"Jiyeon!" The boys cheered before they ran forward to mob me with a group hug. They pulled away, throwing a ton of questions at me that I couldn't process or even really hear.
'I missed this,' I thought, smiling through the chaos.
"One at a time, one at a time," Jooheon said, calming the group down.
"Okay, me first," Minhyuk pushed to the front. "What are you doing here?"
"Minhyuk!" Kihyun laughed, smacking him playfully.
"No, I get it," I laughed, he didn't mean it in a rude way, "I quit my job." I explained, "I'm going to live in Korea now."
"Really?" Jooheon gasped.
I nodded, "Really."
"Why'd you decide to come back now?" Hyungwon muttered, "You can't just come in and out of our lives like this." He glared down at the ground while everyone looking in his direction.
The mood in the room took a nose-dive. His unanswered question hung in the air.
"I hear you won a medal!" Minhyuk cheered, trying to make everyone perk up.
To hide Hyungwon's down-trodden disposition, the boys pushed him to the back of the group.
This is my big return, after all! We couldn't let him make us sad.
But I couldn't help thinking he was right.
"Yeah, I did." I said, smiling a bit. I reached into my purse (a designer bag I bought as a celebration gift) and pulled out the medal.
I stuck out my hand to let them see the medal. The six of them scuffled and bickered over who got to hold it first. Eventually, it ended up in all of their hands.
"Wow, this thing is heavy!" Kihyun laughed, "It must be expensive."
"Yeah, probably." I shrugged. "You guys deserve a medal just as much as I do," my eyes followed Hyungwon as he walked off from the group to take a seat in a makeup chair, ignoring all of us, "You helped me catch The Boss by calling the FBI. And you were all kidnapped because of me..."
"Well..." Shownu's voice trailed off as he marveled at the medal, "Shit happens, I guess."
I nodded solemnly. The boys seemed to zero in on the scar on my shoulder, their faces falling for a moment.
'We should be celebrating right now, not thinking about sad stuff...'
"I never got to treat you guys to dinner!" I smiled, "Let's go eat!"
The boys and I piled into the van, and we discussed where we should go to eat.
"I know a good pizza place," Jooheon suggested.
"Pizza?" I asked, "You mean broke people food?" I laughed, they were taken aback by me response, "We're living the high life now. Let's get steak! You guys like steak, right?"
"Well, of course..." Wonho nodded, "But steak is too expensive."
"Oh, I got steak money now," I chuckled.
Ever since I received my reward money from the FBI, I'd been spending it like money was going out of style. Shortly after I was handed the check, I spent a weekend at Rodeo buying whatever I wanted. I guess a near-death experience made me an impulse buyer.
"Are you... rich now, or something?" Minhyuk asked cautiously.
"Well, I won't say I'm 'rich.'" I chuckled, "But I've got enough money to throw stacks at the strip club, if you know what I mean."
The boys were puzzled.
"Strip club?" Shownu questioned.
"Stacks?" Minhyuk repeated.
"Throw?" Changkyun asked.
"Yeah," I nodded, but I soon realized they didn't get my reference, "You guys don't throw money at strippers when you go to club?" I asked, then I shook my head, "Never mind, let's just have steak."
Hyungwon scoffed, drawing my attention.
"What?" I asked, looking him up and down. He was relaxed in the back seat, arms crossed.
"Nothing, you just seem different." He replied, rolling his eyes.
I will admit, coming into a large amount of money did make me feel different, I guess fancy would be the right word. But I was the same girl.
I just bought more expensive clothes and bags now.
"She's been traumatized, of course she's going to be different," Shownu muttered.
"Right, traumatized." I agreed.
Although my FBI training kept me from being quite a traumatized, I still didn't want the guys to think I was a snob.
"Let's go there!" I changed the subject, pointing to a fancy-look steak restaurant.
"Thanks for buying us food," Jooheon said as we walked out of the restaurant.
"You're welcome." I smiled, stuffing my wallet back into my bag.
'Nothing quite like a medium rare filet ribeye in the evening.'
While I pulled out my mirror and lip gloss to adjust my makeup, I noticed Hyungwon startling for a moment. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, walking off. My brows knit as I watched him walk away, without protection might I add.
"Where's he going?" I asked the nearest person to me, who just so happened to be Kihyun.
"Oh..." Kihyun's voice trailed off for a moment. He was hesitant to respond, "Well, he's kind of... talking to someone right now..."
"Obviously," I chuckled, "He's on the phone."
"No, I mean..." Kihyun sighed, "He's talking to a girl..."
"Oh..." I muttered, watching Hyungwon as he chatted with his mystery girl, a small smile on his face.
"Yeah," Kihyun replied, "As soon as we got back from the world tour, this girl has been aggressively going after him. He was curving her for a long time, but then..." He was holding back information to spare my feelings.
"Then what?" I pressed.
"Well, he was waiting for you to call," Kihyun explained, "We all were waiting for you to call... but I think it hit him the most."
I frowned, guilt permeating my being.
'Ugh, I'm the worst person ever.' I thought, my head hanging.
I know, I suck. I should have called them sooner. Instead, I was focused on my promotion in the FBI.
But I'm here now! That's all that matters... right?
'I hope they're all not secretly angry at me.'