TITLE: One Day, on a Snowy Day

PAIRING: Luhan x You

TYPE: chaptered-e shot

GENRE: angst, drama

RATING: PG-13

LENGTH: 26,591 words

STATUS: COMPLETED, CLOSED

CHARACTERS:

1. Luhan (main): your adopted little brother.

2. You (main): Han Eunsoo. DOB: Dec 17. 2 years older than Luhan. Good at drawing, ice skating, and sassing around. Initial age: 8 years old.

(Pic: Jeon Haram, ulzzang kid)

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: this story progresses from childhood to adulthood. Adopted brother!Lu.

 

NOTES [PLEASE READ]:

The mark [X] on the title and the status “CLOSED” in the description above mean you can’t copy or plagiarize this story.

If the mark on the title is [O] and the status is “OPEN”, you can take my idea or continue the story, with conditions as explained on the “EXPLANATION AND RULES” (FIRST CHAPTER).

The bold texts in capitals in this story are the titles of the parts (like chapter titles).

 

Enjoy the story!

 

THE COOTIE FACTORY

 

For some children, being the only child means being lonely when Mom and Dad aren’t home. Some children wish for a baby brother or sister to play with, some others wish they had someone older – a big brother or sister – whom they can share their secrets with, who can protect them from the bullies and bad kids. But, for you, Han Eunsoo; you never wish for a nuisance in form of a human that can steal your parents’ attention and affection from you. Being the only child means being the princess in the house to you, because, well, that’s really how you’ve been treated ever since you first popped out of your mom’s watermelon tummy.

 

But not until your eighth birthday, on a snowy day in December, when your mommy and daddy brings home a shocking “present” for you; a small, shy, pinkish little boy, with a mop of messy, curly dark brown hair covering his small head and a good amount of snot running down his red, tiny button nose.

 

“Eunsoo, honey! Say hello to your new little brother, Luhan!”

 

“…NOOOO!!”

 

From that day on, Luhan is your nightmare, the “devil” in the house. At least to you, he is.

 

 

 

“Mommy, please tell me again where you found that… Ugh, I don’t know what he is.” The sassy eight-year-old you massage your temples with your small fingers as if you were having a headache from thinking too much about third world problems. Your mom chuckles softly and combs your long, thick black hair, as usual treating you like the princess you are.

 

“Don’t be so rude at him, honey. Look at him sleeping, isn’t he adorable?” No, I AM adorable. You roll your eyes and cross your arms. “He’s such a small baby, who would have guessed he’s six years old already?”

 

“I don’t want him around,” you demand, “he’ll give me cooties.”

 

Your mom’s giggle intensifies to a laughter, but then she clamps her hand over her own mouth, remembering that there is a baby boy sleeping peacefully in the room.

 

“Sweetheart, I promise you Luhannie is clean and healthy,” she tries to assure you.

 

“But he had snot in his nose. And it went down to his mouth. He almost ate it! Eww! I hate boys, they are so full of germs.”

 

“I bathed him already, though,” your mom smiles understandingly. She is probably the most patient mother alive, having a sassy daughter like you. It’s really not her fault, though, you got that attitude from watching too much afternoon drama with the nanny.

 

You make a dramatic sound of a loud, sharp gasp. “You what?? Mommy, you touched his body? I can’t believe this! He’s taking you away from me!”

 

Your mom doesn’t answer and chews on her bottom lip instead, contemplating if she should tell you more about the new baby boy and what would be your next hyperbolic reaction. She takes in a deep breath and exhales a long, heavy sigh.

 

“Eunsoo-ya, I hope you can be nice to your new baby brother. He… He has just lost his parents. His mommy and daddy, they were both my old friends. They passed away last week in a fire explosion at their workplace. They were both Chinese and now Luhannie has no relatives here in Korea. He was brought to an orphanage by their colleague, but once we found out about it, we came to the orphanage to bring Luhannie home. He will stay with us from now on, and that is final, you got it, honey?”

 

You might be a quite arrogant, spoiled little princess, but you still have a heart. You can’t help but feel bad for the cootie factory’s mom and dad.

 

“Why don’t you send him back to China, mommy? He doesn’t belong here.”

 

Now your mom looks sad. “I don’t know how to contact his family in China. I don’t even know them and how they are like. Actually… We’re still trying to find a way to reach them somehow. That’s why… That’s why we haven’t officially adopted Luhannie yet.”

 

Your face shines as bright as the sun at your mom’s sad remark. “He’s not officially my brother yet? Oh, yess!! I still have a chance! Thank you, thank you!” You raise your head and throw flying kisses at the ceiling. Your mom doesn’t look too happy about it.

 

Truth be told, her main reason beyond everything she’s just told you is because… she wants to have him. You are unaware that your mother wants to have another child, a cute little boy, but her physical condition doesn’t let her have one. She can’t have another child; that’s why she and your dad shower you with overflowing love and give you everything you want, knowing that you are their only next generation. But now that there’s a new addition to your family… You know you will have to lose your world of rainbows and unicorns and cotton candies soon or much sooner. Your parents really do try hard to find the boy’s family in China, but if they fail to do so, they won’t be crying over it. The cute, precious little boy with big eyes and fluffy hair is very welcome in the family.

 

“Eunsoo-ya, can you look after your brother for a moment? I’m going to the kitchen to help the maids cook our lunch.”

 

Once your mom leaves the room, you crawl from the edge to the middle of the bed and sit next to the small sleeping body, watching him with narrowed eyes. He is lying flat on his back, with his small arms up on the sides of his head and his thin lips slightly ajar. His body is covered by a green fluffy blanket with a big picture of Bambi on it. You can see how he is having a really good sleep from the way his tummy rises and falls as he breathes. When you lean closer, you can clearly see his ridiculously long eyelashes, and you can’t help but wonder if his mommy used to shampoo those eyelashes too whenever she bathed him.

 

Whatever, my eyelashes will grow longer than yours when I grow up, you pout.

 

“Mm… Mom… Mmm…. Mommy…” You sit straight and look at the cootie factory that is your new brother with your big eyes in surprise. Is he really talking in his sleep? He’s… He’s a magic kid.

 

“W-Whose mommy?” You ask the sleeping boy. Of course he doesn’t answer. He starts crying instead.

 

“E-Ehh? S-Stop crying! My mommy will think you’re crying because of me! Ya! Do you want to get me in trouble?”

 

“Eunsoo-ya! What—Why are you shouting at your brother?” Your mom comes running into the room and quickly picks up the crying boy, who jolts back to consciousness right away. “Aigoo, there, there. Why are you crying, Luhannie? Was noona being naughty?”

 

“What—I didn’t do anything!” Your complaint flies past your mom’s ears and is left ignored. You’ve never been that pissed your whole life.

 

“M-Mommy,” Luhan squeaks, “Xiao Lu wants mommy.”

 

You notice your mom’s expression changes; she makes weird faces before she finally breaks into tears, realizing that she can never replace the boy’s true mother in his heart. How is she going to explain to him that his mommy is never coming back?

 

“What’s a Shaw Lu?” You mutter to yourself awkwardly, feeling totally out of place as the little boy’s cry gets even louder. It’s pissing you off that your mom has her whole attention on this stranger. Getting annoyed by his loud voice, you stomp your way out of your mom’s room and sulk to your heart’s content on the sofa in the living room. Out of nowhere your fluffy white kitten comes and curls in your lap. At least her soft purr can make you feel a bit relaxed.

 

“My life is ruined, Snow White,” you wipe an imaginary teardrop off your cheek, “he’s here to ruin everything. I hope he won’t steal you too.”

 

“Meow.”

 

“I know. You’re the only one who’s loyal to me.” You sniff and run your hand back and forth on your kitten’s small body. Suddenly you pause and an evil smile slowly grow on your lips.

 

“That’s a very brilliant idea, Snow White. Together… we’ll make him regret he ever stepped his foot in this house.” Mwahahaha!

 

“Young miss! There you are! Come on, we’re missing the hottest episode of your favorite drama!”

 

“Oh my gosh! Okay, I’m coming, nanny!” Mrreowrr!

 

COOKIE MONSTER

 

One year later, in the morning of a snowy day…

 

“Here you go, my lovely children, your favorite chocolate chip cookies!” Your mom serves two glasses of warm milk and a big plate of homemade cookies right in front of you… and your lame brother. You glance at him with squinted eyes and mentally barf at how his round eyes are sparkling in delight. When he reaches out his small hand to take the first cookie, intentionally you swat his hand away while your mom isn’t looking. You take the cookie he was about to grab and shove it into your mouth.

 

“Mmm, so good!” You munch on your cookie, while your hand is still busy slapping Luhan’s smaller one away from the plate. He frowns to himself quietly, and then after a minute, he tries to take a small, broken piece of cookie that has fallen onto the table, but still… you push his hand away.

 

“Noona,” he squeaks silently, pleading with puppy eyes. You stick your tongue at him mockingly, but then pull it back in fast enough before your mother turns around.

 

“Oh? Luhannie, why are you not eating? Come on, baby, don’t be shy,” she giggles and picks a big piece of cookie, placing it in Luhan’s little hands. You roll your eyes seeing how he stares at his cookie like it were made of gold or such. Ever so timidly, he takes a very small bite on the cookie and munches slowly like it’s going to be his first and last bite of his life.

 

“There you go! I know you like my homemade cookies. Don’t you, baby?” Your mom grins from ear to ear and ruffles Luhan’s fluffy hair. He nods shyly, and after stealing a rather scared glance at you, quickly he shoves the rest of his cookie into his mouth until his cheeks puff out like a hamster. His eyes almost tear up, at last, after not being able to eat his favorite while it’s served right before him. Again, he munches for what seems like forever before pushing it down his throat. He drinks his whole milk and gets down from his seat.

 

“Oh? Luhannie, you’re done already?” Your mom asks in surprise.

 

“One is enough, mommy. Thank you for the cookie.” You stop eating abruptly and watch your brother leave the kitchen with your full mouth hanging open. He actually leaves. Weird, suddenly you don’t feel like eating those cookies anymore.

 

Your mom turns to you and narrows her eyes at you with her hands on her hips.

 

“Waff?” You ask with a full mouth.

 

“You still don’t get along well with him, do you?” The pretty woman sighs, suddenly looking tired. “I can see he’s not comfortable around you. Why won’t you try to be nice to him, Eunsoo-ya? He’s nothing but a good boy.”

 

You finish the cookie in your mouth and drink your milk awkwardly. “Well… I’m not comfortable around him either. Have you forgotten to think about me?”

 

“Why are you not comfortable around him? Because he’s a boy? Because he’s still a stranger to you?” Your mom’s voice raises just a little bit, and yet it frightens you to no end. She’s never been really mad at you. You bow your head deeply as you can hear her take a deep breath. “Look, honey, it’s been a year and I’m not supposed to be still expecting you to start a healthy interaction with him. Can’t you please accept him? He’s… He’s going to be your official brother soon. We still can’t find his family. He’s going to be ours—“ your mom has a happy glint in her eyes, but her face looks sad, because she knows it’s not a good news to you, “—and you will grow up together with him. Trust me, Eunsoo-ya, you don’t want to be cold to him. Please, please open up to him, and he’ll be the best brother you can ask for.”

 

The problem is, you never ask for a brother. Just thinking about him makes you feel sick. You get off your seat and quietly leave the kitchen, leaving your mom sighing sadly to herself. You stay and play with your kitten in your spacious pink bedroom, while your little stepbrother is sitting by the window in his own room, looking at the sky with wet eyes as he recalls his happy times with his deceased parents. He likes Mr. and Mrs. Han, your parents; even after a year they are still very nice to him and they’re still trying hard to make him feel like he’s their own son. But you, his evil stepsister… you’re making his life a living hell. But what can a little boy like him do? Besides, inside that petite frame there is a kind and soft heart, not a hateful one. Secretly little Luhan makes a wish in his heart that someday you will love him too.

 

Later, that night, your mom puts each one jar of cookies in your room and Luhan’s. You are already used to it, you grow up in a room full of snacks and sweets, but it’s a different case for Luhan. After he’s done playing alone in the backyard with his new soccer ball that your daddy bought him yesterday, he goes back to his room and instantly gasps at the sight of the pleasant surprise sitting on the bedside table; a big jar of cookies, decorated with a pretty baby blue ribbon. He turns his head around outside to see if you’re there to steal his food – like you always do – and after he makes sure it’s safe, he closes the door quietly and then runs to take the jar. He opens the lid and takes the first piece, and when it enters his mouth, out of the blue he feels overjoyed that he starts crying after his third cookie. While you’re carelessly eating yours, leaving crumbles here and there for your kitten to clean, the boy you hate is eating the very same cookies while crying silently, because he thought he wouldn’t get the chance to eat them again until the next time your mom bakes some more. Which is pretty rare.

 

“S-So good,” Luhan cuddles the jar before closing the lid hesitantly. He tries to count and estimate how many pieces left inside. “I’ll keep the rest for tomorrow. It’s…  It’s enough for one month if I eat one a day.” Carefully he gets off his bed hugging the jar and walks over to his cupboard to hide the jar. Just in case you plan on stealing it, like the last time your mom put a chocolate bar in his room as a reward for helping your daddy wash his car.

 

You’ve done it all without your parents knowing, but little do you know that you almost got caught many times, and Luhan had to lie to your parents so that you wouldn’t get in trouble. He never hates you like how you hate him with all your heart.

 

Little Luhan wishes that someday his noona will love him too.

 

A PICTURE OF YOU AND ME

 

Two years later, on a snowy day…

 

“Say cheese!” Click! “Nice!”

 

Luhan slides across the cold, slippery surface towards your dad to see the picture he’s just captured with his camera. It’s a picture of him and you on a frozen lake, both wearing a thick black jacket, a beanie, a pair of gloves and ice skating shoes. The only thing Luhan wears but you don’t is a smile.

 

“Ah, it would be better if you two could stand closer to each other,” the tall man says rather dejectedly. He lets his boy take the camera to see better. When he sees Luhan sadly place his small index finger over the empty space between him and his stepsister in the picture, making it look as if his finger was an invisible wall separating them, something stirs in your father’s chest that makes him quickly take the boy into a firm hug.

 

“It’s okay, Luhan-ah. Should we take a better picture? Eunsoo-ya, let’s take another—Where is that kid?” Your father flies his gaze around and finds you swirling around elegantly across the ice like a ballerina, far away from the father and son. He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.

 

“I’m sorry, son. Your sister loves skating so much, it’s like she becomes one with the ice whenever she goes ice skating. Maybe… Maybe we can take another picture later.”

 

“It’s okay, daddy,” Luhan looks up and smiles, “I guess noona doesn’t really like taking pictures with me.”

 

Your father is about to object, but Luhan doesn’t give him a chance as he takes the older male’s hand and pulls him to continue where they left off. Luhan, too, loves ice skating. Seeing that his big smile instantly returns to his adorable baby face, your father brushes his worries off and decides to have fun with his beloved son.

 

It’s not that your dad chooses Luhan over you to play with; you choose to play alone. He does want to play with both of you. Little do you know that he is secretly watching you with longing in his eyes; he’s proud that his baby girl has grown up and can skate very well on her own, but still, he misses those times when you were still learning how to skate. The little you wouldn’t let go of him all the while he led you slide slowly on the ice, and when you fell down, you had that cute, big smile and bright laugh that made him want to pinch your cheeks and pluck off your nose, and you would get back on your feet straight away to continue where you left off. That cute little girl is now replaced by a cute, doe-eyed little boy.

 

“Daddy, please teach me how to skate like noona. She’s really cool!”

 

“Of course, son. You’ve got the best teacher here, you’ll be as cool as her for sure!”

 

“Yess!”

 

Later that day…

 

After getting back home, Luhan runs straight to his room and doesn’t come out until your mom calls you both for dinner. Somewhere during the usual friendly dinner talk, your mom asks, “Luhannie, what were you doing in your room? Usually you play with your ball in the backyard.”

 

“Oh,” Luhan swallows his food and grins, “that’s a secret, mommy.”

 

Your parents look at each other with an exaggerated surprised expression, while you keep on chewing your beef flatly like a bored camel. “Ooo, Luhannie has started keeping secrets already!” Your mom gasps, “It’s not something naughty, is it?”

 

Luhan laughs cutely at your mom’s funny face. “No, of course not! Okay, okay, I’ll spoil just a little bit,” he does an itty bitty hand gesture and his smile grows bigger, “it has something to do with a special day!”

 

“Wow! Let me guess, if it’s in this month, then… Christmas? Oh, or Eunsoo’s birthday!” Your mom cheers happily and you almost choke on your food. Luhan? Doing something for my birthday? Please, he must be bribing me for something. He wants me to be nice to him so he can take my stuff too. That must be it.

 

“Hmm, maybe?” Little Luhan shrugs and giggles, not letting himself spoil more of his secret even though deep inside he’s eager to let the older ones know about it. I’ll keep this a surprise! Just a few more days!

 

He goes to bed a little late that night, after diligently working at his desk for hours.

 

“One done, one more to go! But now, time for bed.” Luhan puts his little present in his drawer and then climbs onto his bed. Right on time, your mom and dad come in to give him a goodnight kiss. They still don’t know about his little secret.

 

The next night, he repeats the same thing, but this time it’s all done. He just needs to wait until the D-Day comes.

 

A few days later…

 

Knock, knock. “Noona?” Knock, knock. “Noona, have you woken up yet? Can I… c-come in?”

 

Your sticky eyelids crack open and a wave of bad mood practically washes over you as soon as you recognize the voice. You close your eyes again and try to go back to sleep. It’s not working.

 

…UGGHHH THAT KID! MY BEAUTY SLEEP IS RUINED!

 

You open your eyes for the second time that day, but this time they’re open wide, glaring hard at the door. You sit up quickly and march towards the door, swing it open just to find Luhan in his baby blue pajamas, flinching out of reflex when you come into sight. His head drops and his body seems to shrink under your death glare, and what you can see instead of his face is only his fluffy, tousled bed hair.

 

“N-Noona,” Your little stepbrother gulps hard and slowly lifts his head, “h-happy… bi-birthday.”

 

Just now do you notice the paper that Luhan has been hiding behind his back; he gives it to you with his shaky hands, and after you take it, he pulls back his hands immediately and squeezes them together nervously like a man proposing to the woman of his dreams.

 

“It’s… a picture of you… and me.”

 

You look at your first present from your brother with your unamused sleepy face; it’s a drawing of a boy and a girl, standing side by side, smiling and holding each other’s hand. It’s not the best drawing – you can draw the same picture five times better, that’s one of your talents –  but definitely not an ugly one. He actually drew full bodies instead of stickmen and he colored it neatly with his coloring pencils. It’s easy to tell from the background that it’s the frozen lake where they went ice skating; he copied the picture your dad took, with a little modification, in form of your linked hands and your smiling face. Above the drawing of you two, he wrote, “Happy 11th birthday, Eunsoo noona! From: Luhan, your dongsaeng ❤”

 

You have no idea how long he had contemplated before drawing that heart with trembling hand. He doesn’t regret it, he wants it there so you can see it and get the message that he loves you.

 

Who wouldn’t feel touched, getting such a lovely present from such a lovely brother?

 

Rrrrripp!

 

Well, maybe you wouldn’t.

 

Luhan gasps and covers his mouth with his hands in pure shock when you rip the picture in half, right before his eyes. The linked hands are now separated, and your smiley face in the picture can’t be seen anymore, because you crumple it into two paper balls and toss them into the waste basket inside your room, near where you’re standing.

 

As if it weren’t enough to hurt him, you shout at his face, “Never wake me up before nine on weekends, you dummy! You don’t know what I was dreaming about, do you? It was perfect and you ruined it! Shoo, go back to your room! I hate you!”

 

Without waiting for second command, Luhan runs back to his room with tears running down his face. You shut your door angrily and return to your bed, hoping that somehow you can fall asleep again, because it’s still three hours to your usual wake up time.

 

 “So much for a birthday present,” you grumble and pull your thick blanket over your head. Your eyelids are about to stick back together when suddenly you hear something that makes your eyes pop open wide.

 

You can hear faint sobs and sniffles coming from the other side of your bedroom’s wall. From your brother’s room. If it sounds faint to you, then it most likely sounds loud in the other room, because the wall is thick and you don’t usually hear anything.

 

Your brother is crying hard because of you. Other than the time he understood his biological parents were dead, or when he was a baby, he has never cried that hard. How can he not cry? He shows you that he loves you, but you return it with an “I hate you”. He has put his heart to that drawing, and you tore it apart; you tore his heart apart.

 

And your parents don’t know anything about what happened, because they’re still asleep in their room downstairs. Having known Luhan for three years, you just know he’s not going to mention anything about what you did to him. He’s going to pretend that everything’s perfectly fine.

 

For the first time ever, you feel a little bit guilty for Luhan.

 

“…Ugh, stop it! Fine! I’ll keep that stupid drawing!” You go to the wastebasket and hesitantly grab the two paper balls you threw earlier, bring it to your desk and toss them into your drawer without even bothering opening them.

 

“I’m still not going to be nice to you.”

 

Because you totally can’t fall back asleep, and Luhan’s sobs are driving you nuts, you get out of your room and go downstairs to the living room to watch TV. It’s been a while you haven’t watched early morning cartoons.

 

Around fifteen minutes later, your parents finally wake up and they seem pleasantly surprised to find you there, awake and giggling alone at the funny cartoon you’re watching.

 

“Oh, honey? When did you wake up? It’s not even seven yet! Normally you wake up at nine,” your mom says.

 

“Is it because…,” your dad leaves his sentence hanging, and then suddenly you jump in your seat out of shock when they shout loudly, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, OUR BABY GIRL!”

 

“Yay!! Say cheese!” Out of nowhere your mom gets a camera and takes a picture of your shocked face, with you still in your pink pajamas and with your messy hair and all.

 

“Oh my gosh, please delete that picture.”

 

As you have guessed, later Luhan shows up all smiley like he’s just woken up, like he hasn’t seen you today.

 

“Oh, n-noona. H-Happy birthday!”

 

His eyes are swollen and your parents do notice them. He makes it to brush the topic off by using “nightmare” as the excuse. He’s not completely lying, his nightmare was you breaking his heart.

 

You celebrate your birthday at a restaurant with your family, everyone seems to have fun and there’s nothing that can go wrong. That early morning incident with your little brother is long forgotten…

 

And so are the two crumpled paper balls in the far corner of your drawer.

 

A week later…

 

“Merry Christmas!”

 

What you love the most about December is that you get to receive presents twice; for your birthday and your Christmas presents. This year you get a beautiful, expensive-looking red and white long coat, and a new pair of ice skating shoes with a nice model to replace your old ones. You look absolutely beautiful with them all on.

 

Meanwhile, little Luhan is so elated getting a Bambi to accompany him in his room. Not a small Bambi plushie, but a big one that resembles the size of a real fawn, with solid bones and soft brown fur and all. He just loves Bambi! Oh, and he also gets a Rubik’s cube. The moment he touches it for the first time, it becomes his favorite toy right away.

 

Luhan doesn’t give you a present anymore. That drawing was probably the first and the last present he ever gave you.

 

Hmph, who cares about stupid presents from a stupid boy? Besides, what else can he give besides an ugly drawing? A booger in a box?

 

Maybe you’re right that he can only give drawings; at least that’s what a nine-year-old boy can do. Without you knowing, Luhan comes to your parents’ room carrying another paper and gives it to the couple. A similar drawing with the one he gave you, but there are your parents standing on the left and right, holding his and your hand. Unlike your reaction, your father smiles proudly and your mother sheds sincere happy tears. It somehow helps the innocent, soft-hearted little boy heal the wound in his heart.

 

Your mom sticks the picture on the door to the closet in their room, and since this day, that picture is never taken down.

 

“Mommy ❤  Luhan ❤  Eunsoo noona ❤  Daddy.

Thank you for being my home.

Merry Christmas, I love you!”

 

OF MISSING WALLET AND RUNNING DOWN THE SNOWY ROADS

 

Four years later, on a snowy day…

 

“Good morning, noona.”

 

You walk past your smiling thirteen-year-old brother with your chin high in the air, ignoring his attempt for a friendly interaction. His smile falters slightly and his gaze falls to the floor while you keep on walking around the house, looking for your mother. Your long, thick ponytail swings side to side like an actual horse’s tail as you stomp your way around. You are both dressed in a uniform from the same middle school; you’re in the senior year, and Luhan is in his freshman year. He looks like a model student and you look like the typical senior female student in dramas, with your slightly tight shirt – your mom doesn’t let you have the real tight one – and slightly too short skirt. You feel quite y like that.

 

“Mom! Mom, where are you?”

 

“Here in the kitchen, honey! What’s wrong, dear?”

 

“Gosh, I can’t find my white sweater! The fluffy turtleneck one! It’s freezing outside, I’m so going to be sick.”

 

“Stop being so hyperbolic, honey, it’s a lovely day!” You make your way to the kitchen and your giggly mom comes into sight, wearing a flowery apron. “Oh, no, no, no pouting so early in the morning.”

 

Your dad lifts his head up from the newspaper he’s reading and takes a brief moment to admire his beautiful daughter. “Your mommy is right, you’ll look prettier with a smile on your face,” he gives you a fatherly smile before taking a sip of his morning tea.

 

“Oh, just like our Luhannie here!” Your mom practically squeals when Luhan enters the kitchen with his innocent smiley face on display. You roll your eyes and fake a gag. He sits down neatly at the kitchen table and starts eating the french toasts your mom has prepared for breakfast. With him being there, all your parents’ attention was pulled to him as if he were a magnet. Even your dad puts away his newspaper to have a little friendly chat with the boy. Your mom, too, is listening to him talk something about soccer while patting his head proudly. You really don’t like the situation; your parents are clearly showing that they like the kid more than you, their own blood and flesh!

 

Maybe it’s because you never act like a nice and lovely child. You never smile, like what Luhan does all the time. You don’t have the positive energy Luhan possesses in his skinny body.

 

You frown and glare at your stepbrother with so much hatred in your round, dark brown orbs, until you finally explode, “UGH! WHATEVER! I’LL FIND THAT DARN SWEATER MYSELF!”

 

You stomp away angrily and the other three watch you in surprise, just for a few seconds before they continue talking normally as if nothing happened.

 

“Oh, Luhannie, I almost forgot about your bike!” suddenly your mom looks worried.

 

“Oh, right, the tire punctures haven’t been repaired yet,” your dad rubs his nape, looking uneasy. “You should go with me and your sister, Luhan-ah. I’ll drive you to school.”

 

Usually Luhan goes to school by himself, with a reason of wanting to be healthy by cycling every morning. He does love riding his bike. Sadly, yesterday after school he found holes on the tires and now he can’t ride it to school. Guess who did this to him?

 

Of course, none other than his evil stepsister. You did that so that he couldn’t go home, but lucky him, your family’s driver had spotted him first before he picked you up.

 

“Later you can go home with Mr. Park like yesterday,” your mom says, “I’ll tell him and your noona to wait for you.”

 

“Okay, mom,” Luhan smiles sweetly, getting a pinch on the cheek from the giggly mother. Your family’s maid then comes carrying a white hoodie, fresh from the laundry, and gives it to the mistress of the house. Your mom helps Luhan put it on and fixes the hood hanging behind his back, with her loving smile not leaving her lips any second.

 

“There. So handsome in white,” your mom kisses Luhan’s forehead and pats his back proudly. The boy’s face turns pink, getting all the affection that is supposed to be shared with you, the real child of the family. He can’t help but feel guilty, like what he’s been feeling in the last seven years.

 

“Thank you,” Luhan says shyly, with the sweet voice of a little boy that is not yet to change. His voice; that’s one of the reasons why girls your age at school are crazy for him. Each and every one of your friends wishes to have a little brother like him. Funny because you don’t want him at all.

 

“You can bring him home, no need to return him to me,” you often say to the ogling girls. “No way, he’s NOT my biological brother. What ridiculous name is Han Luhan anyway? It doesn’t suit him.” Even your friends can’t understand why you hate him so much. They consider you the luckiest noona, you consider yourself the unluckiest.

 

While Luhan is having breakfast with your parents, you manage to find your sweater in the piles of clean laundry. You put it on and quickly walk back to the kitchen so that you can grab a piece of the yummy toast before heading to school.

 

But then, something stops you on the way. It’s Luhan’s backpack, sitting unguarded on the sofa in the living room. An evil thought pops out in your evil mind right away.

 

After looking around to make sure no one is around to witness your crime, you fast-walk towards the sofa and open the bag, your heart beating louder with adrenaline pumping through your veins. You know it’s a bad thing to do, but… he deserves it.

 

You shove your hand in and around until it makes contact with the object you’re looking for; Luhan’s black and brown Baby Milo leather wallet. Gotcha. You pull it out and quickly shove it into your sweater from the bottom, zip the bag and return it to its previous position, and then bolt upstairs to the room next to yours. You open the door slightly and carelessly throw the wallet into the room; it lands right next to Luhan’s bed. Mission completed, you head to the kitchen wearing your usual flat face.

 

Have fun looking for your wallet at school, loser.

 

Later, at school...

 

“Hey, Luhan! What are you doing?” A small Chinese boy with cute dimples greets Luhan cheerfully, throwing his arms around the other boy’s waist and leaning his head on his back while the doe-eyed boy is bending down and shoving his head into his backpack, looking for something in panic. The class hasn’t even started yet, but it’s like his hair is on fire already.

 

“My wallet! It’s gone! It’s supposed to be here, I always put it next to my pencil case!” Luhan starts to take everything out of his bag and covers his desk with his stuff. There’s even a Rubik’s cube, his favorite toy.

 

“Oh? Hmm.” The other boy – Yixing, his chairmate – puts on a face of a wise man in deep thoughts, his chin as if he had beard. “Calm down, little one. Try to remember the last time you saw it.”

 

Luhan stops and tries to follow his equally small friend’s advice. “It was… It was just this morning, when I re-checked my books! I didn’t take it out at all, it’s impossible it’s not here.”

 

“Unless…” Yixing narrowed his eyes and tapped his chin. “Luhan, did you leave the class earlier? After you arrived?”

 

Luhan’s doe eyes widen when he remembers, “I-I did! I left my bag here and went to the toilet. W-What does that mean, Yixing? Do you know where my wallet is?”

 

Suddenly Yixing snaps his fingers at Luhan’s face, startling the poor panicking boy. He narrows his eyes even more and leans closer to slowly whisper, “I believe… someone took it while you weren’t here.”

 

“Y-You mean it’s stolen??” Luhan gasps in surprise, and then lowers his head and whispers loudly, “Who would do that to me? It must be someone in this class, isn’t it?”

 

“I believe so,” Yixing assures the other boy with a firm nod. “That person must be in need of money, or must be envious because you have Dragon Ball cards in your wallet, or must be jealous because his own wallet doesn’t have a picture of a cute monkey like yours.”

 

“Uh, um, how did you know about my new Dragon Ball cards though?”

 

“You showed me yesterday. They’re really cool, I must admit. It’s a shame that they’re all gone now.”

 

“Ah, right. I’m sorry, Yixing, I can’t think clearly now.” Eventually Luhan feels his tears start to prick his eyes. “My mom and dad are going to throw me out of the house. They just gave me a bunch of pocket money yesterday.”

 

“Aww, don’t worry, my friend. I’ll help you look for it. We can report this to the teachers,” Yixing pats Luhan’s back and gives him a wise smile. Luhan feels so grateful that he has a very mature friend like him.

 

Throughout the day, whenever there’s a chance, the two good friends ask their classmates about the wallet. “Have you seen a black and brown leather wallet? It has white stitches and a Baby Milo picture on the front left and four Dragon Ball cards inside.” All kids they ask answer by shaking their heads. Later, it’s even announced through the school intercom that anyone who finds the wallet should bring it to the teachers room immediately. But sadly, even until the day ends, no one has brought the wallet back to Luhan. He stays longer in the empty classroom to scan every corners one more time.

 

Meanwhile, at the school’s front gate…

 

“Hello, Mr. Park,” you greet the driver as soon as you enter your family’s black sedan.

 

“Good day!” The rather old driver greets back cheerfully, but then turns his head and gives you a puzzled look. “Oh, I thought your mother said Luhan was going to go home with us. Haven’t you seen him, miss?”

 

Nonchalantly you answer, “Oh, I did meet him. He said he’d go to a friend’s house first, and then go home on his own. Well, couldn’t stop him.”

 

“Oh… But it looks like it’s going to snow,” Mr. Park looks at the sky worriedly. “Should we go after him? Do you know where his friend’s house is?”

 

“I don’t know. If it’s going to snow, we better hurry and go home now. The road is going to be covered by the snow and it will be slippery. It’s dangerous.” Not. Just your reason so that you can leave the kid behind as soon as possible.

 

After a long, heavy sigh, Mr. Park slowly steps on the gas pedal and leaves the school. You smile in victory.

 

In your face, parent-stealing loser.

 

Back at the classroom, Yixing stops making bee lines all over the classroom, stares at the window, and then quietly walks over to his buddy.

 

“…Luhan, we’ve checked this classroom five times already. It’s okay, you can talk about it to your parents, I’m sure they’ll understand. I’ve met them twice and I can tell they won’t be so hard on you about this! It’s not your fault, everyone leaves their bags very often. Look at the window, it’s starting to snow outside. Seems like it’s getting hard. You said your driver would pick you up today, isn’t he waiting for you now?”

 

After his friend’s brief lecture, it finally snaps back into Luhan’s mind that he’s supposed to meet you and Mr. Park around forty minutes ago. Without second thought, he grabs his backpack and pulls the confused Yixing out of the classroom, running as fast as a gazelle towards the school’s front gate. It’s deserted there already.

 

“Oh my God,” Yixing wheezes and pants hard, “I’m never running with you ever again.”

 

“…They left already.” Luhan sighs and his sad gaze falls onto the snowy ground. “I forgot I still don’t have my bike with me.”

 

“You can take the bus, I’ll lend you my pocket money!” Yixing gets his wallet, but when opens it… “Oh, my mom hasn’t refilled my wallet yet. I’m so sorry.” There’s nothing in there, but Yixing doesn’t give up. “Or you can go home with me,” he pipes up, “oh, and stay for a sleepover! We can watch TV and sleep late and come late for school tomorrow!”

 

Luhan smiles apologetically. Yixing’s offer sounds fun, but, “I guess I shouldn’t look for more troubles after losing my wallet. And all the money.”

 

“Oh, okay then,” Yixing pouts, “maybe we can ride my bike together? I’ll drop you right at your door.”

 

“Please don’t, Yixing. Our houses are in different directions and pretty far from each other. You said it seemed like it was going to snow hard, I can feel it already. I… I’m so sorry for causing you so much trouble today.”

 

Yixing throws his arms around the other boy and gently pats his back. “Don’t be sorry. That’s what friends are for, right? Causing troubles to each other.”

 

Luhan chuckles and pulls away with an uneasy smile. “Thanks, Yixing. You should get going now. I’ll… walk home too.”

 

“Walk? You’re really crazy sometimes. It’s going to take forever!”

 

“It’s okay. I’m a strong and manly one, you know that, right?”

 

Yixing’s laugh booms into the cold winter air, creating puffs of smoke as he breathes out. “Then you should run! So that you’ll get home before you turn into a skinny snowman.” Yixing takes off his backpack and pulls out a stainless steel bottle, putting it in Luhan’s cold, pale hands. “Here, I managed to have the cafeteria ahjumma make me some hot chocolate again, just by using aegyo! It’s still warm, this bottle will keep the heat. You should take this to warm yourself. Oh, and you’ll need this.” He hugs Luhan one more time, long and firm, transferring his warmth to Luhan’s sad heart. “One more hug to keep you warm. I wish I could hug you all the way to your house. Be safe on the way, Luhan, and see you tomorrow! You know my house’s phone number, call me any time you need me.”

 

The warm tears welling in Luhan’s eyes are so close to falling down his cold cheeks, but he holds them in. He’s a boy after all. He just feels touched; Yixing makes it seem like it were a farewell before a long journey.

 

“…Thank you, best friend.” With that, the two young teenage boys separate and go to opposite directions; Yixing speeding with his bike, and Luhan running into the cold, snowy long roads, with his head covered by the hood of his jacket and his freezing hands clutching the warm bottle of hot chocolate from his buddy. The further he runs, the harder it’s snowing, and in no time a pile of snow has formed sitting on his head.

 

“Cold,” Luhan hugs himself, teeth chattering and body shivering as his legs continue to swing back and forth, quickly carrying him against where the winter wind is blowing. His hoodie isn’t thick enough. When he feels like he can barely take it, he stops for a moment to warm his body with Yixing’s hot chocolate.

 

“Ahh, it’s sweet,” he smiles, taking another gulp before putting it back in his bag’s side pocket. He continues his long run.

 

Luhan repeats the same thing every once in a while; stopping, drinking a little, and then running again, until he feels like his legs are about to fall off. He has run for around half an hour by now and his whole body is freezing cold.

 

“I can’t do this anymore,” Luhan falls onto his knees and pants hard, clutching his pounding chest. “No, no, I’m almost there. Just… Go straight, left, then right. That’s it. Come on, get up.”

 

The poor boy gets up slowly and takes wobbly steps. “It’s cold… It’s too cold, I can’t feel my feet. I’m tired. But… But I’m going to die here if I stop moving.”

 

Luhan takes Yixing’s bottle from the side pocket to have the last few drops of hot chocolate that isn’t even warm anymore. But before he can do so, out of nowhere comes a drunk punk and startles the poor boy with a strong grip on his shoulder; it strikes Luhan with a wave of new energy that sends him running while yelling at the top of his lungs. He still can’t feel his feet; he trips and falls hard onto the snow, which then is stained by drops of light brown. His spilled hot chocolate. There’s nothing left now.

 

Trembling hands clutching the white, the young boy slowly pushes himself up onto his knees, head down and teeth clenched trying to hold back his tears. He fails this time; his shoulders shake as he began to cry, letting his tears fall onto the snow.

 

Why? Why am I so unlucky? What did I do to deserve this?

 

Luhan lays his worn out body on the ground and closes his teary eyes. Never mind, I’m too tired for an existential crisis right now. I just… need some sleep.

 

He falls asleep there, next to the empty stainless steel bottle and the chocolate stain that soon turns back into white. The snow continues to fall.

 

Later that day…

 

“Oh, my poor baby!” Your mom rushes over to the door as soon as Mr. Park comes carrying a weak, cold unconscious body in his arms. He lays him down on the sofa while your mom shouts for someone to get some clean clothes and thick blankets for the boy. The maids come running and give everything your mom asks for in a blink of an eye, genuinely worried about the young master’s condition. They help your mom clean Luhan’s body and change his wet clothes into the clean warm ones, wrap him with the thick blankets and put a hot pack on his forehead, and finally join your mother there sitting on the floor around the sofa and crying over him. You are secretly watching the scene from upstairs and you think they’re all too exaggerating; it’s not like the kid is dead or such. He’ll wake up really soon and give everyone his annoyingly sweet smile, like he always does.

 

Right?

 

You can’t help but feel restless after two hours have passed and your little stepbrother hasn’t opened his pretty eyes yet. Your dad has come home from work and earlier the three of you had a quiet dinner in the living room to accompany the unconscious boy. Your mom has told him everything she knows from her point of view.

 

“Eunsoo said Luhannie had gone first to a friend’s house, so they left without him. But, around one and a half hours after school, Mr. Park found him laid on the street! Can you imagine that, honey? Our poor baby boy! Mr. Park said a small crowd was starting to form around him, that’s why he stopped to take a look. Can you imagine what would have happened if only Mr. Park hadn’t initiated to go and look for Luhannie? When he heard the maid tell me that Luhannie’s wallet was left in his room, he just panicked and went away to find him. He really cares about our family.”

 

Your mom hasn’t cried that much in a while and now she’s crying Han river. Because she’s Mrs. Han, that’s why. Your parents are starting to guess what happened to their lovely boy, and it’s getting really weird the more they talk about it.

 

“Have you checked every inch of his body? No sign of abuse?” Your dad asks.

 

“I have, I did that while cleaning him. I only found scratches on his palms, and they’re fixed already!”

 

“What about… umm… That part?” Your parents lower their voices and start to whisper about stuff you don’t want to hear.

 

“That? Why that? Oh—Oh my gosh… What if… what if he got molested?? S-Should we bring him to the doctor? To check that part?”

 

“…We should wait until he wakes up and ask him first about it. He looks better now, look, his face is turning pink again.”

 

Around an hour before midnight, at last, Luhan’s eyes slowly flutter open. Everything is spinning in his sight, but when he figures out he’s at home, a wave of relief washes over him that his eyes become watery again.

 

“…Mom… Dad?” The couple are sitting on the floor, half asleep with their heads on the edge of the sofa. When they hear their son’s raspy voice, they jolt back to full consciousness and then shower him with hugs and kisses. You’re not there because you’ve returned to your room and gone to bed already; you still have school tomorrow.

 

“Oh, honey, what happened? Mr. Park found you on the street! He went away to look for you because you didn’t have your wallet with you and he was afraid you couldn’t go back home.”

 

Hearing the word “wallet”, Luhan’s face turns slightly pale again, and before he realizes it, he has already started crying and apologizing.

 

“I… I’m so sorry, Mom, Dad! I lost it, I searched the classroom five times but I couldn’t find it anywhere! It-It’s okay, you can punish me, I deserve it. I lost all my pocket money, y-you shouldn’t give me money anymore, I’ll lose it all again.”

 

The poor guilty boy cries into his hands regretfully, while the parents look at each other in confusion as they try to digest their son’s words.

 

“But, Luhan-ah… The maid found your wallet in your room,” your dad says, instantly stopping Luhan’s sobs, “it was on the floor, next to your bed. You must have dropped it this morning.”

 

Luhan’s eyebrows furrow slightly, not obvious enough to show the parents that something is off. I checked my bag on my desk and my wallet was still there, then I zipped it up and left the room. There’s no way it could fall without a hole in my bag, not to mention falling next to my bed. I didn’t go back to my bed at all. I only left my bag at school… and… and… in the living room. Before breakfast.

 

Having figured out who could be behind all of this, Luhan keeps his mouth shut and his head down. And he slowly figures out that there was no way Mr. Park would leave him behind with no reasons, especially after the parents had told him to wait for the boy. He was probably told to leave without him. By someone who can’t be his mom and dad. It all points to one person, the person behind his miserable day, the person that somehow has made it to make him sleep on the street for the first time, just by a simple act; taking his wallet and throwing it back into his room.

 

The same question that he has been questioning for seven years appears yet again in his mind,

 

Does she hate me that much?

 

“Luhannie, will you tell us how everything happened?” Knowing that something is off, from how the boy was found sleeping on the street only an hour and a half after school even though “according to Eunsoo” he said he wanted to go to a friend’s house, your parents don’t mention a single thing about the version of the story you told them. Now Luhan doesn’t know what lies you told them and he can’t lie anymore to protect you. He finds no choice. With a heavy sigh and a heavy heart, he lets out everything in details, and of course, minus the parts you really did.

 

And even without him mentioning your name, your parents can see clearly that his version and your version tell completely different stories. They figure out themselves that you did all of that to him. They’re not stupid after all.

 

You’re lucky that you’re asleep already.

 

But not the next morning, because it is the first time your family’s breakfast time isn’t filled with the usual warm and friendly atmosphere, the first time your parents get extremely angry at you, the first time your mom shouts at you, the first time your dad looks at you with deep disappointment instead of smiling at you behind his newspaper, the first time you cry so hard in front of your stepbrother, the first time Luhan cries begging for your parents to stop scolding you. He defends you, but in return, for the first time you shout at him and break him apart in front of your parents, “I hate you! I always do, I forever will!”

 

From this moment on, everything is never the same in your family.

 

Luhan still wishes that someday his noona will love him too.

 

THE LITTLE HANDWRITING BEHIND THE PAPER

 

Three years later, on a snowy day…

 

Luhan is finally growing up into a man. Not exactly a man, but he likes to call himself that. Just a sixteen-year-old handsome big boy; not exactly big, but he’s growing tall really fast. Oh, and he’s just entered puberty, finally. He’s a bit late in that.

 

Just like every other teenage boys, he experiences the classic first wet dream story, but poor him, he just has to get caught by the whole house. Well, actually your mom is the one who finds out, but then she oh-so-gleefully announces it to the whole household – including the maids and the driver.

 

“My baby boy wet his pants in his sleep! And guess what? It wasn’t pee! It was cummies! Aww, my baby has grown up!”

 

“Oh my God, Mom, please stop! No, no, don’t go outside! Please! The neighbors will hear you!”

 

Your mom makes the teen boy sit in the living room and gives him a short education very excitedly in a very embarrassing way, all witnessed by the happy and touched maids. Luhan just wants to flush himself down the toilet when the women congratulate him for shooting for the first time.

 

Oh goodness, this is beyond awkward, please just bury me alive.

 

“So I guess that’s all you need to know for now! Don’t try to give yourself some more ‘education’ from the internet, okay, honey? If you feel like watching people doing some attraction, bring your laptop to our room and we can watch it together with your dad! If you’re curious about the twin pairs ies and booties, mommy has them too! If you feel like being naughty with your body, just get out of your room and play with mommy, okay? If you want to touch a female’s body, you can always touch mommy. I love the idea of having grandchildren, but I’d rather wait for ten more years than have them now! You got that, baby?”

 

You are secretly enjoying how embarrassed and flustered your little brother is because of everything your mom says. Of course she doesn’t mean what she says like the way it sounds, it’s just her way to tell the boy, “Don’t even try.” You know that really well because you experienced the exact same thing after your first menstruation. Just like you did, Luhan gets the point straight away and you’re sure enough he’ll remember what your mom said whenever he tries to be naughty around that part, and he’ll be too embarrassed to take further action. Maybe that effect won’t last forever, but it sure sticks for some time.

 

And, besides, ever since you first started dealing with puberty, you’ve been suspecting your mother to have sixth sense around this matter. Or maybe a radar in her head.

 

One day, when the young Luhan is playing alone with his laptop in his room, suddenly an adult game advertisement pops out and he turns into a stunned bunny immediately; staring at the screen with wide eyes, his back straight and his body tensed.

 

“B-ies and booties…” Gulp. “S-So big. Squishy.”

 

“Luhannie baby!”

 

Slam! “M-Mom!” Luhan slams his laptop shut when suddenly your mom swings the door open and pokes her head in, grinning creepily like Cheshire Cat.

 

“What were you doing, hmm? Were you being naughty? Come, let’s play with mommy.”

 

“W-Wait, no, mom! It—It was just an ad, I didn’t open it intentionally! Please, I’m sorry, I don’t want to play—Mommm!”

 

Your mom giggles her way back to her room with the teen boy’s head stuck in her armpit, and you just sit there munching an apple, watching as Luhan shouts for his life before di disappearing behind the locked door. You can hear his faint shriek and just roll your eyes, thinking sarcastically, yeah, just a normal day for a normal family.

 

You know your mom, she must be pretending as if she’s about to strip in that room and show the curious boy what he’d like to see. And your guess is right. After having Luhan run around the room, desperately trying to hide like a scared hamster, your mom ends her evil laugh and pulls the boy out of his hiding place under the bed to start stuffing his head with another embarrassing lecture. The next time you see him again, it looks just like he’s just got brain-; his face, his ears and even his neck are super red, and his eyes are somewhat glassy, maybe from the trauma caused by embarrassment overdose.

 

Thanks to your mom and her crazy technique in raising teenagers, Luhan grows into a good young lad with good self control – when it comes to bodily needs – instead of a erted scumbag, like the majority of your boy friends at school.

 

But, of course, your mom will never steal the normal teenage life from him; when he starts feeling butterflies in his tummy because of a girl, your mom gives him all forms of support she can give.

 

Unlike you, who just basically hates seeing him happy.

 

Ever since the first day he entered high school, you often find yourself secretly glancing at him, liking what you see. He has such perfect features on his handsome face, and he has a manlier hairstyle now; sometimes he styles his bangs up with some gel, but even when he has his hair covering his forehead, he still looks super adorable. His child voice is slowly changing into a deep one of a man, but it’s still a soft and soothing voice, and his singing voice is a lullaby. He plays soccer, he’s musical, he skates so well like you do. Soon he will be much taller than you, and that means his manly aura will grow stronger too, which is a bad thing to you. You hate it that you have to admire him. The reason you hate him isn’t because he stole your parents anymore; you’re eighteen already, you’ve grown too old to sulk over that. It’s just that the hate has grown in you, it’s in your blood, it’s become one with your bones and flesh. Finding that you’ve started to like something about him, you try even harder to hate him with all your guts.

 

That one snowy day, Luhan comes home wearing a huge smile on his face.

 

“Hello, Mom, noona!” Luhan hugs and kisses your mom on the cheek before grabbing a piece of his favorite cookie from the jar on the kitchen table.

 

“Hello, baby,” your mom gives him a kiss on the cheek in return while her hand slaps the boy’s away. “Wash your hands first before eating anything.”

 

“Alright, alright,” Luhan chuckles, still shoving the cookie into his mouth anyway.

 

“Let me guess, from your happy face, your date with your babe at the carnival today was successful?” your mom flashes a teasing smile and wiggles her eyebrows.

 

“She’s not my babe yet, Mom,” Luhan says shyly as he walks over to the sink to wash his hands. “But, yeah, it was a blast!” Luhan joins you and your mom at the kitchen table, and then starts talking about his fun day with his huge crush. They really played and ate a lot at the winter carnival. He and your mom look so elated, but somehow his story is pissing you off. “We even took some pictures with her polaroid camera! Look, Mom, she let me keep some pictures for myself. She has some too, she said she’d stick them in her room.”

 

You steal a glance at one of the polaroids laid on the table; it’s a selfie of Luhan and a pretty Korean girl with a big, kind and friendly smile, practically sticking to each other as Luhan had his arm wrapped around her shoulders. They were both laughing, having the time of their lives. You hate to admit they really match each other.

 

Not wanting to hear more of his story, you stop snacking on your mom’s chocolate chip cookies and stomp your way back to your room. It’s ridiculous how pissed off you are, and you don’t even want to know the reason why. You just believe it’s because your boyfriend is busy with his part-time job and can’t go to that annual winter carnival with you.

 

“Whatever, I’ll go with my boo tomorrow.”

 

When you hear the door to the room next door being opened and then closed again, your anger escalates back and now you can barely hold it in. You get out of your room and barge into your brother’s without even knocking first.

 

“Oh, n-noona!” Luhan stands up quickly from h