Ji-eun had been locking herself in her room, crying her heart silently. She didn’t know why she’s being so sensitive over Jong Kook’s issue. She knew what her father said was relevant and logically but she just didn’t wanna let it go over her sister. She just had enough with everyone pampering and spoiling her sister when she is supposed to get that attention since she’s the youngest. But somehow, she did felt sorry and regret with her harsh words towards her sister. Still, her sister did slap her. So she thought they were even now.

While her mind kept wandering about what happen, there was a knock on the door.

“Ji-eun ah, it’s umma. Can you open the door?”

She really didn’t wanna see anyone right now knowing that it will only makes her upset further.

“Ji-eun ah…….are you sleeping?” Mrs Song tried again. “I brought your favorite food, Ji-eun ah. You didn’t eat anything since few hours ago. Will you open the door?”

Ji-eun didn’t have the heart to act cruel to her mother knowing that she brought her dinner to her room. Slowly she got off the bed and opened the door.

“……Umma…..” she said, taking the bed tray from her mother and welcome her in. “Why did you trouble yourself at this hour?” she asked and put the tray on the bed.

“Because you didn’t come out from your room since hours ago. Appa is worried because of the fight between you and your sister earlier so he asked me to check on you.”

“Wae? He should just care about her only daughter, Song Ji-hyo……” Ji-eun spoke in her upset tone.

Mrs Song sat next to her and tried to coax her, tucking her hair behind her ears.

“Ji-eun ah, please don’t say like that. Of course you are also our daughter. We love you and your sister just the same.”

“Umma, please….I don’t wanna talk about it….”

“Okay….Then you should eat this okay?”

“Hmm….Did you made this?”

“Of course. Who else is here to cook?”

“Who knows if you bought it…..heheheh…”

“Yah! Am I really that dumb to cook my daughter’s favorite dish?” Mrs Song pretended angry which only brought into Ji-eun’s laughter.

“Hahahah….Umma, I know you are the best cook in the world….” Ji-eun slurped her seaweed soup. “Mmm…Umma, this is so good….”

“Isn’t it? For my lovely daughter, I cooked it with full of love.”

“Ah jinja? No wonder I can hear ‘I love you! I love you’ right now….hehehe…” Ji-eun started to joke.

“Aish this girl. Already trying to tease me?”

Ji-eun laughed again followed by her mother. She continued eating her food.

“Umma, let’s eat together…..Aaa….” Ji-eun tried to feed her mother.

“A-ni! You eat it, Ji-eun ah. It’s been a long day for you today…..” Mrs Song said while brushing Ji-eun’s hair with her fingers. Many things were playing in her mind at the same time. “Ji-eun ah, do you like Jong Kook so much….that you are willing to fight with your sister for him?”

Ji-eun stopped chewing her food.

“Umma…..I told you I don’t wanna talk about this….”

“I know….but…do you think, seeing you and your sister like this…..will make me able to sleep tonight? Ji-eun ah, you and your sister had been close to each other like best friends since forever. You girls even shared and kept each other’s secret from me and appa. Why does it turn out like this? Is it really worth it?”

“Umma, I’m tired of taking all the blames from appa and unnie. I hope I won’t get it from you too.”

“Ji-eun ah, I’m not trying to blame you. I’m just asking if it’s worth it to fight with your sister over Jong Kook. I have never favor Jong Kook in the first place. But your father insisted on hiring him as well as your sister and yourself. It turned out, that my guts were right. I know Jong Kook will only bring problems to this family. Just look at what happen between you and your sister.”

“Umma, please. Don’t blame Jong Kook oppa for what happen between me and unnie. I have been patient with unnie the whole time and it just happened that I blew out today as she tackled my switch. So, even without Jong Kook oppa, I would still triggered and blown out to unnie.”

“Haih…But I still think that Jong Kook brought a bad vibe to this family. Since his arrival, this family had never been happy anymore.”

“A-ni! I am happy….Unnie and appa is happy too…You are the only one who is not happy because you already have negative thinking towards Jong Kook oppa since the beginning.”

“Yah! So now you are defending that moron?”

“A-ni! Aishh…Umma, you know what? This is why I didn’t wanna talk about it. Coz you only see and put the blame on Jong Kook oppa. If not Jong Kook oppa, then everyone will blame me. No matter what, unnie will never be at fault.”

“Ji-eun ah, that’s not true. You know I never pick side. Who’s right is right, who’s wrong is wrong. Why would you accuse me of favoring your sister?”

“You know what, let’s stop this. You better not get involve, umma. It’s already been a headache for me to deal with appa and unnie.”

It seems like Mrs Song was a bit upset that Ji-eun didn’t wanna share anything with her. She felt like she was left out by her own family.

“………Okay…….If that’s what you want…….Fine……You’ve both grown up now….You don’t need me anymore……Fine…..I will not be nosy anymore…….Finish your food, okay?.....” Mrs Song spoke, feeling upset and getting ready to leave.

Ji-eun dropped her spoon and quickly pulled her mom into her hugs.

“Umma, mianhae…….I didn’t mean to make you upset…..”

“Now that you both have your own life, nobody wants to share anything with me anymore…Nobody needs me anymore….including your father….”

“A-ni! That’s not true…..Umma, I love you so much…..and I still need you, umma…..I just didn’t want you to be worry with all this…..Give us time, I’m sure me and unnie will work this out…..”

“Everybody needs Jong Kook now…..I guess if I ask to pick side, everyone will pick Jong Kook…”

“Umma, that’s impossible…You are my mother….while Jong Kook oppa is on different level…I can’t live without you, umma….”

“Jinja?”

“Mmm…..”

“You mean you will still live with me even after you married?”

“Err….that…..err……”

“Huh….I knew it….You and your sweet words…..”

“Ahh umma….That’s unfair…I don’t even know when I’ll get married….How can you ask me that kind of question?”

“Ara…..I’m just testing you….Now finish your food, I’m going to my room now….”

“N-neh, umma! Gomawo! Saranghae, umma!” Ji-eun said, kissing and hugging her mother before she left.

“Saranghae, Song Ji-eun! Make sure you sleep okay?”

“N-neh, umma!”

                                 **************************************************************

The moment Ji-hyo entered her house, she laid down on the couch, cringing herself. Jong Kook sat next to her.

“You wanna eat anything? I’ll go get it for you,” Jong Kook said.

Ji-hyo shook her head, looking lifeless.

“Ji-hyo ah, you need to get some energy. You look so pale right now….”

“I didn’t have any appetite, oppa.”

Jong Kook stood up and went to the kitchen, looking for anything that he could feed to his lover. After few minutes, he came out with a mug of coffee and cookies.

“I usually won’t encourage you to drink this but….I know this is the only thing that could calm you right now….At least it’s better than liquor….”

Ji-hyo didn’t give any feedback.

“Come on! Get up, darling,” Jong Kook instructed while pulling Ji-hyo to sit up slowly. “Here…..You need to drink this….You’ve been out there in the cold for a while….This could warm you a bit….”

Slowly Ji-hyo took the mug, knowing that Jong Kook wouldn’t stop until she follows his order.

“Cookies?” Jong Kook offered.

“No…..I’ll just take the coffee….”

“Okay….But….oh dear….you wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight….Aishhh..I should have make hot chocolate for you….Aihh….”

“A-ni, oppa! This is fine….I’m sure I’ll doze off even after drinking this….I’m too tired today…..” Ji-hyo said and taking a sip to her coffee.

“Okay then…Just rest and go to sleep after this, okay? Stop thinking about what happen….Tomorrow will be a new day….Everything will be fine again,” Jong Kook tried to comfort his girlfriend.

Ji-hyo drank again and kept holding the mug with both hands, staring blankly to the front.

“It’s not gonna be okay, oppa…….Not this time……I……..I slapped my sister…..Ji-eun already bottled up everything for so long and now……I slapped her……She’s never gonna forgive me anymore…..Never, oppa…..I’m such….a horrible sister……” Ji-hyo let out her feelings and started crying again.

Jong Kook grabbed her mug and put it on the table, then wrapped her to his chest.

“A-ni……She’s gonna forgive you, Ji-hyo ah….Coz you are her only sister….and she loves you so much…..” Jong Kook tried to convince Ji-hyo.

“But I hurt her….I slapped her hard….We’ve never been into fight this bad…..She’s not gonna forgive me, oppa….I can see hatred in her eyes and from her words……” Ji-hyo sobbed onto Jong Kook’s chest.

“Ssyhhh….You know your sister loves you so much, Ji-hyo ah….It’s normal for siblings to fight…But at the end of the day, things will go back to normal….Coz you love each other so much, and you can’t live without one another……You both just need some times and distance yourself….to think and reflect back to yourself…Then everything will be okay after you start forgiving each other…..”

“……..But….I don’t think…..Ji-eun will……”

“Ji-eun will forgive you one day…..and same goes to you….So don’t think too hard and negative okay? Try to imagine just the positive thing….What you plan to do with her once you both were close again…things like that, you know?”

Ji-hyo looked up to Jong Kook, trying to believe that everything’s gonna be fine. Despite the fact that Ji-eun also hurt her with her words, Ji-hyo still loves her sister and wanna make it up.

“Believe me…..Everything’s gonna be fine….Okay?” Jong Kook spoke softly.

“……….Okay…….”

“That’s my girl. Now go to bed okay?”

“Stay with me tonight, oppa……”

“Are you sure?”

“I don’t wanna be alone tonight……”

“Okay….but you go to your bed first….I’m gonna clean all this, okay?”

“…..Okay..…”

After cleaning up a bit, Jong Kook went straight to Ji-hyo’s room. She was lying down facing to the side curling up herself with her eyes closed. Jong Kook assumed she already fallen asleep since Ji-hyo can doze off easily. He sat down on a chair next to the bed and pulled the blanket a bit to cover Ji-hyo’s body. But suddenly a tear drop from Ji-hyo’s eyes. Jong Kook reached out to wipe her tears.

Slowly Ji-hyo opened her eyes.

“Are you okay?” Jong Kook asked, whispering.

“…….Can you….hold me, oppa?.....” Ji-hyo requested.

Jong Kook didn’t answer but move to climb the bed. He got closer behind Ji-hyo and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“……Better?......” he asked, kissing Ji-hyo’s hair to calm her.

Ji-hyo nodded and put her hand on top of Jong Kook.

“May I know what makes you cry?” Jong Kook asked.

“………I……..I can’t believe that…..Ji-eun and I…..can fight like this…..Ji-eun…..has always been my number one fan…..And keeps supporting me in everything…..But….I never thought….she could blow up…..like today….I….She’s…….She’s my best friend…..She’s the only….person that….I can share anything with….But now……….I……….she…….” Ji-hyo couldn’t continue as she cried harder.

Jong Kook tightened his embrace and Ji-hyo’s hair.

“…….Ji-hyo ah….it’s normal for anyone….to suddenly snap…..It happened to everyone, not just Ji-eun….I also have my time….when my patience is off limits….or when my mood is definitely bad…So it’s just normal….if Ji-eun blows up….Everybody has a ticking bomb inside them…”

“But she’s holding grudge against me, oppa……She’s been keeping all her dissatisfaction towards me…..I thought we were close….I though