“Guys! We really have to go now!” You shouted, calling the boys from the front gate of your house.

“Yup yup! Just one more minute!” You could hear N shouted back from inside the house, followed with curses from Hyuk as he groused at the eldest.

You smiled with head shook in disbelief.

Geez… they’re boys yet they take more time to get ready than a girl like me.

“___...”

You quickly turned away when you heard someone called your name.

“Oh! Annyeonghaseyo!” You bowed your head while greeting your neighbor with a smile.

Next to your fence, a pretty woman who already looked like in her late forties was holding a garden hose in her hands. You were not personally close to her, but you knew that she and her husband had lived in the house next to yours for a long time. Probably since long before you were born.

“Good morning. Going to school already?”

You cheerfully nodded, “Yes! How are you, aunt?”

“I’m good, thanks.” She was watering her plants when her expression suddenly turned awkward.

“Umm... ___, can I ask you something?”

“Yeah, sure.” You could clearly tell that something was wrong when she lowered her voice on a spur moment.

She cleared as she put down the hose.

“Well, your house… umm, I couldn’t help but noticed that it was somewhat noisy on last Saturday’s afternoon. I heard screams from the second floor and they didn’t stop until the next day…” She sighed, “Even my husband didn’t get enough sleep because of that. Do you mind to explain what was happening?”

Your eyes abruptly widened in surprise. Oh no. It was Hongbin…

You were pondering in panic when she eventually noticed your slightly swollen face and the bandage that wrapped around your neck.

“Omo! What happened to you?! A-are you hurt!?” She gasped.

“Uhh… well, ummm… it’s--” You quickly fixed your collar to hide the bandage. You were somewhat in a hurry this morning so you didn’t realize that it was tucked out from your shirt.

To be honest, you weren’t really sure how to explain it to her. You didn’t want your neighbor to freak out when she found out that you were living with six boys, especially when one of them just nearly killed you a few days ago.

“You know, ___... I’m really worried about you. I know your brother is studying abroad and you’ve been living alone for years. As your neighbor, of course I don’t want to see you get hurt. Plus, you’re a girl, my dear…”

You were very touched with her kindness, but you just couldn’t let her know about what really happened.

“Oh, no! I’m totally fine! Thank you for worrying about me. Umm… this wound, you see-- I got this after I foolishly slipped down at the bathroom and hit my face first! H-haha… ha…” You let out an awkward smile.

“Oh my… you should be careful next time, dear.”  You were about to let out a sigh of relief when she suddenly tilted her head. “Then, whose scream was that? It sounded like a man’s voice…” She curiously tapped her chin.

Your body instantly stiffened.

! What kind of excuse should I tell her for that one!? Think, ___! Think!

“Good morning, honey~” Ravi suddenly came over and hugged you from behind.

You immediately pushed him back when your neighbor’s eyes perked up in horror. For a minute there, you thought that she would pass out from shock.

“What?” Ravi was confused with your fierce response. He was about to give you another hug when he spotted the middle-aged woman in front of you.

“Ah~ annyeonghaseyo!” He bowed his head.

Your neighbor was staring at both of you with her jaw dropped to the ground. You quickly held Ravi’s arm and flashed her a fake grin.

“U-uhh… --I guess you haven’t met him, right? Umm… he’s my cousin, Ravi!” You stuttered as you lied, “He… he just got here in Seoul this Saturday!”

Ravi abruptly pouted, “What are you saying? I’m you boyfr--mmphh!”

You could feel cold sweats started to pour as you covered Ravi’s mouth with your hand. “Aigoo~ my cousin! How can you be so rude?! Hurry, introduce yourself properly to our neighbor!”

Ravi blinked his eyes as he grew even more confused. You had to nudge his waist with your elbow first before he finally got the hint.

“O-oh… yeah, sorry! I’m ___’s cousin, Kim Won-- no! Kim Ravi! Nice to meet you!” He tried his best to force a smile and you could swear it looked so awkward that you nearly burst out a laugh.

“___! My princess! Let’s just go now and leave the others! Aishhh… they’re so freaking slow! I can’t take this anymore!” Ken suddenly stepped out and this time your heart nearly stopped beating.

“And who is this…?” She pointed at Ken with an even more shocked expression on her face.

“What the--” Ken instantly freezed.

“H-he’s also my cousin! A-aha… ahaha!” You pulled another phony stunt.

Ken had his glance shifted to both of you and the aunt. He eventually smirked when he realized what was actually going on.

“Ne! Annyeonghaseyo~ my name is Ken, and I’m ___’s cousin! Nice to meet you!” Ken politely bowed and gave you a wink.

She just blinked and slightly bowed back at the boys, “Oh, h-hello there, uhh… you two…! Wow, I have no idea that you are blessed with such good-looking cousins, ___!”

You forced a grin, “Well yeah, you see-- we’re somewhat distantly related and their parents are currently on a business trip, so they’ll be living with me for a while! Ha-haha…” You stiffly grinned.

“O-oh, and about those screams you heard… these two were having a horror movies marathon! That’s why they kept on screaming even when I told them to stop!” You quickly glared at Ken and Ravi, “…Right boys?!”

The two boys looked at each other in silent. “Uhh… yes! We were too excited because it has been ages since we met each other! So, yeah--” Ken sheepishly laughed. You got to admit that he had a talent in acting.

“Umm… we’re really sorry if we had somewhat disturb you. We won’t do it again, we promise.” Ravi bowed.

The neighbor just bewilderedly stared at the three of you, but she finally fell for the trap, “Oh, is that so? I guess it’s okay then, haha! I understand that you guys are missing each other.” She smiled.

“Y-yes! I miss them so much!” You laughed awkwardly as you slung your arms around Ken and Ravi’s waists.

She finally laughed and softly stared at all of you. “It’s good to see that you finally got companions to spend your days with, ___. At least, you won’t feel lonely anymore. Right, my dear?”

“Of course! They’re the best!” You quickly nodded.

She let out another laugh, “Haha, I see… then, go to school already! You guys don’t want to be late, right? I need to prepare breakfast for my husband, too. See you next time!” She took her hose and finally went inside her house.

The moment she shut her front door, the three of you sighed in unison.

“Thank God she easily fell for our cheap tricks…” Ravi wiped invincible sweats on his forehead.

Ken shook his head, “You should be thankful that N wasn’t here though. Otherwise, it would have turned into some kind of cheap romantic drama.”

“Yeah, N will definitely say cheesy stuffs like he’s my fiancé or whatever worse…” You snorted.

“So... she heard those screams, huh?” Ravi mumbled while rubbing his chin, “Then I guess from now on, whenever someone has his trigger on we need to shove something into his mouth to suppress the noise.”

Ken firmly nodded, “I agree with you.”

You couldn’t help but shivered as you imagined one of these boys went into voodoo doll state too, just like what happened to Hongbin last Saturday. You really hoped that you would never have to go through such horrible experience like that again.

“Okay, enough talking. We really need to go to school now.” You cut the depressing talk and pried open the front gate, “Let’s just leave those people behind…”

“Who said you can leave without me? Not in a million years, ___!”

You turned your head and saw N waltzed out from the door while fixing his tie. Hyuk, Hongbin and Leo were following right behind him.

“Then what the hell took you so long?!” You glared at him.

“It wasn’t me! It was Hongbin!” He pointed at Hongbin.

“Mwoya? Stop blaming me for everything.” Hongbin shook his head as he walked towards you, “Besides, I believe ___ will trust me more than you. Right, ___?” He winked at you.

N tightened his fists in annoyance, “Ya, Lee Hongbin! You-- aishh…”

Suddenly, Leo bumped into N’s shoulder and walked pass the front gate after he mouthed the eldest a ‘shut up’.

“Serves you right.” Hyuk teasingly stuck his tongue out and joined Ken, Ravi and Leo who already marched ahead.

“YA! I HATE YOU ALL!!” N yelled while stomping his foot the ground. “Well, of course you’re an exception, my honey~” He wittily grinned and grabbed your hand, “Come on!”

You couldn’t do anything but laughed at these boys’ silliness and cheerfully treaded your way to school with them.

You were sitting motionlessly on your seat with both hands draped in front of your face. You tried so hard to keep everyone oblivious about what happened to you. Because you knew that ever since those boys got transferred here, the seven of you had somewhat became the main scoop of the school. Meaning, every single thing that happened to the seven of you, would definitely cause a major uproar.

Sujin already asked you about it and you had to think thrice to find a convincing excuse to make her believe in you. In the other hand, your classmates were already gossiping about you since the moment you stepped your feet into the classroom. Some of them even noticed the bandage on your neck and started to make foolish stories about it.

Stupid, ___! How come I forgot to bring a mask?! Ugh… somehow I can now understand how it feels to be an idol…

“Should I go back home and fetch you a mask?” Hyuk stared at you worriedly. You could swear you nearly jumped from your seat because you thought that he just read your mind.

“Just give us the command and we’ll do anything for you! Anything that will make you feel better!” Ken added.

You shook your head, “No, it’s okay! I… I’ll try my best to survive today. Thanks guys…” You slightly nodded at them and covered your face again.

Suddenly, you could feel someone hugged you from behind. You slowly turned your head and realized that it was Hongbin. He looked very sad and guilty.

“I’m sorry…” He whispered softly.

“Stop it, Hongbin.” You yanked his arms lightly, “How many times do I have to tell you? Stop apologizing to me! It wasn’t even your fault, and we all knew that!”

“But, I was--” He sighed and hugged you even tighter, “I was the one who carved those wounds on you…” He dug his head down in shame.

“Look.” You lowered your voice, “If you keep on apologizing to me like that, I’ll stop talking to you forever!” You threatened him and you could hear him gasped.

“D-don’t do that…!” He immediately dashed to your side and kneeled with both hands placed on your lap. “I promise I won’t apologize again! J-just… just please don’t stop talking to me!”

You chuckled, “It’s a deal then.”

He firmly nodded and started to caress your arm, “…Is it still hurt?”

Actually it was still hurt, especially the one on your neck. None of your open wounds had been completely healed. Sometimes they still oozed out blood too. And the last time you checked, the bruises on your back and leg were still there. They weren’t really that hurt, but they still impeded you in several ways.

“Nope! I told you, I’m already fine.” You lied while stacking your hand on top of his. He then showed you his dimples that you adored so much and that made you feel somewhat comfortable.

“Yo! Lunch is here!” Ravi suddenly marched into the classroom with two plastic bags full with sandwiches and soft drinks.

N and Leo were walking behind him and you could see how Leo looked very annoyed because N kept on clinging at him like a koala. You also noticed that there were some girls from neighboring classes, all flocked on the door, trying to catch a glimpse of the boys.

“Here, eat this.” Ravi winked as he placed a can of mango soda and a tuna sandwich on your table.

“Gomawo~” You flashed him a smile before you started to munch your sandwich.

The boys were eating as well. All of you then began to ramble about random stuffs that happened today. Ken, Hyuk and N were whining about how they nearly fell asleep during history class. While Hongbin and Ravi complained that they got stalked by some female students when they were going to take a leak. You were pretty surprised with what happened to those two, but you ended up laughing at them anyway.

“Did you see that? How can she eat and laugh so snobbishly like that? Doesn’t she know how terrible she looks right now? I mean, look at her face, man! I thought she was a punching bag! Oh my God~ what if she becomes uglier than before?!”

You stopped munching and smile instantly vanished from your face. Even Ravi, who was sitting in front of you, already had his sandwich tossed to the table and rose from his seat with a darkened expression.

“HAHAHAHA! Look at her swollen face! It looks so funny that I can laugh to death!” Junhyung continued laughing with his friends.

“…” You heard Hyuk cursed as he took a sip of his drink.

N was ready to storm towards Junhyung but you quickly grabbed the tip of his blazer and stopped him.

“Just ignore him. That jerk doesn’t know when to stop.” You were about to continue eating when Junhyung started to make fun of you again.

“Hey, you guys do know how rude his cousins are, right? They are all savage like wild animals!” Junhyung mockingly his lips, “One of them must be the one who beat the crap out of her! Don’t you guys think so?” He eyed his friends before eventually locked his gaze on you.

The boys were already sending him death glares and you knew that they were ready to beat him up. They would even go as far as killing him if that was what you wanted them to do.

Worse, your classmates were starting to gossip about you and the boys again. You could swear that you nearly snapped when you heard one of them accused Ravi as the one who gave you those wounds.

“Ya, ___. How does it feel when one of your lovely cousins beat the out of you like you are some kind of trash?” Junhyung tapped his chin, “Hmm… you know what? Let me guess who the culprit was…”

Junhyung suddenly pointed his finger at N, “Hmmmm…” He casually hummed as he pointed at Leo and Ken too, “No no no…”

As expected, he had it stopped at Ravi.

“This filthy little vermin…” He tauntingly glared at Ravi, “The last time I fought him at the gym, he was like some kind of feral beast! I mean, he couldn’t even control himself! Who knows… maybe he wasn’t satisfied with just punching me so he ended up beating his own cousin to vent his anger. Wow~ this story is just beyond interesting…”

Junhyung’s gang burst out a loud sickening laugh while high-fiving each other. He scoffed at the seven of you as he continued with his mockery.

“Man, I know that you’re nothing but a loser, but seriously, I never thought that you would punch a girl! Wait, are you even a real man?! Haha!” He snickered, “Well... I guess it can’t be helped, right? She’s just too ugly to the point that she disgusts you!”

“YOU WRETCH!!!” Ravi angrily yelled and the whole class instantly flinched.

You looked at Ravi who was already panting hard. His eyes were dark and you could clearly hear his teeth gritted indignantly, “Ravi… don’t.” You held his arm.

Junhyung sneered, “Dude, why so angry? Could it be that everything that I said is true? Whoa… daebak. So you were really the one who hit her, huh?” He whistled.

The six of them stiffened and didn’t even utter a single word. You