And here's another chapter! :D

Thank you so much to those who reviewed - seriously, that means so much! :'D

0- Jougen-Knight -0: Well, I always thought Nyo!Vietnam and Vietnam were more of a kuudere type of character that eventually soften upon seeing how truly nice and great the person is. :) there's a reason why Quan isn't so fond of idols, so stay tuned! ;D yup! Antonio's not giving up on him! XD LOL actually I thought of Kira while I was writing about Lars - it wouldn't be that surprising, honestly. XD

Aka-hime: Thank you so much! :D hell yeah! I love Nyo!Canada - she's so adorable; my favourite Nyotalia girl. Canada's my favourite guy after Spain. :)

Hope you enjoy! 8D

[Music Recommendation: Yesterday, Today by Ichiko Hashimoto from RahXephon.]


Quan simply gazed through the window as the train continued running along the tracks. Unblinking, his golden eyes simply peered over some of the large skyscrapers as the long vehicle slithered along up a bridge. The sky was starting to change colour – it was still a pale sort of blue, but drops of gold were already blending in with it as the sun continued its journey down to the horizon.

Deep in thought, the Vietnamese boy pondered slightly upon his first day at Shining World Academy. Sure, he felt privileged and rather nervous upon entering the prestigious academy, but he also felt determined to do well.

'Sadly, I end up with an idol who won't stop talking,' he thought to himself, now feeling tired all over again upon recalling the bubbly brunette's babbling.

Honestly, he never expected to have a very cheerful and seemingly ever smiling guy in his group. It irritated the dark-haired stylist when that Spaniard kept on asking him questions – Quan didn't like it when attention was drawn to himself, being the private and reserved person that he was.

'He can't be serious when he said that he genuinely wanted to know me better…' he thought to himself. 'No way.'

Still, it made him wonder – especially with such a big, bright smile that matched finely with such glowing grass green orbs.

'…still…' he exhaled some air a bit as he leaned on the metal pole, hands still placed in the pockets of his dark trousers. 'Maybe…I could be wrong about him. Not all of them are totally heartless and uncaring. There are some that are genuinely nice and caring not only to their fans, but to everyone in general. However…' his gaze then fixed to a large electronic billboard that showed a young, female idol who seemed to be sponsored for a clothing line. 'The majority of them are disgusting…the ones that hide it behind a mask are just all the more repulsive…'

Recalling Antonio's surprised and confused expression at his cold words, Quan felt something inside his stomach knot uncomfortably, as well as make him knit his brows together. 'I can't possibly be feeling guilty,' he mused. 'Anyone with at least half a brain would feel that way, too…right?'

His own thoughts were becoming far more pensive and wondering as he tried not to focus on the twisting that occurred in his stomach.

'Hmm…'

Before he could dwell a bit more, he was abruptly brought back out of his train of thought when the train in reality itself stopped at the station. Because he didn't expect it, he almost toppled over, giving a rather strange noise as he caught himself while the train doors slid open.

A group consisting of four girls that appeared younger than him by a year or two entered the train chattering excitedly amongst themselves. They sat on the seat just close by him instead of going up or downstairs.

Sadly, they were talking a bit too loudly in their discussion, so no matter how much Quan tried to ignore them by either focusing on his experience at Shining World Academy today, or the twists that were occurring in his stomach, he couldn't really block them out from his (sadly) great sense of hearing.

"Have you heard it? Well, have you?" one of them asked a bit too excitedly – she was practically bouncing on the seat.

Likewise, her equally eager friend was squealing happily, "I have! It's so, so good!"

'Lovely…' Quan inwardly sighed as he rolled his eyes out in public. 'Idol fan girls…' he leaned his weight a bit more on the metal rod that provided him support. 'As if my headache wasn't bad enough…'

"He's so talented!" Girl A sighed dreamily while her friends chorused in agreement, "I know!"

"And he is oh so hot!" one of her friends, Girl B, sighed happily while her friends started giggling giddily in their gaggle.

"He's also so classy and cool!" Girl C spoke up with a huge grin on her face. "I love how silent and composed he is!"

Quan rubbed at his head as he could make out a green park with trees lined up at the sides close to the white pathway, which made him sigh in relief. 'Almost home…' he thought. 'Finally.'

"I totally want to be his fairy-tale!"

"I know!"

"Me, too!"

Once the train stopped at the station, Quan had never felt so happy in his life. "God…" he groaned as he rubbed at his temple more with one hand, while gripping at his shoulder bag with the other. He really couldn't care less about who a group of giggling girls were referring to.

'I have far more important things to worry about, anyway.'

Though he lived slightly off from the train station, Quan preferred walking home rather than taking a taxi or bus. The golden-eyed Asian preferred stretching his legs to planting his rear. Besides, it really wasn't that far off from his home, anyway – it took him about forty minutes from his apartment, actually.

'Besides,' he thought to himself as he walked right past a couple of buildings and small stores that other people were just passing by. 'It's more refreshing than uptown.'

"Quan!" a voice called out happily. "How are you? Out of school, already, aru?"

The young Vietnamese man felt his lips curve up into a smile upon instantly recognizing the speaker. He gave a small, soft smile as he came to a small store that was in an old building that was created from aged red bricks. He stopped before a glass display that was filled with various baked treats and snacks as he bowed respectfully to the woman that was behind it, close to the counter and near the fridge that bore drinks of various kinds. "Good afternoon, Ms Wang."

The brown-eyed woman, and owner, behind the counter was wearing what appeared to be a black qipao dress, and a hat of a matching colour atop her deep auburn hair that was tied into a set of buns. She laughed good-naturedly as she dipped her head in acknowledgement back at him, "A good afternoon to you, too, aru!" she tilted her head. "Going home, then?"

"But of course," responded Quan. "I don't want to leave Yong Soo or Mei alone for too long."

"That's true," nodded Ms Wang as she smiled fondly. "Mei really doesn't like you leaving her for too long – Sakura would tell me that whenever she watched over her, she would get upset when you wouldn't come home for a while!"

Here, Quan gave a soft, sheepish chuckle which he tried to conceal from behind a fist, "She is quite clingy." He then placed his fist down and adjusted the strap of his shoulder bag a bit. "But it is adorable at times," he admitted.

"It is adorable, indeed," agreed Ms Wang. There was the sound of clinking plates, when suddenly, the frayed flowery curtain that concealed the back (to where the pastries were obviously produced at) was slid over to the side as a bespectacled Thai boy exited from it as he carefully carried a tray of treats over.

"Kasem, hello there," Quan greeted, this time a visible and obvious smile crossed his usually cold and expressionless features.

The young man appeared to be slightly older than Quan, but upon catching sight of the Vietnamese male, he seemed to perk up a bit. His spiky, slightly wavy, dark brown hair sprung up with his body as a warm smile immediately spread out on his face. The glasses magnified his golden brown eyes that twinkled merrily. The tray that he was carrying contained round, slightly pudgy, white buns that had wisps of steam billowing upwards.

"Ahh, I see you are done with the cha siu bao!" Ms Wang looked greatly satisfied as she quickly took the tray from Kasem. "Good job, aru! That was faster than expected." Looking from him to Quan, though, she raised her head with a knowing smile, "Though I could already tell why you worked faster than your usually leisurely pace." She then gestured in Quan's direction, "You can talk to him for a bit, but not too long – I'm sure you can find some other time to socialise: you're still working, and Quan has to get home to his siblings, too, aru!"

And with that, while Ms Wang placed the cha siu bao in a nice spot on display for people to see, Kasem got out from behind the counter, and came up to the golden-eyed stylist. The bespectacled Asian was revealed to be wearing both a white shirt, and a pair of white pants. He was also sporting a pale orange apron that was smudged with flour patches.

Seeing him nod, Quan continued along the path with Kasem walking beside him. "How are you?" he questioned. "Fine?"

Upon his companion nodding, Quan himself continued, "That's good. I'm doing quite well myself." Noticing Kasem look a bit hesitant with something – due to him raising his slightly stiff hand by just a centimetre or so, but quickly place it down was a signal to the golden-eyed stylist, "Yes, you're right: today was technically my first day at Shining World Academy – today, I am officially in the stylist class."

Kasem's bright beam returned.

"How about you? Know what to do for college?"

The sad expression that creased onto the bespectacled male's face was enough of an answer to Quan. "Well, you're not that much older than me," the Vietnamese stylist remarked. "You still have time to think about what you want to do with your life, so don't worry. Hell, I'm pretty sure people twice our age are still wandering or participating in college, anyway."

Kasem simply smiled weakly at the response, but he did heave a little sigh.

When he saw him give him a questioning look this time, Quan himself heaved a sigh, albeit a heavy one, "Did I make any new friends?" the dark-haired stylist arched his eyebrow again, "You do know I'm in a school that consists of not only stylists and composers, but idols, too, right?"

This time, a scowl creased onto Kasem's usually soft and cheerful face.

Quan rolled his eyes from it, "Always so kind…you always were…still," he shrugged one shoulder half-heartedly, "I don't honestly know…well, I have made one friend. My composer." When Kasem tilted his head in question, the golden-eyed stylist continued, "That's part of the school program – we're placed into a group for the whole of our school lives: made up of one idol, one composer, and one stylist."

The golden brown eyes beside him sparkled in excitement; the clear glasses only showed how eager he looked for the details.

Quan gave a small chortle, "It is an interesting premise. I'm quite intrigued by it, too – I never really heard of it before, but it makes sense, doesn't it? After all, once we graduate and get into our respective fields, we'd have to know how to be able to cope with and handle our clients, or those who work beside us. It's only fair, after all."

Kasem himself half-heartedly shrugged one of his shoulders. Quan couldn't help but feel some amusement at the gesture.

The two boys continued walking along the path in a pleasant silence as the sun continued setting lower and lower – painting the sky a beautiful orange and gold to signal how late it was finally becoming. There were barely any cars around here due to how narrow the roads were, and how there were a lot of buildings were people tended to just hang around selling many kinds of produce, as well as some children playing around with some toys or riding their bikes. During this, they both admired the simplistic, yet warm sights around them; Kasem was slightly swaying his spiky head around a bit, while Quan simply planted his gaze around.

But it was then that his honey hues stopped at his old friend, that Quan realized that he was gazing at him steadily for a little bit, though there was a curious glint that twinkled in those glasses-clad eyes.

"What is it?" questioned Quan. Seeing Kasem glance pointedly at his shoulder bag, the Vietnamese boy gave a silent 'ah' in understanding. "More about my school?" seeing his bespectacled companion hesitant, Quan tried to narrow down the broad topic, "More about the class that I'm partaking in?"

Kasem gave one nod, however after that, he then pulled his expression to a slightly worried one.

"Oh," Quan understood fully. "Am I nervous for my first day of classes tomorrow?"

The white smile gave the dark-haired stylist a lot of satisfaction.

Quan gave an amused tut, "Well…it would be a lie to say that I'm not nervous at all; I do feel slightly apprehensive because let's both face it – I'm pretty sure the other stylist students have had far more experience than me in regards to the profession." He then gazed upwards, causing Kasem to follow his stare.

There were a few birds – their dark figures were beautifully contrasted against the golden sky as they flew above past a couple of greying clouds.

"I wonder at times," Quan murmured musingly, his face then pulled down to his usually serious expression, though his honey gold eyes were slightly glossed over from worry – the usually fierce flame now reduced slightly due to his aforementioned nervousness, it seemed. "If I'm truly ready to participate in such a prestigious place. After all – only zero point five percent of the students who partake in the test pass to that place." He gave another small sigh, "But…I suppose that's kind of an exception if you have a scholarship. I didn't expect them to pick my entry out of the hundred that participated, though."

He stopped when he felt a warmth suddenly take hold of his shoulder and squeeze it slightly.

Glancing down, Quan saw that the warmth had come Kasem's hand. Looking up to face him eye-to-eye, the Vietnamese student could see that this time, his glasses-clad companion this time had a serious expression etched onto his face. His lips were drawn to a taut line, as his eyes bore right into Quan's.

Golden brown against honey gold.

Kasem's eyes were blazing in a serious fire, and it really took Quan aback upon his eyes jumping straight into the small, yet strong fire head on.

After maintaining eye contact for a little bit longer, Quan let loose an intake of breath as he rolled one shoulder and closed his own eyes – giving up it seemed with the silent discussion he had just then. He then gave another tsk as he tilted his head slightly to the side and turned it on a little angle. He flashed another soft and small smile in Kasem's direction, "And you were always so stubborn."

Kasem gave a little snort, though it seemed more out of amusement than disapproval or scoffing.

"Yes, yes, I know – I'm quite stubborn myself. I suppose that's one of the reasons why we're such close friends. You think so, too, don't you?"

The Thai boy's serious expression then softened as he cracked another smile and nodded – this time, the nodding appeared more enthusiastic than before. He also removed his hand from the Vietnamese student's shoulder when they finally reached an apartment building consisting of five levels. The bricks were pale, and there were balconies upon one window of each of the flats that were located.

"Here's my stop," Quan remarked. He turned his head to Kasem, "Thank you for accompanying me home, my friend. I quite enjoyed our conversation."

Kasem simply smiled back and bowed his head down humbly in his direction.

Likewise, the golden-eyed stylist bowed his own head to return the respectful gesture. "It would be nice to do this again sometime," said Quan sincerely. "You should come and visit us sometime – I'm positive that Yong Soo and Mei will be really happy seeing you."

Though the smile was still present on Kasem's face, his cheeks were tinged with a slight scarlet.

"See you later."

Quan simply watched Kasem leave after he nodded one last time after he released his words of departure. The Thai boy's back was progressively disappearing to the distance – soon he became a white speck.

Once he was gone, the Vietnamese boy entered the apartment and checked the array of mailboxes. He took out three envelopes and began rummaging through them as he climbed up the stairs; his steps making a clicking sound as he ascended past the second and third floor. "Bills, bills, and more bills," he grumbled to himself. Stopping at the third floor, Quan walked down the long hallway this time, and reached the door at the end. Rummaging his pockets for a bit with the three envelopes underneath his arm, he was able to yank out his keys and enter the apartment. He discarded his shoes and placed them beside the door while closing the door behind him.

"Dàgē! Dàgē is home!"

Quan gave a little chuckle when he saw a flash of pink immediately dash right up to him and leap up to be caught into his arms. He didn't seem to care that he dropped the envelopes that contained the bills. "And how are you, madam?" he questioned as he gazed down at her.

A young girl with long, dark brown hair had a wild, curly strand sticking out on the right side of her head. Her big, brown eyes were twinkling in delight upon fixing on the golden-eyed student who entered. She was wearing a peach coloured qipao with golden trimming and long, billowing sleeves that concealed her hands, as well as a white skirt and pink slippers. There were a pair of pink flowers that were in her hair, too.

"Hyeong!" exclaimed another voice; just as energetic as the girl that was in Quan's arms. Hearing the thundering footsteps, the Vietnamese boy was not surprised when he was almost knocked over by a mass that was far larger than the girl he was holding. "You're home at last!"

"Yong Soo," Quan snickered as he fixed his posture and balance. "You're fourteen; aren't you a bit too old to jump onto your big brother?"

"I'm not!" protested the younger boy. "You're never too old to give your siblings a hug!"

"I suppose," shrugged the older, golden-eyed boy. "But, please get off for now – I have to walk, too, and you're too large for me."

Yong Soo pouted as he backed off, "Fine." He placed a hand on his hip as he gazed right at his older brother with eyes that looked far more similar to Mei's. The other hand was running through his short, black-brown hair that had a flyaway curl sticking out from the right side of his head. Funnily enough, the curl seemed to have a face that was drawn in the middle, and it matched the expression on his face. He was wearing a dark jacket, skinny jeans and fluffy, white slippers. "Were you with Kasem again?" he asked.

Quan snorted in amusement, "I presume you looked out the window and over the balcony, did you?"

"Nope!" Yong Soo grinned as he shook his head. "My intuition, da ze!"

"That very same intuition that mistook did not detect there were worms in their sandwich despite the obvious crawling forms from the bread?" teased the Vietnamese boy.

Yong Soo flushed, "Aww, come on, hyeong! Don't remind me of that, da ze! That was so gross!"

Likewise, Mei's face scrunched up into a disgusted expression as she squealed, "Ewwww!" she then turned her attention to her oldest brother, "Guess what happened at school today, dàgē!"

"Hmm…" Quan tapped his chin as he placed his shoulder bag on the dining table. He scowled slightly as he began to ponder, "Hmm…have you done something nice to your hair?"

Mei giggled as she patted at his chest, "Don't be silly, dàgē!"

"Hmm…well, then…maybe you changed your clothes?"

"Now you're just being silly, dàgē! You've seen me wearing these clothes so many times!"

"Ah…sorry, I give up. What is it?"

"The little guy she has a crush on was talking to her a lot today!" Yong Soo laughed. "It was pretty cute when I came to pick her up – she looked so happy, and she kept hiding her face behind her sleeves!"

Quan blinked, "Who was this again?"

Mei's face suddenly exploded into a heated scarlet. She screamed in Yong Soo's direction, "No! No! Shut up, Yong Soo!"

"Come on, why are you so embarrassed, anyway?" wondered Yong Soo as he teased a bit more, lightly. "We're your family, after all! You're not supposed to hide secrets in your family!"

"W-what?! I'm not hiding anything! You're stupid!"

"Mei," this time, the dark-haired stylist turned on responsible brother mode. "Do not say that to your brother; it is disrespectful," he scolded. "Especially to someone older than you."

She huffed, "He started it, dàgē!"

"Still," Quan said sternly as he narrowed his eyes firmly. "That does not mean you say such a thing to your elders; what if you say that to somebody outside? They wouldn't feel happy now, would they?"

Mei drooped slightly, "I…I guess so…" she then nodded and looked up sheepishly at her older brother with her arms still wrapped around his neck. "I'm really sorry, dàgē," she said softly. Then she turned to look at Yong Soo, "I'm really, really sorry, gegē."

Yong Soo just gave a hearty laugh, "I don't really care! I've heard far worse, da ze!"

"You've heard worse?" Quan arched an eyebrow. "I certainly hope you haven't been speaking among them."

"Nah," Yong Soo shook his head. "They're not my friends – they're just people in my class." He gave a dramatic sigh, "They can honestly be really annoying…" he then perked up to grin at his older brother, "But never mind about my crappy school! What about you? You're in Shining World Academy now, da ze! I'm so jealous! I wanna go there, too! I want to be an idol!"

Quan rubbed his head as he placed his sister down, "Yong Soo…being an idol is cutthroat." He then ushered to the little girl, "You can watch some T.V. – it's still only five-thirty: I'll prepare dinner once I finish changing." Seeing her look a bit reluctant with being left out between her two older brothers, the Vietnamese boy added in a low, bargaining tone, "I'll make some bubble tea and oyster omelette."

Mei seemed really happy, for her whole being seemed to brighten, and she bounded out of her brother's arms as well as yanking off his straw hat to sit patiently on the couch as she turned the television on and placed it on her head.

"Yeah, I know that," agreed Yong Soo as he followed Quan to his room after he scooped up the enveloped bills. "But, I'm fully prepared for it, da ze!"

Quan discarded his shirt and heaved a sigh, "Come on, Yong Soo…"

"Hyeong, I wanna go to Shining World Academy, too! I want to be an idol!"

"Your dream is to be an idol, fair enough," remarked Quan as he changed into much more comfortable clothes for home. "But do you honestly think you can handle the pressures? I haven't even started class yet, but I'm already starting to feel the pressure emanating from the prestige of the academy."

Yong Soo pouted, "But like what you said – you haven't had classes yet! Maybe that's just your nervousness talking: your classes might actually run smoothly!"

Quan simply shrugged, "All I'm saying Yong Soo, is to consider it. Being an idol is already a hard occupation in itself – not many can become a successful idol and last. It's practically a one in a million chance."

"Yeah? Well, I'm gonna be that one!" grinned Yong Soo. "I'll be that one!"

Those words caused Quan to pause from his movements for a moment. "You're that positive?" he wondered. "Interesting…"

"Precisely! I'll even take a part time job to pay off the fees for the entrance exam and everything, da ze!"

Quan licked his lips at hearing the determination that traced in his younger brother's voice. The fire that was in Yong Soo's brown eyes, when he gazed at him, was burning higher and higher in a scorching inferno. It was clear to see that the younger boy was firm in his views, and determined to achieve what he wanted.

And that was to be an idol.

'I hoped that he'd forget about for now – because being an idol is a dream you'd expect a child to have,' Quan thought to himself pensively. 'And even then…a majority of them morph to horrible things.' Staring down at Yong Soo, he relaxed his shoulders a bit, 'I don't want him to end up like them.'

"Is this what you really want?" questioned Quan.

Yong Soo nodded, "Yeah, more than anything, da ze!"

Quan sniffed, "I'm not inclined to take that fully into account just yet…but go take that part-time job, first. Let's see if you can reach the amount for the next entrance exam which will occur in several months' time in July."

"I didn't hear a no!" Yong Soo's eyes sparkled.

"I didn't say a yes," corrected Quan curtly as he reached the kitchen and started taking out pots from the drawers below the stove. "Now, come on – I have to prepare dinner."

"I'll help out!" offered Yong Soo as he ran to his older brother and started taking out some produce from the fridge.

"You're only saying that because of what I said earlier," mused Quan. "But you should know that it is an answer with no ground, really: I haven't said yes or no."

"But you said I can take a part-time job to pay for my own entrance exam!" beamed Yong Soo. "I'm definitely taking that! I'll work really hard, da ze!"

"Can I help, too?" Mei questioned. Much to Quan and Yong Soo's collective surprise, she was standing close to the counter and gazed up at them innocently. "I wanna help dàgē and gegē with cooking!" she this time formed her petite hands into determined fists.

"You want to help out?" inquired Quan in surprise. "I'm still making your oyster omelette and bubble tea, you know."

Mei nodded, "I know. But there's nothing on T.V."

Quan couldn't help but chuckle at the response he was given. He shook his head, but responded, "Sure thing, then. Just go and help Yong Soo with the sauce and cracking the eggs."

Hearing her excited squeal as well as Yong Soo's encouraging laugh, he quietly observed his younger siblings cooking with him. The meal was made all the more satisfying with his family cooking with him – all of them together. Dinner was a warm, pleasant and homely ordeal that involved laughter and some teasing, as well as full bellies. The rest of the night was spent with the three siblings watching a movie on television after washing up and changing into their pyjamas.

Yong Soo yawned as he bid his siblings goodnight and shut the door to his bedroom quietly.

Quan softly carried a snoozing Mei who was holding onto the front of his shirt. He entered a bedroom that had walls that were painted pink with flowers in a lighter shade. There were some shelves with a few books stacked in them, while there was a small table close by with paper and markers placed on it. Several pictures drawn with said markers were decorated on the wall close to the bed that had flowery sheets on it.

'Cute,' Quan mused to himself as his eyes scanned the pictures in amusement. They were all stick figures, however it was obvious to see the subject of the artworks – since there was three figures in each and every one of them.

The biggest one had yellow eyes, the second biggest one had a curl, while the smallest one was a girl in pink.

"Goodnight, Mei," Quan whispered gently into her ear as he tenderly placed her onto the bed and tucked the blanket up to her chin. "Sweet dreams."

There was a little smile etched there onto her face.

Quan himself yawned once he reached his own room. Taking a book from the shelf beside his door that led outside his room, he lay on his own bed and started reading. It was a good while that he immersed himself with various lines of poetry, however he felt a bit nervous for tomorrow.

'Tomorrow truly starts my days at Shining World Academy,' he deliberated slowly. 'I wonder…just what does lie in store?'


Bit more this time around, and that makes me happy. :D

Characters:
- Ms Wang = Nyo!China
- Kasem = Thailand
- Mei = Taiwan
- Yong Soo = South Korea

Translation/s [in order of appearance in story]:
- Dàgē [Chinese] = older brother: used for the eldest brother.
- Hyeong [Korean] = older brother - only males can use this.
- Gegē [Chinese] = older brother.

Special/s:
- cha siu bao = buns filled with cha siu pork

I know that Kasem doesn't say a word at all, however there's a reason why he doesn't say a thing at all. However, that'll be covered in a much later chapter.

The next chapter? Haven't started, but I'll work on it soon! =w=|3

Peace out, guys!
- Hebi-Kazechi-10