Yongguk was his name but Bang was what he introduced himself as, what those close to him called him. It was a wonder that the nickname actually stuck since there wasn’t anyone particularly close to him. There was his eight year old sister, Uko and there was his friend Insoo, but even the two of them seemed to be losing patience with him lately. Bang couldn’t blame either one. Such a cheerful and sweet girl like Uko would of course get impatient when she had a depressed, apathetic older brother who spent most of his time roaming around the city day drinking as opposed to talking to her, laughing with her or actually taking care of her. And as for his friend Insoo, well they had only been friends for a year or so, but Insoo had always been the one to try harder in the friendship, even before the two women closest to Bang left. Actually, one woman left, the other was pushed away. Either way, it didn’t matter, neither one was going to be coming back ever.

            Bang had been a shell of a person, the faint, unfeeling shadow of a human for the past six months. Bang’s girlfriend, Sooyoung, his everything had left him to study overseas, which was a heartache on its own, however there was an even harder pill to swallow in the fact that she dumped him before leaving, saying she wasn’t confident enough in them to survive the distance between them. The final nail in that coffin came when Bang got word of Sooyoung being in a new relationship only a month after taking off. Bang, a typically outspoken, brave and manly guy found himself feeling so weak without Sooyoung. A girl he would have sacrificed anything for, the girl that made him feel like life was always going to be alright as long as she was there…was suddenly gone.

            When Sooyoung broke up with Bang, she only asked that they not complicate things and just let them happen naturally. Sooyoung broke up with Bang to leave and start a new chapter in her life, which she didn’t want him to be a part of and basically told him to accept and deal with it. Bang couldn’t hate or be upset with Sooyoung though, he couldn’t really do anything. Six months had passed since Sooyoung’s departure and each day since Bang has lost more of himself, skipping out on school every other day, taking long pointless walks around the city from sun up to sun down and barely even speaking a word of greeting to his father, little sister or step-mother. Feeling no sense of purpose or desire for anything, Bang just went on existing, as opposed to living. All the seventeen year old thought about every day was how he was going to get through the next without Sooyoung, his first love. Most days he decided the best way to cope was to be wasted and out of the house by 1pm. Uko was always too talkative and perky and his step-mother was judgmental and tried way too hard to be…important. Bang’s father was a businessman who worked long days and only saw Bang when they would cross in the hallways in the middle of the midnight. Bang’s father wasn’t at the top of his career or business, but he was working his way up and provided a nice home for the small family. Bang had a lot of respect for his father but resented him for the way things had ended in his marriage to Bang’s mother.

            It was a Thursday. Bang had skipped school the last two days and had only stuck around for one class on Monday. Ironically, Bang always woke up before his alarm and this morning was no different as he smashed down the off button before the alarm even finished one second of its job. For a few minutes, Bang just sat cross legged in the middle of his bed, staring at the wall. Finally, he stood up and took a look at his phone resting on the dresser beside his pillow. There were three missed calls from Insoo. Bang sighed when he remembered Insoo inviting him to join some of his friends at some morning basketball game. Bang had never technically agreed to go and rolled his eyes as he text an untrue “sorry” to Insoo’s phone.

            Bang’s room was dark and cold. Despite the warm, bright September day outside, not even a trickle of natural light or warmth came into Bang’s room. More out of routine or habit than anything else, Bang went onto Sooyoung’s SNS account, sighing heavily at two new photos she had uploaded. The first picture wasn’t so bad, just Sooyoung out with some female classmates at what looked like a sushi bar.

“You don’t like sushi.” Bang groaned. “Who were you trying to impress?” He squinted, wondering if any of the girls in the photo were just really girly looking guys. Bang scrolled to the second photo and groaned louder, flicking the screen when he saw Sooyoung sporting a brand new promise ring that her “special someone” had sent to her.

“He should give it to you in person.” Bang said. “Who sends jewelry through the mail? That’s not good sense.” Bang shook his head as he complained and scolded Sooyoung. Walking into his bathroom with the sushi picture up to his face, Bang kept on with his rant. “Who suddenly eats sushi after denying it for so long? Are you dating the owner?” Bang asked the invisible Sooyoung while he used the toilet and brushed his teeth after. “Should I suddenly start eating only broccoli?” Bang tossed his phone on the bed while he took a light speed shower. After drying off and putting on his slightly wrinkled uniform, he went right back to pacing around the room with the phone up to his face, half ranting, half getting his things together for school.

“You’re giving into the peer pressure of your friends.” Bang persisted, throwing his hands up in the air when he saw a brand new update on Sooyoung’s profile about how she was thankful for the free sushi at her friend’s restaurant. “Don’t just eat it because it’s free, you’re too nice Sooyoung.” Bang dropped his book bang and fell onto the center of his bed.

“Sweet of you though.” He said. Before Bang could reach the flask he kept under his mattress, he room door opened and Uko waved cheerfully at him. Staring back blankly, Bang waited for her to say something. The siblings had practically been strangers for the past couple of days, not seeing much of each other. “You’re going to school today?” Uko asked, still waving. Bang nodded and couldn’t help smiling a little at how it made his little sister happy. “Good. See you when you get home.” Uko was about to say something else but was gently pushed by the dainty hands of his their step-mother. “Uko, hurry and eat your breakfast, I made your favorite pancakes.” The wannabe mom said nicely. “Is that what was smoking?” Uko asked innocently and the step mom shushed her, taking her hand and pretending to race her down the halls. Bang coughed out a small laugh and pulled himself up to tie his shoes and head out.

            Bang sighed for the hundredth time as he walked down the stairs headed for the kitchen. His step-mother was sitting in front of Uko, putting more burnt, tattered pancakes on her plate. Uko flashed a nervous smile up at the woman when she handed Uko a jar of syrup. “I’ll let you be a big girl and decide how much syrup you want.”

“Uhm…” Uko began. Bang faked a stumble and rammed his into the table, knocking over the plastic plate of ruined pancakes. Both Uko and his step-mother stared at him with jaws hanging open. After a minute of harsh, accusatory silence from the step-mom, Bang finally spoke up. “It was an accident.” He said, moving quickly out of the kitchen exit.

“I guess I’ll have to eat at school.” Uko said, trying not to laugh.

“I suppose.” The pouty woman, grimacing over the mess Bang had created.

            Bang took a sip from his flask before walking into school. Bang gave hard looks to all the students who talked about him in hushed whispers, wondering why he even bothered to come to school. Some brave girl asked him if he got confused and thought it was finals week. Bang only gave her a long cold stare before replying “you shouldn’t stuff your bra so lopsided.” Flustered and red from embarrassment, the girl whipped herself around and stared ahead, making sure not to look any of her classmates in the eye.

“I was actually trying to give helpful advice.” Bang said to himself, resting his head down on the desk. Bang walked a bit crooked after the last bell, not only had he just woke up, but he had drank more on his lunch break. “Bang, Bang, hey, Bang.” Insoo called from behind the tipsy guy. Bang finally turned around the face Insoo and managed to force a smirk.

“Where were you this morning? Man, you missed out. We had a pick-up game against some college guys and totally kicked their asses.” Insoo said, falling into pace with Bang. “I blocked this guy’s shot so bad I thought he was going to kill me.” Insoo laughed, shooting a basketball that wasn’t there. Bang nodded apathetically. “I overslept.” He said. Insoo shook his head and bit his tongue before calling Bang out on how lazy he was. “Next time then. Don’t miss it. Or I’ll break your legs.”

“How will I play then, Insoo?” Bang asked with a slight bite to his words.

“You won’t. You can referee.” Insoo joked, but it didn’t land, Bang just rolled his eyes. Insoo ran his fingers through his hair and decided to change the subject. “Gunwoo comes home tomorrow, you’re still invited to his Welcoming party.” Insoo said, unable to hide how excited he was for his older brother to come back to town after being away at grad school.

“I don’t want to party.” Bang muttered. Insoo swallowed more harsh words for his friend. It was one thing for Bang to be uncaring about a basketball game in the park, but he knew how much Insoo and his family had missed Gunwoo while he was away at grad school. Insoo stopped walking and just watched as Bang didn’t even notice. “Fine, Yongguk.” Insoo said, feeling helpless. For the past six months, Insoo had tried over and over to stay a good friend to Bang and bring him out of his pity party, but nothing worked and it wasn’t for lack of effort. Insoo could only do so much for a guy who just didn’t want to feel better…or feel anything for that matter. It was as if Bang wanted to and planned to live and die depressed. Although Insoo didn’t understand it, he was reaching his limit of caring as well.

“Have fun at life.” Insoo yelled at Bang. Looking back a minute after Insoo’s insult, Bang shrugged when he saw Insoo was gone. Bang turned a corner and started walking down an empty hallway. At the end of the hall, he saw three guys horsing around with one another. It wasn’t until Bang got a bit closer to the boys that he saw it wasn’t any playful horsing around and that the oddly tall and slender boy with blonde bouncy curls on his head was actually being bullied. The two bullies were slightly shorter, chubby boys who wore different, fancier looking uniforms. One of the bullies shoved the tall boy into a locker and sneered. “Answer us. Why did you transfer out?” The bully ordered.

“What? You got sick of us? You always acted like you were too good to talk to any of us anyway.” The second bully spoke quieter than the first but sounded much more intimidating. Bang got more and more irritated at the scene as the three boys came more into view.

“I told you, it’s personal.” The victim said.

“Well, personally, nobody misses you anyway.”

“Yeah, we’re all glad you left. You’re a weirdo and made everyone nervous.”

“I’m sorry.” The blonde boy picked up some books on the floor that Bang assumed were his and went to walk way, making eye contact with Bang for not even a second. “Did we say we were finished?” The louder bully asked, grabbing the victim’s collar.

“Yeah, keep him still. We can’t have him running to tell his mama.”

“Ha! He doesn’t have a mom…I heard she’s-“

“Shut up.” The blonde boy said, yanking himself out of the bully's grasp and chucking the book at his jaw. “Get a life.” The blonde said, not so apologetic anymore.

“Do you want to die?” The quitter bully balled up a fist and swung right for the tall boy’s head. Bang took a big step right in between the three of them, making the quitter bully freeze mid-swing. “Move.” Both bullies said, looking Bang up and down.

“Oh. Am I in your way?” Bang asked, blocking the tall guy they had just been bullying.

“Damn right you’re in my way.” The second bully said through gritted teeth.

“Get out of here.” The other barked. The second bully side stepped to the right, but Bang mimicked him to the right and then to the left and back to the right and back to the left. “Knock it off.” The irritated bully yelled, his voice cracking a bit.

“Really? I’m still in your way?” Bang faked shock and looked all around them. “It’s a pretty big hallway, maybe you’re in my way.” He said, shoving the second bully with both hands, sending him falling on his back.

“You’re a dead man.” The bully said from the hard floor.

“Come here.” The louder, less imposing bully said, reaching for Bang’s face. Bang snatched the chubby guy by the arm and slung him over his back, sending him crashing to the floor as well. The blonde boy gasped, finally stepping from behind Bang. “Whoa.” He said.

“You two are out of shape, don’t bother trying to take me on.” Bang warned.

“We can handle both of you.” The bully Bang had shoved got up and pointed at Bang with a quivering finger.

“Are you sure about that?” Bang jerked his chin toward the other bully, who was on an inhaler. The blonde boy chuckled with his hand over his mouth, not wanting to draw too much attention to himself. 

“Are you kidding me? You have asthma?” The second bully yelled back at his cohort.

“Don’t tell anybody.”

“Get your up and help me take this guy.”

“No! I’ll have a full on asthma attack, let’s just go. My mom’s probably waiting for us at school anyway.” The asthmatic bully started running towards the end of the hallway. Bang assumed he was running from both him and his ‘friend’. Without much a choice left, the second bully shook an angry fist at the blonde kid. “You’re so lucky this weirdo showed up when he did.”

“Ouch.” Bang muttered.

“Just get out of here.” The blonde said in a low, almost supportive tone. The bully ran off then, only about a minute behind the first. Once it was just the two of them in the hall, Bang turned to the blonde kid and gave him a sharp look. The blonde was just about to smile and thank Bang, but didn’t get the chance.

“Learn to fight.” Bang said flatly, half turning away from the lanky teen. “I don’t know what kind of bullies you have at your old school, but at this one, it’s best if you know how to fight.” Bang might have been exaggerating just a little, but still, he wasn’t very impressed with this kid he had just saved and definitely didn’t want him thinking they were suddenly pals. The blonde’s smile cracked and faded as Bang went on talking.

“Honestly, that was very burdensome for me and I wish I would’ve just ignored this.” Bang nodded as he went on. “Anyway, be more careful from now on.” Bang said, walking to the opposite end of the halls with one hand in his pocket and the other reaching for a the flask.

            Bang had been walking down the sidewalk for about ten minutes when the blonde kid seemingly appeared from thin air beside him. “You walk this way too? Cool.” The blonde said, cheesing wide.

“Where the hell…” Bang asked incredulously. Bang was more than positive he had been the only one walking that sidewalk just a moment ago and whipped his whole body around to see if maybe the freakishly tall kid had been dropped off perhaps.

“I’m Zelo, by the way.” The blond grabbed Bang’s hand and shook it quickly before Bang could even pull it away. “And thank you for helping me out by the way.” Zelo added, still cheesing from ear to ear as he struggled to keep pace with Bang. Ironically Bang was actually the slower of the two and Zelo walked so much faster mostly due to his long, lanky legs. Just one of Zelo’s steps seem to equal about three of Bang’s. Still a bit confused as to where the heck Zelo appeared from Bang finally managed to say something. “I only helped you so that you would feel embarrassed.” Bang lied. “And Zelo is a weird name. Go away now please, let’s not be friends.” Bang gave Zelo a small push away with the palm of his hand.

“Zelo is a more normal name than Bang. You’re named after a sound effect.” Zelo laughed, not even affected by Bang’s harsh words.

“What?” Bang jerked his full attention to Zelo, staring him down with an unamused glare that could’ve probably burned through metal. Zelo just laughed and scratched at his head of big blonde curls. “KABOOM! ZAP! POW!” Zelo laughed at his own jokes, slowly shutting up when Bang’s expression didn’t change. “Those guys were picking on me because I made them stop bullying this underclassman before I transferred. Mostly, I did it to impress that kid’s sister, but I think she swings the other way because…-“

“How do you know my name?” Bang interrupted loudly.

“She wears her pants a little baggier than most of the other girls and has a heavy walk. I mean, that doesn’t mean she’s a…-“ Zelo went on, rambling as he walked with the annoyed and uncomfortable Bang.

“Be quiet…Stop talking…listen to what I’m asking…Shut up!” Bang shouted again, clearing his throat right after when an elderly woman jumped in her front yard. “Sorry, ma’am.” Bang said, bowing to her.

“Hey, that was rude of you to yell at that woman.” Zelo flashed a sympathetic pout toward the woman and bowed as well. “You should say sorry one more time.” He advised.

“Listen to me, Zelo or whatever your name is.”

“You got it right.”

“I asked you how you know my name. I just saved you, don’t you think you owe me simple answers like that?” Bang asked. Zelo started playfully laughing and held up a finger like he was about to make a point.

“You said you only wanted to help me so I would feel embarrassed, so I wouldn’t say I owe you much.” Zelo’s grin fell off quickly when he saw Bang sigh and began cracking his knuckles casually.

“Hey! Don’t be so temperamental.” Zelo said, holding up both hands in surrender.

“Then just answer how you know me. I’ve never seen you around before. Have you been tailing me? Was this all a setup?”

“I know your name because you are kind of popular around school. I heard other students talking about you all day, pretty mean, sarcastic stuff.” Zelo admitted with a thin smile.

“I’m not tailing you, I really do walk home this way and I really did want to say thanks.”  

“Then just say it and go about your way.”

“I was going to do that, but then you dissed my name, man.” Zelo reminded Bang.

“And you didn’t diss mine?”

“In retaliation.”

“You of all people are talking about retaliation? You were about to get your handed to you in that hallway.” Bang finally started walking again, taking a quick glance at his wristwatch. This Zelo kid was really holding up Bang’s day. It wasn’t as if Bang had plans, but still, the kid was a pest and talked too much.

“Ouch, that’s a low blow. Hey, for the record, I actually can fight.” Zelo said, still keeping up with Bang effortlessly. “I was taught not to.” Zelo added, showing off by taking one stride to the opposite side of Bang.

“Who teaches someone not to defend themselves?” Bang laughed, shaking his head at the idea. Having been in a couple of fights when he was in middle school, Bang didn’t regret a single one and if asked, would say that about half of them were out of self-defense…maybe a little less than half but who was counting anyway.

“No, really, my Dad always says fights like that are meaningless.” Zelo went on.

“So it means nothing to be made a fool of?”

“Sometimes we just have to suffer in silence, my Dad says.”

“That’s dumb.” Bang said, swallowing hard at the saying. “Your dad probably doesn’t want for two overweight punks to bully you though.” Bang figured Zelo had misunderstood what his dad meant or something and shook his head at the kid. “Kids these days.” He said.

“Right?” Zelo agreed, frowning at a pair of little boys rollerblading recklessly down the other side of the street.

“I’m talking about you.” Bang yelled.

“Hey, I’m not a kid.” Zelo whined. “I even have a bank account.”

“So they give giraffes bank accounts now?” Bang said slyly, chuckling at his own joke.

“Giraffe!” Zelo cried. “Another low blow! You don’t fight fair.”

“We’re not fighting, I’m just trying to get you to leave me alone.”

“I told you I was going to but then you made fun of my name.”

“Is that why you’re still following me home?” Bang yawned, stretching his arms up in the air. Zelo huffed at Bang’s accusation as they rounded a corner. “I’m not following you, my house really is this way.”

“I don’t believe you.” Bang said nonchalantly.

“Want to come over my house for dinner?” Zelo asked, half nicely, half angrily. Bang stopped walking and squinted at the beanpole of a boy.

“You’re going to invite me to your house for dinner just so I’ll believe you live this way? Fine. That makes you a pretty dedicated liar so I’ll say I believe you.” Bang shrugged, still finding the whole thing ridiculous. Zelo’s lips formed a triumphant smirk as he dashed to the middle of the street and pointed to the left. Bang looked over at the large home at the end of the street. The home was three levels tall and built behind a fancy looking black electronic gate. The other homes on that side of the street looked like shacks in comparison and were vacant. Bang knew this house very well, he saw it practically every day when he walked to and from school or even on the weekends when he just roamed around town day drinking and people watching.

“That’s my house.” Zelo cocked his head to the side and folded his arms in victory.

“It’s ugly.” Bang jabbed, faking an exaggerated yawn again.

“Well, it’s not like I’m the one that designed it.” Zelo unfolded his arms, stomping his feet.

“You just moved in.” Bang said, taking a longer look at the house than he had ever done before.

“Uh, yes.” Zelo sounded unsure of how to answer and Bang caught on, raising an eyebrow but not pushing it any further. Bang wasn’t really asking if Zelo just moved in, he was stating it. Bang thought it a little odd that he hadn’t once seen a moving truck or any activity around the home in all the times he had walked past it on his way to or from school. Suddenly, Zelo lived there and there was a car in the driveway, the whole nine yards. Bang wondered if he was rightfully curious or if he had really been so detached lately that he simply missed the whole move in period.

“So, you wanna come over and eat dinner?” Zelo held back some of the hopefulness in his voice.

“What?” Bang asked.

“I said do you want to come over and eat dinner? We have a phone if you want to ask tell your parents.” Zelo forced a more nonchalant tone this time, checking his nails and yawning a bit while he waited for Bang to reply. 

“Look, I get it, alright? You weren’t just following me and this really is your house.” Bang spoke flatly. “I don’t get why you’re inviting me over for dinner.” Bang started to walk away. Bang was uncomfortable, nothing had really gotten him so worked up in more than a few months and he was in a rush to go home so that he could do and feel nothing. This blonde giraffe boy was too talkative and made Bang just the same. “I should’ve stayed home today.” Bang mumbled, waiting for a car to drive by so he could cross to the opposite side of the street.

“Aw, c’mon. My little sister is a really good cook and I have some cool games.” Zelo seemed to shrink a bit, feeling defeated by Bang’s unbeatable apathy towards him. Harshly, Bang turned back to Zelo and threw his arms outward in frustration. “Kid, why are you trying so hard to be friends with me?” Bang finally asked what he had been wondering since Zelo first introduced himself.

“Well, because you were nice to me first and…-“ Zelo didn’t really know how to answer Bang’s question. Zelo was grateful for Bang’s help in the halls even if Bang said it was just to make Zelo feel like a wimp. And running into Bang on his walk home hadn’t been planned, but Zelo was glad he got the chance to thank Bang. Even though the two of them bickered back at forth, that was normal and what people who got along did…what friends did. Thinking about how his once normal and easy life had been changed so drastically over the past couple months, Zelo was secretly elated to be walking home with someone close to his age that he could laugh and joke around with. Comfortable and familiar feelings came flooding back to Zelo while he was with Bang and for that short time, he didn’t feel so afraid to go home and face what his life had turned into.

            Zelo didn’t know much about Bang, and maybe he had gotten a little overwhelmed at the feeling of having friends again, but still, he didn’t understand how just being friendly could unnerve someone so much. Looking at the frustrated expression on Bang’s face, Zelo realized maybe he hadn’t made a friend, or even an ally after all.

“I was nice to you? I’ve been trying to shake you off since I left you in the hallway. Is that nice?” Bang asked, taking a step backwards and then forwards, as if he was unsure if the question was rhetorical or not. Zelo stuttered a little before answering. “I just heard the way the students at school talked about you and thought we could…”

“Be friends?” Bang cut off Zelo coldly.

“Yes.” Zelo deflated, dropping his head and forcing himself not to look Bang in the face. Although Bang hadn’t succeeded in embarrassing Zelo when they had been in the halls with those two thugs, he was without a doubt doing it now. Feeling pitiful, Zelo started towards his new house, hoping he would never run into Bang again. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.” Zelo mumbled to himself. “I can’t have friends. I can only have allies, only those 4…” Zelo wasn’t really telling himself those things as much as he was just reciting what his Uncle had been telling every day since taking him under his wing.

“I have friends.” Bang called from behind Zelo. “Okay?” Bang groaned to himself, thinking about Insoo, his only friend who he was holding onto by a thread at that point. It wouldn’t be long before Insoo gave up on Bang just like all his other friends had. What was the point of being kind and friendly to this tall, blonde boy? It’s not like he would have any idea what Bang was going through. Bang didn’t want a friend, he just wanted to know why Sooyoung had suddenly stopped caring about him and got a new boyfriend so quickly and why she changed her number and so on. If he couldn’t have those answers or better yet, Sooyoung back with him, he had no desire for much of anything else. “I have friends…” Bang said one more time, almost to reassure himself it was true. Both boy’s jumped a little when at the sound of a little girl’s voice. “Hyung!” It was Uko and another girl who had said it.

“Hyori.” Zelo said, brightening up a little as the little girl came running over to him. Bang assumed that the girl was Zelo’s little sister. Uko didn’t look as happy as Hyori did when she came to stand beside her brother, she looked a little nervous and uncomfortable, which hurt Bang.

“This is Uko, my new friend.” Hyori motioned towards Bang’s little sister and pulled Zelo over to them.

“You made friends already, that’s good.” Zelo nodded happily as he kneeled down to shake hands with Uko.

“You’re so tall.” Uko gaped.

“Yeah, his old friends used to call him Giraffe before we had to leave.” Hyori giggled with Uko. Zelo cut his sister off before she could bring up any more memories. “It’s nice to meet you, Uko I’m Zelo.” He said.

“Can I call you Giraffe, too?” Uko asked standing up on her toes.

“No.” Bang said, looking a bit apologetic.

“It’s okay.” Zelo mumbled.

“You know my brother? Are you guys’ friends, too? Can he come over for dinner, too?” Uko almost ran out of breath by the third question.

“Sure, I love cooking for new people. My Uncle and brother are too picky.” Hyori stated, cutting her brother a sideways glare.

“Hey, don’ t look at me like that. It’s not like you’re a real chef.” Zelo shook a little under the eyes of his passionate sister.

“I’ll never get over the day you added more salt to my clam chowder.” Hyori looked on the edge of tears. Zelo waved his hands frantically, suddenly feeling judged by everyone around him. “It’s was just a pinch.”

“That’s a big insult to the chef.” Uko said softly.

“Someone gets me, finally.” Hyori said.

“It was less than a pinch.” Zelo whined.

“Then it wasn’t needed in the first place.” Hyori said, chopping the back of her brother’s neck. Bang and Uko exchanged glances and then awkwardly looked away from one another.

“C’mon, Uko, I live just right there.” Hyori said, pulling Uko closer to her home.

“Uko, wait.” Bang started to protest.

“I already asked mom.” Uko said nicely. Bang grimaced a little at the word ‘mom’. That wasn’t there mother. “She said it was okay for you to go without her?” Bang asked, already knowing the answer would be no.

“No.”

“Then say goodbye and let’s go.” Bang motioned for Uko to hurry up. “You can see your new friend tomorrow at school.” He spoke quicker, hoping to convey how quickly we actually wanted her to move.

“She has so many errands to run. So, she said I could go as long as you came with me.” Uko added, stopping Bang in his tracks.

“What?” Bang moaned loudly. Bang noted the hopefulness in both Uko and Hyori’s face and instantly felt like the bad guy for even considering to say no. Uko looked really happy and he had been such a cold, distant big brother lately, he figured he owed her this. How bad could it really turn out to be anyway? Plus, without his step-mother at home, they wouldn’t have anything to eat anyway, so he might as well get a free meal out of this inconvenience. “That woman…” Bang said, picturing his step-mother sitting in a nail salon somewhere in the city cackling as the flames of hell rose up around her. Bang cursed her silently as he grinned down at Uko. Uko, taken aback got the goose bumps when her brother smiled at her. “Ew, you look weird smiling so fake.” She peeped.

            Uko and Hyori sat on their knees across the table from one another. Zelo and Bang were opposite from one another as well. Bang kept trying to avoid looking directly at Zelo, but it was no use. Each time Bang looked up, Zelo was cheesing at him, feeling smugly victorious. As Uko and Hyori went on chatting about how good the food was and all their school activities for the week, Bang’s attention drifted off to how nice the home was. All the furniture and the overall feel of the three story house was…new, but old. Old fashioned but modern. Bang didn’t really know how to explain it to himself, he just knew Zelo and Hyori’s family had to be loaded to afford such a nice house. When Zelo finally looked away from Bang so that he could feed himself, Bang took a good look at the blonde giraffe. Bang would’ve never guessed that this kid he had defended on a whim in the halls would end up making him actually take the time and energy to hold an argument, get upset and even do his sister a favor. Looking over at how happy Uko was with her new friend, Bang was grateful, however that it had all lead up to this dinner, even if it probably was the last time he would hang out with Zelo. Bang already had plans on skipping school the next day and hanging at one of his usual bars that had just given up on kicking him out for being underage because he always came back the next day and snuck in with the help of a different pretty girl or local drunk.

“If you have so much money, why do you eat on the floor?” Bang asked. Bang’s father wasn’t the richest man in the city, but he damn sure didn’t have his family still eating on the floor like the lower class. Bang stuffed a spoonful of Yakbop into his big mouth, waiting for Zelo to finish chewing his own and answer.

“We have a lot of money?” Zelo finally asked after chewing. Hyori laughed with a napkin over . “I don’t have any money at all actually.” Zelo went on with the sarcastic answer.

“Huh?” Bang tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes, wondering what Zelo was trying to do to his brain. Bang didn’t like being fooled around with. “Look, it’s not like I’m upset about eating on the floor, it’s a pretty floor. Very shiny.” Uko gave her brother a sidelong look, wishing he would just shut up and enjoy the good food and company already. “I’m just wondering why you have such a big, fancy house and no dinner table, it’s odd. Just like your name and height.” Bang ended his sentence with a pleasant nod and goofy gummy smile.

“I told you I don’t have any money.” Zelo said, suppressing a much larger laugh than the one he let crack out.

“Yes you do.” Bang said.

“We really don’t.” Hyori chimed in sweetly.

“You do.” Bang persisted.

“We don’t.” Zelo shook his head as if he was pitying himself. Hyori joined in, wiping away invisible tears. Bang growled and motioned to the huge home around them.

“Stop screwing with me.” He shouted.

“We aren’t.” Hyori said. Uko laughed nervously at how irritated her big brother was getting and took a sip of her cola. “Why don’t you just let it go, bro.” Uko spoke through her fake smile. As embarrassed as she was getting by Bang, there was a part of the girl that was just glad to see so much life in his face after so long. Even the way Bang spoke, it was livelier, more human than Uko had heard in so long.

“Hyori and I don’t even buy our own food at school. Truthfully, life is hard for us.” Zelo said glumly. Bang had had enough, he jumped to his feet, nearly kicking over the table in the process. Hyori and Uko screamed a little when Bang pointed violently down at Zelo.

“C’mon, stop playing around now.” Bang moaned, feeling like he was missing out on some huge joke. Hilariously, Bang slouched like he had had the wind knocked out of him and asked one more time, with a softer expression this time.

“How do you have so much money but still eat on the floor?” Bang saw Hyori about to answer him and pressed his index finger to his lips, cutting her off. “Don’t say it…don’t say ‘we don’t’ again.” Bang said. Hyori closed her half open mouth with a smirk. Uko giggled as the three jokers ate in silence while Bang continued to stand, frustrated and out of the loop.

……..

…………

…………………….

“We don’t.” Zelo said fast. Bang roared and ran over to the fancy, shimmering kitchen, pointing out all the glossy countertops and state of the art appliances. “Explain this and this and this.” Bang dashed to first room upon entrance and waved his arms at the big, expensive looking leather sofas and the high ceiling, the glossy hard wood floors and abstract art hanging on the walls. “This and this and this.” Bang went on. Zelo, Hyori and Uko had gotten to their feet to follow Bang on his rant around the house.

“Explain it.” Bang panted.

“They’re trying to say that their Uncle is the one with all the money, they don’t actually have any themselves.” Uko finally put her big brother out of his misery.

“Their Uncle?” Bang repeated with a contorted expression. The sound of a key entering the front door made Zelo and Hyori tense. “So a man with all this money and taste wants to eat on the floor?” Bang threw his hands outward as if he was trying to stretch them to each end of the room. The second Bang’s left hand flew outward, the front door opened and the tall, dark haired man that walked in was greeted with a strange boy’s hand smacking him in the face. Zelo and Hyori stuttered out their explanations and apologies at the same time. Uko held her breath, not sure what the serious looking man in a beige suit was going to say or do to her brother.

            Bang kept his hand on the man’s face for a couple seconds before snapping it back and bowing. Before Bang could get out his own apology, the man held up his palm, silencing them all. Quickly, but cautiously, the man undid his tie and let it fall to the floor. Next, he kicked off his shoes that they flew past Zelo’s head and landed somewhere unseen. The man whipped his suit jacket off dramatically and tossed it onto Hyori’s head. Hyori left the jacket there, feeling suddenly invisible from her Uncle’s serious gaze. “Uncle…” Zelo finally started to say. The dark haired man cleared his throat and then….let out a shrill battle cry just before pouncing towards Bang like a spider monkey. “Nephew! Niece! Run!” The man shouted while still in the air. Bang cringed, watching the man fall closer and closer to him. Before the man could tackle Bang to the ground, Zelo caught him and carried him out of the room. “Uncle, Uncle, be calm, please.” Zelo said, carrying the man out of the room like a badly behaved child.

“Uncle, there are friends.” Hyori snatched the jacket off her head and tried to explain before her Uncle was all the way out of the room.

“He used my face as an arm rest! He waited too long to bow! He didn’t apologize.”

“I was about to.” Bang called before the man was all the way out of the room.

“Don’t speak! You have zero manners.” The man continued, his voice getting fainter and fainter as Zelo carried him further away. Uko shot her big brother a peeved expression. Shrugging, Bang looked over to Hyori for an explanation. “That’s our Uncle Hyo Shin.” Hyori said. “He takes first impression really seriously…so he probably hates you now and will haunt you even in the afterlife.” Hyori added as casually as possible.

           For twenty minutes Bang, Uko and Hyori just paced around the front room, waiting for Zelo or even Hyo Shin to come back. But there was sign of either one of them. Tired of waiting around and wasting the little time she got with company that wasn’t Zelo or his team of new friends, Hyori rushed Bang and Uko back into the kitchen where she whipped up a dozen cream filled cupcakes in almost no time at all. Bang sat beside his sister and ate in awkward silence. Hyori sighed at the sound of polite chewing filing the kitchen and suddenly ran off. Once Hyori was gone, Bang spoke up. “We should get out of here. I pissed off their strict Uncle.” He said.

“It’s even ruder if we leave without thanking Hyori and Zelo…and without you saying sorry formally.” Uko replied fast. Hyori quickly came spinning back into the kitchen with a bright pink princess dress on. Uko lit up when Hyori pulled another bright pink dress from behind her back along with three plastic tea cups and a tea pot. “Tea party, anyone?” Hyori said, flashing an eye smile.

“Oh my God.” Uko screamed, running over to the dress Hyori had brought for her. Bang’s expression went pale at the thought of having to take part in the girl’s tea party. “Zelo, hurry the hell up.” Bang whispered.

            “I have to go to the restroom.” Bang lied, practically running out of the tea party set up Hyori and Uko had created in the kitchen.

“I didn’t even tell him where the bathroom was.” Hyori said. Cautiously, Bang power walked around the large home, trying to find Zelo, hoping he could pass on an apology to Hyo Shin and then get the heck out of there with Uko before any other damage was created. “Zelo where the hell are you?” Bang muttered. Halfway into his search for Zelo, Bang really did end up having to go to the restroom and began looking for that as well. Turning into what seemed like the tenth hallway, Bang was already clutching himself, about to explode.

“Dammit, it’s like a maze.” Bang power walked to the end of that hallway and then took a left into the next one, which was a dead end. The only thing at the end of that hall was a small desk with a very pretty flower pot on top. Inside the pot was a bouquet of rare looking yellow flowers that almost seemed to be glistening in the poorly lit hall. For a moment, Bang forgot he had to use the restroom as badly as he did and walked down the dead end hall, fascinated by the flowers. Once reaching the flowers, Bang bent down slightly to get a good smell of them, but there wasn’t anything to smell in fact.

“No smell…” Bang took four more sniffs, but still, no aroma came from the flowers at all. Bang figured they were fake and took one of the pedals in between his index and thumb finger to be sure. Bang gasped at the hard marble like texture of the pedals. Bang knew nothing more about flowers than the next guy, but there was something special about these, he knew that for sure. Bang was so interested in the flowers that he wanted to take one back downstairs and ask Hyori about them. Bang plucked up one of the glistening flowers from the bouquet and nearly peed himself at what happened next.

            The desk in front of slid across the floor on its own, taking a portion of the wall with it to reveal a hidden passageway. Wide eyed and on the verge of wetting himself, Bang froze, unsure of what to do next. Bang had already caused some trouble with Uncle Hyo Shin and now he was looking at a hidden passageway that he knew he wasn’t supposed to be looking at. Could the day get any more burdensome? Bang walked forward anyway, almost positive he would end up regretting it. As Bang placed both feet into the secret passageway, the wall-door shut close behind him and a row of dim, white lights lit up the walkway. Bang jumped a little at the sound of the wall closing and was grateful no one had been around to see that. Bang thought about pounding on the door until someone heard him, but he was positive that with his luck, it would be Hyo Shin who would find him, and most likely strangle him. Bang took a deep breath and walked forward, still in silent awe of the whole thing. “Who are these people?” Bang asked the question as he walked down the walkway, which seemed to go on forever, slightly curving the more he walked.

            “Spies. Aliens. Vampires.” Bang went through a list of possible explanations for the mysterious hidden portion of the home. Bang came to a turn and pressed his back against the cold wall, slightly peeking around first. “Whew.” He said, wiping a bead of sweat from his face. Bang let out a small exclamation when he rounded the corner and saw a several flat screens on the wall. The screens each flashed different portions of the house. Bang breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Uko and Hyori still playing carelessly in the kitchen. “Spies.” Bang thought again as he walked on, faster this time. “Where the hell is the way out?” Bang asked himself, starting to get panicky. When Bang came to the next corner, he didn’t even bother peeking around. Quickly, Bang rounded the corner and saw a fork in the walkway. On the left was a dead end, well, not exactly…at the end of the walkway was a vault door. Bang didn’t even want to think of what was inside the vault, he just shook his head and started a light sprint down the other direction. “Zelo, who the hell are you?” He asked again. Bang’s mind was racing as he started to think he would never get out of the passageway alive. Just the vacantness of this secret portion of the home scared Bang. Behind every turn was more of nothing, more silence, more white walls and security footage…but where was the exit and where was Bang going? Where was he eventually going to find himself? Bang felt as if he had been sprinting down that hall for a good ten minutes before he heard a voice, making him stop so suddenly that he nearly fell over his own feet.

“Who’s there?” Bang said aloud.

Why would you bring them here?

I’m sorry, we just wanted company.

Do you have any idea what could happen if this secret gets out?

Yes sir.

This is serious business, Zelo. And involving innocent people like Bang and his sister is foolish. Not to mention dangerous.

Yes sir.

            Bang realized quickly that it was Hyo Shin and Zelo speaking. The two relatives weren’t in the halls with Bang though. Bang walked over to the wall right beside him and placed his hand on it, feeling around for something he wasn’t even sure of. After a couple minutes of soft touches on the wall, Bang felt a handle. Even when Bang was holding the handle in his hand, he could still barely see it, as it was the exact same color as the wall and camouflaged so well. Bang could hear the rest of the conversation as well as clashing sounds coming from the other side of the wall. The sounds of metal scrapping against each other or something. Bang really didn’t want to confront Zelo and Hyo Shin, but he knew there was no way he was going to get out of this secret part of the house on his own. At this point, Bang was just hoping he would be allowed to leave with his sister, a quick apology and a promise to keep everything he had seen a secret. As Bang opened the well hidden door, he got a mental image of Zelo and Hyo Shin turning into blood thirsty vampires and draining him of his life. Bang wanted to slap himself when he realized that he was actually afraid of Zelo. “Freaking giraffe…” Bang said, walking all the way through the door. On the other side of the wall, the only way was down. There was nothing but a staircase leading down to more unknown. “How is this even possible?” Bang said, walking down the first step as quietly as he could manage. The metal clashing sounds Bang had heard got louder and more distinct as he reached the final steps and wound up in a small, narrow passageway. Pressing himself up against the wall, Bang scooted to the edge and peered around.

“Whoa.” Bang quickly clasped his hand over his mouth. Around the corner Bang saw a large dojo type room with all sorts of battle dummies and weapons lining the walls. In the center of the bright lit dojo was Zelo and Hyo Shin, wearing sparring robes and battling with swords.

            “Play time is over, Zelo. It’s time for you to get serious like the others.” Hyo Shin said, swinging away at Zelo, who was barely managing to escape his Uncle’s swipes. “Edward and his team have only one less Z Stone than us but in terms of skill, they’re miles ahead of us.” Hyo Shin said, suddenly sidestepping behind Zelo and kicking him in the back. Zelo fell over, but skillfully tucked and rolled away before the hilt of Hyo Shin’s sword struck him.

“I know, Uncle, I’m sorry.”

“You’re my nephew and I love you just as much as I loved my brother, but I can’t go easy on you. I know this is a very difficult life to adjust to, but it is in fact, your life now.” Hyo Shin did some fancy sword play with his sword and Bang watched his hard features soften imperceptibly.

“I know, Uncle, I’ll do better, I swear.” Zelo dropped his guard and fell onto his , looking guilty.

“Edward and I think there’s a…threat coming to the city soon. In fact, it may be here already.” Hyo Shin turned grim and pale as he spoke, not even wanting to look Zelo in the eye.

“Threat?” Zelo asked, sitting up straight like he was about to hear a story.

“Yeah.” Hyo Shin said. Bang took a long, good look at Hyo Shin and noted how much younger the man looked in this new scenery. Bang assumed the man was no older than 25, maybe 28. Myabe. Hyo Shin was a lean but muscular man with dark black hair that he wore in a basic style. Hyo Shin’s jawline was strong and made most of his expressions looks ten times harder than they were intended, however, his light brown eyes were soft and kind looking. Zelo stood up when his Uncle went into a silent daydream.

“Uncle?” Zelo waved his hand in front of the man's face. Hyo Shin sighed heavily. “Training is over. The time for our real mission is coming.” Hyo Shin said.

“Okay.” Zelo managed to sound relaxed when he said it.

“As much as I hate to say it, maybe it’s time we put our differences aside with the other Unit and begin working together to make sure the last 3 Z Stones don’t fall into the wrong hands.” Hyo Shin bit his lips irratatedly before going on. “But Edward is such a little prick, I can't stand him. I can't stand him, I hate his face” Hyo Shin said through gritted teeth like a child. Bang raised an eyebrow at how fast the man could switch from a mysterious hard- to a bratty kid.

“Have you told the other guys?” Zelo asked.

“No. Edward hasn’t told his team either. But we need too…we can’t be caught off guard by what’s coming.”

“What exactly is coming?”

“Pure evil.” Hyo Shin said, eyes trialing off again. Bang gulped at the words, feeling like all his assumptions about spies and aliens were harmless compared to the word ‘evil’. There was just something in the way Hyo Shin said it that made Bang feel like a child asking his birth mother to check under his bed for him at night all over again.

“Please ask your friends to go now. Himchan other guys will be back from their training mission soon and we're going to have a lot to talk about.” Hyo Shin placed his hand on Zelo’s shoulder lightly. Loud music came from nowhere then, making Bang jump. Zelo and Hyo Shin tensed and then jerked their heads over to where Bang was pressed against the wall. Bang cursed when he realized the music was indeed his own cellphone ringing. “Damn you, woman.” Bang said, already knowing it was his step-mother calling.

            Bang had no time to even fumble with his phone before Hyo Shin was right in front of him, steam practically coming from his ears. “Sir, hi.” Bang was about to bow when Hyo Shin lifted him off the floor and tossed him to the side. Bang fell roughly in front of Zelo.

“Bang…” Zelo gaped, nearly speechless.

“I didn’t see anything. Well, I saw a lot, but I promise to forget it all.” Bang stammered. “If you’re going to kill me, please just let Uko go.”

“Now you see what I mean, Zelo.” Hyo Shin exclaimed.

 “Yes, sir. This was mistake.”  Zelo dropped his head again and sighed. “Sorry, Bang.” Zelo said.

“Sorry? For what? What are you going to do?” Bang panicked, scrambling to his feet. Hyo Shin took what seemed like one step and was standing nose to nose in front of Bang.

“How did you?” Bang couldn’t even finish his sentence before Hyo Shin grabbed him by the collar. “Who are you people?” Bang struggled with the words.

“It won’t matter.” Hyo Shin dropped Bang to the floor again and swung his sword down at him, casting a blinding light along with the blade.