These kids are who? You're kidding! [Chapter 1]
Nicole was never exceptionally lucky, nor did bad luck follow her like the plague. Her karma was just so-so. She grew up in Busan, and moved to Seoul when she was eighteen to start college. Her dream job was to be a pastry chef, so she knew how to whip up a cake that could knock your socks off. Of course, the life of a college bound teenager was a bit lonely, but her best friend Miyoung made life very…colorful.
With all of that, Nicole always tried to live her life to the best of her ability. She never cheated on a test; she always held the door open for others. She would even give up her seat on the bus or subway for those who needed it. With that being said, she couldn’t figure out why she, of all people, had to be here. Standing outside. Talking to a bunch of kids who apparently are Super Junior. Or at least they were. She thought.
She blinked, and then blinked again, before blinking once more.
“Come with me, okay?” She asked them lightly.
They linked hands together and Jungsu in turn grabbed her hand as she led them to her front door and into her house. They slid their shoes off in the walkway before they made their way into her living room.
“Sit.”
She said simply before pointing to a sofa placed in the center of her living room. They looked at each other and shrugged before they plopped down onto the couch; leaning on each other. ‘Awww, how cute! This is so- wait! Focus Nicole, focus!’ She flipped on her television before turning it to the first news channel she could find. The fifteen faces of Super Junior covered her screen.
“We are now outside of S.M Entertainment, where the C.E.O is about to release a statement regarding the missing Idol Group, Super Junior.” Lee Soo Man stood in front of a podium as reporters and journalist snapped photos of him and prepared to write down every word he was about to say.
“Currently, we have been informed that the members were last seen in Incheon. They were there for a flight to Shanghai, but they never made it to the airport. We are devastated and puzzled at their sudden disappearance, and we ask for everyone’s help and support in finding them.”
Nicole sighed before rubbing the bridge of her nose in irritation. What did she do to deserve this? What?! Did she kick someone’s puppy in a past life? Turning back, the three boys on the couch were staring at her curiously; waiting for her to make a move. She stared back at them. They stayed like this for about three minutes before she gave up. They smirked.
“Okay, so where are your friends? You said there were fifteen of you right?” She asked. They nodded before Heechul spoke up.
“Yeah, but they might still be at the park. We’ve been playing there all day since we had nowhere else to go.”
She nodded in understanding. “Well then, let’s go get them shall we? I can make you guys something yummy to eat, and then we’ll figure everything out.” She led them outside after picking up her keys and putting on her shoes. The sun shone down on them in heated waves as light, wispy clouds floated by in clumps. She stretched lightly fighting off the tension that was slowly forming in her joints.
“Where is the park?” Though she lived here for over a year, she never really had a chance to explore a lot of her neighborhood.
“Um, I don’t know. I think we came from that way.” Kangin said pointing towards their left.
“Nu-uh, we came from that way Youngwoon.” Heechul said with a sneer as he pointed to the right.
They argued back and forth before Kangin took a threatening step towards Heechul, who in response took a step forward as well. It sort of reminded her of the scene between the two in Attack on the Pin up Boys.
“Yah! Stop arguing. We’ll go to the right. The left leads to the main road anyways.” She grumbled irritated.
Heechul smirked in satisfaction as Kangin glared at him. “Serves you right Raccoon.” Heechul whispered before he skipped merrily to walk by Nicole’s side.
They walked on for about five minutes before the top of a jungle gym came into view. Her ears perked up at the sound of crying, and she quickened her pace. This caused Heechul; who was currently holding her hand to stumble in order to keep up.
She made it to the slides and peeked around to see a tiny boy curled up in the sand crying. She shifted nervously in place before slowly walking up to him.
“Annyeong...” She said softly as she gave his head a pat. He looked up slowly and met her eyes before they trailed down lower and locked with Heechul’s. “Hyung!” He cried out before flinging himself onto the older boy. Heechul gave a sigh in slight irritation before gently prying him off.
“Where did the others go Ryeowook-ah?” He questioned. Ah, so he is Ryeowook. Now that she had a chance to really look at him, she recognized his adorable high cheek bones immediately.
“I don’t know. Siwon hyung went with Donghae and Eunhyuk to find ice cream. Shindong said he was hungry and went down the street with Zhoumi. Henry went with Kyuhyun and Hangeng to find you guys. Sungmin got dragged off by Yesung hyung to look for frogs by some river. I don’t know where Kibum went. They didn’t want me to go with them. They said I cry too much.” He mumbled softly; his eyes downcast to the ground.
Nicole had to bite her lip in response. Contrary to belief, she was a girl. She had to resist the urge to squeal at his cuteness when he was a grown man, that cuteness was only intensified now that he was a six year old boy.
“It’s okay Ryeowook. We’ll find them.” She told him trying to calm him down. He nodded shyly before peering up at her with a tiny smile. She inwardly squealed in response. She could resist doing it out loud, but inside; she was a pile of goo and fluff. Kids…
She straightened herself out and stood up before peering around. Her reassuring expression fell as she saw nothing but large houses, woods and streets for miles. All of her confidence ran out. There was a bunch of prepubescent boys running around a strange place, and she had no idea where to look. Not to mention they were idols. This couldn’t have gotten any worse. She peeked down at the four boys who were waiting for her to make a move. It was times like this that she hated being the older responsible one. ‘I better find these kids before they get themselves in trouble. Then I need to figure out just how they went from being grown men in their twenties, to the age of elementary school kids. And why couldn’t they remember their lives from before?
Why her?