana backed away squinting.

       “I said stop!”

       “And I said make me!”

       A devious look suddenly flashed across her face and TOP saw this. She suddenly darted towards the bathroom door and he ran after her. Once she was in, she tried to close the door but he was too fast and too strong. He pushed his way inside and she abandoned her sorry attempt and dashed to one of the sinks at the end of the long countertop.

      Hana the faucet and cupped her hands. She let them fill up with water and flung it across the bathroom at the rapper. He backed away, eyebrows raised as if to say “two can play at that game”. He went to the other faucet several steps away and did the same, cupping his own hands and flinging handfuls of water at the girl. It may have been because he had bigger hands, but he was getting way more water across the room a lot quicker than she was. She was steadily losing the battle, her legs and shirt soaked, and she desperately looked around the room for any way to make this work in her favor.

    She suddenly eyed a decorative cup lying on the counter next to her, it was metal and painted in light blues and golds that matched the decor of the room. She grabbed it in a hurry and dipped it under the flow of water.

    TOP paused, looking at her skeptically with his hands on his hips, “You wouldn’t,” he challenged, his voice dropping several octaves in an attempt to intimidate her.

    But it wasn’t enough. 

   She slung the cupful of water at him, the impact making a satisfying smack when his entire midsection was covered, “Since you like to play so much.”

    He looked down at his shirt, tongue in cheek as if he couldn't believe what just happened, “I just finished taking a shower! Now I need to change my clothes again!”

    Hana shrugged, “That sounds like a personal problem.”

    She put the cup back under the flow of water and he chuckled darkly, his eyes burning all the way across the room, “Don’t do it, Hana.”

    “Make me,” she mocked with a grin.

    She threw the water for the second time that night, and he only barely dodged it. He sloshed towards her to the other side of the bathroom, determination and revenge etched in his expression.

    “Oh ,” Hana said as she tried to run away. Water splashed everywhere as the two ran across the puddled floor of the humongous place. It wasn’t long before TOP closed the distance with his long strides, and before she knew it, one hand was around her waist while the other tried to wrestle the cup from her.

    “Give it to me!”

    “No!” she said, trying to pull away, but his grip was tight. She wiggled and squirmed, and for a second he let go. She took this opportunity to run once again. She broke free, but he was right on her heels. She spun and tried to run the perimeter of the room, but lost her footing on the wet tiled floor. Her bare feet slipped, and she started to careen forward towards the ground. TOP was right behind her, and gripped her waist yet again to pull her back so that she wouldn’t fall. With all of that momentum and nothing to stop them, they both slid backwards and fell to the floor.

    Their backs hit the tile roughly, the wind knocked out of them momentarily. They laid there for a moment, processing and evaluating their bodies to make sure nothing hurt. Hana turned her head to see that her face was only inches away from TOP’s. He was looking into her eyes, his own briefly scanning her face before looking back at her.

    “Are you okay?” he asked. His voice was more gravely than usual.

    “Yeah...I’m fine,” she somehow managed to breathe.

    She gave her body another assessment while they laid flat on the floor. She noticed that his hand was still wrapped around her waist.

    They stared at one another for what seemed like an eternity, the only sounds were the still running faucets in the background. He slowly inched forward, closing the distance while still staring into her eyes. Hana snapped back to reality before he got too close and groaned, quickly pushing herself up from the floor so that she was sitting up straight.

    “I’m drenched,” she stated.   

    TOP chuckled to himself before resting on his elbow and removing his hand from around her waist.

   “Me too.”

    Her long hair was resting in the puddle of water she sat in, and she gathered it in front of her and tried to ring it out. Her entire body was covered from head to toe in water and her body felt heavy, “I need to change my clothes.”

    “I can get you some,” he said.

    “No, I’ll just go get some from my room.”

    “You’re going to drip water across this whole house, up the stairs, and to your room just to change? You saw my closet, I’m obviously not going to miss it if you take something,” he insisted.

     “Fine… thank you,” she said.

    He raised himself up from the floor, sticking his hand out for Hana to grab. She took it and got onto her feet.

    “I’ll be right back,” he said. He carefully jogged out of the bathroom and to the closet. She stood there for a few moments and he came back with a stack of clothes, “Here you go,” he said with a small smile.

     Hana returned it and closed the bathroom door, going to the driest corner of the bathroom to change. Her heart was beating oddly fast for reasons she couldn’t quite explain and her face felt strangely hot like she was blushing, and she tried to calm herself.  The clothes were big as expected, the shirt so long that she had to roll up the sleeves and the pants were so big she had to roll and knot them around her waist. She felt like a child wearing adult clothes, as if she was being swallowed whole by the fabric. The material of the shirt was heavy and thick, and felt very nice against her skin. It probably would have cost any normal person’s paycheck back in the day.

       She emerged from the bathroom, tying her hair into a high ponytail, and saw him standing right outside, leaning against the bed staring into the fire. He turned to her when she came out and burst out laughing.

      “What?” she asked, suddenly self-conscious. She was sure it was because the clothes were ridiculously huge.

       “We’re matching.”

      Hana looked down at herself and back at TOP. They were both dressed in long sleeved baseball shirts and baggy sweatpants, wet hair pulled back into ponytails.

    Even Hana had to laugh at that, “I like your hair.”

       “Yours too,” he said. He walked forward and stood before her. She was going to ask what he was doing, but he raised a hand to brush away a stray hair that had fallen in her face.

    “Thanks,” she mumbled. Her heart sped up again and her breathing slowed.

       “No problem,” he said, a small smile pulling at the corner of his lips.

      They stood there, in the middle of his bedroom, the fire warming their sides in the spring night.