~ a lily among thorns~

"let's break a few things"

"We know your secret," one girl whispered as Nari and the women gathered around a table in the middle of the room.

"My-my secret...?" Nari gulped, beginning to feel a little nervous as she sat down.

The group of ladies nodded intently as Nari stared at their serious faces. One of the girls, dressed in an elegant lavender robe, motioned slowly to her chest.

"You're not a man," she stated quietly, causing Nari to tense up a bit, an uneasy feeling swelling in her stomach.

"It's alright," the girl continued, trying to ease Nari's spirits. "We're good friends with Ah-Ro. We're here to help whenever you need us."

Nari smiled softly as the knot in her stomach slowly untangled itself.

'Things are going to be okay,' she assured herself.

"So, we heard you're having a bit of trouble convincing the Hwarangs you "like women"," another girl giggled, her long silky black hair tied back into several delicate braids. "Do you have any ideas on what we should do?"

The group pondered for a moment, a silent 'hum' of thinking filling the air.

"I do have one idea," Nari suddenly said, a devilish grin stretching across her lower face. "Listen carefully."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ban-Ryu, Suho and Yeo-Wool still stood speechless as they gawked at the door Mouse had disappeared into.

"Am-am I dreaming right now?" Suho questioned dazedly, his eyes still locked on the room before him. "Or did Mouse just vanish with half-a-dozen ladies...?"

Yeo-Wool and Ban-Ryu didn't reply; too busy trying to fit together the puzzle pieces in their mind. In return to the silent answer, Suho shook his head in an attempt to clear it, and then grabbed Yeo-Wool's arm.

"Let's go find out what they're doing!" he exclaimed, dragging Yeo-Wool towards the room beside it.

A group of Suho's friends followed after them. Ban-Ryu stepped forward to do so as well, but quickly stopped himself, knowing full well that it would never be acceptable to either party to dine with one another. Clearing his throat, Ban-Ryu turned around, only to be met by his own band of followers. Swivelling back around, he lead them into the room on the other side of the one Mouse had disappeared into, seating himself at the head of the table.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The women huddled together as they exchanged ideas on what to do after hearing Nari's proposal. They could hear the voices of Ban-Ryu and Suho coming from behind both walls, so they knew things would only get easier from here.

"Nari, your idea was to make them think we're having a little too much fun," a girl called Moo-Myung giggled quietly. "These walls are really thin, and they often listen in on our conversations. Let's be vulgar."

The group of women snickered in delight at the idea.

"Let's break a few things," another girl, named Yeon-hee, suggested cheekily.

Nari nodded her head proudly.

"Let's do this!" she cheered excitedly.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --

"Can you hear anything?" Suho asked keenly, his ear pressed up against the wall beside Yeo-Wool.

Yeo-Wool shook his head quickly, his eyebrows furrowed with sheer concentration.