Plates clanked against the wooden tabletop as low conversations were held. The sun had set not long before, indicating that dinner was in session and that everyone should go to the dining room at this time.

 

    “The cellar is a pigsty,” Hana heard a low voice say, snapping her out of her daydream. A shiver shot up her spine at how close it was. She turned to see the man who sat beside her every night reaching for one of the side dishes in the middle of the table. He may have been talking to her since she sat down, but she wasn’t sure. Her mind was clouded with fatigue, as she had stayed up all night thinking about what had happened on his bathroom floor the night before.

 

    “It is?” she asked.

 

    TOP nodded, chewing, “It’s my fault really. After every shooting practice I just kind of throw the duffle bags into the cellar and leave because I’m usually tired. I don’t organize them like how we used to in the beginning.”

 

    “I can do it.”

“Really?”

 

Hana shrugged, “Yeah, I haven’t put the guns away in forever, you shouldn’t

have to do it all alone. I’ll do it after practice tomorrow.”

 

“Do you still have your key?” he asked.

 

The key in question, was the one he had given her in the beginning to access the

cellar. They were the only two in the entire house that had one, and who could get into the room and reach the alcohol and guns held inside.

 

    She rolled her eyes dramatically, “Of course I still have it, I don’t lose stuff. It’s in my room safe and sound.”

Hana reached to the table for the last dinner roll in the basket on their end, but before she could touch it, it was swiped away by a long hand. Hana looked over in wide-eyed confusion as TOP held the bread between his long digits, bringing it to his lips before turning to Hana, a smile threatening to show.

 

    “What?”

 

    “I was going to eat that.”

 

     “Oh, were you?” he asked in feigned oblivion, “It’s yours,” he extended the hand to give her the bread, but when she went to grab it, his hand pulled back just as fast, “if you can get it.”

 

    Hana scoffed, “Are you really making me fight you over bread?”

 

    “If you want to call it that,” he grinned.

 

    She tried to quickly grab for it but he jerked back before she could. He extended his arm farther away so that she had to reach over him, grabbing at his shoulder to hold him down, “You already had one, don’t be greedy!”

 

    “You should have been faster, then!”

 

    “I’m not going to play these games with you, Seunghyun!” she huffed.

 

    “Yet here you are,” he laughed as he continued to push her away.

 

     Someone cleared their throat, and the two of them looked over to see the rest of the house looking at them quizzically, dumbfounded by the out of character actions. Hana immediately let go of TOP and sat flatly in her seat, head down as she continued to eat while her cheeks felt like they were on fire. TOP straightened himself as well, trying to not to laugh. As Hana stared down at her plate, she saw the roll slide towards her out of the corner of her eye.

 

     Henry and Hana exchanged a quick look as they ate, and Hana gave him a nearly unnoticeable nod, as if in reassurance. Henry looked over at TOP, who seemed to be acting normally as well. Henry sighed in relief. Hana didn’t tell him about what she found in the linen closet. She had kept her promise. He was grateful.

 

     On the other side of the table, Shin and IU went about their quiet interactions. IU was still feeling slightly under the weather, and had just recently started to get her appetite back. Though the rich food Henry and Amber had prepared was too much for her at the moment. She sat, there silently drinking the tea Shin had gotten for her while Shin held her hand under the table. Eunhyuk just watched them silently as he ate.

 

    “Are you feeling better?” he asked.

 

    She nodded and smiled sweetly, “I am, thank you for the tea.”

 

    “You’re feeling under the weather, Jieun?” Donghae asked.

 

    “Yes, it’s just a cold. I’m almost back to normal, I’m sure I’ll feel like myself in the morning.”

 

    “Just let me know if you need anything,” Chanyeol said.

 

    “Me too,” Kai piped up earnestly.

 

“It’s fine, I think I’m going to go to sleep early tonight, though,” she said.

 

“Are you sure?” Henry asked.

 

“I just need some rest. Thank you for the amazing dinner though,” she said

graciously with a smile that made Henry’s heart skip a beat and then melt into a puddle of bashfulness.

 

    “I’ll walk you to your room,” Eunhyuk said, standing up from his chair.

 

    Before he could move any further, Shin put a hand to her back and shook his head, “I’ve got it, I’ll take her,” the look he gave Eunhyuk was to make sure he knew it was a double entendre.

 

    He helped her up and began to walk her out of the room, his hand rubbing her back the entire way out. Eunhyuk gripped the side of the table tightly, the expensive wood getting indents from his fingernails as he watched them retreat. His head was reeling, blood boiling. His eyes pierced daggers through Shin’s back.

 

   “Hey, Eunhyuk, while you’re up can you please reach me the--” Chanyeol began.

 

   “Get it your damn self you lazy bastard!” Eunhyuk screamed, taking a handful of his silverware and throwing it at the rapper across the room. Chanyeol shot up his arms immediately to shield his stunned face.

 

    “What’s that for?!”

 

    “Eunhyuk calm down, the hell’s your problem?” Amber asked.

 

    The dancer ran his fingers through his hair as he marched out of the room, leaving the dining table in a bewildered silence.

 

     Hana and TOP exchanged a knowing look, making sure they were in fact thinking the same thing.

 

 

 

 

 

    Immediately after dinner, Donghae rushed upstairs and shoved the door open in a rush to confront his roommate. Though, he wasn’t fuming as he expected, but instead standing on the balcony calmly, looking out at the landscape with his back to him. Donghae was about to walk out there to meet himl, but that was before he got a good look at their room for the first time.

 

    The space was completely trashed to say the least. The books from the shelf were strewn across the floor, looking as if he had completely pulled them off. The lamp had also been pushed over and joined the books on the floor. But this was minor in comparison to the wall. The entire wall on Eunhyuk’s side of the room was covered in black marker, sentences written across the once pristine surface.

 

    In the poorly lit room, Donghae squinted to get a better look at what they said, and when he did read it his eyes widened and he gulped, feeling a shiver of dread run up his spine. He stood in the room, watching his best friend stare out on the balcony. He walked out to him and opened the door.

 

    He cleared his throat, his voice quiet in the April night, “What happened to our room?”

 

    He saw Eunhyuk’s shoulders move in a shrug, “I had a moment. I’m fine now.”

 

   “Are you...okay?”

 

   “Perfect.”

   Donghae sighed. He turned back around and went into the room, closing the balcony door behind him as he tried to clean the space to the best of his abilities.

_______________________

 

     In the room down the hall, Hana wiped on the back of her hand after coming back from the bathroom and brushing her teeth. Amber was laying on her back on the floor, doing sit ups quickly as she counted off quietly. The unusually long ponytail on top of her head flopped around. Hana walked past her on the way to her bed as she changed into more comfortable clothes.

 

     “Eunhyuk was acting so weird at dinner tonight,” Amber said as she continued to exercise.

 

    “More of an than usual?” Hana asked.

 

     Amber laughed, “Yeah, exactly. He snapped at Chanyeol for no reason, throwing knives at him and ...personally I think his feelings got hurt that Jieun was getting help from Shin instead of him. That relationship is still so strange to me. Do you think they have something going on? They sure do hang out a lot,” she asked.

 

    Hana had completely forgotten that Amber wasn’t around when IU had revealed their relationship in her drunken state weeks before, and had only caught the aftermath, leaving her to make just assumptions. Hana knew the answer, but couldn’t fathom giving it to her without feeling the sinking feeling in her stomach that came along with all of the memories. She would just have to find it out some other time.

 

    “I don’t know,” Hana breathed.

Amber suddenly stopped her sit-ups and looked at Hana with a devilish smirk, “Speaking of strange relationships...what’s up with you and Seunghyun? I saw you two were real buddy-buddy at dinner,” she wagged her eyebrows.

 

    Hana found herself freeze in her actions and immediately tried to laugh it off despite the look of discomfort on her face, “Nothing, we’re...friends.”

 

     Amber nodded, “Alright...whatever you say. I’ve just never seen you act like that before, play around and be so carefree. Same with Seunghyun. You two are usually so uptight, it was just nice to see a difference. Its obvious he likes teasing you.”

 

    “That’s what friends do I guess,” Hana said.

 

    “And it’s obvious that you like it.”

 

   Hana sputtered, “N-no I don’t! It’s annoying as hell!”

 

    Amber put her hands up in surrender, “Your face tells another story, but again, whatever you say.”

 

   Hana was done changing and was now walking towards the door.

 

   “Where you going?”

 

    Hana stood in the doorway, debating telling her, knowing the truth would weaken her argument, “Seunghyun’s room,” she said. She saw the smile creep up on Amber’s face, “I just have to ask him something! I’ll be back right after.”

 

    “Is that where you disappear to every night? To Seunghyun’s room?” she asked. She saw Hana roll her eyes and knew the answer was yes, “Okay, well have fun talking to your...friend,” she said teasingly as Hana walked into the hall.

 

    A few minutes later, Hana was back down to the second floor and strolling down the familiar hall. When she made it to the set of wooden double doors, she already had a picture in her mind of the scene she would find on the other side. He would probably be sitting on his chair in front of the fireplace, reading some random book he had found in the library. When she pushed open the doors, she almost laughed at her accuracy.

 

    TOP didn’t even look up from his book when she walked in, “I hope you enjoyed that dinner roll.”

 

    “As a matter of fact I did,” she said as she walked in, “And it tasted even better since I won it fair and square.”

 

    TOP scoffed, looking up from his book for the first time. His long hair was pulled up in a messy bun, giving him an unexpectedly cute look despite his infamous hard features, “Won? I gave it to you!”

 

   “Because you knew fighting me was pointless so you surrendered, duh,” she said sarcastically.

 

   “Surrender my ,” he said under his breath with a chuckle. His eyes were twinkling unusually that night, and Hana took notice of this when he looked at her. The look in his deep orbs caught her off guard, and sent a fluttering in the pit of her stomach she couldn't explain.

 

   She stood in the middle of the room with her arms folded, not sure of where to go. He was sitting in the seat that she would have usually claimed by then. TOP could sense her awkwardness as it rolled off of her in waves in the silence.

 

    “You can sit over here,” he said, motioning to the enormous bed draped in silky red sheets arm’s length away from him.

 

    Hana gulped, “Oh...okay,” she said as she made the slow steps forward, her socks treading against the cloud-like carpet. The bed was high up from the ground, and even with her long legs she had to practically jump to get on. The bed dipped and she sat there with her legs crossed, looking around the space.

 

    TOP got up from the chair and walked over to the far corner where a speaker was. He turned a few knobs and soon after the smooth sounds of instruments surrounded them. He walked back to the seat and put his hands behind his head.

 

    “You’re a classical fan?”

 

   He nodded, “Siwon had a bunch of CDs laying around, his musical taste is impeccable.”

 

    “This is Claude Debussy, right?”

 

    “Yeah, how did you know?”
 

    “My parents used to play this around the house sometimes, it just kind of stuck with me.”

 

    “Sounds like our parents were a lot alike,” he said.

 

     Hana snorted, “I doubt it.”

 

    “What do you mean?”

 

     Hana paused, trying to find the right phrasing, “My parents are...were...interesting,” she began, “Very strict...fought a lot...cared more about work than life itself, typical. But sometimes I just felt...I don’t know...invisible?”

 

     “They didn’t pay any attention to you?” he asked careful.

 

     “Not the right kind. I was the only child, so more than enough gifts came my way for every holiday and birthday...but that was it. They did it because they didn’t know what else to do with me besides lecture and give me meaningless trinkets. Then they were right back out the door. That’s why I moved...to look for something more to live for I guess.”

 

     TOP looked pensively, “Did you ever find it?”

 

     “For a while I did,” she nodded, looking down at her hands as her eyebrows scrunched together, “My aunt’s house with Shin was the first time I ever really felt...at home. But I didn’t really realize how important it was until it was too late, I completely took it for granted. Now it’s like I’m starting all over again, looking for that one thing, that something.”

 

     “Well I hope you find it,” he said thoughtfully.

 

     “Have you found yours?”

 

     “Hm?” he asked.

 

     “Have you found your something? The thing that makes everything come together and make sense? The thing that makes you want to keep going forward?”

 

     The side of his lip twitched as he contemplated, then nodded. He looked at Hana again, that same twinkling-eyed look he had when she first walked in, “Yeah...I think I have.”

 

     Hana’s stomach lurched forward once again that night.

 

     The music continued to play as she cleared and shifted awkwardly on the sheets. They continued in each other’s presence for a while in silence, TOP looking to the side at the fire as Hana did the same, both entranced by the rhythms and sounds that embraced them.

 

     She wasn’t sure if it was the music or the steady crackling of the flames, but Hana’s eyelids started to flutter. By this time she was laying on her side close to the edge of the bed, her hand positioned under her cheek supporting her head up. The cold sheets and the heat of the fire felt so nice on her skin, and a part of her wondered how he had the strength to get up and leave them every morning.

 

    Her eyelids fluttered once again, and after trying to keep them open for the millionth time that night, she decided to let them close. It wouldn’t hurt to let them close for a short second, she figured...

 

    “Hana?” said a deep voice not far away.

 

    “Hm?” she hummed, her eyes still closed, drifting slowly.

 

     “I just want to be honest with you,” he could be heard saying, but his voice seemed to be getting farther away with every beat of the music. It seemed quieter now.

 

    “Mhhm,” she managed. By now it was as if the mattress were a trap door she was resting on, which had just opened and she was now slowly falling into the depths of sleep.

 

    “I know I told you this before, but that was awhile ago. And it’s taken on a new meaning as of late. I sound like I’m rambling, but I’ve been thinking, and I realized that I really….”

 

    She had sunken into the abyss now, absorbed by the sound of instrumented strings and a dying fire.

 

    Hana awakened with a jolt.

 

     She sat up straight, momentarily confused by her surroundings until she realized exactly where she was upon feeling the silky sheets beneath her. An inkling of fear took over her, followed by the feeling of stupidity and carelessness.

 

     How could you fall asleep here? She internally groaned.

 

    The room was darker than she remembered it, and saw it was because the fire was completely burnt out, the only light coming from the bedside table and a glow from the window which showed that the sun was soon rising.

 

    Oh my god, how long was I asleep?

 

    She was covered in something soft, and looked down to see that a thick blanket was thrown over her body, though she didn’t remember putting it there. The room was quiet, no more music played, the only sounds coming from the even breathing not far away.

 

     TOP was sitting in the chair beside the bed, knocked out with his head in a seemingly uncomfortable position. He snored lightly, and twitched occasionally. Had he been sleeping there the entire night? Had he really opted for the chair while Hana rested on his far too big bed?

 

    She felt guilty to say the least.

 

    She slowly crawled off the bed and stood there beside the chair. His features were surprisingly soft when he slept. His lips were parted slightly as he breathed, and wisps of his hair that weren’t being held in the ponytail moved as he did. He looked almost like a completely different person, not the intimidating man that everyone else knew, whose eyes could make your blood run cold and could handle a gun without a problem.

 

    Hana suddenly remembered the moments before she drifted off. Wasn’t he telling her something? What was it? She couldn’t recall a single thing after him saying he wanted to be honest. She would have to ask again in the morning, she concluded. She silently tip-toed out of the room, opening the wooden door and closing it behind her in a rush to get back before the sun came up.

_______________________

 

 

     A few hours later that day, everyone gathered at the breakfast table as usual. Hana walked into the room last, and her eyes locked with TOP as soon as she entered. He gave a small smile and she put her head down as she walked over. She took her seat beside him and cleared .

 

     “I’m…sorry for taking your bed last night,” she muttered, making sure no one else could hear, “I didn’t mean to stay that long. I don’t know what happened.”

“It’s fine,” he shrugged, “that was the best sleep I’ve gotten in awhile.”

 

    Hana wasn’t sure that he was being truthful, because due to the way he was sleeping on the chair there wasn’t any way that he couldn’t have neck pain.

 

    Kai cleared his throat and everyone looked over, “As a lot of you know, I’ve been keeping track of the days since we’ve been here. And if my markings are right, which I think they are, today is Sehun’s birthday.”

 

    “Really? Wow…I knew it was coming up but I didn’t know it was so soon,” Chanyeol said solemnly.

 

    Sehun’s birthday. Hana sat up straight, realization hitting her like a ton of bricks, That means…

 

    “Didn’t you say that you and Sehun shared the same birthday?” TOP asked loudly.

 

    She internally cursed him, looking down at her plate, “Yeah,” she replied, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

 

    “So it’s your birthday too?!” Chanyeol asked.

 

    “I guess it is…,” she said.

 

    The table suddenly erupted with “happy birthday”s, and in that moment Hana wanted a hole to open up below her seat and swallow her whole. She sat in place and gave an awkwardly tight smile, shooting TOP a fiery glance screaming ‘Why did you even have to bring that up?’.

 

    “Given the occasion,” Kai continued, “I thought we should do something special. When I thought it was only Sehun’s I was going to suggest we toast to him or something, but since it’s Hana’s too we should do more.”

 

    “That’s not really necessary,” she chimed in immediately.

 

    “We could have a special dinner,” suggested Donghae.

 

    “Really, it’s okay-”

 

    “I could try and make a cake with what we have in the kitchen!” Henry said.

 

    “I saw some stuff in the pantry I can use to make a frosting,” Amber said.

 

     The table continued to buzz with elaborate plans, and Hana sat by silently. She never cared for her birthday. She never understood why it was so significant, it's just one more day closer to death. Though at a time like that, living long enough to see another birthday was a feat within itself, she remembered.

 

    She could have told them to stop with the planning, but then she realized that it wasn’t about her at all-- it was about Sehun. Sure, the two shared this day, but they didn’t know her like they knew him. They were planning this dinner the way he would have liked, the way he would have appreciated. Who was she to tell them no, and take it over like it was all about her? They had only met her a few months ago, sure they were all friends now, but it was unsaid and maybe unrealized that they were ignoring her pleas and going about their business. She just so happened to have the same birthday as their friend, and because of it she would have to deal with the attention, and soak in the endearment he would have received if he were there.

 

 

     They decided they would celebrate later that night at dinner, a few hours after shooting practice. They cleared the breakfast table and got ready to load up the cars. Hana ran up to her room and grabbed the key to the cellar from her bedside table, as she planned to put the guns away as soon as they came back. She decided not to change, as it was now socially acceptable to wear pajamas out in public, and took her seat in the Jeep. The usual crew tagged along that day, Hana and TOP as the instructors, Shin, IU, Chanyeol, Kai, Amber, and even Eunhyuk. He came sometimes, when he eventually found out where the rest of the group was going so many times a week and tagged along. Hana and TOP let him come when they thought he was getting better, but now with the newfound hatred for Shin they weren’t sure it was the best idea. Though they couldn’t exactly tell him to stay behind either without making the reason obvious.

 

      They drove out of the Hallyu Village and past their usual spot at the golf course. Since they had been going there for so long, the trees they aimed at had been carved out beyond recognition, making it hard to see if they were actually hitting bark or if it was an old hole. They drove for a while, looking for an alternative. About 20 miles down the road, they found a small strip mall along a dirt path. They pulled over, tugging out the duffle bags and walking over as a group to the string of stores.

 

     “Where do you think we should do this?” TOP asked Hana as they walked over, duffle slung over his shoulder.

 

    “What about that wall over there?” she asked, pointing over to an empty, blank area of the buildings with her free hand.

 

    They stopped a few paces away, dropping the duffles onto the ground and letting the group take whatever gun they wanted.

 

   “Everyone, chose something different this time!” TOP said, “If you usually use a hand gun, get something bigger like a machine gun or a rifle, and vice versa. “

 

    There was a momentary groan as the group did as they were told, the obvious discomfort in their faces as they held their new weapons.

 

    TOP jogged over and got 3 markers of different colors from the glove compartment of the car, drawing several large circles on the side of the wall at different heights and telling each person which areas they had to hit.

 

   They lined up side by side before the wall and aimed at their assigned targets. TOP and Hana stood side by side behind them, walking back and forth, making sure they hit the areas.

 

    The instructors looked on proudly, weeks of their work coming into view through their housemates’ improvements as the crack of the firearms went off.

 

    “They’ve improved a lot,” TOP said, “Watch out, someone might end up replacing you as the new instructor if they keep it up.”

 

    Hana snorted. She pulled out the handgun from the holster on her hip in one fluid motion. The next moment she aimed it at the farthest target on the wall and with a deafening bang, the bullet crashed into the circle, dead center. She looked up at TOP, “More like replace you.”

 

    He simply pursed his lips and nodded, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth, “Touche.”

 

   Hana hid her own grin as they continued to walk.

 

    They were nearing the end of the day’s allotted rounds. They had designated amounts of clips each person was allowed to go through every session, so that they weren’t burning through the bullets senselessly, and so that they would have some left over for when the time really counted. If their calculations were correct, they were barely through 25% of their inventory.

 

    “Alright everyone, good job! We’re going to have one final round,” Hana yelled over the bullets. Everyone began to put their guns down, admiring their work and looking to see the dozens of tiny holes in the walls they had created, “We’ll go one by one down the row of you, and each of you will hit the targets from left to right.”

 

   There was a grumble within the group, as any activity that put them on blast like this was a bit unnerving.

 

   “Amber, you’re up first,” TOP said.

 

   There was a general consensus that after TOP and Hana, Amber was without a doubt the next best in terms of accuracy. She wasn’t anywhere near perfect, but she could surely hold her own if the time ever came.

 

    She rolled her shoulders back and extended her arms, rifle in her hands. Amber pointed the gun at her targets and pulled the trigger, hitting inside the circle every time down the line. It wasn’t dead center, but it was still impressive.

The group cheered and applauded the best they could despite the weapons in their hands.

 

    “Okay, Eunhyuk, your turn,” TOP said. The man looked over at the leader as if he had just been awakened from a daze. Unnoticed by the rest of the group, whenever he wasn’t giving a half-assed attempt at shooting, Eunhyuk would be looking over at Shin and IU at the very end of the line, his chest heating up with anger. Just moments before his name had been called, he had been silently seething while Shin would whisper something in IU’s ear, or come up behind her and try to “help her” with her posture. In this moment, Eunhyuk aimed his gun at the first target at the wall, barely lining up his vision properly to even get a good hit. He heard a giggle from IU, and his eye began to twitch.

 

    He pulled the trigger carelessly, missing the target so widely it almost hit the 2nd one. He moved onto the next a moment later. A whisper, another laugh. He pulled the trigger again absent mindedly, not stopping to make any adjustments. TOP tried to give some advice but he moved on without any consideration. He went down the line, missing every one completely as the sounds of the two of them echoed in his head. 3rd. 4th. 5th. As he neared the 6th and final one, he heard IU stifle a giggle, and out of his periphery, saw Shin standing way closer than what he was comfortable with.

 

    He wasn’t sure what possessed him in that moment, but as he neared the last target, his arm moved several degrees to the right, putting him in range not with the wall, but instead with the tall older cousin.

Before anyone could even register what was going on, eyes burning with an unreadable fire, Eunhyuk pulled the trigger. The bullet careened through the air, and shot a solid 6 inches away from Shin’s head before drilling into a tree.

 

    Shin dove down onto the ground, holding his head.

 

   “ man! Are you okay?” Chanyeol asked as he ran to his side.

 

    “Y-yeah, I’m fine...I’m fine,” Shin assured. He looked over his body, making sure nothing was wrong before he looked up at Eunhyuk. He stood feet away, gun hanging down by his side as he stared back at him with a look in his eyes that radiated rage and a slight hint of surprise at what he had just done.

 

   TOP and Hana bolted over.

 

   “Eunhyuk! What the hell was that?!” TOP roared, furious.

 

    The dancer flinched back and shrugged, “A-an accident.”

 

   A few helped Shin to his feet as he wiped himself clean of the dirt.

 

   “Shin are you okay?” Hana asked.

 

    He nodded, still looking over at Eunhyuk, “I’m fine. He said it was an accident...we all make mistakes. I’m not dead so it’s okay,” he laughed.

 

    Hana looked between the two men as the group helped brush dirt off of Shin and continued to ask if he was fine. Eunhyuk took a handful of his hair and looked down at the asphalt of the parking lot, seeming very far away. Despite the reassuring grin on Shin’s face, it was evident that there was lingering unease.

 

    TOP went over to Eunhyuk, putting a hand on his shoulder, “Look, we both know you’re not the group’s best shooter by any means, but that shot was a bit too close for comfort. Do we need to go over the safety procedures again and jog your memory so that this doesn’t happen again?” he asked. His hand squeezed tighter.

 

    The faraway look he had began to dissipate as he looked the rapper in the eyes, “No it won’t happen again...I just got distracted.”

 

    “Don’t let it happen again,” TOP growled. He suddenly reached down and grabbed the gun from Eunhyuk’s hands, “I’ll take that.”

 

    They figured it would be best to just pack up in that moment and go back home. The shooting scare had changed the entire energy of the session and everyone was ready to leave. As they loaded the bags into the car, Hana’s eyes wandered to the far corner of the building. She wasn’t sure if she was seeing correctly due to the glare of the sunlight, but when her vision adjusted she immediately felt uneasy. There on the building was the same circled letter ‘D’ in red spray paint as they had seen not too long before on the brick siding of the strip mall. She nudged TOP and pointed to it.

 

    “There it is again,” she said, “That symbol.”

 

   He squinted, “It's so ominous. It’s like it’s following us almost.”

 

    “I just don’t like how this is the 2nd time we’ve seen it so far within the last week.”

 

    “The paint doesn’t look too vivid, kind of old actually, maybe a couple weeks? If so, whoever left it should be gone by now.”
 

    “I hope so,” Hana said. They jumped into the cars and sped away down the street back to the Hallyu Village, Hana looking through the back window while the red painted D slowly faded into the distance.

 

    They eventually pulled back to the iron gates and through the familiar colorful petals. When they made it to the garage, they piled out of the cars and into the house. Eunhyuk sped past everyone and dashed inside, leaving the rest in his wake with his taut face and wild expression. His blue hair was a fiery blaze atop his head while he moved with his fists by his side. On the other hand, the usual smile was still planted on Shin’s face as people checked up on him. Though to Hana something seemed off, she could see it in his eyes.

 

    She waited for the garage to clear out before she turned to TOP, “I’m getting really ing tired of Eunhyuk and all of these ‘accidents’, Seunghyun.”

 

    “I know, today was the first close call we’ve ever had like that. Even a blind man couldn’t completely miss a target like that,” TOP said.

 

    Hana’s arms were crossed as she leaned against the truck, sighing with a look of clear annoyance, “He needs to stop playing these games before I kick him out the house myself.”

 

     “It’ll be okay, we’ll figure this out,” TOP put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and met his sure eyes and suddenly felt at ease. He smiled and she felt her stomache flip.                                                                                              

She dropped her gaze and cleared , “Thanks.”

 

His hand was still on her shoulder, “Come on, let me help you take the bags to the cellar.”

 

“No it’s fine, I’ve got it.”

 

“Those bags are like two of you, do you really think you can carry those down by yourself?” he asked, eyebrows raised in an amused smirk.

 

“Maybe not but I sure will try,” she said, she tried to go and grab both duffles from the bed of the truck, but before she could TOP reached over her body and grabbed one, turning on his heels and headed to the basement with long strides.

 

Hana huffed in disbelief and grabbed the other, hiding her struggle as she flung the duffle over her shoulder in her attempt to catch up, “I’m the one that volunteered to bring them down this time, at least let me follow through on my offer.”

 

He went down spiral staircase and hallways easily, “And I said I didn’t mind helping, so let me follow through with mine.” He would have grabbed both bags, but he still wanted to let her feel like she was doing something.

 

They made it to the cellar door, Hana using her key to get through the iron gates. They placed the bags on the table and began putting the guns back according to category; shotguns, pistols, and rifles all on separate rows. They moved silently, bumping into the other on accident (and sometimes on purpose to get a rise out of the other) as they worked in the space.

 

Once they were done, Hana locked the door behind them and walked back up. The whole process had taken a solid 20 minutes, and Hana could only imagine how long it would have taken if she had done it alone. She mentally and silently thanked him, but wouldn’t have ever told him that she was grateful he didn’t listen to the assurance that she could do it by herself.

 

“What are you about to get into?” he asked when they made it to the ground floor.

 

“About to take a shower before my birthday dinner starts,” she said with contempt.

 

TOP laughed, “Oh yeah, sorry for outing you earlier today. I thought you enjoyed birthdays like ordinary people.”

 

“Never claimed to be ordinary, did I?”

 

 

“You’re right, you’re one of the most extraordinary person I’ve ever met,” he said matter of factly.

 

“T-thanks?” Hana short circuited, the look of admiration in his eyes making her fidget and her heart rate move erratically, “Hey...what were you telling me last night? I fell asleep in the middle of your thought and didn’t get to hear the rest.”

 

“So you really didn’t hear me?” he asked with a chuckle, “Don’t worry about it, I can just tell you later.”

 

I-I need to go take that shower now.”

 

“Okay, see you at dinner, birthday girl,” he smirked.

 

“Shut up,” she muttered before turning to go to the stairs. She had a hard time stifling the smile that came on her face in that moment.

 

She went to her room, immediately placing the key to the cellar inside of the drawer before getting clean clothes and a towel from the linen closet. She dashed into the shower, washing off the day’s hardships with bar soap and a soft wash cloth. Hana got out not long after. She changed in the large bathroom and walked to her room with long hair dripping down her back. While she freshened up, the stream of droplets began to annoy her. A hair tie would be the best way to get all of the wet strands for a while, so she reached into the bedside drawer to grab the spare she had. Upon opening it, she found the band, but the drawer felt oddly empty, as if something were missing.

 

That’s when it hit her.

 

Her eyes scanned the drawer frantically, her breathing halting all together. She flung out the few things she had in there, searching, but still coming up with nothing, “I know I put it back in here....I know I did.”

 

She looked into the now bare drawer, then down at the floor where all of the other contents were, looking down carefully and trying not to panic, “Where the is the key?”

 

Hana was positive that she had put it in the drawer only minutes before her shower. If it wasn’t with her it was there, always, she didn’t lose things.

 

Where else could it be? It didn’t just sprout legs and walk out of the room, it had to be moved-

 

As soon as the thought came to mind, she bolted out of the room and down the stairs. She passed Amber on the way down, who asked what was wrong but she had no time to explain. She made it to the kitchen, skidding across the tiled floor in her rush. Henry had just finished the dish and was taking it out of the oven.

He saw her approach him quickly not registering the alarm until she was already in his face, “Hey, hey, it’s supposed to be a surprise get out the kit--! Wait, what’s wrong?!”

 

Hana was an inch or two taller than Henry, and in her anxious state, seemed to loom over him completely, “Henry, I need you to tell me the truth.”

 

“Y-yeah of course, what’s up, Hana? You’re scaring me.”

 

She stopped, looking into his eyes as her wet hair stuck to her face like a curtain, “Did you go into my room while I was in the shower?”

 

“What?”

 

“Did you go into my drawer and take my key?! The key to the cellar? Did you take the key to the cellar to get to the alcohol we locked in there, Henry?”

 

    The look of sheer panic and terror on his face was very familiar, and suddenly she felt like she was back in school, talking to the same kids that pissed their pants whenever she said a word to them.

 

    “Hana-no! I-I said that I would tell you whenever I wanted to drink, I promise, I didn’t take anything. I swear!”

 

     She stared into his frightened eyes a while longer. She knew that with him this scared, he would have confessed to anything. He was telling the truth.

 

    She took a step back and they both breathed.

 

   “Alright...well, good to know,” she cleared , ”Sorry about that.”

 

    “It’s okay, I gave you reason to doubt me before, I know I don’t deserve total trust yet.”

She was about to apologize again but he turned away and continued to prepare the food.

 

  If not Henry, then who else would want to get to the cellar that bad enough to steal from me? What’s in there that they would need so bad? All there is down there is alcohol and guns.

 

   Guns.

 

    She almost wanted it to be Henry, as the next suspect and their imagined intentions made her blood run cold. They were actually the first person she had in mind, but she went to interrogate Henry first to make sure her worst nightmare wasn’t becoming a reality.

 

    No. Please no.

 

    “Since you’re here do you want to test this dish and tell me if it’s too salty?” Henry asked, but before he could turn, Hana was already out the kitchen, halfway across the house and up the stairs. When she made it to the landing she tried to catch her breath. She tried to stealthily wa lk down the hall, the soft carpet feeling like quicksand under her toes. She made it to the door she was looking for, listening intently for voices but instead hearing nothing but silence.

 

     Hana gripped the handle shakily, slowly walking inside the dark space. The sun had gone down, and the sunlight that would normally be pouring into the room was nowhere to be found, leaving it black and unsettlingly calm. She felt along the walls until the lightswitch appeared between her fingers. With a flick, the room was illuminated. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but when it did she had to take a double take.

 

    Triple take. Blink and hope it would disappear the next time her eyes opened.

On the far wall, were huge words written in black marker, as striking as they were unsettling.

 

“If not me then who else?”

“ing psycho bastard.”

“APOCOLYPSE.”

“Its all in my head.”

“Watch your back.”

“Third times the charm?”

“Let it go!”

“The day will come when you’ll be sorry.”

 

    Hana stood there, unknowingly approaching the words on Eunhyuk’s side of the room as if they were summoning her.

 

   “The ?”

 

    She snapped herself away from the words on the wall, trying to go back to her original objective. She went to the nearest drawer, carefully and quickly looking for the keys. She just needed to get them and get out, simple. That’s if it was even here. What if she was spending this time and he really didn’t have it? What if she had just misplaced it? Though the writings on the wall made her feel sure that this was not the case. She moved about the room, to his dresser, moving his clothes around the space in her hurry. Still, nothing.

 

    She had just opened the last drawer when she heard voices coming from the hall. They were nearing with every passing second, and Hana prayed that they wouldn’t stop outside the door. Sure enough, the two voices and footsteps paused right before the wooden barrier. Hana stood in the middle of the room, feet planted onto the floor as she tried to rack her brain with possible escape routes and excuses. For a millisecond, she even contemplated jumping off the balcony.

When the door opened, she flung her body onto the floor. Silently, she wiggled under Eunhyuk’s bed the best she could.

 

    “I’m so tired dude, I need to take a nap before dinner,” Donghae said.

 

    “Me too. I don’t know why we’re even having one though honestly. What good is wasting food on a dead friend and an anti-social, emo who doesn’t want to be there anyways?” Eunhyuk grumbled.

 

    “Hey, be nice.” Donghae said. Hana could hear him fall onto his bed, and soon after the mattress above her body sunk onto her back. She cupped to hold in the gasp and closed her eyes tight. She could feel Eunhyuk shifting his weight above her, getting comfortable, “By the way, when are you going to take down that writing on your wall?”

 

    Silence, maybe he shrugged, “It’s my wall right?”

 

    “Yeah, but I live here too.”

 

    “Sometime. I just need to work through some things. Just try to ignore it for the time being,” Eunhyuk replied.

 

    Donghae grumbled something under his breath and his side, “Whatever, just try not to sleep too long or you’ll miss the dinner.”

 

    “If I’m lucky,” Hana heard him mutter in response.

 

    “Why did you mess up the clothes in your dresser again? I just folded everything neatly for you last night after your little melt down.”

 

    “What are you talking about? I didn’t even touch my dresser today, I’m literally wearing the same thing I wore yesterday.”

 

    “Then why does it look so messy?”

 

 “Hell if I know, Donghae, I said I didn’t touch it!"

 

   Eunhyuk shifted again, this time body slamming into the bed to better his position in annoyance. Hana tried to make herself as small as possible, the mattress grazing her t-shirt. Her cheek was smashed against the floor as she wedged between smelly clothes and indistinguishable objects in the darkness. Hana tried to slow and quiet her breathing, but she feared her speeding heart was even loud enough to give her up.

 

    Trapped and immobile she was as the two continued to bicker. In a predicament this ridiculous, only one question came to mind in flashing red lights:

 

   What now?

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