To say that Yongguk was irritated would be an understatement.  He was practically livid with Kris for the bull he’d pulled in the hallway.  He’d only kissed Luna like that because he knew Yongguk was watching.  Bastard.  Though she’d seemed confused by the response, if nothing else, which gave him a small measure of hope.  He didn’t say anything, sitting on the couch with his box of Lo Mein in his hands, feeling his brother’s gaze from the kitchen where he was doing his homework.

                “Hyung…?” Junhong asked in a worried tone, the volume unusually subdued.

                “Ne?” Yongguk replied, setting his food down as he sat up to peer at the younger male.

                “Do you think we should have called the cops?” he couldn’t help but wonder aloud, pencil poised above the paper, homework momentarily forgotten.

                Yongguk exhaled slowly, taking a moment to consider the question.  He’d asked himself the same thing when he’d first heard about it, but…  “Even if we had, they couldn’t have done anything unless she told them the truth,” he explained sadly, rubbing his face with both hands.

                “But…”

                “I know, Junhongie,” Yongguk shook his head, getting up to wander into the kitchen and take the seat opposite his brother as he looked at the homework spread out over the surface, pushing Junhong’s combination plate out of the way for a better view.  “It’s a piss poor position to be in,” he agreed with a grimace, “but I won’t let anything happen to her.  Not if I can help it,” he assured the younger male, flashing him a confident smile as he reached across to grab his nearest hand in a firm grip.

                “I don’t want to go to the same school as Kris, hyung,” Junhong murmured uncertainly, head bowed towards the table, eyes peeking out from under his long lashes and the curly blonde curls that fell into his face.

                “I don’t blame you,” Yongguk conceded.  “But it’s not for too much longer.  It’s your last year after all and then you’re free!” he grinned widely.

                Junhong laughed and then whined as he sank his head to the tabletop.  “Yeah, but that’s still a whole other semester.  Ugh!”

                “You can do it, kiddo,” Yongguk chuckled, squeezing the hand under his once more.  “And if that bastard has anything to say about you, I’ll go have another talk with him if I need to,” he winked when Junhong looked up.

                “I guess I can manage that,” he agreed reluctantly, nose wrinkled in distaste.  “But you should be careful,” he added almost as an afterthought, expression falling slightly.

                Yongguk took a small breath and nodded in agreement, a ball of nervousness in the pit of his stomach.  “I know, but I had to say something.”

                “It doesn’t always help,” Junhong reminded him in a pitifully small voice and Yongguk felt his heart clench for an entirely different reason.

                “Hey,” he forced a smile, tapping his brother’s cheek with his fingers, making the younger male look up in surprise.  “It doesn’t always hurt either.”

                Junhong tilted his head to the side and scratched it with his pencil, shrugging reluctantly.  “I guess,” he admitted, blinking several times and wrinkling his nose.

                “That’s my Junhongie,” Yongguk teased, reaching up to ruffle his hair.  “Now.  What have we got here?” he asked, turning both their attention to his homework.

                He really didn’t like the fact that Kris knew Junhong was his brother now, but if Kris shifted his attention to his brother because he couldn’t do anything to him personally, there would be words.  If not more.  Of course, none of that changed the fact that Luna was still with him and life went on as usual as of Friday morning.

                 They did their usual song and dance, greeting each other in the hallway, and though she looked more distracted than usual, she at least wasn’t upset or anything.  Yongguk followed her to the stables and promptly threw himself into the routine of mucking out stalls, brushing out the horses, making sure they were fed and watered, and that all the regular chores were done.  Amber joined him one stall over with Krystal lingering for a little while across the way.

                “Hey Bang,” Amber called softly, peeking over the side of the stall wall to look in on him.

                “What’s up?” he asked, wiping the back of his hand across his brow before he leaned on the pitchfork and turned his attention to the shorter young woman.

                She looked over her shoulder to make sure no one else was really around and then flashed him a confident smile, “I just wanted to say that we all appreciate you looking out for Luna.”

                He grinned back at her, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.  “Of course.”

                “I mean, I know you’re her neighbor and all, but with how things have sort of happened lately, it’s nice to know she’s got someone nearby,” she admitted with a smile.

                “Well, that’s what friends are for,” he nodded at her.

                Amber snorted at his response and laughed, “Keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better.”  When he cringed at her words, she shrugged, “I don’t envy you at all because she is a great person to be around.  Course I don’t need to tell you that,” she teased, wrinkling her nose at him before she pushed away from the wall and aimed to get back to work, glancing across the way at Krystal who smirked at them with a knowing expression.

                Yongguk waved at the younger woman and then shuffled over to the wall, leaning against the top with his arms after placing the pitchfork to rest against the barrier.  “So you knew Luna before she met Kris, right?”

                “Ne,” Amber nodded while working, tossing another pile of soiled straw into her wheelbarrow.

                “Why did she go for someone like him?” he asked, tapping his hands against the wall, waiting patiently for a response.

                “Eh…” she trailed off, brow furrowed in thought before she paused and stood up, resting her weight on the pitchfork.  “He’s a charmer.  When he wants to be anyway.  Used to come by when they first started dating.  Couldn’t ride worth a crap and the horses never really took to him.”

                “I wonder why?” Yongguk asked dryly with a roll of his eyes.

                “Be nice,” she chided, though the smile tugging at told him she thought pretty much as he did.  “But seriously.  He was very much her prince charming to begin with.  I can’t fault him that.  They met at the store if I think.  He convinced her to some sort of date and… yeah.  Flowers.  Chocolates.  Dinner.  The full nine yards.  He even tried drawing her,” she scoffed with a shake of her head.  “And I don’t know if you’ve seen his work, but…,” she trailed off, leaving it at that.

                “And she appreciated the effort, right?” he confirmed with a sigh.

                “You know it,” Amber nodded.  “I think she’s the one that really got him started with trying to get his stuff showcased too.  You know how much she believes in people doing what they love.”  She gestured towards the stables, letting her gaze drift around before settling back on Yongguk.

                “So what happened?” he frowned, wondering how this so called Prince Charming could have ever raised a hand against his Princess if he was so wonderful.

                Amber threw her hand out in complete confusion.  “I’m not really sure,” she admitted.  “He didn’t take too kindly to Wind’s Playmate trying to bite him a few months ago.  He pretty much stopped inviting us over to his place after that.  Well, through Luna mind you and you’ve seen he doesn’t come by here.”

                “Oh?” Yongguk blinked, surprised by that.  “At least her horse has good taste.”

                That got a scandalous laugh out of Amber and she shifted closer to smack him sharply on the arm.  “So what does that say about you?”

                “I’m just a friend, remember?” he answered with a disappointed sigh.  “But you said you know where he lives?”

                “Yongguk,” she frowned at him, searching his face carefully.

                “What?  I can’t ask where the guy lives?” he retorted innocently, keeping as straight a face as possible.

                “Not without raising an eyebrow or two,” she laughed once, shaking her head.  “Especially since we all know where you went the other day.”

                “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Yongguk responded, playing dumb as he looked up at the beams overhead.

                “You’re really bad at that you know?” Amber chuckled, amused by his façade.

                “Hey.  You can’t blame me for worrying,” he grumbled, exhaling slowly.

                “Aish,” she shook her head, looking up and down the way to make sure it was clear.  “I didn’t tell you this and don’t you dare go doing something stupid in the meantime.”  Yongguk held his hands up in surrender, keeping a straight face under her stern glare.  “He’s got a nice townhouse on the east end off of Glassford Lane.”  Still looking around, she gave him the house number too with a hesitant frown.  “I don’t suppose I need to tell you to be careful do I?”

                “No you don’t,” Yongguk responded sincerely.  “And thank you.  I won’t use the info unless I have to, alright?”

                Amber regarded him for a moment longer, lips pursed as she thought.  “I will say she smiles a lot when you’re around though.  It’s nice,” she admitted honestly, picking her hand up to squeeze his arm in a grateful gesture.

                They both jumped slightly when a new voice interrupted them.  “You two are a terrible pair of gossips,” Krystal surprised them when she poked her head into Amber’s stall, keeping low while she looked at both of them.  “But Amber’s right,” she agreed matter-of-factly with a glance at Yongguk.  “When Kris stopped coming around, she lost some of her smile but you seem to have brought it back,” she beamed, looking over her shoulder to where she’d been a moment ago.

                Yongguk actually blushed in modest embarrassment while Amber just laughed and patted him on the shoulder.  “See there?”

                “Now come on,” Krystal urged, waving at both of them with a lowered voice.  “Luna’s talking to Victoria in the office about something.  Just be quiet,” she winked placing her finger over her lips as she slunk away from the stall and hurried in the direction of the office, closer to where she’d been working a moment ago.  “The other riders are out in the yard and we don’t have any lessons until later.”

                Yongguk and Amber exchanged looks and then shrugged, setting their cleaning gear aside before they followed after, peering around nervously.  Taking Krystal’s lead, they pressed up against the main office wall, trying to make out the two voices coming from within.  Amber practically climbed on top of Krystal to get closer and Yongguk frowned, looking up to see he could just perch on the edge of one of the stalls to hear the words coming over the top.

                They were only fortunate that they were on the off side of the stables, away from the main entrance.  There was no denying he felt slightly guilty about eavesdropping but it hadn’t been his idea and he was worried about Luna because she had been distracted this morning.  He held his breath and tried to ignore the invasive sound of his own heart beating irritatingly in his ears.

                He picked up on Victoria’s voice first and she sighed, “I don’t know what to tell you, Luna.  That is big news and I’m happy for you if you are,” she offered, a slight edge to her voice.

                “I figured you’d say that,” Luna grumbled heavily, obviously conflicted.  Yongguk looked down at the girls on his side and they shrugged in confusion since they were both just as lost as he was.  “I don’t think moving in together would be such a big deal in the end, even if it is further from the stables, but he doesn’t really want me working here full time and then he started to ask me to marry him and I honestly don’t know what to do,” she explained in a thin whine.

                At the talk of moving in, Yongguk almost slipped and then he heard ‘marry him’ come past her lips, nearly sending him careening backwards save for the fact that he allowed himself to drop down and fall to the ground instead, eyes wide and heart racing in his chest.  He looked at both Amber and Krystal, shaking his head at the same time he crossed his arms emphatically in front of him.

                They cringed, expressions worried as they held their hands up in helpless confusion.  Amber pointed back at the wall with a hesitant shrug and Krystal pretty much dragged her back, yanking her close while she used her other hand to wave quickly.  Yongguk stifled a groan and rolled his eyes before he clambered back up and took a deep breath.

                “…don’t even know if I can live with someone that doesn’t want me to do something I love,” Luna explained with a quiet sniff, conflicted.

                “We’d miss you terribly, my dear,” Victoria assured her firmly, and Yongguk could just see her placing a hand on Luna’s shoulder, leaning close in that supportive way she did.  “And I don’t know what Wind’s Playmate would do without you, the spoiled brat,” she laughed, trying to keep things at least marginally light.

                Luna giggled in response and exhaled loudly.  “I know and I’d miss everyone here too.  Maybe I can talk to him and see about working this out or something.  I mean, things have been tense between us lately but I think it’s probably just a phase really,” she admitted.

                ‘No it’s not,’ Yongguk mouthed with a frown, looking down at his conspirators who just shrugged back at him.  They were so not helpful right now…  He immediately snapped to attention when he heard Victoria’s next question though.

                “So… what did you tell him then?”

                “Eh,” Luna groaned, shoulders likely slumping forward.  “I asked him for some time.  He wasn’t too happy about it but he at least agreed,” she sighed.  “And then just decided to up and leave.  I really don’t understand him sometimes,” she complained helplessly.  “You’d think after a year of being with someone I would have a handle on this.”

                There were several choice words that went through Yongguk’s head about who the real problem was in their relationship but he didn’t say them aloud and then he heard Amber and Krystal gasp, causing his attention to wander to the center of the stable interior.  Stupidly, he blinked at the silent but obviously pensive Minseok who had one hand pressed against his waist, the other scratching at his head in confusion.  He paused to make sense of who was in the room, though it was almost self-evident, and then frowned at the cringing trio.

                Without verbally saying a word, he glared at all of them and waved for them to get back to whatever they were doing, jerking his head to emphasize his point.  Inordinately grateful for not having been called out, Yongguk saluted and immediately hopped down, following Amber and Krystal as they returned to work… much further down the stables.

                “Holy crap!” Amber gasped, one hand resting over her heart as she glanced back to see Minseok knocking on the door.  “That was close.”

                “I thought we were busted for sure,” Krystal exhaled, shoulders slumping in relief.

                “This is terrible!” Yongguk groaned, resting his arms against the stall wall with his head hanging between them.

                “Well she didn’t say yes,” Krystal reminded him with a hand on his one shoulder, nodding along sympathetically.

                “But she didn’t say no either,” Amber frowned, her nose wrinkled in distaste.

                “She can’t marry Kris,” he reasoned determinedly.

                “Eh…” Amber and Krystal responded, unable to offer anything useful.  An incoherent jumble of words escaped his lips next, leaving all of them confused as to what he was trying to say.  “So what are you going to do then?” Amber finally asked after a growing pause left them all uncomfortable.

                “Something?” he responded with a mystified expression as he stood up and scratched his head frantically.  He glanced up the way they’d come, eyes widening slightly before he added, “Working,” as he grabbed a pitchfork and got to it, glad one had been resting nearby anyway.

                “Oh!” Krystal and Amber chirped at the same time when they realized that Luna was heading their way.  “Hi Luna!” Amber waved, confident grin in place.

                “Hey guys,” she responded, laughing when she came abreast of the stall Yongguk was in.

                “What?” he asked, forcing a smile that hedged on nervous.

                “Nothing,” she answered with a giggle.  “I’m just wondering why you’re mucking out a clean stall.”

                “Huh?  Oh…” he mouthed, briefly floundering for a decent explanation.

                “Eh, you know how the stalls that haven’t been used in a while can get,” Amber rescued him with a wave, peeking over the side to glance down.  “The straw is old after all and you never know when we’re going to rotate someone new in,” she shrugged matter-of-factly.

                “True enough,” Luna smiled, completely at ease.  “Alright.  I just wanted to say hi but I’ve gotta get back to the ring and I’ll see you guys at break?”

                “Or sometime today,” Krystal agreed with an easy wave.

                Yongguk waved at Luna when she beamed at him and then walked off, groaning in relief at the close call.  “Good explanation,” he gestured with his hand, glancing at Amber out of the corner of his eyes.  “I’ll have to remember that one.”

                “Best I could do on short notice,” she admitted with a laugh.

                “So!  Where were we?” Krystal asked, back to gossiping again.

                “Right,” Yongguk exhaled, looking down the stables to see Luna just turn out of sight.  “I have no idea.”

                And really, he didn’t but he did know that he needed to make sure marrying Kris was a mistake Luna never made.  In fact, he spent most of the rest of the morning thinking about it, a serious frown dominating his expression.  It probably shouldn’t have been as much of a surprise as it was when Minseok came by and threw a handful of straw at him, landing several strands of the stuff in his hair.

                “Yah!” he yelped, startled by the feel as it fell down and lightly scratched the skin of his bare arms.

                “Lost in thought there?” he chuckled, leaning against the stall wall.  “You do know you’ve been standing here for the past ten minutes doing nothing right?”

                “I have?” Yongguk blinked, looking around the clean space and realizing just that.

                “Aish.  You’re worse than Luna today.”  When Yongguk’s face fell marginally, Minseok seemed to understand part of his concern.  “Ah.  I see.”

                “Ne…” Yongguk sighed with a shake of his head.

                “You could always try asking her for lessons you know?” he suggested, gesturing towards the front of the stables.

                “Yeah, but I get those here anyway,” he responded quickly.  Not only that, but he couldn’t request lessons outside of work himself or that would make Kris very suspicious, if Luna happened to tell him about them in the meantime.

                Minseok shrugged with a half-smile and scratched his head, “I know she doesn’t mind putting in some time on the weekends if there’s a call for it and I very much doubt you’re the only person who doesn’t know how to ride well.  Not to mention she wouldn’t complain about the extra funds.”

                “Eh?”

                “Come to think of it,” he started to say, running his fingers through his straight, black hair.  “With all the training she’s been doing lately, she might actually welcome beginner lessons,” he smiled, patting the top of the wall with both hands, completely innocent in his suggestion.  “Oh yeah.  Dae’s got lunch ready so if you’re hungry, better come and get it,” he waved towards the front and headed off, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he walked along.

                For several long seconds, Yongguk stayed where he was, blinking after the retreating male, not entirely sure if he was just making a helpful suggestion or actually siding with him somewhat.  It was hard to tell…  Either way though, it wasn’t a bad suggestion and if worse came to worse, he could pay for the lesson itself, he just needed a body… or two.  Peeking out the stall to make sure Luna wasn’t in the area, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and called Himchan.

                “Gukkie!” the younger male answered after the second ring, excited and welcoming.  “I wasn’t expecting your call.”

                “Hey Channie.  You busy this weekend?” Yongguk asked, not giving him much chance to get a question in sideways.

                “I could be,” Himchan responded without hesitation.  “What’s up?”

                Very quickly, Yongguk sketched the basics of what had happened and what he intended to do.  Himchan was thrilled about the idea of horseback riding, demanding that Uppie be allowed to come along too.  Because it was a favor, he also strongly suggested Yongguk pay for it, but when his friend had yet to give him the real reason, he finally commanded an answer.  He sighed over the phone when Yongguk tried to play dumb.

                “Gukkie.  You’re calling me out of the blue, begging me for assistance on short notice in regards to Luna: the very woman you have sworn to me up and down that you aren’t going to try and make a move on while she’s currently attached,” Himchan reminded him pointedly, his tone almost smug.

                “Yeah well…  That was before Kris asked her to marry him,” Yongguk grumbled in response, glower darkening his face as he stared at the entrance.

                “What?!” Himchan shrieked into the phone, making Yongguk wince as he pulled the device away from his ear.  “Hell no!  I am there, Gukkie!  You make these lessons happen and you call me back when you have a time and date.  Go!” he commanded sternly, ending the call so there would be no further argument.

                Confused, Yongguk pulled the phone away to blink at the screen before the ‘end call’ image disappeared, laughing once at the rather exuberant response.  “Well then,” he nodded to himself, stuffing the phone in his pocket.  Once more, he wasn’t sure if he had just called in a very strong support ally or an on-the-warpath attacker.  Maybe calling in reinforcements from Himchan hadn’t been the best of ideas. “Guess I better go find Luna,” he told himself with a sigh, hoping that if he managed to set up lessons, Himchan wouldn’t land him in hot water in the end.  “Aish.”

(a/n: Well then.  Do you think calling in Himchan is a good idea on Yongguk's part or not?  hehe  Either way, it's bound to be interesting.  ;)  Thanks for reading!  I hope you enjoyed this latest update and that you look forward to the next one!

*update 01/14/14 - Chapter title change and the intro was altered.  It didn't appropriately match where the last update left off the first time around.  The conversation between Himchan and Yongguk was slightly abbreviated via summarization.)