Your return at Bighit Academy was without a fuss.

Mrs. Nam went ahead of your roommate and demanded you to go with her in her office, only to ask why you and three of your classmates had suddenly disappeared from the Lotte World.

After explaining to her there was an emergency at home, she let you off with a reminder of letting her know next time.

Sunoo is the first person you see upon entering the dorm room whereas he shook you by nearly jumping into your arms to take you in his arms, saying he had witnessed your kidnapping and hadn't done anything about it than to cry about it to Heeseung.

"And here I am saying his tears won't do anything to save you, that it's useless to cry", Heeseung said from his perch at the dining table in the kitchen, busy on an online game.

"And I replied that he's a useless friend for not being worried", Sunoo exclaims, and the way he pouted to show that he's upset makes you smile a bit.

At least even if everything feels a bit new and changed after meeting your dad's family, there's still them, the familiar friends lightening up your day.

Even if one is now throwing his baby tantrums at the older one who is just enjoying it.

"Why would I worry when Jay already messaged me as to what really happens?", Heeseung blurted out, your feet instantly taking you to him.

And there was you, questioning him quickly if he knows something, "Do you know why I was taken?"

Later is the time for you to haunt Jay for opening that big mouth of his.

"Seriously, you're asking me that?", Heeseung asked you in disbelief, but still not looking up from the laptop, "You're the one to tell us that Mr. Hwang is your dad"

"Ahah!", Sunoo stated like he already get it from you as he then slid into the seat across your roommate, "Does that mean that you're one of us?"

"Like belonging to your cult?", you asked, still sheepish from the statement of Heeseung.

How can you forget? They were the other two person you voluntarily revealed your true identity.

Sunoo gives you a look, "I mean, that you're one of us now, one of the childrens from the elite family", he pointed out knowingly.

"Obviously she is", Heeseung says and closes his laptop then goes inside the bedroom.

By the time he came back, Sunoo is telling you how you'd missed so many things from Lotte World and when Heeseung threw an aesthetic-looking envelope with a familiar seal, only then when your other friend took a pause in his chatter.

It was familiar because you saw it in Hyunjin's laptop a few days ago.

"What's this?", you wonder and picks it up before Sunoo could reach it.

"The invitation given to my family from your half-brother", Heeseung says with no nonsense and pointed for you to just open it.

Hesitation is what struck you at the big bold letters of Hwang Family invites you to the welcoming party of the twins including a big surprise!. Not to be egotistic or something, you have a feeling the surprise is you.

Since maybe your dad's world is full of rich friends and other relatives had never known about another children of his.

With Sunoo egging you to just open it, you carefully removed the seal and drew the small card from inside the envelope before folding it open to see the the contents inside.

There's nothing that you didn't see anything new from what you had seen in Hyunjin's lists other than the pictures around the top of the guest's lists. They really inserted a baby picture of you in there, one that you didn't think your dad would keep.

"Is that you?", Sunoo snatched the card from your hand and looked instantly before oohing at it.

"I know right she's cute for a baby girl", Heeseung muttered and it made you raised your brows as he snickers, "And you know what, my cute Sunoo?"

"What?", the latter can only reply and his eyes were still on your picture.

"For sure, the three idiots we know will cut that out and put it in their wallets", Heeseung bursts into laughter as if already imagining it in his head.

His laughter was so loud and exaggerated that it annoyed you so much, you signalled for Sunoo to reach something from the couch until the both of you were the ones laughing after two throw pillows had met Heeseung's face.

He almost fall out from his seat, but his hand was quick to hold onto the table and before you know it, he's paying back by throwing it in your face with a shout, a shout that you will make when you're out for a revenge in a childish game.

"Pillow fight!", Sunoo is shouting as he runs behind the couch, then helps you by throwing another pillow in your hand.

You caught it into your hands and know what to do next.

"That's not fair!", Heeseung is yelping, not expecting for the two of you to go at him in one go.

And so half the next of your day is spent with them, to your friends who could at least make you forget the issues, even if for just a while.

They were also the ones to remind you that sometimes all you need is laughter to erase the remnant of a bad thoughts in your mind.

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Despite of the thing that happens to you the last time you were in the quadrangle, that was the first place you'd gone to after attending your job at the faculty's office.

You were there for one thing, to take off in a run for an hour in order to release some stress. It was beneficial for both your mental and physical health, so you find yourself taking laps after laps.

The moment your running takes in a complete halt, your shirt and pants is soaked through with sweat by now. You decided that was enough running for today and heads for the water fountain near the storage room to drink.

But then again, you ran into someone, not just one though, but three of them. Only you would have such a luck to stumble across Jay and Jungwon cheering Niki as the boy works on his push up down the ground.

They saw you were about to pass them and you knew they'd seen you and yet they continued to block your way. There was no way you would be able to slip past them and that seemed to be their attention especially with Jay slowly approaching.

You faltered a little at the unexpected expression in his face and watched him when he stopped in front of you.

"Can the two of us talk?", Jay asked gently, startling not only him but his friends too.

"You should know that we were only here this late because he wanted to wait for you", Ni-ki speak of it with a very massive grin from his face.

"And maybe to kiss you!", Jungwon said it loudly before snickering in regards to Jay's glare on his way.

"Is that why he made sure to eat mint candy earlier? For her to feel good about his mouth?", Ni-ki had the nerve to say even if Jay is now face palming himself.

And if before this could offend you, at the present it didn't. In fact, it made you smile a bit to see him being flustered because of what his friends is doing to him.

"Can you please go to your dorms now and leave me be?", Jay asked of them, trying to be so calm.

But the two younger boys didn't let him down by turning around to obey his demands.

Except that they didn't leave without throwing kissy faces at him that had you laughing and they were throwing winky faces in your direction, then runs and laughing together after seeing Jay's worsening expression.

His expression of being humiliated by his own friends.

"So what do you need to say?", you asked once you recovered from the two boys' antics.

"Let's walk and talk", Jay instructed as the two of you set off to do just that, "Have you sorted out anything yet with your dad?"

"Only to his wife and the twins but to him, still not sure", you open up to him honestly. "Apparently, they will be introducing me as well to that welcoming party of theirs and I don't know what to feel"

Jay acted as if this relatively sensitive topic wasn't an odd thing to be talking about, but it's kind of really nice.

"I can imagine the feeling", he nodded, glancing at you for a moment before questioning with a forced casualness, "What's going to happen next? You'll be joining our world and be a student in Soumu or work in his company?"

"I'm actually thinking of staying here until I can become a certified teacher of this academy", you admitted without any thought as your path directed towards the dormitory.

You pretended not to notice the gossiping Kai and Leo besides Jake from a plant box at seeing you and Jay walking alone together.

"That's probably a good idea", Jay agreed quietly.

You frowned, turning to look at him and found him staring back at you silently. His gaze was heavy, making you shuffle under his eyes and you played oblivious to just how troubled his eyes were.

How did he manage to hide everything when his eyes gave it all away?

Clearing your throat, you looked away from him, so you didn't see how much it bothered you to glimpse that he was so blatantly concerned about you.

Recently, it seemed like Jay was one of the very few people you trusted and one of those who genuinely cares about you.

If you were to say this to the person you had been before meeting them all, you would have laughed at the thought.

"Stop looking at me like that", you admonish without any force. Sighing, you glanced at him from the corner of your eye, "Seriously, Jay, it's weird"

"I'm not doing anything", he protested, trailing off when you raised your eyes to his.

"Don't think that I'm unaware of the concern looks you keep throwing my way as if you think I'll break any second", you let out a sigh for another time, "Just - just stop it and go back to being the way you were before", and to reassure him, you threw a small smile to him, "That'll be more comforting for me"

Your words took him by surprise, that much was obvious. Jay shook his head in disbelief before meeting your waiting eyes.

"I'll think of something", he muttered with a confused look.

"That's good to know"

With a smile, you looked ahead as the two of you walked the rest of the distance to the entrance of the dorms. Your steps felt lighter already when Jay finally nudged you a bit and he's already smiling at your expense.

By now, someone else is still watching you interacting with him easily and his jaw is clenching, not going unnoticed by the friends he is with at the moment.

"Jake, aren't you getting threaten now by Jay?", Huening Kai asked as soon as you were out of the hearing reach.

The said person is quiet for a while and his eyes did not leave the entrance until you and Jay disappeared inside the room. He was about to say something when Leo speaks up.

"First, Sunghoon the bestfriend and now his second favorite friend, how could this get more complicated?", he says, now patting Jake by both of his shoulders, as though comforting him in advance.

"Should I be scared that I'll not be with her in the end or should I be happy for one of them?", is the question Jake spoke out loud to them.

That's enough for the two boys to close their mouth, not really knowing how to say to that or that they never really experience it, being stuck on liking a girl and that she's liked as well by your two closest friends.

But they understood it would be hard because the naturally upbeat Jake is now slowly turning to cry every single night to them, allowing them to see just how much he wanted the girl to be his.

Because of this, they were scared for what must be the end of this trouble.

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