Jung Taekwoon sat on a slightly uncomfortable rocking chair facing the window. It was isolated from the rest of the furniture, and was his spot. He had acquired a routine – sitting with a book, earbuds plugged in, listening to korean ballads, and just enjoying the night-scape from the dorm towering over the city. The soft lull of K.Will's voice, coupled with the twinkling, mesmerizing lights of the city were his sleeping pill.

He drifted off into the void between sobriety and his dreams, his thoughts wandering aimlessly. He thought of dancing, and of sporting events. He prayed for recovery, ideally immediate. He also hoped for a good night of rest in preparation for what tomorrow would bring.

Unfortunately for Leo, N had stumbled in and hollered at some other member with his unmistakably loud voice. In his state of stupor, he mumbled a statement of annoyance at the leader. Removing his earbuds, he could hear a female's voice. Leo rubbed his eyes and shook his head in an attempt to sober up, but the female voice never went away.

“Ahh, screw it. I'm going to sleep...”, thought Leo, as he returned to his interrupted rest, increasing the volume of the soothing ballads. In the fourteen minutes he took to fall asleep, he heard voices around him, probably arguing about something.

“What is she going to do here? She's a girl, we can't keep her here.”, a husky, deep voice spoke authoritatively.

“I really don't mind. I can do your chores! I did the chores at home as well...” That was the female voice. “What am I doing in a male dormitory, I don't even know all of you, apart from Hakyeon. And the last time I saw you, sir, was six years ago in that deserted gloomy orphanage.”

“But your foster mother will come looking for you, we can't just let you roam the streets. Just stay here, we'll make an arrangement in the near future. Hyuk, Hongbin, move to my room. She'll take your room and I'll sleep on the couch.”

Groans and protests ensued, and Leo thought with his adenosine-drenched mind, that he honestly could not care less about the entire matter.

*          *          *

Sera was scared. She wasn't just scared, she was frightened and insecure. What was she going to do in a house filled with men she only saw on television? She had once been close to Hakyeon, but she had no idea what he was like now. She didn't even know the real names of the other members!

The room that she was in was empty and dark. It was much bigger than her previous room, but also messier. The wardrobes were filled with branded clothes, shoes, accessories, and Hongbin and Hyuk's personal belongings. She felt strange. She was living every fangirl's dream, but instead of feeling inexplicably ecstatic, she felt alone.

When she was in the orphanage, she had dreams. Dreams to do great things with her life in the future, to affect people, to make herself unforgettable to other people. When she was adopted, she had plans, plans to escape the clutches of her stepmother, to craft a life for herself, to escape the shadows of her sisters.

What was she to do now, in a dormitory of male idols?

*          *          *

They brought a girl home. They dared to bring a girl home. How could they bring a girl home? Did they understand how much trouble he would get into if the CEO found out about it? Why would they bring a girl home?

He paced anxiously down the hallway. He had woken up today to wake the members up and he found that the members were up already in exceptionally brilliant moods, breakfast was served, and the kitchen was clean. The kitchen was clean, and there was a girl asking them if they wanted juice. In the kitchen. The laundry was done, and the beds were made. She was polite when she met him, and was the only one that was reasonable when he had argued with the members.

A girl in a dorm for the male idols? Despite how much he liked the girl, this was not acceptable.

“Hakyeon-ah, you can't keep her here. I know what she means to you, but if anybody finds out there will be a huge scandal.”

“Hyung, it's fine. Nobody will find out. I only need to keep her here for a year.”

“You're being irrational. I know you like her, but nobody in the right mind would bring a girl he likes home to a dormitory full of guys, and jeopardize his very own career. If you screw your idol life up with a scandal, can you support that girl? Would you even be able to face your own members?” His manager shouted.

Cha Hakyeon was grieved. He had finally found the girl he had been trying to trace down throughout his idol life, and he wasn't allowed to keep her. He probably wouldn't be able to meet her if he complies to his manager's demands. He didn't want to lose her again.

He gave a half-hearted answer to his manager, and left the dorm, heading to the company building.

*          *          *

“Ella... Don't leave...”

Sera heard her name being called in the living room. “Hang on!”, she raised her voice a little before finishing her chores. It was N's voice. She had been trying to recognize and become closer to the rest of the members, and she was bad with matching voices to faces, but N's voice was unmistakable to her.

She entered the living room, and saw the long figure of the leader sprawled across the couch, his eyelids shut and beads of perspiration rolling down his forehead.

“Ella... Where are you?”, his panic-stricken voice filled the room.

A... nightmare? Sera looked worriedly at him, and fetched a wet towel to clean his perspiration off. She knelt down beside the couch, held his shaking hands and whispered assurance into his ear. At her touch, his hands stopped shaking, and he looked significantly more calm than a moment ago. His calm sleeping face tugged on her heartstrings, and she felt a little bit like a mother looking upon her child. In fact, she had already felt like a mother looking after six kids.

“Don't go.”, whispered N when Sera tried peeling his hands away from hers. She had planned initially to take a long nice shower after her chores and snuggle with her blankets, reading a good book, but it seemed like her plans were foiled now.

She sighed to herself as she admired the facial features of the leader. She pushed his fringe away to reveal his sharp eyebrows, which complemented the arc of his eyelid. She traced his T-line, but was met with the fluttering open of his eyelids, and an astonished look from him. Hakyeon smiled sweetly in realization, and chuckled at her growing blush. She stood up suddenly in embarrassment.

“Ahh. Sorry. I-I'm going to shower.”

A whine of protest, followed the strong tug on her hand, and arms wrapped securely over her torso left Sera collapsed on the couch, Hakyeon's chest plastered to her back as a big spoon. Stay with me, he whispered into her ear, pretending to “accidentally” nibble her earlobe.

...That book can wait, she thought.

*          *          *

Choi Yoonhye sat alone in Sera's empty room. It had once been filled with Sera's precious items, but there wasn't a trace of her left. There wasn't a single scratch on the wardrobe, or crack in the mirror. Even her mattress seemed as thick as it was when Sera had came into their family. Yoonhye had brought all her belongings from her elaborately furnished room to Sera's crammed one. Her mother had found her packing Sera's items from the same room a week ago and handing them over to Sera.

This was her punishment. But she was fine with it. She hated the solitude her large room brought. She had nightmares at night that her sister would call childish, and her mother wouldn't care to listen to, and she'd rather be in a place where she could be further away from them. In the darkness, the emptiness of the large room used to scare her. It took years for her to convince herself that her mother and sister cared about her, and even more to grow accustomed to the space. It still scared her once in a while, most often during stormy nights at 2am in the morning. She was glad to be rid of that frightening space.

She started unpacking, filling the room with her presence. A picture of N pinned on the cork board, beside the one of Hongbin. Schedule written on the whiteboard, Hello Kitty lamp plugged in, and books all neatly arranged on the desk. Clothes in wardrobe, accessories in accessory box, etc etc etc.

As she busied herself with unpacking, she felt joyful. She hadn't felt like that in a long long time. She missed Sera quite a lot, now that Sera was busy, and looking at her fulfilling her lifelong dream motivated her. Her sister had returned to acknowledging her previous name, probably in an attempt to dissociate herself from the Choi family. It would take some time to get used to. She envied her, the girl who was able to escape from her mother's dictatorship and her sister's manipulative ways, after putting up with them for so long. She had been so emotionally strong by herself, and in the end, her Prince Charming had come to save her from the clutches of the evil witch – a strong couple, the both of them, Yoonhye thought jokingly.

If only she could be as strong as her, she thought, as she brought out the news cuttings of her sister's success, and pinned it up on the corkboard, right below N and Hongbin.

“Rumors of Jellyfish Entertainment's New Actress Trainee”

*          *          *

8 years later

Ella put her makeup on. The wedding was about to start in an hour's time and there were things that were not yet prepared. Frustrated, she went up to the makeup artist and handed her the brush, telling her to continue where she had left off. She went up to the wedding planner and started a discussion on where the flowers should have been placed.

Hakyeon hurried s out of the car. The group, all in suits, followed him out to the church building. He saw Ella busying herself with the preparations, and instructed Ken to bring the rest of the members to the bridesmaids, while he went to help the Matron of Honor with her duties.

After fixing everything that could possibly go wrong, he returned to s. They were playing the traditional games outside the wedding hall, and the bridesmaids were having a good time torturing the members and the groom. Hakyeon was nervous. What if the wedding doesn't go according to plan? Could he prepare for it? Possible unexpected circumstances ran through his head, and he mentally prepped himself.

Ella was relieved. The makeup was done, the hair was done, the dress was beautiful, and the jittery girl in front of her looked exceptionally stunning. She calmed her down, told her that she looked pretty much perfect, and she received a brilliant smile in return. The girl motivated herself, and for the rest of the day, she looked confident and amazing.

An hour later, the ceremony had started. The groom nervously and shyly anticipated his bride's arrival, and the bright camera flashes from the reporters plagued the wedding hall. He fiddled with his fingers and took a deep breath.

Ella watched from the side as the bride walked independently alone down the aisle. She was sorry that she had to walk alone, but Ella understood that she had no other choice but to make her journey alone. Ella grasped onto her husband's arm, and her emotions were too immense that they overflowed into tears of elation and indescribable joy.

Taekwoon was on the piano, playing the wedding march as the bride took her small steps. Ravi was the host and he stood by the side, mike on standby. Hyuk was the best man, and he grinned widely as he witnessed the wedding.

Normally, Hongbin would be the photographer.

Hakyeon held onto his wife's arm as she broke down at the sight of her sister walking elegantly down the aisle. He laughed. His wife was the cutest at these moments, he thought. He had flipped through the wedding photos at the reception, and it was no wonder all those reporters were taking so many pictures. This could be the wedding of the decade. They could be the Asian Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt with looks like that. They could also have many attractive babies and populate the world with good looks! N chuckled to himself before realizing the inappropriateness of his laugh – the couple were about to take their vows.

The couple looked deep into each other's eyes.

“With this hand I will lift your sorrows. Your cup will never be empty, for I will be your wine. With this candle, I will light your way into darkness. With this ring, I ask you to be mine.”

 As the couple took their vows, Ella recalled how the relationship between her husband and herself had been rebuilt, a memory at a time. She recalled the past eight years of hardship and of woes and how they had stuck through it. If a relationship was a brick wall, memories were the bricks and love was the cement holding them all together. Hurricanes are the hardships brick walls encounter.

As the couple kissed, Ella recalled the love that had given her sister the determination to cut herself off from her mother, and their love that would now act as their adhesive.

Love is a pretty amazing thing, Ella thought to herself.

END

AN: This was my first fic when I wrote it last year so feel free to constructively criticise! I'm trying to improve! Other than that, thanks for reading this to the end! I wrote a few oneshots that you guys can check out here if you have the time ^^