MORNING:

                  “Hyomin-unni, you have some crumbs right there … no … there … let me get it for you … you’re such a messy eater …” The most annoyingly flirtatious giggle ever was followed by Hyomin’s shy apology.

                  Sunny crushed the egg in her hand as she watched the most annoying sight unfold at the breakfast table. She was not even bothered by the mess that the yolk made on the kitchen floor. If she were Supergirl, lazerbeams would have shot out of her eyes and burned down the two people at the breakfast table.

                  “Sunny, do you need help?” Hyomin folded her newspaper and looked into the kitchen.

                  Sunny smiled sweetly at her girlfriend and nodded. “I want to eat Minnie’s scrambled eggs.” Her voice was coated with a hint of aegyo. She wanted to do anything to get her girlfriend away from that girl.

                 Park Jiyeon, the eighteen-year-old delinquent cousin of Hyomin, was more than just a headache. The kid was growing to be a menace. She idolized every single thing that Hyomin did. In the morning, she would eat her breakfast while staring at Sunny's girlfriend. In the afternoon, when she comes home, she would shun Sunny until Hyomin return from work. In the evening, she would make Hyomin help her with her homework and then play with her. At the end of the day, Sunny get a ragged girlfriend who would only kiss her goodnight before passing out from exhaustion. It had only been three days and Sunny was already at the end of her ropes. Nothing had been the same since the little deviant arrived.

                 At first, Jiyeon shunned both Sunny and Hyomin, despite their efforts to be friendly to her. Sunny was annoyed, but she kept a happy appearance. Hyomin, however, was not bothered. She showed genuine concern for the young girl and eventually, pulled her over to have a talk. Since then, Jiyeon had been practically attached to Hyomin at the hip, leaving no opening for Sunny.

                 “Okay, I’ll be right there~” Hyomin replied happily and rose from her seat.

                 “Hyomin-unni.” Jiyeon caught the end of Hyomin’s sleeve and looked up at the older woman. She batted her lashes and pouted. “Can you drive me to school today? Kids pick on me on the bus because I’m the new kid.”

                 Hyomin blinked out of surprise and looked up at Sunny, who had an expectant look on her face. The policewoman cleared and scratched her head. She was put in a difficult spot, choosing between her love and her little cousin.

                 Before Hyomin could reply, Jiyeon advanced her aegyo assault and gently tugged Hyomin’s sleeve again. “Please, unni? Umma and appa used to drive me to school everyday … before … before they …” Jiyeon’s eyes got misty as she reminisced about her parents.

                 Hyomin panicked. “I-I’ll drive you to school!” She did not want Jiyeon to think about her deceased parents and cry in the morning. She patted the younger girl’s head and smiled. “Don’t cry, Jiyeonie, I’ll drive you to school. Go get your things.”

                 “Yay! You’re the best, unni!” Jiyeon hopped onto her feet and kissed Hyomin’s cheek, causing the older woman to blush. “I’ll be right back!” The teenager ran upstairs to her room. As she passed by the kitchen, she shot Sunny a victorious smirk.

                 Sunny bit her lip until it almost bled. She hated not having Hyomin’s full attention almost as much as she hated losing. The eggshell in her hand crackled as she tightened her fist after she lost to a highschooler.

                 “Honey …” Hyomin smiled apologetically and started toward Sunny, but a cold look of daggers from the petite woman caused her to stop in her track. She froze like a deer in headlights because her girlfriend had a look of death on her face. “I …” Hyomin wanted to apologize, but Sunny abruptly turned away from her, causing her to stop midsentence.

                 Needless to say, the Sunshine was not shining this morning. Hyomin felt bad for neglecting her girlfriend the past few days, but at the moment, Jiyeon needed her more. “Are you mad at me … ?” She asked in a tiny voice.

                 Sunny did not reply. The short woman busied herself with cleaning up the mess she made on the floor and ignored Hyomin. She did not want to hurt Hyomin’s feelings, but she was highly irritated at the moment. She would rather ignore her girlfriend than to say something that she might regret later.

                 Hyomin walked to the kitchen and wrapped her arms around Sunny’s slim waist. “I love you, Sunshine.” She whispered and kissed Sunny’s hair. Even if Sunny ignored her all day, Hyomin was sure that her persistence would wear the other woman down. How else would she have gotten Sunny to be her girlfriend?

                 “It’s not your fault …” Sunny started, when Jiyeon came back down.

                 “I’m ready!” Jiyeon yelled happily and came to drag Hyomin away.

                 “I’ll see you later, my Sunshine!” Hyomin called back to her sulking lover as she grabbed her briefcase.

                 After the sound of Hyomin’s truck had been gone for a while, Sunny glanced toward the door and sighed. “Bye …”

AFTERNOON:

                  "Hyomin-unni, how do I do this?"

                 "Hyomin-unni, what about this one?"

                 "Hyomin-unni, you're so smart!"

                 Sunny rolled her eyes and crushed the grain in her hand. She tried to focus on feeding Greeny instead of the two annoying people not too far away. She patted Greeny's nose and rubbed the itchy spot where the cow's horns were growing out. Sunny felt like she was growing her own set of horn. She looked over at Hyomin, who was too busy blushing and laughing with the flatterer to notice her gaze. If only Greeny could understand, Sunny could spill her heart out right about now. She had been feeling "off" for the past few days, ever since that delinquent came to live with them.

                 "Sunny, do you need help?" Hyomin smiled and finally looked toward her girlfriend.

                 Sunny gave her girlfriend a look before she continued to pet her cow, ignoring the sweet smile that was directed at her. She wanted to talk to Hyomin, but not with Jiyeon around. The whole morning, while the other two were away, Sunny busied herself with farm work. When Jiyeon returned from school, the younger girl locked herself in her room and ignored Sunny until Hyomin came home.

                 Hyomin returned home early with the intention to cheering her Sunny up, but the moment she got out of her truck, Jiyeon accosted her. The kid wanted to spend every moment with her older cousin, but it was starting to take a toll on Hyomin’s relationship with Sunny. Hyomin knew that Jiyeon looked up to her and she was the last person that the younger girl could count on. She wanted to support Jiyeon, but she could not lose her only Sunshine.

                 Hyomin got the cue that Sunny was bothered, so she started to walk over to Sunny. However, she stopped when she felt a light tug on her sleeve. She looked at Jiyeon, who was looking at her with those kitten eyes. Then, she looked back at Sunny’s petite back standing by Greeny’s enclosure and sighed. How could she ignore her orphaned cousin? That would be heartless.

                 Jiyeon had a reputation of being a delinquent ever since she was in middle school. Hyomin heard a thing or two about it, but she never paid attention, since she had that reputation when she was younger. In fact, Eunjung and Hyomin ran a small gang back home. They called themselves Tiara.

                 Hyomin sometimes chuckled when she reminisced about those days. Not that she regret anything, but those were the days … until she met Sunny. The petite girl beat Hyomin up pretty badly when Hyomin tried to take her lunch money. Hyomin remembered the physical pain, but also the tightness in her chest when she fell in love with the feisty girl. She declared her love for Sunny a few days afterward, but was ruthlessly shot down. “I don’t date delinquents.” Sunny said.

                 Hyomin was surprised since Sunny did not deny her because they were both girls. The delinquent Hyomin saw a ray of hope and hung up her delinquent hat. She left the gang and promised Sunny that she would reform. It took a whole lot of stubbornness and persistence for her to finally make it to the police academy. Thanks to Sunny’s steadfastness, Hyomin became a productive member of society. Even more, she found herself enveloped in the greatest love of her life. Perhaps that was why Hyomin could not ignore Jiyeon. She wanted to help the girl find her own calling and happiness, just as Hyomin has found her.

                  “Hyomin-unni … are you alright?” Jiyeon sounded worried. Hyomin had zoned out and stared into space for about five minutes.

                  Hyomin snapped out of her trance and nodded. “I was just thinking about something from work.” She smiled and continued to show Jiyeon how to bundle up bales of hay.

                  When Hyomin looked over at Sunny again, someone’s phone rang. It was Sunny’s ringtone. She watched as Sunny answered with the sweetest “Annyeong~” ever, the kind that she used to answer Hyomin’s calls. That thought made Hyomin frown. She did her work, but watched Sunny’s face carefully. Sunny’s radiant smile made her even more worried. Hyomin tried to listen to the conversation, but Sunny spoke in a very hushed and secretive voice, as if she knew she was being spied on.

                  As soon as the call ended, Sunny quickly finished feeding Greeny and skipped into the house. When she returned, she hopped into her car. “I’m going to the store!” Sunny announced cheerfully before she drove away.

                  “What’s with her?” Jiyeon spoke the thoughts on Hyomin’s mind.

                  “I don’t know.” Hyomin shook her head.

                  “Is she cheating on you?” Jiyeon muttered and glanced toward Hyomin’s dazed expression.

                  “No … Sunny wouldn’t do that ...” Hyomin shook her head and forced a smile.

EVENING

                 The car coasted into a spot in front of the farmhouse and silenced its engine. Sooyoung stepped out of the car and slung her backpack onto her right shoulder. She looked up at the wooden gates that were faded with a gray color. The parameter of the farmhouse has not changed since she was here perhaps a year ago. With one hand on the aged wood, Sooyoung pushed one side of the gates open. It creaked and announced her arrival.

                   “Sooyoung!” A shrilled voice full of aegyo called out before the owner of the voice dashed toward the new arrival.

                  Sooyoung opened her arms and caught Sunny, when the other woman collided against her. Sunny wrapped her arms and legs around her cousin tightly. “Sooyoung!” She screamed into the young woman’s ear.

                  “Sunny!” Sooyoung screamed back while hugging the little bunny.

                  “I’ve missed you so much!” Sunny her aegyo and pouted.

                  “I’ve missed you too!” Sooyoung smiled and nuzzled her forehead against her cousin’s.

                  “AHEM!” Someone cleared to catch their attention.

                  Sooyoung looked over Sunny’s head and grinned at Hyomin, who was looking rather sullenly at the cousins. She let Sunny hop down before making her way over to the policewoman. “I’ve missed you as well, cousin-in-law.” Sooyoung pulled the jealous Hyomin in for a hug.

                  “So you’ve come to steal my precious Sunny’s attention?” Hyomin hugged Sooyoung lightly before she stepped back.

                  “Just for today, Hyomin. I hope you won’t mind sharing her for a bit?” Sooyoung nodded and glanced back at Sunny.

                 Sunny hooked her arm with Sooyoung and led her cousin into the house, ignoring whatever Hyomin’s answer might have been. Immediately, Sooyoung wondered if she made the right decision to visit that evening. However, her thoughts of regret evaporated as soon as the aroma of food entered her nostrils. They flared wider to receive the delicious scent. “Mmmm …” Sooyoung closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

                 “I made all your favorites.” Sunny beamed.

                 “You’re the best cousin ever!” Sooyoung grinned and squeezed Sunny tightly. “Why did I ever leave this house?”

                 “I don’t know … but would you mind calling Sulli to tell her that?” Sunny laughed and hugged Sooyoung back.

                 Sooyoung shook her head. “No way, it would crush her.” She found it amusing that Sunny and Sulli made it some sort of competition for her affection. “She wouldn’t like being my second favorite cousin!”

                 While the SooSun cousins chatted happily, the JiMin cousins were watching them carefully. Jiyeon was curious about the tall beauty, who was being mushy with the midget. She was bothered that they did not even notice her presence. Hyomin, on the other hand, was uncharacteristically silent. So this was the special guest for whom Sunny slaved in the kitchen for? Hyomin’s upper lip twitched into a little snarl.

                 “Alright, go wash up and then we can have dinner.” Sunny tiptoed and ruffled Sooyoung’s hair.

                 “Yes, favorite cousin!” Sooyoung chirped and found her way to the bathroom. She loved playing favorite, they always give her what she wants. In her head, she cackled evilly.

                 Sunny grinned and went to the dinning table. She ignored the two cousins who were already sitting there. With a happy smile and a cheerful hum, she set the table and brought out the food without asking for Hyomin’s assistance. While Hyomin felt bad, she was starting to feel provoked by Sunny’s cold attitude. She did not do anything wrong to deserve Sunny’s indifference.

                 Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Sooyoung eagerly washed her hands. She was happy to be in a cheerful household. She leaned down and splashed water on her face, letting the coldness refresh and pull her away from the depression that took over her after her date with Jessica the day before. When she looked up, she was caught by her reflection in the mirror. Almost instantly, she felt a sense of self-loathing.

                 It had been two days since Yuri left her apartment and she had not heard from the other woman since. She felt guilty and worried at the same time, even more after her date with Jessica. She thought that seeing and hanging out with Jessica would strengthen her heart and resolve, but Sooyoung did not feel better or more confident. She felt even more confused, because Yuri was still in her heart and mind. Did she unknowingly fall for Yuri? Yuri had never neglect to call or text for that long. Sooyoung worried that the other woman might have …

                 Sooyoung shook her head to clear such negative thoughts out of her mind. She called Sunny and came here tonight so she could be around a loving couple, whose strength and determination brought them together. She knew about Hyomin’s background, since Sunny told her a while back. She knew about how Hyomin had to reform to win Sunny’s love, that was sort of like her deal with Jessica. So she wanted to reaffirm her faith in one true love and that persistence will win.

                 When Sooyoung returned to the dinning area, she noticed Hyomin and another girl, whom she did not recognize, on one side of the table. They gave her a cold look that almost rivaled Jessica’s. Sunny smiled happily and patted the seat next to her, “I save you a seat, Youngie.”

                 Youngie? Sooyoung quirked her brow in surprise, but she did not say anything. Hesitantly, she sat down next to Sunny. She looked at the table full of food and then back at the people at the table. Despite the feast in front of her, the heavy mood quickly drained her appetite.

                 “Hi, I’m Sunny’s cousin, Choi Sooyoung.” Sooyoung decided to keep her manners intact and introduced herself to Jiyeon.

                 “Park Jiyeon, Hyomin-unni’s cousin.” Jiyeon replied with a disinterested answer.

                 “Oh. Cool.” Sooyoung nodded and decided to keep the conversation going. She noticed that Hyomin was staring across the table at Sunny, who was trying to avoid Hyomin’s gaze. “So how long have you been here, Jiyeon?”

                 “Three days.” Jiyeon stared down at her own lap.

                 “Ah, so you came to visit Hyomin? How long are you staying?” Sooyoung felt awkward talking to someone who was short with her, but it was better than sitting there in silence.

                 “Until Sunny decide to kick me out.” Jiyeon replied very matter-of-factly.

                 “Jiyeon!” Hyomin sharply turned to her cousin while Sunny did not even bat an eye.

                 “It’s true isn’t it? She hates me and now she’s hating you for being nice to me.” Jiyeon replied with a bitter smile.

                 “She doesn’t hate you.” Hyomin quickly stated and turned to Sunny for assistance, but the other woman merely picked up her chopsticks and started eating. “Sunny!”

                 “See? I told you!” Jiyeon shot up from her chair and excused herself. She briskly made her way to the stairs up to he room. It was easy to tell that she was crying. Sooyoung was too shock to say anything. This dinner was not exactly what she was expecting.

                 Hyomin rose from her seat, but Sooyoung stopped her. “I’ll go talk to her … I think you and Sunny need to have a conversation.” Sooyoung looked at her cousin and sighed before she trudged upstairs, giving the couple time to talk.

                 As soon as Sooyoung was out of sight, Hyomin sat down and looked at Sunny, who was eating as if nothing happened. “Why are you acting this way, Sunny? Jiyeon’s been through enough … you’re not acting like the Sunny that I know.”

                 Sunny set her chopsticks down on the bowl with a thump. “You’re not acting like the Hyomin that I know, either. You’ve been ignoring the past few days, something that my Hyomin would never do.”

                 “I haven’t been ignoring you!” Hyomin protested, raising her voice a little higher, “I have been trying to take care of my little cousin, who have been passed from family to family after her parents died last month.”

                 “Oh, you’re yelling at me now?” Sunny snapped. “Oh geez, you’re sure like the Hyomin that I know.” Her sarcasm caused Hyomin to become even more frustrated.

                 “Because I’m tired of you giving me a hard time for doing the right thing.” Hyomin shot back.

                 “Fine.” Sunny shifted to turn away from Hyomin, she could not stand to look the other woman in the face right now. “Just ignore me and pretend I don’t exist. Go make your cousin happy.”

                 Hyomin pursed her lips and shook her head. “Stop acting so childishly, Sunny. It’s not like you. Please try to understand my situation.”

                 “I’m childish like this. I feel jealous when my girlfriend doesn’t pay attention to me.” Sunny replied rather loudly as her face reddened.

                 Hyomin’s heart sank when she saw the tears welling up in Sunny’s eyes. “Now you know how I feel …” She said softly.

                 “So you’re trying to get back at me for paying attention to Kyungsan?” Sunny narrowed her eyes accusedly.

                 “NO! That’s not it at all! I just meant now you know how I feel when that happened! I didn’t do it on purpose …” Hyomin felt cornered.

                 “But you admit that you did ignore me!”

                 “No!”

                 Back and forth, they argued and blamed the other. They just went through a big argument a few days before Jiyeon came and now they were back at it. This is the most that they have fought in their years together.

                 While the SunMin couple did the couply thing of pulling up old arguments to fight about, Sooyoung was upstairs with Jiyeon. After knocking on the door, Sooyoung came into the room and found Jiyeon hugging a pillow on her bed. She closed the door behind her so the SunMin’s couple argument would not echo up to the room. The room was dark, it barely lit by a small nightlight. The tall woman wet her dry lips and sat down on the bed. The mattress sank and squeaked.

                 “Ahem …” Sooyoung cleared . “Hey there …” She heard the soft sobs from Jiyeon, whose face was buried in the pillow. “Sunny may have acted badly, but I guarantee that she doesn’t hate you.”

                 Sobs were Jiyeon’s reply.

                 “Sunny’s a bit complicated … just like Hyomin. They’re not used to sharing each other’s attention with other people. I’m sure Hyomin still dislike to this day because of Sunny’s affection toward me … they’re kinda immature like that … so Sunny doesn’t hate you. She’s just jealous of Hyomin’s attention for you …” Sooyoung spoke softly and slowly. She talked about how Hyomin and Sunny met, then gave a brief synopsis of their live until Jiyeon’s arrival, including their recent argument about Kyungsan.

                 Sooyoung did not notice since when, but Jiyeon’s sobs stopped. Instead, the younger girl was listening rather intently. “So you see … these two farm girls have been with each other for a long time. They have a hard time opening up and including other people into their lives.”

                 “A-Are you sure Sunny doesn’t hate me?” Jiyeon finally spoke.

                 “I’m positive. She’s my cousin, I should know. She’s really silly and her aegyo gives me goosebumps. But she is fierce when it comes to Hyomin. She was just being territorial.” Sooyoung grinned. “Can you forgive her?”

                 Jiyeon considered. “I guess I have been overboard … I wanted Hyomin-unni’s attention all to myself. She’s the only person who cared about me after … after … my parents passed away.” Tears streaked down her face once again.

                 Sooyoung’s chest tightened and she scooted closer to hug the younger girl. Even though they just met, she had no choice but to comfort a girl in distress. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

                 “I didn’t want Hyomin-unni to ignore me, because I’m so alone!” Jiyeon hugged Sooyoung in return.

                 “There there … you’re not alone … you have Hyomin, Sunny, and … me … you’ll meet a lot of people in your life …”

                 “You?” Jiyeon sniffled and looked up at Sooyoung.

                 “Yea … I’ll be your friend.” Sooyoung smiled and nodded.

                 “Friend … ?” Jiyeon’s breath brushed across Sooyoung’s chin. “What kind of friend?”

                 Alarms sounded inside Sooyoung’s head and she immediately leaned away. She was speechless. Her brows rose from shock.

                 “You want to be my special friend?” Jiyeon wiped the tears from her cheeks and smirked at Sooyoung.

                 “What do you mean?” She was unnerved by Jiyeon’s evil smirk. Immediately, she got up and away from the bed.

                 Jiyeon ed the top two buttons of her shirt and swung her legs over the bed. “C’mon now, I’m sure you know what I mean ... unless you’re some sort of prudish .”

                 Sooyoung turned away and started for the door before the situation got any weirder.

                 “I wouldn’t do that if I were you …” Jiyeon giggled as soon as Sooyoung’s fingertips touched the doorknob. “I’ll scream the moment you open the door.”

                 Sooyoung whirled around. “What?!”

                 “I’d scream ‘! HELP ME!” real loud … and then Hyomin-unni will come up here and arrest you. Then Sunny will be devastated and Hyomin-unni will blame her … then they will fight … then break up … well, you can imagine the rest.” Jiyeon stepped off her bed. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Sooyoung dashed toward her and gripped her arms.

                 “Why would you do that to the people who are taking care of you?!” Sooyoung yelled into Jiyeon’s face.

                 “Let go of me!” Jiyeon struggled. “Don’t make me scream!”

                 Sooyoung fought the urge to strangle this girl she just met. She released Jiyeon’s arms and glared at the younger girl. “What do you want?”

                 “Hmmm … I’m not sure.” Jiyeon rubbed her arms, at the sore spots from Sooyoung’s grip. “We can start with some money.” She grinned devilishly and stepped toward Sooyoung.

                 Sooyoung took two steps back. “So you want to blackmail me?” She furrowed her brows at the gall of this kid.

                 “If you want to put it in such unpleasant terms …” Jiyeon touched Sooyoung’s shirt at the waist and ran her fingertips upward. “I can tell that you’ve got money, this shirt is a pretty expensive brand isn’t it?”

                 “How much money do you want?” Sooyoung slapped Jiyeon’s hand away.

                 “To start … all the cash that you have on you right now … then weekly, I want $200 …” Jiyeon started with her deal.

                 “No.” Sooyoung shook her head.

                 “What?”

                 “I’m not going to be blackmailed by a petty criminal like you.” Sooyoung shook her head again.

                 “Then I’m going to –“ Jiyeon was surprise that it was not working.

                 “Scream?” Sooyoung smiled. “Let me guess, you’ve done this before … to some poor schmuck …” she stepped toward the young girl. “I’m not going to give you a cent.” She pushed Jiyeon onto the bed.

                 Jiyeon landed on the mattress with a thud and yelped. “Hey!” Everything spun out of control so quickly.

                  Immediately, Sooyoung’s hand covered Jiyeon’s mouth while she pinned the young girl to the bed. “Where as all the other people you extorted might have been scared because they were good people … I’m not a good person.” Sooyoung’s hand started to the rest of Jiyeon’s top.

                 The younger girl froze before letting out a muffled scream into Sooyoung’s palm. She had never run into this problem before, all the people she had pulled this stunt on always gave her what she wanted. Something in Sooyoung’s eyes told her that the older woman was dangerous.

                 When Jiyeon’s shirt was completely opened, Sooyoung grabbed one of her still developing s. “If you want to cry , I’ll show you what is …”

                 Jiyeon started to cry because she was afraid. She thrashed around, but Sooyoung’s bigger body kept her relatively flat against the mattress. She cried and wanted Hyomin to come rescue her. She freaked out even more when she felt Sooyoung’s hand leave her and trailed down to her pants. The older woman’s knee was pushed between her legs. She tried to scream, but she could not peel Sooyoung’s hand off .

                 “Now you know how feels …” Sooyoung stopped at the waistband of Jiyeon’s pants, “so you better not use it to extort money ever again.” The older girl was still pinning Jiyeon down, but she was not doing anything else. “If you break Hyomin and Sunny up, you’ll be passed onto another family … where this may really happen to you. So think carefully before you act.”

                 Jiyeon stared up at Sooyoung, there were fear and anger in her tearful eyes. No one had ever treated her this way before. They all treated her with fear and quietly tried to get her out of their house. She enjoyed the power she had on them while it lasted. Never have she felt so vulnerable before.

                 Sooyoung took her hand off Jiyeon’s mouth, to her surprise, the girl did not scream. “Hyomin and Sunny are good people. If you live with them, you will be happy, I promise you. They’ll treat you well and help you become a good person. They’ll even put you through university and support you, whatever you need. I know them. So you can continue to pull stunts like this and get put somewhere where bad things may happen to you, or you can stay here and be loved by two wonderful people. It’s your choice. You seem smart, so I hope you will make the right decision.”

                 Sooyoung straightened her clothes and walked back toward the door. “I’m going to open this door. You can scream and continue your charade if you want, but know this …” She looked back at Jiyeon. “I’m going to kill you if you hurt my Sunny.”

                 Jiyeon stared at Sooyoung for a while. Their eyes lock in the dim light of the room. She could tell that the woman was serious. She shivered. There was something dangerous and intoxicating about this woman’s cold eyes. Jiyeon hated Sooyoung, but also admired her coolness.

                 Sooyoung’s hand wrapped around the doorknob and turned it. The door creaked open without a peep from Jiyeon. Immediately, Sunny and Hyomin’s voices were heard echoing up the stairs. Sooyoung looked at the girl before she turned away. “When you’ve calmed down and reflected, come to the kitchen and apologize to Sunny and Hyomin. You owe them that much.” Then she disappeared from the doorway, leaving a shocked Jiyeon to ponder her next move.

                 As she made her way downstairs, Sooyoung let out a breath of relief and almost collapsed on the steps. It took all of her acting and control to pull that off. Sooyoung’s heart was about to leap out of its chest. She wanted to break down and cry because her life almost took a wrong turn. She wanted to hate Jiyeon, but she also felt bad for the kid. She regretted her overreaction, because she potential scarred the poor girl. Despite Jiyeon being a delinquent, she did not deserve what Sooyoung just did to her. Sooyoung did what she thought was right at the moment, she wanted to protect Sunny’s happiness. She wanted the one faithful and simple example of pure love in her life to remain together.

                 When Sooyoung reached the last steps, she saw Hyomin and Sunny sitting on opposite sides, with their back toward each other. Their faces showed that they have been crying. She sighed and rubbed her temple, as a full-blown migraine just came on all of a sudden. She cleared , but neither acknowledged her.

                 “Jiyeon’s fine …” Sooyoung spoke and immediately Hyomin got onto her feet.

                 Hyomin grabbed her keys from the counter and her jacket from the livingroom before she head for the door.

                 “Leave! Run away! Run like you always do!” Sunny cried.

                 Hyomin looked back at Sunny with a painful look on her face, then she glanced toward Sooyoung with a look that asked the taller woman to look after Sunny. Sooyoung nodded. She understood.

                 As soon as Hyomin opened the door, a loud “No!” from the top of the stairway interrupted her exit. Hurried footsteps came down the steps before Jiyeon appeared. Her face and eyes were red and she was crying hysterically. She rushed toward Hyomin and hugged the older woman. “Don’t leave! It’s all my fault!” She cried into Hyomin’s chest.

                 “No it’s not …” Hyomin patted Jiyeon’s back.

                 “It is! I’m such a !” Jiyeon cried louder.

                 Hyomin gave Sooyoung a worried look that practically said ‘what the hell did you do to my little cousin?’ Sooyoung shook her head and went over to Sunny. She pulled her reluctant cousin off her and over to the JiMin cousins.

                 “It’s time you three work things out before moving forward.” Sooyoung was not taking no for an answer, despite Sunny’s attempt to walk away.

                 “I’m sorry, Sunny-unni!” Jiyeon pulled away from Hyomin and hugged Sunny.

                 Sunny’s cold expression softened a bit as Jiyeon repeatedly apologized. However, her anger was no longer directed at Jiyeon, but now it was straight toward Hyomin. She could not feel relieved or happy, event when Jiyeon was being so sincere.

                 Hyomin watched the two and suddenly walked out the door. She slammed it with great force, causing Jiyeon to cry harder. Sunny was stunned, but she remained silent. Sooyoung knew that silence meant that a storm was brewing into a hurricane. Sunny gently patted Jiyeon’s back, but her eyes darkened visibly.

                 Just as Sooyoung was about to speak, the front door opened again and Hyomin came back in with a large bouquet of roses. Everyone was surprised. Hyomin smiled apologetically and stepped toward Sunny.

                 “I bought these earlier today, because I wanted to apologize for making you mad … but I couldn’t find the right time to give it to you. I’m sorry I yelled at you and acted a fool. It’s only because I love you so much and when you are mad at me, my head get all jumbled …” Hyomin started and then got down on one knee. “Please forgive me, my Sunshine. I promise I won’t give anyone more attention than you, ever again.”

                 Sunny stared at Hyomin while Jiyeon backed away so the two lovers could talk. Hyomin reached out for Sunny’s hand and squeezed it tightly, “I’m sorry for the things I’ve done and I know that I’m the foolish one. I know the heartaches that you’ve been through … because I have felt them, too. So … my love, my Sunshine, please be kind and find it in your heart to forgive me?”

                 Sunny sobbed while smiling, which made her look rather pitiful. She nodded and accepted the roses from Hyomin before she pulled her girlfriend up for a hug. “Please forgive me, too, Hyominnie! I’m also to blame for acting childishly …”

                 Before Sunny could utter any more words of apology, Hyomin silenced her with a sweet reunion kiss. Sooyoung reached over to cover Jiyeon’s eyes but the younger girl sharply elbowed her in the ribs, causing her to double over in pain. The air was taken out of Sooyoung’s lungs in a much more painful way than it was being taken out of Sunny’s.

                 Not long after the lovers made up, they all had a cheerful dinner where the lively atmosphere made up for the coldness of the food. Sunny and Jiyeon even ganged up to tease Hyomin. Sooyoung had a few hearty laughs as Hyomin almost choked on her food. Afterwards, they all pitched in a clean.

                 When possible, Sooyoung stole away from everyone and snuck out to the porch so she could have a moment of peacefulness and quiet. The country night was filled the stars, unpolluted by city lights. The chirps of crickets and frogs were great substitutes for sounds of cars and people. Sooyoung sat down on a rocking chair and sighed happily.

                 The door opened and Jiyeon stepped out. Sooyoung watched her curiously.

                 “They’ve gone to bed … probably to have make up .” Jiyeon replied to Sooyoung’s look as if it was normal for a kid to talk that way.

                 “Ah, the Bunny struck again.” Sooyoung nodded and watched Jiyeon, as the younger girl stared out at the night. She wanted to apologize to the kid, without appearing weak.

                 “She’s going to love me more than you.” Jiyeon stated without looking over at Sooyoung.

                 “Hmm?” Sooyoung was confused.

                 Jiyeon turned her full attention to Sooyoung. “I’m going to get you back for what you did. I, Park Jiyeon, will never forgive you. I’m going to make Sunny-unni love me more than she loves you. I’m going to eat all her yummy food and soak up her love while you’re not here. I’m going to be such a great student and person … She’s going to wish that I was her cousin instead of you.” Jiyeon tried to sound hateful with each and every word before she meronged Sooyoung.

                 Without waiting for the older girl to reply, Jiyeon went back into the house.

                 Sooyoung shook her head. “Park Jiyeon … you .”

Hello again everyone! Sorry it took so long for me to update again! It's been a very busy week! Please forgive me!

Anyways, no Soori vs Soosic today. I wanted to give you guys a break from all the conflicting emotion ... and use this change to introduce delinquent Jiyeon. Scary isn't she? Well, she's a bit of a cousin/unni-.  Things worked out well  ... as well as it  could have turned out. And then we will resume the normal Soosic vs Soori drama at the next update!

I hope everyone celebrated Sooyoung's Birthday and Valentine's day! Have a good week until we meet again!