When summer vacation started, it made sense to why the shop was less crowded than usual. People were too lazy to step outside the blazing humid heat. Even Jiyong found it hard to get up in the sticky mornings and go to work—Oh wait, he didn't have work at the current moment.

"I'm going out the country side. The air there is better and I think my family needs it," the manager had said a week before summer vacation started. "The store will be closed during the summer. Don't worry, Jiyong. I made sure that you got your payment early."

So when break started, his house was constantly occupied by the kids. He planned to spend his long break sleeping in, but the kids wasted no time spending some time with him. Things seemed to go as planned until Changmin had barged into the group. With him knowing about Jiyong's current state, Jiyong thought it would be better to bite down his tongue and allow Changmin to stay with him for the moment. It looked like as long as the kids were around, Changmin would keep his mouth shut (even though Jiyong didn't know exactly why they were doing this).

"What?" Changmin asked once he heard Jiyong say that he didn't have work for the summer. He smirked. "So you're jobless?"

"It's more like a really long break," Jiyong said, rubbing the back of his beck. Even though Changmin's company was a pain in the neck, Jiyong couldn't help but admit that it was kind of nice having someone he knew to talk to. It kind of made him feel like he was back at home.

"A long break? I'd do anything for that. Why don't you go to an island or a resort?" Changmin asked casually. He broke into another snarky smirk. "Oh wait, you're poor. Pft!"

Jiyong decided to face Kyuhyun and strike up another conversation. "So have you gone on a break?"

"Yes. We recently went to the zoo for quite some time," Kyuhyun said, nodding his head.

"Ah, right. I remember Changmin telling me that," Jiyong said. "Is work difficult?"

"Um, I guess. I mean, Changmin's my boss, so—"

"Hey, peasant," Changmin said, interrupted his assistant's words. He continued to smirk and looked at Jiyong with a haughty glance. "I can help you out. I can loan you some money—"

"No, I don't want your money," Jiyong quickly told him. "Besides, I'm planning to find a part-time somewhere."

Kyuhyun's eyes lit up. "Part-time? Where?"

"Haven't found a place yet. I'm thinking of—"

"Hey, hey! Peasant! I'm talking to you!" Changmin exclaimed. He snapped his fingers in front of Jiyong, annoying him. "I have money! Money! I don't even need you to loan it, I'll give it to you!"

"Like I said, I don't want your money!" Jiyong said, raising his voice. He let out a grunt. "You people always think about money…"

Changmin and Kyuhyun stared at each other and blinked their eyes. Jiyong, who noticed that the two were acting odd, raised an eyebrow.

"What?" he asked.

"N-Nothing," Kyuhyun stuttered. "It's just that we didn't expect you to say something like that. I mean, everyone at school knew how big of a deal money was to you."

"Yeah. After all, you're my rival. Money was always our thing," Changmin pointed out. "Money is important. Anything that came out of your mouth was about money and business."

I never considered you as my rival, though, Jiyong thought, glancing away. He took a sip of water from his cup. "Well, maybe I felt like money was all we talked about. I don't know, it's kind of a dull topic now."

Changmin stared, then gasped. "Could it be that your pitiful life style has gotten into you?"

Jiyong stared at him. "What?"

"Wait, you can't have this kind of attitude when I bring you back!" Changmin shouted.

"You're still talking about that? Didn't you drop it—"

"Jiyong, I want—no, I need—you to go somewhere expensive and have a blast. Don't you remember the happiness you got from money?" Changmin asked. He pulled out his wallet and took out a handful of cash. "Here, take it! Take it, and go have fun! Drink! Party! Do what you do best!"

"You drank and partied?"

The three looked up and turned to the door. They saw Jiho, Minah, and Jieun standing at the door with a puzzled expression. When Jiyong stared at them, wondering how they got into his house, Jieun pointed to the door.

"T-The door was open!" Jieun exclaimed. She glanced over at the adults and bowed at them. 

Kyuhyun nodded his head, amused. "Well, there's at least one girl who's polite."

"Never mind that!" Minah exclaimed. She kicked off her shoes and scurried over to Jiyong's side. "Tell me! How does it feel like drinking? Are parties as fun as I hear they are?"

"Is she talking about high school parties or college?" Changmin asked.

"Changmin!" Jiyong hissed, glaring at him.

"You partied in high school? Oh my gosh, this is juicy. You need to tell me everything about this," Minah said.

Jieun bit her bottom lip as she sat at Jiyong's other side. "Minah, I don't think this is a very good topic—"

"Come on, Jieun! I know that out of all of us, you're probably the most curious over Jiyong's previous life," she pointed out. 

Jiho took a seat next to Jieun, squeezing himself between her and Changmin. "Jieun's right, Minah. It's not good to pry into other people's life."

Jiyong smiled. He was glad to know that there were people like Jieun and Jiho, who respected his privacy. 

"Alright, settled down! Where should I start?" Changmin asked enthusiastically.

Now, Jiyong had to figure out how to make Changmin understand how to respect people's personal lives. 

"High school parties. How they are, and how many he's been to," Minah answered.

"The ones Jiyong went to were pretty solid. I can't even count how many times he partied! He only drank alcohol once, but he went on a wild rampage. Fortunately for him, everyone was too drunk to remember what happened. Even I nearly forgot, but how can I forget seeing my rival getting drunk for the first time?" Changmin said, nudging his elbow against Jiyong's rib. Jiyong only turned red in embarrassment as her rested his lips against the glass of water. 

Jieun felt her heart skip a beat when she saw his beautiful rose-colored cheeks. She knew that what Changmin was doing was impolite, and that Jiyong hated it, but she couldn't help wanting to listen. Learning about Jiyong made her feel like she was understanding him.

"How about his romance life?" Minah asked. She eyed at Jieun, who suddenly perked up. Heh. This caught her attention.

Changmin glanced at Jiyong, who narrowed his eyes. He smirked. He liked seeing Jiyong become weak and helpless. It made him feel more powerful, especially since he never felt like he had any power when Jiyong was around.

"Jiyong was famous for dating a bunch of girls. He was the player in out school—"

"Was not!" Jiyong retorted. "If anything, you dated more girls than me!"

"Yeah, and that was to make a point," Changmin muttered. "Anyway, none of his girlfriends lasted for too long." He paused, then smirked. "Well, there's this one particular girl…"

"Changmin," Jiyong called him. He scowled and gave him a stern look. "Don't you dare go there."

"What? What girl?" Minah asked, grinning.

Jieun's attention was completely focused on this topic. "Did Jiyong date anyone special…?"

"Special? This girl was more than special!" Changmin declared. "Kyuhyun, you know her!"

"I do?" Kyuhyun asked. He paused, frowning for a minute, trying to block out the sound of Jiyong trying to shut Changmin up. "Do you mean that girl who's really popular at our college? The beauty?"

Jiyong froze. Jieun noticed.

Changmin grinned. "Hey! See, you know!"

"Of course I know!" Kyuhyun cried out. "You know how beautiful she is? She looks so young, too!" He clasped his hands together. "She was dating the most popular guy at our campus, right? Weren't they the perfect couple or something?"

Jieun widened her eyes. P-Perfect couple…?

"That's right," Changmin said, nodding his head. He looked at Jiyong. "The perfect couple, that is… Until something happened and you decided to run away—"

"I have my reasons," Jiyong stated firmly. "I will not tell you, but I have them."

"Sure. Everyone does," Changmin muttered. He turned to Minah, smiling. "What else can I tell you?"

Minah paused. "Hm… Actually, I—"

"The girl," Jieun interrupted. Everyone looked at her. "Is she still special to you, Jiyong?"

Jiyong kept quiet for a few minutes, rubbing his finger. "Yeah…I guess."

Changmin glanced at him. He looked at Jiyong's forth finger, then slowly shook his head. When he noticed Jieun's heartbroken gaze, he gave her a friendly smile and patted her head.

"Don't worry, little girl! He's not telling you the entire truth," Changmin said. He got up. "Well, it seems like a good time for me to leave. Here." He tossed a bundle of cash towards Jiyong's way. Jiyong caught it with his hands without looking up. "Take that and have fun. Do something with the kids or something."

"I'll repay you," Jiyong croaked out.

Changmin waved his hand. "I don't need it. I know that if you go back, this isn't much."

"I'll still do it," he told him. Changmin decided not to say anything. He walked out the door, with Kyuhyun tagging right behind him.

When the two left, Changmin took a deep breath through his nostrils and looked at the town. He skimmed the area, putting his hands in his pocket while Kyuhyun closed the door behind them. As Kyuhyun patiently waited for Changmin to say something, Changmin continued to stare at the scenery of poor buildings standing in front of him.

"Kyuhyun?" Changmin called him.

"Yes?" Kyuhyun answered.

"That girl…"

"Which one? Bang Minah or Lee Jieun?" Kyuhyun asked. 

"I think her name was Jieun," Changmin started, "but doesn't it seem like she likes Jiyong?"

Kyuhyun looked up at the sky, carefully thinking about what he was saying. When he nodded in agreement, Changmin let out a sigh and shook his head.

"No matter how much he ages, he's always attracting someone," Changmin murmured. "I wonder what would happen if Jiyong is taken away from her…"

The two began climbing down the stairs and walked towards the car. Kyuhyun quickly ran in front of his boss to open the door for him. Once the two got into the limousine, Kyuhyun carefully stared at him.

"We can't take Jiyong back. Remember those three kids a few days ago? They have valuable information—proofs—that we have practiced an illegal business tactic. If we take him away, they'll release that to the press and our company can be shut down!" Kyuhyun pointed out.

Changmin bit on his thumb. "I know that! I don't even know how they got those files. Then again, when they came to us, they looked pretty beaten up."

"So what are you going to do?" Kyuhyun asked.

"Bring Jiyong back."

"Okay, I know that, but how?"

"I don't know!" Changmin exclaimed. "Do I look like I have all the brains? Kyuhyun, you try thinking of a scheme for once!"

"Y-Yes, sir!" Was the only response Kyuhyun could give. Changmin let out a heavy sigh, rubbing his face with his hands.

* * *

"I'm sorry about all that," Jiyong said in a small voice. He tried to smile at the three. "Well, what did you guys come here for?"

Just to hang out, the three thought, but looks like that's not going to happen.

"Um, do you mind if we ask you a little more about your life?" Minah asked slowly. 

"Wasn't that enough?" Jiyong asked, still smiling. "What, is there something else you want to know?"

Many.

What they had heard from Changmin not to long ago was just a small taste of what Jiyong's past was. It was like Changmin had made a small crack for the teenagers to look into Jiyong's history, but they were still curious for more.

"Well, it's summer break. What are you going to do?" Jiho asked, trying to change the subject.

Jiyong pondered on that thought for a little bit. He knew that he had to do something, but he wasn't sure what he wanted to do. Besides the idea of working part-time, he didn't have any other idea. 

"We're planning to go to the beach," Minah told him. She paused, then grinned. "Unfortunately, we don't have anyone willing to supervise us…"

"The beach?" Jieun repeated. "I don't remember talking about th—" She quickly stopped when she saw Minah glaring at her.

"So you want me to go with you guys?" Jiyong asked her, pretending as if he didn't notice Jieun's abrupt pause.

"Yes!" Minah exclaimed, smiling. "It'll only be us three, though. The three other guys won't be coming. They have summer school."

"I'll do it if you get your parents to tell me this personally," Jiyong told her. He smirked when he saw her frown. "After all, I don't think your parents really know me, right? They wouldn't allow their daughter to go on some trip with a complete stranger."

"Jiho, help us out here!" Minah quietly urged.

Jiho groaned. "Why? I don't even like the beach."

"Aren't you curious about how a certain someone will look in a swim suit?" Minah asked, her eyes on Jieun. 

His face turned red. "W-What? Minah! I'm not an indecent guy!"

"You were thinking of it, though," she teased. "Come on! You complained hours ago about how boring summer is! Let's do something!"

"Well, what do I need to do?" Jiho asked her.

"Convince Jiyong to take us!"

"He already told us his conditions."

"Make it something else! You know that our parents aren't going to let us go with him."

"My parents will."

"Okay, let's think about my parents. I think you know how my parents are like, right?"

"Strict and 'people who don't know how to have real fun,' according to what my parents say behind your parents' backs."

"Exactly. Come on, Jiho! Help us out here!" Minah pleaded.

Jiho let out a sigh. He looked at Jiyong, who was looking at them with amusement. As much as he wanted to deny it, he was curious about how Jieun would look in a swimsuit. 

"Is there any other way you'll go with us besides getting our parent's permission to send us to the beach with you?" Jiho questioned him.

"Nope," Jiyong said, shaking his head. "There is no other way."

"Well, I don't really have a parent to ask permission to go," Jieun said quietly. She looked at him with hopeful eyes. "Can I go with you…?"

Jiyong stared at her. He could see her begging him to go on the small trip. Whether it was for a few hours or for a few days, he could tell that she really wanted to spend some time with him. But what bothered him the most was the way she kept staring deep into his brown orbs. It was a look that he had familiarized with himself since he began dating; her eyes shimmered with optimistic and melted with romance.

"Um, I was thinking of you getting permission from Minah's parents. You know, since you live under her household," Jiyong said, breaking away from her gaze.

"But there's no way that my parents will let her or me go with you!" Minah exclaimed. "They won't go unless I go there for some once-in-a-life-time opportunity, like internship or community service or—" She paused. "Actually… I think I know what we need to do."

Jiho scowled. "I don't like the way you're looking at me, Minah. You're scheming something."

"Hey, take me to those three. I need a small talk with them," Minah said, smirking. "They have that assistant's number, right?"

Jiyong widened his eyes. "Oh gosh. Minah, no! You can't start using them for this!"

"Too late!" Minah exclaimed, sticking your tongue out. "You called for this! Hurry up, guys! We have no time to waste!"

She pulled Jieun and Jiho up on their feet and dragged them towards the door. As they slipped on their shoes, they bid Jiyong a quick "goodbye" before he got the chance to stop them. When they were out of his sight, Jiyong sighed and scratched his head.

Oh boy, he thought, sighing. This is already turning to be a summer different from what I expected.

Author's Note: This was more like a filler chapter, but don't worry, the next chapter will have some romance development! At least, I'm planning to make some romantic development... I've been neglecting that and I intend to bring some romance between Jiyong and Jieun because WHO HASN'T SEEN THOSE PICTURES OF IU AND G-DRAGON STANDING NEXT TO EACH OTHER IN INFINITY CHALLENGE LIKE MY FEELS. <3