"Nooo, you got to be kidding me," a girl shook her head the moment Jungwon and I walked behind Sunghoon down a flight of stairs, towards a cellar, "I'm imagining things."
"Soo's still in denial," Jake excused as I happily ran over to sit between Emiko and Lin, "Millie... not so much," he shook his head and glanced at another girl, who was sitting on the desk with her feet on the chair, her chin placed in her hand.
"I still think you're insane," the girl, Millie, shook her head, her dark brown bangs flowing back and forth slightly.
"It's like taking in a stray dog!" the other girl exclaimed.
"Soomin we've been over this," Heeseung sighed deeply.
"Besides, it's a good deed to take in a stray dog," Jake shrugged.
"We're talking about teenagers Jake! Teenagers!" Soomin sternly reminded, "and you want us to do what? Hide them from the government, which they apparently escaped from?"
"Jake, this is unrealistic," Millie shook her head quietly.
"Technically. Each of us will just get a new sibling," Jake pointed out in return.
"And you think my parents are cool with that?" Soomin questioned in disbelief, "you guys are mental."
"Can't one of you just explain everything?" Jay sighed and turned to look at the six of us, sitting on the same couch, "please?"
"Why isn't Kumiko here, huh?" Soomin turned to Jay, "if Millie and I have to help, why doesn't your girlfriend? Or Xia?" Soomin snapped around to Heeseung.
"We need Millie to give them haircuts," Sunghoon waved it off, "and if you'll be a darling get some clothes for all of them. You know how to get into the dumpsters of donated clothes."
"Donated, Sunghoon! Donated to people in need," Soomin clarified.
"And they don't look like people in need to you?" Sunghoon retorted, "listen. You know I love you, but if you'd just listen right now."
"I can explain, if you'd like..." Lin offered and held up her hand, only earning a nod from Jay, "basically they did experiments and tests on us, held us in the same rooms for as long as we can remember. We lived the same lives everyday, did we break a rule we would be punished. Now we're left with skills and no knowledge of the outside world."
"They didn't even know what country they were in until last night," Jay pointed out.
"They weren't even aware of what a car was," Sunghoon remarked as well, "questioned if it was really a car when I drove them into town."
"Well, what are these skills?" Millie questioned making the four boys who had helped us just look at all of us in return.
"Jiyeon is the most obvious one isn't she?" Jake questioned and the others simply shrugged.
"Can I show off?" Riki questioned after he had glanced over at me, noticing how I was sinking further into the couch.
"Go ahead man," Jake sighed.
Abruptly Riki disappeared from the couch, getting no reaction from the five of us that was left on it. Soon enough a small scream came from Millie, who had stumbled down from the desk the moment Riki had appeared beside her.
"Alright, drive me home," Soomin sighed and turned to Sunghoon.
"Soo if you'll just-" Sunghoon started.
"Drive me home so I can find some of my old clothes, and some of my brother's," Soomin clarified, "I'll go even more insane if I stay here, and that is the only way you'll let me get away for some time."
Sunghoon glanced towards the couch before nodding and rushing upstairs with Soomin in front of him.
"Can you fix their hair for them?" Jake questioned Millie, who was rushing to get up from the floor, "assure they're not easily recognizeable."
"I uhm... I guess I can cut some bangs or some short hair on some of the girls... the boys I'm not sure... maybe dye it?" Millie questioned and Jake shrugged.
"Anything that works and makes them harder to recognize," Jake excused and Millie slowly nodded in agreement.
"I... yeah, sure I'll fix their hair," Millie sighed before eventually nodding and smiling softly at Jake - I believe it was love that was in her eyes, but I don't ever recall seeing anyone look at somebody with that feeling, the closest have been when Lin and Sunoo look at each other.
"Can I get that hair color?" Emiko questioned and pointed to Millie, "I like it."
"Sure," Millie nodded assuringly at her, "Jake will you go to my house and fetch me my hair color. I'll cut a bit while you're gone then."
"Already on it," Jake assured and softly pressed his lips against Millie's cheek before running off, up the stairs as well.
"Jay, be a darling and get me a towel. Heeseung you can sweep the hair together," Millie decided as she placed a stool in the middle of the room and pulling out a pair of scissors from a bag I suppose was hers from the 'M' that had been embroidered at its side, "who of you guys would like to be the first?"
"Can you give me those?" Lin questioned and drew a line between her eyebrows, "I like them on you."
"Sure, it'd make you look cute," Millie nodded and patted the stool in front of her as Jay rushed back with a towel in hand.
Lin happily jumped up and sat down on the stool as Millie wrapped the towel around her shoulders.
"Just sit still for me," Millie murmured and carefully began cutting a bit of Lin's hair, "I'll do the bangs and then I'll also take a bit of length for you. How would you feel by having it floating just above your shoulders?"
"Would I look cute?" Lin questioned and Millie hummed with a nod as she pressed her lips together to concentrate.
"I think it would suit you really well," she assured with a small smile.
"Then I don't mind," Lin assured.
"Ah, she's gonna look so cute," Sunoo quietly gushed.
I sat in silence and watched as Millie cut Lin's hair, how Jake returned with a small box - where the contents was put into Emiko's hair after she had gotten it washed, leaving her with a fun plastic bag over her hair.
"What do you want to do with your hair?" Jungwon questioned as he grabbed onto my hand and began playing with my fingers.
"I don't know," I shrugged, "do you think shorter hair would suit me?"
"Yeah... it's already a bit poofy in places. I think you'd look just fine," he assured with a small nod, "I don't want mine too short."
"I think it'll curl if she cuts a bit more off," I remarked and he looked at me in amusement, "it curls in the back. Maybe if she cuts it in some places and let other places grow it'll turn... wavy?"
"Maybe," Jungwon nodded with a small laugh as Sunoo rushed up to sit on the stool, a small excited smile on his face as he anticipated his haircut.
Millie had barely began fixing Sunoo's hair before Sunghoon and Soomin had rushed down into the basement with six different bags they placed on the ground.
"Alright..." Sunghoon breathed out, "we made a bag for each. I have the boys' and Soomin has the girls'. There's a bit of different things in them, so just... take one each. I'll take bags for Jungwon and Jiyeon."
"We also have to find English names for them," Soomin pointed out making Sunghoon nodded.
"Can Lin go as English name?" Lin questioned and the others looked between each other with hesitation.
"To be sure, let's say your name'll be Lily," Jake excused and Lin nodded, "it's the name of those flowers in the kitchen you like so much."
"Really?" Lin's eyes lit up and he nodded, "oh they're so pretty! You should see them Emi, you'd like them."
"Well... we can just call Emiko for Emi, right?" Jay questioned.
"Maybe spell it E-m-m-i-e," Heeseung pointed out.
"Who do we have left then?" Sunghoon questioned and looked around, "Riki, Sunoo, Jiyeon and Jungwon."
"Can I be William?" Sunoo questioned, "there was always a William in my history books, I liked reading those."
"Uh... sure..." Jay nodded.
"Heeseung has a cat name Nicki," Riki remarked.
"You want to be called after my cat?" Heeseung questioned and Riki nodded in agreement, "alright then. He's Niki then."
"That leaves my teenagers," Sunghoon sighed and looked back at Jungwon and I, "Johnny and Jillian," he quickly decided and I quietly nodded.
"Am I Jillian?" Jungwon questioned and Sunghoon quickly shook his head, "oh, I'm Johnny."
"Jillian is a girl's name," Sunghoon clarified and Jungwon slowly nodded his head, "are you alright?" he questioned and looked to me, making me raise my eyebrows in confusion, "you look pale."
"Too many people in a room makes her nervous," Jungwon shook his head in return, "she's fine, her bracelet keeps back her skills when she needs to."
"So she can go to school?" Jay questioned and Jungwon shrugged.
"There's not that many in a class," Jungwon murmured as an excuse, "but a little handful."
"There's at least 20 people in a class," Jake shook his head making me immediately look to Jungwon.
"It'll be fine, we'll just go in the same class," Jungwon softly assured and I quietly nodded, "you'll be fine. I'm sure of it."
The conversations were limited as Millie fixed our hair. Riki got rid of his bowl-like cut and instead got a hairstyle that looked remarkably a lot like Jake's. Sunoo got his hair shaped so it looked more like an actual 18 year old, instead of some bike helmet - as Jay had commented it to be. Emiko's hair had turned a dark brown and Lin got the haircut Millie recommended. I had gotten my hair cut shorter, initially it was just cut up to my shoulders, but my hair was so poofy it had ended up bouncing up to the same length as Lin's. As I had said Millie had also commented on the curls in the hair on Jungwon's neck, making her cut it so it would curl next time he washed it.