Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he heaved a sigh and made his way out of a hotel. Looking at his feet, Key never noticed that he was about to run into someone until he did.

“Omo! Jesonghaeyo!” Key bowed frantically, feeling like an idiot for not paying attention to the road in front of him. He looked up and a familiar faced was revealed.

“Ah! Hana!” he bowed, “Funny seeing you around here.”

“I could say the same.” she smiled, “There was an old man in this little village in need of surgery so I rushed my way here to help him. And you?”

Key’s gazed immediately dropped. “I’m looking for my fiancée,” he replied sadly. Hana’s gaze also lowered as she emphasized with him as to how heartbroken he must be to have lost her. Then, Key lifted him head to meet her eyes as he had an idea.

“Have you seen her? She’s in her early 20’s at about this height, short hair…” he gestured to show her Amber’s physical appearance as if she was standing right next to him. But as he went on, Hana realized that his description was somewhat familiar to her.

“Is she often mistaken for a boy?” Hana wondered.

Key paused to her comment, “YES!” he clapped, “You’ve seen her? Where’s she now? Is she okay? What happened?” one after another, Key went on and on with endless amounts of question that Hana could barely keep up with.

“Calm down!” she insisted, “I can’t answer this many questions all at the same time you know.” That’s when Key shut up and let her talk.

“First thing’s first, I never got your name.”

~

Stretching out her tired arms, Amber got up and out of bed, took her cup that contained her toothbrush and headed outside for the sink. Turning the corner she saw Kris already brushing his teeth. He stopped, looked up and their eyes locked for a moment. Frantically trying to avoid anymore awkward moments, Kris continued to brush his teeth.

“Hah. Eh- Annyeong!” she greeted. But Kris continued to brush his teeth. Amber waited awkwardly against the shower door and waited for him to finish.

Not long after, he spat out the toothpaste and rinsed his mouth. Amber stood there patiently, glancing at him from time to time, wondering when he’d finish. By that moment, Amber thought that those five minutes were the longest five minutes that she had ever had to go through.

Wiping his mouth dry with the towel that he has previously set aside, Kris finally responded, “Annyeong.” His smiled glistened in the morning sun, his teeth looking even whiter than before especially after he had just finished cleaning them out. Amber blushed to his smile and brushed past him for her turn at the sink.

“Hey Amber,” Kris turned around before he turned the corner. Amber’s eyes averted up to make eye contact with him through the mirror, continuing to brush her teeth. “We’re having grilled cheese this morning. You better hurry or I’ll eat your breakfast too!” he teased. Amber let out a growl as he ran off, not wanting him to finish her share of today’s breakfast. As a result, she quickly brushed her teeth, got herself changed and headed for breakfast. Rushing into the kitchen, she spied Kris handing out plates across the table as the others were busy finishing up preparing for breakfast.

Out of his busy work, Kris spotted Amber’s glaring eyes and gave her a smirk. “Did you really think that I’d eat your breakfast?”

Amber stuck her tongue out at him, “Yah! Pabo! Who knows what you’ll do? I bet you’ll dare to do anything.” Kris nodded in agreement.

“True.” he grinned. Eyeing him with relief, they sat down for breakfast. Suddenly, he felt a whack on the head. “Ah! Halmoni!”

“Sonja! It’s not nice to tease girls. Apologize now!” she scolded.

“Halmoni! It’s okay, really.” Amber insisted, “we were just joking around.”

“Yeah Halmoni. I was just joking around with her.” Kris laughed, rubbing the back of his aching head. Amber and Kris’s eyes locked, both understanding each other’s thoughts and blushing at their own. Somehow, spending more and more time with Amber has made Kris’s heart skip a couple of beats. And seeing her smile made him gradually become attracted to her. He finally smiled to realize that he has fallen in love with this tomboy, Amber Josephine Liu. Noticing that he has been staring at her for quite sometime now, she waves her hand frantically in front of his face.

“Yah! Wu YiFan! Wake up! Are you okay?” Amber asked worriedly, feeling a little bit uncomfortable from his intense staring.

Blinking a couple of times, he realized that he had zoned out for quite a bit. “Yeah,” he stammered, “I’m okay.”

“Are you sure?” Amber raised an eyebrow at him.

“Yes!” Kris reassured. Amber shrugged and continued on with a conversation she was having with Luhan.

“Sonja,” Hyun-Jae called. Kris looked up and met her eyes. “I’ll be leaving then.”

“Alright, I’ll help you out.” he smiled. Hyun-Jae nodded and they made their way to the door.

“Are you sure you’re alright sonja?” Hyun-Jae asked in a whisper, making sure that no one can hear their conversation.

“What are you referring to Halmoni?” Kris asked in return.

“You’ve been zoning out quite a bit lately. The last time I’ve seen you zone out this often was when you’ve lost your mother. I’m worried.”

“I’m fine, honestly.” Kris replied softly, having to remember his painful experience once again since his grandmother brought it up. Hyun-Jae looked closely into his eyes, full of concern.

“C’mon Halmoni! I’m honestly fine. You need to get going now don’t you?” Hyun-Jae finally nodded and backed off, wrapping her scarf around her neck and heading out the door.

“You boys better behave yourself while I’m gone! Goodbye!” she projected. Smiling and waving goodbye, Kris shut the door and made his way over to the kitchen.

“Okay guys, we need to hurry and get this place cleaned up. There’s work to be done.” Kris announced. Some got out of their chair and some hoped off the table. Together, they got to work cleaning up the kitchen and within half an hour, everyone was outside, ready to work.

“Xiumin and Luhan, take care of the animals today. Tao and Lay, harvest. As for Amber, Chen and I, we have to work in the barn today. The stocks are due today and we have to help out with the loading. Does everyone understand?” Kris asked. Some groaned and some cheered about their given jobs but their response was good enough for Kris to know that they all understood. “Okay,” Kris clapped, “Let’s get to work!” Everyone went over to the shed, found their necessary tools and got straight to work. Chen and Amber followed Kris into the barn.

“Chen, go get the forklift.” Kris ordered. “As for Amber, come with me. We have to welcome our guests. They’ll be here any minute now.”Chen shoved his hands in his pockets and left for the forklift that was parked nearby without a complaint.

“What’s up with him?” Amber asked as she tailed Kris to the main entrance of the barn.

“Eh. Leave him be. He’s always like that.” Kris said it like it was an easy brush off the shoulder. But not being able to talk to Chen like she does to everyone else really bothered her. Yes, he can be rude sometimes but Amber knew that there must be something hidden under that bored expression.

Opening the door, their guests has come right on time.

“Here they are.” Kris muttered with a smile as six men hopped off the truck. They looked similar to the rest of Kris and his brothers. Tall, clothed in overalls and a hat, all quite decent looking and all not looking anywhere older than 25.

“Kris! How’s it been?” one of them with blonde hair asked, greeting Kris with a strong handshake. He had a strong figure but not masculine enough to look fully mature or bu