4

After Christmas

26th December

Sulli kept smiling all alone as she headed down the stairs. She was still on cloud nine. It absolutely wasn't what she expected at all. She came to the lodge, intending to nurse a wounded heart and battered pride. Who would have thought that in contrary, she emerged feeling loved and treasured.

It happened so fast, too fast for even her to acknowledge that she'd find someone again to trust all of her heart. Perhaps it was destiny that brought them together and Sulli figured out if fate decided to give her another start of new chapter, she was more than happy to accept with opened heart.

Like most of people believed in that Christmas was a time for hope and trust. It was a time when a magic sparkle of miracle in the air. And Sulli also believed, this time, between her and Minho, it was really love.

Sulli was still smiling as she entered the dining room and saw her family waiting for breakfast to be served.

"Sulli!" Called Jonghyun when he saw her. He waved for her to join them. Sulli quickly settled down and he looked at her with a small grin. "So my little sis, how was your dinner date?"

"Jonghyun." Said Hwan softly, casting a warning glance at him. "When Sulli is comfortable, she will talk about it."

Heechul looked at her with a serious gaze. "But we are her brothers. We have to make sure that guy doesn't do anything funny."

"Oppa!" Said Sulli as she blushed slightly but she wasn't pleased that her brother referred to Minho as 'that guy' in front of the family. Furthermore, she didn't like that they were getting a little protective over her. "His name is Minho and don't worry, he didn't do anything funny to me."

Sulli sighed inwardly. This was not good when she had intention to inform them about the newest addition to the family. Sulli glanced at Taemin and wished she did not when her eyes met his quiet intense gaze.

Judging by the way her three brothers studied her, Sulli figured it wasn't wise to say anything about it just yet.

At that moment, Minho walked in, oblivious to it. "Sulli." He beamed at her.

Sulli stood up, smiling tersely. She knew she had to stand by her family's decision yet she didn't regret accepting Minho's proposal. But most of all she wished she had some more time to explain it to her family. They were leaving tomorrow and she hoped that they would get to know Minho better.

Minho gave her a light kiss on the cheek before holding her hand. Last night, they spent a trip back to the lodge discussing how to break the news to her family. Sulli warned Minho that they were quite protective over her and he just smiled it off, telling her not to worry too much. He will have his way to convince them. Minho remarked that if he had a sister as pretty as her, he would be protective as well.

"Mum, Dad, Oppa….." Started Sulli as she gripped Minho's hand tighter. She looked at him briefly to search for courage and he gave her a gentle smile. "Minho and I have something to tell you."

Five pair of eyes focused on them seriously. Sulli was glad that there was no one else in the dining room. She took a deep breath. "We are together."

Sulli saw Taemin's eyes narrowed as he glared at Minho. This was not really good.

"I love your daughter. I asked her hand for marriage and she made me the luckiest man in the world to agree." Said Minho.

It was followed by an intense silence. If there was a pin dropped, Sulli swore that she would hear it. Jonghyun tensed up as they looked at her and then at Minho with obvious disapproval. Their parents exchanged glance with each other while Taemin's glare grew more intense.

Suddenly a pair of hands slammed on the table as a chair dragged against the floor. "Marriage? This is nonsense. Are you intending to break her?"

Sulli froze, feeling the anger that was radiating from Heechul's eyes as he walked to them. She was too preoccupied with Taemin's reaction that she forgot that Heechul's temper was equally volatile. Jonghyun quickly stood up and followed his brother. When they reached them, Jonghyun drew Sulli aside as Heechul stood in front of Minho.

Minho looked at him. "Who said I would break her?"

Heechul snorted. "After we met you, we knew something is going between you two. So the three of us did research on you. And what surprised us? You are an idol! Well-known celebrity in Korea. You had your share of gossips and scandals. Like some said you are only interested in guys. What make a gay like you turn attention to my sister if you have no intention to play around!"

"OPPA! Stop!" Exclaimed Sulli at Heechul. He went overboard and she was clearly furious.

"Sulli, that guy isn't trustworthy. You are being fooled." Said Heechul.

"That's right Sulli. You agreed to marry with an almost stranger like him? Don't you find it ridiculous?" Said Jonghyun.

"You don't understand oppa and let me go!" Sulli tried to tug her hands free but Jonghyun's iron grip tightened.

Heechul ignored the commotion between his siblings. He gave Minho a cold, sinister smile. "You are probably so proud of yourself for being the celebrity who has so much of attention and popularity. What make you think we would trust someone like you who is treated like a prince in your own country would be willing to go to Canada and settle down there?"

Minho's expression turned hard. "My fame has nothing to do with my decision to ask the girl I love for marriage and I'm clearly sure, you don't have any right to speculate anything about me either."

"How could we know you would uproot her and make her a wife by name and yet carried out countless affairs with all your groupies?" Asked Heechul, he looked straight into his eyes. "And how would we know that you are sincerely in love with Sulli?"

"Love involves the both of us and us alone. Why should I answer you?" Said Minho.

A hand shot out and gripped Minho's shirt tightly. Heechul took a step closer and glared at him. "If you mess with my sister, you mess with us."

"Oppa, please stop it!" Yelled Sulli again, determined to break up the fight. If Minho wasn't careful, he would earn a good solid punch from Heechul.

Minho glanced at the struggling siblings before looking back at Heechul. "Clearly your sister doesn't think so. So why do you care?"

"Because I would kill you if you ever make her cry."

The four of them froze at the soft steely voice that spoke behind them.

Taemin stood up and walked to Minho and Heechul. He glared at Minho. "If you make her shed a tear, I make sure you shed a bucket full of it. If you two time her, I would castrate you. If you cheat on her, you wish you never meet her." He said with cold glint in his eyes. "Do you want to mess with her?"

"That's enough!" Sora's cool, commanding voice ringed throughout the room.

Jonghyun slowly let Sulli go. She would have run to Minho if she wasn't afraid of Taemin's threats.

Heechul released his grip on Minho's shirt and grabbed Taemin's arm. "Hey, you heard mum."

Taemin looked at his older brother. "I meant what I said." He then turned to Minho again. "I will put an action to what I said if Sulli ever cry because of him."

"But you won't. Because you would make Sulli cry." Said Heechul.

Taemin frowned. "But he would make her cry too. I'm her brother, I need to protect her at any cost. Do you think I would sit down calmly to see her crying because of him?"

"How the hell would you know that!" Said Minho, glaring. "I do love her. Stop comparing me to others!"

"Taemin, apologize."

Taemin looked over his shoulder, realizing that his mother was looking at him, with a stern look on her face. He forced to let the anger drained from him. He knew he was being rude, mean and downright frightening. But he truly thought that Minho was no good for his sister.

"Taemin…" Jonghyun nudged his brother. "You can talk it out later. Don't make mum skin you alive."

Sighing, Taemin gave Minho one last look before walking away without a single word of apology.

Minho detected violence in his eyes. He bet Taemin would murder him in his sleep if it wasn't for Sulli.

Sora massaged her head and took a deep breath. "Heechul, Jonghyun, go following your brother. Make sure to calm that boy down."

"But mum..…"

"Heechul, we understand your concern but your sister isn't a kid. She doesn't always need your protection. Go and leave them alone." Spoke Hwan for the first time since the outburst. "Your mother and I just need to settle it between the four of us without all of you being too protective over her." He waited until the boys complied before standing up and joined Minho. "Let's go for a walk, young man."

Minho raised his eyebrow and studied him. Despite the calmness in his voice, his eyes showed a slight trace of worry.

"Alright." Agreed Minho.

Sora watched two men walked out of the dining room before looking at Sulli. "Come and join me sweetie."

Sulli nodded weakly as she sat down next to her mother. "I messed up mum." She said softly.

Sora nodded. "You did."

Sulli sighed as she looked down at her hands, which were rested on the table. "I don't know what's going on with me. I.…I just know he is different."

"How different?" Asked Sora.

Sulli looked at her. "Minho is nice, sweet, gentleman and sincere."

"You felt that way too when you were engaged to Vincent." Said Sora as she watched Sulli's face paled at the mentioned of her ex-fiancé. "You forgot?"

Sulli shook her head. "No, Vincent was different. He was charming and sweet. But never once I had felt completely comfortable while we were together. I always felt he was like putting up a façade. I don't feel the same way when I'm with Minho."

Sora frowned. "How could you know? You only know him for three days. Three days are very little to know about someone."

"That's the thing mum. Just three days together with him and it seems as if I've known him all my life."

Sora reached out and covered her hand over the younger lady's. "Then does he know?"

"About my parents….. Yes." Answered Sulli.

"How about Vincent?"

Sulli looked up at Sora. "He is my past. He has no influence over my future."

Sora gave her daughter a soft, squeezed hand. "Sulli, even how much it takes, your first love will have an influence on your future husband."

Her vision turned misty red. "Mum....Will dad tell him?"

"He might."

Sulli closed her eyes as she leaned back against the chair. "Oh gosh, I made a mess." Tears ran down her face.

- - - -

"How long have you known Sulli?" Asked Hwan.

Minho glanced at him as they walked. "Three days."

"What sort of girl do you think she is?" He asked again.

Minho smiled. "Sulli is gentle, sweet and innocent."

Hwan nodded. "You are right. She is too sweet that she would cry when she sees an injured cat or a limping dog. She is also innocent and young. She might not be ready to step into the married web, not even to mention to be tied down with an idol she barely knows about."

Minho looked at Hwan. "But I love your daughter."

Hwan let out a smile, slightly laced with sarcasm. "Love doesn't overcome everything. Hard work and determination is required."

"If you are trying to discourage me from loving her, I think you will just be wasting our time." Said Minho.

This time Hwan couldn't help but chuckled. "True. But I am being logical here. How much do you know about Sulli?"

"She is a twenty-two single Korean girl who happens to stay in Canada with her adopted parents. She lost her mother when she was eleven and never knew about her biological father." Minho watched Hwan nodded before carrying on. "She loves cats and dogs, enjoying singing and drawing. She hates exercising but does it to keep fit. She just graduated from University with a degree in Business Administration and is now working in a Multi-National Company in Canada."

Hwan smiled at Minho. "Not bad. You chatted with her that much to know her better."

"I wouldn't slip a single chance to get to know the girl I'm sincerely interested." Said Minho.

Hwan stopped smiling and looked at Minho, seriousness exposed in his eyes. "But did you know that she is a morning person and usually need ten hours of sleep. She usually catches up on her sleep on weekends. She is meticulous, organized to the point that her brother joked that she might have obsessive compulsive disorder. She loves to travel but hate to be alone. The only time she will be alone when she needs time for herself. Most importantly, do you know she loves her brothers despite the way they treat you."

Minho kept quiet, sensing that Hwan had something to say more.

"No?" Asked Hwan. He shrugged. "It's hard to pick this sort of things out when you know someone for just three days. It's even harder to believe that she traveled all the way to Korea in order to forget what happened in Canada a few weeks back."

That caught Minho. "What happened?"

Hwan looked at