Two weeks, and Yuta were distressed knowing that he was yielding to love again, as well as his parents continually hassling him with phone calls. Their agreement of Yuta being unemployed for a month was already running out, and even though, every day after classes, he looked for a job desperately, he couldn't get one. Not happy with this constant bad luck, he still had to put up with Katrina and Johnny walking together as many as they could in the college halls with giggling and stealthy conversations that they found impossible to share with him.

Yuta was having another day like those, but instead of getting angry, he became frustrated, anxious and a little sad; nothing he couldn't hide from everyone, except of course Johnny, yet the friend seemed too distracted to realize anything. Finishing his exercise in tandem with Minhyun, a boy who he'd never even talked to before, since Johnny was too busy being with Katrina, Yuta let the air through his nostrils regretting that he was jealous and feeling abandoned; he then accepted that he would never get any luck, especially in love.

Yuta became really annoyed as the couple of friends chatted right next to him glaring at him with laughter and sometimes strange smiles. Already fed up with this situation, the japanese boy, after organizing his things, went to the men's locker room to take brief shower and change clothes.

"You're quieter than usual today" Johnny pronounced himself as soon as he saw the smallest keeping the sweaty clothes in his backpack.

"You think so?"

Still with a towel on his shoulders, Yuta closed his locker.

"Maybe it's because I'm tired."

"It doesn't look like that to me."

Johnny laughed as he kept his clothes, but watchful to the expressions of the other. He looked worried.

"Yeah, but it's the truth... Well," as he finished taking the excess water out of his hair, Yuta also put the towel in his backpack "I have to go now."

"Where to?"

"Nakamoto, let's go?" Minhyun leaned in front of Yuta's closet and as soon as Johnny looked at him, he greeted him with a smile and a brief bow "We can't take long, she leaves early today."

"Ok, let's go" with a sigh, Yuta smiled "Talk to later Johnny Boy...." and then he went on his way with the new friend until then unknown.

Obviously, Johnny noticed the way his friend was acting, wanted to ask him what the problem was, Johnny knew the other was jealous of him with Katrina, but he too noticed that his sigh expressed something else. Sadness.

Yuta really had something important to do with Minhyun, as incredible as it may seem, in the short time the two spent together during class, Yuta eventually told him how desperate he was to find a job and for his possible luck (that he didn't think he had anymore), Minhyun knew exactly who could help him, or rather someone who actually needed help. A friend had told him that the preschool where she worked, needed more people.

Even though Yuta believed that it would be very difficult to be accepted without having any experience as a children caretaker, trying would not kill him. He never needed to work because of his parents' business though, and even when he was in college, they paid one of the best universities in Japan in engineering for him, and be a full-time student almost made him had no social life, much less have time to get a job. Yuta never complained about this last point, since he could buy anything he wanted with the money from the allowance he received, but that wasn't the life he would like to have, especially after discovering of his father's true plans for his future. Yuta had his reasons to leave.

Upon arriving in the elementary school, Yuta and Minhyun got out of the car and went to meet the secretary inside.

"Hello, my name is Minhyun and this is my friend Yuta. I would like to know if it is possible for us to talk to the principal. I talked to her a couple of minutes ago by phone."

It wasn't long before they got a little time to talk and Yuta could show his interest in the job opening. She, the principal, had been really kind and helpful, they really needed someone and Yuta was in the right place and time. He felt as if, for the first time, a little luck was knocking on his door. Nothing had been confirmed, yet a feeling that the job was already his has taken over his mind.

Yuta left his contact information with the lady, who appeared to be in her fifties, and followed his now livelier path toward Minhyun who was waiting for him at the secretary's office.

The korean lad thanked him for the ride back home, and shortly thereafter, Yuta followed the way back to his apartment. There were some messages from Jaehyun and the other boys on Yuta's phone. After answering them and spending some time watching random movies on television, he received an unexpected call.

"Hi" his voice showed how astonished he was.

"Why are you so surprised?" Katrina laughed on the other end of the line.

"I just didn't expect you to call me."

"Why not, we're friends aren't we? It's just a call."

They both laughed, but Yuta wasn't so happy about being friend-zoned.

"Alright, so to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

"Are you busy now?"

"Not really. Why?"

"I know it's getting late, and that's a bit too much to ask for, but..." she took a deep breath "Could you come over?"

"Do you want me to come to your house right now?" again surprised.

"I need some help... So, what do you say?"

"Of course! I'll get there in a bit" he got excited.

It took only a couple of minutes till Yuta was already in front of Katrina's house with a shiny smile. As soon as the door had been opened, his smile had almost dissipated, yet he tried his best not to show his frustration.

"At last you have arrived!" Johnny was laughing with Katrina on the side.

"Yeah... I'm here" a half-hearted smile "But what help do you need?"

"A sudden thing at work, one of the girls resigned. I'll have to do overtime for a few days... So..."

"We'll be temporary nannies, man" Johnny simplified.

"Yes, basically."

"Ok, got it" Yuta put his hands in his pockets "No problem for me, but I have another question, if you do not mind."

"By no means, what do you want to know?"

"We'll be taking care of Charlotte, right?"

She consented.

"So, why did you call us both?"

"Actually, I only called Johnny."

It seemed she did not want Yuta to know that.

"But he insisted on calling you too."

"I didn't want to be alone, that's all" a wink, deep down Johnny knew Yuta was depressed.

"I'm leaving" Yuta turned as Katrina started to laugh.

"No, wait ...!" still laughing, she grabbed Yuta's arm "Please, actually I don't trust him so much too."

"Hey" the taller one folded his arms with a nervous laugh "I'm not deaf, you know."

Yuta ended up laughing at that situation, which made him give in to helping the two, even jealous. It took only a few minutes for Katrina to finish dressing up and leave for the pub where she worked while Johnny and Yuta were left behind with a not-so-drowsy Charlotte. They tried to occupy the little girl's mind in the best possible way, it wasn't so difficult after all, nothing that a box of crayons and sheets of paper wouldn't make it through.

"Let's eat something? I'm starving..."

Johnny asked as Yuta stood beside Charlotte, drawing with her.

"Yes!" she was excited.

"What does Charlotte want to eat?" Johnny put his hands on his knees, smiling at the little girl.

"Candy!"

"Then candy it will be!"

The tallest commented as Yuta unnoticed looked at him just analyzing the chaos the other was creating.

"Johnny, it's not better if we..." but his friend didn't hear him, he was already in the kitchen with the little girl next to him.

"Guys, I didn't know they sold ice cream pots that size!" Johnny laughed to himself by opening the huge pot and serving the three.

Some ice cream wouldn't be so bad, yet Johnny didn't like a simple dessert, clearly, he went out to Katrina's house prepared. From some plastic bags, which Yuta hadn't even noticed they were there until Johnny grab them, he took out several gummy bears and M&M's. He did not hesitate to put some on Charlotte's ice cream too, who laughed in joy and ate with gusto. Yuta was already predicting what would come next, so he silent approached Johnny and whispered.

"Johnny, we shouldn't give so much candy to a child at night."

"What you said? I couldn't hear you."

Johnny practically shouted bringing Charlotte's attention briefly to both of them, though she soon returned to glorify her dessert.

"Speak louder, China didn't listen to you yet" with clenched teeth, Yuta whispered yet again, but a little louder so Johnny could hear better "I said, you shouldn't give her so much candy."

"Calm down, she won't get sick, I didn't give her too much" he laughed with Yuta's expression.

"Not only that, it's already night time."

"Oh really?" he mocked.

"Yes stupid, children get hyper when they eat sugar, and guess what, you gave her a huge bowl of ice cream with gummy bears and chocolate...!"

"Everything will work out just fine, don't worry" Johnny touched Yuta's shoulder with a smile "All under control."

"I wonder why I never feel comfortable when you say that."

"Have a little faith in me, Nakamoto" followed with a low laugh and a spoonful of his ice cream "Why not, right?"

"I don't know, let's ask Jaehyun what he thinks."

"Jesus, information spreads fast around here, huh? In the end everything was solved at that party, okay."

"Sure enough."

The irony was rolling loose, yet Yuta was laughing and having fun with it.

They finished their ice cream and went back to the living room, Yuta tried to make Charlotte continue drawing with him, yet the little girl seemed to have bored herself with that already, at least that's what Johnny believed. In the end, after failed attempts to do something that wasn't so hyperactive, the three ended up playing hide and seek. Yuta was the one who had to find the other two, it wouldn't be difficult to find Johnny, though he found himself worried about Charlotte's enthusiasm.

"Eighteen, nineteen, twenty... Here I go!"

Yuta opened his eyes with his back to the wall and faced a tall shadow casting herself on the floor to hide. He approached, staring at the friend sprawled in front of him.

"Really, Johnny, behind the couch? Did you really think I wasn't going to see you down there when I went down the hall?" an evil grin mixed with a puff of laughter escaped Yuta's lips.

"Who knows? I could turn around and you wouldn't even see me."

"You know that if we were being chased by a murderer, you would be the first one to die right?"

"Yuta, don't kill your friends mentally, please."

With the help of the other, Johnny got up and studied the sides and corners of the room.

"I don't think Charlotte is hiding here."

"Didn't you see where she went?"

"That would be cheating!"

"Oh my God... Let's go get find her quickly, there's a window open, that's dangerous you drugged her with sugar" Yuta searched behind the curtains.

"She's alright dude, I didn't give her that much, stop it" Johnny opened the cabinets, whispering the little girl's name.

"Yeah, she sure isn't here, let's split up."

They went into the hallway.

"I'll go to the kitchen, Johnny you look in the basement."

"Okay."

Before they could get away from each other, quick footsteps crossed the room echoing in the corridor with a childish laugh. Johnny and Yuta looked at each other with confused stares.

"Did you hear that?" Johnny whispered.

"Where did it came from?"

"Yuta, how about you go to the basement and I to the kitchen?"

In a few seconds Johnny was already at Yuta's side with a nervous smile on his lips.

"I think it came from there" Yuta pointed to the stairs leading to the second floor "Go check Johnny."

"You go ahead."

"For God's sake, are you scared of a four-year-old girl?"

"Of course not, but what if it is not her?"

"And who else would it be?"

At this moment the lights of the house briefly flashed what caused the two of them to widely open their eyes.

"Go up there now Yuta, since you're not scared" Johnny stepped behind the other.

"What the hell... Ok, let's go..." he kept his fearless pose, but deep down he was a little scared too.

They went up the stairs slowly calling Charlotte's name who didn't answer at all. Yuta even worried if something happened to her, and started using a louder voice to get to the little girl. In a few seconds, a few drops of rain fell, and the two boys hurried to close the windows, meeting a few minutes later in the same hall they had split up after going up the stairs.

The house was silent with only small drops of rain hitting the windows. Yuta and Johnny turned around looking for some sign of Charlotte in the rooms. Again steps, as if someone was running, crossed the hall, but now downstairs. His hands were sweating cold, with an afflicted face, Yuta stared at Johnny who held his breath.

"Charlotte, you won! Let's stop playing now, okay?" a failed attempt, since only silence remained.

"Oh man, this isn't normal" Johnny folded his arms.

"Let's go down, it must be her running down there..."

Yuta's voice was followed by a blackout in the house, all the lights went out and only the light of the moon illuminated the stairs and the room.

"Fucking hell, Yuta... Okay, I don't want to stay here anymore."

"Calm down, I think it was because of the rain..."

They went down the stairs slowly, Yuta swallowed hard as he had to go ahead. It was dark and a little hard to see.

"Charlotte, let's eat more candy, what about that?"

One more failed attempt. Before Johnny could speak anything else, the front door creaked and, with the sound of the breeze echoing low as a whisper, it slammed shut.

"Johnny, did you hear that?"

"That's enough, I'm done, I don't want to stay here anymore, goodbye."

Johnny picked up his cell phone and turned on the flashlight so he could go to the front door and leave. The moment the light illuminated the room and the two boys turned in the direction he pointed, Charlotte with a broad smile laughed loudly and ran toward them.

"OH MY GOD!"

Both screamed in despair, and tripping into one another's foots, they fell back with desperate eyes. In the midst of slips, the two tried to escape, until Yuta realized that that was the little girl they were looking for.

"Johnny, hey, it's Charlotte..."

But he just kept yelling and covering his eyes.

"Johnny, listen to me!" he continued "Shut up, hey!" he slapped the tallest one beside him and took his hands from his eyes "It's Charlotte, dammit!"

"Charlie?!" as soon as he saw the girl, Johnny hugged her and laughed caressing her hair "Thank God it's you! Oh God!"

"Jesus, what was that?" Katrina laughed, approaching with the light of her cell phone.

She was all soaked up by the rain.

"We were playing hide and seek, and I won!" Charlotte laughed excitedly after jumping from Johnny's lap to hop around Katrina.

"Wow, you're happy today..."

"That's Johnny's fault" Yuta crossed his arms, pointing slightly to his heart-pounding friend, still frightened by his side.

"Jesus Nakamoto" Johnny glanced at the japanese.

"But it's true, isn't it?"

"I don't mind" Katrina laughed again, as she approached the stairs, the lights came back on "Oh."

"Amen, I'll never play hide-and-seek again, especially in the dark" Johnny sighed, getting up "You'd better take a bath Katrina; you'll catch a cold" and Johnny sat on the couch "We keep an eye on Charlotte until you come back."

"Alright, I'll be right back then!" she quickly went upstairs to her room.

It had been a difficult task to calm Charlotte, she was very excited, jumped and ran around laughing. Yuta was getting tired of running and playing, but his efforts were rewarded as the little girl sat down, giving in to the fatigue beside Johnny, as well as yawning and rubbing her eyes. Yuta threw himself onto the sofa covering his face with his hands releasing a tired sigh.

When Katrina arrived in the living room, the three of them were sleeping on the couch next to each other. She smiled alone with the scene by bringing her hands to her waist. She nudged them both quietly trying not to wake the little girl up, but only Johnny woke up. He helped her take Charlotte into her bedroom and came down laughing at the way Yuta was sleeping so soundly.

"His apartment is not far from here, but will it be a problem for him to sleep over here?" Johnny leaned against the door before he left.

"I think it's okay for him to spend the night here...." she crossed her arms, shaking her head" I can't wake him now; look how he's sleeping so peacefully."

"That's the time when the real Yuta shows up."

"What do you mean?"

"There's something painful behind a beautiful smile, don't you think?"

"Hm..."

"That fits with him too."

"What happened to him?" she turned briefly to Yuta.

"No one knows for sure, he didn't say anything, but knowing Yuta's parents, I know they have something to do with it."

Johnny didn't go into much detail, he did not know more than that too, so soon he bid farewell and left in his Range Rover.

Katrina, after covering Yuta with a blanket, stopped to analyze his face while he slept. He seemed calm, but melancholy. It was strange, but something fluttered in her chest. Katrina leaned into her arms and stood there in the couch, staring at him for a moment. He was beautiful and somewhat mysterious. With long blinks she inadvertently fell asleep there.

It was nearly three o'clock in the morning when Yuta felt a weight on his shoulder preventing him from moving. Still sleepy opened his eyes realizing that Katrina had slept beside him. He caught himself smiling as he stared at the girl, carefully taking her hair off of her face to see she sleeping. With his heart racing and an impulse, he approached. Their noses were almost touching, he felt tempted, but he recoiled.

He thought it was best to take her to bed. He picked her up in his arms and carried her into the bedroom. Laying her on the bed, he lovingly covered her with the blanket. He didn't want to leave the house, but he knew it would be the right thing to do. He sat for a few seconds beside her and looked at those lips again.

"I'll do that when you are awake."

As Yuta prepared to leave, he left a note next to Katrina's bed and followed his way back to his apartment.

"Sorry for leaving without saying goodbye.I didn't want to wake you; it gives bad luck!"